Xiao Yi Xian

"Hello, miss!"

Xiao Bai sat cross-legged, his arm propped on his thigh and his palm supporting his chin. Leaning slightly forward, he watched as a small hand first appeared at the edge of the cliff before half a little head suddenly popped up. His eyes were filled with a teasing smile.

Xiao Yi Xian was panting with exhaustion, her fair, lovely face covered in beads of sweat, the black strands at her temples stuck tightly to her cheeks.

Just as she was about to climb onto the cliff, with the demon beasts below having failed to catch up, she had been feeling glad at having escaped disaster—when the space above her suddenly darkened, and a man's deep voice, filled with amusement, sounded by her ear.

Startled, she hurriedly looked up, only to see a gray-white-haired head right in front of her, chin resting on one hand. Two locks of hair were even about to brush against her face.

"Ah!"

A startled cry rang out on the cliff, making Xiao Bai feel the urge to cover his ears.

However, although the girl had her eyes shut and was screaming in panic, her hands still clutched the rope tightly to her chest without letting go.

Xiao Bai simply watched her quietly with a smile. After she finished crying out, she opened one closed eye into a tiny slit and cautiously peered outside.

Only after seeing the body beneath Xiao Bai's head did she let out a breath of relief, then opened both eyes and looked at Xiao Bai with some wariness.

Although she was a little angry that this person had frightened her at the edge of a cliff, she still had not climbed up yet and could not lose her temper.

"This... uh..." She did not quite know how to address the person before her. His hair was gray-white, but his face looked rather young.

"This young master, could you give me a hand? I'm almost out of strength."

Seeing that he was just quietly looking at her, his eyes filled with a strange smile, Xiao Yi Xian felt puzzled, but sensing that her hands had already begun trembling slightly, she could not help but make the soft request.

Xiao Bai said nothing. He stood and reached a hand out to her.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi Xian took a deep breath, gripped the rope hard with one hand, and placed her other hand in Xiao Bai's.

Xiao Bai held her small hand and exerted a slight force, lifting her up from the cliff. Her delicate body traced an arc through the air before landing lightly at the cliff's edge.

After Xiao Yi Xian landed and was just about to pull her small hand free from Xiao Bai's grasp, she saw him release her first, so she thanked him in a low voice.

Xiao Bai looked the girl up and down. She wore a plain white dress, her figure delicate and graceful. Her soft-featured face could not be called overwhelmingly beautiful, but she possessed an ethereal, drifting air all her own. In particular, her clear, bright eyes, like autumn waters, held a lotus-like purity in their depths, making her seem all the more elegant and otherworldly.

Most importantly, her slender waist was truly thin! Small enough to grasp in one hand!

Xiao Bai's expression was perfectly calm on the surface, but inwardly, he kept nodding and sighing with admiration.

"Why are you here, young master?" Xiao Yi Xian smoothed the dark strands on her forehead, raised her head slightly, and asked Xiao Bai softly.

Could this fellow also know about the cave below?

"I was being hunted by my enemies and felt vexed. I thought of how storybooks always say jumping off a cliff can bring a miraculous encounter, so I specially came here to give it a try!" The smile in Xiao Bai's eyes disappeared as he pretended to speak in frustration.

Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian grew anxious and quickly said:

"Young master, you mustn't. I just went down there to look, and there's nothing there!"

"Hm? Could it be that you're a kindred spirit like me, miss, and also came below the cliff to search for an opportunity?" Xiao Bai's eyes brightened slightly, as though he had found a confidante.

Xiao Yi Xian secretly rolled her eyes. Who was a kindred spirit with him? She was worried that if the man before her jumped off the cliff here, he really would obtain some miraculous encounter.

Huh! Wait, does this guy know about the cave below?

Without showing anything on her face, she took a step back, pulled out a packet of medicinal powder from her person, and pinched it in her hand.

Xiao Bai saw everything as clearly as a flame in a cave; how could he fail to notice her little movement? He shook his head. This was no fun anymore.

"Miss, I advise you to put away what's in your hand. That thing is useless against me!" Xiao Bai stopped acting, his expression returning to cold sternness.

Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face froze slightly, and she somewhat awkwardly put the medicinal powder away. This thing only worked through a sneak attack. Otherwise, with her strength at the ninth stage of Dou Qi, it could not threaten the person before her at all.

Although she did not know this person's cultivation, anyone who could come here had to at least possess the strength of a Dou Zhe.

Also, this fellow was deep-minded, his expression changing at will. He was nothing like those straightforward mercenaries she had treated, which made her somewhat afraid.

"I want the cave beneath the cliff. Now you have two choices: either accompany me down, or I knock you unconscious and then go down. You have three breaths to decide!" Xiao Bai said to her indifferently. Since she did not want to play games, he would get straight to the point.

"One."

"Two."

"I'll go down with you!"

Xiao Yi Xian was first stunned when she heard Xiao Bai's words. This fellow really did know about the cave below. Then, seeing that he had counted to two, afraid Xiao Bai would immediately make a move and knock her unconscious, she hurriedly shouted.

This was the Demon Beast Mountain Range. If he knocked her out, who knew how long it would take her to wake up? If she encountered other demon beasts, at worst, she would die. But if she encountered something like a Union Ape, that would simply be a fate worse than death.

"What a hateful bastard! Just you wait!" Xiao Yi Xian cursed fiercely in secret, thinking that once they returned to Green Mountain Town, she would definitely make him pay.

She had never encountered such a domineering person before. Thinking of the cave left behind by a predecessor that she had discovered with such difficulty, she suddenly felt a little sorrowful.

"Congratulations. You made the correct choice!" Xiao Bai glanced at her and said coldly.

He was merely scaring her. No matter what choice she made, she was going to go down with him.

Picking up the rope on the ground, Xiao Bai tugged it and tested it. It was tied quite firmly. Then he beckoned to her.

Xiao Yi Xian warily took a step back, placed both hands before her chest, and looked at Xiao Bai. "What are you doing?"

"Going down together, of course!" Xiao Bai looked at her as if she were an idiot as he spoke.

"No. There's another rope over there. I brought it as a spare. I'll go get it, tie it on, and go down by myself!" Xiao Yi Xian pointed at the crooked-necked tree and refused outright.

"Fine!" Xiao Bai looked along the direction of her finger, then nodded indifferently.

Joy rose in Xiao Yi Xian's heart. She had no desire to go down beside that bastard, so she hurried toward the tree. But before she had even taken two steps, Xiao Bai's hateful voice rang out again.

"You ran out of the cave in a panic earlier because you ran into that Rock Snake, right? It's on the tree above the cave entrance now. If you run into it in a bit, don't get scared!"

"Rock Snake!" Xiao Yi Xian cried in alarm. She had nearly been scared to death in the cave just now, and she quickly stopped in her tracks on her way to get the rope.

"You can deal with it, right?" Xiao Yi Xian asked cautiously.

Seeing Xiao Bai nod, she continued walking toward the tree. But then that bastard spoke again in an indifferent tone. "If you're on the same rope as me, I'll make a move. As for the other rope, maybe, maybe not. Depends on my mood!"

"Ahhh... ah... How can there be such a hateful bastard in this world!" Stomping her foot where she stood, Xiao Yi Xian turned and glared furiously at Xiao Bai, feeling like she wanted to bite him to death. If looks could kill, he would have died a thousand times over.

After thinking it over, she was still afraid Xiao Bai really would not make a move when the time came, so Xiao Yi Xian had no choice but to dawdle her way back to his side.