Xiao Feng, the Great Philanthropist

As Xiao Feng and the others ventured deeper into the Monster Mountain Range, they encountered magical beasts far more frequently.

Under the combined assault of dozens of mercenaries, most of the magical beasts were instantly slain. However, a few unlucky mercenaries were still injured by surprise attacks from magical beasts that suddenly emerged.

For example, two mercenaries walking at the very front were bitten by Red Ice Serpents hiding in the tree branches.

Red Ice Serpents were relatively common first-tier magical beasts. They possessed the ice attribute and carried cold poison within their bodies.

Those bitten by a Red Ice Serpent would die when the cold poison froze the blood in their bodies if they did not receive treatment within half a day.

After everyone worked together to kill the two Red Ice Serpents, the two unlucky men who had been bitten were promptly sent to the herb-gathering team and placed in Xiao Yi Xian's care.

What surprised everyone, however, was that just as Xiao Yi Xian was preparing to purge the cold poison from the two mercenaries, Xiao Feng suddenly stepped forward, took out two First Grade Detoxification Pills, and stuffed them into the mercenaries' mouths.

Although First Grade Detoxification Pills were not especially precious medicinal pills, they could still sell for several hundred gold coins on the market.

Under normal circumstances, no one would be foolish enough to give such precious pills to strangers for free.

Yet when everyone saw the two mercenaries afflicted by cold poison become full of life after taking the First Grade Detoxification Pills Xiao Feng had given them, they had no choice but to admit that there really were fools willing to sacrifice themselves for others!

Mu Li had originally been somewhat worried that Xiao Feng might be pretending to be weak while concealing his strength.

But upon seeing Xiao Feng's womanly compassion, Mu Li immediately let down his guard.

"Are you stupid or something? I seriously can't believe you. Don't you know you shouldn't flaunt your wealth?"

Even Xiao Yi Xian was defeated by Xiao Feng's innocence. She secretly kicked him and reminded him in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Listen~ Before we return to Green Mountain Town, you'd better not leave my side. Otherwise, I won't be able to protect you."

If Xiao Feng had been a selfish villain, Xiao Yi Xian would never have risked offending the Wolf Head Mercenary Group to warn him.

Unfortunately, Xiao Feng was such an incurably good person. People like him were practically an endangered species now, and Xiao Yi Xian truly could not bear to see him get tricked to death.

"..."

Hearing Xiao Yi Xian's words, Xiao Feng froze slightly before nodding calmly.

In truth, Xiao Feng had not fed the Detoxification Pills to those two unlucky men simply out of kindness. He had done it to earn Merit Points.

Saving one life was better than building a seven-story pagoda!

After Xiao Feng cured the cold poison in those two mercenaries, his Merit Points had directly increased by more than a hundred.

Exchanging Detoxification Pills worth several hundred gold coins for over a hundred Merit Points seemed like quite a good deal to Xiao Feng.

As for Xiao Yi Xian and the others thinking he was an innocent and kindhearted fool, Xiao Feng could only say that it was a beautiful misunderstanding.

After traveling through the Monster Mountain Range for several hours, Xiao Feng and the others finally arrived at the herb-gathering area designated by the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion. During that time, more than a dozen mercenaries had been attacked by magical beasts and suffered injuries of varying severity.

Whenever he saw someone injured, Xiao Feng would immediately offer Healing Medicine and Detoxification Pills, earning several hundred Merit Points in the process.

The others did not know that Xiao Feng was earning Merit Points. They only thought he was a great philanthropist who sacrificed himself for others.

At first, most of the mercenaries had looked down on Xiao Feng, believing that an incurably good person like him was too naive to survive long in the Monster Mountain Range.

But as more and more mercenaries were healed by Xiao Feng, their attitudes toward him gradually changed.

Other than a few naturally cold-hearted mercenaries, most of those whom Xiao Feng had treated were deeply grateful to him. At the same time, they felt ashamed for ever having entertained thoughts of killing him for his treasures.

Although the mercenaries who had not been treated by Xiao Feng still thought he was an incurably good fool, they could not help but develop some respect for him.

After all, an incurably good person like Xiao Feng was the kind of teammate every mercenary dreamed of having.

Mu Li alone felt his hatred for Xiao Feng steadily deepen as time passed.

In Mu Li's eyes, Xiao Feng had already become his possession, which meant Xiao Feng's treasures were his treasures.

Whenever Xiao Feng took out Healing Medicine and Detoxification Pills to treat injured mercenaries, Mu Li felt as though Xiao Feng was wasting his money, and his heart ached terribly!

If not for his concerns about the Xiao Family behind Xiao Feng, making it inconvenient to kill him in public, Mu Li would have wanted to get rid of this spendthrift immediately.

That was all my money!

My money!

"Alright, we've reached the herb-gathering area. Everyone can rest for a while first. You'll only have the strength to gather herbs after resting~"

After resting in place for around ten minutes, the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion's steward led the herb-gathering team off to collect herbs with Xiao Yi Xian and the others.

The mercenaries responsible for protecting the herb-gathering team split into groups. Some patrolled the surroundings on guard, while others set up tents where they were.

It was already noon. By the time the people from the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion finished gathering herbs, it would probably be dark.

The Monster Mountain Range became even more dangerous at night. Traveling through the night was hardly a wise choice, so it was better to rest here for the night and set off back to Green Mountain Town the next morning.

To keep Xiao Feng from being tricked to death, Xiao Yi Xian deliberately used the excuse of having him help gather herbs, keeping him by her side the entire time.

Watching Xiao Feng remain inseparable from Xiao Yi Xian, Mu Li could not help frowning. He had to find a way to separate them, or it would not be convenient for him to kill Xiao Feng and seize his treasures.

Time slowly passed, and the sky gradually darkened. The entire Monster Mountain Range was swallowed by darkness.

The people from the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion had also finished gathering herbs. Everyone gathered in small groups around the campfires and began eating dinner.

"Miss, the rice balls are heated."

The maid responsible for attending to Xiao Yi Xian briefly warmed the Meat Filling Rice Balls they had brought with them and respectfully handed them over.

After accepting the two Meat Filling Rice Balls from the maid, Xiao Yi Xian directly handed one of them to Xiao Feng and said with a smile, "You helped me gather herbs for half the day, so you must be tired. Here, have a rice ball."

"You're way too stingy, aren't you?"

Xiao Feng feigned dissatisfaction. "You're fobbing me off with just one rice ball?"

"Don't underestimate this rice ball. I made it myself. The rice inside is soft, glutinous, sweet Amethyst Rice, and the filling is made from premium five-layer monster meat. It's rich without being greasy—really delicious."

"Is that so?"

Hearing that, Xiao Feng smiled. "Then I'll have to properly taste your cooking."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Feng peeled back the leaves wrapped around the Meat Filling Rice Ball and took a huge bite.

"Mmm~ Delicious!"

As the fragrance of rice and meat burst across his palate, Xiao Feng found it more flavorful with every chew. He nodded in satisfaction.