Cave (600 Chapters! Cuckoo Still Has Saved Drafts!)

"Alright, Xiao Yi Xian, let's not talk about that. Come on, I'll take you to find the treasure."

This time, Xiao Fan did not let go of Xiao Yi Xian's small hand.

"Xiao Fan, I..."

After taking a deep breath, Xiao Yi Xian spoke as though she had made up her mind. "There's poison in my body... You can't touch me."

"I know."

"You know?"

"Yeah. I read about it in a secret tome. Xiao Yi Xian, you should possess the Woe Poison Body."

Xiao Yi Xian did not doubt Xiao Fan's words in the slightest, but her petite body continued to tremble.

"And you're still holding my hand... Aren't you afraid?" Xiao Yi Xian looked at Xiao Fan's hand, which had turned an even deeper purple. She wanted to pull her hand away, yet could not break free.

"It's fine. This little poison can't kill me."

Xiao Fan took out the Detoxification Pill he had prepared long ago and swallowed it in one gulp. It was more than enough to suppress the Woe Poison Body at its current stage.

Though Xiao Yi Xian was puzzled, she did not ask any further questions.

Fate truly loved to toy with Xiao Yi Xian. The Woe Poison Body was a shackle, one that bound her true heart.

Yet it was also a gift. Because of the Woe Poison Body, fate had destined her and Xiao Fan to be tightly bound together.

"Xiao Fan, isn't it inappropriate for you to drag me into the woods like this?" Xiao Yi Xian smiled sweetly. Clearly, she had already let it go. The kindhearted and cheerful Xiao Yi Xian was now teasing Xiao Fan.

"Xiao Fan, why is your face so red?" Xiao Yi Xian moved even closer. Unlike Ya Fei, Xiao Yi Xian was far too thin—more bony than voluptuous.

Xiao Fan understood. Xiao Yi Xian was getting back at him for teasing her yesterday.

At that moment, Xiao Fan abruptly pulled Xiao Yi Xian into the bushes beside them.

Their posture was rather awkward. It had happened too suddenly, and Xiao Fan could only press Xiao Yi Xian beneath him.

"Mmph... Mmph! Xiao Fan, you!" Xiao Yi Xian's beautiful eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief. "Here... you can't!"

"Shh, someone's coming." Xiao Fan made a silencing gesture and remained motionless in the bushes.

But Xiao Yi Xian was having a hard time keeping herself together. Xiao Fan was too strong, and her hands were firmly pinned down. Had Xiao Fan paid closer attention, he would have discovered that her heart was already pounding so fast it seemed ready to burst from her chest.

Her smooth, fair legs rubbed restlessly together, while her slender waist twisted without pause.

Seeing Xiao Yi Xian struggle, Xiao Fan covered her mouth and whispered,

"Xiao Yi Xian, bear with it. There are quite a few people."

If she had not seen that Xiao Fan's expression was genuinely serious, Xiao Yi Xian would have thought he was teasing her again.

"Xiao Fan is clearly still young too. How is he stronger than me?"

Xiao Yi Xian felt unwilling to accept it. In this life, in order to help Xiao Fan sooner, she had even awakened the Woe Poison Body early. Though the process had been somewhat painful, Xiao Yi Xian did not regret it.

Yet she was surprised to discover that Xiao Fan seemed even more formidable than before.

And she had never considered that if Xiao Fan had remained the same as in their previous life, their first meeting would not have come until more than a decade later.

And she would have endured more than ten years of erosion from the Woe Poison Body...

Soon, rustling sounds came from the forest road in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

A scar-faced man walking at the front barked at his subordinates, "Our Wolf Head Mercenary Group's treasury was robbed. That person took so many things, so they can't have gone far. Today, everyone will search the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

"Yes, Boss."

Xiao Fan felt rather guilty. After all, he really had done it. More precisely, it had been done by a certain purple-haired Little Dragon Maiden, who was still curled up, blowing snot bubbles as her little mouth opened and closed in deep sleep.

Only after the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had gone far away did Xiao Fan breathe a sigh of relief. It was not that he feared them. It was simply that he was in the wrong here. Even if murder and arson brought riches, he still had to be reasonable about it—legitimate self-defense.

Slap!

Xiao Fan once again stared at Xiao Yi Xian in disbelief.

"Xiao Yi Xian! Why did you hit me again?!"

"I, Xiao Fan, have lived two lives. I was once a Half-Emperor, a Nine-Rank Golden Pill alchemy master, a powerhouse who ruled half the Dou Qi Continent, yet you've slapped me twice in the last two days!"

"Why aren't you getting up already?!" Xiao Yi Xian's voice trembled slightly. She felt as if she was about to lose control.

Of course, it was because the fluctuations in her emotions had loosened the seal on the Woe Poison Body slightly.

Only after seeing that Xiao Yi Xian's snowy-white wrist had been reddened by his grip did he realize that their position was indeed rather improper.

"Hehehe..." Xiao Fan felt a little embarrassed.

"Then move already!" Xiao Yi Xian pushed Xiao Fan's shoulder.

"By the way, Xiao Yi Xian, how did you know you had the Woe Poison Body?"

Xiao Fan was holding Xiao Yi Xian's slim willow waist as they slowly descended the sheer cliff face.

But before Xiao Yi Xian could answer, Xiao Fan abruptly pulled her tightly into his arms and quickly shifted position using the rope around him.

And right where Xiao Fan had just stepped, a pair of vertical pupils appeared.

"A Rock Snake. It hid quite well."

It was no wonder Xiao Fan's Perfected Mortal Realm soul had failed to notice the little snake. The Rock Snake blended perfectly with the surrounding cliff face. Moreover, while hiding there, it had even stopped its heartbeat, all to wait for prey to come to it.

"Xiao Yi Xian, are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine." Xiao Yi Xian felt something on Xiao Fan's body digging into her. Of course, it was his bones digging into her. Xiao Fan had used considerable force just now, nearly squeezing Xiao Yi Xian into his body.

"This thing isn't easy to deal with. Hold on tighter!"

Xiao Yi Xian wrapped her arms around Xiao Fan. This guy can obviously beat it, yet he insists on taking advantage of me.

Where Xiao Fan could not see, Xiao Yi Xian rolled her eyes at him.

Xiao Fan was naturally not afraid of a first-tier Rock Snake, but moving along the cliff face was inconvenient. Rather than waste his strength, it would be better to enter the cave first.

Xiao Fan released the rope in his grasp and leaped onto a protruding rock on the cliff face in one bound. Behind him, the Rock Snake continued to hiss.

"Xiao Fan, you have to take responsibility!"

At the cave entrance, after catching her breath for a moment, Xiao Yi Xian's face flushed red. With her hands on her hips, she looked at Xiao Fan.

"This guy doesn't know how to cherish a delicate beauty at all!"

Xiao Yi Xian herself had not noticed that she had become so sensitive and prone to worrying over gains and losses.

After all, only after one had regrets, suffered loss, and died could one understand the beauty of what one possessed.

"Responsibility? I, Xiao Fan, will absolutely take responsibility to the very end!"

"Hmph." Xiao Yi Xian could not help rolling her eyes at Xiao Fan's playful grin again.

"More than just responsibility... my Xiao Yi Xian."

And the question Xiao Fan had just asked Xiao Yi Xian seemed to have been forgotten by them both.

The pitch-black cave was long, winding into the depths. After walking straight for several steps, they still could not see the end...

Its tangled paths and damp cliff walls echoed with the drip-drip of water...

Their joy at discovering the treasure grew ever stronger...

"We're almost there, almost there!"

Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Fan soon arrived before a stone door.

"The treasure should be behind this stone door."

Xiao Yi Xian nodded and opened the stone door with practiced ease.

"Huh? Xiao Yi Xian, you?"

"What's wrong? You couldn't even find such a simple mechanism?"

Xiao Fan thought about it and realized she was right. He simply had not expected Xiao Yi Xian to be so intelligent even at such a young age.