Cave Exploration

"What are your terms? Speak."

Little Doctor Fairy pondered for a moment before saying, "First, I must be the one to distribute whatever we find in the cave! Second, you are not allowed to force me to do anything!"

Xiao Yan chuckled. It seemed this Little Doctor Fairy was still just a young girl to be making such demands. They offered absolutely no security.

"Fine, I agree. Let's set off now."

Little Doctor Fairy shook her head and continued, "I need to go back and prepare. You'll have to wait for me a while."

Xiao Yan naturally agreed; he knew she was simply going back to prepare various medicinal herbs for self-defense.

However, such things posed no threat to Hai Bodong.

After waiting for half an hour, Little Doctor Fairy finally emerged from her room, and the three of them set off together. Mr. Yao watched them leave without making any attempt to stop them.

Once the trio had completely disappeared, Mu She stepped out from the backyard.

"Mr. Yao, how did the task I gave you go?"

Mr. Yao offered a cold, chilling smile.

"Rest assured. I put the poison you gave me into both of their teas, and I saw with my own eyes that they drank it."

Mu She nodded upon hearing this, his face twisting into a savage expression. "Anyone who dares to kill members of my Wolf Head Mercenary Group cannot be let off easily, not even if they are a Dou Ling expert."

Mr. Yao shook his head. "Chief Mu, even if they consumed your poison, that old man is a Dou Ling expert after all. Your poison alone isn't enough to threaten him."

Mu She immediately caught the implication behind Mr. Yao's words and got straight to the point. "Mr. Yao, let's be blunt. How much will it cost to have you intervene?"

Mr. Yao was also a Dou Shi expert; if they worked together, combined with the effects of the poison, they might actually be able to take down a Dou Ling.

"Chief Mu is as clever as ever. It's always convenient working with you. I added a bit more to your poison and refined it; otherwise, your original concoction would only be enough to injure a Dou Shi. It wouldn't pose any threat to a Dou Ling at all," Mr. Yao said smugly.

Mu She licked his lips and said triumphantly, "Then many thanks, Mr. Yao. Once we've dealt with them, my Wolf Head Mercenary Group and the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion will be one family. We shall work together to drive out the Blood Battle Mercenary Group and split the various industries of Green Mountain Town between us."

A glint flashed in Mr. Yao's eyes as he smiled. "In that case, let us pack up and follow them."

Xiao Yan had long been on guard against poisoning, and Hai Bodong had spotted the toxin in the tea at a single glance.

Mr. Yao's poisoning technique was indeed masterful—even a Dou Ling might not have detected it—but Hai Bodong had once been a Dou Huang. Even with his strength sealed, he still possessed the power of a Dou Ling.

Such a trivial amount of poison meant nothing to him.

Without Mr. Yao ever noticing, Hai Bodong had extracted the poison from his cup and transferred it into Mr. Yao's own.

He did the same with the poison in Xiao Yan's cup, meaning Mr. Yao's cup now contained a double-strength, enhanced dose of the toxin.

Because Little Doctor Fairy was only at the ninth stage of Dou Zhi Qi, the pace of the three was not particularly fast.

They didn't reach the cliff until nightfall, where Little Doctor Fairy pointed a slender, fair finger downward.

"The cave is down there, but we'll need to find some vines to get down," she said.

Xiao Yan nodded, then gathered some vines from the vicinity to braid into a rope, tying the end to a large tree.

Xiao Yan and Little Doctor Fairy slid down to the platform in front of the cave, where she asked, "What about that old gentleman?"

"He'll be down in a moment," Xiao Yan replied.

No sooner had he spoken than Hai Bodong leaped down from above, landing steadily on the platform.

Xiao Yan gave a wry smile. "Old Hai, your entrance is even flashier than mine."

Hai Bodong let out a huff; life without the ability to manifest Dou Qi wings was truly difficult.

"Don't worry, Old Hai. Your seal will be broken soon. In a few months at most, it will definitely be undone," Xiao Yan said with a smile, and Hai Bodong nodded in response.

Little Doctor Fairy reminded Xiao Yan, "Don't you dare forget our agreement. I'm putting a lot of trust in you."

Xiao Yan gave a grunt of affirmation and led the two of them into the cave.

After walking for a few minutes, they came upon a massive stone wall.

Xiao Yan turned to look at Hai Bodong, who understood his intent and stepped forward, ready to shatter the barrier.

However, Little Doctor Fairy stopped him.

"Wait, what are you doing? That's far too violent. Stone doors like this usually have mechanisms."

With that, she began to feel around the stone door, leaving Xiao Yan with no choice but to wait.

After half an incense stick's worth of time, the stone door rumbled open.

Little Doctor Fairy immediately rushed inside, with Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong following close behind.

It was a vast burial chamber, with the master of the tomb seated upon a high platform.

Xiao Yan headed straight for the platform, but Little Doctor Fairy called out to stop him.

"Wait! You promised that half of everything in here would be mine. You can't just go moving things around!" She pouted, glaring at Xiao Yan indignantly.

Xiao Yan laughed. "Don't worry. Look, isn't there a patch of medicinal herbs over there? Feel free to take whatever you like, alright?"

Only then did Little Doctor Fairy turn away to begin carefully digging up the herbs.

Xiao Yan took the opportunity to retrieve the fragment of the Pure Lotus Demonic Flame from the tomb master's forearm, then turned his gaze toward the three boxes.

"Old Hai, please open these boxes for me."

No sooner had Xiao Yan finished speaking than Hai Bodong encased the three boxes in ice-cold Dou Qi. With a light tap from Xiao Yan, all three boxes shattered into shards of ice.

Xiao Yan tucked away the Purple Cloud Wings and tossed the Seven-Colored Poison Manual to Little Doctor Fairy. After a moment's thought, he threw the contents of the final box to Hai Bodong.

Little Doctor Fairy looked at him and said, "Didn't we agree to split everything half and half? What is the meaning of this?"

Xiao Yan scratched his head and replied, "Well, there are three boxes, aren't there? It seems only fair that each of us takes one; otherwise, I wouldn't know how to divide them."

Little Doctor Fairy snorted, but upon opening the scroll in her hand and discovering it was a poison manual, her dissatisfaction vanished.

"This thing actually suits me quite well, so I won't argue with you over it. However, I'm taking more of the medicinal herbs," Little Doctor Fairy said with a smile.

Xiao Yan waved his hand generously and said, "Fine, fine, take whatever you like. Just make sure to leave that Ice Spirit Flame Grass for me."

Little Doctor Fairy rolled her eyes at Xiao Yan, but she tossed the herb to him nonetheless.

Just as they were dividing the spoils, two dark figures stepped into the cave.