Chapter 57: The Sulking Xiao Yixian
"Enemy attack!"
In the camp within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Mu Li had just been preparing to take people to knock on Xiao Yixian and Xiao Yuan's door when a shrill cry echoed out.
The next moment, a wolf howl pierced the night.
"Awoooo!"
Immediately after, more than twenty pairs of eerie green eyes appeared in the forest.
"F*ck!"
Mu Li's face turned green. He had clearly spread high-grade magical beast dung around the camp perimeter—how could it attract a pack of wolves?
"Wolf Head Mercenary Group, with me!"
Mu Li had no intention of fighting to the death here. Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yixian's unusual behavior during the day had already aroused his suspicion. So when they set up camp in the afternoon, he had secretly sent men to scout ahead and discovered the cave.
Compared to the opportunities inside that cave, protecting the Wan Yao Zhai herb-collecting team suddenly didn't seem all that important.
Thud!
At the same time, Xiao Yuan leapt down the cliff with the girl in his arms, blasting out a Green Wind Spiral Fist to clear away the obstructing logs and stones at the cave entrance, landing steadily on the ground before the opening.
Just as he was about to walk in, he noticed the body in his arms trembling.
"We're here."
Xiao Yuan's hand gently moved along Xiao Yixian's waist, giving her back a reassuring pat.
"Huh?"
Snapping out of it, Xiao Yixian realized she was clinging to Xiao Yuan like a koala. Her face turned scarlet.
Fortunately, the darkness helped conceal her embarrassment.
Quickly sliding off of him, she was still composing herself when Xiao Yuan took her hand.
A warm glow appeared in the darkness.
Xiao Yixian looked over—it was Xiao Yuan lighting a fire starter. The orange-yellow light illuminated his calm expression.
"Let's go see what's inside."
Xiao Yuan smiled at her and gently led her into the cave, holding her soft, delicate hand.
The inside of the cave was cold and pitch dark. The fire starter's glow seemed faint in the vast gloom.
Xiao Yuan was fine, but Xiao Yixian, dressed only in a thin black outfit, felt chilly.
Feeling the warmth of the hand pulling her forward, Xiao Yixian inexplicably recalled the comfort of Xiao Yuan's embrace earlier.
But she quickly shook her head. This guy's a shameless thief. One day, she'd poison him for sure!
Xiao Yuan, constantly observing his surroundings, noticed her cold hand and turned to look at her.
"What are you doing?"
Xiao Yixian instinctively crossed her arms in front of her chest, wary from the liberties he'd taken earlier.
Xiao Yuan could only shake his head and sigh.
"You're cold, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
Xiao Yixian hadn't expected this shameless guy to be so considerate. She was momentarily stunned.
"It's cold in the mountains at night. You're not strong enough to withstand it. You should've worn more."
With a helpless sigh, Xiao Yuan draped a white cloak over her shoulders.
Just when Xiao Yixian thought maybe he wasn't so bad after all, she felt violated again—her small hand was seized once more. Then came his gentle voice from up ahead:
"Let's go."
"...Okay."
Xiao Yixian nodded obediently, letting him lead her deeper into the cave.
After walking for quite a while, Xiao Yuan slowed down and finally stopped.
"We're here."
Before them stood a stone door emitting a faint yellow glow.
Xiao Yixian approached, frowning as she examined the door. "It seems to be sealed with an earth-element mechanism technique?"
"Yeah, just a minor trick."
Xiao Yuan nodded, then kicked a small raised bump at the bottom of the door.
Click!
With a crisp sound, the mechanism activated, and the stone door began to rise.
"You know how to disarm mechanisms?"
Xiao Yixian asked in surprise.
"Used to read a bunch of random books when I was bored as a kid. Turns out some of them were about traps and mechanisms."
Xiao Yuan replied casually.
As the stone door lifted, a soft glow emerged from within, illuminating the area.
"Come on, let's check it out."
With that, Xiao Yuan took the lead and stepped inside.
Naturally, Xiao Yixian followed as he pulled her along.
The space opened up into a large stone chamber—simple and empty. Glowing moonlight stones were embedded in the walls for illumination.
In the center stood a stone chair. Upon it sat a skeleton, its skull fallen onto its pale thigh bones, giving the room a faintly eerie atmosphere.
In front of the chair was a stone table, on which rested three locked stone boxes.
In the three corners of the room, piles of golden coins and other treasures glittered brilliantly—likely worth hundreds of thousands in total.
Although Xiao Yuan wasn't short on money, a sudden windfall like this was always welcome.
Even more exciting, however, was the small earthen flowerbed in the final corner.
"Purple Blueleaf, White Spirit Ginseng Fruit, Snow Lotus Seed…"
Xiao Yixian stared in awe, her rosy lips parting slightly. The flowerbed held a large quantity of extremely rare and precious high-grade medicinal herbs.
But her amazement quickly turned into fury.
"What are you doing!"
Xiao Yuan, without the slightest hesitation, was scooping up all the herbs into his storage ring, along with the nearby gold.
"I said I'd take you treasure hunting—I never said I'd give you the treasure."
He shrugged righteously.
???
Xiao Yixian was stunned, mouth agape.
Then why even bring her?
"Shameless!"
She angrily pulled her hand away and sulked in a corner, crouching down in silence.
Xiao Yuan raised an eyebrow at this, a faint smirk playing on his lips. He then turned and walked toward the skeleton.
His eyes immediately locked onto the three keys hanging from its hand.
With a ceremonious air, he bowed deeply three times and muttered respectfully to the fallen senior:
"Forgive me."
Then, he reached out and took the keys—snapping off the skeleton's arm in the process.
Inside the broken limb, he spotted a small scroll. Xiao Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.
Everything was going smoothly.
He casually pulled out the scroll and tossed it into his storage ring. Glancing back at the pouting girl sulking in the corner, his lips curled in amusement.
After a brief pause, he decided to collect the skeleton too—he'd give the senior a proper burial once they got out.
Turning around, he tossed the three black keys in his hand and grinned with anticipation as his gaze landed on the three locked stone boxes.
(END CHAPTER)
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