Wang Teng looked at the lady serving tea for him and thanked her.
The lady appeared to be around the same age as him. She might even be younger. Her clothes were simple and plain, not as glamorous as what the city ladies wore. Her figure was petite and skinny, and her face was also similar. However, when she faced him, she didn't seem scared at all. In fact, she was pretty calm.
Her house was a self-built civilian house. Actually, when Wang Teng was walking to her house, he had noticed that the other houses here were similar too.
Wang Teng secretly sized up the condition of the house. From its simple and shabby appearance, he understood her family's situation.
He drank the water and twirled the cup in his hand."You look like my age. Don't you need to go to school?"
"My family condition is a little special, so I dropped out of school."
Bai Xiaocao sat down opposite Wang Teng. She shook her head and didn't want to explain any further. Instead, she asked, "Aunt Li said that you want to go up the mountain?"
"Yes." Wang Teng nodded. He asked again, "I heard that your father brought other people up the mountain?"
"Yes, three young men," Bai Xiaocao said.
"Are they looking for this too?" Wang Teng took out his phone and showed her the photo of the Illusion Grass.
"The Illusion Grass! Are you also looking for this?" Bai Xiaocao exclaimed in surprise.
"You actually know about it." Wang Teng was shocked for a moment. He nodded and said, "That's right. I came for this plant. It looks like those people have the same motive as me. Do you know where to find this?"
"I do. My dad told me before, but I've never been there," Bai Xiaocao replied.
Wang Teng frowned. He contemplated and said, "Do you have a map of the mountain?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"No. We rely on our experience to go up the mountain," Bai Xiaocao shook her head and replied.
Wang Teng immediately got a headache. If he were to enter the mountain himself, he would be searching aimlessly. He wasn't worried about the dangers, but he would definitely have to waste a lot of time.
At this moment, Bai Xiaocao said, "Although I have never gone there, I know the path. I can bring you there."
"Oh!" Wang Teng glanced at the lady. He didn't expect that she would voluntarily suggest bringing him up the mountain. Wang Teng had no reason to reject her, but he knew that the young lady wasn't doing it out of kindness. Thus, he asked calmly, "What is your requirement?"
"I need money, and I want to look for my father too. They have been in the mountain for a day and a night. Based on my father's experience, they shouldn't have been gone for so long. They must have met with some accident," Bai Xiaocao bit her lips and said.
This was reasonable.
Wang Teng nodded and said, "Okay. Name your price."
"Three… Five thousand!" Bai Xiaocao gritted her teeth. At first, she wanted to ask for three thousand but changed it to five thousand at the last moment. She looked at Wang Teng with a palpitating heart.
In the past, she wouldn't have asked for such a huge sum. However, the mountain had been becoming more and more dangerous. Entering the mountain wasn't an easy task. She had to take some risks too.
The Illusion Grass was in a deeper region of the mountain. If her family didn't need money urgently, her father wouldn't have agreed to bring those people into the mountain to look for the Illusion Grass.
Wang Teng thought that Bai Xiaocao would ask for a higher price. He didn't expect it to be just five thousand. As a result, he was stunned for a moment.
Bai Xiaocao thought that he found it too expensive. A hint of disappointment flashed past her eyes. She hesitated and said, "Three thousand is fine too."
"I'll give you five thousand. If you bring me to the place before noon, I can give you more." Wang Teng waved his hand nonchalantly.
Bai Xiaocao gave a look of astonishment. Immediately after that, she said happily, "No problem. I know a shortcut. I will definitely bring you there by noon."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Alright. Shall we go now?" Wang Teng said.
"Wait for a moment. I'll change my clothes and bring some tools." Bai Xiaocao got up and ran into her room.
…
A few minutes later, Wang Teng heard a faint conversation coming from inside. One of the voices sounded a little weak. If martial warriors didn't have good hearing, he wouldn't have heard what they said clearly.
"Mom, I'm going out with my friends to do something. I will ask Auntie Li to send you some food in the afternoon."
"Don't worry. Go and do your things. You don't have to worry about me, and no need to trouble Auntie Li. I can cook some simple things to eat."
"Erm… okay. I should be able to come back before night."
Bai Xiaocao was really fast. She changed into a convenient set of clothes and held a chopper in her hand. There was a bamboo basket on her back as she walked out of the room.
"Let's go."
Wang Teng sized her up. Then, he got up and followed her out of the house. They left the village.
The middle-aged woman that spoke to them just now was working hard in the field outside the village. Bai Xiaocao shouted at her from afar, "Auntie, I'm bringing him into the mountain. My mom is alone at home. Can you help me look after her?"
"Okay." The middle-aged woman raised her head and shouted, "Be careful when you enter the mountain."
"Alright," Bai Xiaocao replied.
…
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})They walked past the main road. Bai Xiaocao led Wang Teng into a small path at the side. After walking for some time, they went up the mountain.
Mount Chunhua's natural environment was maintained quite well. After the purification of the Force, it went back to its state as a primary forest. The number of wild animals in the mountain increased too.
The trees around them were tall and dense. There were many dried branches and leaves piled on the ground. Clearly, there weren't many signs of human intervention.
It looked like the nearby villagers didn't enter the mountain often.
However, Wang Teng was someone who had witnessed the primary forest in the Xingwu Continent. Mount Chunhua was almost the same as those primary forests. Nothing was shocking.
"Be careful. There are poisonous snakes and bugs here." Bai Xiaocao walked in front and used her chopper to chop the bushes and brambles at the sides. Very soon, she cleared a small path wide enough for one person to pass.
"You just have to take care of yourself," Wang Teng said indifferently.
Bai Xiaocao frowned. She sighed in her heart, but she didn't say anything. She just diverted some of her attention to Wang Teng.
The two of them walked for more than an hour. During this time, they didn't have any accidents. Bai Xiaocao managed to evade all the dangerous areas.
At this moment, Bai Xiaocao stopped to take a rest. She drank some water and pointed to her left. "We will head in that direction later. Last time, my dad brought me there. It's a little difficult to walk, but the journey will be much shorter. We will definitely be able to arrive before noon."
"Okay." Wang Teng nodded. He sat down on the rock at the side and continued, "Let's rest for a while."
Bai Xiaocao sat down on another rock. She took out something that looked like dried meat and asked, "Do you want some?"
"I'm not hungry. You can eat it," Wang Teng shook his head and replied.
Bai Xiaocao didn't force him either and ate alone. At the same time, she sized up Wang Teng out of curiosity.
Suddenly, she was shocked. She noticed that Wang Teng didn't show any hints of tiredness after traveling for so long. He didn't sweat, and he wasn't panting. He looked as if he was taking a stroll in a park.
Does he practice martial arts? Bai Xiaocao wondered to herself silently.
Anyway, they came to look for the Illusion Grass. This means that the Illusion Grass must be worth a lot of money. I hope I can get a few of them. Bai Xiaocao thought.
After resting for ten minutes, the two of them continued on their journey.
"I don't think my father walked this way," Bai Xiaocao said as she cleared the path.
"I found it a little strange on the way up just now. I couldn't notice any signs of other people along the journey," Wang Teng said.
"They should have taken another path." Bai Xiaocao was a little puzzled. She said, "I haven't followed my father into the mountain for some time. Could they have found another path?"
A sudden thought flashed through Wang Teng's mind. Bai Xiaocao found the answer too. From each other's expressions, they could tell that they had the same idea.
"Unless this path is dangerous!"
"Be careful. Your dad wouldn't give up this familiar path for no reason," Wang Teng reminded.
Bai Xiaocao nodded. She immediately heightened her vigilance and became even more careful.
They walked for another half an hour, but they didn't meet any dangers as they had imagined. Bai Xiaocao secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
Crack!
Suddenly, she seemed to have stepped on something.
Bai Xiaocao's entire body froze, but she didn't dare to act blindly. She slowly lowered her head to take a look.
She noticed that she had stepped on an ant nest that looked like a pile of dried grass. It had almost merged with the dried branches and leaves on the ground, so it was highly inconspicuous. Thus, when she relaxed and let down her guard, she stepped on it.
Wang Teng saw this scene too. When he noticed that she was frozen on the spot, he hurriedly pulled her back.
Buzz…
The next moment, a dense buzzing sound was heard. A bunch of black flying ants instantly flew out of the ant nest. They swarmed towards Wang Teng and Bai Xiaocao.
Not only that, but a pile of black ants also crawled out from the ground. These ants were bigger than normal. If you observed them carefully, you would realize that their heads were extremely big, and their mouths were ferocious. They moved swiftly as they surged towards Wang Teng like a swarm of bees.
"Oh no, these are mutated beasts!"
Bai Xiaocao's face turned white. She had been notably cautious along the entire journey and thought of many possible dangers. But, she didn't think that there would be ant-like mutated beasts.
If there was only one ant-like mutated beast, it didn't have any attacking power. However, they always gathered in groups. There would be more than a million or even a few million ants in a single nest. The numbers were frightening. Once you met them, you wouldn't be able to run away.
At this moment, there were a bunch of them in the sky and a pile of them on the ground. The black patch of ants was charging at the two of them. It was very chilling.
"I'm sorry. I implicated you," Bai Xiaocao said apologetically.
"We're not dead yet. Why are you apologizing? It's just a nest of ants," Wang Teng said calmly.
When he noticed that she was truly frightened out of her wits, the fire Force surged out of his body. A ball of scorching heat welcomed the ants in the sky and on the ground.
Boom!
The black patch of ants immediately turned into two balls of fire. In an instant, they were burned completely. All that was left was a pile of ashes.
The flame didn't spread to the trees around them under Wang Teng's exquisite control. It was extinguished in a blink of an eye.
Bai Xiaocao looked at him with her eyes wide open.
"Martial… martial warrior!"
She thought that Wang Teng was at most a martial disciple. She didn't think that he would be a martial warrior!
What a young martial warrior!
Bai Xiaocao felt that her perspective had widened.
"Let's go!"
Wang Teng's voice pulled her back to reality. She walked forward subconsciously, but she was still a little absentminded.
"It's time to concentrate. Don't step on anything you shouldn't. If you meet a poisonous snake and it bites you instantly, I won't be able to save you," Wang Teng said.
Bai Xiaocao shuddered. She immediately regained her senses and became extremely alert. She didn't dare to drop her guard anymore.
Finally, when it was almost noon, the two of them came to the side of a cliff.
"This is it." Bai Xiaocao stopped. She observed the environment around her and said, "My dad saw the plant around here in the past. You can look around to see if you can find any."
Wang Teng scanned the surroundings, but he didn't see any signs of the Illusion Grass. He frowned uncontrollably. He walked to the cliff and looked down.
"Here you are."
He smiled and leaped down.
The cliff was filled with all kinds of herbs and vines. There were more than ten plants growing among the common grass. It was the Illusion Grass.
When Wang Teng leaped down, he grabbed a vine with his hand. Along the way, he picked three stalks of Illusion Grass that were the closest to him. Then, he swung lightly and came to the area where the other Illusion Grass was. Just when he was about to pick them, a green shadow shot out from the bushes and attacked Wang Teng.
"Be careful!" Bai Xiaocao, who was on top, shouted in shock.
I've been waiting for you.
Wang Teng smiled. He waved his hand, and the fire Force spurted out, engulfing the green shadow's body. It hissed as it dropped down the cliff.
It was a small green snake. Its color was similar to the grasses and bushes, so it was hard to see it.
It's just a mutated beast, not a huge threat.
Wang Teng thought to himself.
Suddenly, a few more green snakes shot out. They opened their mouths in mid-air and wanted to bite Wang Teng.
Wang Teng took care of them easily. Then, he picked the other Illusion Grasses on the cliff.
As for the illusion effect, with his spiritual power, it just felt like a mosquito bite. It was unable to affect him at all.
Wang Teng stepped on a protruding part of the cliff with his left foot and arrived on the cliff. He landed lightly beside Bai Xiaocao.
"Done. Let's go back." Wang Teng kept the Illusion Grass and turned to speak to Bai Xiaocao.
"You're done?" Bai Xiaocao wasn't able to react in time.
This was too fast!
She thought that there would be a hard battle, but Wang Teng killed all the snake-like mutated beasts easily with a few moves. These snake-like mutated beasts were extremely dangerous to these ordinary villagers.
This fellow seems to be really powerful! Bai Xiaocao was flabbergasted. She wondered to herself in envy. If only I could be as powerful as him… I will be able to earn big bucks easily.
"What are you thinking about? Let's go." Wang Teng smiled and returned the same way they came.
Suddenly, he stopped again.
"Why did you stop walking? Bai Xiaocao was puzzled.
"Someone is here!" Wang Teng said.
"Someone is here? Could it be my father?" Bai Xiaocao exclaimed in surprise.
Very soon, a few figures appeared in another direction. When the middle-aged man among them saw Bai Xiaocao, he was shocked for a second. He exclaimed, "Xiaocao?"
"Dad, it's me. I'm so glad that you're fine. Mom and I were worried the entire night," Bai Xiaocao said happily.
"You little girl, didn't I say that you can't enter the mountain? Why did you come?" The middle-aged man reprimanded her.
"Hehe, someone gave me money to be a guide, so I accompanied him here." Bai Xiaocao laughed awkwardly. She pointed at Wang Teng and said, "But, you don't have to worry. He's very strong. Look, I'm totally fine, right?"
"You brought someone in?" The middle-aged man's expression changed. "Why is he here?"
"He came to pick the Illusion Grass. We just picked them, so you came a little late," Bai Xiaocao said proudly.
After all, even if it was Wang Teng's merit, she still managed to arrive before her dad.
However, when the middle-aged man heard this, his expression turned ugly. He carefully turned to look at the three people that came with him and apologized hurriedly, "I'm really sorry. My daughter is insensible…"
"Hmph!" The three people snorted. They didn't even finish listening to him. Instead, they frowned and looked at Wang Teng, "Did you come to pick Illusion Grass too?"
