"Eldest young master, little miss, we are in the Three Beasts Mountain Range but is also known as the Three Beasts Wild Forest as the mountains are surrounded by a vast field of high trees", the Great Elder's raspy voice was heard as all of them came out from the spacecraft.
"Wild forest?" An Bing Qing said puzzled as though she didn't know anything.
"Ah. There are many mysterious beasts". He said while waving his right hand to put away the ship. He thought for a moment and added, "There is nothing to worry about; we are in the outskirts of the forest. The mysterious beasts here are the weakest and won't be a problem for us. As the Ghost Forest Competition is near, there won't be powerful members of clans coming but we still must be careful if we meet mercenaries or demonic cultivators". His voice was solemn at the end of his sentence; he not only said this to her but to all the people present.
"Aye", An Bing Qing just nodded but many replied seriously. All of them have heard how malicious can some mercenary teams be; but most of all, they have heard many tales of the ruthless demonic cultivators which worshiped a legendary ancient race called Demons. Though many people scorned demonic cultivators as they were scarce and all thought their bloodthirsty and cruel figures of devotion had already disappeared from the mainland; people from Ancient Clans still hold some dread as their families possess ancient records about such beings. Who knows, maybe one of those demonic cultivators had the true heritage of one, or even worst, had contact with an actual demon.
An Yu Yong who saw his little sister nodding but seemed to have her head in other place said, "Stay near. Although here are the outskirts of the forest, there are still many kilometres of forest around us".
"Huh? Ah, yes". She truly did have her head with other thoughts to press down the sick feeling she still had. With his eldest brother speech, she was more temped to sneak out of here to do something she like, 'Shu said there was a place with three-earth herbs in the outskirts of this forest. He got me some Blood Bud Roots from around here. Aish, you think… how did he reach that field? I remember he told me'.
An Yu Yong shook his head, 'It seems I talked for nothing'.
"Old Heng, how much time do we have to stay here?" A white-robed Elder who was the oldest asked to the Great Elder.
"Tomorrow morning we will go. Why do you ask, old Wu?" Though the Elder clad in white was older, as the Great Elder he addressed the other elders by their rank.
The Fifth Elder answered, "I just thought of picking some herbs as we are here. Although the herbs in the outskirts are all one-earth herbs, they can still sell well and we can also teach the kids a little". As a family that run a medicinal shop, all their members had to have certain knowledge in this area.
The Great Elder contemplated his words.
An Bing Qing saw an opportunity to buy time to thought more and said, "Oh, that will be great. Bing Qing wants to learn".
All turned around to see her; when they saw her smile. All were drawn by it in different ways, the young men were mesmerized; the guards looked with admiration; and the Elders were dazed with deep thoughts. An Yu Yong who was already used to see the enchanting smile of her little sister frowned and pulled her behind him. But all were still immersed in such dazzling sight.
The Great Elder recalled An Hong's words, '-Great Elder, I want you to put special care on Qing'er. I don't know what has gotten into that little girl's mind. Even though she still had those naive and naughty looks on her, I feel she smiles less. It's like she suddenly got some weight on her shoulders. I don't like it but I also don't know what to do; therefore, I hope the Great Elder along the others can guide her on whatever she may be curious about. Also...'
'According to the Patriarch, the little miss is now a six-gate Mundane cultivator, with time she will surely break through Mundane Core at a young age. Hmh...' If An Hong hadn't told him, he wouldn't be able to tell An Bing Qing's strength; the present for her birthday was a treasure meant to hide it after all.
At long last, he said, "All right, but be sure to not wander around".
An Bing Qing who was still behind her eldest brother got delighted. She reached for her brother's shoulders and with the help of her little hands; she got on tiptoes and poked her head over his right shoulder with a sweet smile, saying, "Really, that's great".
At the same time, An Yu Yong who felt a pair of slim hands pressing his shoulders down and a jolly voice coming from his right turned around and saw the beautiful countenance of his sister. This girl smile was one of victory and he was sure he had saw a cunning gleam shinning in her eyes, he thought, 'Must remember to keep a better eye on her'.
An Bing Qing felt his stare and drifted her sight towards him. The same faces but with different kinds of beauty faced each other quietly for a couple of seconds.
"What is it?" She broke the silence.
He didn't reply immediately but reached his left hand to rub her head, saying, "You have grown short".
"Tch, I grew very well and don't bully me in front of so many people. People will think An family's young master likes to bully people". She took away his hand and placed her soles on the ground.
An Yu Yong rolled his eyes and didn't say the many words he could say to continue to bully her. He turned to the Elders and asked, "Then, where are we going now?"
The Great Elder almost nodded to An Bing Qing words, this wasn't the behaviour a family's young master must have. Thus, after hearing his question, he promptly said, "This old man thinks the eldest young master must take all decisions from today onwards and make the arrangements. We old men will only advice and follow instructions as we share our knowledge". Though the Patriarch had told him this was going to be a sightseeing travel for both of his children as they were still young in his eyes and An Yu Yong hadn't completed his training yet. The Great Elder also knew it was mostly because he didn't want An Bing Qing to be left alone as she was the only girl coming this time; but he thought this was a good time for the future Patriarch to win over the hearts of the next pillars of the family. After all, following and obeying someone just because it was meant to be like that was completely different to someone following you whole-heartedly.
As smart as An Yu Yong was, he understood the Great Elders move. Still, he turned back to see his little sister. He saw her watching him with worshiping eyes; she was so adorable. He gave it a slight thought; he feared this girl was up to something. At length, he turned to all the Elders and nodded, "All right".