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Xiao Se frowned and pretended to be angry: "Why did you come here? If it weren't for me just now, you would have been dead."
"I..." Little Fairy Doctor, dodging Xiao Se's angry gaze, looked away and, after a moment of silence, sheepishly smiled: "I... I was interested in a herb and wanted to pick it. Yes, that's why."
"You can't even lie properly. This cliff is all barren rock, with nothing growing here except that White Orchid Fruit at the top of the cliff. Where would you find any herbs?" Xiao Se rolled his eyes at her and pointed to the cave. "I think you were more interested in that cave, weren't you?"
Hearing this, Little Fairy Doctor felt a twinge of guilt and instinctively moved her hand towards a pouch on her waist, preparing to scatter some powder. But before she could act, Xiao Se's voice rang out again, "We're both hanging from a cliff right now. If you want to drag us both to our deaths, go ahead."
"You… you're not planning to kill me, are you? Let me tell you, don't even think about it. Many of the mercenaries up there owe me favors. If they find out you killed me, they won't let you go," she said in a panicked voice.
"I'm not planning to kill you. But as for something else..." Xiao Se's gaze slowly lowered to her chest, making Little Fairy Doctor gasp.
"Ah! Pervert!" She yelled, preparing to scatter the powder.
Realizing he'd gone too far with the joke, Xiao Se quickly stopped her: "Alright, alright. You've got nothing there to interest me. I was just joking."
"Hmph! If you try anything funny, we'll both die together." Little Fairy Doctor huffed, clutching the powder in her hand, ready to use it at any moment.
Xiao Se nodded towards the cave. "Since you're already here, let's check it out together. Hold on tight."
Without waiting for a response, he tightened his grip around her waist and, with a swift movement, leaped into the dark cave.
Releasing his hold on her, Xiao Se conjured a pale blue flame in his hand, illuminating the cave.
Staring at the fire, Little Fairy Doctor exclaimed, "You can control real flames! Are you a fourth-grade alchemist?"
Xiao Se shook his head, ignited a torch, and handed it to her. "I'm not that skilled yet. This is just beast fire. Let's move ahead."
She took the torch, nodding nervously, and followed him deeper into the cave.
Xiao Se lit several torches along the way, throwing them into the ground like darts, brightening the entire cave.
"Wow! So many rare herbs!" Little Fairy Doctor's eyes sparkled as she rushed to the herb garden, delighted.
Then, glancing at the stone table in the center of the cave, she noticed that two of the three stone boxes were already opened. "Has someone been here before?" she asked.
"No one's been here. I took what was in those boxes. I came out earlier because I heard some noise." Xiao Se, lying smoothly, removed the mask from his face.
Seeing his young, delicate face, Little Fairy Doctor blushed and exclaimed, "I can't believe you're so young! I admire your courage, venturing alone into the Magical Beast Mountains at such a young age."
"You're not much older. We're about the same." Xiao Se shrugged, walking toward the first unopened stone box. "Just so you know, I don't mind sharing some of the treasure, but the items in the first two boxes are mine. We'll see what's in the last one, and if it's more useful to you, you can have it."
"Hehe, thanks a lot…" She smiled, her previous wariness fading after seeing his youthful face.
Xiao Se unlocked the last stone box, and inside was a colorful scroll.
"The Seven-Colored Poison Scripture," Xiao Se said as he opened the scroll. Little Fairy Doctor's eyes lit up with excitement.
Seeing her eager gaze, Xiao Se chuckled and handed her the scroll. "I'm an alchemist, so this poison scripture isn't of much use to me. It looks like you really want it, so it's yours."
"Hmph, who said I wanted it that badly?" She blushed slightly, turning away from his gaze and murmuring, "Thank you."
"It's fine. We agreed earlier—if it's useful to you, then it's yours." Xiao Se then glanced at the herb garden and the pile of gold in the corner. "Now, let's split the rest."
"Mm." Little Fairy Doctor smiled and nodded. "Since this cave was your discovery, take whatever you want. I'm satisfied with the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture."
Xiao Se stroked his chin, picked a few Ice Spirit Flame Grasses from the herb garden, along with some herbs for refining a third-grade Qi Restoring Pill, and turned to her. "I'll just take the Ice Spirit Flame Grass and these few herbs."
"You've got a good eye, taking the best ones," she teased with a smile. "But there's still so many rare herbs left. You don't mind if I take them all?"
"I don't need them. Take what you want." Xiao Se waved dismissively.
Little Fairy Doctor smiled sweetly. "You're an alchemist, after all. I guess these aren't much use to you. Then I'll help myself!"
As she picked herbs, she casually asked, "By the way, I still don't know your name."
"My name is Xiao Se," he replied calmly.
"Xiao Se... nice name." She nodded, continuing to gather herbs.
"These gold coins are mine," Xiao Se pointed to the pile of tens of thousands of gold coins.
"You can have them all. I'm only interested in the herbs. Gold doesn't mean much to me, and you've already been more than generous."
Xiao Se nodded and stored the gold coins into his space ring.
After a few moments, Little Fairy Doctor finished collecting the herbs.
"I'm heading back to the herb-gathering team. Do you want to come with me?" she asked with a smile.
"I'm planning to train in the Magical Beast Mountains for a while, so I won't be joining the team." Xiao Se shook his head. After hesitating briefly, he turned to her with a serious expression and said, "It's best if you don't tell anyone about what happened today, not even your closest companions. I don't care about myself, but greed can drive people to do terrible things. Even those mercenaries, if tempted by the wealth here, won't hesitate to turn on you."
Hearing his warning, she nodded solemnly. "I understand. I'll be careful. You be safe too. I don't want to lose a friend like you."
For some reason, Little Fairy Doctor extended her hand towards him.
Xiao Se nodded, grasping her soft hand. "I will."
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