Xiao Xun'er stared blankly at Xiao Bai as he walked farther away. Suddenly, her voice turned cold as she transmitted a message:
"Old Ling, as I instructed last night, protect him well. If anything happens to him, you don't need to come back."
Although Xiao Bai seemed to trust that old man, she couldn't feel at ease.
In the distant shadows, Ling Ying felt bitter in his heart. This was the second time he had heard this sentence—the first time was when the young miss came to the Xiao Clan, and the clan leader had said it.
"Yes, Young Miss."
—
"Xiao Bai, control your lightning properly! Don't let it zap this old man!"
Yao Lao reminded solemnly from within the ring as he saw Xiao Bai put it on his finger.
Hearing this, Xiao Bai narrowed his eyes. Elder Yao's tone suggested a deep wariness of his lightning, but as far as he could recall, he had never used his lightning to attack the old man.
"Senior, my lightning isn't that powerful yet—it shouldn't be able to harm you, right?" Xiao Bai asked, testing the waters.
"Hmph! Don't play dumb with me. If it weren't for that bolt of lightning you sent at me two years ago, making me sleep for two months, how could Xiao Yan have broken through to two-star Dou Zhe?" Yao Lao huffed in dissatisfaction from within the ring.
Xiao Bai's expression turned thoughtful—so there was a story behind this after all.
Back when he had beaten up Xiao Yan for the second time, the old man must have been spying on him. He had sensed something at the time, but when Yao Lao suddenly went silent, he didn't bother investigating further.
It seemed the talisman had acted back then. Tsk tsk... Elder Yao was lucky. He hadn't been reduced to ashes by the talisman. It must have just been a warning since he hadn't shown any malicious intent.
"Xiao Bai, where are we headed? You should be able to tell this old man now, right?" Yao Lao asked, feeling a bit annoyed. This little fox had refused to reveal their destination until they were on the move.
"Magic Beast Mountain Range."
"Magic Beast Mountain Range? Is there a Heavenly Flame there?" Yao Lao asked in surprise.
"No."
"Then what are we going there for? You're not playing tricks on this old man, are you?" Yao Lao was skeptical but not angry.
"We're going to retrieve something first, then we'll go after the Heavenly Flame," Xiao Bai said calmly.
He was heading to a cave in the Magic Beast Mountain Range to acquire a Flying Dou Technique. Otherwise, searching for a Heavenly Flame in the desert on foot would be far too inconvenient.
He just wasn't sure if Xiao Yi Xian had obtained the map yet. If she hadn't, he would have to search the cliffs in the mountain range one by one.
"What are you retrieving? This old man is quite curious now. You've never left Wutan City since you were a child, so how do you know so much?"
This time, Yao Lao was genuinely surprised. This kid had grown up under his watchful eye, yet he seemed to have an uncanny understanding of the outside world. Compared to Xiao Bai, his own disciple actually seemed like a normal youth raised in Wutan City.
Could this boy have someone like himself residing within him?
But after observing him for a while, Yao Lao noticed that Xiao Bai seemed unfamiliar with things that were common knowledge among experts. This contradiction made it seem unlikely.
"Nothing special. I just read a lot when I was young and liked listening to people's stories. When I was a child, I met a strange man in Wutan City named Tian Can Tu Dou (Author of BTTH original novel), and he told me many stories about the Dou Qi Continent. That's why I know a little more about the world than the average person."
Since he would be spending a long time with Yao Lao, Xiao Bai was too lazy to come up with excuses to hide things. This explanation was the perfect cover—it could justify anything.
Whether Yao Lao believed it or not didn't matter. As long as Xiao Bai did. And besides, it was more or less the truth.
"Oh? There's such a figure in Wutan City?"
Yao Lao didn't doubt Xiao Bai's words. There were plenty of experts in this world, and some had rather peculiar hobbies—it wasn't surprising. Back in his prime, he had encountered quite a few.
"There is! I find Wutan City to be quite a special place. It had Tian Can Tu Dou before, now it has someone like you, Senior. Who knows what kind of figures might appear here in the future? Don't you think so, Senior?"
Xiao Bai smiled calmly, his tone carrying both a hint of teasing and seriousness as he posed the question to Yao Lao.
Hearing this, Yao Lao thought carefully for a moment and realized it was true. Setting aside himself and the so-called Tian Can Tu Dou, just within the small Xiao Clan, there was this young man in front of him and that extraordinary little girl.
Tsk tsk, who would've thought that this remote city in the northwestern continent would have such great fortune?
"By the way, kid, you still haven't answered me—what exactly are we going to retrieve in the Magic Beast Mountain Range?" Yao Lao suddenly remembered that Xiao Bai had yet to answer his question.
Xiao Bai felt a bit helpless. Why did it seem like Yao Lao was being extra talkative today? Could he be going through menopause?
"We're going to settle some affairs for a senior and collect a little compensation along the way," Xiao Bai said vaguely.
"You're not grave robbing, are you?" Yao Lao pondered for a moment before voicing his suspicion.
"What are you talking about, Senior?! I'm just making sure the old senior isn't left exposed in the wilderness and giving him a proper burial, alright? Besides, can you honestly say you've never entered a strong expert's tomb to fight for its fortunes?" Xiao Bai retorted immediately.
After all, Yao Lao's Flame Mantra and the method for controlling the Woeful Poison Body's poison pill were both obtained this way.
"I'm not judging your actions, kid. I just want to know this person's cultivation level when they were alive—so we don't end up getting trapped," Yao Lao explained upon seeing that Xiao Bai had misunderstood.
In the Dou Qi Continent, unless someone came from the Ancient Eight Clans with their immense heritage, every other expert had ventured into caves and tombs before. This wasn't something bound by any moral restrictions on the continent.
Even the owners of those tombs and caves were well aware of this fact.
Previously, he might have underestimated this place a little. But after hearing about Tian Can Tu Dou from Xiao Bai, he had to be more cautious.
After all, he was currently just a soul body. If Xiao Bai had received false information and they accidentally entered a Dou Zun-level tomb, Yao Lao wouldn't hesitate to back out.
Based on his experience with strong experts' tombs and caves, every one of them took their posthumous peace very seriously.
They would set up numerous traps and obstacles. If this tomb truly belonged to someone of that level, with one of them being crippled and the other still too young, it would be best to stay far away.
Hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Bai realized he had misunderstood earlier. After all, from the perspective of his past life, grave robbing wasn't exactly an honorable act—it was illegal. That's probably why he overreacted a bit.
Besides, just mentioning grave robbing reminded him of a certain shameless fat guy.
"Don't worry, Senior. This person was, at most, a Dou Huang when he was alive. He won't pose a threat to either of us," Xiao Bai reassured him with some exasperation.
Damn, he hadn't expected Yao Lao to be this cautious. He had been the Pavilion Master of the Falling Star Pavilion in his past life, a peak Dou Zun expert! Shouldn't he be completely unfazed by anything in this tiny Jia Ma Empire?
—
As Xiao Bai chatted with the unusually talkative Elder Yao while traveling, the journey didn't feel boring at all.
The two of them talked about everything under the sun. One had a wealth of experience, and the other had read the original story, so they had plenty to discuss. However, most of it was just boasting, with no real substance.
After three days, the small town at the foot of the Magical Beast Mountain Range was finally within sight.
Qingshan Town—they had arrived!