Gazing at the beautiful face suddenly emerging from beneath the cliff, Xiao Yan was initially startled. However, upon quickly regaining his composure, he realized that the woman was none other than the young healer from the herb-gathering team. The two pairs of eyes on the cliff's summit locked onto each other, creating a rather eerie stillness. "Could... could you pull me up?" After a moment of further exchange, the young healer finally broke the awkward silence, her voice soft and gentle. Blinking once, Xiao Yan nodded calmly, grasped the delicate, jade-like hand extended by the woman, and gently pulled. With a graceful leap, she rose from the cliff's base, her body tracing a beautiful arc through the air, landing lightly on the summit. "Thank you." As her feet touched the ground, the young physician softly thanked him, quickly breaking free from Xiao Yan's grasp. Then, without making it obvious, she glanced along the edge of the cliff, lightly brushing a strand of green hair from her forehead, her gaze drifting over Xiao Yan's face before she murmured, "You... are the hired mercenary guard hired by Wan Yao Zhai for this mission, aren't you?" "Um," Xiao Yan paused, savoring the softness he had felt in his hands, and nodded with a smile. Then he shifted his gaze toward the endless green mountains beyond the cliff. Though her appearance wasn't particularly stunning, there was a gentle grace about her that was quite captivating. Under ordinary circumstances, Xiao Yan would have teased her a bit. But now, during his intense period of cultivation, he had lost that spark entirely. Seeing that Xiao Yan had merely nodded offhandedly and seemed intent on staying, the young physician furrowed her brows slightly, her dark eyes flickering thoughtfully. With a delicate finger, she pointed to the white plant growing at the cliff's edge, and smiled gently, "You seemed to have intended to pluck this herb earlier—do you recognize it?" "Heard that, Xiao Yan smiled and rubbed his nose, 'This should be the Bai Lan fruit, a mid-tier herb that typically grows along cliff edges. Though it's produced in decent quantities, since it's the favorite food of bird-type beast-wyrms, the young plants are often consumed shortly after sprouting. Thus, it's relatively rare among mid-tier herbs. If I take this mature Bai Lan fruit to the apothecary and sell it, I'd expect to receive over four thousand gold coins.' Watching the young man speak so confidently about the Bai Lan fruit, the young physician's eyes widened slightly, surprised, 'Have you also studied herb identification?' 'Only a bit,' Xiao Yan shrugged, somewhat vaguely. Over the years of serving under the senior physician, Xiao Yan has not only mastered pharmaceutical preparation but also developed a solid understanding of herb identification. After all, with the senior physician's vast experience, what rare herb could he have missed? As Xiao Yan's only disciple, everything was naturally absorbed into his mind." "Though everyone gets a share, this white plum fruit was the one you first spotted. So I won't take it from you." Smiling gently at Xiao Yan, the young physician knelt down carefully and extracted the crimson fruit from the flower, then offered it to him. Seeing her actions, Xiao Yan touched his face and nodded indifferently. While the fruit might be rare to others, it was merely optional to him. Still, since she didn't want it, it was fine to take it himself. "Well, the group must have finished resting by now. Let's go back." Seeing Xiao Yan accept the fruit, the young physician felt a subtle sense of relief and quickly added. Holding the cool white plum fruit in his hand, Xiao Yan watched her eager expression, furrowed his brows slightly, and slightly narrowed his eyes. He felt something was off with her lately. "Why is she so eager to leave?" A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, and Xiao Yan gently tucked the Bailing fruit into his chest, smiling casually as he asked, "You—how did you end up down by the cliff's base just now?" As soon as Xiao Yan spoke, the young physician's delicate hands tightened suddenly, a flash of embarrassment briefly passing through her beautiful eyes before quickly fading. "Nothing much. Some medicinal herbs grow specifically on cliff faces, so I simply went down to have a look." "Ah..." Nodding slightly, Xiao Yan found his lingering curiosity somewhat eased—after all, there were indeed certain herbs that thrived exclusively on rocky cliffs. "Wait—there seems to be something down there..." Just as Xiao Yan was about to step back, the voice of the elderly physician suddenly resonated within his mind. His eyes narrowed, and his steps involuntarily advanced forward, bringing the steep cliff face into clear view. Between the sheer cliff walls, scattered rocks, tangled strange trees, and several bone-like objects were scattered across the surface. Xiao Yan’s gaze slowly swept across the steep cliff face, and then suddenly stopped at a section concealed by a crossbeam. Although the arrangement of the strange trees on the cliff was remarkably thoughtful, with the elder’s reminder, Xiao Yan noticed a subtle anomaly there. With his eyes slightly narrowed and taking advantage of the slanting sunlight, he could almost see the dark hollows on the cliff wall through the gaps in the trees. “Indeed, something is amiss…” murmuring to himself as he gazed at that spot, Xiao Yan’s expression suddenly tightened. With a quick shift of his foot, he stepped back swiftly and shouted, “What are you doing?” As Xiao Yan retreated, a sudden burst of white dust surged forth, swiftly enveloping him. The dust remained wrapped around him for several moments before being gently blown away by the breeze. On the ground, Xiao Yan lay unconscious, eyes closed. Gazing at the now unconscious Xiao Yan, Xiao Yisheng gently brushed the dust from her palms, bit her lower lip with her delicate teeth, and sighed, "I've told you to go, yet you wouldn't listen. Now you're paying the price, aren't you?" Shaking her head, she slowly walked toward Xiao Yan, then knelt down, pulling out a sturdy leather strap from her sleeve, grasping Xiao Yan's hand, and prepared to bind it. Just as Xiao Yisheng was about to secure Xiao Yan, a sudden turn of events occurred. The one who should have been unconscious suddenly opened his eyes, spun his palms, and, seizing the moment when Xiao Yisheng was unprepared, firmly clutched her hands. "Neither did I expect you to have prepared all these things. If it weren't for my own foundation, I might have truly been caught off guard!" Startled by the sudden development, Xiao Yisheng reacted swiftly—after her hands were seized, she swiftly kicked Xiao Yan hard in the midsection with her foot. Seeing that Xiao Yixian wouldn't give up, Xiao Yan sneered and suddenly kicked out with his right foot. The final impact sent a strong jolt between their feet, causing pain to spread across the delicate features of Xiao Yixian's face. With his first strike secured, Xiao Yan didn't stop. His left foot, like a ribbon, wrapped tightly around Xiao Yixian's two feet, and together they tumbled diagonally downward, with Xiao Yan now pressing Xiao Yixian firmly beneath him. The soft sensation beneath him sent a subtle tremor through Xiao Yan's heart, and he silently exhaled a deep sense of satisfaction. Lowering his head, he gazed at the blushing, graceful face of Xiao Yixian. With a slightly rogue movement, he shifted his body slightly, bringing their bodies into even closer alignment. "Let me go!" The male presence above her made Xiao Yixian feel dizzy. With her teeth clenched, she shouted angrily. "Why are you attacking me?" With her rosy lips slightly curled, Xiao Yixian coldly replied, "Just because I don't like you!" "Do you believe I've raped you right here?" Xiang Yin lowered his head, nearly feeling the other's breath. He smiled softly. "If you're confident in handling nearly a hundred mercenaries outside, go ahead and try!" The young physician huffed. "If your chest isn't firm and your hips aren't well-rounded, I simply don't care." With a teasing smile, Xiang Yin's expression gradually grew cold and stern. "What's down there at the cliff's base?" "I don't know what you're talking about," the young physician said, her face slightly flushed, furrowing her brows. "Release me right now, or I'll scream. If anyone sees you treating me this way, you won't make it out of the beast's mountain alive." "Go ahead and scream," Xiang Yin said calmly, his voice silencing the young physician's intention to shout. "Just let your voice break if you want more people to learn about what's down there." "What exactly do you want?" the young physician breathed deeply, her tone now irritated. "What is down there?" "If you don't want to tell the truth, I'm not going to mind tying you up, hiding you somewhere, and then going down myself to check on things." "You... " At these words, the young physician's face flushed with surprise. Though she was a bit older than Xiao Yan, she lacked his sharpness and composure. "I've heard that there's a type of beast in the Dragon's Mountain known as the 'Harmonious Ape.' This creature shows considerable interest in human women as well..." With a teasing smile, Xiao Yan lowered his head, his lips gently brushing against the delicate lobe of the young physician's ear, speaking softly. "You rogue!" Her face turned pale, clearly startled. She had indeed heard of this notoriously unruly beast. "Set me down! I'll tell you what's down there!" Under Xiao Yan's successive threats, the young physician finally gave in, unable to hold out any longer. With a gentle smile, Xiao Yan pushed himself up firmly, pulling the young physician to her feet, though he still firmly grasped her wrist, completely ignoring the embarrassment on others' faces. Together, they walked toward the cliff, both eyes fixed on the unusual rock face. After a while, the young physician gently opened her lips, hesitating slightly and murmured, "That's something I discovered by accident while gathering herbs. Behind the strange tree, there lies a hidden cave that's difficult to spot. The cave must have been left by some previous visitor, though I've never entered it myself. Therefore, I'm not entirely clear about its interior. However, from the traces I've observed, the previous visitor who established the cave must have been quite strong."