Chapter 6

At night, the Wolf Head Mercenary Corps took the first half of the night watch, while the loose mercenaries took the second half.

In the dim dawn, everyone on night watch except Xiao Li was somewhat drowsy; Xiao Li's cultivation level was higher, allowing him to go two days without sleep without much effect, and he usually substituted cultivation for sleep, but now that he was on night watch, it was inconvenient to cultivate.

As the first ray of dawn fell, the little medicine fairy in the tent opened her eyes; the sky was already faintly bright, and she had to return within an hour.

Now the little medicine fairy isn't even a fighter, nor does she dare go too far; an hour is already more than enough.

Through a gap in the tent, the little medicine fairy saw that most mercenaries were relying on light sleep to get by, while only a few people barely huddled together, chatting to dispel drowsiness.

Great opportunity!

A smile appeared on the little medicine fairy's tender, white cheeks as she tiptoed out of the tent, constantly keeping to the mercenaries' blind spots behind them, heading into the forest.

The little medicine fairy's silhouette gradually faded, and Xiao Li opened his eyes, which had been pretending to sleep, looking thoughtful.

Could it be that the little medicine fairy already knows the location of the cave dwelling that will only be entered years later, but simply lacks the strength to take it?

Xiao Li stroked his chin, planning to first help his younger brother obtain the fragment map of the Pure Lotus Strange Fire; Strange Fire held little allure for him, so it would be better to leave it for Xiao Yan—getting it early wouldn't affect the story's main direction.

Moreover, even if Xiao Li obtained the Strange Fire, it would be siphoned away when Xiao Yan later became an emperor; compared to Strange Fire, Xiao Li would rather seek whether there exists such a thing as Strange Lightning in heaven and earth, which also matches his attribute.

The Fighting Qi Continent is so vast that Xiao Li refuses to believe there are only fire-attributed heavenly and earthly treasures; there are none with the lightning attribute.

Having made up his mind, as long as it doesn't affect the story's main direction, Xiao Li will help Xiao Yan as much as possible; his younger brother has had a rough time, so he'll help if he can.

Secretly following the little medicine fairy, it seemed she already had the scheming of someone years ahead, but her ability still wasn't enough; she was merely a ten-year-old girl who hadn't yet reached fighter rank, and daring to sneak out alone already made Xiao Li view her in a new light.

Dappled light filtered through the leaves, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression.

The little medicine fairy tiptoed carefully; they had already arrived near the medicine-gathering team's destination, where the medicinal herbs grew more abundantly than elsewhere.

Using a small shovel to dig up another herb once more, a smile appeared on the little medicine fairy's face: 'These are about enough; we can make some bewitching incense when we get back.'

Mmm~~

A faint, long cry rang out, startling the little medicine fairy, who quickly hid behind a tree.

"This sound, it seems like…"

"Like crying."

The little medicine fairy shook her head, dismissing her immature thought—how could a magic beast cry? Better to keep moving.

The little medicine fairy turned and took a few steps, then suddenly turned back; her inner kindness still couldn't bear to ignore it.

Xiao Li raised an eyebrow and secretly followed.

At the cliff's edge, the little medicine fairy gazed anxiously at the valley below; a fledgling with entirely azure plumage lay prone, on the verge of death, able only to emit a weak cry for help.

"It must have failed during its first flight attempt, breaking its wing and falling to the valley floor."

Xiao Li's calm voice came over, startling the little medicine fairy.

"Y-you, how did you end up here?" the little medicine fairy said, shrinking her shoulders in fear, but behind her was the cliff, leaving no room to retreat.

"Just trying my luck, came out to look for some herbs or treasures, and you?" Xiao Li shrugged, still concealing his sneaky behavior of tailing the little girl.

The little medicine fairy gritted her teeth; Xiao Li seemed fairly upright, so she said, "I-I am too."

Xiao Li nodded, stepped to the cliff's edge, and said, "It's not going to last much longer."

The little medicine fairy turned her head, her eyes showing some pity, glanced at Xiao Li beside her, and mustered the courage to say, "Although it's rather bold, could you please help it? I can offer medicinal herbs as payment."

Xiao Li shook his head; the herbs the little medicine fairy gathered were all low-grade, of little use to him, whereas he would rather lend a hand and form a good karmic bond with a future expert.

The little medicine fairy's heart sank halfway, she frowned at the valley over ten meters deep, her eyes brimming with the pure, innocent kindness unique to a child.

"No need for the herbs; helping is fine, but I don't understand medicinal properties, so I can only bring you down—are you willing to go with me?" Xiao Li said.

After a winding turn, the little medicine fairy nodded happily, "Mm-hmm, thank you."

Looking at the porcelain doll with tears in her beautiful eyes, Xiao Li chuckled helplessly, "I can't stand to see a cute little girl cry."

His rough palm, forged from years of spear practice, unconsciously rubbed the little medicine fairy's head, truly giving him the feeling of soothing a child from a past life.

Xiao Li didn't feel anything awkward; the little medicine fairy was just a little girl—aside from his perverted younger brother, who would be interested in a little girl?

Xiao Li curled the corner of his mouth, mentally questioned Xiao Yan once again, and maliciously interpreted his childhood act of helping Xun'er warm her meridians as a good deed.

The little medicine fairy broke into a smile, feeling a warmth she had never experienced before.

Since she caused the death of the entire village at age three, this was the first time she felt someone else's warmth.

Thinking of her unique constitution, the smile on the little medicine fairy's face faded somewhat.

"All right, hold on tight—I'll carry you down."

Xiao Li scooped the little medicine fairy into his arms in one motion, his left hand supporting her buttocks, his right hand embracing her back, treating her entirely like a child from his past life.

However, the little medicine fairy, having relied on her own efforts to survive, was psychologically more precocious, and her expression showed some unnaturalness.

On the Fighting Qi Continent, one comes of age at sixteen, some get engaged at thirteen or fourteen, and the little medicine fairy felt she wasn't so young either.

"How… are we… ah!"

Before the little medicine fairy could finish asking how to descend, Xiao Li had already leapt down while holding her.

"Ahhh!"

The little medicine fairy felt the air currents slicing past, her white dress fluttering wildly in the wind, the intense sensation of weightlessness making her heart leap to her throat.

Xiao Li extended his right hand downward, his body parallel to the ground, feeling the gale blow his hair flat against his scalp, with not a trace of panic in his heart.

He slammed a palm fiercely toward the ground; a powerful fighting qi surge burst forth, the mighty fighting qi pressing an imprint into the earth even through the air.

Relying on a brief upward float to dissipate the falling force, Xiao Li turned in midair and landed steadily.

The little medicine fairy panted heavily, still shaken, looking around and stammering, "I-I…"

"Hahaha." Seeing the little medicine fairy's cute, shocked expression, Xiao Li couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What, what are you laughing at!" the little medicine fairy, still flushed from the bungee jump, shouted angrily, her face bright red.

"It's fine, it's fine, hahahaha."

Damn it! I hate adults who have no sense of boundaries!

The little medicine fairy jumped off Xiao Li in a huff, her body tilting and almost causing her to fall flat on the ground.

Listening to the low laughter behind her, Xiao Yixian's face turned even redder, and without turning her head, she walked toward Lan Ying.

(End of chapter)