To go or not to go? Of course, go!
Ling Chuxi immediately made a decision in her heart. After all, weren’t gain and risk usually proportional?
Ling Yichen wasn’t the slightest bit surprised when Ling Chuxi announced her decision of going despite the danger. He simply nodded and began telling her more about the place, “It’s called Crouching Tiger Ridge. It’s located at the westmost border of White Stone Canyon. There are priceless ores, rare herbs, strong savage beasts and even monster beasts there. If we are quick, we can rush over there tomorrow morning. If everything goes smoothly and we manage to gather a harvest with a value that isn’t too bad by the next afternoon, then we can leave and hurry towards the finishing point of the training. Personally, I think we have sufficient time.”
Ling Chuxi nodded and looked over at the fifth princess. Just as Ling Chuxi was about to speak, the fifth princess suddenly pounced forward and latched onto her thigh. “Master, don’t even think of abandoning me. I want to go too. And don’t worry, I can protect myself!”
After hearing the fifth princess’ words, Ling Chuxi could only agree to let her come along with them.
Early the next morning, the three of them rushed towards the Crouching Tiger Ridge.
The topography of the ridge was treacherous and there was danger around every corner! But it was also true that there were indeed many treasures to be found.
With just a glance, Ling Yichen could tell there was something different about the rock ahead of them. He went over to take a closer look and saw that there was a portion of rare ore in the cleft of the rock. It was of the type that was added into weaponry to make ordinary weapons tougher and it was a material that was hard to obtain even if one had the money to afford so! Such a valuable item made for a lovely sight, but the few venomous White Bellied Snakes slithering around it made for a less lovely sight.
These White Bellied Snakes were colored pure black except for their bellies, which were snow-white. Their venomous teeth were razor sharp. Once they broke through one’s skin, a White Bellied Snake could inject its venom into one’s bloodstream, resulting in instantaneous death.
“Master, this snake’s venom is great for refining poisons. But it’s difficult to obtain. I had once offered 5000 gold taels as a reward for whoever could provide me with this venom, but I ended up only getting very little venom.” The fifth princess gulped as she stared at the few venomous snakes before them. Obviously, this eccentric princess’ focal point was totally different from a regular person’s. Normally, other people would feel afraid to encounter such a scary scene, yet both of her eyes were shining as though she had come across a great treasure.
“Only a spendthrift like you would spend money on such things,” said Ling Chuxi in disbelief.
“Is this supposed to be another compliment, master?” asked the fifth princess while blinking in confusion.
“It’s not this time!” barked Ling Chuxi. The corners of her lips were twitching in annoyance.
“Oh.” Said the fifth princess dejectedly. She frowned and became anxious. “How can we kill these snakes, master? They are very fast. Did you know White Bellied Snakes are also known as Lightning Venomous Snakes? Their movements are just too fast. People with poor skills get bitten easily. I don’t want master to die just like that. You need to bring a knife to a gunfight.”
“Yes. I really thank you for your concern,” retorted Ling Chuxi unkindly. “Also, are you illiterate? Go read a book or something and don’t just simply throw idioms you don’t understand around! Go back and study more!”
“Ah, yes! I will do that!” The fifth princess busily nodded her head and then put all her concentration towards the White Bellied Snakes. “Master, since those snakes seem to be protecting that piece of ore, how do we obtain it?” The fifth princess pondered as to what they could do. Could it be to simply hack at those snakes with a sword? No, that would be too dangerous. There were quite a few Lightning Venomous Snakes. It would be game over if they got bitten.
Ling Yichen’s brow furrowed slightly as he thought of different ways of obtaining the ore and avoiding the snakes. However, Ling Chuxi had already made her move.
Under rays of sunlight, the fifth princess watched the scene before her, stunned. She swore that she had never seen someone with such an elegant demeanor in all her life. This scene was deeply engraved into her eyes and her heart!