175 Treasure Hunting (1/2)
That night, the trio eagerly discussed what kind of expert could have left behind such a domineering formation, and more importantly what kind of treasure or inheritance he had left behind.
”Do you think that there are treasures?” Wang Xiaoyun asked with her one eye gleaming and Xue Wei pondered. ”I am sure that there were treasures at the beginning, but I don't know if there are any left. This formation is very old, and it has been trespassed by many experts. It is likely that the treasures have already been taken” Hei Gou said while Xue Wei pondered.
”That is true, but something has to be left in there,” Xue Wei said after thinking for a bit. ”Formations cannot sustain themselves, they need some sort of energy to sustain them. The age-restricting formation is still active, so something has to be left behind by the expert. We just have to search for it.”
Although Hei Gou doubted there was anything left, Xue Wei's argument about the formation requiring a source of power to sustain itself eventually convinced him.
After that, Hei Gou started feeling the same kind of excitement as the other two. Soon after, they seemed to even have forgotten their differences, causing Xue Wei to smile slightly as he saw the two animatedly discussing the possibility of becoming rich from this trip.
”It seems that they are more alike than I thought,” Xue Wei muttered to himself when the discussion reached money and riches.
”They are both very eager to get rich, but while Gou is bad at saving money, Xiaoyun is bad at using them.”
Reaching this conclusion, Xue Wei could not help but smile gently as he saw how the two that never spoke more than ten words to each other ended up discussing what to spend their money on after the mission.
The following morning, the sun broke through the sky and cast its rays down through the dense forest, waking up the trio that had fallen asleep at some point in the middle of their discussion.
They ate the rabbits that Xue Wei had smoked the previous night before setting out to explore the formation space again.
The day before, an awkward atmosphere had covered them, but that was now fully dissolved after last night's long discussion. Neither of them were making jabs at one another or ignoring the other.
”We had to follow the barrier because of the Seven Star Nightflower last time, but now that we are aiming for the stuff left behind by the supreme expert, I will assume that it is better for us to enter the middle of the formation,” Xue Wei said, sharing his thoughts.
”I don't know if it is like this, but I somewhat expect that the very middle of this formation is where we will find the stuff he left behind,” Xue Wei continued.
”Since the formation is this stable, maybe it is cast around this old monster's old abode or whatever it is that has been left behind.”
Wang Xiaoyun nodded her head while Hei Gou just shrugged his shoulders. Neither of them had any better guess at where the stash could be located, and they might as well start searching in accordance with Xue Wei's assumptions instead of just wandering around aimlessly.
When they made it deeper into the forest inside the formation, Xue Wei started to frown. He had spread out his spiritual energy and could feel that despite the Fierce Beasts fleeing as was custom, some unknown variables had started appearing within his reach.
”Let us avoid the others,” he said after careful consideration. If they were here, then they could not be weak, and they were likely also looking for some sort of treasure. It would break out in a fight if they encountered each other, and although Xue Wei was not afraid of a fight, he did not wish to fight too many at once.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Although he was very careful and constantly picked a direction with no people, he was eventually caught in their net.
”We will most likely encounter at least one group if we wish to leave here.” Xue Wei sighed. ”I don't know if they are humans or Primordial Beasts,” he continued while looking at Wang Xiaoyun with worry for a second, ”but right now, we cannot engage in battle unless absolutely necessary. If we do, we will draw the others towards us as well. Should that happen, we will be in dire straits.”
”They are scattered around in groups of five, each group outnumbering us by two. However, their experts aren't that strong despite their numerical advantage. The strongest they have seems to be a ninth layer Sky Warrior in each group, so overwhelming them should be possible if it comes to this.”
Wang Xiaoyun bit her lip slightly and looked at Xue Wei with widened eyes. Although one of them was dim and clearly blind, she still channeled a lot of emotion through it.
”Okay, if they are here for the treasure, then we will kill them,” Xue Wei decided after careful consideration. ”It doesn't matter if they're human or beast. I am not willing to share the treasure with anyone else than the two of you.”
Wang Xiaoyun paled slightly. She could imagine it, but seeing that Xue Wei had no qualms killing humans for herself was something else. However, after considering what she had seen so far of his behavior ever since their reunion, she realized that it was actually not too shocking.
”I cannot kill humans,” Wang Xiaoyun said with a slightly trembling voice. Xue Wei gave her a long glance before sighing. ”Then you stay back. I will deal with them together with Gou. Humans and beasts are the same to us anyway.”
Wang Xiaoyun nodded her head. She was not eager to see humans being killed in front of her, but she would not do anything to stop Xue Wei either. She understood that if they did not kill their enemies, then they could come back to bite them in the rear later on.
They continued onward, knowing full well that they would encounter a group of either Primordial Beasts in human shape, or humans, very soon.
”Since we are going to kill them, we might as well lay down an ambush,” Hei Gou muttered when they were just about to meet them. Xue Wei nodded his head. It was indeed best to kill them once and for all in an ambush to avoid leaving behind loose ends.
Xue Wei, Hei Gou, and Wang Xiaoyun hid behind a large fallen log and observed the trail they had been walking on previously.
A few minutes later, five experts walked out from the same trail, in the opposite direction of where the trio had been walking.
Xue Wei strained his ears to hear what was being said by this group; all information could be good information.
”The elders have sent us here on a life-and-death trial, but honestly is it not too easy? But are we really in danger in this godforsaken place? Elder Wan said that there would be an unknown variable, someone who would cause big problems for us, but I don't see anyone?”
Xue Wei's eyes narrowed when he heard these words. When he heard the name 'Elder Wan', his thoughts instantly went to Wan Qiang, but the thought was instantly dismissed again.
Although Wan Qiang was indeed an Elder, he should not be involved with these experts.