Why did you provoke me?

Yu Meng noticed Li Yiqing's silence.

"Let me think about how to proceed with this," Li Yiqing said, frowning as he slowly circled around.

Yu Meng spoke softly from the side. "I really like the rice cakes my mom makes, but I never eat too many at once. My mom says I'm a child, and if I eat too much of this at once, my stomach will hurt."

As Li Yiqing listened to Yu Meng's words, he had a feeling that was about to burst forth, but he just couldn't quite grasp that feeling.

Yu Meng slowly walked deeper into the stone forest. It wasn't easy for her to come here, so she had to do something for herself.

The fact that such a powerful figure would take notice of this place proves that it must contain something truly valuable.

Yu Meng walked slowly, with Li Yiqing following behind her. Walking in the mountains required him to maintain focus, otherwise, he didn't know what might happen.

In this unfamiliar stone forest, shrouded in mist, Li Yiqing's nerves were stretched to the limit.

Yu Meng's breathing was very light; Li Yiqing could barely sense it unless he was paying close attention. This little girl is indeed extraordinary. Li Yiqing sighed inwardly once more.

Yu Meng touched the stone pillars with her hands. She felt a desolate aura wash over her. These pillars had existed for an unknown amount of time. Their life seemed to be slowly fading away. A sense of sorrow slowly rose within Yu Meng.

Yu Meng had a sudden realization: she needed to find something full of vitality.

Yu Meng slowly searched through the stone forest. Li Yiqing watched as she touched this and that. He looked at his own hand and placed it there as well, but he felt nothing.

Yu Meng saw it, but she didn't say a word.

After walking around all morning, Yu Meng came up empty-handed. But she still casually tore off a few pieces of turf and tossed them to Li Yiqing. After all, as the chief unmasker, she couldn't possibly return empty-handed.

Li Yiqing finally understood where Yu Meng's confidence came from. Her technique was extremely fast; she peeled off several sheets of turf in just a few seconds.

Li Yiqing made a silent decision in his heart. He was determined to befriend this person.

When they returned to the tent, the other three groups had not yet returned.

Dali hurried over. "Little sister, how are you? Are you tired? I've made some porridge and mixed some side dishes. Come and have some."

"Big sister, why aren't you resting properly? Why are you doing all this?" Yu Meng asked casually.

"Hey, it's not that tiring to do these things. I can't let my little sister come back thinner after a trip."

Li Yiqing glanced at Jiang Mingfeng, but the guy was busy preparing the food and didn't even look in their direction.

Li Yiqing coughed. Jiang Mingfeng then looked up. "Cousin, little sister, you're both back. Come and eat."

"I've set aside the food for those people; let's eat this first." Dali quickly brought over a basin of water.

Yu Meng felt a warmth in her heart looking at her older sister like that. But she didn't want her older sister to treat others like that.

Yu Meng had been resting for a while when the other three groups returned one after another. Xiao Xue's group, in particular, looked quite disheveled.

Dali warmly invited them to come and have dinner.

"Dali, it's so good to have you. I'm starving!" Xue Yuling shook the water off her hands and started eating a dry meal. She really looked extremely hungry.

"We've walked a long way, and there's practically no vegetation. The only animals we've seen are some stone rats," Xue Yuling said while eating. "We've walked so far, almost halfway there. But we don't seem to have found anything special."

His male comrades ate with their heads down, not uttering a sound. He not only had to ensure the safety of the mask-removing masters, but also had to hunt small animals when they encountered them. Only after the animal was caught and its skin removed could it be considered their achievement. That morning had exhausted him.

The other two groups weren't much better off; for five minutes, all that could be heard was the sound of them chewing. Dali and Yu Meng exchanged a glance.

"Oh my god, I've finally recovered." Sun Hongmei put down the bowl in her hand. "There were a few vines in the direction I walked, and I pulled off all the dough, but I didn't find anything else."

"I found a small pond over there, not very big, only about a meter deep. I don't know if the water there is drinkable, but I filled a bottle and brought it back." Xiao Xue handed her water bottle to Li Yiqing.

"How was your harvest?" Li Yiqing asked after they had all finished eating and sat down together.

Everyone shook their heads. "Nothing found." They stacked the boxes together; there seemed to be less than 10.

"Dali, what about you guys? Have you found anything?" Xue Yuling, who couldn't sit still, asked.

"I'm not even as good as you; you've only peeled off a piece of stone."

As soon as she said that, everyone looked at her.

"You said you peeled off the surface of the stone." Xue Yuling's voice trembled slightly.

"Oh, right, is something wrong?" Dali looked at them with a puzzled expression.

"Sister Dali, please take me as your apprentice?" Xue Yuling rushed over and grabbed Dali's arm, pleading.

"Yes, Sister Dali, please take us as your apprentices." The other two were not to be outdone and each grabbed one of Dali's hands.

Everyone was stunned by their actions.

"You, you let go of me, you're hurting me!" Dali shouted loudly.

"Oh, let us massage you. Sister Dali, are your shoulders sore? Let me give you a massage." Xiao Xue walked up behind Dali and massaged her shoulders.

"It's not that I don't want to teach you, it's just that I can only peel the outer layer of those small stones right now. You're all older than me, you're all my older sisters, how could I dare to show off in front of you?"

Xiao Xue replied with a smile, "In our line of work, success comes first; who cares how old you are?"

"That's right. As long as you teach us, you will be our master. We will treat you with the respect due to a teacher and be filial to you," Sun Hongmei added from the side.

Dali looked at Yu Meng helplessly. "Little sister?"

Yu Meng turned her head to the side. "This is your own business; you decide for yourself."

Dali looked at Li Yiqing. "Cousin?"

Li Yiqing touched his nose. "I can't make this decision for you."

Dali finally looked at Jiang Mingfeng. "Ah Feng?"

"Teach them, we'll teach them all. Last time you taught so many people at Sanyongtang. They haven't even formally become your disciples yet."

"Oh dear, Master, how could you teach them these techniques without even formally becoming their apprentice?" Xue Yuling said discontentedly from the side.

Dali laughed. "Although they didn't become my disciples, they fought for me."

"Huh?" The group looked completely bewildered.

"When we get back to the city, we'll formally become his disciples. At that time, he'll pass on all his skills to us so we can carry them forward," Xue Yuling said shamelessly.