Why did you provoke me?

Dali neither said yes nor no, she just smiled foolishly.

This is a magic bullet that my younger sister taught me: whenever I don't know how to answer, I just have to smile.

Li Yiqing watched Dali from the side, relieved that she hadn't asked whether the apprenticeship was possible.

The apprenticeship ceremony for a master who reveals a mask is a very grand affair. Some prominent families invite people to witness the ceremony and even hold a lavish banquet.

As for Jiang Mingfeng's talk of teaching, that doesn't count. He's not a mask-removing master, and the skill isn't his.

As long as Dali hasn't explicitly stated that she'll take on apprentices, there's still room for maneuver in this matter.

"Let's rest a little longer, avoid the midday sun, and continue in the afternoon." Li Yiqing was now like a skinflint, he wouldn't let these people rest for an afternoon just because they were already tired.

He came with a mission, and if he fails to complete it, everything he has done before will be for nothing.

Yu Meng nestled in Da Li's arms, her eyes half-closed, it was hard to tell if she was asleep or not. Da Li gently patted her, humming a tune that was hard to decipher.

An hour later, Li Yiqing called everyone outside. "This time, we'll advance horizontally, don't rush. We'll divide this distance into seven parts, and complete one part each day."

None of them had any objections. In any case, they had already explored most of the area and hadn't found anything particularly unusual.

Yu Meng, however, didn't think so. Wasn't the vast stone forest and stone pillars the most special thing about this place?

In the morning, she reached out and touched the stone pillars, but in the afternoon, Yu Meng didn't do that. She stood on a stone pillar, gazing at the stone forest in the distance.

Li Yiqing followed beside her, staring in disbelief as she walked step by step up the stone pillar. You read that right, it was like climbing stairs, one step at a time.

The stone pillars in the Stone Forest are not all the same. Some stand there like pillars, while others have different shapes. Some look like a reclining bear, some like a pen, some more like a head, and a few look like little animals playing hide-and-seek peeking out.

It's as if, in a very distant era, this place was a small forest where animals roamed freely.

Yu Meng stood motionless, her eyes fixed on the distance. The special feature of her eyes from her previous life had carried over to this one, but she hadn't revealed it at all until now.

Looking at the black and white lines ahead, Yu Meng felt somewhat discouraged. She hadn't discovered anything special about them. She decided to walk a little further and try again.

Li Yiqing followed silently behind her, asking no questions. He knew Yu Meng's purpose in doing this was to make him see her value. So that when he stood beside her in the future, he would do so willingly.

Yu Meng was very satisfied with Li Yiqing's reaction; she liked dealing with intelligent people like him.

"This is just a technique used by advanced unmaskers, you don't need to be surprised," Yu Meng explained.

Li Yiqing nodded. "If this succeeds, I will be your strongest ally from now on."

"It depends on fate. If this opportunity isn't meant for you, there's probably nothing I can do."

Li Yiqing finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Can I know what you're looking for?"

Yu Mengyao shook her head. "What exactly is it? I'm not sure right now. I won't know until I see it."

Is it really that fantastical? But the clever Li Yiqing didn't ask any questions and just did what he was supposed to do.

And so, after walking for a while, Yu Meng would stand on the stone pillar and look into the distance. She and Li Yiqing were moving very fast.

"Cousin, can we go into someone else's area to look for something?"

Li Yiqing paused for a moment. "In principle, it's not allowed."

Yu Meng understood. As long as no one was watching, she could do whatever she wanted.

They spent the entire afternoon walking through a 10-kilometer radius of their area, but Yu Meng didn't find anything unusual.

When she returned, Yu Meng still picked up a few small items and gave them to Li Yiqing.

"I should find a skilled person to make something for me."

Li Yiqing put the items into the box and packed them away. "If it catches your eye, it must be something extraordinary."

Yu Meng smiled smugly. "You gave me so many gold coins, I can't let you get nothing."

When we returned in the evening, everyone was already resting in their tents. We cooked dinner together.

"Little sister, you seem to have walked a long way today. Are you tired? I've already boiled some water. Would you like to soak your feet?" Dali greeted Yu Meng as soon as she saw her.

"I knew my older sister treated me the best." Yu Meng grabbed her older sister's arm and they went into the tent together.

"Little sister, how's it going? Did you find anything valuable?" Sun Hongmei asked from the side.

"No, it's all rocks and stone pillars, you can hardly find any green at all."

"I really don't know what we're looking for in a place like this?" Xue Yuling grumbled from the side.

Li Yiqing looked at Dali, and Jiang Mingfeng hurriedly handed two boxes to Li Yiqing. "This is Dali's haul for today."

Li Yiqing didn't open it to look at it; he simply put it in his personal safe.

"Tomorrow morning, let's move the tent to the middle," Li Yiqing said, looking at the simplified map in his hand.

"This afternoon, Yu Meng and I took a walk around. We found that there's a lot of greenery on the north side. I've decided to move the tent there so it will be more convenient for us in the future."

No one objected. They just wanted to sleep; they were exhausted from the day's events.

Yu Meng nestled in Da Li's arms. She wrote words in Da Li's palm with her finger, reminding her not to easily pass on her skills, as they were something that could secure her livelihood.

Dali squeezed Yu Meng's hand to indicate that she understood.

The next morning, Yu Meng and Li Yiqing left. They quickly crossed their territory to the neighboring area. Yu Meng stood on the stone pillar as she had the day before, but this time she was lucky. She saw something different.

Seeing that no one was around, Yu Meng gestured for Li Yiqing to follow.

Li Yiqing's heart skipped a beat; she had made a discovery. Yu Meng was walking very fast ahead, and Li Yiqing felt like his lungs were about to explode.

Yu Meng arrived at that special place, where there was a round stone. It was no different in shape from the other stones, but Yu Meng knew it was different.

Li Yiqing arrived here, panting, and Yu Meng had already peeled off the stone skin and made it into a bead.

Li Yiqing stared blankly at the beads in his hand, feeling a sense of unreality. How did they turn into beads?

"This way it's easier to preserve." Li Yiqing casually peeled off a few more ordinary stone skins, sorted them out, and put them in the box he carried with him.

"That bead is the key; the rest are things around it, and they also have some minor uses, but not much," Yu Meng explained carefully.

He patted the moss off his hands. "I've found the stuff for you. Now it's up to you how you do it. If you're not confident, find another ally."