I, a cultivator, have ended up in the world of tomb raiding.

Seeing the girl in red walking towards him over several people, Li Yue withdrew his gaze from the distance.

He looked up at her, but simply shook his head slightly without offering any explanation.

Hong Gu Niang had gradually gotten used to Li Yue's silence these days, guessing that he didn't want to say more, so she didn't press him.

He simply sat down on a rock not far from him, his voice so low that only the two of them could hear him:

"You don't seem like a tomb raider... Could you perhaps be a Taoist priest?"

Li Yue glanced at her indifferently, while the girl in red beside him had bright almond-shaped eyes filled with curiosity.

Li Yue paused for a moment, not wanting to explain too much, and then said, "I guess so."

Upon hearing this, Miss Hong felt even more amazed, thinking to herself that this person was indeed hiding his true abilities.

She couldn't help but wonder again, was Li Yue kidnapped as bait to risk his life and help those in distress?

Thinking this, he continued to probe aloud, "Since you are a cultivator, you must travel the world freely, without any attachments?"

Li Yue hummed in agreement.

Seeing this, her heart tightened slightly, so she decided to be more direct and asked softly:

"Once the matter at Ping Mountain is settled, what are your plans? Do you have somewhere to go?"

When she asked this question, the tips of her ears burned slightly, but she still looked up and stared straight into his eyes without flinching.

She is decisive and efficient by nature; if she likes something, she will ask clearly and never drag things out.

Li Yue sensed the hidden meaning in her words, gave her a deep look, and replied, "Let's explore this Yuan Dynasty tomb first."

Seeing his attitude, Miss Hong's heart sank slightly, but she was unwilling to give up so easily, and softly pressed him for more information:

"You're venturing out all alone, haven't you ever thought about... having someone to look after you? It's better than facing life and death alone without anyone to talk to."

As she spoke, her cheeks flushed slightly, and her eyes held a clear expectation.

Looking at the girl in red, Li Yue noticed that her expression was not as forthright and bold as usual, but rather somewhat shy like a young girl's, and he understood what was going on.

He said, "My path of cultivation has always been solitary. I am used to being alone and do not need to burden others."

To Hong Guniang, these words sounded like a polite refusal, yet also like she hadn't completely ruled out the possibility of a rejection.

She bit her lower lip, wanting to speak again.

Suddenly, a crawling sound came from the direction of the tomb robber's tunnel, clearly indicating that there was movement on the side of the tomb robber's tunnel.

It was the old foreigner who crawled out of the tomb, and the two pangolins were also pulled out of the hole.

He approached Partridge Whistle, a hint of excitement in his eyes, and said, "Senior Brother, the mountain cave is now open, and the wind and water are flowing freely!"

"Prospering and thriving" is a slang term used in the tomb raiding industry.

This means that the underground palace is now open and the airflow is smooth, allowing people to enter and explore for treasures.

Upon hearing this, Li Yue stood up, ended the conversation, and walked with Hong Gu Niang toward the direction of the tomb robber's tunnel.

Partridge Whistle looked at the two strange beasts that had done a great deal of work and nodded in satisfaction.

He then looked at Li Yue, who was approaching, and waved to signal everyone to get ready to go.

Upon hearing that the underground palace had been opened, the bandits of the Unloading Ridge bandits were immediately invigorated and eager to fight.

The tunnel was low, so Li Yue had to hold his long sword in his hand and tie the lantern to his waist.

At this moment, everyone took out black veils soaked in herbs to cover their faces in order to prevent poisonous gas and the stench of corpses in the tomb.

Li Yue knew that this item had limited uses and did not want to wear it, but Hong Guniang quickly stepped forward, took out a piece of black gauze from her bundle, and handed it to him.

"Ancient tombs are enclosed and lack oxygen, so it's inevitable that there will be putrid stench and putrefaction from corpses."

The young woman handed the gauze to Li Yue, saying, "This gauze has been soaked in herbs, so it can block some of the corpse poison."

Li Yue glanced at her, intending to decline, but unexpectedly, Hong Gu Niang thought he found it dirty and directly grabbed his hand and slapped the black gauze into his palm.

"Here, this is new, no one has used it."

Li Yue raised an eyebrow slightly.

Having spent so many years navigating the world of cultivation, he had witnessed countless acts of deceit and sycophancy.

Others' attempts to get close to him were either out of greed for opportunities or out of fear of his cultivation level; even a simple expression of concern was tinged with calculation and probing.

He hadn't experienced such genuine and straightforward concern in a long time.

He was just starting to feel touched when he looked down at the black veil in his hand.

But then I suddenly thought of the comical way bank robbers in comedies wear black veils and break into banks, and I couldn't help but laugh.

When Hong Guniang saw him smile for the first time, it wasn't just a polite smile, but it revealed a rare touch of human warmth.

Thinking to myself, it seems that even the most aloof person is not impossible to communicate with.

However, after Li Yue smiled, his expression returned to blank. He held the black gauze but didn't say whether he wanted to use it or not.

This made her a little depressed.

Li Yue had no idea what Hong Guniang was imagining.

The reason he suddenly changed his expression was that he realized everyone around them was looking at the two of them, with somewhat ambiguous gazes.

Li Yue glanced up at Partridge Whistle, who was leading the group.

Seeing this, Partridge Whistle coughed lightly to break the awkward silence and said to Miss Red, "Please trouble Miss Red to send two people back and ask Mr. Chen to bring his men down."

Hong Gu Niang then realized that everyone had seen her just now, and her cheeks instantly burned. She wished she could disappear into the ground.

She heard a few more suppressed giggles, and she immediately glared at them, startling the group of thieves into falling silent.

"You two, go back and report to the foreman." She casually pointed at the two who had been laughing happily just now and sent them away.

These henchmen of Changsheng Mountain all knew how formidable this woman was. Apart from the head of Changsheng Mountain, she even dared to beat up Luo Laowai. Among these people, who would dare to provoke her?

So he quickly straightened his face and forced a nonchalant expression.

The group quickly got ready, disassembled the centipede-shaped ladder, carried it along, and lined up to wait.

Partridge Whistle then turned to Li Yue and Red Girl, and said seriously, "It will take them some time to arrive. In the meantime, shall we go ahead and explore the cave?"

When the conversation turned to serious matters, Miss Hong became earnest and readily agreed.

She then beckoned a few brothers to follow her into the tomb to scout ahead.

Li Yue responded and prepared to take the Angry-Eyed Chicken into the cave.

Partridge Whistle hesitated for a moment, then reminded him, "Brother Li, why don't you give the Angry-Eyed Rooster a few words of advice?"

Li Yue glanced at him with a hint of suspicion.

After thinking for a moment, he said to the Angry Rooster, who was still somewhat bewildered after being taken out of the bamboo basket, "Don't run around once you're inside."

Partridge Whistle: "..."

Hua Ling, watching from the side, couldn't help but chuckle, but dared not laugh out loud. She could only turn her face away, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Hong smiled, her previous embarrassment dissipating considerably.

Li Yue paid no attention to the expressions of the others, looked at the pitch-black entrance deep inside the tunnel, and said, "Let's go."

Partridge Whistle nodded, took out a tinderbox from his pocket, lit it, and led the way:

"The situation inside the tomb is unknown. Please follow closely behind and do not act rashly."

After saying that, he crouched down and crawled into the narrow hole.

Li Yue, accompanied by the Angry Sun Chicken, followed closely behind.

As for Miss Hong's feelings just now...

In order not to appear out of place, he eventually covered his face with the black veil.

The herbal scent was faint, but as for whether it could block the aura of corpses... he remained undecided for the time being.