She fell silent, lost in thought. Compared to those bookworms, Hua Ling was indeed a good teammate, so Tang Youyou agreed.
"Alright, you can stay. But you have to listen to me in everything. Otherwise, leave quickly."
Having received Tang Youyou's permission, Hua Ling replied firmly, "Naturally. I'm at your command, Young Master Tang."
Just then, a "squeaking" sound suddenly came from afar. Tang Youyou was drawn to it and saw a fox lying on the ground, looking at her leisurely.
At the same time, her stomach began to growl embarrassingly. The rumbling sound made Hua Ling raise the corners of his mouth.
"Are you hungry, Young Master Tang?"
Tang Youyou nodded. "Yes, I am."
Little did anyone know that Tang Youyou was never picky. The moment she saw the mountain fox, she had already planned what to do next.
However, her whole body ached at the moment. It took all her strength just to stand up.
This situation really made her feel helpless.
Once a powerful person, she never thought she would end up like this one day.
Thinking of this, Tang Youyou immediately looked at her wrist. There, Xiaobai was still hanging quietly, not having been separated from her during the fall.
Seeing this, Tang Youyou let out a sigh of relief. But all the pills on her body were gone.
"I lost all my pills in the water when I fell off the cliff. Now I have no way to recover quickly."
Seeing Tang Youyou's helpless expression, Hua Ling smiled and said, "If you don't mind, I still have some pills. Although they're not as effective as the ones you made, they can still relieve your pain a bit."
Touched by Hua Ling's concern, Tang Youyou couldn't help but laugh. She finally let down her guard and said freely, "Of course I'd like some free pills. I'm just curious what you can offer me."
Hearing this, Hua Ling handed her an exquisite jade bottle. Inside were some small pills, smaller than hers but still emitting the fragrance of pills.
Tang Youyou took the pill bottle, looked at Hua Ling in front of her, and said with a smile, "Then thank you."
After that, she took the pills he gave her without any hesitation.
After taking the pills, Tang Youyou struggled to stand up again and slowly walked towards the mountain fox. Although her face was pale, her mischievous thoughts remained unchanged.
Tang Youyou scanned the surrounding environment. With just one glance, she found many useful things.
She tore off some herbs, put them in her bosom, and then approached the mountain fox. But as soon as she got close, the fox immediately ran into the cave.
Seeing this, Tang Youyou frowned slightly. After a moment of thought, she looked at Hua Ling behind her and asked puzzledly, "Is there someone else inside?"
Hearing this, Hua Ling nodded. "Yes, it's the group of scholars led by Xiao Jiu. They've been inside for an hour, but there's still no movement."
Hearing this, Tang Youyou became even more suspicious. She asked again, "This is the first time you've seen this mountain fox, right?"
Hua Ling nodded. "Yes, at least I haven't seen it before. It seems that this mountain fox has been waiting for us on purpose."
Tang Youyou added, "It's not waiting. It's leading the way."
The mountain fox leading the way was indeed something new.
Normally, an animal like a mountain fox wouldn't ask for help for no reason. It was either to repay a kindness or to take revenge.
But both she and Hua Ling were seeing this mountain fox for the first time, so neither of these situations was possible.
Seeing this, Tang Youyou said, "Let's follow it and take a look. Maybe the people inside are in trouble. It's just a cave, but they've been inside for two hours. That's too long."
Hearing this, Hua Ling immediately understood what Tang Youyou meant. "It is strange. So many people have been inside for so long, but no one has come out, and there's not a single sound. Something's definitely wrong."
Having said this, they basically knew what to do.
Tang Youyou said calmly, "So, since not much time has passed, let's go inside and check on those people. We don't want too many casualties."
Hua Ling worriedly said, "You've just recovered a bit. Can you hold up?"
Tang Youyou waved her finger and said mysteriously with a smile, "There won't be any big problem. Don't worry."
After confirming, Tang Youyou lit a torch and walked inside. Hua Ling followed closely behind.
In the distance, the mountain fox was lying on the ground, as if it had been waiting for them for a long time. Tang Youyou walked towards it, and then saw it get up and head deeper into the cave.
The areas illuminated by the torch were all gloomy and damp walls. Inside the cave, there was also a pungent smell of blood.
This was not a good sign.
Seeing this, Tang Youyou had a bad feeling in her heart.
"Hua Ling, can you smell it?"
"The smell of blood. A very strong smell of blood."
Apparently, the smell she smelled was right. They quickened their pace and followed the mountain fox to the innermost part of the cave.
They noticed that the mountain fox walked very lightly, so they also unconsciously lightened their steps. Suddenly, Tang Youyou seemed to hear some movement above her head.
She looked up and saw something flash by.
Hua Ling made a gesture for silence. They put out the torches in their hands and stood still to get used to the darkness. After they gradually got a clear view of the surrounding environment, Tang Youyou led Hua Ling inside.
However, as they walked, something behind them kept following, seemingly getting closer and closer.
This was not a good sign.
She signaled Hua Ling in front to stop for a while. Then she observed the position of the mountain fox, which was right in the center of the innermost part of the cave.
But her intuition told Tang Youyou that it wasn't safe there.
Just as she was hesitating, a shrill scream broke the silence of the cave. They saw a man being swallowed alive by a huge python. Half of his body was already in the snake's belly, and the scene was extremely bloody.
On the other side, several scholars were cowering behind a huge rock. Apparently, these scholars were unlucky ones who had been separated from the group.
Tang Youyou watched the python. Its sharp teeth were constantly piercing into the unlucky man's body, and it was using the strength of its lower jaw to pull the living man into its body.