Chapter 2072: Chapter 2109: Hot Spring Encounter

Watching the wild wolves pounce toward the flying sword one after another, Ye Fan turned around and ran. The flying sword flew back to him, and with the Wild Wolf King no longer a threat, the wolves pursued him again.

Ye Fan’s eyes swept across the scene, spotting a mountain cave ahead. Without thinking further, he charged straight in.

With a "swish!" sound, the flying sword flew back into Ye Fan’s hand. Ye Fan swung his hand, striking the cave wall, causing the entrance to collapse and blocking the wolf pack outside.

Before Ye Fan could even celebrate, he took in the scene inside the cave and couldn’t help but feel bitter.

Mountain Rats!

The cave was filled with mountain rats the size of heads; each rat had tusks gleaming with cold light and red eyes staring at Ye Fan who burst into the cave.

These rats rely solely on their tusks for attacking. A single one is not scary, but the terrifying part is the dense swarm of mountain rats filling the cave—there’s no knowing just how many are gathered here.

Originally, Ye Fan considered escaping, but having collapsed the cave to block the wolf pack, even if he managed to get out, he’d face wolves outside, leading to certain death. With no escape and potentially a Mountain Rat King present, the situation was indeed dire.

With no way out, Ye Fan realized the mountain rats posed a lesser threat by comparison and decided to confront them within the cave. It was strange to have so many mountain rats here when usually seeing even one is rare; what brought them together?

Although mountain rats are low-level beasts, Ye Fan found them manageable. He couldn’t understand why they gathered here, so he wielded his treasured sword to drive them away while moving deeper into the cave.

Perhaps sensing Ye Fan’s formidable presence, the mountain rats scampered deeper into the cave as he approached, hastening his pace as they retreated to a smaller tunnel entrance where they fiercely held their ground, baring their teeth at him.

"There’s treasure here!"

Seeing the mountain rats’ behavior made Ye Fan gleam with joy. Clearly, there was a reason for their gathering; if heavenly materials and earthly treasures are often guarded by exotic beasts, then their presence here could be explained.

Ye Fan’s eyes sparkled as his treasured sword and flying sword cut through the mountain rats, sending them screaming as they retreated, finally retreating into the small tunnel.

The tunnel opening was very small. Fearing a Mountain Rat King inside, Ye Fan charged in with both weapons ready, slaying the mountain rats as they retreated step by step.

"There truly is a spiritual treasure!"

Within the cave, there was a head-sized hole in the ceiling where moonlight cascaded, perfectly illuminating a Five-Leaf Spiritual Herb, its radiance shimmering in the light, a sign of treasure.

The cave was much larger than the tunnel entrance, with only a hundred or so mountain rats present, yet they did not guard the spirit grass, instead clustered in a corner of the cave.

"Something’s unusual!"

Ye Fan’s gaze sharpened—these rats defended the cave but seemed to ignore the spirit grass, instead gathering in the corner where there surely lay something more valuable than the spirit grass!

With this thought, Ye Fan dashed into the cave, charging towards the throng of rats, confident that more treasures awaited among them!

Ye Fan charged ruthlessly into the rat pack, his treasured sword leaving no mercy as the rats scattered in terror, yet revealed no treasure.

Soon, Ye Fan noticed a peculiar "mountain rat"! This rat was larger than the others, entirely black with no mixed fur. Upon closer inspection, it resembled more a puppy than a rat.

"How strange, why are these mountain rats surrounding a puppy?"

Perplexed, Ye Fan reached out with the treasured sword to touch the puppy. Unexpectedly, the scattered mountain rats retaliated madly, apparently protecting the puppy, puzzling Ye Fan.

And that puppy, despite not moving, blinked its glossy, gemstone-like eyes at Ye Fan, filled with fervor.

So adorable did this dog-like creature appear, bereft of any feral traits, resembling more a neighbor’s pet than a wild beast.

Following the puppy’s gaze, Ye Fan noticed somehow his Hundred Treasure Bag had been exposed. Enraged, several mountain rats charged at him, and Ye Fan flashed his treasured sword, sending them flying.

"Swish~"

Just then, the puppy flashed when the darkness hit; the puppy disappeared, slipping into the Hundred Treasure Bag through the seam.

"Woo..."

Once inside the bag, the puppy let out a soft growl, causing the mountain rats to scatter and flee, ceasing their attacks on Ye Fan.

What was happening? The puppy’s speed was so swift, Ye Fan barely reacted before it slipped into the bag. Its mere cry scattered the mountain rats, indicating this puppy was no ordinary creature. High-level spirit beasts can command lower ones; if this puppy is an intelligent high-level spirit beast, then Ye Fan needs vigilance to avoid any lethal surprises in his sleep.

Yet, if it’s a high-level spirit beast, it lacks the aura typical of such beasts, nor displayed hostility towards Ye Fan—especially after spotting his Hundred Treasure Bag, seeming eager to enter. Perhaps it wished to acknowledge him as its master?

While Ye Fan pondered these peculiarities, a "crash" sound arose outside, followed by a distant wolf howl.

"Awo~~!

Outside, a Wolf King had cleared the cave entrance, leading wild wolves to flood in. They soon closed in on the small cave!

Ye Fan panicked, controlling his flying sword to attack the cave ceiling repeatedly, soon expanding the hole into an exit. He safely stored the spirit grass in the Hundred Treasure Bag and leapt out hurriedly, barely escaping just as the wolves surged through the tunnel.

Ye Fan, who jumped out of the cave, didn’t stop but quickly fled into the distance. The wolves have an incredible sense of smell; once they rush in, they will definitely follow the bloody scent on him to find him.

He didn’t know how long he had been running, but finally, there were no more wolves pursuing him. Ye Fan stopped, the bloody smell on his body nauseating him. He looked around and realized he was not far from the natural hot spring where he had bathed before, so he hurriedly ran there.

Thinking about the little dog that had entered his Hundred Treasure Bag earlier, Ye Fan used his Divine Sense to probe inside the bag. What he saw made him at a loss whether to laugh or cry; the little dog was already asleep, and the Spirit Grass he had obtained with great difficulty was nowhere to be found, making it clear that this was a dog thief.

Sensing Ye Fan’s Divine Sense, the little dog suddenly jumped up, its fur standing on end, growling angrily.

"Can you be reasonable? This is my Hundred Treasure Bag, you ate my Spirit Grass and still act fierce toward me; believe it or not, I’ll chop you with my sword."

The little dog seemed to understand Ye Fan’s words, and its attitude changed immediately. Its eyes showed a flattering smile, its tail wagging eagerly, truly acting like a little dog trying to please Ye Fan.

"I’m dazed, what kind of a spiritual beast is this? It’s simply a little dog. I’m telling you, you can stay inside, but don’t touch my things again, or I’ll serve you with my flying sword."

Looking at the little dog’s pleading eyes, Ye Fan couldn’t help but shake his head and instruct it. The little dog seemed to understand, nodding vigorously, then rolled over and went to sleep.

"Sigh, might as well consider it as keeping a pet."

Thinking this, he arrived at the side of the natural hot spring. Ye Fan could no longer stand it and dove into the pool, washing himself happily.

After washing a few times, a strange sensation surged in his heart. Ye Fan turned his head to look, just in time to see a graceful figure; there was someone else in the hot spring! And a beautiful woman at that!

Ye Fan was startled, looking closely; he realized he had seen this woman before. She was the lame girl the Zhong Family’s evil servants had attempted to capture.

He hadn’t seen clearly before, but now he could see distinctly. That girl’s delicate face was as icy as she looked at him, her entire appearance as pure and beautiful as a snow lotus. Like Chi Fan, she hadn’t removed her clothes, but after they got wet, they clung tightly to her beautiful body, barely revealing the marvelous curves, making it hard not to be stirred.

"You shameless scoundrel, take this palm of mine!"

The girl had been bathing when she used her Treasure to kill the three people who tried to kidnap her. Her Inner Strength was somewhat depleted. Unexpectedly, she encountered wolves after that and, after a fierce battle, she was utterly exhausted. Yet she couldn’t bear the bloody smell on her body. Seeing a good pool of water, she couldn’t help but jump in.

She had almost finished washing but didn’t anticipate Ye Fan jumping in so suddenly. Now she was embarrassed and angry, forgetting about her exhausted Inner Strength. She slapped her palm toward Ye Fan.

Ye Fan wasn’t aware of her Inner Strength deficiency. As her palm came, True Qi in his body subconsciously protected him, and automatically rebounded out.

"Slap!" "Splash"

The girl’s palm landed firmly, Ye Fan’s True Qi stirred, bouncing her directly out, causing her to faint in the water.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Seeing the girl lying in the water, Ye Fan felt uneasy and called out to her, but got no response. Shocked, he quickly went to her, discovering she had already fainted.

Disregarding the difference between men and women, Ye Fan picked up the girl and jumped onto the shore. With a touch of True Qi, their clothes dried instantly.

Placing his hand on the major acupuncture point on the girl’s back, Ye Fan transferred some True Qi to her. After a while, the girl slowly woke.

"What did you do to me?"

The girl saw Ye Fan holding her and asked him with alarm.

Looking at the girl’s appearance, Ye Fan felt a very peculiar sensation, as if he had known her for a long time.

"Miss, I didn’t do anything. It seemed your True Qi was obstructed, I just saved you."

Ye Fan didn’t understand why he felt this way but still explained to the girl.

The girl felt her body had not been harmed and sighed inwardly, thinking: "Alas, of all times it had to be now when my Inner Strength is lost, what will I do now?"

"Howl, howl howl!"

At some point, the black-haired little dog came out too, barking happily at the girl, eyeing the Bone Pendant on her neck with fervent desire.

"Ah! Is this little dog yours?" The girl asked Ye Fan, seeming to know what it was!

"Yes, it’s mine; it just started following me." Ye Fan replied to the girl, thinking: "An hour ago, it wasn’t mine, but it certainly is a little pervert of a dog; it came out on its own seeing a beautiful woman. Looks like I need to find someone to fix the crack on the Hundred Treasure Bag soon."

"Miss, where is your home? Tell me, and I’ll take you there. Although I can see your True Qi is obstructed, I don’t know your method of energy circulation and can’t heal you."

Ye Fan said to the girl.

"Meng Qing!"

The girl suddenly uttered two words, leaving Ye Fan quite surprised.

"What did you say?"