Chapter 110: A Hero Saves a Beauty

That day, the caravan took a rest, and the listless Wei Yi suddenly perked up. He called out to Fang Rui, who was at the rear wagon, “There’s a girl, a beautiful girl!”

“Where?” The previously lethargic people instantly brightened.

There were a few women among the caravan, the most attractive being Duan Mengrou, whose appearance was passable at best. No one in the caravan had much interest in these treasure-seeking women, and Wei Yi paid even less attention to Duan Mengrou. As for Yun Qing, well, their gender was somewhat ambiguous.

Wei Yi’s opinion was that the women in the caravan were either plainly ordinary or strangely ugly.

“Where?” The group looked around but could not spot the beautiful girl Wei Yi mentioned.

“Two li away. She’s being attacked by wild beasts. Don’t compete with me; I’m going to be the hero who saves the beauty.” Wei Yi’s voice echoed in the air as he dashed off into the distance.

Fang Rui’s interest was piqued as well—the girl was indeed quite beautiful. He followed closely, eager to witness the heroic rescue.

Many of the guards’ cultivation levels were lower than the two, so they couldn’t see or hear as far, but upon noticing the direction of their run, they too hurried over to see what was happening.

In a short time, more than half the caravan had left their posts.

Yun Qing and Xiao Jingzi had just reached the riverside and were taking wooden buckets from the system backpack. Xiao Jingzi was eager to try and said, “I want to be a hero and save the beauty too.”

Yun Qing wanted to watch the rescue as well to gain experience and loot, but with so many people there, it was likely the humans would outnumber the monsters. They wouldn’t even be able to toss a pebble in, so she resigned herself to quietly fetching water and waiting for the outcome.

Soon, about twenty people including Wei Yi returned in a grand procession, their faces full of excitement. Between Wei Yi and Fang Rui was a visibly shaken young woman, who was placed in the third wagon of the caravan.

Behind them, several dead wild wolves were tossed into the provisions wagon.

The girl was too far away for Yun Qing to see clearly.

She recalled the caravan’s strict rule forbidding the casual acceptance of strangers and wondered how the caravan would handle this situation.

Ahead, the crowd made it impossible to see the progress of events, though Xiao Jingzi managed to squeeze in to watch the commotion.

Later, Yun Qing heard from Xiao Jingzi, who had been watching, that Wei Yi had argued firmly that one could not abandon a wounded and vulnerable woman in the mountains—at the very least, she had to be taken to the next town.

Fang Rui, sensing there was more to the girl than met the eye, also persuaded the leader to keep her.

The wounded woman’s name was Tang Luo. She said there was a town called Rizhao about a few hundred li away. She did not intend to cling to the caravan and would leave once her injuries improved.

A few knew that the caravan’s first stop was indeed Rizhao Town, and those involved in the rescue all urged the leader to bring her along.

Leader Jing was at a loss but ultimately agreed to let Tang Luo travel with the caravan to Rizhao Town.

Yun Qing saw Tang Luo up close for the first time the second day after she joined the caravan, during meal delivery. Tang Luo was still injured and resting on a bed inside the wagon.

“Thank you for your hard work, sister. You can just leave it nearby,” Tang Luo said with some effort as she sat up and greeted Yun Qing with a gentle smile.

Her face was oval-shaped with well-defined features and pleasant looks. The slight pallor invited concern, and her sunny smile was disarming, though the smile did not quite reach her eyes, indicating it was more polite than genuine.

Yun Qing noticed white text above Tang Luo’s head: Name: Tang Luo, Level: Unknown. Unknown level meant she was at least ten levels higher. People ten levels above calling her “sister” made Yun Qing quietly resentful—this cultivation level was roughly the age she had in her previous life, and Tang Luo was probably not younger.

Yun Qing returned the smile, keeping her composure, and set down the food. “Miss Tang, please rest well. I’ll go deliver food to the others.”

The caravan had a mysterious girl, and to Yun Qing, that simply meant more cooking. She prepared a little extra for the third wagon, but after only one meal delivery, Wei Yi came by the food wagon and told her there was no need to prepare meals for Miss Tang Luo, as he had arranged a fasting pill for her.

Yun Qing was indifferent to this—fewer dishes to wash was a relief.

After three days of travel, the caravan did not stop for fishing again but instead passed through a valley full of medicinal herbs.

The leader ordered everyone to gather herbs, specifying only mature ones should be picked and that young seedlings must not be damaged to protect the environment for the herbs’ growth.

The guards disliked herb gathering, the merchants were indifferent, but Yun Qing enjoyed it greatly.

Wei Yi, an intern guard, insisted that for the safety of the entire group, they should not collect herbs.

He led the opposition, and several guards followed suit.

Leader Jing was troubled. Wei Yi was the biggest troublemaker in the caravan—he did not listen to him and was even stronger in cultivation. Before departure, Guo Hu had specially instructed that Wei Yi’s identity was special.

He could not control Wei Yi but could manage the others. In the end, Wei Yi, Fang Rui, and Tang Luo did not participate in the herb gathering; everyone else complied with the leader’s orders.

Yun Qing was unaware of the other caravan members’ affairs. She was like a mouse in a rice jar, greedily picking herb after herb.

If she did not recognize a herb, she would ask others nearby and quickly learn its name.

Leader Jing noticed Yun Qing’s efficiency and skill in gathering herbs and immediately assigned her to continue herb collection, leaving cooking duties to Xiao Jingzi and Old Li.

Yun Qing was delighted. Her crafting experience was nearly level 40, while her gathering experience was only 37, combat at 36, and her character level had reached 36, with her external aura sealed at the fifth layer of the innate realm.

Seeing the leader’s intention to transfer Yun Qing to another group, Xiao Jingzi grew anxious.

Yun Qing worked quickly and well, never lazy. If she left their group, Xiao Jingzi's workload would more than double.

He tried hard to befriend Yun Qing, hoping she would stay with their wagon for their good relationship.

As Yun Qing gathered herbs, she noticed a system notification—Xiao Jingzi’s favorability toward her had reached “friendly.”

Xiao Jingzi told her that a few years ago, the caravan had been forced by heavy rains to take an unusual route and had gotten lost in this valley, where they discovered many medicinal herbs.

Back then, the herbs were far more abundant. The caravan members felt they had struck it rich. However, near Rizhao Town, they encountered ruthless bandits, resulting in several deaths and nearly wiping out the caravan. Fortunately, experts from Rizhao Town came to their rescue.

Xiao Jingzi wanted to share more about the caravan’s history but was called away by Old Li for work.

Yun Qing focused on herb gathering without rest, even when others took breaks. She ate quickly so she could spend more time collecting herbs for the caravan.

Not only was her gathering speed and quality excellent, but she also only picked mature herbs, leaving not a single seedling harmed.

The leader nodded inwardly. Though she had joined through connections, she was diligent and dependable—a promising prospect.

Senior caravan members nearby also nodded silently. The girl was hardworking but lacked basic knowledge, not recognizing common herbs like spirit berries, prunella, or benzoin. If she kept working steadily for two years, she could become a fine merchant.

By the time herb gathering was nearly complete, two full days had passed, and Yun Qing’s gathering experience had surpassed half of level 39.