3rd Grade Flame Surge Herb
"I am fine. This little pain will be gone in just a few moments. Let's go check the flower first and then deal with the beast's body." Quhiyn shook his arms as she nodded. They walked toward the flower.
"This flower. It has a red glow and 5 dark-red petals." Liyin thought for a second before her eyes gleamed with surprise. "It's a 3rd Tier herb, the Flame Surge. It gives a permanent boost to the strength."
Liyin gazed at it with bright eyes.
"3rd Tier herb. This is rare." Quhiyn was now even more optimistic about this place. "How much do you think it can be sold for?"
"Hm, I would say at least 50 Sect Coins." Liyin said. Quhiyn's eyes widen a bit. This was an expensive find.
"We can divide the coins after selling it or do you need it for something?" He asked, noticing her shiny eyes. He didn't have much use of it other than selling it for Sect Coins.
"uh, you can auction it if you are going to sell." Liyin suggested.
"What 'you'? It's 'we'." His smile became stiff as his eyebrows narrowed a little.
"No, you put yourself at risk and earned it, it's yours." Liyin pressed her lips together.
"No, we worked together. Dividing will be equal unless one of us really wants the item and needs it for a specific use. If you want an item, tell me." Quhiyn clearly said with a firm tone. Liyin's eyes were wide with surprise. Her heart jumped up and down.
"Um, about if I want it, I have recently started trying my hand at Pill Refining and this herb is important for a 3rd Grade Pill but I am nowhere near that skill." Liyin said with a nervous tone. She felt relaxed around him and didn't want this to come in between that which could poison the atmosphere.
"Exactly. I wouldn't have known you needed it for such an important task if you didn't tell me now and it would have been sold. So, from now on, tell me whenever you need an item." Quhiyn emphasized with a smile and continued, "You can keep this herb."
"No, I can't take it without you giving you something in return," Liyin said, looking at him with firm eyes.
"In that case, you can give me the first pill you successfully make with this." Quhiyn said, staring back at her eyes. She thought for a moment.
"Okay. I will not disappoint you." She showed a big smile then packed the herb.
"Mm. Let's go."
After they walked to the beast's body, they inspected it, discussing what could be useful.
"There are a lot of useful parts. We can't carry them all and can't also stay here for too long." Liyin said, throwing pieces of meat in a large pouch.
"Mm. Should we try to find a cave after getting the most useful items?"
"Let's do that." Liyin quickly agreed. She didn't want to leave what could be useful, it would be stuck in her mind.
They got the fangs, claws, and part of the fur and meat. After arranging, they headed through the trees near where the beast slept. After minutes of walking, Quhiyn noticed a long stone wall, the side of a cliff far away. Its top covered in cloud. It was flat as a wall.
Liyin followed his eyes through the gaps of leaves and noticed too.
"What could be at the top?" She mumbled.
"I am curious too. It should have a cave at the bottom. Let's go." Quhiyn said and they resumed walking toward it with caution.
One and a half hour later, they reached the bottom of the cliff. They were somewhat exhausted and sweaty.
"Even though we sprinted a lot of the way it still took us quite some time." Liyin huffed. At least, now they could have a better chance at a safe residence. That would make up for the energy lost.
"Mm. Let's start looking from our left."
They walked beside the cliff, looking for any large-sized holes or a cave. Minutes later, they found a meter in width and 3 meters tall crack.
"Finally! We found one." Liyin said. They could now rest without worrying about their backs.
"haha, we need to check the inside first." Quhiyn entered with caution and sword out. It was dim inside even though plenty of light slipped through the small holes.
It was circular and spacious with at least 10 meters of width. The ground was quite flat too. Both of them inspected every corner for 3 minutes.
"It seems fine to me. What do you say, Liyin?" Quhiyn said, retracting his sword.
"We can stay here but I want it to be a little more cleaner." Liyin didn't hide her thoughts.
"Mm. I prefer cleanliness too. Let's do some it after getting the beast body here." Quhiyn said.
"Perfect." Liyin said with a big smile.
She kept herself clean together with all of her belongings while a lot of the Outer Court disciples didn't care at all about hygiene. This led to her keeping a distance from them which resulted in her being known as someone cold and hated people.
They headed out to retrieve the beast's body. Two hours later, they returned and got to work after some rest while discussing the plans for the day.
They gathered pouches of water from the nearby fresh pond then cleaned up the cave. They went out to cut down a tree for a long-term fire, blockade, containers, and if needed uses. They gathered grasses, bushes, and insect repellant herbs together with some common herbs that would help out with the meat preservation. They placed two large boulders near their entrance to block it.
After that, they created a fire and beds by stuffing their pouches with grass.
The fragrance whiffs from the burning insect repellant herbs pushed out the stale air of the cave. The sky had dimmed and they sat down to take apart the beast's body. By the time they were done, the Sun had set down entirely and darkness concealed the world.
"We finally can rest now." Liyin sighed with relief after sitting down beside the small fire. It was enough to illuminate a meter from the center.
"Yes, a well-deserved rest." Quhiyn sat beside her and flipped a piece of meat. It was almost done and the smell tickled their hungry stomach. Because of how familiar Liyin was with normal herbs, collecting was a big success. They could use them to add flavors to any dish they made.