“How much further are the caves, Miss Ling?” Yuri asked with concern, noticing that most of the expedition members were tired and breathing heavily, especially Grandpa Kang.

The group - consisting of Jin, Yuri, Herbalist Ling, Grandpa Kang, three commoners, and two other cultivators - had hiked a mountain forest path for nearly three hours before deviating into untrodden territory in the last hour. Because the moonlight could scarcely penetrate the dense canopy, they each had to hold up heavy sun stones, rocks that emitted light in the dark, in addition to carrying an assortment of weapons, camping and extraction gear, and food.

At the beginning of the trip, Yuri offered to lighten their load with her spatial ring but was soundly rejected by the others. Apparently, Jin’s altercation at the escort bureau put everyone else on edge. Since Yuri belonged with Jin, the other party members, with the exception of Ling and Grandpa Kang, naturally extended their distrust to her as well.

“We’re very close - a quarter of an incense stick away,” Ling replied between heavy panting, herself not much better for the wear even though she had given most of her gear to Yuri for safekeeping.

True to the herbalist’s words, the group soon arrived at the spot where they planned to set up base camp. Tired and hungry, Ling got to cooking dinner while the others erected tents and established perimeter alarms using ropes and bells.

Yuri rolled up her sleeves and volunteered to help with food preparation. Not one to turn down assistance, Ling graciously showed the violet-eyed girl how to clean and marinate the meat. Afterwards, they went to peeling and chopping different kinds of vegetables. The girls decided on stew for supper, something hearty but quick. The party had about an hour to rest before the cave exploration.

While the others stayed to make camp, Jin ventured to one of the cave entrances in order to survey the area ahead of time. He fell into deep thought, trying to recall old esoteric knowledge that he learned during his studies with Tian Long. He sensed a cultivator from the group secretly tail him but pretended not to notice.

“Something about this cave makes me uneasy,” the person following Jin finally broke silence. It was the female cultivator who wielded dual machetes. She had dark black hair and a narrow face. Every move she made mirrored that of a panther in the middle of a hunt - lithe and controlled.

“You sense it too?” Jin responded, sparing her a quick glance. “It’s the rock formations.” He pointed to the mouth of the cave.

“What do you mean?” the cultivator inquired.

“The cuts and edges look too clean. They’re probably not natural.”

“Mandibalores?” gasped the woman, betraying tenseness in her voice. Although the oversized ant-like creature was a rank 1 insect, mandibalores typically lived in large colonies with their hive queens. The sheer number of these crawling critters could easily overwhelm qi adept cultivators if they weren’t careful.

“Possibly. If it is mandibalores, then it makes sense why there are artificial cave entrances that lead directly into the Gaoshan tunnel system. The insects use these caves to lure in unsuspecting humans and animals who take shelter inside.”

“Shit,” swore the woman. “Let's hope it’s not an active site anymore. The herbalist and the old man told us that they were able to safely gather blue candle weeds here on their last trip.”

“That or they just got lucky. I wouldn’t blame you if you decided to quit right now. It’s likely the smart thing to do,” said Jin.

“Can’t,” she hissed. “I need the quick money.”

Jin could somewhat understand her motivations. After all, independent cultivators who weren’t affiliated or sponsored by organizations, prominent families, sects, and governments had a harder time acquiring resources. For the price of preserving their freedom, these independent cultivators resorted to doing odd jobs and temporary work to maintain sufficient income.

“What are you and the girl here for? Surely not money,” the woman probed, pointing out Jin’s obsidian spatial ring. These rings were generally very expensive, even for the average cultivator.

“Experience.”

“Lucky brats,” she murmured.

“Since neither of us plan to back out, we should make a contingency plan in case things get dicey,” Jin stated mysteriously, waving at the woman to follow him into the cave.

“How?”

Jin didn’t bother turning back to see if she was coming. “You’ll see.”

Most of the group were nearly done with their meals by the time Jin and the female cultivator, named Mei, returned.

“There you are, Jin! Here’s your stew,” said Yuri, rushing over to give him a steaming bowl of vegetable and meat soup. To maintain their fake relationship as cousins, she did not address Jin as ‘master’ in front of the others. Prior to Azure Lake City, Jin instructions were for her to be mindful of any disguises that they adopted. Yet, despite her best efforts, Yuri had already slipped up a few times in the past week. Blaming herself, she resolved to be more vigilant going forward.

“Thanks,” replied Jin, wolfing down the contents of the bowl.

After everyone finished supper, Grandpa Kang assigned the group into two teams. The rationale was that they would split up to cover more area in the tunnels.

“Team one will be Ling, Jin, Yuri, and Taobao. Team two will be Mei, Gaebuk, Minho, and me. I made sure to put two cultivators on each team,” Grandpa Kang spoke wisely and turned to Jin and Yuri. "Remember, don't put the herbs in your spatial rings. We need the weeds to stay alive. Plant them in the special soil boxes Ling and I brought."

“What about me?” the third and unmentioned commoner asked.

“You’re assigned camp duty. Protect the base camp and make sure it’s intact when we come back.”

The commoner seemed rather pleased at his assignment. Contrary to Ling’s and Grandpa Kang’s assurance about the safety of the excursion, there was still a general atmosphere of uneasiness over the group. Rumors of men dying unpleasant deaths in the area were not so easily dispelled.

“If no one else has any questions or complaints, then let’s go!” Grandpa Kang announced. “Don’t forget to check your gear.”

As the teams entered into the caves, they were hit with the smell of damp, musty earth. The sun stones illuminated a path into the deep darkness.

Yuri gulped in anticipation and failed to hold back a shiver.

“You’re doing great, Yuri. I’ve got your back,” Jin quietly comforted her.

Yuri took a few deep breaths to shake out her nerves. Entering deeper into the blackness, she recalled Jin’s lessons and tethered her qi core to her spatial ring in case she needed to quickly summon her sword.

Just a month ago, Yuri would have never imagined that her life would change so drastically, going from a happy-go-lucky bookworm to losing her clan and becoming a cultivator. She wondered what else the fates had in store for her. Then again, some questions were best left unanswered.