This person is truly a living Buddha.

"Xu Mu, from Jiangbei."

Xu Mu didn’t hide it.

"Good, now I believe in your value. I won’t kill you, but you owe me a favor."

Qin Ju pocketed the remaining two Qi Gathering Pills.

These were valuable items. Just from that burst of power earlier, they should be able to let someone who’s never practiced martial arts step directly into becoming an ancient warrior.

"Alright, I’m a man of my word. If you ever need anything, just ask."

Xu Mu smiled.

"I won’t be polite then."

Qin Ju picked up a small shard of stone nearby. Drawing his dagger, he said, "Give me your phone number. My phone’s been dead for a while."

Xu Mu nodded lightly and told him the number.

Qin Ju carved the number into the stone shard with his dagger, then set it aside.

"My name’s Qin Ju, from Jiangnan. You can leave now, but I’ll be looking for you before long."

Qin Ju waved at Xu Mu.

"Senior, do you know how to get out of this formation?" Xu Mu asked.

"If I tell you, will you owe me another favor?"

Qin Ju smiled.

"Exactly."

Xu Mu nodded.

"This formation is called the Reverse Grid. Within the thick fog, directions are all mixed up. If you try to walk straight through the fog, you’ll never get out."

Qin Ju explained, "You have to walk sideways to pass through."

"I see, thanks a lot."

Xu Mu cupped his hands in thanks and then headed out of the cave.

...

Xu Ningbing and the others waited quietly outside the cave.

Dai Xingluo noticed Xu Mu hadn’t come out yet and grew increasingly anxious.

Xu Ningbing wiped away her tears with her sleeve and suddenly stood up. "No, I have to go back in again."

Just as she was about to leap up and open the cave entrance, it suddenly opened a moment earlier than expected.

Then, a bottle of mineral water, several packs of instant noodles, and some sausages fell from above.

Finally, Xu Mu jumped down from above.

"Xiao Mu! You’re okay!"

Seeing this, Xu Ningbing immediately rushed over and hugged Xu Mu tightly, giving him a heartfelt tackle.

"That senior was pretty reasonable. I gave him all my rare materials and promised to help him with a few tasks, and he let me go."

Xu Mu pointed at the supplies on the ground. "He even gave me all these."

He hadn’t intended to bring out his supplies before, but now that he knew how to get out, he didn’t need them anymore.

He wanted to make the most of these resources.

Outside the cave entrance, they lit a fire and found a hollowed-out stone slab to use as a bowl.

They washed it with the mineral water, then boiled the water inside.

The four of them sat around the fire, eating instant noodles, each adding two sausages.

After eating their fill, Dai Xingluo laughed, "I feel like this trip has been nothing but a vacation."

"Vacations have to end sometime."

Xu Mu looked at the group and said, "That senior just told me how to leave. The exit isn’t far from here. You three should go ahead."

"Aren’t you coming?"

Xu Ningbing asked, looking at Xu Mu.

"No, I have some business to take care of."

Xu Mu glanced at his phone. “It’s already past two in the morning. Dad must be worried sick. You should go out and let him know you’re safe. Oh, and don’t forget Ye Tong.”

Xu Ningbing hesitated for a moment, then nodded softly. “I’m not leaving. I’ll wait for you at the hotel outside.”

“Alright!”

Xu Mu nodded in agreement.

Under the cover of night, Xu Mu led the group back toward the foggy area.

He explained the method to them: when entering the thick fog, don’t walk straight ahead—move sideways instead.

They kept up this sideways movement for nearly thirty seconds before finally passing through the dense mist.

Even if someone stumbled upon this trick by chance, few would persist that long.

After emerging from the fog, Fan Shiyu was deeply grateful to Xu Mu. Without him, she might have died there.

“Xu Mu, if fate allows, we’ll meet again.”

As an assassin, Fan Shiyu couldn’t afford to get too attached; otherwise, she wouldn’t have survived this long.

She didn’t exchange contact information with Xu Mu—after all, chances were slim they’d ever meet again.

Better to just keep it as a memory.

“Okay.”

Xu Mu nodded gently.

Xu Ningbing and Fan Shiyu each grabbed their chains and left.

Watching their backs disappear, Xu Mu turned to the indifferent Dai Xingluo. “Why aren’t you leaving?”

“Did I say I was leaving?” Dai Xingluo smiled faintly. “My goal this time is the rare treasures. How could I walk away empty-handed?”

“Now that you know how to get out, you have no worries holding you back.”

Xu Mu nodded, understanding Dai Xingluo’s resolve.

Though Xu Ningbing hadn’t taken anything, she was arguably the biggest beneficiary this time, having ingested the divine medicine.

Fan Shiyu had completed her mission, but Dai Xingluo came away with nothing.

“Be careful,” Xu Mu warned.

“I know.”

With that, Dai Xingluo stepped back into the thick fog.

Xu Mu followed. He noticed that once inside, the location seemed random.

He and Dai Xingluo didn’t end up in the same spot.

That was better—what he was about to do required solitude.

Returning to the cave nearby, he retrieved the bottled water he’d hidden there and stored it in his inventory space.

The others had followed him earlier, so he couldn’t bring such a large item with them.

Once ready, he set off toward where the golden divine wheat had been.

Along the way, he came across two corpses. Judging by their skin, both had died of dehydration.

Xu Mu checked their backpacks; they were open, obviously their treasures had been taken.

However, he found a black robe there.

He slipped the robe on, filled the backpack with water, and pressed on.

Finally, he returned to the spot, only to find more people had perished from thirst.

The bald man wearing sunglasses still stood guard beside the golden divine wheat.

“Instant noodles, spicy strips, bottled water! Free! Just hand over the rare treasures in your possession!”

Xu Mu’s shout shattered the eerie silence.

He deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound deep and resonant.

Those on the verge of losing consciousness jolted awake at the sound, their eyes fluttering open.

“I want water!”

A scarred man weakly pulled out his backpack and, with a hoarse voice, said, "I’ll give you everything."

Xu Mu walked over, opened it, and took a quick look—there was nothing valuable inside.

But every little bit counts. He grabbed the backpack, casually handed him a bottle of mineral water.

Everyone around was stunned.

No tricks—he was actually giving it for real. This guy was a living saint.

“I want water!”

“Me too!”

…

The crowd around went wild, frantically pulling out the precious materials they had painstakingly gathered.

It was a desperate move—compared to these rare treasures, their own lives were far more valuable.

“Here, for you! You’ve got some good stuff in there. I’ll throw in an extra pack of spicy strips.”

Xu Mu, like everyone else, was grinning ear to ear.

Trading a bottle of mineral water for so many rare materials? This was just too good.

By now, Xu Mu’s arms were loaded with backpacks.

He immediately ran down the mountain, stashing all the rare materials into his storage space, then turned back.

Before he could say a word, the scarred man suddenly lunged at Xu Mu.

The others nearby also started to stir, itching for a fight.

One bottle of mineral water downed, the body mostly recovered.

So, these things belonged to those with power.

The bald old man smiled—this black-robed guy was as good as dead.

He didn’t even know who these people were, yet he was recklessly handing things out here.

When life and death are on the line, who has time for manners?

Those who talk about manners die first.