"If you ask me, you Miao people are just no good!" Er Ya seized every opportunity to mock Miao Tong, saying with a scoff, "Already tired? Can you even do it, weakling?"
"Tang Er Ya! Who are you calling no good!" Miao Tong's eyes widened as soon as Er Ya said that. "If you ask me, it's you who's no good!"
"Who's no good! Come on! Race me! See who gets there first!" Er Ya said, and then she took off running.
"You! How dare you jump the start!" Miao Tong shouted as he also bolted after her, "Don't underestimate me!"
Watching Miao Tong and Er Ya sprint off, Di San frowned and immediately gave chase.
Xia Qingtian and Lu Yaoyang exchanged a helpless glance. "You should go after them too, don't let them fight."
"Alright, you and Qingyu can walk over slowly. Bai Yuqi, you stay with them." Lu Yaoyang nodded. "Master Shi, I'll trouble you as well."
"No trouble at all, don't worry, don't worry," Master Shi said with a hearty laugh, waving his hand generously.
"Bai Yuqi, don't cause trouble," Lu Yaoyang cautioned Bai Yuqi again before quickening his pace to catch up.
"Honestly..." Bai Yuqi put her hands in her pockets and clicked her tongue as she watched Lu Yaoyang's retreating back. "He's truly my nemesis. He never thinks of me for good things, but when it comes to ordering someone around, I'm the first one he targets."
Xia Qingtian, with Xia Qingyu's hand in hers, followed behind them. Hearing Bai Yuqi's complaint, she merely pursed her lips and smiled at each other.
Xia Qingyu's injury meant she couldn't do strenuous exercise, so Xia Qingtian walked a bit slower with her. Bai Yuqi accompanied the sisters, occasionally cracking jokes, which kept the mood lively.
Master Shi walked on the other side, maintaining a protective stance, which deterred anyone from causing trouble.
Meanwhile, the others hesitated.
The path ahead split into two: one was a steep shortcut, the other was a slightly longer, flatter path.
Time was limited. If they wanted to reach the treasure spot before the Lu, Miao, and Tang families, they had to risk the steep shortcut.
Besides, it wasn't that steep a shortcut. Looking around the island, there were no sheer cliffs or towering mountains to be seen.
With this thought, those who were genuinely after the treasure immediately decided to take the path to the left, the same path Xia Qingtian had chosen.
However, those who preferred a safer approach still felt it was better to follow Xia Qingtian and the others. After all, with the Lu, Miao, and Tang families clearing the way, it was at least safe.
It wouldn't be worth it to lose their lives without even seeing the treasure.
But catching up to Xia Qingtian and her group wasn't easy.
As the sun rose higher, many people genuinely lacked the strength to walk further.
Moreover, they heard that Xia Qingtian's designated resting spot was still more than an hour, almost two hours, away.
It would be better for them to rest here for a while, eat and drink their fill, and then proceed.
After all, the backpacks provided by the staff when they disembarked contained water and food. The Tang family girl had also climbed a tree and picked some fruit, which looked and smelled delicious. The tree wasn't tall, so they could try some later.
Once they were full and refreshed, they could catch up. Xia Qingtian's pace didn't seem particularly fast anyway.
With this in mind, these people settled down to rest. Indeed, some went to pick fruit from nearby trees and invited those around them to try.
The slightly tart and sweet fruit was juicy and had a pure, natural freshness.
These people found the fruit delicious and recommended it to each other. Before long, almost everyone who stayed to rest had tasted the fruit.
Less than three minutes later, the first person to eat the fruit began to hallucinate, "Money! So much money!"
One after another, people started hallucinating, "Gold! Quick, pick it up! It's all gold!"
"Don't grab! This gold is all mine! It's all mine! My gold!"
"Bastard! How dare you try to take my gold! I'll beat you to death!"
"Son of a bitch! I've had it with you for a long time! And you dare to try and take my gold! I'll fight you!"
"Diamonds!" A woman spun around, her face flushed with an unusual redness, her eyes wide with disbelief as she looked at the sky, "Diamonds are falling from the sky! So many diamonds!"
"Money! Money is flying!" another woman jumped up repeatedly, reaching out and grasping wildly at the air, "Money! It's all money!"
Looking at the scene before her, Xi Fu, holding the red fruit she hadn't eaten yet, was completely stunned.
Had these people gone mad?
Before she could react, Nie Qingkong preemptively knocked the fruit from Xi Fu's hand, "Don't eat it. These fruits are poisonous. They're hallucinating because they ate this thing!"
Xi Fu was startled and quickly withdrew her hand, looking at Xiang Xueyuan and Nie Qingkong with fear.
They had only just landed on the island.
Watching the chaotic spectacle, Xiang Xueyuan sneered, "Xia Qingtian has quite the methods."
In an instant, she had dealt with so many opponents without them even realizing it!
Even his carefully cultivated Shadow Gaia was missing.
Good, very good.
He was increasingly admiring Xia Qingtian.
Such a person, if they could not be used by him, then there was only death awaiting them.
"Father, what should we do?" Xi Fu asked Xiang Xueyuan.
"Take the shortcut," Xiang Xueyuan said with a smile. "Get there before Xia Qingtian and the others arrive, and I'll give these little ones a surprise."
"Father, this shortcut is quite steep, it might be dangerous," Nie Qingkong worried about Xiang Xueyuan's health. "Perhaps..."
After all, her adoptive father was getting old, and she didn't know what dangers awaited them on the island.
"It's fine, someone will help us clear the way," Xiang Xueyuan said, screwing the cap back on his mineral water bottle and handing it to Nie Qingkong. "Let's go."
"Yes, Father," Nie Qingkong took back the water bottle and said again, "If you feel unwell, we can rest at any time."
"Don't worry, my good child," Xiang Xueyuan smiled at Nie Qingkong before continuing forward, thinking in his heart that his final trial for Nie Qingkong could now begin.
Xi Fu, watching Xiang Xueyuan praise Nie Qingkong, couldn't help but her eyes lit up. Did this mean her adoptive father had decided not to kill Nie Qingkong?
Xi Fu looked at Nie Qingkong and Xiang Xueyuan walking ahead, her lips curling upwards, filled with joy.
On the other side, Xia Qingtian, her sister, and their group finally caught up with those ahead.
Er Ya and Miao Tong sat on rocks on either side of the path, looking like they didn't want to talk to each other.
"Who won?" Xia Qingtian asked with a smile.
"Er Ya," Lu Yaoyang paused, then handed Xia Qingtian a bottle of water. "She won, but not entirely."
Xia Qingtian blinked, and before she could fully comprehend, she heard Er Ya grumbling, "Who is your third brother anyway! I clearly won! Why did you hit me! Don't I have any dignity..."
"If you cared about dignity, you wouldn't have jumped the start," Di San said with a stern face, his tone far more expressive than his facial expression. "Victory without honor, should I not scold you and indulge you?"
"Tch..."
"Sister, do you want to eat a fruit?" Xia Qingyu picked two fruits from a nearby tree and offered one to Xia Qingtian.
They were bright red and looked very appetizing.
Although she hadn't eaten them, Er Ya had eaten them earlier, so it should be fine.
"Thank you, I'm a little thirsty," Xia Qingtian said gratefully, accepting the fruit. The small, round red fruit was alluring and looked very thirst-quenching.