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Duncan felt that he was really in a quagmire currently.

On the surface, it was a really simple decision to make. Life or wealth? The choice to make can be summed up with just these two words. 

Duncan could already feel several people watching from the dark. He knew what they all wanted him to do. It wasn't hard to extrapolate given how and when he came into their sight.

These people are currently waiting for him to unearth more of his caches. So that, when they dealt with him at last, they will be able to obtain the maximum benefit possible. It was easy to think of.

That left him with two options. One, go along with them and find himself embroiled in an inescapable net slowly. Or two, try to escape now before the net was closed and have a chance at life.

However, things weren't that simple. Duncan can easily guess that the people staring at him were more powerful than him. His only advantage against them was the techniques he practiced.

Even though Duncan practiced higher-tier techniques compared to them, Duncan didn't think he could go against them head-to-head. He had seen their attacks. They were powerful enough to overwhelm him if he wasn't careful. And there wasn't just one cultivator he had to contend against.

His only advantage was his speed. To be precise, his movement technique allowed him to be faster than them. Since that was the case, if he escaped now before the net closed, he could make it.

But, doing so would also alarm them.

These people are letting him be because he hadn't shown any signs of noticing them. If he tried to escape and alarmed them, then they might probably lose all caution and chase after him relentlessly.

Since that was the case, whether he escaped now or later didn't actually matter. He will be chased by them sooner or later. But, if he escaped now, he would lose out his caches. 

To a poor guy like Duncan, that was like cutting a piece of him. 

Those caches not only represented his path to wealth, but they were also future cultivation resources. He can't expect to find and enter another Grotto Heaven any time soon in the future. These resources would pave the way for his future cultivation.

He may be a direct disciple of his master, but Duncan didn't think his master would dote on him with resources. His master's idea of cultivation was something similar to throwing him into the cannibal cave. So, expecting his master to take care of his cultivation resources didn't sit well with Duncan.

However, if he could bring out the spirit herbs he had secreted so far, he would be able to sell those that weren't useful to him for the resources he needed. Duncan may be new to cultivation by most people's standards, but he wasn't someone who didn't know the value of having resources.

He didn't have any notable family behind him to provide him with endless resources. He definitely didn't have resources of his own. Even the spirit stones he had were already running out.

As for the two spatial rings he broke the restriction of, they had a lot of miscellaneous items. But, there weren't any treasures or spirit stones in them. The few resources he found in them left him more confused than anything.

Duncan knew his knowledge of the cultivation world wasn't very extensive. Maybe the stuff he found in those two rings was valuable. Maybe not. But, Duncan didn't feel like betting his future on items he didn't know the value of.

Since that was the case, it was better to cling onto the wealth he had personally acquired so far. Duncan knew the herbs he had collected would definitely sell well. If he got cold feet now and abandoned them, then he wasn't sure when he would get another windfall.

So, it was clear what he wanted to do deep in his heart.

Convincing himself to take that risk was what he needed to do at this moment. While Duncan wasn't a coward, he wasn't a reckless idiot either. He had once gone after wealth in Starmist City without thinking ahead much. That had landed him in a very dangerous situation.

Like they say, once bitten twice shy. 

As much as his heart told him to take the risk, Duncan was finding it very difficult to convince himself of the necessity of it. This dilemma has been plaguing Duncan for the past few hours.

He wasn't keen to put his life on the line just after doing it once. That time, he felt like he had to do that. But now, he didn't feel the urgent necessity he had at that moment. 

When he walked back to the cave region to face his death, he felt that he needed to do that. Moreover, Duncan felt that he would have gotten cold feet at the last moment, if not for the haze that had enveloped him.

Now, he wasn't feeling that need. Either choice had its own merits. He could escape now and find some other way to get resources once he gets out of the Grotto Heaven. Or he could take the risk and find a way to escape the net later. Either way felt fine. There was no pushing need to choose one way or another.

If these men had tried to kill him or capture him at all costs, Duncan would have escaped with no burden. He wasn't a fool to sacrifice his life for this small bit of wealth. But, their hesitation was giving him ideas. Now, he needed to think if he should try these dangerous ideas and the cost of it.

Duncan's eyes flickered rapidly as his thoughts churned.

In the end, his eyes firmed up as he reached a decision. Risk was an inherent part of his life. It was nothing new to him. His very nature was risk-taking. If not for that, he wouldn't have stepped out of Starsinger Village; he wouldn't have ridden into the Grasslands decisively while being chased by bandits; he wouldn't have walked out of that cannibal cave either.

So, Duncan decided to take the risk and see how the situation develops later. Furthermore, there was that trump card he had newly acquired… 

Decision made, Duncan firmed up his resolve and left the place he was resting in.

*****

"How many caches has he unearthed so far?" Han Shindong asked breathlessly looking at the distant figure.

The distant figure was now digging on a particular spot on a small mound very seriously. Just looking at the figure made Han Shindong shiver in anticipation. He never expected he would gain this much by letting this little fry go about his business.

"Four, Young Master," one of his subordinates whispered.

"Four? Was he a squirrel in his past life?" Han Shindong asked mockingly.

"More like a mole Young Master," the subordinate said a little happily. "He had hidden stuff under the ground in a lot of places."

"Ha ha ha… well, he is ugly in this life as well," Han Shindong laughed contemptuously.

"That's right, Young Master. No matter, he can't ever be as handsome as you," the subordinate fawned. "Should we attack him now, Young Master?"

"No hurry, no hurry. I will let this little mole dig out all the holes. When we are sure that he has no other hidden stuff, we can attack him. We have already surrounded him. There is no way he could escape from our grasp," Han Shindong said arrogantly.

"Young Master is wise. Your wisdom is like a beacon of light in the dark to this lowly one," the subordinate once more bootlicked shamelessly.

Hearing those words, Han Shindong puffed up his chest in pride. He loved hearing such praise from his subordinates. It always brought him pleasure to hear people praise him.

"Once his use is over with, gift him a swift death. He has helped us a lot, after all," Han Shindong chuckled.

"He must be blessed to receive your mercy, Young Master," the subordinate said with a fawning smile once more.

*****

Duncan, who was excavating the buried cache in the distance, smiled malevolently as he finished emptying the cache. He knew that it was time to enact his plan. The time has come and so far things have gone as he imagined.

He only had one more cache left to excavate. However, he didn't have any intention of allowing these men to know that location. He had chosen the order of caches to excavate very carefully. 

And the last one was the most dangerous one to do so.

If everything went according to his plan, he would get rid of these morons very soon. And then, he could retrieve his buried loot and leave this region for good. He only hoped that things would be as he imagined.

Looking around furtively, Duncan popped a green-looking small fruit and smeared its juice on his hands. Soon, the green color faded leaving his hands spotless as ever. 

But, if someone was near him at the moment, they would be able to smell a strange smell that was unique to the fruit. This little fruit had an important role to play in his escape in the near future. 

After confirming that no one had seen him use the fruit, Duncan straightened and nonchalantly started to travel toward the region where his last cache was located. And if this route went through a particular patch of forest, it can only be called coincidence.

*****

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