Finish the Liquor, Then Head to the Forest

"Come back alive first!"

The innkeeper's voice followed him from the tavern door out into the street.

When Li Zhexian reached the corner, he looked back. "I'll leave you two jars of wine when I come back."

"You still dare come back for wine?"

"I'll bring money."

"Do you even have such a thing as money?"

Li Zhexian took out three pieces of silver and showed them to him.

The innkeeper stuck his head out for a look. "That's the money you owe me for wine."

"Wine money is still money."

Jin Ling walked past Li Zhexian. "Stop wasting words on him."

Li Zhexian handed the three pieces of silver to a wine shop by the street and bought two pots of liquor and a few pieces of dry rations. The shopkeeper put the silver away. "That's exactly enough."

"What about the change?"

"There isn't any."

Jin Ling looked at him. "Are you planning to live on wine until you find a Soul Master?"

"As long as there's wine, I can walk farther."

"You already said that just now."

"Even if I did, it still holds true."

Li Zhexian opened the Drunken Immortal Wine Pot and poured the liquor into it. A little azure mist rose from its mouth, and the patterns on its body glowed for a while before dimming again.

The wine shopkeeper had been watching the Drunken Immortal Wine Pot the whole time. "Is that a Soul Tool?"

"It's a wine pot."

"I can see that much."

"If you can see that, why ask?"

The shopkeeper said nothing more on the subject.

Jin Ling broke off a tiny piece of dry ration. "You lack a Soul Ring, you lack money, and you also lack someone to lead the way."

"I also lack wine."

"I didn't ask about wine."

"But I do lack it."

She turned her gaze to the Drunken Immortal Wine Pot. "You're already level twenty, but you don't even have a Soul Ring. Did you let people beat you in the tavern because of the prize pool?"

"I was also looking for people while I was at it."

"What were you looking for people for?"

"To have them wear my shield down."

"What exactly is this shield?"

"Something very thick."

"I can see that too."

Jin Ling put the piece of dry ration back in the bag. "If you die in the Ancient Vine Forest, I won't carry your corpse out."

"Then bury me beside the tavern."

"That place doesn't take lunatics."

After the two of them had walked for half an hour, Soul Hunting Town appeared before them.

A forest route was drawn on an animal hide at the town entrance. Several groups of Soul Masters were sorting their ropes and medicine bottles, while a man with missing teeth looked at the Azure Lotus Sword at Li Zhexian's waist. A Soul Hunting captain sat on a wooden stump, sharpening his blade.

Li Zhexian walked over. "What kind of Soul Beast likes to wrap people up most?"

The captain stopped sharpening his blade. "What are you asking for?"

"To find a Soul Ring."

"What level are you?"

"Level twenty."

"Where's your Soul Ring?"

"I don't have one."

The captain laid the blade across his knees. "You don't even have a Soul Ring, and you dare enter the Ancient Vine Forest?"

"I'm looking for something that wraps people up."

"Ghost Vine."

The captain said that hundred-year-old ones were often found on the outskirts of the Ancient Vine Forest, while thousand-year-old ones existed in its depths. Ghost Vines could suck blood and paralyze Soul Power. Once their roots wrapped around a person's body, they would burrow into the flesh.

"Which one is best at beating people?"

The captain glanced at Jin Ling. "Are you here to find a Soul Ring or throw your lives away?"

"Answer my question first."

He pointed north. "The Ancient Vine Forest is that way. When you see three white wooden stakes standing side by side, don't go any farther in. A team has already come to grief there."

"How many people?"

"Seven. Only two escaped. One of them has gone mad, and the other can't even speak clearly."

Li Zhexian reached out and picked up the route map.

The captain pressed a hand on the map. "If you need a Soul Ring, I can find you a proper team. Go with them, and at least someone can look after you."

"Does it cost money?"

"Of course."

"Then never mind."

"You don't even have that much money?"

"I spent it on wine."

The captain looked at the Drunken Immortal Wine Pot. "You spent all your money on wine?"

Jin Ling answered for Li Zhexian. "He thinks wine is more important than his life."

"Wine can keep me walking, but my life can't."

The captain laughed. "Go on, then. When you're dead, don't say I didn't warn you."

After they left town, Jin Ling asked, "Did you choose the Ghost Vine on purpose?"

"I need to get my First Soul Ring."

"Must it be now?"

"I'm already stuck at level twenty. I can't stay where I am forever. I'll get a Soul Ring first, then think of something else."

"Will your shield get thinner because you obtain a Soul Ring?"

"Once I have a Soul Ring, I'll have a few more options."

"You still haven't answered."

Li Zhexian took a swig of wine. "I can't stay at level twenty forever."

Jin Ling asked no more questions.

A length of broken rope lay at the entrance to the Ancient Vine Forest. The writing on the wooden sign hanging from its end had been washed illegible by the rain.

They had only just entered the forest when cries for help reached them from within.

Four Soul Masters were tangled in vines beneath a tree. Only the shoulders of two of them were still exposed, and another person's leg had already been dragged into the soil by the vines. The man leading them used a spear to flick the vines aside and shouted at them, "Come help us, quickly!"

Li Zhexian looked at the vines. "A hundred years old?"

"This is a hundred-year-old Ghost Vine!" the man shouted back.

Li Zhexian drew the Azure Lotus Sword and walked forward.

Jin Ling followed him. "What are you planning to do?"

"Help them."

"But you asked how old it was first."

"Even when saving people, you need to see whether it's worth it first."

A vine lashed out from behind the tree. Jin Ling raised her palm and blasted it apart.

Li Zhexian looked back at her. "Don't steal my first time."

"It was about to hit you."

"Even getting hit should be first come, first served."

"You really are sick."

More tendrils of the Ghost Vine burst from the soil, sending muddy water flying in every direction.

Li Zhexian used the Azure Lotus Sword only to block the vine thorns stabbing at his face. Every other tendril struck his body. The shield's number kept falling.

The vines wrapped around his waist and arms, then wound around his knees and dragged him half a step.

White and green light appeared in his sea of consciousness.

[White Prize Pool triggered.]

[Reward: Anti-itch powder.]

[Green Prize Pool triggered.]

[Reward: Small bottle of healing medicine.]

The orbs of light fell into the mud and rolled to the feet of one of the trapped Soul Masters.

That person reached out to take them, but the orbs changed direction and ended up in Li Zhexian's palm.

He called to Jin Ling, "Now that's what I call knowing how to do business."

"Get out of those vines first!"

"There's no need to rush. It hasn't finished attacking yet."

The Ghost Vine tightened its tendrils and dragged Li Zhexian toward the tree trunk. The shield dropped another ninety points, and a third green orb fell into the mud.

Jin Ling raised her hand. "If this drags on, it'll squeeze your bones until they break."

"They can be healed after they break."

"Do you have enough medicine?"

"A bottle just dropped."

Jin Ling's raised hand stopped.

The leader gritted his teeth and shouted, "Are you here to save us or not?"

"Yes."

"Then get me out first!"

"Wait until it finishes attacking."

"You're a lunatic!"

Li Zhexian crouched inside the net of vines and gathered the orbs into his sleeve. "Line up. Don't break them."

Jin Ling cut through the vines binding the leader, then dragged him behind her. "Take them and leave."

"What about him?"

"He wants to stay."

The leader looked at Li Zhexian. "Can you get out of there?"

"For now."

"What do you mean, for now?"

"The vine hasn't eaten me yet."

The man cursed and led his team out of the forest. After running a few steps, one of them looked back and saw that Li Zhexian had already been dragged beside the tree roots.

"Are you really not leaving?"

"I haven't gotten my Soul Ring yet."

"The Ghost Vine wasn't your prey to begin with!"

"It is now."

That person was dragged away by a companion.

Only the sound of the vines moving remained in the forest.

An eerie green light appeared at the Ghost Vine's roots, and the surrounding vines all pulled taut. The shield's number fell faster, but the orbs that dropped had already changed from green to white.

A system notification appeared deep in his sea of consciousness.

[Target's Soul Power reaction rising.]

[Continuous attack entering high-intensity phase.]

Jin Ling looked at him. "Can you still smile now?"

Li Zhexian raised his head. The vines had pressed the Azure Lotus Sword into the mud.

"It's getting ready to use its strength."

"There's still time to leave."

"Wait until it finishes attacking."

"Haven't you said that enough?"

The Ghost Vine's roots pushed up the soil.

Li Zhexian's smile vanished, and his five fingers tightened around the Azure Lotus Sword's hilt.

"Now it's my turn to get serious."