Something Happened

Half a day later.

Luoshan Village, the village chief's home.

After waking up, Li Xuan listened to the red-haired girl before him recount what had happened and finally understood the whole story. He could not help feeling a little depressed.

Because he had gone the wrong way, he was getting farther and farther from Notting City. That was truly terrible.

And besides.

Why did this red-haired girl named Jiang Zhu keep pinching his little cheeks? Was there such a thing as bullying people?

More importantly, he was wearing new clothes. Although they were rough linen garments, only he and Jiang Zhu were in this room. Then who had changed his clothes? Li Xuan swallowed and could not help asking, "Jiang Zhu, did you change my clothes?"

"Yes, and I even gave you a bath. You were filthy when I found you, and you looked so pitiful, so of course I had to help you."

Jiang Zhu spoke softly, and her small, soft hands could not help pinching Li Xuan's cheeks again.

"You even gave me a bath? Y-you... don't you care about the difference between men and women?" Li Xuan asked gloomily.

"You're just a little kid. What's wrong with big sister giving you a bath? Besides, you were abandoned by your family. You've already suffered enough, so no matter what, big sister has to take care of you."

Jiang Zhu continued speaking gently, then raised her fair little hand and pinched Li Xuan's cheeks again.

"I..."

Li Xuan slapped Jiang Zhu's hand away. He felt that he did not need to make up an identity at all—Jiang Zhu had already thought one up for him.

But why did he feel so stifled? It felt as though he had somehow been taken advantage of.

"Forget it, let's not talk about that. Jiang Zhu, are you attending the Junior Spirit Master Academy now?" Li Xuan asked speculatively.

"Yes. We came back this time to hunt spirit beasts and obtain our first spirit rings." Jiang Zhu nodded her little head, looking slightly serious.

"If that's the case, then the timing is right."

Li Xuan analyzed things silently. He felt that Tang San was still in Holy Soul Village at this point. Since Xiao Wu and her mother had been encountered in the Star Dou Great Forest, it proved that Tang San had not even undergone Martial Soul Awakening yet.

In that case, he only needed to go directly to Holy Soul Village. There was no need to detour through Notting City. But this place was far too distant from Holy Soul Village, and getting there was a problem.

He no longer had a spirit beast to serve as transportation. Without using an Experience Card, getting to Holy Soul Village would be rather difficult.

But when he thought of using a spirit beast as transportation, Li Xuan felt a little angry. That White Wolf King had not only run in the wrong direction, but had also dumped him on the roadside. It was practically begging for a beating.

So.

Li Xuan decided that when he went back, he would give it a good beating and let it know just how serious the consequences of running away were.

"Little Brother Li Xuan, what are you planning to do from now on? Why don't you follow me? How about becoming my little brother? I'll take care of you," Jiang Zhu said expectantly.

"No, I'm planning to go to Notting City. I have... distant relatives there," Li Xuan came up with an excuse to refuse her.

"Notting City is very far away. Wild beasts roam the roads, and there are also human traffickers who specifically target children like you. I suggest you go after you have some strength—after you grow up, for example."

Jiang Zhu tried to persuade him, her words reasonable and well-founded.

But as Li Xuan listened, he kept feeling that this cute older sister was up to no good where he was concerned.

Is it because of my looks? Li Xuan muttered inwardly. Seeing Jiang Zhu secretly sizing him up, he sighed helplessly.

"Fine, I'll stay here with you for a while first."

After saying that, Li Xuan suddenly thought of another issue: Martial Souls.

Although he already had one Martial Soul, he might be able to awaken another. After all, he had not undergone awakening yet, so he wanted to give it a try.

"Jiang Zhu, can I undergo Martial Soul Awakening here?"

"Martial Soul Awakening? There's a small Spirit Hall in Luoshan City, so you can go there to awaken at any time. Once we obtain our spirit rings, how about I take you to Spirit Hall for your awakening?" Jiang Zhu said with a smile.

"That works. Then it's settled. Oh, and can you give me a Spirit Power Cultivation Method?"

Thinking of his Silver Dragon King Martial Soul, Li Xuan was eager to try it out.

"Sure. I'll copy one out for you, but it's only a basic Spirit Power Cultivation Method."

After speaking, Jiang Zhu carefully took an old little book from inside her clothes, then took out paper and a pen and began writing.

"Wait, what kind of handwriting is that? Why is it so crooked?" Li Xuan looked at Jiang Zhu's writing and asked speechlessly.

The main issue was that it was truly too ugly. Some of the characters were completely unrecognizable, and it was not even as neat as the writing of a third- or fourth-grade child from his previous life.

"This character means spirit. Although big sister has only been in school for a few years, my handwriting is already considered pretty in the class. How could it be ugly?" Jiang Zhu pouted unhappily.

"This is considered pretty?" Li Xuan looked at the abstract-looking handwriting, feeling a headache coming on.

Before transmigrating, he had received all the basic knowledge of this world. He knew the scripts of every nation and even the dialects of remote places, and writing was effortless for him.

Yet the handwriting before him was about the same as that of a first- or second-grade elementary school student—crooked and misshapen, with even a few misspelled characters.

And this was a cultivation method. There absolutely could not be mistakes. To keep himself from getting cheated, Li Xuan said, "I'll copy it. Just watch from the side."

"Huh? Is your handwriting really that good? You're clearly younger than me," Jiang Zhu said blankly.

"You'll know in a moment." Li Xuan did not want to explain. Instead, he directly took Jiang Zhu's place and began writing.

There was no way he could tell her that after so many years of schooling in his previous life, writing was merely the most basic thing to him. Besides, he had joined a calligraphy club in university.

Writing was as simple as eating and drinking to him. Even the rare scripts of this world could be written beautifully by him—at the very least, far better than Jiang Zhu.

After all, if children started school at six, the Junior Spirit Master Academy was basically just elementary school.

Even if Jiang Zhu had attended for several years, she was still only an elementary school student. On top of cultivating her Martial Soul, training in combat, and learning spirit beast knowledge, her handwriting naturally could not be all that good.

Thus, Li Xuan decided to rely on himself. He bent over the table, picked up the pen, and began writing with scratch scratch scratch sounds, copying the Spirit Power Cultivation Method with focus and concentration.

Beside him.

Jiang Zhu had originally stood there, watching somewhat unconvinced.

But after Li Xuan wrote the first character, Jiang Zhu was a little surprised.

When she saw Li Xuan write large stretches of neat, beautiful text with effortless, flowing strokes, Jiang Zhu was stunned. Her large eyes widened into circles.

"What beautiful handwriting! Little Brother Li Xuan, how can your writing be so pretty? Could you be from a noble family?" Jiang Zhu asked curiously.

"Mm, you can think of it that way."

Li Xuan did not want to explain. He merely gave a casual reply before continuing to copy the Spirit Power Cultivation Method.

He felt this cultivation method was quite useful. With the Silver Dragon King Martial Soul, even if it was only at 1%, he could still cultivate Soul Power.

So he copied it with complete focus.

Beside him.

Jiang Zhu watched attentively. The beautiful characters surprised her greatly, and she could not help growing curious about this little brother Li Xuan.

She really wanted to ask about Li Xuan's past, but she did not disturb him and simply watched quietly.

Time slowly passed.

By noon, Li Xuan had successfully copied the Spirit Power Cultivation Method.

"I'm done copying it. Thanks, Jiang Zhu," Li Xuan said with a smile.

"It's nothing. Just teach me how to write when you have time," Jiang Zhu replied with a smile.

"No problem."

"It's noon. I'll go make lunch. Grandpa and the others went outside the village while you were unconscious. They said Wolf Valley seemed unusually restless today. I don't know when they'll be back."

Jiang Zhu said this with some concern.

Bang! Bang! Bang! "Jiang Zhu, open the door! Something happened! Come out quickly!"

Urgent knocking suddenly sounded from outside, along with an elderly man's voice.

So sleepy. I'm going to bed. Hopefully there aren't any typos. I checked three times. Mm, good night.