Mysterious Little Girl

Everyone watched the red light vanish into the distance.

In truth, Ma Xiaotao had turned back not long after leaving.

As Liu Xinghan's bodyguard, where else could she go?

She was merely lying low in the shadows, keeping herself hidden.

"Bishop Bofeng, investigate this village. See if there are any survivors still at large," Liu Xinghan said to Red Robe Cardinal Bofeng.

"Yes!"

Bofeng's injuries were not serious. As an Agility Attack Type Soul Saint, he was incredibly fast; if he could not win, he would evade. Thus, he had preserved most of his strength.

He took thirty Soul Masters who were likewise still in fairly good condition and began searching Ox Horn Village.

"Elder, how are you?"

Only after Bofeng and the others departed did Liu Xinghan turn his attention to Hun Yue.

At that moment, the veil over Hun Yue's face had fallen off somewhere, revealing an exquisitely delicate little face.

She was actually rather pretty.

The thought involuntarily surfaced in Liu Xinghan's mind as he looked at her face, but he quickly dismissed it.

Though Hun Yue looked young, she was at least fifty or sixty in reality—old enough to be his grandmother...

"This time, my injuries are somewhat serious. Fortunately, your medicine is effective enough to stabilize them for now."

Hun Yue's aura was extremely weak.

If not for Liu Xinghan's pills, she would not even have been able to stand.

"Where did you get these healing pills?" Hun Yue asked curiously.

Even she did not possess healing pills with such remarkable effects, so she was naturally curious about their origin.

Liu Xinghan said, "Elder, you surely know that I am capable of crafting Soul Tools."

Hearing this, Hun Yue nodded.

As an Elder of Spirit Hall, of course she knew. She also knew that Liu Xinghan was the Acting Hall Master of the Soul Tool Hall.

Liu Xinghan continued, "The techniques for crafting Soul Tools, as well as these pills, were all taught to me by a reclusive senior expert."

"Taught by a senior expert?"

Hun Yue frowned. It sounded like an excuse meant to brush people off. Yet when she thought of Ma Xiaotao, the claim gained a measure of credibility.

More than ten minutes later, Bofeng returned.

"Elder, Young Master, we found a place. Please come take a look," Bofeng said with an unsightly expression.

"Alright."

Hun Yue and Liu Xinghan exchanged a glance and nodded together.

Liu Xinghan was not afraid. Ma Xiaotao was hiding nearby; no matter what they found, it surely could not cause much trouble!

After notifying Ma Xiaotao through their mental connection to be ready to provide aid at any moment, Liu Xinghan followed Bofeng and the group to a cave behind Ox Horn Village.

"What a dense stench of blood."

Liu Xinghan frowned.

He did not know how much blood it would take to produce such a nauseating smell, but there was no need to think to know it was the work of Evil Spirit Masters. Those Evil Spirit Masters truly deserved to die.

They entered the cave.

Torches had been placed along both walls every three meters, illuminating the path ahead.

Walking at the front, Bofeng said, "There were two Evil Spirit Masters guarding this cave earlier. They were Soul Kings, but your subordinate has already dealt with them."

Liu Xinghan raised a brow at this.

Using Soul Kings to guard a cave—whatever was inside could not be ordinary.

At the end of the cave, the space suddenly opened up.

A huge Blood Pool lay at the center of the cavern, filled to the brim with blood. Aside from the blood, beast bones, plants, and a massive iron cage floated within it.

Liu Xinghan's gaze fell upon the iron cage.

His pupils abruptly contracted.

A person was locked inside the cage. Only her head was exposed above the surface of the Blood Pool, while everything below it was submerged in blood. Judging from her appearance, she seemed to be a young little girl.

"Elder, what do you think?"

Liu Xinghan asked Hun Yue.

Hun Yue shook her head. "I don't know. Perhaps it is some evil method of the Evil Spirit Masters."

Liu Xinghan nodded. "Evil Spirit Masters possess terrifying methods that can control people's hearts and turn them evil. Could they be trying to control this little girl and turn her into an Evil Spirit Master as well?"

"That is very possible. Bofeng, go rescue the child."

Hun Yue instructed Bofeng.

At Bofeng's words, he immediately summoned several Spirit Master subordinates. Each took a different direction, grabbed the chains securing the iron cage, and pulled it out of the Blood Pool first.

They then opened the cage and rescued the little girl.

She looked even younger than Liu Xinghan. She had a cute oval face, and her long hair was black as ink, faintly gleaming with a crystalline luster.

"Hey, wake up." Bofeng called to the little girl for a while, but although she was breathing steadily, she simply would not wake up, like someone in a vegetative state.

"Elder, Young Master, what should we do with this child?" Bofeng tried every method he could think of, yet still could not wake her. He could only look at the two of them and ask helplessly.

"Take her back and have a healing-type Spirit Master examine her. She was harmed by Evil Spirit Masters at such a young age. She is a pitiful child as well," Hun Yue said with a sigh.

After conducting a thorough search of Ox Horn Village and confirming that no one had slipped through the net, the group returned.

This time, among the more than two hundred Spirit Masters, excluding the wounded, over seventy had died. This included one Soul Saint and two Soul Emperors, all of whom had died at Blood Spirit's hands.

Of course, the other side had not fared much better.

Aside from a half-crippled Titled Douluo who escaped, more than a hundred Evil Spirit Masters, including one Soul Douluo, had all been killed.

"For this extermination of the Evil Spirit Masters, I will request rewards for you from His Holiness the Pope. The families of those Spirit Masters who died will also receive compensation," Hun Yue said gravely.

Upon hearing this, everyone's mood improved somewhat.

Bofeng bowed. "On behalf of everyone, Bofeng thanks you, Elder!"

The group returned to the Spirit Hall Main Hall in Heaven's Cut City.

Hun Yue's room.

At that moment, Hun Yue's face was pale. Looking at the youth before her, she said, "Xiao Han, my injuries are too severe. I must return to Spirit City for treatment immediately. I'm afraid I can no longer take you to hunt for a soul ring."

As a Titled Douluo, although the Spirit Hall Main Hall in Heaven's Cut City also had healing-type Spirit Masters, they clearly could not treat a Titled Douluo like her.

Liu Xinghan nodded. "Elder, your injuries are what matter most. My soul ring is not urgent. You should return to Spirit City and recover in peace."

Hun Yue said, "Then wait here for now. Once I return to Spirit City, I will inform His Holiness the Pope and have another Elder take my place in bringing you to obtain a soul ring."

"Alright, Elder!"

Liu Xinghan nodded.

Night.

After everyone had fallen asleep, Liu Xinghan used their mental connection to summon Ma Xiaotao over.

Inside the room.

"Xiaotao greets Master!" Ma Xiaotao bowed to Liu Xinghan.

Although, with her strength, she could crush the current Liu Xinghan hundreds of times with a single finger, she still regarded him as her master.

That was the power of the system.

"No need for such formalities."

Liu Xinghan hurriedly helped her up.

Only then was he able to take a careful look at Ma Xiaotao.

She wore a fitted red outfit patterned with golden lines. Her figure was tall and her curves were nothing short of explosive. Her fiery red hair was tied into a ponytail, and her exquisite oval face, along with the heroic spirit between her brows that ordinary women lacked, made Ma Xiaotao exceptionally captivating!

Liu Xinghan blushed.

He hurriedly cast aside the strange thoughts in his mind and said with a smile, "Sister Xiaotao, you don't need to call me Master. From now on, I'll call you Sister Xiaotao, and you can call me Xiao Han."

"Alright!"

Ma Xiaotao smiled as brightly as a flower!