"I was picked up by Grandpa Village Chief too. Are you saying he's a human trafficker as well?"
Su Mo's retort left the woman speechless, and she walked away, muttering curses.
Quite a few villagers looked on curiously along the way. Su Mo told Xiao Wu to act natural, as though she were his own little sister.
Before long, the two arrived at the village chief's house.
Su Mo approached Old Jack and concocted a story about how he had found Xiao Wu, taken pity on her, and adopted her as his little sister.
Then he asked Old Jack to help get Xiao Wu a Spirit Hall certificate and arrange a place for her as a work-study student at Nuoding Academy.
"Of course, of course!" Old Jack readily agreed.
Having another promising Soul Master in the village reflected well on him, giving him even more to boast about to his old friends.
And perhaps Su Mo was imagining it, but Old Jack looked at Xiao Wu with extraordinary affection, as though she were his granddaughter-in-law.
It gave him the creeps, and after barely exchanging a few words, he left with Xiao Wu.
Back home, Su Mo waved a hand at Xiao Wu. "This is my place. Have a look around and pick somewhere to make yourself a bed on the floor."
With that taken care of, he began exercising. He had yet to do a single set today.
The Lake of Life, Star Dou Great Forest.
After ordering Da Ming and Er Ming to gather the Soul Beasts, the Myriad Demon King had remained suspended above the lake, trying to sense the location of his mark.
Yet no matter how he tried, he could never pinpoint its exact position.
"What's going on? My mark clearly hasn't disappeared, but I just can't sense it. Has that little worm concealed it?"
What the Myriad Demon King did not know was that after leaving his sleeping grounds, Tian Meng had gone to the Frog House.
Both places were located in separate dimensions.
It was only natural that he could not sense him.
"Hmph! Even if you can conceal it for a while, you could never erase it outright!"
The Myriad Demon King intensified his efforts to sense the mark.
Snap!
But just then, as though an invisible thread had snapped, the mark he had left on the little worm vanished completely.
The Myriad Demon King's dozens of tree-eyes widened in unison, and disbelief covered his wooden face.
"How could this happen? I placed a dual mark using both life origin and spiritual origin! Even if that little worm possesses formidable spiritual power, he could never break a mark involving life origin!"
But he had never anticipated that Tian Meng would choose to sacrifice himself so soon after escaping.
His body perished, all his flesh and blood transforming into a Soul Bone.
With his body gone, what life origin was there to speak of?
"Aaargh! You damned worm! Don't think you can escape the palm of my hand!"
How could the Myriad Demon King not rage when the ability he prided himself on had been undone?
His aura surged higher and higher, countless branches thrashing wildly. The spatial fluctuations they caused whipped the lake into towering, tempestuous waves.
Da Ming and Er Ming, who were gathering Soul Beasts under his orders, trembled when they sensed the oppressive aura coming from the Lake of Life.
They could not understand why that being had suddenly flown into a rage.
Was it because they were progressing too slowly?
Er Ming felt pitiful, small, and helpless inside. Sister Xiao Wu, where are you? I'm scared...
The outskirts of Star Dou Great Forest.
Tang Hao, who was searching for the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, also sensed that oppressive aura, and his expression shifted slightly.
"Since when did Star Dou Great Forest have such a powerful Soul Beast? Its aura has almost reached the level of a Limit Douluo..."
A trace of gravity entered Tang Hao's eyes. Even he had no chance of victory.
Even if he played every trump card he had, he could only hold his own briefly.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Tang Hao noticed a change in the fluctuations around him. "This is... a domain? And a Plant-type Soul Beast's domain at that!"
Wait!
"Ah Yin is a plant type too. Could it be..."
Tang Hao suspected that the Plant-type Soul Beast had taken Ah Yin's right leg bone.
But a moment later, he dismissed the thought.
Soul Beasts could not use Soul Bones. Surely it would not have taken one simply to collect it.
"Hm?"
All at once, Tang Hao felt some terrifying being fix its attention on him. His pupils contracted, and he knew the Plant-type Soul Beast deep within Star Dou Great Forest had noticed him.
He fled toward the forest's edge without looking back.
"It looks like I won't be finding the Soul Bone..."
Tang Hao glanced apologetically at the lead box in his hands, then offered reassurance. "Ah Yin, I'll take you home to see our son!"
By the time Tang Hao flew to the outskirts of Holy Soul Village, evening had fallen.
The setting sun stained half the sky red.
Occasional birds returning to their nests swept through the twilight.
Tang Hao landed silently in a deserted grove and removed his black robe, revealing the appearance of a slovenly drunkard.
Then he entered the village with the lead box in his arms.
But when he reached his doorstep, he detected a Soul Beast's aura inside.
"Hm? Little San is in danger!"
Tang Hao rushed into the room.
Only to discover that the aura came from his own son.
"Little San! You..."
Tang San, who was cooking, smiled when he saw Tang Hao return.
"Dad, you're back!"
"Who are you?" Tang Hao's expression, however, was decidedly hostile.
Tang San looked bewildered. "Dad, what are you talking about? I'm your son, Little San."
"Summon your Martial Soul. Let me see it."
A Soul Beast's aura could not be faked. This creature pretending to be his son had to be a Soul Beast that had taken human form.
Once it summoned its Martial Soul, its true colors would be exposed.
Tang San had no idea what had gotten into his father after his trip, but he obediently summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
Seeing the blue silver grass in Tang San's right hand, Tang Hao froze for a moment before saying, "The other one too."
So Tang San summoned the Clear Sky Hammer as well, leaving Tang Hao utterly dumbfounded.
What was going on?
Was this really his son?
Then why did he have a Soul Beast's aura?
Suddenly, he remembered that half his son's bloodline came from a Soul Beast.
So had his bloodline awakened, causing a Soul Beast's aura to leak out?
"Dad, what's wrong with you? You've been acting strange ever since you got back." Tang San suspected that someone else was impersonating his father.
It had to be said that, in certain respects, this father and son thought exactly alike.
"Move aside." Tang Hao had no inclination to explain.
After confirming that the person before him was indeed his son, he relaxed a little.
But now there was another problem.
Every day that his son's Soul Beast aura remained meant another day of constant danger. Powerful figures at the Soul Douluo level or above were bound to mistake Little San for a Soul Beast in human form.
Tang Hao scratched his tangled hair, unable to think of a solution for the moment.
Still, as long as he never left Little San's side, there would be no great danger.
"Dad, what's inside that box?"
Tang San noticed the black box in his father's arms and asked curiously.
As a disciple of the Tang Sect, he knew something about metals and recognized that the box was made of lead. It weighed at least two hundred jin.
What kind of treasure needed such an expensive box to hold it?
Seeing his son's interest, Tang Hao considered it and decided there was no harm in letting mother and son meet. He placed the lead box on the table and slowly opened it.
But when Tang San saw what lay inside, astonishment filled his face.
There was actually a stalk of blue silver grass inside the box.
Compared with the blue silver grass that grew everywhere in the village, however, this stalk had longer leaves bearing faint golden markings. It was quite unusual.
Tang Hao beckoned to him. "Little San, come kowtow to your mother."