Little Xiao Wu's Mission

Little Xiao Wu looked up and saw Qian Yun smiling at her.

"Clatter—" A moment later, Xiao Wu dropped her plate and took off running.

"Hey." Watching Xiao Wu rapidly disappear into the distance, Qian Yun could only laugh helplessly.

This is bad, this is bad! Xiao Wu's really going to die this time. Humans are so sneaky—they tricked me into lowering my guard with food. Xiao Wu raced away in a panic. She hadn't expected to meet someone who could see through her identity right after leaving the Star Dou Great Forest.

The jungle was getting closer. Xiao Wu, who hadn't dared look back, thought, Almost there! Once I'm in the forest, no one will ever catch me again!

Just then, Qian Yun's athletic figure seemed to drop from the sky and block her path. Xiao Wu had no time to dodge and crashed straight into his arms.

"Why are you running? I haven't even said what I'm going to do to—" Before Qian Yun could finish, Xiao Wu raised her tiny fist and swung it at his nose.

Qian Yun didn't take such a feeble attack seriously. He casually caught her fist with one hand, but before he could say anything, she kicked at him from the right. He caught her next attack too, then twisted her arm behind her back and restrained her.

"Bastard, let me go!" Xiao Wu struggled desperately, but against his overwhelming strength, her efforts were futile.

"Don't you want to ask what I'm planning to do? I mean you no harm," Qian Yun said in her ear, holding her wrist firmly.

"You're lying!" Xiao Wu didn't believe a word this human said. No Spirit Master on the continent could remain unmoved at the prospect of an easy Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Spirit Bone.

Qian Yun didn't bother to explain. He decided to wait until she tired herself out.

When her struggles came to nothing, Xiao Wu demanded through gritted teeth, "Then what do you want? I'm warning you! If you kill me, you'll die horribly one day. I guarantee it!"

Qian Yun smiled. "You mean that if you die here, Da Ming and Er Ming will come after me for revenge, right?"

Xiao Wu froze again. She finally gave up struggling in vain. After a long pause, she asked in disbelief, "How do you know?!"

When she finally stopped struggling, Qian Yun released her without fuss. Xiao Wu was just an ordinary little girl who didn't even have a Spirit Ring yet. She couldn't pull any tricks on him.

Xiao Wu rubbed her painfully squeezed wrist and warily watched the strange man in front of her.

"I'll tell you how I know another time. I don't mean you any harm. I just want you to do something for me."

Xiao Wu frowned. "What is it? Let me make one thing clear: if you want me to hunt my fellow Spirit Beasts, don't even think about it. I won't agree!"

Looking at Xiao Wu's firm expression, Qian Yun smiled, then said seriously, "What if I told you that's exactly what I want?"

"You!" Xiao Wu gritted her teeth and pointed a finger at him as if she could kill him with it.

"If you refuse, I'll kill you and turn you into a Spirit Ring. Then I'll use your Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone to hunt Da Ming and Er Ming, and turn them into Spirit Rings too!" Qian Yun continued to scare her. The paler Xiao Wu's face grew, the more fun he had.

"You..." Xiao Wu glared furiously at the hateful man. Qian Yun folded his arms, looking as if there was no room for negotiation.

"Ah..." Xiao Wu finally sighed in dejection. "I'll help you this once, but there won't be a next time. So, which Spirit Beast do you want me to kill?"

It should be fine if it's only this once, right?

"Pfft, hahahahaha!" Looking at Xiao Wu's aggrieved yet serious expression, Qian Yun couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.

His unrestrained laughter stabbed at Xiao Wu's conscience like a knife. She had just decided to betray her own kind and give in to this hateful human!

"Stop laughing!" Xiao Wu stamped her feet in humiliation. "Oh, stop laughing! You hateful jerk, what's so funny?"

"All right, all right. I'll stop." Qian Yun finally managed to compose himself. So this is what you're like, Xiao Wu.

"Seriously, I need you to get close to someone." A mysterious smile tugged at Qian Yun's lips as he spoke.

"Hm? You don't want me to hunt a Spirit Beast?" Xiao Wu asked, surprised and confused.

"Of course not."

Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. So who do you want me to get close to?"

"Tang San, at the junior Soul Master Academy in Notting City, Balak Kingdom!" It was the first time Qian Yun had spoken that name since arriving in this world.

"Tang San?" Xiao Wu blinked in confusion. "Why do you want me to get close to him?"

"Don't worry about my reasons. I need you to approach him on your own and live your life as usual. When I need you, help me out with something small. After that, you'll be free." Qian Yun laid out the terms.

"Hmm..." Xiao Wu narrowed her eyes and said bluntly, "You want me to be a spy?"

Qian Yun nodded frankly. "You could put it that way, except you don't have to follow my orders all the time. Just help me out when I need it, and your mission will be complete. So, Xiao Wu, you don't want to become a Spirit Ring, do you?"

Xiao Wu first looked up at the sky, then lowered her gaze to her toes, as though she were having a hard time deciding.

"Ah, fine!" Xiao Wu pretended to consider it deeply before "reluctantly" agreeing to the terms.

"Good. From now on, I'm your superior. What should you call me?" Qian Yun was pleased with the outcome. With Xiao Wu's help, dealing with Tang San would surely be much easier in the future.

"What should I call you? Should I call you Master?" Xiao Wu ventured.

The embarrassing form of address nearly made Qian Yun choke. He hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no. We're not doing that. Just call me Boss."

"Oh, all right." Xiao Wu agreed, a little confused. She truly couldn't make sense of the complicated relationships in human society.

In the world of Spirit Beasts, when one submitted to another, they called the other Master. Humans made such a simple thing so complicated. How strange.

"All right, it's getting late. You can go now." Qian Yun waved a hand, indicating that Xiao Wu was free to leave.

Xiao Wu was delighted, but she kept her voice calm. "Oh, then I'll be going, Master—oh, I mean, Boss."

She had barely taken two light steps when Qian Yun suddenly called after her. "Wait."

Xiao Wu's heart lurched. She thought Qian Yun had changed his mind. Turning around stiffly, she asked, "Boss, is there something else?"

Instead of answering, Qian Yun took out a money pouch and tossed it to Xiao Wu. "There are seventy silver coins and some copper coins in here. Take them."

"Money?" Xiao Wu hefted the pouch in her hands. "What do I need money for?"

Qian Yun thought about it. He hadn't actually considered what Xiao Wu might need the money for. He'd simply felt bad seeing such a pretty girl wearing clothes made of coarse cloth.

"You can buy food with money—the kind you just ate. You can also get some clothes and bedding. Just think of it as your mission expenses." Qian Yun could only explain it that way.

"Clothes and bedding? Hmm... All right." Xiao Wu scratched her head. Though she didn't understand, she could only accept.

"But don't go spending it carelessly. I'm lending you this money, so you'll have to pay me back tenfold!" Remembering how freely she'd spent money in the original story, Qian Yun couldn't help warning her.

Hmph, you won't see me again, so who's going to pay you back?

"Mm." Xiao Wu held the pouch and asked tentatively, "Then, Master, I can go?"

"Mm. Bye-bye." Qian Yun waved to her.

Joy gradually filled Xiao Wu's heart. She asked once more, "I really can go now...?"

"Sure."

Xiao Wu finally took her first step. "Bye-bye?"

"...Bye."

I'm really leaving. I'm still alive? As she walked, Xiao Wu touched her rapidly beating heart, unable to believe it. I didn't become a Spirit Ring or a Spirit Bone. I even got a full meal and quite a bit of money?

They said humans were the natural enemies of Spirit Beasts, and that the moment they met, they'd fight to the death. So why was this human so strange? He hadn't killed her or enslaved her. He'd practically let her go for nothing.

She had no sense of gratitude about it. She just thought this human was a complete idiot.

Xiao Wu glanced back every few steps, committing Qian Yun's face to memory. At last, a smile tugged at her lips. She waved happily at him from a distance, one final time, then leaped into the jungle and disappeared.

Qian Yun stood where he was and watched Xiao Wu leave. If an ordinary person had just watched an easy-to-obtain Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Spirit Bone slip away right in front of them, they'd probably be sick with regret.

But Qian Yun didn't regret it at all. He even felt like he'd gotten a good deal, and he wasn't the least bit worried Xiao Wu would disappear from his life forever.

Qian Yun knew that he and Xiao Wu would meet again!

A few days later,

The group finally returned to the Spirit Hall in Fanhai City after successfully completing their mission. The city lay in the heart of the continent. With no major trade routes or noteworthy resources, it wasn't particularly prosperous.

In front of the hall, Yake Entu stopped Qian Yun and Hu Liena and handed them a black pouch.

Qian Yun took it and discovered that it was a money pouch. It contained three times the payment for the mission. "Captain, we already received our payment. Why are you giving us more?"

Yake Entu's dark face broke into a smile. "Heh heh, this is an extra reward for wiping out those Evil Spirit Masters."

"A reward?"

Yake Entu's expression turned serious. "That's right. Evil Spirit Masters are extremely dangerous and must be eliminated as soon as they're discovered. But given how dangerous they are, there's an additional reward for taking them down. Although I officially killed the Evil Spirit Masters in my own name, you'll still get the payment you're owed."

With that, he patted them both on the shoulder. "Amiga, Boli, good work!"

Qian Yun put away the pouch. "No need to thank us, Captain. It was our duty."