Leaving

Da Hu staggered back a few steps. Faced with Hu Liena's imposing attitude, all he could do was grit his teeth in resentment. He didn't dare talk back again.

Hu Liena withdrew her gaze disdainfully and raised a second finger. "Second, I want you to abolish the unified management imposed on the villagers immediately. I don't care what price you have to pay. I only want results."

Er Hu's eyes trembled, and he clenched his fists. "No, absolutely not. The unified management was agreed upon by several villages together. Beast King Village can't break the agreement on its own, or the whole world will laugh at us."

"Oh? You disagree?" A smile spread across Hu Liena's pretty little face. It was chilling, yet possessed a peculiar charm.

Er Hu stared blankly at her, then pinched his thigh hard and came to his senses. Under her gaze, his heart quaking, he still gritted his teeth and shook his head.

If all he had to do was pay compensation in gold coins, it would hurt, but wouldn't ruin him.

But Hu Liena wanted them to abolish the unified management. That was as good as demanding their lives. Even if the people from neighboring villages didn't kill him for it, they certainly wouldn't let him off easy! This was the one point he absolutely had to fight for.

"Heh."

Er Hu was about to say more when the young man standing behind Hu Liena suddenly stepped forward.

When Da Hu saw Qian Yun reach out to grab him, he was terrified. Forgetting all about saving face, he backed away frantically. "Ah! Spare me, young hero! Spare me... Ah!"

Qian Yun gathered a little Soul Power in his fist, then drove it hard into Da Hu's chest. With a scream, Da Hu's bulky body flew backward like a kite with its strings cut and slammed into the floor. He passed out cold.

"Hmph." Afterward, Qian Yun gave a disdainful snort and brushed the dust off his shoulder.

With his body now strengthened by Soul Power, he could take down ordinary people without Soul Power like Da Hu with a single punch, without exception.

"Dad!" Er Hu cried, his eyes instantly reddening. He turned and charged at Qian Yun. "I'll kill you!"

A flash of light passed through Er Hu's eyes. The muscles in his back swelled rapidly, and within a few breaths, his hands had nearly doubled in size. His muscles strained against his already loose clothes, while red, black, and green patches appeared on his face.

Most striking of all was his nose. It had been broad and flat, but now it had lengthened.

Two white Spirit Rings shimmered beneath his feet. He crouched and charged at Qian Yun, clawing and snapping like a beast.

Qian Yun narrowed his eyes and first raised a hand to stop the Spirit Hall people from rushing forward. At the same time, light shimmered beneath his feet. In an instant, three dazzling Spirit Rings appeared: yellow, yellow, purple!

The sudden change was enough to bring Er Hu back to his senses. He had already started charging, but quickly twisted his body in an attempt to stop. Unfortunately, he couldn't halt his momentum.

At the last moment, a sudden idea came to him. He turned his charge into a kneel and only just managed to stop himself before reaching Qian Yun's toes.

And so, the aggressive Er Hu slid to his knees in front of Qian Yun the moment Qian Yun revealed his Spirit Rings. The ferocity vanished from his eyes, leaving them clear and bright.

Qian Yun looked down at Er Hu and sneered. "You'll agree, won't you?"

Er Hu wouldn't dare cause trouble now. He hurriedly nodded. "Yes! I'll do it, I promise!"

But Qian Yun frowned, as if troubled. "But wouldn't doing that make the whole world laugh at your village?"

Er Hu immediately straightened up and thumped his chest, speaking with righteous conviction. "Then let me bear the blame. I'll take all the criticism on my own."

As if to prove his resolve, he bent down and reached for Qian Yun's leg.

Qian Yun didn't want him touching him. He kicked Er Hu in the chest and blurted out, "You're one shameless bastard!"

"Cough, cough." Er Hu was kicked away, and his Martial Soul Possession faded. After a while, he clutched his chest and struggled to his feet.

Seeing that the moment was right, Hu Liena took a deep breath. "Third, I'll have Grandpa Village Chief's and A-Qiang's graves moved back to the village... When that happens, I don't want anyone gossiping behind our backs."

Er Hu looked at her with a hint of surprise, then nodded. Compared to Hu Liena's other demands, this one would be much easier to fulfill.

"Fourth..." As Hu Liena spoke, her cheeks reddened slightly. She glanced at Qian Yun, whose expression was unchanged.

"Fourth, you're never to call me your wife again! I, Hu Liena, whether in the past, the present, or the future, am just myself. I've never been your wife. If you dare call me that again, I'll kill you." Hu Liena's voice rang out coldly, and there was no mistaking the chill in her eyes.

Qian Yun turned around and glanced at Hu Liena in surprise. Seeing Er Hu's stunned expression, he understood.

Er Hu trembled. Though he was reluctant, he eventually closed his eyes and nodded in agreement.

"Fifth." Hu Liena turned and beckoned to the people behind her. Four members of Spirit Hall immediately carried over two baskets. They set down their burdens with some effort, then silently withdrew.

Hu Liena's nostrils twitched, and she frowned. After nearly half a month on the road, the beast hide and bones in the baskets still reeked, no matter how thoroughly they'd been cleaned.

Er Hu stared at the two baskets, unsure what to make of them.

Hu Liena waved a hand in front of her nose in disgust. "This is the culprit behind the tragedy that befell the village back then: the Ghost Moth."

Er Hu's eyes widened. He hadn't imagined Hu Liena and Qian Yun were capable enough to kill a Ghost Moth, let alone skin and dismember it and bring its remains right in front of him.

Hu Liena looked at Er Hu and shook her head. "I'd planned to have the beast stuffed as a memorial to the souls of those who died in the village. But I never imagined you'd be worse than a beast... Anyway, the Ghost Moth's hide and bones are valuable. Find a buyer and use the money to build a public cemetery for the villagers who died because of it."

At the mention of selling them, greed flickered in Er Hu's eyes. But the moment it appeared, he suppressed it with reason.

"Yes. I'll take care of it as soon as possible."

Now that everything had been settled, there was no need for them to stay any longer. Hu Liena took two steps back and gave him a long look. "Er Hu, I hope you'll treasure your life and stop doing foolish things. That's all."

Qian Yun turned away, giving Er Hu one last glance before silently walking out the door.

Hu Liena tilted her head back and raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight. At last, the shadow that had weighed on her heart for all these years dispersed, and she felt more at peace than ever before.

She asked herself honestly: the outcome hadn't been perfect, but she'd done everything she could within her power. She felt she had nothing to reproach herself for.

She turned to Qian Yun, standing beside her, and smiled brightly as she stretched. "That felt great! Really great!"

Qian Yun nodded, feeling deeply moved. He knew how hard Hu Liena's journey had been all these years. "Congratulations, Xiao Na."

Hu Liena tilted her head and grinned sheepishly. "Congratulations on what? I just meant it's been ages since I've had this much fun chewing someone out."

Qian Yun paused, then couldn't help laughing. Hu Liena had let loose with everything she had, cursing the others until they were thoroughly dressed down. He'd felt her fury rising even before he'd entered the house.

They walked side by side along a country path. Hu Liena clasped her hands behind her back and sneaked a glance at Qian Yun, hesitating to speak.

In the end, she couldn't hold back her curiosity. She leaned her shoulder against his and gave him a light nudge. "Hey, why aren't you asking?"

"Asking what?"

Hu Liena's heart pounded. She turned away and pretended not to care. "About... Er Hu calling me that. Aren't you curious?"

"Oh." Qian Yun finally understood. "Then why did he call you, uh... that?"

Hu Liena twisted a strand of hair around her finger and spoke softly. "It's nothing, really. When I was little, Er Hu was one of only two Spirit Masters in the village, right? He used to bully me and spread rumors that Grandpa had promised me to him. Of course I refused. So he started calling me that whenever he saw me, and wouldn't let the others play with me. After a while, no one wanted to play with me anymore."

Her voice had grown subdued by the end. It was clear she wasn't as carefree about it as she'd made out.

Qian Yun clenched his fists and turned to head back to Er Hu's house.

"Hey!" Hu Liena quickly grabbed him. "What are you doing?"

Qian Yun replied seriously, "I'm going back to chop Er Hu up and feed him to the dogs."

Hu Liena couldn't help laughing, and she felt a little sweetness in her heart as well. She moved close to him and gently stroked his back. "All right, calm down. I don't care about what happened in the past anymore. Besides, no matter how foul his mouth was, I never once admitted it was true."

Hearing Hu Liena say that, Qian Yun could only reluctantly let it go, though he still felt unsatisfied. "Fine. He can count himself lucky to still be alive."

"Hehe. Good boy."

They stayed close as they walked out of Beast King Village. Hu Liena looked up at the sign above the entrance once more, and a sudden melancholy settled over her.

The matter had reached a conclusion, but that didn't mean it was truly over.

She didn't trust Er Hu completely, of course. So while putting pressure on him, they'd also asked Duomeng in advance to supervise him and make sure every measure was carried out.

"Sigh. Before long, there probably won't be many people left in Beast King Village, will there?" Hu Liena sighed. She could already picture what the village would become.

Why were people willing to stay in a shabby little village, even when they were oppressed like this, instead of leaving?

Why not move to the city, live in a big house, and enjoy life?

Was it because they didn't want to? Or because they liked working from dawn till dusk?

The answer was that they had no choice. If they didn't work, they had nothing to eat. That was all.

After Hu Liena distributed the compensation, the villagers of Beast King Village would suddenly have money and the means to live better lives. Who would still want to stay there?

The village would never again be as lively as it once was. Never again.

Even Hu Liena herself would leave. Perhaps she'd return to visit once in a while when she had some free time, but Beast King Village would mostly remain a symbol in her memories, something to look back on with nostalgia.

Qian Yun gathered his thoughts. They'd done all they could, and Duomeng could handle the rest. Now it was time to take care of their own business.

They had two main objectives for this trip: first, to help Qian Yun hunt for a Spirit Ring; second, to help Hu Liena complete her over-level assessment.

Qian Yun already understood the over-level assessment fully from Hu Liena. The two of them had to rely solely on their own strength to survive in Lost Track Canyon, while also finding a way to obtain the "treasure" located on the outskirts of the canyon. They had forty days.

Considering the dangerous and complex conditions in Lost Track Canyon, Bibi Dong had made it clear that powerful experts would accompany them to protect them during the assessment. They could order the experts around, but the moment the experts intervened, the assessment would be considered a failure.

In other words, Qian Yun and Hu Liena could give the experts orders, and the experts wouldn't be allowed to refuse. But if the experts interfered in the assessment—even by pointing them in the right direction or shielding them from the wind—it would count as a failure.