Bibi Dong's Fourth Soul Ring

"..."

Hals walked to the tree, crouched before Bibi Dong who lay in a semi-conscious state, and looked down at this girl, so weak and utterly unconscious before him.

"This must be the first time my master has shown weakness in front of me..."

Hals reached out, gently pressing his hand to Bibi Dong's forehead, channeling soul power to examine the girl's body. After a moment, he let out a long breath of relief.

It was fine—just internal shock from the impact. With his master's constitution, she should recover soon enough. But...

"But..." Hals slowly straightened up, scanning the many soul beasts surrounding them.

"To actually harm my master right before my eyes—though it was my negligence, it is still... unforgivable!!!" Hals' voice dropped low, a sinister, hoarse tone pressing out from his throat with barely contained fury.

The wolf soul beasts encircling the camp whimpered in fear at first, but ultimately their hunger for a soul master's flesh overcame their primal instincts. Baring white fangs, drool dripping, they crept closer with low growls rumbling in their throats.

"Truly, beasts."

For the first time, Hals set down the lantern in his hand.

Every person and beast present couldn't help but stare at the lantern as it neared the ground.

"Crack"

The lantern crashed heavily to the earth, shattering.

"Woo—" A mournful, wailing shriek rose up. A chill wind howled as countless souls burst forth, crying and surging toward the wolf pack on all sides.

Among the multitude of souls were small-bodied children, hunched old men, sturdy mercenaries, and countless strange soul beasts—including the freshly slain Shadow Wolf, clearly visible in the throng.

"Th-those... are the people Lord Hals has killed?!" Xiong Yiyi, who had somehow crawled on limp limbs to Jiabulin's side, hugged his slack body and spoke with trembling voice.

"You beasts should truly feel honored," Hals said, his hood hiding a cold, contemptuous expression. "You are the first enemies to taste my Self-Created Soul Skill—Yellow Spring Pure Land. So..."

A bone-chilling green light seeped from Hals' eyes, cold yet tinged with a hint of fervor.

"So, use your lives to atone to my master, and to offer a celebration for this great soul skill!!"

"Aoo—" The soul beasts, attacked like ravenous zombies, let out miserable howls. They endured this terror in panic, watching in horror as their leader—the Black Wolf, no, now to be called the Green Wolf—frantically attacked his own former subordinates.

Hals saw fear in their unenlightened pupils.

"What a... what a wonderful taste."

Hals could no longer restrain himself. He clawed at his face with both hands, and those eyes—the only part usually visible beneath his hood, glowing with green light—bulged for the first time, flickering with a bloody red gleam.

"And now, let me... ring the final bell... for this funeral!"

Hals bent his knees slightly, curving his body forward at a bizarre angle. He thrust his hands into his hood, yanking at his hair, and let out a long howl to the sky, sinking fully into madness.

Behind him emerged five dazzling soul rings: yellow, purple, purple, black, black. The fourth soul ring flashed—Whisper, activated!

But this time, what echoed in the minds of the soul beasts was not the eerie whisper, but a single, ancient, majestic bell toll, reverberating without end...

One by one, the wolf soul beasts fell. One by one, souls rose into the air. But because the lantern was broken, they were not drawn into it. Instead, countless souls swarmed them, biting and devouring these newborn spirits.

Hals gradually calmed, lowering his hands to straighten his robe.

"You lot... don't deserve to have souls."

The old souls that had devoured many newborn ones seemed to gain energy, recover memories, or perhaps develop the instinct of living beings. Their eyes cleared slightly with fear as they stared at Hals, stumbling and shrieking as they fled far away from him.

"Crack, crack."

Shards of the broken lantern floated up, gathered together, and piece by piece reassembled into a lantern as good as new.

"Boom"

Though there was no sound, to Xiong Yiyi—the only conscious outsider present—it was a dull thunderclap.

The lantern blazed with light, erupting in a dazzling green glow. A terrifying suction force emerged, pulling and dragging countless souls back into this prison.

"Aoo—" All the souls crawled on hands and knees, fleeing, their ten fingers digging deep into the ground. But it was futile; they left scratch marks across the earth, only to wail as they were dragged back into the lantern.

As all the souls were gathered again, the lantern's light gradually dimmed, flickering occasionally as if the souls struggled in vain.

A pale, withered yet strangely flawless left hand lifted the lantern and hung it back beneath the robe.

"I told you—no soul can escape from before me to anywhere else."

As the words fell, as if to prove the statement, soul rings of various colors rose from the corpses of the wolf soul beasts, turning the place into a kingdom of soul rings.

Hals princess-carried Bibi Dong and walked off in a random direction.

"L-Lord Hals..." A soft, loli-like voice trembled.

"Hm?" Hals tilted his head to look at the girl collapsed not far away. Her face was full of fear—though it was unclear whether she feared the soul beasts, or Hals himself.

"Oh, you're still alive," came the hoarse, cold voice.

Hah, Lord Hals, have you already forgotten us? Do you only have eyes for the Holy Maiden?

Despite a strange urge to complain, fear of Hals and worry for her companion won out.

"L-Lord Hals, c-could you... please check on Jiabulin's injuries? He seems... he seems... he's not going to make it, boohoo..." Xiong Yiyi suddenly burst into tears, pointing at Jiabulin, who had already fainted.

She really is just a child, Hals thought with an inner sigh, completely forgetting that he himself was only eighteen.

Hals glanced over, then turned and kept walking.

"It's fine, she won't die—just unconscious."

"Oh, is that so?" Xiong Yiyi stopped crying, wiped her tears, and looked in surprise at Jiabulin beside her, only to find he had already started snoring with a "huff huff" sound.

"Carry him on your back and follow," Hals said coldly.

"Ah, ah!"

Xiong Yiyi scrambled to hoist Jiabulin onto her back with clumsy effort, stumbling as she ran after Hals's retreating figure.

After that ordeal, by the time Hals found a new campsite, it was already late at night. Hals personally set up a tent, carried Bibi Dong inside, and lowered the door flap.

Seeing this, Xiong Yiyi could only sigh helplessly, gently set Jiabulin down from her back, and start pitching her own tent.

"Considering you usually take care of me, I guess I'll reluctantly look after you this once," Xiong Yiyi sighed, straining with all her might to drag Jiabulin into the tent. "Really, what a mess."

"Mm—" A soft moan.

Bibi Dong slowly opened her eyes, staring blankly at the dark green figure beside her, her mind a complete void.

"You've awakened, Master."

"Hals," Bibi Dong turned her head with difficulty, looking at Hals, who had already risen and come to her side. "Hals, did you save me?"

"Yes, Master. It was my failure to protect you that caused your injury. Please punish me." Hals knelt on one knee before Bibi Dong, his face and eyes deeply hidden beneath his hood.

"It's not your fault, Hals. I was too careless." Bibi Dong's voice was still faint and weak.

"Hals."

"Here, Master."

"Can you tell me what happened after I passed out?"

"As you command, my Master."