The Patrol Envoy Arrives, Soul Beasts Attack

Even if Xiao Qing were slow-witted, he could sense the naked malice in Chang Feng's tone by now.

So that's how it is. From the very beginning, this guy planned to sell me off for profit the moment I revealed my innate soul talent.

A chill flickered in the depths of Xiao Qing's eyes. He feared that until Chang Feng finalized a deal with a buyer, he wouldn't even be able to leave the village; Chang Feng would undoubtedly have people watching him.

Limited by his age, the probability of Xiao Qing escaping right now was extremely low. He needed to wait for an opportunity to throw Clear Spring Village into chaos.

Only then, when he made his run, would no one notice he was gone.

As Xiao Qing expected, the news of his seven-level Innate Soul Power spread like wildfire.

From that point on, no matter where Xiao Qing went, he felt as if someone were watching him. Whenever he showed the slightest intention of leaving the village, someone would appear to stop him.

However, Xiao Qing had no intention of just enduring this. Before Chang Feng left, hadn't he said that Xiao Qing could go to his house to ask for whatever food he needed?

Therefore, for the next few days, Xiao Qing appeared punctually outside Chang Feng's house, tirelessly shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Auntie! Village Chief Chang Feng told me before he left that I could come to you for anything I needed, so I've come to collect my rice and meat!"

Chang Feng's wife was a woman who cared deeply about her reputation. Hearing Xiao Qing shout like that outside her door made her lose face, and she was already struggling to keep her composure.

On top of that, Chang Feng had instructed her before leaving to appease Xiao Qing and give him whatever he asked for.

"Take it and get lost!"

Chang Feng's wife had long been annoyed by Xiao Qing. Now, the moment she heard his shouting, she would have her children toss a basket filled with rice and meat out the door.

Xiao Qing was not angered by this; he would simply grin, step forward to pick up the rice and meat, and turn back home to cook.

Once back inside, Xiao Qing poured the rice into his jar and sliced off the majority of the palm-sized piece of meat, keeping only a small portion for today's meal.

Asking Chang Feng's wife for meat wasn't just to disgust them; it was to create a concoction capable of attracting soul beasts.

There was a small stream next to Clear Spring Village that led toward the Star Dou Forest. If Xiao Qing could dump this concoction into the stream, he was certain the soul beasts downstream wouldn't be able to resist coming up!

After all, Xiao Qing had seen his father test the potency of this concoction when he was a child.

A palm-sized piece of meat treated with the concoction was enough to lure over a dozen wolves.

As for the medicinal herbs used to make the concoction, Xiao Qing had retrieved them from the storage Soul Tool his father had left him.

According to his father, he had risked his life years ago to save a comatose man from the jaws of a soul beast, and the man had given it to him as a token of gratitude after waking up.

The exterior of this Soul Tool was very plain, and due to the heavy signs of wear, anyone who didn't look closely would mistake it for a simple cloth bag rather than a Soul Tool.

Because of this, Xiao Qing had named the Soul Tool "Cloth Bag."

The space inside the Cloth Bag was only two cubic meters, containing a few medicinal herbs and several notebooks.

The former were used by Xiao Qing's father to craft medicine, while the latter recorded everything his father had learned over several decades, with the most detailed entries being about soul beasts.

Relying on these notes, Xiao Qing couldn't guarantee how comfortably he would live on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, but surviving long enough to hunt a soul beast and obtain a soul ring was certainly within his reach.

Thinking of this, Xiao Qing walked into his room, lifted his bed, and took out a ceramic jar. He opened it and stuffed the meat inside.

The ceramic jar was already filled to the brim. Now, all Xiao Qing had to do was wait. In three days, the concoction would be ready, and that would be the day of his escape.

To Xiao Qing's surprise, Chang Feng actually returned the very next day!

Xiao Qing remembered clearly that a round trip to the nearest city would take at least a week at the fastest, and considering Chang Feng had to find a buyer, it should have taken much longer than that.

"Xiao Qing, life has been treating you well lately, hasn't it?"

As soon as Chang Feng returned to Clear Spring Village, he sought out Xiao Qing, rubbing his hands together and asking with a fawning tone.

Seeing that Chang Feng had returned alone, Xiao Qing let out a sigh of relief and began chatting with him as usual.

"Village Chief, you're back! Thanks to you, my life lately hasn't been bad at all; I've been eating very well every day."

Relying on Chang Feng, Xiao Qing had been eating rice and meat at every meal for the past few days, no longer needing to drink thin porridge and eat dried radishes like before.

Chang Feng didn't know that Xiao Qing had been demanding rice and meat from his house every day; he simply assumed his wife had followed his instructions and provided Xiao Qing with some extra rations.

"Then you must remember this and never forget the kindness our Clear Spring Village has shown you! Especially when the inspector from the Martial Soul Hall arrives, you must speak highly of our village's grace toward you!"

Hearing this, Xiao Qing finally understood why Chang Feng had been acting so strangely. So, someone from the Martial Soul Hall was coming!

Chang Feng's early return was also explained—he had essentially sold him off to the Martial Soul Hall.

However, Xiao Qing had never heard of a "patrol inspector" from the Martial Soul Hall, nor did he know what the position entailed.

"Inspector? Village Chief, who is this inspector? How come I've never heard of them?"

Chang Feng, who was busy daydreaming about his future, didn't show a hint of impatience at Xiao Qing's question and carefully explained it to him.

"The inspector is someone tasked by the Martial Soul Hall to collect geniuses. The inspector arriving tomorrow heard of your talent while passing through, so they intend to take you to the Martial Soul Hall's academy to study."

Chang Feng, terrified that Xiao Qing might refuse, kept drilling into him all the benefits he would enjoy if he went with the inspector.

"When the time comes, remember to behave yourself. This opportunity is extremely precious. As long as you can study there, you can eat white rice and drink meat soup every day, and you might even get to eat white sugar!"

Looking at the slightly distracted Xiao Qing, Chang Feng assumed he was daydreaming about a bright future just like he was.

In reality, Xiao Qing was lost in thought, debating whether he should go to the Martial Soul Hall to study.

I don't know the current situation with Tang San. If I join the Martial Soul Hall blindly, I'll just end up as cannon fodder in the Battle of Jiayuguan.

Besides, I don't even know if that inspector is legitimate. What if I'm just jumping from one pit into an even deeper one? It's better to remain a free man!

Xiao Qing made his decision quickly: the previous plan would proceed as scheduled. With the arrival of the Inspector, he could stir up even more chaos in Clear Spring Village.

The next day, morning.

Chang Feng had made a point of rising early, running to Xiao Qing's doorstep to wait for him.

However, after waiting for quite a while without seeing Xiao Qing emerge, just as he began to suspect that Xiao Qing had fled, someone ran up to tell him that Xiao Qing was down by the creek washing his clothes.

By the time Chang Feng reached the creek, Xiao Qing was busy scrubbing his clothes and quilt.

"Xiao Qing, why did you run off here! Don't you know the Inspector is coming?"

Chang Feng roared at Xiao Qing in irritation; if Xiao Qing ran away, his newly acquired position would be lost!

"I felt my clothes and quilt were a bit dirty and was afraid the Inspector would laugh at me, so I came early to wash them. Have I done something wrong?"

Xiao Qing looked at Chang Feng with an innocent expression, as if he were speaking the absolute truth.

"You! I—"

Before Chang Feng could finish, someone ran over shouting that the Inspector had arrived and that Chang Feng needed to go receive him.

Seeing this, Chang Feng could only glare at Xiao Qing and bark a vicious order: "Hurry up and follow me to welcome our honored guest!"

Xiao Qing said nothing, keeping his head low as he followed behind Chang Feng.

There is more than one 'honored guest' coming! Let me see if you are prepared to welcome the Soul Beasts that have been lured here!

While washing his clothes earlier, Xiao Qing had already tossed a portion of the treated meat into the water and hidden the rest along the path leading into the village.

Calculating the time, the potion should have taken effect by now; the Soul Beasts in the forest were likely already unable to restrain themselves!