Following Chang Feng to the village entrance, Xiao Qing saw three Soul Masters clad in armor and riding purebred steeds.
The Soul Master at the front spoke first, shouting at the chattering crowd before him. "Call Chang Feng out! Lord Matthew is already here. Why hasn't he come to welcome us?"
Hearing someone call for him, Chang Feng didn't even check whether Xiao Qing had caught up. He rushed forward with a fawning expression.
"My lord, I'm here! I went to fetch Xiao Qing just now, which is why I neglected to welcome the inspector."
Seeing Chang Feng emerge, Matthew urged his horse forward, then looked down at him with his head tilted.
"If you say you went to fetch someone, then where is he? I don't seem to see the little friend with Innate Soul Power of level seven you mentioned."
Matthew spoke slowly, but his voice was loud. Everyone present heard his words clearly.
Afraid that Matthew would get angry, the crowd hurriedly shoved Xiao Qing forward from behind them, pushing him right in front of Matthew.
When he stood before Matthew, Xiao Qing felt neither fear nor timidity. He calmly looked up and met Matthew's gaze.
Seeing that Xiao Qing wasn't intimidated, Matthew grew interested. He had visited dozens, even hundreds of villages, and all of them had children like Xiao Qing—exceptionally gifted, with unusual Martial Souls.
Yet not one child from those places had ever looked him in the eye so calmly.
"Little friend, what's your name? And what's your Martial Soul?"
"Xiao Qing. My Martial Soul is the Prism Ball."
"Xiao Qing? That's a fine name. So, are you willing to join the Spirit Hall and become one of us?"
Matthew studied Xiao Qing with interest. He had read the information Chang Feng submitted, so naturally he knew Xiao Qing's name and Martial Soul. He also knew that aside from joining the Spirit Hall, Xiao Qing's only other path was to be sold into a powerful family as a servant.
Perhaps it was a mischievous whim, or perhaps he wanted to add some fun to his smooth-sailing life. Matthew wanted to give Xiao Qing the right to choose.
Suddenly, the area fell quiet. Everyone was baffled. Shouldn't Xiao Qing seize the chance to pledge his loyalty to Matthew? Matthew was clearly trying to recruit him!
The two attendants beside Matthew were especially surprised. The people of Clear Spring Village might have thought Matthew was just a low-ranking inspector, but they knew his true identity.
Matthew was the beloved and most talented grandson of the fourth enshrined elder, Mighty Lion Douluo.
Matthew was only a Soul King, but he was barely over twenty-five!
When Xiao Qing remained silent, Chang Feng broke into a cold sweat and kept nudging him.
Xiao Qing ignored Chang Feng's shoves and stared at Matthew, silently counting down in his heart. Three, two, one!
A piercing wolf howl shattered the silence. Then came a tiger's roar, a bear's bellow, and the cries of all kinds of Soul Beasts, rising from the direction of the stream.
With everyone in the village gathered at the entrance to watch the commotion, the Soul Beasts rushed into the village in the blink of an eye. They smashed open the doors of houses and rummaged around for food.
"Help! Soul Beasts are in the village!"
Someone shouted, jolting the stunned crowd back to their senses. They shoved one another as they fled along the main road leading out of the village.
Perhaps because they had long lived near the Star Dou Forest, not one person in Clear Spring Village tried to return home for their belongings.
The horses beneath Matthew and his two attendants grew restless as soon as they were startled by the Soul Beasts.
Matthew's two attendants had never encountered anything like this and struggled to control their horses.
It took them quite a while to bring their horses to Matthew's side and shield him as they retreated.
Matthew, on the other hand, calmly turned his horse around. Just before leaving, he glanced back at Xiao Qing.
Xiao Qing was now running home with all his might.
"So this is the choice you've made? Xiao Qing, I'm sure the rest of your life will be quite an adventure!"
As a five-ring Soul Master, Matthew could easily have caught Xiao Qing and brought him back, but he didn't. He knew this Soul Beast upheaval was definitely connected to Xiao Qing.
Xiao Qing had answered Matthew's question with his actions, and Matthew liked that kind of answer. He longed for a life in which people could make their own decisions.
Xiao Qing knew nothing of Matthew's thoughts. At that moment, he was applying a potion to mask his scent.
Once he had finished, Xiao Qing dashed into the backyard, shoved aside the stacked firewood, pulled up the wooden door concealed beneath it, and jumped inside.
After entering the tunnel, Xiao Qing used the faint light overhead to find some matches. He struck one and lit the kerosene lamp he had taken from the Cloth Bag.
The tunnel was low. If Xiao Qing stood straight, his head would come within four fingers of the ceiling.
Xiao Qing's father had built the tunnel in case he wasn't home when Soul Beasts invaded the village, leaving Xiao Qing and his mother with nowhere to hide.
His father's Martial Soul was an Iron-Armored Pangolin, so digging a tunnel was naturally a breeze for him.
The far end of the tunnel connected to a cave in the Star Dou Forest. Xiao Qing's father had blocked the cave entrance with a stone.
The stone couldn't be pushed from the outside, but even Xiao Qing could easily move it from within.
The tunnel was long. According to his father, it took him three or four hours to walk through it. Xiao Qing would need even longer.
That was exactly why Xiao Qing had delayed setting off to escape.
As he had expected, by the time Xiao Qing reached the end of the tunnel and pushed the stone aside, night had fallen.
Looking at the sun about to set, Xiao Qing dropped onto the ground and panted, realizing he had made it out!
"Looks like no one's coming after me. I'll sleep here tonight, then set off tomorrow to find a safe place to shelter."
Once his breathing had settled, Xiao Qing took two packets of powder from the Cloth Bag. He sprinkled one near the cave entrance and the other over himself.
The two packets would ensure that the Soul Beasts wouldn't target Xiao Qing tonight.
After finishing everything, Xiao Qing retreated into the tunnel, ate a little, then leaned against the wall and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, just after dawn, a cold wind blew in through the cave entrance, waking Xiao Qing at once.
After waking, Xiao Qing ate a little to fill his stomach, then gripped his knife and crawled out through the basin-sized opening.
In the morning, the Star Dou Forest was quiet except for the occasional birdsong and the sound of Xiao Qing's feet crunching on leaves.
Xiao Qing warily scanned his surroundings. According to his father's notes, if he left the cave and headed left, he would reach a lake after half a day's walk.
That lake was Xiao Qing's destination. It was the only way he could survive in the Star Dou Forest; even finding enough water would otherwise be a headache.
On the way to the lake, Xiao Qing never passed up anything edible. He stuffed it all into the Cloth Bag.
The sun soon climbed directly overhead, and Xiao Qing was starting to feel parched.
After finding a safe place, Xiao Qing took out a few pieces of rice cake and began to eat.
As he ate, a faint, anguished cry came from far away, instantly putting Xiao Qing on alert.
Xiao Qing put away the rice cakes, gripped his long knife, and surveyed the area. Just then, his Martial Soul suddenly stirred, sending him a message that it wanted to come out.
Although Xiao Qing didn't understand why his Martial Soul was acting this way, he still summoned the Prism Ball.
Since it was reacting, Xiao Qing wanted to see what it could do.
Summoned by Xiao Qing, the Prism Ball hovered above his right hand, moving back and forth in the direction of the anguished cries.
"Is something over there drawing you in?"
Without hesitation, Xiao Qing gripped his long knife and followed the Prism Ball's guidance, gradually approaching the source of the cries.
As he drew closer, the cries grew louder. Xiao Qing could now tell they were coming from a wolf.
What he couldn't understand was why there was a wolf howling in anguish here.
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