First Encounter in the Starry Forest

Three years later.

Su Qing stepped into the Star Dou Great Forest once again. This time, he was here to hunt for his third soul ring. As for why his cultivation had progressed so rapidly, it was entirely thanks to a trip back to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well not long ago. The moment he entered, he was pinned down by the Infernal Delicate Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, who forced Youyou to shove a Primordial Immortal Grass into his mouth. He absorbed nearly all of its immense soul power, allowing him to level up by a full six ranks.

This enabled him to break through to level thirty less than two years after obtaining his second soul ring.

His second soul ring came from a Light-Dark Illusion Butterfly. This type of soul beast possessed both light and dark attributes. While its offensive capabilities were not strong, a single flap of its wings could easily create an illusion. After absorbing the soul ring of a five-thousand-year Light-Dark Illusion Butterfly, he gained a domain-type soul skill: Light-Dark Intertwining.

As the name suggests, it uses light and dark attributes to weave an illusionary domain. Anyone who steps into this domain will have their sensory perception reduced by twenty percent. If the gap in strength is too wide, he can even control the opponent's perception, vision, hearing, and touch, and can even capture their thoughts. However, he had yet to encounter anything whose thoughts he could actually capture.

As for his third soul skill, he hadn't really decided yet, simply because his leveling speed had been so fast that he hadn't had time to plan it out properly.

However, as the saying goes, since he was already here, he might as well go find the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. He had been in such a rush when he came for his second soul ring that the little girl was probably still secretly badmouthing him in her heart.

But, did Gu Yuena really go to sleep? Why has there been no movement? I remember she was just as troubled as I was back then. How could she possibly sleep?

Sensing a familiar mental energy, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who had been lazily sunbathing on a rock, opened her eyes. She looked toward the direction from which Su Qing's mental energy originated and charged out like a sharp sword.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Su Qing, who was still walking at a leisurely pace, faintly heard a sound of crying.

"Hm? What's that? Could the Star Dou Great Forest be haunted?"

Filled with doubt, he expanded his mental energy once more and discovered a little girl crying. She looked like she had gotten separated from her family. Since that was the case, let the ever-helpful Lord Su Qing assist you!

At the same time, a little girl with green twin-tails, who had unfortunately encountered a ten-thousand-year soul beast and become separated from her family, was crying helplessly on the spot.

"Yo, little sister, daring to run into the forest all by yourself? This master is going to eat you!"

Su Qing's mischievous voice came from all directions. The little girl had never seen such a scene before; she stopped her wailing and screamed on the spot:

"Ah! I haven't bathed in three years! I don't taste good at all, you should go eat someone else!"

"What? Haven't bathed in three years? So dirty, I'm not eating you."

Su Qing pretended to be disgusted.

"I am not dirty!"

Realizing she was being looked down upon, the girl turned around in anger, only to be met with a nearly perfect face. She was stunned for a moment, but soon realized that this was the guy who had just been scaring her. Her cheeks puffed up immediately.

"Hmph! Why did you scare me, you annoying ghost! Apologize to me right now!"

Looking at the little girl in front of him, Su Qing suddenly felt she was quite cute. But thinking about his earlier prank, it was indeed a bit unkind, so he decided to apologize first.

"Sorry, little girl. But why did you run into the forest all by yourself?"

Seeing that he was genuinely apologizing and was so handsome to boot, Xiao Xiao decided to forgive him. After struggling to calm her emotions, she began to recount her experience.

"My name is Xiao Xiao. My mom and dad were planning to take me out to get my second soul ring, but we ran into a huge, huge tiger. Mom and Dad lured it away and got separated from me. I was a bit scared being alone, so that's why..."

Thinking about how loudly she had cried in front of Su Qing just now, she felt embarrassed.

"So that's how it is. My name is Su Qing, and I'm also here to hunt for a soul ring, but I came alone. Since we've met, let's travel together. We'll go our separate ways after we find your mom and dad."

Su Qing smiled and reached out to pull Xiao Xiao, who was slumped on the ground, to her feet. So this is Xiao Xiao, he thought to himself. But the original story never mentioned her encountering danger in the Star Dou Great Forest. That means her parents will likely return after she cries a bit longer, or she'll run into someone else who will take her to find them. The first possibility is much more likely.

Feeling the warmth from his hand, the fear in Xiao Xiao's heart slowly dissipated. In truth, she hadn't encountered any real danger in the forest; it was just the helplessness of being alone that had frightened her.

"Okay!"

Looking at the handsome face with the gentle smile before her, Xiao Xiao's heart began to race. It seemed the essence of being a "face-con" was already beginning to show at this early stage.

The two walked along, holding hands and following the traces of battle in the forest. It wasn't that Su Qing wanted to hold hands, but the girl had grabbed on tight; when he pulled her up, she simply refused to let go. Su Qing was a bit confused—the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest shouldn't be that terrifying, right?

However, letting her hold on wouldn't affect him, so he couldn't be bothered to break free. Besides, the little girl's hands were soft, and it was quite comfortable. Thinking this, he even gave her hand a playful squeeze, only for her to squeeze back twice.

"Hey!"

Su Qing's competitive spirit was instantly ignited. Xiao Xiao naturally didn't want to be outdone. The two spent the entire journey squeezing each other's hands, though they both tacitly agreed not to use much force. What puzzled Su Qing, however, was why the little girl's face was so red...

"Stop!"

After detecting intense soul power fluctuations nearby with his expanded mental energy, he immediately brought Xiao Xiao to a halt.

Judging by the soul power fluctuations from the battle, there were at least seven or eight people involved, including the soul beast. However, several of the auras were extremely weak, as if they had suffered severe injuries. It didn't look like Xiao Xiao's parents. He was just about to leave when he recalled a key turning point in the original story.

Inner Court senior sister Zhang Lexuan and the others were out hunting for soul rings under the leadership of Xuan Zi. In the end, they encountered a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and because of Xuan Zi's negligence, Zhang Lexuan was the only one among the disciples to survive...

"Xiao Xiao, do you dare to go forward with me? As long as you stay close to me, you won't be in any danger."

After a moment of thought, Su Qing decided to go check it out. However, whether Xiao Xiao was willing was another matter. If she refused, he wouldn't go; after all, he had brought her here, and the situation had likely already deviated from the original story. If he left her alone and she encountered danger, it would be Su Qing's fault.

"Mm-hmm."

Xiao Xiao tightened her grip on Su Qing's hand. It was clear she was actually afraid, but she could sense that Su Qing really wanted to go see, and since he had promised that she wouldn't be in danger as long as she stayed close, she simply agreed.

"Very well. Don't worry, I will protect you!"