Setting Out

Luo Dong leaned against the carriage window, lifting a corner of the curtain. His little face pressed against the frame as he watched the scenery race by. Every so often, he turned and called to Bibi Dong, "Mother, look! That leaf looks like a little fish!"

Bibi Dong leaned back inside the carriage, watching him with a smile. Now and then, she looked in the direction of his tiny pointing finger and gave an answering hum.

The mother and son chatted and laughed together.

As the carriage left Spirit City, a slender figure silently skimmed over the city gate.

It was none other than Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan.

He concealed his presence, his gaze fixed on the carriage gradually disappearing down the official road.

Qian Xunji's voice still echoed in his ears: "Follow Bibi Dong and find out what she's hiding. Report back immediately if anything seems out of the ordinary."

As the Pope's most trusted confidant, Yue Guan had long since become adept at carrying out missions like this.

Following a woman who hadn't yet reached Titled Douluo seemed to him like nothing more than going through the motions. It would be a piece of cake.

However, Bibi Dong had already discovered his whereabouts.

Her spiritual power had grown stronger over the past year, bolstered by her cultivation and the many rewards from the system.

It had reached a level far beyond what her current rank should allow.

Chrysanthemum Douluo's supposedly flawless stealth was utterly useless against her perception.

But she didn't expose him. She simply leaned against the carriage's soft cushions and continued to tease Luo Dong.

She had other plans for Chrysanthemum Douluo.

For the rest of the journey, Bibi Dong didn't hurry.

She deliberately slowed their pace, stopping wherever the scenery was beautiful so Luo Dong could take it in. When they passed through lively towns, she took him for a stroll through the streets and bought him unusual snacks and toys.

Sitting in her arms, Luo Dong was so excited he flailed his arms and legs.

Every so often, he made Bibi Dong laugh, her chest trembling with mirth.

Later, when they came across an amusing little stall, they stopped.

Bibi Dong didn't urge him along. She let him look his fill, then bought him a dough figurine shaped like a little tiger.

Yun Che clutched the little tiger in his hand, unable to bear putting it down.

Watching this from the shadows, Yue Guan gradually let go of his doubts.

How did this look like a woman hiding some earth-shattering secret?

She was clearly just an ordinary woman out for a casual stroll with her child.

Perhaps the Pope had been overthinking things.

Bibi Dong hadn't left her home for a year. Her strength might indeed have improved somewhat, but most likely His Holiness the Pope was simply being too wary.

Meanwhile, Bibi Dong and Luo Dong played until they were satisfied, then resumed their journey; after traveling for a while, they stopped to play again.

They traveled in fits and starts like that.

Several days later, the carriage finally arrived at their destination.

A stretch of wilderness north of Star Dou Forest.

The carriage stopped on the sheltered side of a hill. The maid stayed behind to watch it while Bibi Dong carried Luo Dong down and continued on foot.

This wilderness was utterly unlike the familiar Spirit City.

The sky hung low, and thick leaden-gray clouds looked ready to collapse at any moment.

Rolling hills stretched as far as the eye could see. The autumn wind pressed the withered yellow grass flat against the ground, while scattered dead trees stood here and there, their twisted branches reaching toward the sky like arms struggling against death.

A faint stench of decay hung in the air. The smell of corpses.

According to Spirit Hall intelligence, the three evil Soul Masters had committed their most recent crime seven days ago. Their victims had been a caravan belonging to a medium-sized Soul Master family.

All thirty-two people had been killed, except for a child hiding in a cellar.

According to the intelligence, the three were now hiding in this wilderness, using an abandoned mine as their base.

Bibi Dong stood on the ridge, the mountain wind lifting her long hair and purple robes.

Luo Dong had quieted down in her arms. His little face rested against her chest, and only his grape-black eyes remained visible as they warily surveyed their surroundings.

He was only one year old.

But the soul of a transmigrator made him more aware of the situation than any child his age.

He didn't cry or fuss. One hand clutched Bibi Dong's clothes tightly, determined not to make trouble for his mother.

Bibi Dong's spiritual power spread like a tide, blanketing several miles in an instant.

In a secluded hollow below the ridge, she sensed three powerful fluctuations of Soul Power.

She found them quickly.

Carrying Luo Dong, Bibi Dong walked toward the hollow, her steps light and steady.

Deep in the hollow stood a dilapidated mine built into the mountainside.

Weeds and broken stones half-obscured the mine entrance. In the clearing at the center of the mine, three black-robed figures sat around a bonfire.

An iron pot hung over the flames. Some unknown beast meat simmered inside, the bubbling broth giving off a strong, gamey stench.

"Another fat sheep's come along."

The leader of the three spoke slowly.

His voice was dry and hoarse, like two sheets of sandpaper rubbing against each other.

His black hood was pulled low, hiding all but the lower half of his face.

His skin was ashen, his lips black, and a hideous scar stretched from the corner of his mouth to his ear.

A faint, ghostly green glow shone from beneath his hood, like two will-o'-the-wisps.

"How many?" asked the man sitting across from him.

His build was bizarre. His shoulders were immensely broad, and his arms were so long they nearly touched the ground.

Dark red veins crisscrossed his face, glowing faintly as if lava flowed beneath his skin.

"One," the leader said slowly, a trace of confusion in his voice. Then it turned to amusement. "A woman, carrying a baby. She's heading this way."

"A woman and a baby?" The man sitting to one side let out a hoarse, strange laugh.

He was as thin as a rake, with ten oddly shaped bone rings on his fingers. Each ring gave off a different, chilling aura.

He licked his cracked lips, revealing a mouthful of sharp, fine teeth. "That's a novelty. Usually, Soul Master families can't run away fast enough when they see us. And now someone's come right to our door."

"She's from Spirit Hall," the leader added.

The area around the bonfire fell silent for a moment.

Then all three of them laughed.

"Spirit Hall?" The broad-shouldered man slowly stood and rolled his thick, long arms. His joints cracked sharply. "Hasn't Spirit Hall been chasing that fat sheep, Tang Hao? How do they still have time to send someone after us?

"Still, we've killed our fair share of Spirit Hall Soul Masters over the years. One more would make for a nice round number."

"Blood Butcher, don't get careless," the leader said in a low voice.

He raised a hand and pushed back his hood, revealing his entire face.

His features were gaunt as a skeleton, his eye sockets sunken, and his pupils a strange dark red, like two pools of congealed blood.

Most striking of all was the mark between his brows—a vertical black fissure. A dim red glow flowed within it, as if a third eye were half-open.

"I've heard of this woman. Bibi Dong, Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden. Her talent is no less than Tang Hao's. Though they say the Pope doesn't favor her, she's no ordinary Soul Douluo."