The carriage jolted violently along the bumpy dirt road for a while before finally coming to a slow stop.
Outside, a cacophony of noise mingled with the stench of sweat and the clanging of metal.
Su Yu lifted the curtain and hopped down first, then turned and helped Tang Wu and Xiao Wu down.
Before them lay a vast market town that had sprung up around the entrance to the Soul Hunting Forest.
The streets were lined with cramped rows of simple stalls selling antidotes, rations, and cheap weapons and armor.
Most of the people there were low-ranking Soul Masters gathered in groups of three or five.
Some were bare-chested, their muscular bodies covered in scars. Others waved battered weapons and hollered by the roadside.
"Our hunting party needs an auxiliary Soul Master! Someone experienced! We split the spoils evenly!"
"Strong mercenary group taking people to get their First Soul Ring! Only ten Gold Soul Coins, and you'll be satisfied!"
When these low-ranking mercenaries saw the three children approaching, they immediately swarmed around them like flies drawn to the smell of blood.
A burly, bald man with a face full of coarse flesh stepped in front of them. He looked down at Su Yu with a greedy grin.
"Little young master, heading to the Soul Hunting Forest? It's a dangerous place. Soul Beasts eat people without leaving a bone behind. Hire the Iron Blood Mercenary Group! For only twenty Gold Soul Coins, we'll make sure you get your Soul Rings safe and sound."
Su Yu didn't even look him in the eye. A glint of golden light flickered deep in his eyes.
The Eye of Truth swept over the group. There was nothing above their heads—not even the lowest-grade system. They were nothing but bottom-tier Soul Masters looking to make a living.
He couldn't be bothered to waste time on such useless people. He simply pushed the bald man's arm aside and led the two girls straight toward the forest entrance at the far end of town.
The bald man was shoved aside, and his expression darkened. He was just about to make a scene when he saw the rabbit-eared girl behind Su Yu turn and glare at him.
For an instant, the burly man felt as if some terrifying Ferocious Beast had fixed its gaze on him. Cold sweat poured down his body, and he swallowed the curse that had been on the tip of his tongue.
The three crossed the noisy market town and reached the entrance to the Soul Hunting Forest.
A fully armed squad of Spirit Hall guards was stationed there. A heavy iron fence completely cut off the forest from the outside world.
When two guards saw Su Yu and the girls approaching, they immediately raised their spears and crossed them in the middle of the road.
"Stop. The Soul Hunting Forest is a restricted area. Unauthorized personnel are forbidden to enter. Show your permit!" The guard on the left scowled, his tone stiff.
Su Yu calmly reached into his pocket, pulled out the permit he'd gotten for free from Spirit Hall, and casually handed it over.
The guard took the permit. His previously indifferent gaze turned solemn the instant he saw the three intersecting seals on it.
This was an official permit issued by Spirit Hall—not something an ordinary commoner could get their hands on.
Anyone carrying such a permit was sure to have powerful connections.
The guard's attitude changed completely in an instant.
He returned the permit to Su Yu with both hands, his stiff expression replaced by a fawning smile. He even bent at the waist.
"So you're honored guests bearing a permit. Please forgive our offense. Go on in."
The guard turned and shouted to his companions, "Open the gate! Let them through!"
With a deep grinding of metal, the heavy iron fence slowly swung open, revealing a passage into the shadowy forest.
Su Yu put away the permit and led Tang Wu and Xiao Wu across the threshold and into the Soul Hunting Forest.
The moment they crossed the boundary, their surroundings changed completely.
The noise outside was shut out entirely.
Towering, thick-trunked trees rose from the ground, their dense branches and leaves blotting out the sky and blocking the sunlight completely.
The forest was dim, and the air was heavy with the earthy stench of soil and rotting vegetation.
The temperature plunged several degrees. A chilly gust swept by, making them shiver.
Faint, low growls drifted from the distance, carrying a primitive wildness and a sense of danger.
Tang Wu had grown up in a village, after all. She was an innocent girl who had never seen anything like this.
Her little face paled, and anxiety welled up inside her. Without thinking, she edged closer to Su Yu.
She reached out with both hands and gripped the hem of Su Yu's long robe, pressing half her body against his arm.
Through the thin fabric, Su Yu could clearly feel her slight trembling and the softness of her body.
"Brother Yu, it's so dark here." Tang Wu lowered her voice, her big eyes warily watching the bushes around them.
Unlike Tang Wu, Xiao Wu was in a completely different state.
The moment she entered the forest, she seemed to have returned home.
The pair of pink-and-white rabbit ears atop her head perked up excitedly, twitching slightly as they picked up the sounds around them.
Her eyes were no longer their usual playful, innocent selves. They had grown keen and lively, carrying the wild instinct of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Feeling the warmth of Tang Wu's arm against his, Su Yu gently patted the back of her hand to reassure her.
He turned to Xiao Wu and made the obvious arrangement.
"Xiao Wu, you know this kind of place better than we do. You'll lead the way and be our guide from here on."
Xiao Wu patted her flat chest and lifted her chin with confidence. "Leave it to me. This place is just like my own backyard."
With Xiao Wu leading the way, the group made noticeably faster progress.
Thanks to her instincts as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, she had an exceptionally keen sense of danger.
She led them through the winding forest paths, taking turn after turn.
Along the way, they easily avoided the territories of several low-ranking Soul Beasts near the forest's outskirts.
The ten-year and Hundred-Year Soul Beasts that were asleep or foraging didn't even notice the three humans slipping quietly past the edges of their territories.
The three continued deeper into the forest.
Su Yu walked in the middle, outwardly calm, while secretly keeping the Eye of Truth active the entire time.
Golden light swirled deep in his eyes.
His gaze pierced through layers of leaves and bushes. He wasn't just watching the distribution of Soul Beasts around them; he was also on guard for any other system hosts lurking in the forest.
After all, systems had turned this Douluo Continent into a sieve. Who knew whether some cheater with a Devouring System might suddenly leap out of the woods?
The only sound around them was the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Suddenly, Xiao Wu, who was walking at the front, stopped dead.
A strange rustling came from the bushes ahead. It was rapid and close together, nothing like the sound of leaves stirring in the wind.
Xiao Wu immediately lowered her stance, every muscle in her body tensing.
Without looking back, she quickly gestured behind her, signaling that danger was rapidly approaching.
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