The Princess's Soul, Gu Xin Wants It

"No wonder..."

Blue Lotus murmured. She had thought she caught the scent of magical creatures when they entered the castle.

But it had only lasted a moment, so she had assumed it was just her imagination.

"Who would have thought that the king of a nation would fall so low as to keep company with magical creatures?"

Meng Xiu's rugged face was grave.

"This king needs to be purified!"

Meng Xiu declared righteously. Well, his dream was to become the toughest holy knight. Humans who kept company with demons were blasphemers who deserved to be burned alive.

"Calm down. He's the king, and we don't have any concrete evidence."

Blue Lotus soothed the indignant Wang Quan and Meng Xiu. Even if they suspected the king was colluding with magical creatures, they had no proof in the end.

Though most of the royal city guards were ordinary people, there were still quite a few warriors among them.

"What do you think, Gu Xin?"

"It wouldn't be appropriate to storm the royal city directly. Even if we have the strength, the Adventurers' Guild rules forbid us from killing people at will."

"So let's head to the Dark Forest first. I think we'll find clues there."

Gu Xin smiled. Since the king had guided them toward the Dark Forest, there had to be something wrong with that place.

"Mm. Whether the princess was really kidnapped there or not, let's go take a look first."

After giving it some thought, Wang Quan nodded in agreement. It did not matter whether the princess's kidnapping was real or whether it was a trap.

Since the king had deliberately steered the heroes toward the Dark Forest, there had to be something there.

After discussing it, the four continued onward.

The Dark Forest lay roughly ten kilometers north of the royal city, a dense woodland.

The branches and leaves were so thick that barely any sunlight could penetrate them.

"I smell a lot of magical creatures."

Blue Lotus's nose remained as sharp as ever. Not long after entering the forest, she warned Gu Xin and the others.

Meng Xiu took the lead with his shield raised. Wang Quan and Blue Lotus followed behind him, while Gu Xin covered the rear.

It could not be helped. Wang Quan needed to deal damage, and Blue Lotus was the healer, so Gu Xin could only take the rear.

Sure enough, after they walked a little farther, pairs of ghostly green eyes gradually lit up within the forest.

Gray wolves the size of calves emerged one after another. Most striking were the long fangs extending down from the corners of their mouths.

"Fang Wolves, beast-type magical beasts. There sure are a lot of them."

Gu Xin raised an eyebrow.

Fang Wolves were Tier 1 beast-type magical beasts. They lived in packs and usually appeared in groups, making them one of the magical beasts novice adventurers least wanted to encounter in the wild.

They were cunning and vicious, and they attacked in coordination.

"They're just a bunch of weak trash. Watch me wipe them out with a single spell."

Wang Quan sneered and pulled out his staff, preparing to cast.

"Hahaha, my shield is indestructible!"

Meng Xiu laughed and slammed his shield heavily into the ground. His battle aura formed a protective barrier around Wang Quan and the others.

As the Fang Wolf leader howled, the Fang Wolves launched their attack, and then...

There was no then. They were utterly wiped out.

Frost covered the ground. After some consideration, Gu Xin still placed the frozen, stiff corpse of the Fang Wolf leader into his spatial scroll.

It was only Tier 1, but who knew when it might come in handy?

Alchemy materials—the more, the better. The real problem was needing them and not having any.

The four continued deeper, encountering Spotted Slimes, Twisted Goblins, Man-Eating Trees, Poison Bees, and more.

"This place is practically a monster den."

Blue Lotus finally could not help complaining. Wave after wave of magical beasts attacked them, though none posed any real danger.

Still, the sheer number of attacks was enough to make Blue Lotus cry out in despair.

It was even more ridiculous than the mine. The wilderness of this secret realm world was far too dangerous.

"Look over there."

Meng Xiu suddenly pointed beneath a tree in the distance.

Gu Xin looked over and found a pile of scattered iron armor. It was stained with blood, and bones could vaguely be seen inside it.

Clearly, this had been a hero who had entered earlier to rescue the princess.

But the magical beasts along the way had killed him, even eating his body clean.

"What a miserable end."

Wang Quan glanced over. There was nothing much to say about something like this, but they would not end up the same way.

Meng Xiu was still kind-hearted. Although the nameless warrior had been reduced to nothing but bones and armor, Meng Xiu still dug a pit and buried him, letting him rest in peace.

Continuing onward, the four of them finally reached the depths of the dense forest.

"There's actually a house here?"

Gu Xin looked at the dilapidated wooden cabin and scanned the surroundings.

There was an open clearing around the cabin, and there were no footprints from magical beasts or monsters on the ground. That was enough to prove that this cabin was unusual.

"Meng Xiu, go take a look."

Wang Quan noticed this strange detail as well. After thinking for a moment, he decisively sent Meng Xiu inside to investigate the cabin.

Who knew whether it was some kind of trap? Sending the toughest knight in to test it was the most rational choice.

"Leave it to me!"

Meng Xiu was a brave knight. He knew it was time for him to step up.

He raised his shield and cautiously approached the cabin, but even when he reached the door, nothing happened.

Still, Meng Xiu did not dare let down his guard. With a solemn expression, he slowly pushed open the cabin door.

The moment he saw what was inside, Meng Xiu froze.

"What's wrong, Meng Xiu? What's in there?"

After a while, Wang Quan frowned when he saw Meng Xiu standing motionlessly in the doorway.

"Don't tell me he's been caught in an illusion?" Blue Lotus was worried too. She raised her staff, ready to cast a Holy Light spell on Meng Xiu.

"No, I'm fine."

Meng Xiu snapped out of it then. He turned around with a strange look on his face and scratched his head.

"I don't know how to describe it, but there shouldn't be any danger here. It's just that there seems to be someone inside... or rather, something that should count as a 'person'?"

Meng Xiu stepped aside so that Gu Xin and the other two could see into the room.

The cabin's interior was simple and worn-out, with a bed and a table. At that moment, a young girl was sitting at the table.

But the key was that her figure was an illusory blue—yes, visibly ethereal and insubstantial.

"This is...?"

A spirit? Or a soul?

Gu Xin was greatly startled and carefully examined the girl's soul, who sat blankly and motionlessly at the table.

He could vaguely make out that she was quite young, with a slender figure and a crown-shaped ornament atop her head.

But she seemed to have lost her consciousness. She merely sat there blankly, staring ahead with a vacant expression.

"She must be Princess Lisaka, then? I never expected only her soul to be left. Where's her body?"

Blue Lotus was thoroughly confused.

"And it looks like her soul has lost its way. Hm? Gu Xin, what are you doing?"

"Ahem, this girl's soul looks too pitiful. I wanted to put her in here and warm her up a little."

Gu Xin stopped what he was doing and gave an awkward smile, hiding the spatial scroll behind his back.

This was the lost soul of a princess!!

This material was absolutely precious. Looking at the princess's soul, Gu Xin practically wanted to drool.