I Have No Father, Nor a Mother—Ye Cixin: "I Really Deserve to Die!"

The next day, Meng Chen quietly left Xiahe Village and returned to Notting City.

"Sir, do you have any carriages headed for the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Inside a carriage-hire trading house, Meng Chen asked the manager while making sure to display the gold soul coin in his hand.

The sight of a child carrying gold through a busy street immediately caught the manager's attention.

The manager looked at the gold soul coin in Meng Chen's hand, greed flashing in his eyes. He quickly nodded and said,

"Yes, of course we do. Wait here for a moment, and I'll arrange one for you right away."

With that, the manager turned and entered the drivers' room.

Before long, he emerged with a burly carriage driver whose face bore a scar.

When the scar-faced driver saw the gold soul coin, greed also appeared in his eyes. He exchanged a glance with the manager and nodded. Then the manager smiled at Meng Chen.

"Little friend, this uncle will take you to the Star Dou Great Forest. Just follow him."

He had no idea why a child wanted to go to the Star Dou Great Forest, but as long as there was money to be made, who cared?

"That's right! Uncle guarantees that I'll get you safely to the Star Dou Great Forest."

The scar-faced driver nodded with a smile as well, looking at Meng Chen as though he were a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Meng Chen did not care in the slightest. Wearing an innocent smile, he followed the scar-faced driver onto his carriage.

Seeing Meng Chen obediently climb aboard, the manager smiled smugly and muttered excitedly, "Another easy profit..."

The carriage left Notting City, but before long, it began to veer away from the main road. After entering a small forest, it gradually came to a stop.

The scar-faced driver drew a dagger from his waist, a vicious grin on his face. He turned and opened the carriage door. Before even seeing what was inside, he sneered,

"Kid, don't be so flashy in your next life. Uncle will send you on your way early!"

Yet what awaited the scar-faced driver was a strangely shaped soul tool pistol, dark purple from end to end.

The dark purple muzzle was aimed precisely at his forehead. Though it was still half a meter away, it gave the scar-faced driver an unprecedented sense of danger.

Meng Chen gave the driver a faint smile. "Is that so? Then I'm truly sorry. But Uncle, couldn't you at least take me to the Star Dou Great Forest first?"

As his words fell, a bang rang out, and a soul tool bullet crackling with arcs of lightning shot forth.

The scar-faced driver's head was pierced through on the spot, and the vicious grin on his face froze.

After swaying for a moment, the driver's body fell from the carriage and crashed to the ground, never moving again.

"Phew~"

Blowing at the nonexistent smoke from the barrel, Meng Chen stepped out of the carriage. Looking down at the driver's corpse, he shook his head and said regretfully,

"What a pity. You could have lived."

From the moment he took out the gold soul coin to tempt the manager, Meng Chen had already guessed how this would end.

His original purpose had never been to have the driver take him to the Star Dou Great Forest. He merely wanted to use human greed to obtain a carriage.

Of course, if the driver had not been greedy and had taken him to the Star Dou Great Forest, Meng Chen would have been willing to pay him the gold soul coin. After all, he was not someone who enjoyed killing.

Unfortunately, the driver's greed knew no bounds.

"Come on, horse. Take me to the Star Dou Great Forest, and once we get there, I'll reward you with premium fodder."

As for where the soul tool pistol in his hand had come from?

Of course, Ye Xishui had made it for him.

Ignoring the driver's corpse, Meng Chen patted the horse pulling the carriage on its rump and drove onward toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

Then...

"Damn it, this map is fake, isn't it?! You'd even scam a child? Is there no justice left in this world?!"

As the sun set behind the western hills, Meng Chen stood beside the carriage on some unknown road. He violently threw the map he had bought in Notting City onto the ground, his little face flushed with anger as he stomped on it and cursed.

Meticulous as Meng Chen was, he had considered many things along the way. He had thought about encountering danger on the road, and he had considered the possibility that the carriage horse might refuse to work.

But he had never imagined that even a map costing only two copper soul coins could be fake. This was simply too outrageous!

Even with Meng Chen's strong mentality, this fake map had completely broken his composure.

Looking around at the desolate wilderness, where there was not even a bird in sight, Meng Chen was both furious and speechless.

Where the hell did this thing bring me?!

Meng Chen picked up the map he had stomped on a few times. Staring at the fake map, he gradually calmed down. A helpless expression appeared on his little face as he could not help complaining,

"Sigh, if I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have killed that driver."

After putting away the fake map, Meng Chen had no intention of letting the matter go. Once he had obtained his first soul ring, he would return and settle accounts with that unscrupulous merchant.

Scamming even children—being shot ten times would not be enough punishment!

Just as Meng Chen turned to get back into the carriage, his ears twitched. He heard the sound of hooves striking the ground and wheels rolling along the road from not far away.

Another carriage was coming!

Meng Chen immediately stopped and looked toward the cloud of dust in the distance. Sure enough, a rather exquisite carriage pulled by two horses was approaching at a steady pace.

As it neared Meng Chen, the carriage gradually slowed to a stop. Clearly, the people inside had noticed him as well.

The carriage stopped in front of Meng Chen. Its window opened, and a young girl poked her head out. She had silver-gray hair and looked to be around twelve years old. Her face was youthful, pretty, and delicate.

Pointing at Meng Chen by the roadside, she turned and called out, "Mother, it really is a child!"

"Is that so? Our Ling Ling has such sharp eyes. Come, get down with Mother and let's take a look."

A gentle voice praised her from within the carriage. Soon after, two figures, one large and one small, stepped down from it.

Meng Chen looked closely and saw that they were a mother and daughter.

The little girl's mother possessed breathtaking beauty. Her smooth black hair fell to her waist, framing a delicate oval face with gentle features. A compassionate kindness seemed to linger between her brows, and a lifelike begonia flower painted on her forehead added a touch of holiness to her appearance.

Her white dress outlined a mature, voluptuous body, full and heaving, so ample that she could not see her own toes when looking down. She resembled a ripe peach, as though the slightest squeeze would make sweet juice spill forth.

One look told him she could overwhelm anyone.

Holding her daughter's hand, the beautiful woman in white slowly approached Meng Chen. Seeing that he was alone and dressed in coarse linen clothes, she furrowed her brows slightly, confusion appearing in her beautiful eyes.

She bent down slightly, instantly delivering Meng Chen a powerful visual blow. Then he heard the beautiful woman in white ask,

"Little friend, why are you here alone? Where is your father?"

"I don't have a father." Meng Chen shook his head decisively.

Ye Cixin paused slightly before asking again, "Then where is your mother?"

"I don't have a mother either." Meng Chen continued shaking his head.

That left Ye Cixin stunned. For some reason, she suddenly had the urge to slap herself twice.

I really deserve to die!

Seeing that he was a child without either father or mother, guilt appeared in Ye Cixin's eyes. She softly asked, "Then how did you end up here?"

"I was going to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts, but I bought a fake map and got lost."

Meng Chen did not hide anything and truthfully told Ye Cixin what had happened.

In his view, there was nothing to conceal. On the contrary, it could arouse her sympathy and curiosity, allowing him to leave this godforsaken place.

After hearing this, Ye Cixin's soft pink lips parted slightly, and surprise appeared on her gentle face.

This child had probably only just awakened his martial soul. How did he dare go alone to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts? He must have been fooled by someone.