Trouble in Holy Soul Village

"Xu Zhou, proceed to the Spirit Hall Branch in Notting City immediately."

There were not many words in the letter.

"Refusal to cooperate will result in Holy Soul Village being listed as an investigation target for Soul Beast protection."

It was signed by Spirit Hall.

The seal was genuine as well.

Xu Zhou turned the letter over. A Blue Silver Grass leaf was stuck to the back.

The leaf had already dried.

"Who delivered it?"

Yu Xiaogang took the letter and studied it for a moment.

"The Blue Silver Grass Network."

Tang San reached out and touched the leaf.

"Ah Yin?"

"No."

Xu Zhou shook his head.

"There's no trace of the Blue Silver Emperor's aura here. It's just ordinary Blue Silver Grass."

"Ordinary Blue Silver Grass can deliver letters?"

"The ordinary Blue Silver Grass in Holy Soul Village is smarter than most."

Xu Zhou remembered the Blue Silver Grass in the village that usually disguised itself as wild weeds, only to gather at night and discuss Tang San's future path. This did not seem strange at all.

After Ah Yin regained consciousness ahead of time, the Blue Silver Grass Network had gradually expanded.

The villagers still believed they were growing ordinary weeds.

In reality, every field might conceal an information outpost.

"Why is Spirit Hall suddenly investigating Holy Soul Village?"

Yu Xiaogang looked at Xu Zhou.

"Because of the Soul Beast protection investigation."

Xu Zhou pointed at the letter.

"The Mandrake Snake was transferred, the Ghost Vine records were forged, and Ironthorn Vine was secretly shipped into the academy. The people behind it are doing business under the name of the Soul Beast Protection Faction. Holy Soul Village is only an excuse."

"They want to use the village to pressure you."

Tang San said.

"Or it could truly be an investigation."

Xu Zhou folded the letter.

"Either way, I have to go."

"You can't go."

Yu Xiaogang spoke at once.

"This is an obvious trap."

"If I don't go, they'll keep investigating the village."

"Spirit Hall wouldn't dare act recklessly against Holy Soul Village."

"They didn't dare before."

Xu Zhou looked at the seal on the letter.

"As long as someone in the village admits to seeing my Martial Soul, they can write the investigation into an entirely different story."

"What story?"

"Holy Soul Village harbors a special Soul Master and assisted the Soul Beast Protection Faction in transferring Soul Beasts."

Tang San fell silent.

It sounded absurd.

But this world never lacked absurdity.

As long as someone was willing to write it and someone was willing to believe it, even lies could become evidence in an official case file.

Yu Xiaogang stored the letter in his Soul Tool.

"I'll go with you."

"So will I."

Tang San stepped to Xu Zhou's side.

By the time they returned to Nuoding Academy, it was nearly dark.

The betting stalls outside the academy gates had still not been removed.

As soon as Xu Zhou approached, he heard someone shout.

"Xu Zhou is back!"

"He came out of the Soul Hunting Forest alive!"

"Look! The people who bet on him surviving get paid!"

Wang Sheng rushed out while hugging an account book, carrying a large bag of Copper Soul Coins in one hand.

"You made money?"

"I didn't make it."

Wang Sheng handed the bag to Xu Zhou.

"This is yours."

Xu Zhou weighed it in his hand.

"So much?"

"You came back alive, so the house paid out three hundred and twenty Copper Soul Coins."

"What about you?"

"I charged an account-book management fee."

"How much?"

"Five."

"Where did you deduct it from?"

"Your compensation."

Xu Zhou opened the bag.

There were only three hundred and fifteen coins inside.

"You deducted that management fee pretty promptly."

"I was afraid you'd die on the road."

Wang Sheng's reasoning made perfect sense.

At the very least, he had indeed collected those five Copper Soul Coins early.

"Don't talk at the gate."

Yu Xiaogang swept his gaze around.

"Spirit Hall's people are already here."

Two deacons stood inside the academy gatehouse.

The moment one of them saw Xu Zhou, he immediately came out.

"Xu Zhou, come with us to the branch."

"Now?"

"Now."

"I just returned from the Soul Hunting Forest."

"All the better. It will make verification easier."

"Are you verifying my Soul Power, or verifying why I didn't die?"

The deacon did not answer.

The other took out a document.

"The investigation into Holy Soul Village has already begun. The villagers need to cooperate with questioning."

"How far has the investigation gone?"

Xu Zhou asked.

"For now, the village entrance has been sealed, and the Blue Silver Grass cultivation is being inspected."

"You're investigating grass?"

"The Soul Beast Protection Faction often transmits information through plant networks. Blue Silver Grass is also within the scope of the investigation."

Xu Zhou looked at Yu Xiaogang.

"They won't even spare the grass."

"What did Blue Silver Grass ever do to them?"

Wang Sheng muttered from the side.

"First it was called a useless Martial Soul, and now it's being treated as an intelligence network."

"Sooner or later, it'll start charging management fees."

Xu Zhou did not laugh.

Spirit Hall had moved faster than he expected.

Before the letter reached his hands, the investigation team had likely already set out.

They were not inviting him in for questioning.

They had calculated that he would go.

The moment he stepped into the Spirit Hall Branch, Holy Soul Village could be temporarily controlled.

If he refused to go, Spirit Hall could write his refusal to cooperate into the investigation records.

There were traps on both sides.

"I can go."

Xu Zhou looked at the two deacons.

"But I'm bringing people."

"Who?"

"Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, and Wang Sheng."

Wang Sheng nearly jumped.

"I'm going too?"

"You know how to keep accounts."

"What does that have to do with an investigation?"

"Spirit Hall needs someone to record what they say."

Wang Sheng hugged his account book tighter.

"Then I'm going."

The deacon frowned.

"You may bring only one companion."

"Then I'm not going."

Xu Zhou answered without hesitation.

"You're using Holy Soul Village to threaten me. I need to bring a witness."

The deacon stared at him.

"You are not qualified to negotiate."

"I am."

Xu Zhou raised the Black Ancient Book.

"You want to know what it can do."

"I also want to know what you can do."

He patted the pages.

"Everyone studies each other. That's fairer."

The deacon's expression changed.

This book had created illusions in the Soul Hunting Forest, deceived three Mandrake Snakes, and allowed Xu Zhou to survive a desperate situation.

No one wanted to forcibly take him away without understanding its abilities.

What Spirit Hall needed was a living Xu Zhou.

Preferably, a Xu Zhou willing to cooperate.

"You may bring one companion."

The deacon finally spoke.

"I'll go."

Yu Xiaogang stepped forward.

"You investigate Soul Power. I investigate the records."

The deacon did not object.

But Xu Zhou looked at Tang San.

"You stay at the academy."

"Why?"

"You just went through three snakes."

"I can still fight."

"You still haven't obtained your first Soul Ring."

"So I should be the one to go."

After saying that, Tang San walked over to Xu Zhou's side.

"If you get taken away, who'll help me find a Soul Ring?"

"You can ask Yu Xiaogang."

"You think Teacher is reliable?"

"Not reliable."

Tang San gripped the Soul Tool at his waist.

"We'll go together."

Yu Xiaogang looked at the two children and raised a hand to press his forehead.

He had brought along two work-study students on this journey.

Now, it seemed he might be bringing back two troubles.

"Let's go."

Xu Zhou stepped toward the city.

Less than a mile after the three of them left the academy, the Blue Silver Grass beside the road all bent toward the same direction.

It wasn't the wind.

The blades of grass formed a crooked line across the ground.

Xu Zhou stopped.

The tips of the Blue Silver Grass pointed beyond the city gate.

An old man delivering letters was riding toward them on a skinny horse.

Before the old man could get close, he fell from the horse's back.

Xu Zhou hurried forward.

"What happened in Holy Soul Village?"

The old man grabbed his clothes and took several breaths.

"People from Spirit Hall entered the village."

"What about now?"

"The village entrance has been sealed. No one is allowed in or out."

"What about my father?"

The old man did not answer.

He pulled a bloodstained strip of cloth from his robes.

The cloth bore stitching Xu Zhou recognized.

It was from Xu Yan's hunter's tunic.

"Hunter Xu led people into the mountains to search for traces left by the Soul Beast Protection Faction. After he returned, a Spirit Hall deacon took him away."

The Black Ancient Book in Xu Zhou's hand showed no reaction.

There was no false belief.

No Soul Power.

Only the blood on that strip of cloth.

Yu Xiaogang took the cloth, his expression darkening.

Tang San crouched beside the old man.

"How many people took him?"

"Six."

"What Martial Souls did they have?"

"I didn't see clearly."

"Where did they go?"

The old man raised a hand and pointed into the city.

"They took Hunter Xu to the Spirit Hall Branch in Notting City."

Xu Zhou looked ahead.

Those two deacons were still waiting for him.

The threat in the letter finally had an answer as well.

They did not want to investigate Holy Soul Village.

They wanted Xu Yan and him to meet at the Spirit Hall Branch.

The Black Ancient Book opened on its own.

[Public Script about to form.]

[Current false beliefs: Xu Zhou is hiding powerful Soul Power; Xu Yan possesses core intelligence on the Soul Beast Protection Faction.]

[Participants: ninety-nine.]

Xu Zhou closed the black book.

"Yu Xiaogang."

"I'm here."

"Today's review can't proceed according to their rules."

Yu Xiaogang nodded.

"What do you want to do?"

Xu Zhou looked toward Spirit Hall.

"Go in first."

"Then make everyone in the entire branch believe one thing."

"What?"

Xu Zhou tucked the bloodstained cloth into his sleeve.

"That I have no Soul Power."

Xu Zhou looked at the Spirit Hall lights gradually coming alive in the distance, his voice quiet.

"And that my father knows nothing either."