The Show Begins

Chu Heng's expression turned serious when he heard that.

Su Xianling paused, then continued:

"It shouldn't take long. I'll be back soon. You're familiar with the area now, but to avoid any accidents, try not to wander around for the next few days. Wait near the Shelter. Once I'm back, I'll take you to find a suitable Soul Beast."

Chu Heng nodded after hearing her instructions.

"Got it."

He had no intention of gambling with his life. For the next few days, he could stay around the Shelter and avoid going too far.

Still... Chu Heng could not help worrying about Su Xianling. Fortunately, from what he had learned recently, there did not seem to be any particularly powerful Soul Beasts in this Soul Hunting Forest.

Given her strength, she should be safe as long as nothing unexpected happened.

After reminding Chu Heng a few more times, Su Xianling wasted no more time and headed deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest.

Chu Heng obediently stayed near the Shelter.

Everything seemed exceptionally peaceful.

Trouble had a way of appearing when no one was prepared.

One day, Chu Heng suddenly opened his eyes while cultivating near the Shelter.

For an instant, his Martial Soul had stirred for no apparent reason. He looked up through the overlapping branches and leaves and vaguely saw a dark shape streak across the distant sky.

It was a falcon-type Soul Beast.

Chu Heng's eyes lit up.

After wrestling with himself for a while, he decided he could not let this chance slip away.

He rushed back to the Shelter, took down his longbow, slung his quiver over his back, and packed some food he could carry easily.

Then he turned and hurried after the falcon-type Soul Beast in the direction it had disappeared.

To Chu Heng's frustration, he had kept looking up to track the falcon-type Soul Beast and gradually stopped paying attention to his surroundings.

By the time he realized it, he had no idea where he had run. Worse, the terrain ahead suddenly changed.

The Cliff stretched across his path, cutting off his pursuit.

"You've got to be kidding..."

Chu Heng stood at the edge of the Cliff and glanced down. He had no choice but to stop.

Yet that brief delay was enough. When he looked up again, the falcon-type Soul Beast had vanished beyond the layers of trees and into the sky, without a trace.

"Such is life..."

Chu Heng stared up at the sky, looking utterly defeated.

"When it rains, it pours..."

With no other choice, Chu Heng turned around and tried to follow the traces he had left back the way he came.

But luck was impossible to predict. He had barely started back when raindrops the size of beans fell through the canopy. Moments later, the rain came down hard.

"..."

Helpless, Chu Heng found a place to shelter from the rain and waited.

By the time the rain eased and he came out to look for his way back, it had washed the ground clean.

Chu Heng looked around. Every direction seemed to hold exactly the same view.

"This is bad..."

Now he was completely lost.

But the worse things got, the more important it was to stay calm.

Once Su Xianling dealt with the Beast Tide and returned to the Shelter, she would come looking for him as soon as she saw he was gone.

The problem was, how would she find him in such a vast forest? And how could he leave a trail clear enough that they would not miss each other?

Chu Heng was frowning over the problem when—

[Ding!]

[Story Check-In Mission Issued: Century-Old Mandrake]

[Mission: Help Tang San hunt the Mandrake Snake and obtain his first Spirit Ring]

"Huh?"

After all this time, he had assumed Tang San had already obtained his first Spirit Ring.

The system had given him no prompt before, so Chu Heng had figured he was too far from the story's location to take part, and the system had simply not issued the mission.

But now it seemed...

The events surrounding Tang San's first Spirit Ring had not happened yet?

And this time, the mission required him to help Tang San hunt the Mandrake Snake.

"Help?"

Chu Heng rubbed his chin.

Had the way he completed the last mission affected how the system issued later ones?

Chu Heng tried calling out to the system in his mind.

"System?"

"..."

No response.

Chu Heng's mouth twitched.

As expected, his system only made its presence known when it issued missions or handed out rewards. At any other time, he could call all he wanted and get nothing.

"Forget it."

Since the system had handed him a mission, his next step was obvious...

He needed to arrange a plausible "chance encounter."

Fortunately, the system had also provided the approximate area where the events would unfold.

But there was another problem: Chu Heng did not know where he was, so he could not tell which direction the mission location lay in.

Which meant...

He would have to trust his luck.

Chu Heng picked a rough direction and set off, keeping an eye out for traces along the way.

He had been unlucky all day, but after the system mission appeared, his luck finally seemed to improve a little.

Before long, Chu Heng spotted fresh signs of human activity on the ground. Whoever had made them had clearly left only a short while ago.

Considering the location and timing the system had given him, the people nearby at this hour...

Were most likely Yu Xiaogang and Tang San.

Chu Heng did not catch up to them, though. The events would unfold at night, and there was still some time before dark. He could use it to prepare.

After all, the Mandrake Snake was a Soul Beast with over four hundred years of cultivation. At his current strength, Chu Heng would turn and run if he encountered something that powerful alone.

As for Yu Xiaogang...

Chu Heng had no intention of approaching him first.

Chu Heng remembered perfectly well how Yu Xiaogang had treated him before. It was not enough to make him hold a grudge, but he had no interest in going out of his way to deal with the man either.

So Chu Heng decided to wait until the Mandrake Snake had left Yu Xiaogang unable to move, then step in to help Tang San.

That way, he could complete the system mission while avoiding unnecessary conversation with Yu Xiaogang as much as possible.

Time passed, and the sky gradually darkened.

Only after night had fully fallen did Chu Heng catch up to the pair. Hidden among the trees, he spotted a makeshift camp in the distance. Firelight flickered in the darkness, and Tang San and Yu Xiaogang were resting there.

What came next was simple: wait for the Mandrake Snake that was bound to appear.

He did not know how much time had passed when Yu Xiaogang suddenly sensed something in the camp.

Chu Heng narrowed his eyes as he heard Yu Xiaogang warn Tang San.

Here it comes. The show... begins.