Tang San's Eighth Spirit Ring

The breeding farm sat in a mountain recess, its old fence half-rotted. Before even stepping inside, Tang San caught the heavy scent of blood wafting from the damp animal pens. He instructed the Agility Hall disciples to circle up to the high ground while he and Xiao Wu entered through the main gate.

On the way, they came across an overturned transport cart. The coachman was hiding underneath, nursing a deep gash on his leg. He had tried to run, but hearing that three companions were still unaccounted for inside, he grabbed the sideboard to stand, only to collapse back down. Xiao Wu carried him to the roadside, tore a strip of cloth to bind his wound, and asked if he had seen a woman with a child pass this way.

"A sealed cart went toward the pass last night," the coachman said. "I only heard someone knocking on the panels from inside. A man surnamed Hu told me to mind my own business, and then he unlocked the cage of that large beast."

Tang San told the Agility Hall to pursue the sealed cart, noting the hub pattern the coachman described, before proceeding deeper into the mountain recess. Xiao Wu tied the bloody strip of cloth to the fence so rescuers wouldn't miss the coachman's location later.

Yuan Yu wanted to follow them in, but Tang San raised a hand to block him. "If there truly is a suitable soul beast inside, I'll handle this ring myself."

"I'll watch the people," Yuan Yu pointed to the line of cart wheels outside the recess, "you watch the beast."

His Rock Seal had just formed, and the energy consumed in supporting the bridge had not yet recovered. Qian Renxue stayed at the entrance to catalog the captives seized from the bridge,