Not Daring to Acknowledge Her! The Fierce Wolf Soul Hunting Group

The limitations of a hastily assembled team were obvious: its members varied wildly in strength, and they had no coordination to speak of.

But they also played it safe.

They refused to take on high-level Soul Beasts, accepting only low-level ones.

And these teams almost never included Support-type Soul Masters.

Otherwise, they would not have needed to come to Old Zhu for treatment and detoxification.

A single Support-type Soul Master could solve nearly all those problems.

Ning Chengyi watched the Soul Masters coming and going. He stood aside rather than disturb them, watching the old woman bustle about.

She examined patients, prepared medicine, brewed it, and gave it to the injured Soul Masters.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

"Ma'am, I'm not here for treatment. I just wanted to ask if you're going into the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow."

"As it happens, my daughter needs to find a medicinal herb tomorrow, so we are. If you want to come, get here early."

The old woman made no attempt to keep anything from Ning Chengyi.

After all, plenty of people joined her husband on trips into the Star Dou Great Forest, and their numbers had only grown over the years. She had never seen Ning Chengyi before, but that did not stop her from answering.

"All right." With a definite answer at last, Ning Chengyi smiled happily.

The Soul Masters receiving treatment immediately erupted into chatter.

"What? Mrs. Zhu, your daughter's going tomorrow?"

"Yes. The girl needs a particular herb for her research, so she has to go deeper into the forest..." the old woman answered as she brewed medicine.

"Then hurry up and get me better, Mrs. Zhu. We'll help too."

"Exactly! We can escort the girl back out."

"Sure. That much we can do."

"I'll tell my family I'm taking tomorrow off to guard the girl."

The courtyard grew noisy.

"Mother, what's everyone talking about?"

Not long after Ning Chengyi left, Bibi Dong returned with Old Zhu and asked with a smile.

"I told them you're going to gather herbs tomorrow. They all want to escort you."

"Thank you." Bibi Dong smiled in thanks and set down the bamboo basket on her back.

"Oh, a young man asked to come along too. Bring him if you can, and wait a little for him tomorrow. Young people do like to sleep in," the old woman added. Bibi Dong nodded.

Her parents were wonderful in every way, except that they were too kind.

But the two of them always said that giving a little was a blessing.

Still, hearing what the Soul Masters being treated had said today, Bibi Dong felt her parents might be right.

Early the next morning, Ning Chengyi arrived at Old Zhu's house.

But a group of at least seventy people had already gathered outside. Its sheer size gave him pause.

"Old Zhu really knows how to rally people."

"Young man, are you going to the Star Dou Great Forest too?" someone beside him asked as he walked up.

"Mm." Ning Chengyi nodded.

"You're lucky Old Zhu's daughter is going into the forest. Otherwise, you'd never see a turnout like this."

The middle-aged Soul Master beside him clicked his tongue in admiration.

"Don't listen to him. If Old Zhu were going in to look for rare herbs and gave two days' notice, he might draw two or three hundred people."

"Exactly. Seventy or eighty is hardly anything."

After hearing that, Ning Chengyi grew even more curious about Old Zhu.

He asked about him, and several people immediately began telling him Old Zhu's story, all talking at once.

By the time they finished, Ning Chengyi understood that Old Zhu truly was no ordinary man.

Someone so genuinely kind was rare. No wonder these Soul Masters flocked to him and willingly protected him.

"Look, the Zhu girl's coming out. What a pretty young thing."

"She sure is. Old Zhu's kindness has come back to him. He found himself such a treasure of a daughter in his old age."

"No kidding."

Ning Chengyi rose onto his toes to look at the woman emerging from the house. She was indeed beautiful, with a delicate oval face and two faint dimples when she smiled. She wore a pale green cloth dress, her hair pinned up simply, with loose strands fluttering in the breeze as she stepped lightly out of the house.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone," Bibi Dong said with a smile.

"Please look after my daughter," Old Zhu said as he came out, clasping his hands in greeting.

"Of course! We'll make sure she gets out safely."

"That's right!" the Soul Masters called, thumping their chests as they made their promises.

While everyone was still shouting their assurances, the old woman came out of the house and called, "Has that young man who asked me yesterday arrived?"

Ning Chengyi froze amid the crowd. He had only asked in passing, yet the old woman had remembered. It astonished him and warmed his heart.

"I'm here," he answered from the crowd, instantly drawing every eye.

"Hahaha! Mrs. Zhu's memory is sharp as ever. The lad really did come."

Ning Chengyi looked over. It was the injured Soul Master he had spoken with yesterday.

And while Ning Chengyi looked at the man, another pair of eyes turned toward him.

To their owner, he seemed to be the brightest person in the crowd.

What's he doing here? Questions flooded Bibi Dong's mind.

Her disguised face still showed just the right measure of timidity and confusion, but she could not control her racing heart. Her whole body trembled slightly.

Her once-tranquil heart felt as if a stone had struck a still lake, sending waves surging across it.

Was this all a coincidence?

Or was fate at work?

Countless thoughts raced through Bibi Dong's mind.

The old woman's words surfaced too, circling through her thoughts like a nightmare.

"Huff!" Bibi Dong forced herself to take a breath and steady her nerves. She quietly moved to the front, putting as much distance as she could between herself and Ning Chengyi.

"Let's go, girl!" one of the older Soul Masters called. Bibi Dong nodded, and the large group set off for the Star Dou Great Forest.

Bibi Dong, however, seemed distracted.

Two little figures argued in her head.

One urged her to reveal herself to Ning Chengyi.

The other told her not to. Her strength was still too low.

As Bibi Dong struggled with the choice, the group moved on around her, keeping her protected.

Among them, Ning Chengyi felt the goodwill of the crowd, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

Birds of a feather flock together. They may have competing interests, but Old Zhu's character has made them set their own concerns aside. Remarkable.

They had not gone far when a group of people suddenly came running up behind them.

"Wait for us!"

The large group stopped and looked back.

"Why are they here?" the older Soul Master murmured in surprise.

"Who are they, sir?" Bibi Dong asked. The older Soul Master frowned, apparently unwilling to answer.

But someone beside him spoke up.

"They're the Evil Soul Hunters from town. They have a permanent team. Whenever there are too few of us independent Soul Masters, they steal our resources."

"But only seven of them came today. What are they after?"

"Those beasts love robbing us. Last time I picked a hundred-year-old herb, I was hoping to sell it for a good price, but they ambushed me and took it."

The crowd glared at the seven, teeth clenched in anger. Ning Chengyi looked over and saw that they wore matching clothes, each embroidered with a wolf's head on the left breast. They were running toward the group with smiles on their faces.

"Let's hope they don't try anything. Otherwise, they'll have all of us to answer to!"

"Exactly! We've got the numbers. We're not afraid of the Fierce Wolf Soul Hunting Group!"