Bibi Dong had come to gather a rather unusual herb, hoping to cure an illness that plagued these Soul Masters.
In the Star Dou Great Forest, the most common dangers were tiny, venomous Soul Beasts that were almost impossible to guard against. One moment of carelessness, and they would bite like mosquitoes or flies.
Worse, a bite could bring an unrelenting high fever and rotting skin, until the victim literally itched to death.
At best, victims would lose all strength and awareness. They could only lie in bed like vegetables, dependent on their families for care.
This time, Bibi Dong intended to build on Old Zhu's prescription and find a way to prevent such little Soul Beasts from biting. Just as snakes feared realgar, they would be too frightened to come near.
After the Fierce Wolf Group left, peace returned to the party. The unaffiliated Soul Masters chatted and laughed from time to time, but their eyes stayed sharp, watching their surroundings.
They had traveled this road for years, yet none dared grow careless. One moment's inattention could mean a trip to the Yellow Springs. No one would gamble with their life.
As they pressed deeper, Soul Beasts attacked them several times, and some people were injured. Bibi Dong's treatment helped them recover, putting many minds at ease.
Watching Bibi Dong's practiced hands, Ning Chengyi gradually abandoned the thought that she was someone he had known before.
The woman he had in mind knew nothing about any of this.
Ning Chengyi stepped in several times as well, making the Soul Masters look at him in a new light.
Once they learned his age, that regard turned to something close to awe.
Such were the benefits of strength.
"Father said there's a big tree up ahead. He tied a red cord beside it, and the Hundred-Repelling Grass grows beneath it. That's what we came for."
They had faced wave after wave of Soul Beasts, but most were less than a hundred years old and had been easy to handle.
When the party spotted a tree so broad it would take two or three adults to encircle it, delight lit Bibi Dong's face. Her voice rang out, clear and sweet.
Everyone had been on edge. Her words let them breathe easier.
Farther in, they might encounter Soul Beasts over a thousand years old.
With enough people, they could deal with one. But a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast might appear, or even a mutated one approaching that age. Either could wipe out more than half their party.
Those who had come to obtain Soul Rings had mostly been seeking hundred-year ones. Protected at the center of the party, they were almost all descendants of the veteran Soul Masters. Now that they had their Soul Rings, caution came first.
"Young ones, stand watch. Everyone else, rest. Take the little ones from your families along and show them the life their ancestors lived."
At the old Soul Master's call, seven leaders stepped forward. They took the dozen or so youngsters who had just obtained Soul Rings and spread out in twos and threes, as if on patrol.
As the young Soul Master who had fought the most, Ning Chengyi was naturally allowed to rest.
He sat not far from Bibi Dong, eyes fixed warily on the way they had come. "I hope I'm wrong."
As Ning Chengyi murmured, Bibi Dong looked at him. That little fellow is as sharp as ever. Has he sensed someone following us too?
At that moment.
Not far from where the party rested, the bespectacled man and five subordinates lay in ambush among the bushes.
"Young master, should we strike?"
"No rush. Those herbs beneath the big tree must be what they're after."
The bespectacled man looked at the tree marked with red cord and spoke quietly to the others.
"You two, follow the markers and see how far the main force has gotten."
"If they can't make it, bring the uncles first. A few Soul Elders will be more than enough to deal with them."
"Yes." The bespectacled man grinned smugly as he gave the orders.
"Little beauty, you're coming home with me tonight." He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. A lecherous gleam entered his eyes, and his rising smile made him look even more like a degenerate.
Seeing no trouble on the perimeter, Bibi Dong walked toward the tree.
A vast spread of fallen branches and leaves surrounded it, every leaf enormous.
At the edge of the tree stood a small sprout, with the red cord tied around it.
Everyone in town knew what a plant marked with red cord meant: Old Zhu had his eye on it, but it was not old enough yet, or he had no use for it at present.
Though it was not rare, it would certainly be useful to Old Zhu. No one wanted to pick it, only to find that one day a medicine they needed was missing that very ingredient, costing them their life. So, by unspoken agreement, they left it alone.
Bibi Dong carefully took out her harvesting tools and knelt. As though digging up ginseng, she slowly freed the plant, keeping its roots intact. She wrapped it securely in cloth and placed it in her bamboo basket.
Many other herbs grew nearby. Bibi Dong identified them carefully, tasted a tiny amount, then rinsed her mouth with clean water to avoid poisoning. Only after confirming she had made no mistake did she pick them one by one.
As Ning Chengyi watched her, the two figures that had begun to overlap in his mind separated completely.
"She wouldn't know how to do any of that," he murmured. But in the next instant, rustling came from the direction they had arrived. Before long, a group emerged.
Counting carefully, there were fifteen of them.
Five Soul Elders and ten Soul Grandmasters.
They wore matching clothes, each with a wolf's head embroidered on the left breast. They were men of the Fierce Wolf Group.
And among the five Soul Elders stood the bespectacled man.
"What a coincidence, everyone. I never thought we'd meet again," he said with a smile. His appearance startled the entire party, even those on patrol.
"Li Qiuping, what are you trying to do?!"
"What am I trying to do? Old Zhao, since when was that for you to ask?" Li Qiuping, the young master of the Fierce Wolf Group, smiled faintly as he shot back.
"Five Soul Elders. Are you planning to take what we have by force?"
"No, no, no. I'm not interested in any of you." Li Qiuping waved a hand.
"Then what do you want?" Old Zhao, the veteran Soul Master, breathed a little easier at his words.
"His target's obvious. It's Miss Zhu."
Ning Chengyi had noticed Li Qiuping's gaze straying toward Bibi Dong beneath the tree and laid bare his purpose in a single sentence.
"Hahaha! You're annoying, but I could use a clever subordinate. Why not swear loyalty to me? Once I'm tired of her, I'll even let you be first in line."
Li Qiuping laughed and pushed up the glasses on his nose.
"What?!"
"Li Qiuping, do you mean to make enemies of everyone here?" Old Zhao demanded.
"Everyone? I am everyone, and I'm not angry!"
With that, he turned to the five Soul Elders behind him. "Uncles, I'll leave this to you."
"Easy enough." The five Soul Elders smiled and stepped forward together. Their standard Soul Rings flared beneath their feet, and the pressure of their rank swept over the party in an instant, their lights dazzling as they intertwined.
"Children in the middle, everyone else outside! Old Xu, take a group and escort the children out. The rest of us will stay and protect the Zhu girl."
"Right." Old Zhao was a level-twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster and one of the most seasoned among them. At his orders, the party drew together at once and took their positions.
Ning Chengyi frowned slightly. Somehow, he had been put with the children.
Given their situation, it did make sense.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could no longer see Bibi Dong. She had moved behind the tree while gathering herbs, seemingly unaware of everything happening here.
"Who said I was going to attack?" As he spoke, Li Qiuping took out a tiny stick of incense and lit it. A strange fragrance drifted into the air.
"Beast-luring incense!"
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