A Den of Thieves

Ji Feng knocked on the door, and a man answered.

He was tall and thin, like a bamboo pole, and looked about thirty. Dressed as a hunter, he wore a pair of patched trousers.

The patches on those trousers overlapped layer upon layer; they had clearly seen better days.

His cheeks were dark, his face round as a full moon, and his smile honest and simple.

Ji Feng had lived in the wilderness for a long time and had met plenty of people like him.

There were few places to eat in these forests. If he came across someone, he could offer a little money for a meal, and they usually would not refuse.

Ji Feng explained why he had come, and the man warmly welcomed him inside.

His clothes were shabby, but his home was spacious. The front courtyard alone was about the size of a basketball court.

There were three tiled-roof rooms and a storeroom in the courtyard. The buildings were rather old, but the ground was clean.

Judging by the layout, Ji Feng thought there should be a back courtyard too, and a sizable one at that.

After years of eating in the wind and sleeping beneath the dew, Ji Feng felt a little envious at the sight of this tidy home.

"We just cooked some cured pork, and there are some noodles left. I hope you don't mind making do."

The man added oil to a lamp, then lit it.

A woman brought out a bowl of noodles and a small plate of cured pork.

She wore an ill-fitting Soul Master robe covered in patches. Judging by her age, she was the man's wife.

Ji Feng did not look at her for long.

Staring at another man's wife could get him into trouble.

Once the food was served, the woman hurried back into the inner room.

Ji Feng took out a Gold Soul Coin and handed it to the man, who promptly pushed it back against his chest.

"Oh, that's far too much. One Gold Soul Coin could feed me for a year."

"Take it. I don't have any copper or silver coins."

Ji Feng had found this Gold Soul Coin in his Shrek clothes. The spatial turbulence had shredded the clothes, yet the coin had somehow survived and followed him all the way to the Star Dou Great Forest.

The noodles were handmade and had clumped together after sitting for too long.

Ji Feng did not mind. He was truly hungry. He tipped the cured pork into the bowl and wolfed down mouthful after mouthful.

The man clutched the Gold Soul Coin, his expression full of guilt, as though he owed Ji Feng something.

He quietly returned inside, and before long, an old woman with graying hair emerged.

Holding a wine jar, the old woman came over to Ji Feng.

"Young man, try some of our homemade rice wine."

Ji Feng shook his head. "Ma'am, I'm not old enough to drink yet."

The liquor on the Douluo Continent was unbearably bitter—nothing more than alcohol mixed with water. It tasted awful.

He had drunk plenty of fine liquor in his previous life, and this stuff was truly hard to swallow.

This wine was surely precious to the family. Since he did not enjoy drinking it, he should not waste it.

But the old woman insisted on pouring him a bowl.

Unable to refuse such hospitality, Ji Feng pinched his nose and took a sip.

It was fiery and full-bodied.

Surprisingly, it was rather good.

After finishing the bowl of noodles, Ji Feng let out a satisfied burp.

The old woman smiled. "Child, have you found somewhere to stay? Why not stay here?"

"Oh, thank you, ma'am, but I already have somewhere to stay. I'll be leaving now. Oh, right, do you know which direction the Heaven Dou Empire is in?"

"The Heaven Dou Empire is twenty... li... to the east... and then..."

Ji Feng felt the old woman's words growing increasingly indistinct. His mind was a jumble, as though he were sitting through the most boring language class in history.

He had eaten; now he needed to leave. Shrek was hunting him, and he could not drag this family into it.

The moment he stood, the world spun around him, and the mother and son seemed to drift up and down.

Had he drunk too much?

No!

He had been poisoned!!

The old woman watched Ji Feng with a cheerful smile. "Child, this is your home now. Stay here. It's very comfortable."

Ji Feng roared, and his Martial Soul, the reverse-bone evil dragon, burst out of his body!

Martial Soul Possession!

Ji Feng instantly grew taller, dragon power fully reinforcing his muscles and bones!

Fine silvery-white scales covered the entire left side of his body, each gleaming with a faint golden hue.

Fine blood-black scales appeared on the right side, each seeping cold light.

The two kinds of scales met at the center of his chest, where holy-white and blood-black scales interwove into a protective breastplate.

A vertical line appeared in the center of his forehead, as though something lay hidden within. His eyes became slit pupils, radiating an oppressive might!

The white light in his left eye was sacred and warm, while his right eye was blood-black, dark and terrifying.

His hands became dragon claws, one blood-black and one holy-white. The holy dragon arm bone and demonic dragon arm bone turned into gauntlets over them, wreathed in holy flame and blood flame respectively. The surrounding tables and chairs instantly burned away.

Enormous wings unfurled from his back, holy-white light flowing over the left wing while blood-black darkness surged over the right.

A noble, brilliant red Soul Ring rose from his dragon tail, flecked with silvery white.

"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!! Don't let him escape! He definitely has a Soul Bone!!"

The old woman shouted!

Ji Feng turned and ran toward the door, only to find the man's wife blocking it.

Gray bristles abruptly sprouted from the woman's body, and she struck at Ji Feng with her palm!

Ji Feng tried to dodge, but his body would not obey. He could only cross his claws and take the blow head-on!

What tremendous force!!

Ji Feng staggered back several steps before he could see clearly. Two Soul Rings had appeared around the woman, one white and one yellow.

No, that was definitely no woman.

Rapidly swelling muscles tore the woman's clothes apart, and Ji Feng plainly saw an Adam's apple!

This was a den of thieves!

Ji Feng steadied his breathing and rapidly considered his options.

The tall, thin eldest son with the honest-looking face turned to the old woman. "Mother, did we need to use the wine on him? Isn't he just a child?"

"Shut up. Didn't you see his Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring? Without that jar of wine, I couldn't have poisoned him."

Ji Feng could not understand why Soul Masters this capable would stay here robbing and pillaging.

A Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster could earn a decent income in Shrek City even working as a household guard.

"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?" The man scratched his head. "Mother, I really have never seen one before."

The old woman said, "Then take a good look. How could a Soul Master's first Soul Ring be a hundred-thousand-year one? Could he be a hundred-thousand-year soul beast cultivating anew? Luckily, I used the Mist Ring on you when he came in. Otherwise, he would have sensed our cultivation."

Only then did Ji Feng understand. The old woman had acted in advance, preventing him from sensing them.

What was that Mist Ring?

At her words, the eldest son looked rather pleased with himself. Stiff green wolf fur sprouted from his body, and two yellow Soul Rings appeared.

"Mother, I feel like my second Soul Skill is getting stronger and stronger. It's really useful."

The old woman curled her lip. "You already have two Soul Rings. You're a rank-twenty-six Soul Grandmaster. If you couldn't even knock out a Soul Scholar, how would you have the face to remain in the Holy Spirit Cult?"

The second son blocked the door, while the old woman and eldest son kept watch over Ji Feng.

Clearly, they did not want a head-on fight. They intended to wait for the drug to take effect, then capture Ji Feng without spilling a drop of blood.

Unfortunately for them, Ji Feng would not let them have their way.

"Dragon Shadow Strike!!"