Nether Civet Zhu Zhuqing (Part One)

Smoke curled through Border Town's bustling marketplace, amid a clamor of voices.

In this peaceful, thriving place, everyone unconsciously relaxed.

Stalls lined the streets, vendors' cries rose one after another, pedestrians streamed past, and carts and horses threaded through the crowds. It brimmed with everyday life, a world utterly different from the forest's sinister, deathly silence.

Lin Chen strolled through the crowd, his posture relaxed and his expression calm.

Liuli followed obediently beside him, three tails hanging low, pristine white fur gleaming in the sunlight.

Bright, lively eyes darted about, curious about everything in the marketplace, yet Liuli stayed close to Lin Chen's side, docile and obedient, never running off.

Lin Chen's purpose in wandering around was to try his luck at finding an opportunity.

Border Town, adjoining the Star Dou Great Forest, drew a diverse stream of visitors.

Traveling Soul Masters, herb gatherers, hunters, and merchants were countless, and the roadside stalls were a jumble of fish and dragons.

They often held obscure Soul Master materials, ores, medicinal herbs, and even broken Soul Tool components that others failed to recognize but were actually quite valuable.

For Lin Chen, whose knowledge now far surpassed that of ordinary Soul Masters his age, these humble market stalls often hid unexpected surprises.

He wandered slowly through the streets, scanning the stalls on either side, before finally stopping and crouching before one displaying assorted rough stones and ores.

The stall was arranged haphazardly, with stones of varying sizes and colors piled carelessly together.

Some had rough, dull surfaces, while others gave off a faint sheen. They looked unremarkable, but concealed different metallic properties within.

The vendor was an ordinary local middle-aged man who knew nothing about identifying Soul Master materials. He simply collected unusual stones in the mountains and forests throughout the year and displayed them here to sell cheaply.

Lin Chen lowered his head slightly, brushing his fingertips across the ores' surfaces as he carefully distinguished the Soul Power fluctuations and metallic characteristics within.

Unhurried, he examined them patiently, trying to sift hidden rare materials from the pile of ordinary rough stones.

Just as he became absorbed in identifying the ores and searching for opportunities, a sudden uproar erupted from outside town, shattering the marketplace's peaceful bustle.

"A fight! Someone's fighting outside town!"

"Quick, quick, quick! Come take a look! I heard someone harassed a young girl, and they started fighting!"

Excited shouts rose one after another, instantly setting the whole street abuzz.

The pedestrians who had stopped to shop immediately stirred, all turning their eyes toward the outskirts, their faces full of curiosity and eagerness to watch the spectacle.

Within a few breaths, the scattered crowd surged together, pouring toward the outskirts like a tide.

Still crouching before the stall, Lin Chen paused and slowly drew back the ore at his fingertips, a flicker of interest flashing through his eyes.

In a place like Border Town, anyone who dared to fight openly was almost certainly no ordinary person. It was most likely a clash between Soul Masters.

The sudden disturbance in this normally peaceful, dull town immediately piqued his curiosity.

He rose at once, straightening before he had time to examine the ore in his hand closely.

Before he could take a step on his own, the surging crowd swept him along.

People pressed in on every side, their pushing, jostling, and hurried footsteps mingling together.

Unable to move as he pleased, Lin Chen followed the tide of people swiftly toward the outskirts.

The crowd moved so quickly that, within moments, Lin Chen was swept through the town gate and into an open field outside.

The view outside town was expansive, unobstructed by streets or houses, allowing him to take in the situation at a glance.

At the center of the clearing, two figures fought at high speed. Fierce gusts whistled and waves of Soul Power rose and fell, while the intense battle drew repeated gasps from the onlookers.

Before Lin Chen could examine the two combatants closely, a flood of comments and explanations from the crowd beside him reached his ears, laying out the whole story.

"I saw them clearly! They're from the Iron Tiger Mercenary Group!"

"No wonder they're so arrogant. It's those hardened brutes who spend all their time in the forest."

"They were in the wrong from the start! This young girl had just come out of the mountains and hadn't even entered town when she ran straight into the Iron Tiger Mercenary Group."

"It's Lu Jia! That Soul Elder nicknamed the Lustful Snake! I've long heard he's a scoundrel and an incurable lecher, but I never thought he'd act so brazenly in public!"

"Exactly! The girl ignored him at first and kept trying to walk around him, but he took an inch and demanded a mile, spewing filthy remarks nonstop. In the end, he actually reached out to touch her face. Who could put up with that? Of course they started fighting!"

"Look at the rest of the Iron Tiger Mercenary Group! They seem to be watching, but they've deliberately blocked off every route she could use to retreat. They're clearly siding with their own. That girl's in trouble! How can she fight a Soul Elder and a whole group of mercenary Soul Masters alone?"

The people around him voiced their agreement and sighed, their gazes full of sympathy for the black-clad girl and contempt and displeasure for Lu Jia.

Unfortunately, the Iron Tiger Mercenary Group wielded considerable influence in this border region. Ordinary citizens and low-ranking Soul Masters dared not provoke them, so they could only watch and sigh from a distance. No one dared step forward to intervene.

Hearing this, Lin Chen grew alert. His gaze immediately fixed on the girl fighting in the clearing, and he studied her carefully.

The girl at the center of the clearing wore a sleek, tight-fitting black outfit that perfectly outlined her slender, graceful, firm, and well-proportioned figure. Her movements were light and agile, brimming with explosive power.

Her face was exquisitely beautiful, its contours sharp and cool, without the slightest trace of frailty or delicate affectation. She carried an air of aloof, icy pride.

Her long, deep black eyes were cool and piercing, now holding a simmering anger, their gaze as cold as frost.

Her long, smooth black hair fluttered in the breeze. Most striking of all were the two lively black cat ears standing upright amid her hair, trembling slightly with a strange allure.

All ten fingers had taken on a glossy black sheen, transforming into long, sharp black claws that glinted coldly, their edges fully exposed.

Under Martial Soul Possession, the girl moved at astonishing speed, her figure flickering unpredictably like a phantom in the night. Each twist and leap stirred fierce gusts that sliced through the air.

She darted constantly around the middle-aged man before her, her black claws striking again and again. Every attack was fierce and aimed at a vital point, swift and treacherous.

Yet despite her extraordinary speed and vicious attacks, she remained at a severe disadvantage.

The middle-aged man facing her was the Lu Jia everyone had mentioned, a member of the Iron Tiger Mercenary Group and a Soul Elder above rank thirty nicknamed the Lustful Snake.

His Martial Soul was the Black-Scaled Snake. His body was far more flexible than that of an ordinary Soul Master, moving with uncanny agility. He could bend and twist his waist at will, making his ability to evade attacks absurdly effective.

Faced with the girl's storm of claw attacks, Lu Jia wore a flippant, mocking expression, handling everything with ease.

His body twisted nimbly like a supple snake, narrowly avoiding the fierce claw strikes time after time.

He appeared to dodge awkwardly, but in truth he controlled the battle's rhythm throughout. He had not made any serious effort to counterattack and was clearly toying with his opponent.

Looking at that cool, exquisite face, those unmistakable black cat ears, and the Nether Civet Martial Soul form, Lin Chen immediately recalled a familiar figure.

Zhu Zhuqing!

The moment he confirmed her identity, Lin Chen understood.

According to the original story's course, Zhu Zhuqing was a daughter of the Star Luo Empire's Zhu Family's main line, bound by a marriage agreement arranged by her family.

Yet because of Dai Mubai's cowardly avoidance and irresponsibility, she had endured years of exclusion, isolation, and suppression within her family, suffering endless cold looks and grievances.

Unable to endure the humiliation any longer, her heart turned to cold ashes, she had ultimately chosen to leave the Zhu Family resolutely and set out alone in search of Dai Mubai, who had fled their betrothal and gone far away.