Let us turn back the clock half an hour.
Three streets away from the Rose Hotel.
Li Hanqiu emerged from a narrow alley, peering around for a shop that sold whale rubber.
To be honest, buying whale rubber, chiefly used as an aphrodisiac for bedroom activities, was rather embarrassing.
He kept his head lowered, quietly checking the shops on either side by the light spilling from their storefronts.
As he reached a street corner, a pungent smell hit him.
How could he describe that smell?
It was neither quite foul nor quite fragrant, as though the toasted aroma of something deep-fried carried a hint of over-fermented sourness.
Li Hanqiu stopped. The familiar yet unfamiliar scent washed over him, and he sniffed hard at that peculiar smell in the air.
After several more sniffs, Li Hanqiu's eyes suddenly lit up. "That's it! That's the smell! My favorite stinky tofu!"
Then Li Hanqiu frowned in puzzlement. Did the Douluo Continent have stinky tofu too?
He followed the smell with his gaze and saw a little stall set up at the corner.
Several rows of snowy-white tofu cubes sat on a wooden board, while an oil pan sizzled away.
The stallkeeper was a girl with snow-white hair who looked only thirteen or fourteen, with a fair, clean face and a short stature.
The white-haired girl wore a blue apron washed nearly white and was gently lowering pieces of stinky tofu into the oil.
Beside him crouched a girl with a small, oval face. His cheeks puffed out as he blew hard into a little clay stove.
"Whoo-whoo-whoo-"
That gust was no ordinary breath. As the girl blew into the stove, reddish flames shot up with a whoomph.
The tofu tumbled in the pan, frying to a crisp golden brown, its aroma drifting far down the street.
Li Hanqiu's gaze lingered first on the white-haired girl, then shifted to the other girl's round, oval face and puffed cheeks.
Tofu conjured by a food-type Soul Master, and those pure flames coming from the fire-breathing girl's mouth...
Li Hanqiu let out a long "Oh," having already figured out who these two little girls were.
So they were Oscar and Ma Hongjun.
Pretending to inspect the stall, he took two steps closer and lowered his eyes to the tofu tumbling in the pan.
"Little shopkeeper, how much is the tofu?"
Oscar looked up, blushing, his voice soft. "H-how many pieces would you like, sir? They're freshly fried. Three pieces of fried tofu cost just one Copper Soul Coin."
"Let me try three." Li Hanqiu took out a few copper coins and set them on the stall.
Ma Hongjun was still blowing on the fire, his cheeks puffed up like a ball, but his round eyes darted toward Li Hanqiu as he called out indistinctly:
"Aozi, we've got a customer!"
"Shut up, Hongjun. I know." Oscar rolled his eyes at him, picked up three pieces of tofu, added sauce, wrapped them in oilpaper, and handed them to Li Hanqiu with a smile.
The packet of tofu had yet to reach Li Hanqiu's hand.
A hand suddenly thrust in from the side.
"Well, damn! That smells fucking good!"
Several men who looked like Soul Masters swaggered over. Their leader had yellow teeth, triangular eyes, and a short knife tucked at his waist.
He squeezed up to the stall and leaned toward Oscar, nearly poking his nose into his face.
"Little lady, how much for the tofu?"
Oscar shrank back and whispered, "Th-three pieces for one Copper Soul Coin..."
"That cheap?" Yellow Teeth snickered. "Then I'll take all of it-the tofu and you."
As he spoke, he reached out to lift Oscar's chin.
Oscar went pale with fright and stumbled backward, knocking half the chopping board askew. Several pieces of tofu rolled onto the ground and shattered into white fragments.
Ma Hongjun sprang to his feet, looking thoroughly displeased.
Hmph! Bullying Aozi right in front of me? Do you think this young lady's Phoenix True Fire lives on vegetables?
Ma Hongjun had just begun to muster his power when, before he could breathe fire, pain stabbed through his chest and his legs went weak.
He had spent the entire afternoon feeding Phoenix True Fire into the stove. His Soul Power had long since bottomed out, and now even standing was a struggle.
"Y-you'd better not try anything!" He planted himself in front of Oscar, his little round face flushed bright red.
Several companions behind Yellow Teeth closed in, laughing.
"Move aside, little fatty."
"Yeah. Our boss doesn't eat people."
"Eat your fucking mother!" Ma Hongjun cursed, clenching his fists, but he had no strength to strike.
Oscar cowered behind Ma Hongjun, trembling uncontrollably as he watched the three vicious thugs.
"Boss Dai, where are you? Hurry and save me and Hongjun!"
Ma Hongjun's face was red with frustration too, but he was like an extinguished fire striker, unable to produce so much as a flame.
Just then, a thin, bony hand reached past him.
Oscar followed the arm with his gaze and saw Li Hanqiu step sideways, shielding the two girls.
"You lot, get lost."
Li Hanqiu sighed and spoke coldly.
Yellow Teeth froze, then eyed him sideways. "Who the fuck are you? Looking to die, sticking your nose into our business?"
As he spoke, Yellow Teeth raised a hand to shove him.
Li Hanqiu gave a helpless sigh. The next instant, a golden blur suddenly shot out from nowhere.
Holy Light Ao growled, sweeping a dragon tail across Yellow Teeth's shins with a crack.
The man flew two meters and rolled into a pile of rubbish, clutching his leg and howling.
The remaining Soul Masters stood dumbstruck.
They had not even managed to make out what that golden blur was.
"What the hell is that? A Soul Beast?"
"Something's wrong! Look! F-five rings? He's a Soul King!"
One sharp-eyed man spotted the two yellow, one purple, and two black Soul Rings slowly circling beneath Li Hanqiu's sleeve and shouted himself hoarse.
"Scram." Li Hanqiu uttered a single word.
The men hauled Yellow Teeth up and fled in a blind panic, not daring even to look back.
The alley fell quiet.
The oil pan still sizzled, and splattering droplets burst into little golden sparks in the stove's flames.
Oscar was still huddled behind the stall, his eyes red. He bit his lip, tears pooling in his eyes, and only after a long while did he look up at Li Hanqiu.
"Thank you... Thank you, sir..."
Ma Hongjun's legs gave out too, and he dropped onto the little stool. Yet he tilted his face up, eyes sparkling. "Big brother, you're amazing! That dragon Soul Beast of yours is so cool! How do you control a Soul Beast?"
Li Hanqiu looked down and smiled, stroking Holy Light Ao as the dragon affectionately rubbed a head against his wrist. "This isn't a Soul Beast. It's my Martial Soul."
"Huh? Are you a food-type Soul Master too, big brother?" Oscar blurted out, realizing halfway through that he had said the wrong thing.
Holy Light Ao raised the dragon head slightly and snorted a scorching gust of displeasure.
Oscar scratched his head and apologized sheepishly. "Sorry, big brother. I thought only food-type Soul Masters could give their Martial Souls physical form..."
Li Hanqiu looked at the two little girls supporting each other and smiled, his eyes narrowing. "No harm done."
"Speaking of which, it's so late. Aren't you two little girls going home?"
Oscar sniffled and said quietly, "We... we live at Shrek Academy. Hongjun and I came out to earn a little spending money."
Li Hanqiu raised an eyebrow. "Don't your teachers look after you?"
"Look after us? If the dean would spare even one more copper coin, we wouldn't have to come out and sell tofu."
Ma Hongjun pursed his lips, counting on his fingers. "We only get twenty Copper Soul Coins a month. That's not even enough for meat buns and roasted sweet potatoes. Usually, I can only fill my stomach with food made by Aozi's Martial Soul."
Then he added, "Oh, right, big brother. I'm Ma Hongjun, and this is my... my best sister, Oscar."
"I-I'm Oscar." The white-haired girl stood and bowed solemnly to Li Hanqiu. "Thank you for saving our lives, sir. I have no way to repay such a debt..."
Oscar's cheeks reddened slightly. Biting his lip, he pressed his small hands against his chest. "How about I grill some tofu for you? Free of charge."
Li Hanqiu shook his head, but took the earlier packet of tofu and bit into a piece.
"No need. It was no trouble. Little Ao, you've got good skills. I really like your fried tofu."
After chewing the tofu, he said, "It's late. It isn't safe for two girls to be out on the streets.
Where's this Shrek Academy you mentioned? I might as well walk you home."
Xiao Wu and Ma Hongjun exchanged a glance.
Ma Hongjun spoke first. "We live outside the city, in a rundown village. Would taking us home hold you up, big brother?"
"Not at all." Li Hanqiu folded the oilpaper in his hand. "Lead the way."
The two girls hurried to pack up their stall.
Oscar shouldered the little pan, while Ma Hongjun picked up the chopping board. They followed behind Li Hanqiu, one on each side.
Holy Light Ao padded along at the rear, flicking a tail from time to time.
Moonlight spread across the bluestone paving, stretching their shadows into one long and two short silhouettes.
They turned onto Main Street and slowly made their way toward the city gates.
Not far ahead, neon-pink light shone from a little building covered in climbing roses. It was the Rose Hotel.
Li Hanqiu's steps faltered, and his expression suddenly changed.
Oscar, carrying the chopping board, failed to notice and bumped straight into Li Hanqiu's backside.
"Ouch! Why did you stop, sir?"
Li Hanqiu said nothing. Holy Light Ao seemed to sense something amiss as well, a flicker of surprise crossing those draconic eyes.
Before Li Hanqiu's eyes, the Rose Hotel's interior walls had collapsed and cracked, leaving utter devastation.
At the very center stood Tang San, his face full of murderous intent, and an unfamiliar blonde girl with the Blue Silver Spider coiled around her neck.
"Holy Light Ao, save her."
Before you continue