After leaving Star Luo City, Mo Yunxing made full use of his greatest advantage as an Agility Attack System Soul Master, carrying Su Yuan north at tremendous speed.
Riding the Old Mo Express roller coaster, Su Yuan caught up with Huo Yuhao by the following evening, despite the latter having been on the road for five days, and looked down at him from the sky.
After a full day of walking, Lao Huo was drenched in sweat, his legs stumbling and trembling from days of travel.
Yet his expression and gaze were exceptionally resolute, exactly like those of the Agility Attack System Soul King from the prince's estate who trailed some distance behind him.
It was as though catgirls were waiting for them up ahead.
Su Yuan really couldn't understand it.
Compared with catgirls, he preferred dragon girls. After all, being able to use their horns as a steering wheel was a major advantage.
"Elder Mo, at this pace, when will that kid down there reach the Star Dou Great Forest?" Su Yuan asked.
Mo Yunxing thought for a moment before quickly answering, "Young master, at this pace, he should reach the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest at noon the day after tomorrow."
"The day after tomorrow? Sounds about right." Su Yuan rubbed his chin.
He had set out on the third day after Huo Yuhao's departure. It was now the evening of the fourth day, and Huo Yuhao wouldn't arrive until noon on the sixth.
"Since he won't get there until noon the day after tomorrow, let's head to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest ahead of him and find a nearby Soul Hunting Town to stay in," Su Yuan said.
"Then, the morning after tomorrow, we'll contact the person from the prince's estate who's secretly following him and meet up before noon."
"Yes, young master," Mo Yunxing answered quietly. He then continued onward with Su Yuan, finding a fairly large Soul Hunting Town shortly after sunset.
After settling into the Soul Hunting Town, Su Yuan waited patiently.
But he didn't simply sit around waiting.
During his stay in the Soul Hunting Town, Su Yuan saw firsthand why Soul Masters and Soul Beasts were mortal enemies in the food chain.
It wasn't just about acquiring Soul Rings. Hunting Soul Beasts had also become a complete industry, and the Soul Hunting Town stood on its front line, selling all sorts of specialties from the Star Dou Great Forest.
There were medicinal herbs, Spirit Fruits, timber, ores, and all manner of bodily materials and flesh from Soul Beasts. The Star Dou Great Forest was an enormous resource deposit being continuously exploited.
Likewise, a Soul Master's body, nourished by Soul Power, was a potent tonic to Soul Beasts. At any given moment, there were gravely wounded people or corpses awaiting treatment or disposal.
There were even plenty of groups that had been wiped out in the Star Dou Great Forest without leaving so much as a personal belonging behind.
Those who managed to escape with their lives were already exceptionally fortunate.
Even Shrek Academy's Soul Hunting teams frequently met with accidents during their hunts, let alone the unaffiliated Soul Masters in the Soul Hunting Town.
Not only did they have to face the threat of Soul Beasts, they also had to guard against betrayal and attacks from their teammates or other Soul Hunting teams.
Overall, however, the Star Dou Great Forest was the losing side, exploited and depleted by generation after generation of human Soul Masters.
Su Yuan had little to say about that, nor did he feel any sympathy for these Soul Masters or the Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.
He merely marveled at how plentiful the Soul Hunting Town's resources were. He spent tens of thousands of Gold Soul Coins on ingredients and spices alone.
It was thanks to having a seasoned old hand like Mo Yunxing with him that Su Yuan wasn't swindled by the desperadoes who licked blood off their blades in the Soul Hunting Town. Nor did anyone blind enough to court trouble try to kill him and steal his treasures.
With his lavish clothes and an attendant whose aura ran unfathomably deep, he looked like someone who shouldn't be crossed.
Anyone who made it out of the Soul Beast Forest alive had some ability to read the situation and wouldn't mindlessly throw their life away.
"All right, I take that back."
Watching Mo Yunxing drag a half-dead middle-aged man out of the shadows, Su Yuan was somewhat speechless.
Apparently, not everyone was smart.
When fools went looking for death, the ways they died could truly exceed your imagination.
After that little incident, Su Yuan lost the inclination to keep shopping. He returned to the inn to meditate and cultivate, waiting for the right moment.
With Mo Yunxing's earlier display of force serving as a deterrent, no one really did dare come courting death this time, and Su Yuan passed the day in peace.
Early on the sixth day after Lao Huo's departure, Su Yuan woke from his meditation, made do with a quick breakfast, then went out with Mo Yunxing and left the Soul Hunting Town.
The time had come. The curtain was about to rise.
The protagonist was about to take his place. How could Su Yuan, a VIP spectator, miss it?
"Huff... huff..."
On the smooth official road, a thin, frail boy leaned on a long, straight wooden stick as he walked forward, step by step.
Sweat soaked his old cloth clothes, which had been washed until they faded white. He panted lightly, weariness written across his face.
Almost there... I'm almost there, Huo Yuhao murmured inwardly, continually encouraging himself.
After walking a little farther, his exhausted body made him want to stop and rest. Just then, his keen ears picked out the faint sound of running water carried on the wind.
Water! A river!
Joy lit up Huo Yuhao's face, and he strode toward the sound of flowing water.
A nearby river meant that while resting, he could not only bathe and wash the grime and sweat from his body, but also clean his clothes.
Most importantly, a river meant fish, which meant food to fill his belly.
Not long after leaving the official road and following a small path, Huo Yuhao found a clear, knee-deep stream behind a patch of bushes.
He cheered and jumped into the stream without a moment's delay.
Bathing, washing clothes, catching fish, lighting a fire, and starting to grill the fish...
A light aroma, not overpowering but extraordinarily enticing, gradually spread on the breeze, randomly ensnaring a Thunderous Bottomless Stomach.
"Wow~ That smells amazing!"
Tang Ya and Bei Bei, those two fixed NPCs, were brought back into the scene at this point as well.
In the crown of a tree farther away, Su Yuan and Mo Yunxing sat eating braised meat and drinking juice purchased in the Soul Hunting Town while watching Huo Yuhao's encounter with Bei Bei and Tang Ya.
They were a little too far away for Su Yuan to hear what they were discussing, but it could hardly be anything other than the dialogue from the original story.
And...
Tang Ya: "Where's your family?"
Huo Yuhao: "I don't have any family left..."
Tang Ya: "That's wonderful!"
Although he couldn't hear them, it didn't matter. Su Yuan could fill in the blanks himself and, while he was at it, laugh at the brain-stem-deficient beauty Tang Ya exuded.
[Ding-]
The system's voice rang out. Su Yuan's gaze shifted, and he inspected the pop-up before him.
[Host has triggered the iconic scene: Little Huo grills fish. Trait [Succubus Cuisine] is available for extraction!] [[Succubus Cuisine] trait description: Upon equipping this trait, the host will inherit Huo Yuhao's culinary expertise, maxing out his cooking skill. Food prepared by the host will also gain succubus properties. Any woman who eats food prepared by the host will have her affection toward him multiplied, with a certain chance of falling for him outright!]
"So you really were putting aphrodisiacs in your grilled fish, you little punk?"
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