Requesting Access to Tang San's Spawn Point
A little under an hour later, two carriages slowly left the estate in Rhode Town.
The wheels rolled over the gravel road at the town entrance with a low, muted rumble, leaving the glow of the two red lanterns outside the estate farther and farther behind.
They needed to return to Wealth Village first to replenish their money, provisions, and supplies, then head northeast across the entire Balak Kingdom, pass through the neighboring Silves Kingdom, and turn due east after entering the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial capital region before they could reach the imperial capital, Heaven Dou City.
The entire journey came to nearly two thousand li. Even if they changed horses at relay stations along the way without stopping, it would still take over a month.
Thick cashmere cushions lined the carriage, and candied fruit and cooled tea sat on the small square table. Su Lin sat to one side, looking at Xiao Wu as though he wanted to say something but held back.
"Su Lin, why do you keep looking at me? Did I get sugar crumbs on my face?" His staring gave Xiao Wu the creeps. She took out the small, copper-rimmed round mirror she carried and examined her reflection from both sides. Finding nothing wrong, she tilted her head in puzzlement.
"Nothing." Su Lin coughed awkwardly and asked tentatively, "I just wanted to ask, are you really planning to come to Heaven Dou City with me?"
"What else would I do?" Xiao Wu knitted her brows and planted both hands on her hips, baring her little pointed canines as she glared at him indignantly. "Don't tell me you don't want to take me anymore!"
"Of course not!" The corner of Su Lin's mouth twitched. He hurriedly moved over and patted her back to soothe her. "I was just worried you wouldn't be used to it."
"Hmph, that's more like it." Xiao Wu gave a dainty huff, and her tense little face instantly softened.
"..." Su Lin could not help raising a hand to rub his brow.
Good grief. Just, good grief.
So this really was the Romance Continent, huh? She didn't even care about her life. He'd better not end up having to absorb Xiao Wu's Soul Ring and Soul Bone through his tears. He still needed to find a way to conceal her Soul Beast presence...
How about putting her into the Pokémon Space before they encountered a Titled Douluo?
That was what Su Lin thought.
Over the past seven months, he had more or less tested out the Poké Ball's capabilities. The Pokémon Space could accommodate more than just the Soul Beasts in the Pokémon slots. When Pikachu was not inside, it could also squeeze in one Soul Beast that either entered willingly or had lost consciousness.
However, Soul Beasts of this kind could not benefit from environmental adaptation. They could either remain in the void or live in the Thunder and Lightning Forest.
But that could only serve as an emergency measure. After all, Titled Douluo appeared and vanished like ghosts, and he could not guarantee he would be in time every single time.
As he pondered this, the driver gave a long "Whoa," and the carriage swayed gently with its momentum before its wheels slowly came to a stop.
"Uncle Sean, what's happening up ahead?" Su Lin lifted the curtain and poked his head out.
Sean rode back from the front, his brows slightly furrowed. "Young Master Little Lin, there's been a landslide on the mountain road ahead. We'll have to clear it before we can pass."
Su Lin followed his pointing finger and saw that roughly two or three hundred paces ahead, a great mass of soil and rubble had slid down the slope beside the road. Mixed with broken branches and uprooted shrubs, it formed a mound of earth and stone taller than two people, cutting straight across the entire main road.
After looking around, Sean could not help speculating, "It was probably the heavy rain over those few days. The water soaked the mountainside loose, and that brought it down. Judging by the marks, it's been here for a while. It's just that this area is remote, so no one's come to deal with it."
"How long will it take to clear all of it?" Su Lin asked, glancing over the length of the blockage.
Sean wasted no words. He immediately activated Martial Soul Possession and sprang onto the trunk of a leaning pine nearby. With a few bounds, he climbed onto a protruding rock higher up and surveyed the entire blockage and the conditions at both ends from above. Only then did he leap back down to where he had started and say gravely:
"There's a lot of earth and rubble, and plenty of rocks too. Even with everyone working together, the earliest we could open the road would be tomorrow at noon."
"What rotten luck. A perfectly good road just had to collapse." Xiao Wu kicked a pebble by her foot, unable to resist grumbling. Out here in the wilderness, there was not even anywhere to shelter from the wind. Just thinking about it made her uncomfortable.
Sean thought briefly, then suggested, "Young Master Little Lin, there's a Holy Soul Village three li to the east. It's a village under Nuoding City's jurisdiction, not far away. Why don't we ask to stay in the village for a night? It would be better than eating in the wind and sleeping under the open sky out here. The mountain wind gets cold at night, and we could easily attract nocturnal Soul Beasts."
Holy Soul Village?
Su Lin's brows suddenly rose. Wasn't that Tang San's hometown?
He shook his head with barely any hesitation. "Forget it. Hauling the luggage back and forth would take time too. Let's just camp here. We have tents anyway, and it's only one night."
Sean did not insist. He nodded in agreement and soon picked out an open patch of slightly elevated ground with its back to a mountain wall. He called for the guards to unload the luggage and pitch the tents, while he maintained his Martial Soul Possession and led several agile guards forward to clear the earth and rubble, first opening up a flat patch where they could stand.
With a slight stir of his thoughts, Su Lin summoned Pikachu. The little fellow flicked its large, fluffy tail as soon as it landed and blinked up at Su Lin.
"Go give Uncle Sean a hand. Just use Electric Arc to break up the big rocks. Be careful not to shock anyone," Su Lin instructed, rubbing its furry head.
"Pika!" Pikachu answered brightly and trotted over.
With that done, Su Lin turned toward Xiao Wu, who was crouching on the ground wrestling with the tent ropes, and pointed at the dense woods nearby. "I'll take a look around for a clean water source and check whether the surroundings are safe while I'm at it. Help keep an eye on Pikachu here."
"Okay, don't go too far. Stay safe." Xiao Wu answered without raising her head or suspecting anything, continuing her battle to the death with the tangled tent ropes without giving it further thought.
"Got it." Su Lin nodded, turned, and walked slowly into the depths of the woods. He went a hundred-odd meters in, until the trees completely blocked out the distant sounds of the landslide being cleared. Only after confirming that he was entirely hidden from Sean's and Xiao Wu's sight did he stop.
Having established his route to Holy Soul Village, Su Lin took a deep breath. The power of lightning thundered into motion within his dantian, and pale golden arcs raced along his meridians through every limb and bone. Tiny sparks crackled through his hair as Thunderbolt Mode activated once more.
With a push of his toes against the ground, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from its string. Trees raced backward on either side, the fallen leaves beneath his feet scattered under the force of his lightning, and the wind whistled sharply past his ears.
After over ten minutes of running at full speed, the trees ahead began to thin, and the outline of a small village nestled at the foot of a mountain came into view.
"Finally here!"
At the sight, Su Lin's eyes lit up. He slowly came to a stop and deactivated Thunderbolt Mode, letting the scorching flow through his meridians gradually subside.
He stood where he was and steadied his breathing for a while before stealthily making his way through the village to a place that could be called its back mountain.