At the edge of the Soul Beast Forest.
Slap! Slap!
Two resounding slaps rang out.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei's faces were knocked to one side, a palm print appearing on each man's cheek.
"I told you to protect the young master, and you actually managed to lose him!"
"What punishment do you deserve?"
Mighty Lion Douluo roared furiously at the two.
Knowing that they had failed to protect him, Yue Guan and Gui Mei dared not offer the slightest rebuttal.
The two had barely escaped the beast tide. They had originally thought that, with them holding it back, the young master would safely withdraw from the Soul Beast Forest.
Yet when they emerged from the Soul Beast Forest in a sorry state, Qian Xunji was nowhere to be found.
Their hearts instantly turned cold. Not long afterward, Mighty Lion Douluo also withdrew from the Soul Beast Forest with his men. Upon learning that the young master had actually gone missing, he felt like killing them both.
"Everyone, enter the Soul Beast Forest immediately and search for the young master!"
"If you can't find him, you two needn't come back either."
Towering fury filled Mighty Lion Douluo's expression, and his voice was ice-cold.
"Lion Worshipper, we will definitely bring the young master back."
"If anything happens to him, we will both atone with our lives!"
Yue Guan and Gui Mei spoke in unison. Then, together with the other uninjured Titled Douluo, they entered the Soul Beast Forest again to search for Qian Xunji.
Meanwhile, somewhere within the Soul Beast Forest.
Bang!
A Crypt Spider crashed to the ground, revealing the figure before it-Qian Xunji. With one arm around the woman in his embrace, he had casually used a Soul Skill to kill the Crypt Spider Soul Beast.
With danger everywhere in the Soul Beast Forest because of the beast tide, Qian Xunji planned to wait until it passed before leaving.
And their shelter for the night would be this Crypt Spider's lair!
The woman in Qian Xunji's embrace looked at the dead Crypt Spider on the ground. As a fellow Soul Beast, a trace of sorrow flashed through her eyes.
For now, she could only be thankful that this human Soul Master had not yet reached the rank of Titled Douluo and could not see through her Soul Beast Transformation.
Qian Xunji set the woman down, and she immediately wrapped the cloak around herself more tightly.
A short while later, firelight lit up the dark burrow.
To keep the fire from going out in the latter half of the night, Qian Xunji went out to gather more firewood and caught a few fish along the way.
Orange firelight illuminated the small burrow. Several gutted fish, skewered on branches and stuck into the ground before the fire, sizzled.
Qian Xunji sat cross-legged in meditation, recovering his Soul Power.
Beside him, the woman wrapped in the cloak was secretly studying the youth in front of the fire.
The youth had golden hair and a handsome face that undoubtedly drew the eye.
Just then, Qian Xunji slowly opened his eyes and met the woman's gaze. The instant their eyes met, she immediately looked elsewhere.
The woman wrapped the cloak around herself again, as though only that cloak could give her a little more sense of security.
Footsteps sounded then. The woman's heart jolted, and she looked ahead warily.
The youth walked up to her with a grilled fish in hand, then crouched and held it out before her.
The woman watched him warily, seemingly having no intention of accepting the grilled fish.
"Don't worry. I haven't poisoned it!"
Even so, the woman continued to watch Qian Xunji with extreme wariness, like a frightened rabbit.
Taking in her expression, Qian Xunji planted the grilled fish in the ground before her, then turned and returned to the fire, picked up another grilled fish, and began eating.
As she watched Qian Xunji eat, the woman still had no intention of touching the grilled fish in the ground.
When Qian Xunji started on his second grilled fish, a sudden rumble sounded. His movements froze for a moment, then he continued eating the fish in his hand as though he had heard nothing.
Beside him, a pink flush crept over the woman's pretty face.
She had forgotten that she had already taken human form and was no longer that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
She stole a glance at the youth nearby. Seeing that he was not paying attention to her, her sense of shame eased a little.
Feeling the hunger within her body, the woman finally could not resist reaching out from beneath the cloak and picking up the grilled fish.
She brought the grilled fish to her lips and ate the flesh little by little, her small mouth moving like a little rabbit's.
Although the fish had merely been grilled until cooked, at that moment it tasted like a delicacy to her, and she ate with relish.
As she ate the grilled fish, she secretly studied the youth nearby.
She had never expected her first meal after taking human form to be a fish grilled by this youth.
She soon finished the grilled fish, eating the last bit of flesh almost greedily. Feeling only half full, she unconsciously looked toward the remaining grilled fish before the fire.
"If you want more, come get it yourself!"
Just then, the youth's voice rang out, startling the woman.
Beneath the thin cloak, it was as though two large rabbits bounced in fright.
Perhaps because of that grilled fish, or perhaps because she was too hungry, the woman wrapped the cloak tightly around herself and carefully approached the fire.
As she drew near and the warm firelight enveloped her body, most of her wariness immediately vanished.
The woman cautiously glanced at the youth, then extended a fair, smooth arm from beneath the cloak, picked up a grilled fish in front of the fire, and silently began eating.
"What's your name?"
At the sound of his voice, the woman stopped eating and looked at the youth.
The firelight fell upon his handsome face. Coupled with his gentle gaze, it gradually dispelled the wariness that had just risen within her.
"I... my name is Ah Rou!"
After hesitating for a moment, the woman finally spoke.
"Ah Rou?"
"That's a lovely name!"
"My name is Qian Xunji!"
"Why were you in the lake?"
Ah Rou's body instantly stiffened, and panic even appeared in her eyes.
If my identity as a Soul Beast is exposed, he'll definitely kill me immediately. But right now, I only have the Soul Power of a level 10 human Soul Master. I have absolutely no ability to resist.
"Th-then why were you in the lake?"
Ah Rou stammered a question in return.
"A beast tide suddenly broke out in the Soul Beast Forest. Soul Beasts were chasing me, so I could only hide in the lake for the time being."
Qian Xunji answered truthfully.
Ah Rou immediately picked up the thread.
"I hid in the lake to escape the beast tide too!"
After saying this, Ah Rou's heart immediately rose into her throat, and she carefully observed Qian Xunji.
"Your Soul Power seems very weak, probably only around level 10. This must be your first time coming to the Soul Beast Forest to hunt for your first Soul Ring, right?"
Ah Rou was stunned at first, then hurriedly nodded and said,
"Y-yes. When the beast tide broke out, I got separated from the others. I had no choice but to hide in the lake."
"So that's what happened."
"Don't worry. I'll take you safely out of the Soul Beast Forest."
"It's getting late. Get some rest."
After speaking, Qian Xunji sat cross-legged and continued meditating and cultivating.
Seeing this, Ah Rou finally let her heart, which had been hanging in suspense all this time, settle a little.
Thankfully, my identity as a Soul Beast wasn't exposed!