Upon hearing Haote introduce himself, Lu Yu paused slightly and instinctively fell silent.
Haote...
The name sounded incredibly familiar, like I'd heard it somewhere before, but my memory was stuck at a crucial point, and I just couldn't recall it.
Lu Yu frowned slightly, her mind racing as she searched her memories for a familiar source.
The moment Haote spoke again, mentioning that he was the captain of the Wind and Snow Soul Hunting Team, a bolt of lightning instantly cleaved through Lu Yu's fog of memory!
I remember now!
Haote! The Wind and Snow Soul Hunting Team!
Isn't this the person Oscar met on his journey north after participating in the Soul Master Elite Tournament in the original novel?
Moreover, Haote is also loyal and righteous. Back then, the rest of the team were blinded by greed and coveted the Head Soul Bone dropped by the Mirror Shadow Beast.
Only Haote remained steadfast in his convictions, resolutely determined to give the Soul Bone to Oscar, unwavering even when severely injured.
In an instant, all of Lu Yu's doubts vanished, replaced by a deep sense of reassurance.
No wonder this team looks so simple and unassuming; it turns out they're a legendary team!
Seeing Lu Yu standing there silently for Jiujiu with his eyes shifting, Haote assumed that Lu Yu was looking down on his team because of its small reputation and poor equipment, and that he didn't believe in his strength at all.
Haote immediately smiled and said in a deep voice, "Young man, judging from your expression, you probably think our team is too ordinary and incapable of helping you find that Mirror Shadow Beast?"
After saying this, Haote said no more, and his Soul Power surged.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black!
Five Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet, a standard configuration for Soul King.
"Let me formally introduce myself, Haote, a level 54 Power Attack System Battle Soul King, Martial Soul the Snow Spirit Demon Bear."
Although our team isn't top-tier, when it comes to finding Soul Beast around this Frozen Forest, if I, Haote, am second to none, no one dares to claim to be first.
Haote spoke frankly and without boasting, simply to prove that he was not undeserving of his reputation.
Lu Yu snapped out of his daze and quickly waved his hand, laughing, "Captain Haote, you misunderstand. I just suddenly remembered something from the past; I didn't mean to question your abilities."
"Since the captain says he's seen the Mirror Shadow Beast, then I'll just say it directly."
Lu Yu looked serious and got straight to the point.
"I came to the Frozen Forest specifically for the Mirror Shadow Beast. I don't have time for aimless searching, so I'd like to ask the captain to lead a group to help me find Mirror Shadow Beast whereabouts."
Haote's eyes lit up. "Great! Detecting traces of Soul Beast is our Soul Hunting Team's specialty!"
"However, let me make it clear from the start: Mirror Shadow Beast are extremely rare and are adept at illusion and disguise. They require a great deal of time and effort, so the reward will not be low."
Lu Yu was prepared and spoke decisively:
"I'll offer 10,000 Gold Soul Coin to have your entire team help me search for the exact location of the Mirror Shadow Beast and pinpoint its activity area."
Haote was shocked, his eyes widened, and his face was full of disbelief.
Ten thousand Gold Soul Coin!
A typical Soul Hunting quest would only yield around a thousand Gold Soul Coin at most, but this price is ten times higher—it's an astronomical commission!
Even high-risk missions like venturing deep into the Frozen Forest to hunt down Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast might not yield such high rewards.
Haote quickly confirmed, "Young man, are you serious? Ten thousand Gold Soul Coin, just to find traces, not to hunt?"
"That's right." Lu Yu nodded firmly.
"As long as you help me find the location of the Mirror Shadow Beast, I will hunt it down myself."
Haote took a deep breath and immediately nodded emphatically. "Deal! Our Wind and Snow Soul Hunting Team will take this job!"
Without hesitation, Lu Yu took out a heavy stack of Gold Soul Coin from his storage device, counted out three thousand, and handed them over.
"This is a deposit of three Gold Soul Coin. Once you find the exact location and lead me to the Mirror Shadow Beast, I will immediately settle the remaining balance."
As Haote received the heavy Gold Soul Coin, its cool and thick texture filling his hand, his face was filled with solemnity.
Having worked Soul Hunting for many years, he had never encountered such a generous and straightforward employer.
"Don't worry, young man! Once we've accepted your deposit, Haote will do everything in our power!"
"I will find out the whereabouts of the Mirror Shadow Beast within half a month at most!"
Time flies, and a whole year has passed slowly amidst the endless wind and snow of the Frozen Forest.
During that year, Lu Yu did not wait idly for the Wind and Snow Soul Hunting Team of Haote to explore on his own.
After spending a large sum of money, he contacted five other experienced Soul Hunting teams in Snow Drifting City to join the search for the Mirror Shadow Beast.
The six teams split up and searched the middle and outer layers of the Frozen Forest, the cold valleys, ice caves, and misty swamps in turn. Almost every area suitable for hiding Soul Beast was left with the footprints of the Soul Hunting hunters.
Even Lu Yu himself went to search for it, and because of this, Lu Yu was in a bad mood and killed more than a dozen ten- Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to vent his anger.
But the Mirror Shadow Beast seemed to have completely vanished from this world.
Countless times I received promising clues and rushed over excitedly, only to find ordinary ice foxes, Ice Spirit Bird, or Ice Armor Beast...
There is no such thing as a Mirror Shadow Beast that is good at changing its form and can disguise itself as other Soul Beast.
Lu Yu sat by the fireplace in the courtyard of Snow Drifting City more than once, pondering this matter.
A strange thought began to form in his mind.
Was the Mirror Shadow Beast in the original story truly unique?
It was as if fate had specially prepared this opportunity for the Oscar.
The Mirror Shadow Beast will not appear until Oscar travels north alone to train and enters the Frozen Forest. No matter how others search, they will never see it.
The long search wore down the Soul Hunting ' patience, and the first to give up were the five teams that were found later.
For a year, they traveled through icy and snowy landscapes, consuming food and medicine, and the team members were repeatedly attacked and injured by ice-type Soul Beast.
Lu Yu paid all the medical expenses voluntarily, but four of the Soul Hunting Teams approached Lu Yu one after another, offering to withdraw from the commission and voluntarily give up the remaining payments they had not yet received.
"Brother Lu, I'm really sorry, we can't afford to waste any more time." The captain of one of the squads looked exhausted.
" The Frozen Forest is so vast, we can't even catch a glimpse of the Mirror Shadow Beast. If we keep searching, the team will be wiped out here."
Lu Yu did not make things difficult for them, settled their respective rewards for the preliminary exploration, and allowed the four teams to leave Snow Drifting City.
In the end, only two of the six teams remained.
One of them was the Wind and Snow Soul Hunting Team led by Haote.
Haote is a man of his word; once he accepts a deposit, he won't easily go back on his word. Even if there's no harvest for a year, he still leads his team to regularly venture deep into the Frozen Forest to investigate, and he has never taken the initiative to give up.
The other team was a veteran local Soul Hunting team from Snow Drifting City. The captain was stubborn and, attracted by the generous final payment offered by Lu Yu, decided to stay and continue the search, hoping to try his luck.
That evening, the wind and snow started again. Haote led his team back from the forest and trudged through the snow to the small courtyard where Lu Yu was renting.
Pushing open the door, a blast of cold air hit him. Haote brushed the snow off his clothes and sighed.
"Brother Lu, still no luck today. We've searched the Frozen Forest three more times, only finding traces of ordinary Soul Beast, not a single Mirror Shadow Beast."
Lu Yu was sitting by the fireplace, watching the flickering flames, and nodded gently upon hearing this.
"I know, thank you for your hard work."
Haote rubbed his frozen hands and hesitated before speaking, "To be honest, in all my decades of Soul Hunting, I've never seen anything so strange."
Logically speaking, even the rarest Soul Beast should leave traces of its activity, but the Mirror Shadow Beast seems to exist in this forest without ever being there.
Lu Yu's suspicions grew clearer, but she didn't voice them aloud; instead, she calmly said...
"It's alright. Since you're willing to continue searching, the commission will remain the same, and I will pay you on time."
If one day your team can't hold on and wants to quit, just tell me, and I won't stop you.
Haote shook his head, his expression solemn. "I, Haote, have accepted your deposit and promised to help you search for traces. The Wind and Snow Soul Hunting Team will not leave until we find them."
Outside, the wind and snow howled, Frozen Forest remained silent. The Mirror Shadow Beast, which belonged to the future Oscar, seemed to be hiding in the cracks of fate, reluctant to show itself.