Heading to Vast Sea City

"Ah! It hurts! My legs, my legs!"

The remaining Evil Soul Masters all fell to the floor with their legs severed, wailing at the top of their lungs.

Qian Xunling said speechlessly, "Stop howling, all of you. Hurry up and answer my questions."

"I'm not doing this job anymore. I quit. I'm leaving." An Evil Soul Master with a strong will dragged himself away across the floor. Qian Xunling snorted coldly and sent a wind blade slashing at him. "Did I say you could leave?"

The Evil Soul Master died. The others, who were still wailing, all looked at Qian Xunling and endured the pain in their legs. Then a land-dwelling Evil Soul Master pleaded, "Your Excellency, we're all in the same line of work. This is just a small business, not worth your intervention. Please spare us."

"Same line of work, my ass. I'm a genuine, upright Soul Master of the righteous path," Qian Xunling said coldly.

Behind him, however, Chen Jianjun's lips twitched. He felt that Qian Xunling's behavior really wasn't much like that of a righteous man.

What respectable Soul Master would chop off someone's legs the moment they met, and let out such a chilling laugh at that?

"Your Excellency, we came to escort the mermaids, but these pirate Evil Soul Masters wanted to raise the price on the spot. We Evil Soul Masters from the continent naturally wouldn't stand for it, so we started fighting them. As for the red-haired Evil Soul Master surnamed Zhong you mentioned, we don't know anything about her," replied a weak voice. The speaker was a pale, rather elderly man who was also the most ferocious-looking of them all.

"Although we're Evil Soul Masters, we're different from the other Evil Soul Masters on the continent. We only deal in selling Soul Beasts. Our crimes don't deserve death."

Qian Xunling signaled to Chen Jianjun, who pulled back the black cloth covering the carts. Inside were mermaids with their hands bound in chains and nothing but fins in place of legs. Their faces were dirty, but the grime couldn't hide their beauty. There were more than a dozen of them, big and small.

The sight of these mermaids touched Chen Jianjun more deeply than Qian Xunling. At once, he recalled what Qian Xunling had said earlier.

Transformed Soul Beasts were actually no different from Soul Masters. It was only a matter of who was stronger and who was weaker.

The terror and helplessness in these mermaids' eyes were no different from those of humans.

Qian Xunling looked at the mermaids and nodded. "Very nice. Their hair comes in all sorts of colors, and they're all fairly good-looking. Who were you planning to sell them to?"

The old Evil Soul Master replied, "Your Excellency, we weren't the ones selling them. We were escorting them to Front Sea City. The city lord of Front Sea City sent us to escort them. As for who he's selling them to, we don't know, but we can guess they're all high-ranking officials and nobles. After all, they're the only ones with the money to buy them."

"Where is Front Sea City? Shouldn't you be making the deal in Vast Sea City?" Qian Xunling asked.

The old Evil Soul Master replied, "Front Sea City isn't far from here. Go a hundred li northeast and you'll reach it. We have to escort them there because Vast Sea City is a rank higher than Front Sea City, and all the major powers have their eyes on it. They don't dare make the deal there, so they have to go farther afield to Front Sea City, which is closer to the mainland."

"Are there many Evil Soul Masters like you?" Qian Xunling asked.

"Not many," the old Evil Soul Master replied.

As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Xunling unleashed wind blades and slaughtered all the Evil Soul Masters from the continent.

"Ah!" The pirate Evil Soul Masters and the mermaids were startled by the sudden turn of events.

The pirate Evil Soul Masters all edged backward, even as blood flowed across the floor.

But Chen Jianjun was standing behind them, and they were surrounded.

Qian Xunling looked at the three remaining pirate Evil Soul Masters and walked slowly toward them. "Don't think of me as so terrifying. If you can give me information that interests me, I might spare your lives."

"I have something to say..." One of the pirate Evil Soul Masters could no longer bear the pain and, while still retaining some presence of mind, was the first to speak.

"Oh? Let's hear it," Qian Xunling replied.

"I don't know who the Evil Soul Master surnamed Zhong you mentioned is, Your Excellency, but I do know which Evil Soul Master has red hair," the Evil Soul Master said quickly.

"Go on." Qian Xunling listened.

The Evil Soul Master gritted his teeth and looked at his two colleagues beside him. "The island lord of our Red Pearl Pirate Crew. She has red hair."

At the mention of their island lord, the other two Evil Soul Masters, who had been terrified, came to their senses. They too looked at Qian Xunling and nodded. "That's right, that's right. Our island lord's hair is red, even redder than the red hair of ordinary people."

"What's your island lord's name?" Qian Xunling asked again.

"Red Pearl," the three answered in unison.

"Red Pearl?" Qian Xunling pondered in confusion for a moment, then followed up on what they had just said. "You said your pirate crew is called Red Pearl, and you live on an island?"

"Yes." The three nodded repeatedly.

"Have you heard of Purple Pearl Island? The island closest to Sea God Island," Qian Xunling asked again.

But this time, the three shook their heads. One replied, "We've never heard of Purple Pearl Island, but as far as I know, the island closest to Sea God Island is our Red Pearl Island."

"All right, I think I've more or less figured it out."

Qian Xunling pondered. There were still decades before the original story began. Zi Zhenzhu probably hadn't been born yet, and even if she had, she could only be on Sea God Island. So she couldn't have come outside, become the captain of the Purple Pearl Pirates, and then lived on Purple Pearl.

In other words, Purple Pearl Island was currently called Red Pearl Island, and its island lord was an Evil Soul Master named Red Pearl.

Seeing Qian Xunling's expression turn calm, the three of them became extremely frightened and immediately said, "Your Excellency, we serve Captain Rousi of the Red Pearl Pirate Crew. Captain Rousi is currently aboard a ship docked at a port on the outskirts of Vast Sea City. As long as you don't kill us, we'll take you there. We'll take you to our captain."

"You'd even sell out your captain." Qian Xunling felt that the three of them were promising material, and he smiled.

The three smiled along with him, though their smiles were uglier than tears.

Qian Xunling clapped his hands. "All right, the information you gave me was good. I'll spare your lives. Get lost."

Chen Jianjun looked at Qian Xunling and tried to dissuade him. "Are you really going to let those three Evil Soul Masters go?"

Qian Xunling waved his hand. "Of course. I keep my word."

With that, Qian Xunling paid the three Evil Soul Masters no further attention. Let them go?

With their legs chopped off, they'd be lucky to make it out of this forest alive.

But then Qian Xunling thought of something and called out to the three earthworms, "Wait!"

"Ah!" The three Evil Soul Masters looked back in terror. Qian Xunling asked, "Which direction is Vast Sea City?"

All three pointed in the same direction. Qian Xunling nodded and paid them no further attention.

Chen Jianjun glanced at the three Evil Soul Masters crawling like earthworms. He really wanted to cut them down, but he held back. Looking at the carriages holding the mermaids, he asked, "Young Master Xunling, what should we do with them?"

"What else? Of course we're taking them with us." Qian Xunling glanced at Chen Jianjun and said, "Get the carriages ready first. I'll bring Little Spider and the others over, and then we'll go to Vast Sea City."

Chen Jianjun nodded.

Qian Xunling quickly returned to the place where he had parted from Bibi Dong and the others.

He saw Xiao Wu, who had given up on life and was curled up inside the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, letting Bibi Dong torment her with her cruel hands. Then he looked at Ah Yin, who was comforting Xiao Wu at her side. A sinister smile appeared on Qian Xunling's face. He couldn't let Ah Yin have it so easy.

Qian Xunling withdrew the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.

Bibi Dong noticed something was amiss and stood up. "Martial Uncle!"

She then ran over to Qian Xunling. He gave her a casual glance and said, "Everyone, get moving. We're leaving."

Xiao Wu was badly injured, but she could still walk.