Evil Soul Master

"The house is humble, young master. Please forgive us." The middle-aged Soul Master in the hat was named Niu Dahai. He was the acknowledged Soul Master captain of the small villages around Suotuo City, a rank thirty-eight Soul Master whose Martial Soul was a yellow ox.

The reason they hadn't joined the Spirit Hall was that they couldn't accept having to hand over nearly half their resources to the Spirit Hall every time they hunted a Soul Beast or an Evil Soul Master.

Commoner Soul Masters of average talent like them were already short on resources. That would only pile frost on snow, so they would rather lick blood from the edge of a blade than join the Spirit Hall.

Qian Xunling surveyed the small courtyard they had arranged for him and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. I won't stay here for free, either. I'll pay rent every month."

"Young master, could you treat our brothers first?" Niu Dahai asked urgently, looking toward the brothers lying outside the courtyard and groaning.

Qian Xunling held out his hand. "Pay me first."

"Oh... right, right." Niu Dahai handed Qian Xunling the money pouch. Qian Xunling weighed it in his hand and found a full hundred Gold Soul Coins inside. He tossed it to Bibi Dong and said to Niu Dahai, "I have a habit when I save people: I don't like others watching me do it. So carry them all into the courtyard, but don't let them face me. All of you have to leave, too."

What a strange request.

Niu Dahai didn't think much of it and nodded. "All right."

With that, he instructed the commoner Soul Masters to do as they were told.

Qian Xunling looked at Bibi Dong and said with emphasis, "Little Spider, you'd better keep a close eye on that money. If even one coin goes missing, I'll have you drinking the northwest wind."

"Martial uncle, I'm so hungry," Bibi Dong said plaintively, clutching her stomach.

"Shoo, shoo. You'll get something to eat soon. Hold out a little longer." Qian Xunling looked away speechlessly and turned toward Niu Dahai and the others. Five people were seriously injured, and two were at death's door.

But none of that was a problem.

His fifth Soul Ring had absorbed the Blue Silver King's life attribute.

After being strengthened by his Body Martial Soul, this life attribute was even more powerful than the Nine Heart Begonia's. It just felt as though it was still a little lacking: it couldn't bring people back to life.

But it was enough to treat these men.

The injured men didn't see the terrifying Soul Ring Configuration beneath Qian Xunling's feet. They only felt their bodies grow tense, gripped by a fear born of Soul Power suppression. But soon they felt an inexhaustible current of healing.

It was as comfortable as soaking in amniotic fluid.

Soon, the seven men slowly opened their eyes and stared at their bodies in disbelief, crying out, "I'm not dead! I'm not dead! Haha!!"

Bibi Dong's eyes widened in surprise. "Martial uncle, you can heal people too? I thought you were tricking them just now, planning to take the money and run."

"Nonsense." Qian Xunling flicked Bibi Dong on the forehead.

"Ah!" Bibi Dong clutched her forehead, her eyes reddening from the pain, and looked at Qian Xunling. He said, "Is your martial uncle that kind of person? So that's what you think of me, is it?"

"No." Bibi Dong shook her head.

"You're lying at such a young age? Well, look at you," Qian Xunling said coldly. Bibi Dong pursed her lips. She seemed to have learned it from a certain someone.

Seeing his brothers restored to normal and bouncing around, Niu Dahai grinned from ear to ear. He immediately went to Qian Xunling's side. "Thank you, young master. Thank you, physician."

Qian Xunling waved a hand impatiently. "I took your money, so I took care of your troubles. If you really want to thank me, go make me something to eat. I'm very hungry right now."

"Hungry?" Everyone was surprised.

But they immediately responded, saying they would go prepare something at once.

With that, everyone returned to their respective villages.

They insisted on coming here for a meal tonight, no matter what.

Qian Xunling wanted to stop them, but then he saw Bibi Dong's shining eyes and asked, "What the hell are you looking forward to? From now on, you'll learn to cook from them, then make my meals every day. Got it?"

Bibi Dong's excitement faded. Cooking? She didn't know how to cook. She looked at Qian Xunling. "Martial uncle, what if my cooking tastes awful?"

Qian Xunling chuckled. "Then you can watch me eat while you sit beside me eating my leftovers."

"Huh? No, Dong'er doesn't want that." Only now did Bibi Dong realize that this was her martial uncle's punishment. She was only six, and the stove might be taller than she was. How was she supposed to cook a decent meal?

Niu Dahai hesitated awkwardly for a moment, then asked quietly, "Young master, you're a Soul Master too, aren't you?"

"If I weren't a Soul Master, how could I have saved them?" Qian Xunling looked at Niu Dahai as though he were an idiot. Niu Dahai awkwardly scratched his head and gave a rueful smile. "Young master, if any of our brothers get hurt in the future, could we ask you to treat them again?"

Qian Xunling replied, "As long as I haven't left this place, you can."

"Really?" Niu Dahai laughed. "That's wonderful! We were always afraid of getting hurt, and we're desperately short of healing Soul Masters. Now that you're here, young master, we can go all out."

"You're so weak that going all out will only get you killed faster," Qian Xunling said bluntly. Niu Dahai grew downcast for a moment, then smiled again. "Recently, my brothers and I took on a mission to hunt a Swamp Giant Crocodile that's at least eight thousand years old. We've been pursuing it for over ten days, and its injuries must be much worse than ours."

Qian Xunling looked at him. "I'm only responsible for saving people here. Even if you offer me more money, I won't go in with you to hunt the giant crocodile."

Niu Dahai nodded. "Understood, young master. Young master, what should we call you?"

"Call me Ling," Qian Xunling said.

"Young Master Ling." Niu Dahai smiled honestly. Qian Xunling pondered for a moment, then asked, "You said you were on a mission to hunt a giant crocodile, but some of your brothers looked like they'd been struck by a power only an Evil Soul Master would have?"

Niu Dahai's smile immediately vanished, and his expression darkened slightly. He clenched his fists. "You have no idea how awful it's been, Young Master Ling. Some damned Evil Soul Master knew we couldn't kill the giant crocodile in a short time, so he took advantage of our fight with it to sneak-attack us, then looted our brothers' belongings."

"Damn it, several of our brothers have already fallen victim to him. If we hadn't met you, Young Master Ling, the two brothers who were just about to breathe their last wouldn't have been able to rest in peace either."

"Only one Evil Soul Master?" Qian Xunling asked.

Niu Dahai nodded. "Just one. But that person was dressed entirely in black and wrapped up tightly. He appeared and vanished like a ghost, moved extremely fast, and his Martial Soul was a hook claw. He injured us from a distance and immediately ran off."

"But you don't need to worry, Young Master Ling. The place we found for you is very safe, and it isn't far from the Spirit Hall Branch. That Evil Soul Master definitely wouldn't dare come here.

"If you're still worried, Young Master Ling, I'll ask a few brothers to stay and be your bodyguards. They'll definitely fight for the chance."

Niu Dahai looked earnestly at Qian Xunling, who chuckled. "Forget it. I like peace and quiet. With too many people around, I'd have trouble controlling myself."

"Huh?" Niu Dahai didn't understand what Qian Xunling meant.

But after Qian Xunling's clear refusal, Niu Dahai didn't ask again.

Soon, Qian Xunling saw the commoner Soul Masters approaching with lots of things in their arms. Many women had joined them, and they had even brought tables. Qian Xunling glanced at Niu Dahai, who laughed awkwardly. "S-sorry, Young Master Ling. That's how things are in our village. If you really aren't comfortable with it, I'll have them leave right now."

"Forget it. Let it be." Qian Xunling looked at Bibi Dong's shining eyes and shook his head speechlessly. Then he looked toward a black-clad figure crawling through some bushes in the distance and smiled speechlessly as well. No wonder Niu Dahai and the others had been repeatedly ambushed by this Evil Soul Master.