"Have you heard? The Deputy City Lord's daughter obtained a soul bone while helping some kids hunt soul beasts!"
"What? A soul bone?!"
"Shh keep it down! I'm telling you, it's a head soul bone, second only in value to a torso bone!"
"It's just a century-grade one…"
"What do you know? Even a century-grade head soul bone is priceless—it'd go for at least half a million gold soul coins!"
"Word is the City Lord and Deputy City Lord are holding an auction in three days, right in the center plaza of Nuoding City!"
"A soul bone is that precious, and they're not going to use it themselves? They're auctioning it off?"
"The news is everywhere. A hot potato like that—they'd rather get rid of it…"
As soon as Zhou Qing left Nuoding Academy and entered the bustling downtown district, he overheard countless discussions about the soul bone. Only now did he truly understand just how much trouble such a treasure could stir up once exposed.
Especially in a small city like Nuoding—things could get out of hand fast.
He accompanied Xiao Wu to the blacksmith's forge—
Nuoding City's forge was built alongside a canal, roughly eight meters wide, that ran through the city from the outskirts.
One of the branches of this river was the very same stream that passed near Saint Soul Village.
"Tang San, Xiao Wu asked me to come talk you into going on a date with her."
Zhou Qing found Tang San hammering away with his Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique. No sooner had the words left his mouth than Xiao Wu socked him in the right cheek.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Xiao Wu gritted her teeth, cheeks slightly flushed—whether from anger or embarrassment, even she didn't know.
But Zhou Qing wasn't about to admit defeat.
A firm believer in gender equality, he grabbed the corners of Xiao Wu's mouth and tugged them into all sorts of goofy expressions. Then he called out to Tang San, "Little San, help me out! This little rabbit's trying to bite me!"
Xiao Wu wasn't backing down either. She grabbed Zhou Qing's face with both hands and even jabbed her fingers into his nostrils, pushing upward.
"Today, I'll show you just how dangerous a cornered rabbit can be!"
"That's dogs, not rabbits."
Tang San covered his face with one hand, hanging his head in disbelief. He seriously considered pretending he didn't know these two brats. But the blacksmiths in the shop only burst out laughing at the sight.
One of them walked over, patted Tang San on the shoulder, handed him his pay, and said, "You've already exceeded your quota for today. Go hang out with your friends."
"Thanks, boss." Tang San accepted the money, but still insisted on finishing forging the last chunk of metal before leaving the forge.
By then, Zhou Qing and Xiao Wu had already separated, each straightening their clothes like nothing had happened.
"What do you guys want?" Tang San asked dryly.
"Well, mainly it's Xiao Wu who wanted to…" Zhou Qing began, but when Xiao Wu squinted at him threateningly, he quickly changed his tune. "We wanted to go to the Nuoding Guild and take on a mission. Earn some gold soul coins. This one's been spending money like water—especially on clothes. Half of our dorm's space is basically a walk-in closet now."
Tang San was well aware of Xiao Wu's "bold" spending habits. If not for Romantina's parasite—cough, the Skydream Iceworm—vowing to protect him, Zhou Qing, Xiao Wu, and Romantina herself, they probably wouldn't even be doing guild missions.
After all, there were very few soul beast hunting missions on the guild's current board. It wasn't great for gaining real combat experience.
In fact, he'd rather spend time at the forge refining his skills in blacksmithing and soul tool inscription—preparing to face stronger, potentially hostile soul masters down the road.
"Just treat it as a break. Work and rest in balance."
Zhou Qing saw through Tang San's hesitation and slung an arm around his neck. Together with Xiao Wu, they headed toward the Nuoding Guild. "And besides, the food there is way better than what the academy serves."
No argument there.
To Zhou Qing's surprise, even in another world, the rule still held true: school food sucks.
"It really is better. But it's pricey."
Xiao Wu was particularly fond of the fruit wine sold at the guild. During their last mission, most of their earnings had gone into buying that wine—and she now had an entire crate of it stashed in their dorm.
"You get what you pay for. No money? Then go do missions." Zhou Qing grinned.
"Didn't you earn half a million gold soul coins? Lend me a little, won't you?"
Xiao Wu leaned in close, cheeks flushed, voice much gentler now.
"So that's what you were really after, huh? Still, no." Zhou Qing turned his head away. "If you want to be like Miss Alice from the guild, you'll have to grow up a bit first. With how flat and plain you are right now, it's just awkward for me, you know?"
Tang San opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He suspected Zhou Qing had started picking up Xiao Wu's bad habits from spending so much time with her.
Xiao Wu puffed up her cheeks, face turning bright red with anger. "Just you wait! One day I'll outgrow everyone!"
Smack!
Tang San covered his face with a sigh. At this rate, if he kept hanging out with these two, he might turn out just as "sincere"… Could people really say things like that in public?
[We're all just kids. It's fine…]
Still, after spending so much time with Zhou Qing, Tang San came to a comforting conclusion: maybe this was just what childhood and youth were supposed to be.
At the Nuoding Guild.
Xiao Wu led them straight to the mission board and began scanning the tasks.
"Find a lost kitten…"
"Clean the river in southern Nuoding…"
"Serve as a sparring partner for the City Lord's son, Xiao Chenyu—"
Xiao Wu's gaze froze on that last one. She scowled. "That annoying little wolf is still looking for soul masters to spar with? Doesn't his family have any?"
"There aren't many soul masters to begin with. Even the guards outside the Spirit Hall are just Soul Scholars no soul rings at all. As for the City Lord's family, it's the same story," said Tang San matter-of-factly. "Want to take this one?"
"Just looking at his face pisses me off."
Just thinking about how that little wolf once said she'd make a good pet made Xiao Wu furious. If she really did take this mission, she'd probably end up teaching Xiao Chenyu a painful lesson. If she broke him, she'd be heartbroken—heartbroken about the money.
"What about this one?" Zhou Qing pointed at a task titled Guard the Auction Venue.
Unlike the other tasks, this one had twenty small empty circles at the bottom, the size of fingernails. Thirteen of them were already marked with red checkmarks.
"Three days from now, a soul bone auction will be held in the center of Nuoding City. Soul masters needed for security…" Xiao Wu read aloud. Her gaze finally settled on the payment: "The auction will include other items as well. Duration: two hours. Pay: 100 gold soul coins per soul master per hour!"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/XenTronix