When Jinsi entered the lobby of the inn, it was already afternoon.

The sunset outside enveloped the inn, which was located in the outskirts of Fuzhou town, in a warm and charming orange glow. Looking out from the inn's entrance, there was a straight path paved with gray-white rocks. The road looked old, and had been smoothed out by the wind and rain, as well as the countless footsteps of passersby over the years.

On the streets of the town, there were bustling crowds of travelers carrying various sizes and shapes of bags, mostly looking like they were not locals. Occasionally, there were also carriages transporting the special spices produced in Fuzhou town to the port on the coast, to be loaded onto ships. For hundreds of years, the spices made from the roots of maple and locust trees in Fuzhou have been selling particularly well in the southern ports due to their good quality and affordable prices.

On either side of the road were thick, green grass, but it was now early winter and the lawn had turned yellow, with bits of dry grass and debris swirling in the air as the wind blew. The sunlight shone on it, like golden dust floating in the air.

The whole of Fuzhou looked like a cozy little town that had been painted with golden powder, filled with the fragrant smell of honey, berry wine, and fruit tea.

But Jinsi didn't care about the scenery outside. At this moment, his eyes were fixed on the people sitting in the lobby of the inn.

Also surveying the customers inside the inn was Qi Ling, who was shuttling between the tables and serving tea and water.

There were many adjectives that could be used to describe Qi Ling: clever, lively, obedient, pretty, handsome, tall, and brave. He was born with a pair of bright eyes that looked like stars twinkling in the night sky. His black eyebrows were sharp and slender, making him look particularly handsome. His smile was like the crescent moon in the sky. Every day, many girls from Fuzhou town would purposely walk past the inn to catch a glimpse of him, giggling as they ran by with their colorful headscarves and hairbands.

Watching him tie his jet-black, healthy hair with a black sheepskin rope behind his head, and then roll up his sleeves to wipe tables and wash dishes, his strong arms exuding the unique vitality of a semi-mature teenager, with clear and attractive muscle lines, unlike the middle-aged men drinking honey goat milk wine at the tables, who seemed to be covered in a layer of cheese and felt soft and flabby.

Also watching him climb up the fruit trees in the backyard to pick fruit or stand on the roof to sweep the red maple leaves that had fallen in autumn, his slender and agile body moved like a leopard.

Sometimes he stands in the courtyard of the autumn twilight, with the setting sun as red as blood and the wind blowing, causing his eyebrows and eyes to wrinkle. He looks a bit like an emotional and desolate troubadour, which is particularly incongruous with his age. However, in reality, he may only be thinking, "Oh no, I broke three plates this month. The boss lady is definitely going to deduct a lot of my pay again."

Of course, Qi Ling also frequently flirts with the girls. Boys his age seem to have a natural talent for teasing girls. He already has good looks, a lean and agile figure, and although he wears washed-out clothes, he exudes an inexplicable charm that seems to envelop him like a layer of starlight, always making him stand out in a crowd.

People who have been to the capital, Grenorte, from this town often say that Qi Ling looks like someone from there. However, Qi Ling has never left Fuzhe Town since he was born seventeen years ago. He always daydreams of going to Grenorte, but has never taken a step out of this small town nestled deep in a forest.

But today, five people from Grenorte are sitting in the post station in Fuzhe Town.

Their goal is to capture the soul beast, Ice Weasel, which is said to appear in Fuzhe Town tonight.

Qi Ling has been listening to the people in the town talk about it for days, but he is unfamiliar with the terms they use, such as soul beast and soul master. Although he knows that the entire Odin continent is built on the foundation of "soul force," the only person he has ever met who has anything to do with soul force is an old lady in the town who is over eighty years old and is always talking about it. According to the town's legend, she was a maid in a prestigious family in the capital when she was young. After secretly learning some soul skills, she fled to Fuzhe. However, when Qi Ling saw her use her soul force, she could only make the water in the well automatically gush out and fill her water tank. Even such a simple action almost killed her, and she was panting as if she was about to die.

Qi Ling was especially disappointed. He had heard a lot of stories about great soul masters, and the legends said that they could fly, move mountains, and summon huge tsunamis with a wave of their hand, as if they were gods.

Every time he meets a passing traveler, he asks about the capital and the soul masters there, but most of the travelers who come to Fuzhe are not powerful characters, and they only know a little bit about the soul force that has been controlled by the royal bloodline in the capital for a long time.

So when five soul masters from Grenorte suddenly appeared in the post station, he was like a boiling kettle, "clanging" and jumping around, unable to stay still for a moment. He kept pouring water and tea back and forth on several tables with a teapot in his hand, while pricking up his ears to catch every word they said. Jinsi glanced around and then chose a table with someone already seated, and sat down.He hadn't even settled down when the woman across from him spoke, "This table is taken, didn't you see?"

Jinsi looked up, revealing a bright smile.

Jinsi, in his early thirties, was a well-known soul master in the imperial city, and the Jin family had always been known for their mastery of soul power and was considered a prestigious family. He raised his carefully groomed eyebrows and said to the woman in dark green clothes opposite him, "I saw it." He then raised his hand and poured a cup of tea. The tea water slowly filled the cup like a thin line, and it took a long time before he filled it. He put down the teapot and looked at her with deep eyes, a hint of a smile in them.

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Jinsi picked up the cup and was about to take a sip when the cup suddenly "crack" and shattered.

The splattered liquid solidified into beads of various sizes on the tabletop, bouncing up and down under the impact, creating a disjointed wooden sound. But these droplets did not freeze but were controlled by a force, forming a spherical liquid that bounced around.

Qi Ling standing next to him watched with his eyes almost falling out.

Jinsi smiled, gently spread his hand, and in that instant, all the droplets were attracted back to his palm. Before Qi Ling could see clearly, a translucent ice cup, emanating a chilling aura, appeared in Jinsi's hand. Jinsi took the teapot next to him and poured a cup of hot tea into the ice cup. Despite the rolling heat, the ice cup did not melt at all.

The woman across from him seemed to be covered in a layer of frost on her face. She was about to stand up when Jinsi raised his hand, motioning for her to sit down. Jinsi took a sip of tea and said, "You'd better save your soul power to catch the Ice Marten or save some to escape." Jinsi's smile was bright and confident. "Am I right, Lu Ya?"

The woman in the dark green clothes, named Lu Ya, did not speak again. It was the middle-aged man at the next table who spoke, "Anyway, there's only one Ice Marten. Sooner or later, someone will get it. Whether we fight now or later, someone will die, and it will be a relief."

Jinsi turned around, revealing a disgusted expression. The person he least wanted to see was sitting at the next table - Toka. Jinsi touched the little finger that he had broken off himself three years ago when fighting the soul beast, Flowing Cloud. Toka had cut it off with an ice sword while competing with him for the beast, but in the end, the soul beast was tamed by a young princess who was only eight years old in the imperial city.

Three years later, Toka sat beside Jinsi again, laughing arrogantly, revealing his dirty teeth.

"You don't have to die to grab the Ice Marten. Saying it this way hurts our relationship." Another man sitting at another table spoke up.She was dressed like one of those dancing girls who tour from town to town, covered in bells and cheap, colorful gems. However, her identity was anything but cheap.

"As long as you know when to tuck your tail and run, you won't lose your life. Otherwise, you'll end up a bloody mess with nothing to show for it. So, the key to being a person is knowing how to balance and measure yourself." She spoke while gently swaying her full hair, looking especially pleased, as if she had just tasted a delicious wine. However, it was unclear who she was speaking to, as her gaze was fixed on the air and not focused on anyone.

Upon seeing her, Jinsi took a deep breath and spoke in a tone that was half fearful and half disgusted. "Liu Na, don't you already have the 'Red Sun'? Why are you here?"

Liu Na smiled coquettishly, turned her head towards the air next to her, and said, "But even the 'Red Sun' can be lonely when you're alone for too long, right, 'Red Sun'?" As soon as she finished speaking, the air next to Liu Na twisted like liquid and formed a transparent vortex. Then, with a loud boom, a red lion about as tall as a person suddenly appeared next to Liu Na, roaring incessantly. It had four blood-red eyes on its broad forehead, each one resembling a burning iron ball. The scorching hot air flowing from its wide-open mouth caused the air to twist transparently. Although Liu Na was already tall and strong, she appeared like a petite young girl next to the giant beast.

The small-town residents who had been whispering about this group of people in the lobby of the inn fled in panic. They had never seen a real soul beast before; in their imagination, soul beasts were similar to lions and tigers.

"Besides, 'Ice Marten' isn't easy to deal with. When the time comes, I'll have to rely on my baby and let it go first." Liu Na murmured gently while caressing the terrifying monster next to her, as if a mother was gently and kindly comforting her child.

"Sounds nice," Jinsi snorted from his nose, "Let it go first? Shouldn't it be sent to its death first? Everyone knows that an ordinary soul master can only have one soul beast at most. If you want to catch the 'Ice Marten,' you'll inevitably have to let your 'Red Sun' die first."

"Yes..." Liu Na's gaze was as gentle as water. She didn't even turn her head and said, "But what's it to you?"

Tokka and Lu Ya both snorted from their noses but remained silent.

Jinsi was also uncomfortable, but he couldn't do anything about it. Even without summoning a soul beast, Liu Na was already on par with him in terms of soul power. Therefore, he didn't dare to rashly anger Liu Na.

Jinsi took a deep breath and turned to look at the gradually darkening sky outside.

The lobby of the station quickly quieted down, and everyone stopped talking, silently bowing their heads. Qi Ling, who was standing aside holding a teapot, was so frightened that he dared not move and quietly retreated behind the bar.

As dusk fell, a chilly atmosphere permeated the lobby. Qi Ling lit the copper lamps on the walls one by one, and then refilled several lamps that were about to run out of oil. The flickering light scattered on the stone walls, making the lobby bright again. However, there were still some corners where the light could not reach, as if hiding a bunch of cold ghosts. Everyone keenly felt that the temperature in the lobby was dropping at a very obvious speed, and the moisture in the air was slowly condensing.

"Ding Ling--"

In the quiet station, a crisp metallic bell spread in the air like a small circle of ripples suddenly caused by raindrops on the lake.

"Ah..." A childish voice conveyed an indescribable sense of strangeness, coming from the darkness above their heads. "Why are there still so many people here?"

On the stairs of the station, the silhouette of a little girl appeared faintly in the dim shadow. She looked about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a purple short robe that looked tattered, with two small masks tied around her waist. Her hair looked messy, and her face and lips were very pale, giving off a gray-blue color that seemed like poison. She had a pair of very large eyes, but they were dull and lifeless, with heavy dark circles, like someone who had been plagued by sleep problems for years. She stood barefoot on the stairs, with several silver and white metal anklets tied around her ankles, each with a Tibetan silver bell. The cold and eerie "Ding Ling" just now came from her ankle.

"I really don't like noisy places...especially don't like them. Can you please be quiet?"

The gloomy voice was like a dark, stagnant water. The numb and hollow expression on her face made it sound like the words did not come from her mouth, but from a ghost hiding in the darkness. A scent that was hard to describe spread in the air, like a strong, pungent odor blowing from a death swamp.

The little girl slowly descended the stairs step by step. When she passed by Lu Ya, she gently turned her head and looked at Lu Ya expressionlessly, tilting her head slightly. "Or, let's have one less person, it could be a little quieter."

Then Lu Ya's head fell to the ground with a strange "clang" sound.

She sat upright at the table, despite her headless torso. Even the pouring motion of her hand, which continued to pour water from the teapot, remained intact. The cup quickly overflowed, spilling water all over the table. A bowl-sized hole on her neck continuously oozed sticky, hot blood like a spring.

Qi Ling's teapot clattered to the ground. He stared at the headless body sitting straight in front of the table, as if a pair of transparent hands had reached into his stomach, tightly grabbing his gut. He felt like vomiting, with a high-pitched ringing in his ears.

The little girl walked past Lu Ya's body, her metallic rings making spine-chilling "ding-ling" sounds in the silent hall. She slowly approached Qi Ling, and with each step, her silver metal rings clanged eerily, creating an indescribable sense of horror. Qi Ling trembled, watching this terrifying little girl approach him. His rational mind urged him to run away, but his body was paralyzed by immense fear.

Soon, the little girl reached Qi Ling.