The sun dipped below the horizon, casting an orange glow over the Endless Mountain Range. Specks of light, like golden dust, flowed down the ridges. At the foot of the mountains, a dilapidated town occasionally echoed with human voices, only to fall silent soon after.
Lin Xiao's shadow stretched long under the setting sun. He glanced at a weathered stone tablet by the roadside, barely able to make out a faint "Du" character.
Rongguan Crossing, once a port on the western coast of the Heavenly Soul Empire, had been abandoned as the collision between the Sun Moon Continent and the Douluo Continent raised the Endless Mountain Range, replacing the coastline. Now, it was a ghost town, frequented only by those sneaking across the border.
The town wasn't empty. Several gazes peered from the shadows, but upon seeing Lin Xiao under his black cloak, they merely scanned him warily before losing interest.
Most people here dressed similarly, and an unspoken rule bound them: no one pried into another's identity.
Lin Xiao found a relatively intact house and leaned against a corner. The half-collapsed roof at least offered some shelter from the wind and sand.
Finding a single person in the vast Heavenly Soul Empire was no easy task. Lin Xiao hadn't held much hope from the start, and even the Holy Spirit Church seemed to be sending people out just for show.
Closing his eyes lightly, he thought about Xu He when a low voice came from outside.
"Hey, passing through or doing business?"
Lin Xiao looked toward the doorless entrance. A tall, burly man stood at a distance, his face hidden by a cloth mask, his eyes brimming with caution as he sized Lin Xiao up.
"What business do you do?" Lin Xiao didn't answer, instead posing a question of his own.
The man glanced back, and Lin Xiao followed his gaze. Several similarly dressed figures were gathered around a square object covered by a black cloth, from which faint, intermittent sobs could be heard.
"You've got the wrong guy. I don't deal in human trafficking," Lin Xiao said, shaking his head before closing his eyes again, ignoring the man.
The burly man glanced at Lin Xiao's mask a few more times, then walked away, frowning.
"Big Brother, isn't that the guy who contacted us?" a voice asked from the group accompanying the man.
"Probably not," the man replied.
"But today's the last day. No one's messing with us, right?"
"Let's wait a bit longer. If no one shows tonight, we leave at dawn."
Their conversation didn't escape Lin Xiao's senses. As they moved away, he opened his eyes, watching their retreating figures. After a long moment of thought, he shook his head slightly, making no further moves.
The last rays of the sunset faded, and a crescent moon rose. Without soul lamps, Rongguan Crossing was lit only by scattered campfires.
While meditating, Lin Xiao suddenly opened his eyes, glancing at the sky before turning his gaze toward the town's outskirts.
Amid the noisy wind, the sound of hurried footsteps grew closer.
Soon, five indistinct figures appeared in Lin Xiao's vision, all cloaked like most others here. But as they approached, he noticed their cloaks weren't the usual black but a rare dark green.
"Big Brother, looks like more people are coming," one of the group from earlier, keeping watch, noticed and shook the burly man awake.
"Go ask," the man instructed.
"Alright," the watchman replied, stepping forward to meet the five figures. "You passing through or doing business?"
"Doing business," came a woman's voice from under one of the cloaks. "We've already made contact."
The watchman's face lit up. He turned back, shouting, "Big Brother, it's them!"
"Good, let's check the goods," the burly man said, standing and nodding toward the group.
One of them approached the object covered by the black cloth and lifted it, revealing a metal cage.
Inside were two stunning women, their bodies and faces covered in scales, clearly not human. Seeing the outside, they struggled excitedly, but their mouths were gagged, producing only muffled, incoherent sounds.
Dragon girls?
Lin Xiao quickly recognized what was under the cloth. Such beings were a prized commodity among Sun Moon Empire nobles—not something ordinary people could possess. How had they ended up here?
Before he could ponder further, the crescent moon above seemed to split in two. A silver-white light, like a sickle blade, descended from the sky. In an instant, a head rolled to the ground. Only then did six soul rings—two yellow, two purple, two black—slowly rise.
In a flash, various lights flared up across Rongguan Crossing as people scattered in all directions, fleeing the town.
Those resting here had clearly been watching the situation and, seeing things turn sour, fled without hesitation.
Lin Xiao darted away, blending into the crowd. From their dark green cloaks, he had already formed a suspicion, now confirmed. He had no intention of staying.
The green-cloaked figures paid little attention to the fleeing crowd, focusing solely on the human traffickers.
"Who are you to dare touch the wares of the Common Alliance?" the burly man shouted, invoking his backer's name, but the green-cloaked group was unfazed. Two went to free the caged women, while the others charged into the traffickers.
One raised their right hand, revealing eight soul rings—two yellow, two purple, four black. Before an eight-ring Soul Douluo, the traffickers were quickly silenced, leaving only bloodstains mingling with the weathered marks of Rongguan Crossing.
"Senior, what should we do with these two?" one asked.
"You and Ming'er take them to a nearby city and find Heavenly Soul Empire officials. Explain their origins and let them handle it. Sister Ruoruo and I will accompany Teacher Fan to complete the soul engineering task," the leader replied, glancing into the dark distance.
Lin Xiao, already fleeing, paused briefly, sensing the Soul Douluo's aura behind him. With a sharp breath, he quickened his pace.
Leaving aside the Soul Douluo, the others' cultivations were no weaker than his own. Combined with their dark green cloaks, Lin Xiao could think of no one but the Shrek Inspection Team who would send such soul masters to this remote place.
And Shrek Academy was bold, casually dispatching an eight-ring Soul Douluo.
Glancing around, Lin Xiao hurried in one direction. Perhaps due to his identity as an evil soul master, he felt uneasy facing them. Traveling at night would be too conspicuous, so finding a place to lay low was the best course.