Chapter 46: The Little Witch of the Orphanage
'So you found one already? That quickly?'
Xiao Bai's voice made Fan Chen pause in surprise.
He had just discovered a wild, hundred-thousand-year-old transformed soul beast—the Blue Silver Emperor—while Xiao Bai had already found a suitable candidate.
Had his luck just exploded today or what?
"Little one, why are you here all alone? Where's your family?"
Ah Yin crouched down and asked softly. From this child, she sensed an incomparably warm and familiar aura.
That feeling seemed to carry a strange kind of magic, drawing her closer without her even realizing it.
Just as she reached out to touch Fan Chen, he took a step back and dodged her hand.
Then he glanced at Tang Hao beside her with a hint of fear, turned abruptly, and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Seeing Fan Chen "flee" like that, Ah Yin froze for a moment before shooting Tang Hao an annoyed glare.
"Look what you've done—you scared the child away. Didn't I tell you? When we go out, you need to smile. Smile!"
Clearly, Ah Yin had pinned the main reason for Fan Chen's departure on Tang Hao.
Tang Hao stood there with a wronged expression. He wanted nothing more than to protest—he hadn't done anything at all. He didn't even look scary. How did he end up frightening a kid away?
In truth, Fan Chen hadn't been scared off by Tang Hao at all. He just needed a reasonable excuse to disengage, so Tang Hao ended up being the perfect scapegoat.
After leaving Tang Hao and Ah Yin behind, Fan Chen quickly headed toward where Qian Renxue and Xiao Bai were.
Running into those two had been completely unexpected. Originally, he had been tempted to call people over and surround the Blue Silver Emperor.
Unfortunately, the timing was terrible—there were simply too many people around.
Setting aside how many innocent bystanders might die if a fight broke out, and with so many factions gathered in Spirit City, it was uncertain whose hand the Blue Silver Emperor would ultimately fall into.
A single ten-thousand-year soul bone was enough to drive major empires into a frenzy, fighting until blood flowed everywhere. If a living hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor appeared… Fan Chen didn't even dare imagine how catastrophic that would be.
Most importantly, what if some hidden schemer decided to play dirty? That would leave him offending everyone and gaining nothing in return.
He had no interest in such a losing deal. On top of that, Golden Crocodile Douluo had repeatedly warned him not to stir up trouble.
Since that was the case, he'd reluctantly let them off this time.
"Truly, heaven never grants one's wishes. If only you'd come at a different time."
Fan Chen sighed helplessly. He truly coveted the soul bone produced by the Blue Silver Emperor.
At this moment, Fan Chen finally understood the saying: "At an age when I can't even hold my own bladder, I meet the person I want to protect for a lifetime."
For him, it had become: Meeting the most tempting soul beast at the most inappropriate time.
Sure enough, when you're young, you shouldn't encounter a "grass" that's too stunning—because you simply can't hold onto it.
"Forget it. After things settle here, I'll tell my master and the others."
This kind of matter was better left to the right people. If they could capture her, so be it. If not, there was nothing he could do. At least he'd done everything within his ability.
Fan Chen wasn't far from where Qian Renxue and Xiao Bai were. After all, they hadn't split up for long.
Soon, he found the two of them.
At the moment, they were crouching motionlessly in front of a small stall.
The stall's owner was a girl about the same age as Qian Renxue. She looked thin and frail, like someone who hadn't been properly nourished.
Her clothes were old but clean and tidy. Her most striking feature was her pair of exceptionally lively eyes, brimming with spirit and distinctly different from those of ordinary children.
"Miss, could you go play somewhere else? If you keep this up, I won't be able to do business. This is a small operation—don't mess with me."
The girl spoke with an oddly seasoned tone, sounding like a professional street vendor—completely out of place for someone her age.
"Just wait a little longer. The person I called will be here soon. Just give it a bit more time, okay?"
Seeing the girl grow impatient, Qian Renxue tried to reassure her. Xiao Bai had already notified Fan Chen, and she was confident he would arrive shortly.
But to the girl, those words carried a completely different meaning.
"Wait—hold on, I just came out to have some fun. There's no need to call people to arrest me, right? I admit I was using tricks earlier to swindle your money, but that's not a capital crime! Please, I'm a first-time offender—have mercy and let me off this once!"
As she spoke, Meng Xiaoyan tried to run away—but Qian Renxue swiftly grabbed her.
Meng Xiaoyan was no match for Qian Renxue at all and was immediately restrained.
She was on the verge of tears now. She genuinely didn't understand why Qian Renxue was targeting her.
She hadn't provoked her in the slightest—so why cling to her like this and refuse to let go?
"I have money. Don't run. Just wait a moment."
As she spoke, Qian Renxue pulled out a few gold soul coins from her pocket and placed them in front of the girl.
The moment the girl saw the gold soul coins, her eyes practically lit up.
A single gold soul coin was enough to let an ordinary family live comfortably for quite some time—and Qian Renxue was holding at least five or six of them.
If her hands weren't so small, she might have taken out even more.
Seeing that Qian Renxue didn't seem like she was about to call someone to arrest her, Meng Xiaoyan figured that since she had nothing better to do anyway, she might as well wait. More importantly, the other party really did seem quite rich.
"Ahem… well, since you're being this sincere, then I'll—"
Just as Meng Xiaoyan was about to pocket the gold coins, Fan Chen's voice rang out.
"Little swindler, what are you doing here?"
Fan Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it instantly drew the attention of both Qian Renxue and Meng Xiaoyan.
"Little devil?"
"Don't call me that."
The moment Fan Chen heard Meng Xiaoyan use that nickname, he lost his temper. He immediately reached out and covered her mouth.
It was bad enough she had ruined his reputation back at the orphanage—but now Qian Renxue was right here. He wasn't letting her tarnish his image again.
"Let go! You're strangling me!"
Meng Xiaoyan struggled painfully. Fan Chen's grip was strong now.
That single motion hurt badly.
Realizing what he was doing, Fan Chen hurriedly released her, sparing her from being directly "silenced" on the spot.
"Brother Fan Chen, you know her?"
"Brother? Since when did you get yourself a little sister?"
The back-to-back questions gave Fan Chen a headache.
"Xiao Bai, is this the person you found? Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
"Of course! I followed all your requirements exactly, big brother."
Xiao Bai nodded vigorously. He had strictly adhered to Fan Chen's criteria—there was no way he'd picked the wrong person.
Looking at Xiao Bai's resolute gaze, Fan Chen hoped, for the first time, that Xiao Bai had misjudged.
Because the person in front of him might very well be his biggest enemy yet.
"Let's find a place with fewer people first. We'll sort everything out there."
Fan Chen glanced at the three of them, feeling a strange urge to cough up blood.
Soon enough, they arrived at a quiet spot, squatting in an extremely awkward formation.
Xiao Bai was in the middle. With Fan Chen—a familiar face—present, Meng Xiaoyan no longer thought about running and obediently stayed still.
Still, her eyes kept darting between Fan Chen and Qian Renxue, as if she were plotting something.
"Alright, stop staring. Let me introduce you. This is Xiao Xue, my closest friend in Spirit Hall. Since she's younger than me, she calls me brother."
"Xiao Xue, this is Meng Xiaoyan. She used to be in the same orphanage as me. She loves pulling tricks to scam snacks and toys from kids her age. People even gave her the nickname 'Little Swindler.'"
The moment Meng Xiaoyan heard Fan Chen introduce her like that, she exploded.
"That nickname was clearly something you came up with! And when did I ever scam them? I performed tricks for them, and they gave me snacks and toys. What's wrong with that? That's a normal transaction! A transaction, do you understand?"
"Right, right, you're correct. Then what exactly were you doing just now?"
Looking at the flustered Meng Xiaoyan, Fan Chen rolled his eyes.
If he hadn't grown up in the same orphanage as her, he might have believed her nonsense.
Don't let her current obedient appearance fool you—her methods were incredibly seasoned. If not for his own experience, he probably would have become one of her victims.
The most terrifying part was how skilled she was. Even after being tricked, her victims usually didn't realize it.
They were all just kids, after all. Running into a cunning little devil like her was truly unlucky.
"Nothing much. Just killing time by setting up a stall and earning some extra cash."
Meng Xiaoyan and Fan Chen knew each other very well. There was no need to beat around the bush—they spoke frankly.
"My business is none of your concern. But you're living it up these days, aren't you? I heard you caused quite a stir during your awakening and got taken away by some big shot from Spirit Hall."
"And now you've come back to find me. What—thinking of pulling your buddy along for the ride?"
Meng Xiaoyan didn't know exactly what had happened to Fan Chen, but judging from how well-dressed he was and how healthy he looked, it was obvious he'd been living quite well.
"Sure, that's fine," Fan Chen replied calmly. "But first, you'll have to tell me—what exactly is your martial soul?"
End of Chapter.