I can't get out!
Qin Xuan was startled, and he stood up, somewhat disbelieving.
"Young Master, my grandpa wouldn't lie to you!"
The Little Girl saw Qin Xuan wanting to leave and quickly stood up to say.
"How can I not get out? As long as I choose a direction and keep going, how can I return to the starting point?"
Qin Xuan frowned, somewhat disbelieving.
"Why, we don't know either, but over so many years, only those merchant teams have found a way to leave here. Besides that, there's no other way."
"Thank you, old man, but I still want to try. I wonder if you could tell me which way those merchant teams went?"
Qin Xuan said, about to go out and try.
He didn't believe the claim that he couldn't get out.
"Young Master, wait!"
Seeing Qin Xuan about to go out, the Little Girl quickly called out to him.
"Young Master, it's fine if you don't believe us, but it's best not to go out now. It's already late, and it would be too dangerous to go out at this time!"
"Too dangerous?"
Before Qin Xuan could ask, the old man began to explain.
"The difference between our place and the outside is right here. When night falls, unclean things will come out, and sometimes various whirlwinds will appear!"
"If you're still outside at night, you'll be taken away by those things."
The old man said, a deep fear flashing across his face.
Unclean things at night?
Qin Xuan frowned, somewhat suspicious.
But suddenly, he remembered the things he had seen on the road when he came, and he immediately muttered to himself.
This place might really have unclean things.
Going out now could indeed be dangerous.
Conversely, here there are only two Mortals, so there's naturally nothing to worry about.
Thinking of this, Qin Xuan stopped, somewhat hesitant.
"How about this, Young Master, if you don't mind, you can stay here for a night. It'll be fine if you leave tomorrow when it's light."
After confirming that Qin Xuan probably had no ill intentions, the old man became much more enthusiastic towards him.
Qin Xuan thought for a moment and nodded.
Since he wasn't clear about the situation here, it was better to observe for a bit first.
After all, if he really encountered unclean things, it would be much safer in this stone house.
Seeing that Qin Xuan listened to his advice, the old man beside him also nodded.
The old man's heart wasn't bad; at first, he was afraid Qin Xuan was a bad person and didn't dare to open the door.
Once he confirmed that Qin Xuan had no ill intentions and was just asking for directions, he became much more enthusiastic.
It seemed that although the environment here was not good, the local customs were quite simple.
As the sun slowly set, the surrounding environment began to turn dim.
The Little Girl and Qin Xuan chatted idly.
Through their conversation, Qin Xuan also gained an understanding of the situation here.
"Soul Beast?"
After inquiring for a while, Qin Xuan learned that the grandfather and granddaughter sustained themselves by hunting.
And what the old man hunted was a special Spirit Beast here, the Soul Beast.
"That's a Spirit Beast..."
Qin Xuan looked at the old man with a mixture of belief and doubt.
It sounded like this Soul Beast wasn't a particularly powerful Spirit Beast, but that a Mortal could defeat a Spirit Beast was something he had never expected.
"Although Soul Beasts are strong, they're not unkillable. Those things don't have much of a brain. If we can cooperate, it's quick to kill them."
The old man said confidently. Clearly, as an old hunter, he was very confident in hunting Soul Beasts.
"That amazing!"
Qin Xuan sized up the old man.
No matter how he looked at it, the old man didn't seem capable of fighting a Spirit Beast.
"It's not entirely my strength; that thing also helped me a lot."
The old man said, pointing to the bow and arrows hanging on the wall.
Qin Xuan's gaze swept over them.
The bow was an ordinary ox-horn bow, looking quite unremarkable.
However, Qin Xuan's real focus was on the arrows.
Qin Xuan's gaze fixed on the arrows.
The arrowheads seemed to be coated with something.
It seemed that this was what caused extra damage to the Soul Beasts.
This made sense then.
While the two were chatting, the Little Girl brought out two bowls.
The bowls contained millet porridge, with no meat visible, but even with just millet porridge, the Little Girl still secretly swallowed her saliva.
"We're country folk, with nothing good to offer. Please don't mind this simple meal, young brother."
The old man said with a smile.
Qin Xuan was stunned.
"Don't you sustain yourselves by hunting Soul Beasts...?"
Listening to Qin Xuan's question, the old man smiled and explained.
"Young Master, you don't know, but when we say we live by hunting Soul Beasts, we don't mean eating Soul Beasts. In fact, Soul Beasts are poisonous; their meat can't be eaten at all. All we want is the Soul Core from the Soul Beast."
Soul Core?
Qin Xuan was momentarily dazed. What was this Soul Core?
Seeing Qin Xuan's confusion, the old man stood up, walked to one side, carefully opened a pouch, and took out a few tiny green crystals from inside.
"Here, this is the Soul Core. Every time we kill a Soul Beast, we look for a Soul Core inside them. Most Soul Beasts don't have a Soul Core inside them. If there isn't one, then that Soul Beast was basically hunted for nothing."
"If there's a Soul Core, we put it away, and when the merchant teams come, we trade the Soul Cores with them for grain and such."
This place was desolate. Qin Xuan had seen it on his way here; it was completely unsuitable for cultivation, so it was truly too desolate.
Trading these Soul Cores with merchant teams from outside for grain seemed like a way to survive.
However...
Picking up a Soul Core casually, Qin Xuan was startled.
He actually sensed a trace of Mental Energy in this Soul Core.
Although this Mental Energy was very weak, he could clearly sense that there was Mental Energy inside.
Why would the merchant teams outside collect this?
Qin Xuan frowned, not understanding why.
"Gulp!"
Just as Qin Xuan was pondering, a sound came from the side.
Looking at the Little Girl beside him, who was swallowing her saliva and looking longingly at them, Qin Xuan could guess that their lives probably weren't very good.
It seemed that doing business with unscrupulous merchants was not a good thing.
"You eat it, I don't need it."
Qin Xuan smiled and pushed the food towards the Little Girl.
Although the Little Girl really wanted to eat, she looked at the old man beside her and still shook her head.
"No, Grandpa said that if the guest hasn't eaten, how can we, as hosts, eat?"
The Little Girl said, pushing the food back towards Qin Xuan.
Although this grandfather and granddaughter were just Mortals, Qin Xuan could feel that their upbringing must have been extraordinary.
He assumed they must have once been related to a certain Family.
After thinking for a moment, Qin Xuan nodded, picked up the somewhat rough old bowl, and drank the millet porridge inside until it was clean.
"Gulp!"
The Little Girl swallowed her saliva, still sitting upright, with a smile on her face, looking quite dignified, which made Qin Xuan click his tongue in amazement.
This Little Girl was truly amazing.
"I can't just eat your food for free. How about this, I'll give you something too."
Qin Xuan said, taking out a porcelain bottle and placing it in the Little Girl's hand.
"You must keep this well and don't let others find it. If you're hungry, just eat one pill, and you won't need to eat for several days."
