69novels Chapter 263 Raven
Chapter 263 Raven
Chapter 263 Raven
The slums cover a vast area, occupying almost half of the western part of the city, and are dotted with hundreds and thousands of slums of all sizes.
of course.
Not all areas are slums.
The existence of slums is merely to provide a place of refuge for those who are homeless, penniless, incapable, or have lost hope in life and given up on themselves.
Ordinary people who are truly capable and have a skill usually live in areas with relatively better environments, such as villages, neighborhoods, or settlements protected by certain local forces or powerful Soul Masters.
Even so, the order in these areas is only slightly better than that in the slums.
Fighting, killing, looting, and so on are still commonplace.
After all, slums are inherently barren and resource-scarce, yet they are densely populated. With too many wolves and too little meat, disorder and chaos will naturally arise.
In the slums, the two most important things are money and food.
Money can buy food, and food can fill one's stomach and keep one alive.
Only by surviving can one have the opportunity to consider other things.
Therefore, people in slums usually fight or kill each other for these two things.
This is especially true of money.
Food doesn't keep well and can be bought anytime.
Although food is scarce in the slums, it is still available for purchase.
Money is different.
Money is easier to store and doesn't spoil. Whether it's gold soul coins, silver soul coins, or bronze soul coins, they are all hard currency.
As long as you have money, you can buy anything, whether it's food or anything else.
Therefore, the lure of money is even greater.
In slums, if you have money on you, never let others know, otherwise you will surely attract their covetous eyes.
Regardless of gender or age, it's the same for everyone.
Not long after.
Ye Qifeng, carrying Qian Renxue, passed through another slum and arrived at a neighborhood.
The living environment in this neighborhood is slightly better than that of the slums. Although most people still live in tents, it looks much more orderly and less chaotic.
These people are ordinary citizens with some skills or expertise. Although their lives are difficult, at least they have hope, which is much better than that of people in the slums.
Many of them live in dilapidated houses on both sides of the street. They seem to be people with some status in this neighborhood or people with special abilities, such as soul warriors with soul power.
Ignoring the curious glances of the surrounding civilians, the two walked through the street as if nothing had happened.
Ye Qifeng remained calm, having long been accustomed to such sights. He casually swept his spiritual energy across the area, but finding no danger, he paid no further attention.
Qian Renxue's expression was also calm as water. She followed Ye Qifeng side by side, as if she had learned the latter's skill of calming her mind and focusing her spirit. In reality, she was already a little numb and gradually got used to those curious and scrutinizing gazes.
Seeing the two men's neat clothes, refined demeanor, and intimidating aura, someone living in the small house felt a chill and immediately relayed a message to the residents of the neighborhood, warning them not to make any moves against the two.
And so nothing happened.
soon.
Ye Qifeng and Qian Renxue walked through the neighborhood where ordinary people gathered and turned a corner to arrive at an empty street.
Turning his head to look at Qian Renxue, Ye Qifeng saw a hint of fatigue on her beautiful face.
After a moment's thought, he realized that the trip to the slums had had a significant impact on Qian Renxue's mind, leaving her feeling somewhat exhausted.
Looking up at the sky, the weather was still gloomy, with only the western clouds showing a few glimpses of bright white through the grayness; it was already afternoon.
Ye Qifeng thought for a moment and said to Qian Renxue:
"Xue'er, let's go back."
Qian Renxue paused for a moment, then asked:
"Aren't you going to shop anymore?"
"I'm not going shopping anymore."
Ye Qifeng gently shook his head and said softly, "I have a general understanding of the situation in this area. The other places are pretty much the same; there's nothing else to see."
As he spoke, Ye Qifeng looked at her, his tone becoming even gentler:
"You look a bit tired, go back and get some rest."
"So you were concerned about me."
Qian Renxue felt a warmth in her heart, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. The fatigue on her face suddenly dissipated.
Then she nodded gently and said softly:
"Then let's go back."
After the agreement was reached.
The two immediately quickened their pace, crossed the deserted streets, and prepared to head east towards Liu Erlong's home.
Just as the two reached the street corner.
Sudden.
Four children walked towards us.
The children were all quite young, probably between seven and ten years old. They were dressed in coarse cloth, like most ordinary people, and their clothes looked loose and worn.
The child walking in front was nearly 1.3 meters tall, with skin showing a hint of tan.
Her hair wasn't long, just reaching her shoulders, but the color was quite unique—silver with a hint of gray and a touch of purple.
What's most eye-catching is her pair of eyes, which are a deep blue-green, as clear as amber, large and bright, and extremely conspicuous.
The child with silver-gray hair is about seven or eight years old. His gender is not yet clear, so let's assume he is a boy.
The other three children had slightly different skin tones compared to the child in front, appearing somewhat darker.
Walking a step behind the silver-gray-haired child was a boy with short black hair, who was a little over 1.3 meters tall and looked to be a little over nine years old.
The last two children were about 1.4 meters tall and around ten years old. Their hair was messy and not as neat as the two children in front of them.
The four children were all rather thin and had a slightly yellowish complexion, clearly indicating that they were all malnourished.
However, the child walking in front, although thin and small, had a hint of muscle in his slender arms, making him appear to be in the best physical condition and the strongest among them.
The child with silver-gray hair was the shortest and youngest, but the other three children seemed to regard him as their leader, as if he were the little boss among them.
"That kid up ahead seems kind of interesting."
Looking at the children approaching, Ye Qifeng smiled slightly and suddenly said something.
"Hmm? Xiao Feng, are you referring to that child with silver-gray hair?"
Qian Renxue noticed it too.
"Don't you think his eyes are quite rare?"
Night Seven Wind asked with a smile.
"They are really beautiful. They are a deep blue-green color, so clear and bright, like a gemstone. If she were a girl, she would be very charming with such eyes."
Qian Renxue also commented.
Just as they were about to pass by the children, the two stopped talking, smiled at the silver-gray-haired child, and nodded to him.
The children who walked into the street corner naturally spotted Ye Qifeng and Qian Renxue.
Looking at the two men with their imposing presence.
The children felt a slight tremor in their hearts, a mixture of surprise and fear.
The three people behind them, in particular, were instinctively afraid when they saw strangers entering the neighborhood, and dared not even breathe.
The child with silver-gray hair appeared much calmer.
She, yes, she is actually a girl.
It's just that because they are still young, and because their coarse cloth clothes are extremely loose, and because there is dirt on their faces, it's hard to tell their gender.
Although she was an orphan, unlike the other three, she was not a local resident of the slum.
The girl was originally born into a knightly family in the empire, but her family fell into decline and her relatives passed away one after another, leaving her alone as a neglected orphan.
Two years ago, he ended up in the Tiandou slums. A year ago, with the help of the Spirit Hall, he awakened his spirit. Because he possessed innate spirit power, he became a spirit warrior and was recruited into this neighborhood.
With her excellent physical condition, intelligent mind, and ruthless yet loyal style, she quickly became the leader of several orphans of the same age in the neighborhood.
"Those two are dressed so beautifully!"
Upon seeing Ye Qifeng and Qian Renxue, the girl couldn't help but exclaim in her heart.
Being so young, she didn't want to use too many adjectives, so her exclamation was rather simple.
After her initial surprise, the quick-witted woman immediately began to think, secretly guessing the identities of the two people:
"Could they be important figures from outside?"
She noticed that the aura emanating from the two people opposite her was quite similar to that of the important figures she vaguely remembered, and they didn't seem to be from the slums at all.
Moreover, she did not sense any danger from the two of them.
On the contrary, she felt a sense of kindness and warmth.
This made her feel slightly relieved, at least she didn't have to worry about these two people harming the four of them.
The girl calmly led her three friends into the deserted street, her eyes constantly darting to the faces of the two people opposite her. Although it was impolite, for some reason, she couldn't help but want to take a few more glances.
Because the two adults opposite her gave off such a nice feeling, like a gentle older brother and sister, at least that's how she felt at the moment.
Just as the two sides passed each other.
The girl suddenly saw the black-haired, black-eyed older brother across from her give her a bright smile and nod, and the beautiful blonde, blue-eyed older sister next to him did the same.
The girl's eyes widened immediately, somewhat flattered.
At that moment, the smiles of the two men seemed so warm and kind to the girl, much like those of her former family.
After they passed each other, she couldn't help but turn back to look at them.
"Raven, do you know those two people?"
After Ye Qifeng and Qian Renxue walked past, the short-haired boy next to the girl let out a long sigh and then asked in a low voice.
The boy's name is Xiao Liu, and he has no surname.
The girl's name, as the boy called her, was Raven, and she also had no surname because she couldn't remember it.
"I don't know him."
Upon hearing the question, Raven looked away and shook her head.
"Who are they? Dressed so well, how come they weren't robbed?"
Xiao Liu asked in surprise again.
"It might be an important person coming in from outside."
Raven pondered for a moment, then guessed, "They should be Soul Masters."
"The really powerful kind." She paused, then added.
"Soul, a Soul Master? Very powerful?"
Xiao Liu gasped in surprise, his mouth agape. He never doubted Raven's judgment, and his two companions were also dumbfounded.
"No wonder no one dares to mess with them."
Xiao Liu said knowingly, then sighed:
"I wish we were as powerful as them!"
Upon hearing this, Raven's expression darkened slightly. She should have had the opportunity to grow into a powerful Soul Master, but unfortunately...
Her martial soul is a useless martial soul.
"However, I will not give up. No matter what, I must become a Soul Master."
After a moment, Raven clenched her fist, her little heart filled with determination.
"Let's not talk about that anymore, let's save Xiao Qi first."
Raven composed herself and touched her chest, where there was a slight bulge, as if something was hidden there.
"That bastard Cheng Xin!"
Upon hearing Raven's words, Xiao Liu's face immediately turned ugly, and his voice rose several decibels as he muttered curses:
"It's one thing to bully the weak, but since we can't beat you, you resorted to dirty tricks to capture Xiao Qi and now you want us to pay your ransom."
"What a piece of trash!"
Cheng Xin is a petty thug from the next block. He is eleven years old and, like Xiao Liu, a Soul Warrior. He leads five or six ordinary people of the same age under his command.
Cheng Xin is a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong. He specifically targets and bullies those who are younger or weaker than him.
Xiao Liu and his friends had suffered a lot from his bullying and theft, until Ruiwen awakened her martial soul and became a soul warrior, giving him a good beating before he finally stopped.
But recently, Cheng Xin somehow got wind of Ruiwen's hidden savings, so he used underhanded tactics to capture his companion Xiao Qi and used her to threaten Ruiwen into paying a ransom, otherwise he would not release her.
This is why they came to this deserted street, because this is the place where both parties agreed to redeem the person.
Seeing that Raven's expression was also somewhat unpleasant, Xiao Liu composed himself, sighed, and asked:
"Raven, that money is your hard-earned savings from over a year. It's meant to hire someone to help you hunt for spirit rings. If you use it to ransom Xiao Qi, what will happen to your spirit rings in the future?"
Raven pouted, somewhat reluctant, but ultimately said:
"Let's redeem them first. We can talk about asking someone to help us hunt for the spirit ring later."
Xiao Liu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said nothing more.
The two people standing behind, who remained silent, shrugged helplessly, having no better solution.
Xiao Qi is, after all, their companion, so they certainly can't abandon her.
To redeem Xiao Qi from Cheng Xin, they need money. Right now, only Ruiwen has some savings, while the three of them are penniless and can't even scrape together a single copper soul coin.
At this moment, Xiao Liu couldn't help but stand up for Raven and shouted:
"Speaking of which, Raven, you're clearly a genius with innate full soul power. The person who awakened your martial soul back then actually judged it to be a useless martial soul. He must have been blind!"
"Where in this world can you find a useless martial soul with innate full soul power? I certainly don't believe it."
"That's right, that's right. If Raven's martial soul hadn't been deemed a useless martial soul, she would have already obtained a soul ring and become a soul master."
The other two echoed this sentiment.
Ye Qifeng and Qian Renxue, who had already walked some distance from the street, suddenly stopped in their tracks, looked at each other in surprise, and said:
"Innate full soul power?!"
(End of this chapter)