Chapter 603: Little Stranger

“What...”

Wang Shengkui and his group were stunned by this sudden turn of events to say the least.

The ordinary traveling merchants suddenly transformed into skilled warriors, and the young girl he thought to be naive and guileless seemed to be the strongest of them all?

What on earth was going on here?!

“Yiyi...”

A whimper came from the golden net the girl was holding. It was only then Wang Shengkui noticed that there was a little man inside it.

Of course, it wasn’t actually a human. It was just a Stranger with a humanoid shape.

The Stranger was only three or four inches tall. It had all the features a human might have including limbs, ears, eyes and more. In fact, it looked just like a child, but many times smaller.

It was wearing a lotus leaf like a hat and a green lotus petal around its body. It had green hair and a handsome face. Its round, black eyes were clear and innocent like the purest, most beautiful objects in the world.

Unfortunately, the Stranger was currently hurt right now. Light green blood was leaking out of its wounds and giving off the fresh scent of plants, potent and invigorating. Its clear eyes reflected puzzlement, innocence, loneliness and sorrow.

Wang Shengkui and his group suddenly felt deep sympathy for the little Stranger. However, its captors were only filled with joy and excitement.

“Hahaha! We finally caught the little bastard!”

“I know right? It was so annoying to catch. I couldn’t even remember how many traps we’ve laid in the attempt to capture it, and it all ended in failure, the cautious little bastard.”

“Well, you only need to succeed once!”

“Fly, you little bastard! You thought you’re so good at flying, didn't you? Fly!”

After the girl landed on the waters like it was flat land and leisurely returned to the shore, the group of warriors immediately went up to her. They surrounded the struggling Stranger and discussed their catch excitedly.

“It looks pitiful, elder. Why don’t you release it from the net?”

One female disciple actually felt sympathy for the little Stranger and said quietly.

“You don’t understand, junior sister. This thing is slippery as hell. If it wasn’t for the elder’s Dragon Nursing Nest and Dragon Subjugating Net, we would never be able to catch it. And if it manages to escape after we release it, then all our efforts would be for naught.”

“Can... Can we stop its bleeding at least?” The female disciple bit her lips hesitatingly.

“You should never fall for a Stranger’s wiles, junior sister, and this little bastard has more practice than most.” Someone sneered as he stared at the struggling Stranger. “Look at it. It’s still struggling even now.”

It was at this moment the young girl holding the Stranger giggled. “Haha... Little Hanxue, you’re just as naive as this little thing over here.”

The young girl was none other than the Elder Miao the warriors were speaking of. Although she looked like a child, her giggle sounded surprisingly amorous. “Too bad for you two, the world does not need naive people. This

jianghu

does not need merciful people either.”

The young woman named Hanxue bit her lips again and bowed her head. She didn’t say anything else.

“What are you waiting for, elder? If you don’t seal it now, it might escape and waste all our efforts,” Someone commented after noting that the little Stranger was still struggling.

“Don’t worry. There is no way it can break free while trapped by my Dragon Subjugating Net.” Elder Miao smiled. “Besides, the more it struggles, the tighter the Dragon Subjugating Net would become, and the more it will bleed.”

“This creature was probably a lotus before it became sentient and a type of plant fairy. Due to the magical powers of the Celestial Spring, it too gained a certain level of power. Not only is its blood overflowing with rich vitality that could restore one’s flesh and bones and extend one’s lifespan, it can even bless people with good luck. That is why its blood is priceless.”

“Oh my...”

The warriors’ eyes immediately glowed with greed when they heard this.

“What are you waiting for, Tong Chuan? Collect the blood now before they go to waste,” Elder Miao instructed.

“O-oh! As you command, elder.” A man excitedly produced a porcelain bottle from his Nature’s Shell and held it beneath the Dragon Subjugating Net.

Eventually, seemingly realizing that it could not escape, the injured and weary Stranger ceased struggling altogether. It curled into a ball and stared at the Celestial Spring with eyes full of loneliness, sorrow and despair; the refuge seemed so close yet so far.

“Why aren’t you moving? I know you’re not dead!”

The little Stranger’s wounds started healing after it stopped struggling, so the blood flow eventually came to a stop. Without hesitation, Tong Chuan shook the net hard so that the sharp threads would carve deep into its flesh and restart the bleeding. Then, he happily began collecting the blood once more.

The little Stranger neither struggled nor screamed in pain, however. It simply maintained its posture and stared at the Celestial Spring fixatedly.

A few breaths later, when Tong Chuan tried to shake the net again, Elder Miao stopped him and said, “Enough. The sect can use its blessing of fortune, and you are going to kill it if you push it any further.”

“Yes, elder,” Tong Chuan replied and put away the bottle reluctantly.

Elder Miao glanced at the injured, despairing Stranger in her Dragon Subjugating Net and giggled. “Don’t look like that, little guy. If you continue to stay here, it’s only a matter of time before someone finds you and kills you. If you come with me to the Dragonrider Mountain, at least you wouldn’t lose your life. You should be happy that a better fate has found you!”

“Alright. We’ve accomplished our objective, everyone. It’s time to go home,” Elder Miao instructed, and the group got ready to head back to their sect.

Meanwhile, Wang Shengkui was wearing a look of hesitation on his face. In the end, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward, “Wait!”

“Hmm? Do you have business with us, mister?”

Elder Miao turned around and stared at Wang Shengkun with a teasing expression.

Inexplicable fear suddenly exploded in Wang Shengkui’s heart when her seemingly young, innocent eyes stared into his own. His back broke out in cold sweat, but he forced himself to suppress his terror and said, “Can you... Can you release that Stranger, senior?”

For a moment, no one said anything. Sun Bo and his men looked confused, whereas Elder Miao’s men looked visibly unhappy.

“Boss...”

The oldest man in their caravan, Uncle Qi strode up to Wang Shengkui with an ugly expression.

They were horse caravanners and smugglers. One of the cardinal rules of their trade was sticking their nose in somebody else’s business. As the saying goes, keep your head down, and nothing will happen. The world was an endless fount of trouble, and it was hard enough trying to handle one’s own. In this trade, sticking one’s nose into another’s business was a quick way to get oneself killed.

It was why all horse caravanners, traveling merchants and more preached caution, thoughtfulness, and keeping out of trouble’s way.

Wang Shengkui was a longtime veteran of this trade. He was also fair, selfless, emphatic, careful, and highly experienced. It was why everyone in the caravan looked up to him. There was no way he wouldn’t know the cardinal rule of caravanning, so what the hell was he trying to do?

“Let me speak, Uncle Qi.”

Wang Shengkui shook his head before turning his attention back to Elder Miao.

“Do you want this little guy too?”

Smiling, Elder Miao watched Wang Shengkui with great interest as she shook the Dragon Subjugating Net lightly. “Or do you want a piece of the pie?”