Quest Maker of Soul Land

*Caw*

The kidnapped emerald swan no longer looked elegant and suave. It wasn't the picture of dazzling and enchanting beauty with a long, slender neck. Instead, the swan simply perched on top of a wooden stand and shrunk itself slightly with its feathers sticking out. The spirit beast had gotten too plump for its own good and now looked more like a pigeon resting in the winter dawn with its feathers warming it up instead of a once dazzling member of the Emerald Swans.

Ja Sun glanced at the fat bird and wondered if he had a soft spot for birds who he didn't want to kill immediately. After all, aside from killing for resources, Ja Sun's second most probable response is to simply be indifferent to their existence. But this emerald swan grew on him.

'Sigh... but this one isn't Olivia or Oliver...' Ja Sun sighed deeply. The hole left in him by the two owl's departure could never be fulfilled. Not even by Ah Yin, Bibi Dong, and his supposed fiance— Yuehua, combined.

"Stop bitching around and speak up already. Aside from the king is there any strong spirit beast? Or some treasured spot? Or a location so dangerous that even the strongest of the beasts around cannot enter?

Besides, why are the spirit beasts around so orderly? Is it because of the King of the Forest?"

The Emerald Swan tilted its head and opened its beak to chirp once again as Ja Sun sighed softly, "You're useless."

Pinching the beast's beak as it began to slap its wings in frustration, Ja Sun muttered softly, "I do hope that Emerald Swans are as important as you've made them to be by bringing the Sabertooth Hippo family. I'm already getting bored and you're filled up wonderfully. Might as well take a bite out of you."

The Emerald Swan froze.

"?!"

---

"There, there, it doesn't hurt anymore, right?"

The three sabertooth hippos lay on their stomachs, each larger than the one before as their wide, bell-like eyes worshipped the woman in front of them. Sporting long locks of emerald, a graceful woman gently patted the snout of the youngest of the hippos and smiled gently. A pair of glasses hung on the bridge of her nose while she brushed back strands of her hair as she leaned down to peck the cute and 'strong' hippo's nose.

The young hippo instantly squeaked and lapped his tongue across the entirety of the woman's face, causing her to chuckle while taking out a handkerchief to clean her face.

"Jade Conc—"

"Hmm? What did I teach you last time, Fatty?" The woman still kept her smile but her words caused the largest hippo to shrink his neck and cough loudly, "Ah, yes, Sister Bi Ji! What should we do about that human? He took Greeny. He's the youngest swan and is a little mischievous but we didn't expect him to find a human. Not only that, the vile human skinned us!"

Bi Ji blinked and gazed at the hippos, "You mean... that he just peeled the topmost layer of your skin which is above the hidden layer of rock-like leather that doesn't allow any sensation to pass itself, right? Did it even hurt?"

"It hurt my pride, Sister! The bastard skinned my wife and child!" The hippo huffed. It was utterly strange how the hippo who wasn't even a 100000-year-old spirit beast could communicate in human speech.

Bi Ji nodded, "I see. Let's go and take a look. The human didn't harm any of you and we Emerald Swans shed our feathers once every five years so it's not a big deal, too."

"Ah, no, no, no! The Beast God will have my head if we let you go and meet that beast alone!" The hippo as big as a small hill was instantly scared out of his wits.

Giggling, the woman sprouted a pair of beautiful emerald wings as she smiled, "Only a Titled Douluo can enter this place if they know what they're looking for. But when they enter, it will notify him instantly. He must be watching from the shadows."

With that, the woman flapped her wings and took off as the giant hippo followed quickly, leaving his offspring and mate alone.

As the woman named Bi Ji grew closer to the region where the 'Vile Beast' took over, she couldn't help but frown momentarily. She felt a very familiar presence but it was simply too contained. An enticing scent that was full of life and vitality. Strangely enough, both Ja Sun and Bi Ji were wrong.

Ja Sun felt that him absorbing a life gold would attract all sorts of trouble but all it did was attract one plump chick who was just passing by, taking laps and enjoying his life. Meanwhile, Bi Ji estimated the Infiltrator's strength on a right basis supported by historical facts when a human would slip in, they will have enough strength. But she failed to realize what could happen when the said human is stronger than her fantasies and more slippery than a father who suddenly found his one night stand got pregnant.

As she flew while the hippo followed, many beasts sensed her movements but didn't follow them for long, indicating her special status while the excitement in her heart only grew.

"It really is life gold!" Bi Ji gasped internally. An expression of pure fanatism passed through her eyes but she quickly regained her bearings once she saw a rather simple hut built by the bare edge of the perimeter of the hidden world that came to be known as the King's Lair.

She saw things right.

Always fantasizing about building a home by a lake and fishing when he would finally be freed of his burden to slap faces and smack his opponents' mothers, sisters, and ancestors in a battle of speech, Ja Sun took the first step and completed the task in a day.

It would have taken him an hour but finding trees that weren't yet on the path of cultivation was hard as Ja Sun found that sparing others while he could was simply one of the greatest luxuries afforded to the truly strong individuals and that's how he usually lived his second life, too.

"Eh? A house? That damn human! He's mocking us!" The Sabertooth Hippo glowered but didn't dare attack the hut as Bi Ji rolled her eyes.

She remained patient as she landed down and explained, "There is no mockery in building a home. Every living being crave a place to belong to, right, fatty?"

The Hippo scoffed but Bi Ji didn't feel a tinge of annoyance. Most spirit beasts that recently gain sentience need a longer period of time to adjust to a more rational and logical outlook for the world driven by compassion at times. Beasts who have lived their life fighting for whatever they have needed down to the basic necessities would often take dozens of times longer than the oldest human itself.

Of course, the quicker path was to transform into A human permanently which is said to cause a shift in a beast's mindset from the very beginning under the guiding force of a divine energy but not every beast is courageous or lucky enough to even think of losing their cultivation and do it all over again and survive to tell the tale.

Heaving a deep sigh to keep herself calm as the scent of the Life Gold seemed to have a visible hold on her, Bi Ji reached out with her left index and middle finger curled slightly to knock onto the door. The Hippo's expression was terrible at the moment. Fear creeping up on him as the act of skillfully skinning him already revealed the fact just how much stronger the actual 'Beast' really was and even regret began to reach closer to him as he imagined Bi Ji getting hurt and then him getting fucked by the 'God of Beasts.'

Tensions were high as Bi Ji sensed the Sabertooth Hippo's increasingly growing fear. The lack of response only made Bi Ji more pressured. A part of her wanted to barge in and take a deep whiff of the chunk of life core that would certainly raise her cultivation by a small margin, much greater than the usual methods present in the King's Lair since Life Gold is simply priceless even to her standards. But her more reasonable and mature side wanted to wait for a response. She was in a human skin and needed to act appropriately to not accidentally come across as aggressive, something her counterparts... really never cared for.

*Knock*

*Knock*

Bi Ji knocked twice again. Cold sweat drenched the Hippo's fur while there was finally a response. There was a strange array, she could tell, repelling the sweep of mental energy within the hut so she couldn't get quite a good look within beforehand but as there was a sound from the wooden lock behind the door lifting up, Bi Ji sighed softly and calmed herself. She could feel the life gold separated from her only by this damnable door. Her eyes grew fervent for a second but she kept her feverish desire in control.

*Flap*

*Flap*

*Flap*

*Kaaaaaaaaaa*

*Roar!*

"Aah— oof!"

Things happened quickly. The moment the door slid open, a plump emerald chicken suddenly jumped onto Bi Ji while constantly flapping its wings and cawing loudly, causing her to scream due to the jump scare as she leaned back only to realize she missed her footing down the stairs of the porch and fell down, while deeply concerned and afraid, the Sabertooth Hippo roared... in fear only to quickly come to a squealing end.

"I told you it's going to be funny, right?"

Bi Ji heard a male voice dripping with pure joy as she registered the plump 'chicken' sitting atop he began bobbing its not so slender head anymore.

"Greeny?!" Bi Ji gasped. This beast was the youngest of theirs and naturally, spoiled by the herd and that's why he could even mobilize a family of beasts.

Chirping, Greeny didn't keep his mockery hidden.

He managed to scare the monarch!

"Wait? Monarch?" Bi Ji heard the same male voice once again and slowly sat up before looking back. Even though she fell down, dirt didn't smudge over her skin or hair and she picked up Greeny in her arms before standing up. On top of the fearful sabertooth hippo sat a white-haired youth with a set of three eyes, each decorated with beautiful emerald eyes surrounding golden pupils. Around his vertical third eye, a set of beautiful green runes could be seen tattoed on his forehead. Except for a pair of training pants, the youth sat bare. Silver fur extended from his hand around his pecs and abdominal muscles while a pair of golden gauntlets shaped as talons covered his hands and forearms. His feet were changed into talons, too. His hair spread out as if silver mane instead of some fashion statement.

But Bi Ji kept staring at the third eye. The runes around the eye were too similar and except for the fact that the runes were in emerald green color, they were a copy of something she had witnessed quite a few times already. But past that, Bi Ji felt it clearer than ever.

Life Gold.

The human didn't have it 'on' himself but 'inside' of him instead, making her feel depressed for a moment.

Yet, she decided to answer the question, "I am referred as Monarch only by Emerald Swans, human. May I know why did you forcefully keep... and feed a member of our herd?" As Bi Ji spoke, she decided to inspect the spirit rank and not keeping it hidden actively, Ja Sun's rank 70 cultivation shook her tremendously.

Such a cultivation rank could deal with the hippo almost crossing the wide bottleneck and make him submit by just sitting on him?

Where was that wounded pride he talked about? His rage of having his child and wife skinned?

'Life is eternal... mates and offsprings come and go...' The Sabertooth Hippo kept on chanting the same sentence constantly to not let his shame get the best of him.

"It wasn't forceful," Ja Sun hummed and rested his face against his clenched talon while his gaze bore into Bi Ji. The sensation of being invaded couldn't be more apparent at this point for Bi Ji as she couldn't keep matching the gaze of those three eyes for long while Ja Sun added, "Ask... Greeny. Did he want to leave?"

Bi Ji felt movement in her embrace and found Greeny shifting its neck sideways as she pursed her lips.

Which Emerald Swan would?

Greeny had gotten to 200 years of cultivation in a single day now. This is how precious a life gold is for them.

Life Gold to Emerald Swan is what the Blue Silver Emperor's Core was to Ah Yin.

Irresistible!

"Well, now that you've come," Ja Sun smiled gently as he took out a carving knife.

"I would require half of your feathers. It's nothing personal or even for a profit. Of course, you can reveal how mighty you are as a 570000-year-old spirit beast but between you and me... I'm simply in a different class." Ja Sun jumped down from the Hippo and looked at him with a frown, "Next time bring me someone who has an affinity with darkness attribute. Those creatures are super rare... I wish I could say the same about creatures with light attribute... those beasts are everywhere."

He flicked the large bus-sized snout of the hippo as he flinched while Bi Ji remained calm and responded more human-like than Ja Sun could have expected, "I can provide you with all of my feathers in exchange for a shard of life gold."

"A trade?" Ja Sun tilted his head and he suddenly grew passionate.

"Give me a minute."

He blinked away from the group, shocking Bi Ji as she could only register the sound of the door closing.

However, she waited calmly for a few minutes as Ja Sun walked out with a pleasant expression.

"Ah, a trade is fine, too. But I understand the value of life gold for an Emerald Swan like yourself. Please, come in. I tidied up."

Ja Sun stepped aside and welcomed a potential client to scam with the most genuine smile in his arsenal.

Looking back for a moment, Bi Ji nodded and compressed her voice, "If I'm not out within the next five hours, use your skills to attract 'his' attention, alright?"

The Sabertooth Hippo nodded.

Meanwhile, Bi Ji glanced at Ja Sun for a second and stepped in. Although she was no longer confident if the King of the Forest had registered the human's presence due to the lack of formidable spirit cultivation, Bi Ji couldn't help but feel if there was a senior out there who helped Ja Sun enter the lair itself. Or if this particular senior was still around, exploring the King's Lair. But confident in her ability to survive, she found the hut... incredibly spacious...

Too spacious!

"Spatial arrays?!" She blurted in shock as Ja Sun looked at her with a meaningful glance, "I see, you must be a master in arrays, too, right?"

"Ah, no... Although, I have seen some at work..." Bi Ji replied, not delving into the topic further as Ja Sun nodded.

He had entered his professional scamming mode so everything he did from now on would have its reason including the previous question.

Still, Bi Ji was amazed at how well-decorated the house was.

"Let me also give you a tour while we get to the living room, Miss..." Ja Sun glanced at Bi Ji with a questioning glance as she smiled, "I named myself Bi Ji. And I wonder what name little brother goes by..."

"My grandmother called me her ultimate grandson but... my father named me just Ja Sun," He sighed as Bi Ji tilted her head curiously. Still, Ja Sun suddenly stopped in front of a portrait of an old woman hanging by the wall. He didn't hang it now. The old woman kind of reminded Ja Sun of an old but tasteful movie actress in his past life, not to mention that this painting was part of his loot so he figured— why not?

"This is my grandmother, Sister Ji. Ah, where are my manners? I didn't mean to act so familiarly," Ja Sun rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile while Bi Ji sighed.

"I understand. A spirit beast's and human's friendship can be considered one of the most unnatural aspects of this world."

"No, not at all," Ja Sun shrugged, "I only meant because you're a female."

His remark caught Bi Ji's attention. She truly couldn't visualize the same human who was pranking her with greeny... and the same was the case for Greeny, too!

"A beautiful woman like you must have her share of troubles and I want to keep things strictly professional. It is a trade, after all. Spirit beast or a human— trade is one thing that should be fair for all. After all, we know that justice isn't." Ja Sun added as he walked forward while Bi Ji followed him with a thoughtful expression.

She simply had too many questions but she simply made a list. She would rather hear all Ja Sun had to say before forming an opinion and asking her questions.

Ja Sun led Bi Ji towards a marbled, squarish pool of clear water. She could feel the work of arrays around as Ja Sun introduced, "This is a swimming pool. It's the first time I've constructed it but I wish to bring my Fiancee here one day."

'And the spirit beast... and the quarter spirit beast, too...' Ja Sun added internally but an honest individual truly cannot by whoring himself out to beauties left and right... right?

"What is the use of this pool when there is a lake nearby?" Bi Ji inquired curiously.

"Privacy," Ja Sun smiled, "Wouldn't you love a quiet dip? To release all your tension in just a single session? This pool can do that. Not to mention, it cleans itself."

Bi Ji blinked in surprise, thoroughly impressed.

"Your fiancee must be a lucky woman," Bi Ji smiled.

"I try," Ja Sun grinned as he led Bi Ji to all kinds of sights. It was also very informative to her how humans actually lived and she... was slightly enticed. To a human form, this kind of comfort really was acceptable.

Not to mention the fact that Bi Ji had lost most of her wariness against Ja Sun. A wariness that stemmed from him being a human instead of being a stranger.

Ja Sun could sense it.

'Ahh... making an honest impression... just to make a fool out of them later. Man, I missed scamming people. I hope I can complete the same rank of mission as I did with Redstar... poor guy really was a chump.'

Ja Sun was silent for a moment for Redstar but in the real world, he continued to entertain Bi Ji.

Scamming requires work and be it beautiful or ugly. Strong or weak. Fortunate or pitiful. Once Ja Sun set his sights on someone, he would scam them at least once for his entertainment.

It was like an investment. He would first invest his time and effort before enjoying their reaction. Of course, the reward from his quest would make things all the more worthwhile.

***

Shoutout to AvoidDeath~!

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