Chapter 23: Dual Disguise

At that moment, Bai He’s heart seemed to leap into his throat. He had been discovered!

Instinctively, the Level 82 soul power within him surged, ready to explode forth.

Yet, a cold little hand gently pressed down on his muscular, vein-bulging arm.

“Grandpa, don’t move.”

Bai Chenxiang’s voice was as calm as ever—like casually remarking on the fine weather.

Bai He stiffened all over, incredulously turning his head to look at his granddaughter.

She stood boldly from behind the giant rock, showing no trace of panic.

There she was, standing on the cliff face, a small figure facing off against the massive wolf below, radiating a terrifying aura.

“You’re crazy!” Bai He’s mind buzzed fiercely, almost lunging forward to pull her back.

This was a soul beast—a millennia-old one, famed for its ferocity and intelligence: the Thunderstorm Demon Wolf!

Not some old mangy dog basking in the village sun!

By stepping out like that, wasn’t she basically telling it, “Dinner is served here”?

The wolf’s icy blue eyes locked onto Bai Chenxiang instantly.

Its gaze deepened in puzzlement, tinged with a hint of human-like caution.

It did not attack immediately.

Because it did not understand.

In its hunting life, every human it had encountered showed either fear, greed, or murderous intent.

But this tiny figure’s clear eyes held none of those.

No fear, no greed, not even hostility.

Only pure curiosity, as if admiring a work of art.

Like a lost child stumbling into a dragon’s lair, fascinated by the shimmering stone on the wall rather than the dragon itself.

Such a completely illogical reaction caused the battle-hardened mind of the Thunderstorm Demon Wolf to momentarily glitch.

“Grandpa, it’s thinking,” Bai Chenxiang’s voice carried through soul force, clear in Bai He’s ear.

“It’s deciding whether we are a threat.”

“We just had a battle. Although we won, we must have been drained.”

“At this moment, it’s more reluctant than ever to start a fight it can’t be sure of winning.”

“It’s proud.”

Bai Chenxiang’s gaze settled on the proud head of the wolf king.

“Proud beings usually don’t attack a seemingly harmless and weak creature first. That would lower their dignity.”

Bai He was stunned.

He felt that in his entire life, his brain had never processed information as quickly as his six-year-old granddaughter had in that instant.

Pride? Dignity? Talking about dignity to a soul beast?

If this story got out, the nobles of Tiandou City would surely call her a true expert.

Yet, the facts seemed to prove her right.

After locking eyes with Bai Chenxiang for a full half minute, the Thunderstorm Demon Wolf slowly withdrew the overwhelming pressure it had almost made tangible.

It uttered a deep, warning growl, then turned around, treading back gracefully and powerfully into the dark cavern.

It was a warning, not a banishment.

As if to say: I know you’re here. Don’t bother me, or you’ll die.

Only when that massive figure vanished completely into the shadows did Bai He feel his nearly stopped heart resume beating.

He dragged Bai Chenxiang behind the rock and lowered his voice, a mixture of shock, admiration, and lingering fear:

“You little girl, you have a nerve bigger than the sky! What if it had gone mad just now? I might not have even had time to save you!”

“It wouldn’t,” Bai Chenxiang said firmly, shaking her head.

“Because it saw you.”

“Saw me?”

“Yes.” Her eyes sparkled brightly.

“It saw a soul master in front of it who could hold back from attacking.”

“In the logic of soul beasts, holding back means either you’re a fool or you’re absolutely confident.”

“I’m responsible for making it think we’re fools. You make it think we have confidence.”

Bai Chenxiang patted her chest seriously and summed up:

“This is a double disguise of the fool and the master. It will confuse its logic and make the most conservative decision.”

Bai He opened his mouth, speechless for a long while.

Looking at his granddaughter, he suddenly understood why the Min family had declined.

These old folks of his only ever thought about how to run faster, how to hide better.

But this little girl was already studying soul beast psychology.

It was an entirely different dimension—how could they compare?

Suppressing his shock, he asked, “So what now? It retreated, but we can’t just sit here and wait for it forever, can we?”

“Of course not.”

Bai Chenxiang took a sip from her water pouch, then pulled out two pieces of jerky, handing one to her grandfather.

“Let’s go.”

“Go?” Bai He was more confused. “After all that effort to find it, you just want to leave?”

“If we don’t leave, do you want to stay and be dinner?”

Bai Chenxiang munched on her jerky, mumbling, “We’ve already accomplished today’s goal.”

“Goal? What goal?”

“Reconnaissance—and saying hello.”

She pointed to the valley.

“Now we know where its lair is, that Thunder Saliva Grass exists here, and we’ve witnessed its power and personality firsthand.”

“More importantly, we’ve made it aware of us.”

She paused, a sly glint flashing in her eyes like a fox who had just stolen a chicken.

“Right now, its impression of us is a strange but harmless duo.”

“That impression will be key to our plan tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow.”

Bai Chenxiang swallowed her jerky eagerly, excitement glowing on her small face.

“Tomorrow, we’ll come back. But not to fight.”

“We’re coming to annoy it.”

Bai He felt his mind once again overwhelmed.

“Annoy it?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Bai Chenxiang nodded enthusiastically and began explaining her plan.

“Grandpa, don’t you think this wolf king is like a mountain king with a strong territorial instinct?”

Bai He nodded instinctively.

“What do mountain kings hate the most?”

“What?”

“They hate flies buzzing around their eyes—impossible to hit or chase away.”

Bai Chenxiang’s eyes crinkled with laughter.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be that fly.”

She gestured with her small hands, radiant.

“I’ll use Wind Blink to flit around its lair.”

“I won’t go inside or attack, just jump around here and leave my scent.”

“If it comes out to chase me, I’ll run. If it goes back, I’ll come again.”

“It’s fast, but Wind Blink is short-range and has no cooldown. In complex terrain, it can’t catch me.”

“It’ll get furious and chase me madly. We’ll gradually lure it out of this valley—the place most favorable to it.”

“To the battleground we’ve chosen, where you can use your speed best, and where it can’t use lightning as well.”

Bai He listened dumbfounded to his granddaughter’s harassment plan, a vivid image forming in his mind:

His six-year-old granddaughter, like a mischievous child, hopping back and forth at the door of a millennia-old soul beast’s den,

Shouting, “Come catch me, catch me, and I’ll let you—hehehe...”

While he, a grand Soul Combat Master, stood watch, ready to support her, playing the role of a mischievous child’s guardian.

What on earth was going on?

Bai He felt his century-long worldview being shattered piece by piece by this little girl, then reassembled in a way he could not comprehend.

He looked at his granddaughter’s excited, flushed face for a long moment before squeezing out a few words through clenched teeth:

“You truly are a genius.”

He wasn’t sure if that was praise or sarcasm.

Perhaps it was both.