Upon hearing Instructor Xu's warning, Shui Bing'er and another teacher turned their gaze in the direction she pointed.
Sure enough, on the back of the plump soul beast known as the Violetcloud Arrowhog, three figures were riding atop it.
A tall boy sat in the middle. Behind him, a young girl who looked around ten years old clung tightly to his waist. In front of the boy, a smaller girl gripped the arrowhog's fur with both hands.
"Oh no… It looks like they got caught in the beast tide. Should we…?" Shui Bing'er asked with concern in her voice.
"Instructor Xu, stay here with Bing'er and guard the area. Judging from the soul beasts' levels, they're all quite low. I'll see if I can get them out of there," said Instructor Wang, focusing her attention on the stampede as she awaited a good opportunity to move.
"Waaaah! Traveler, this is so exciting! It's just like flying on a Floaty Slime!"
Amidst the thunderous roar of the beast tide, Paimon shouted with glee, her mouth wide open as wind poured in.
"Haha! Hold on tight, or you'll get trampled into a pancake!"
Aether kept his hands on the soul beast's back, clearly enjoying the thrill of this simple joyride.
"Big Brother… let's get down. I'm really scared…"
Yu Keke clung to Aether's waist, her face pale with fear.
She had never imagined that one day she'd be riding on a soul beast like this.
"Alright, that's enough fun. Looks like there are some Soul Masters nearby—we might be able to ask them about your soul ring."
Aether reached back and gently patted Keke's head, then lifted her in front of him with one arm. With the other, he plucked Paimon off the hog's head. It was time to get off the ride.
"Don't be afraid, young man—hold on tight to me!"
Just as Aether was about to dismount, a curvaceous figure suddenly appeared, darting across the backs of soul beasts. Without warning, she scooped him up and dashed to the side.
Sensing no malice from the woman, Aether didn't resist. He let her carry all three of them as they sped through the chaos of soul beasts.
It was none other than Instructor Wang from Tianshui Academy. With practiced agility, she maneuvered through the stampede, swiftly escorting them to safety.
"Instructor, are you alright?"
Shui Bing'er ran over the moment she saw her teacher return unharmed.
Anyone brave enough to dive into a beast tide to rescue someone clearly wasn't just kindhearted but also had great confidence in their abilities.
"I'm fine. Fortunately, these soul beasts were all low-level."
Instructor Wang set Aether down and waved to Shui Bing'er before turning to him.
"But you, young man—how on earth did you end up in the middle of a beast tide?"
"Hey! Are you in shock or something?"
Shui Bing'er frowned, seeing Aether remain silent.
After all, Instructor Wang had risked her life to save them. Were they really too scared to speak?
Aether, having just been yanked out of a joyride, finally came to his senses and set down both Yu Keke and Paimon.
Paimon floated back up, shaking her head—Aether's sudden grab had made her a little dizzy.
Now that she heard voices, she realized they weren't alone in the forest.
"Eh? Traveler, there are people here~!"
"Hi there! I'm Paimon~" she chirped, enthusiastically greeting the group.
"!!! Instructor Wang, is that a Martial Soul or a soul beast?!"
Shui Bing'er stared at the tiny flying figure in disbelief.
She had never seen anything humanoid that could fly and talk like that.
"She's my companion."
"She's Paimon—not a Martial Soul or a soul beast!"
Aether and Yu Keke answered at the same time.
"…Companion? Paimon?"
Looking at this strange little trio, even Shui Bing'er's usually cold face showed a trace of surprise.
A talking, flying creature that was adorably expressive… and that calm, composed boy…
Instructor Wang, too, took a closer look at the group now that the danger had passed. Something about them felt oddly familiar…
"Hello, I'm Shui Bing'er. This is my teacher."
Despite her surprise, Shui Bing'er responded politely. After a brief pause, she asked again,
"How did you get caught in a beast tide? That's incredibly dangerous! If my teacher hadn't acted, you might've been trampled!"
"Eh? Beast tide? What's that?"
Weren't they just riding a wild hog rollercoaster with the Traveler and Keke a moment ago?
Besides, with the Traveler there, what danger could there be?
Paimon tilted her head, clearly not understanding the serious tone from the pretty girl in front of her.
"That… was the beast tide you just experienced."
Shui Bing'er was speechless. This flying creature didn't even know what a beast tide was?
Sure, the boy and the little girl seemed relatively normal, but why didn't they say anything? Wait, they did speak earlier—just to refute her…
"Eh? That wasn't a beast tide! We were riding the Wild Hog Coaster! Ura-ura~ a whole bunch of them, so much fun, right Keke?"
Paimon beamed as she looked back to confirm Keke's feelings on the ride.
"Mm… It was fun, but a little scary too…"
Keke had mostly recovered from her fear. Now that she looked back, it had been both terrifying and thrilling—in a fun way.
"Hehe! Traveler, from now on you can't call me scaredy-cat! Keke was the real scaredy one!"
Paimon teased, seeing that Keke's face was still a bit pale.
Yu Keke shyly twisted her fingers together.
Mm… next time, I'll be braver. With Big Brother and Paimon here, there's nothing to be afraid of!
"Wild hog… coaster? What is that…?"
Just as Paimon couldn't understand Shui Bing'er's terms, Shui Bing'er was also completely lost on her vocabulary.
The two were impressively in sync in misunderstanding each other.
"Like this! Hmph~ hmph~ whooosh~!"
Paimon mimicked the sounds of the hog and the wind from earlier, trying her best to convey how fun it had been.
"We were riding that one, just now."
To help make her point clear, she added an explanation at the end.
"..."
You're calling a beast tide a wild hog… coaster?
Shui Bing'er finally understood—this wasn't about comprehension. They were simply on different wavelengths.
How do you even hold a conversation with someone who thinks a beast tide is fun?
She looked the trio over again. She couldn't sense their soul power level, so maybe… could they be some hidden experts?
The thought came and went—no way. The oldest among them seemed to be that ethereal-looking boy, and he didn't look much older than herself.
There's no way he's some kind of master…
"Oh no! Traveler, we have to go! If they all run off, how are we gonna find a soul ring for Keke?"
Paimon suddenly remembered—they weren't just playing, they were supposed to find a suitable soul ring from one of those creatures!
"Wait, are you saying… you were trying to hunt a soul ring… during the beast tide?!"
Shui Bing'er was stunned.
Running into a beast tide was already a one-in-a-million occurrence, and now she heard something even more unbelievable.
If she hadn't misheard, they had actually been trying to hunt a soul ring amid the beast tide?!
_
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