Although the children didn't shout it aloud, the name had leaked out inadvertently.
Hunters from several nearby villages all knew about the child here who never seemed to grow up. Though she hadn't grown an inch in years, she was an exceptional hunter—every time she went up the mountain, she brought back more game than many veteran hunters.
Every time Xiao Xiao ran into hunters from other villages on the mountain with her father, they would stare at her with curious eyes.
However, the only one who would call her a monster to her face was this hateful fellow standing right in front of her.
The young man the hunter called Uncle Wenyuan had a fair complexion and a tall, slender frame, dressed in a green robe. The rough-looking hunter standing beside him was like a sparrow next to a swan.
Moreover, though the hunter appeared older in age, the young man held seniority in terms of generation.
In fact, the young man was actually older—it was just that cultivators, nourished by spiritual energy year after year, naturally aged far more slowly.
He looked Xiao Xiao up and down, then slowly shook his head.
Though the little girl before him was exquisitely pretty, there was not the slightest trace of demonic energy about her. She was clearly no monster. He was fairly confident in his judgment on this matter; after all, he had cultivated for quite a few years and possessed considerable strength.
Seeing him shake his head, the hunter grew anxious. "Uncle Wenyuan, don't let her appearance fool you! She looks like she's only three or four years old, but she's been the same for ten years already. Nobody knows how old she really is—she could be an ancient monster! Don't they say that monsters who cultivate long enough can take human form?"
Xiao Xiao could no longer hold back and bared her teeth at the hateful hunter. When she heard him call her an ancient monster, a wave of inexplicable fury surged through her—she wanted nothing more than to rip his mouth apart. She couldn't understand why, but the word "old" seemed to touch a particularly sensitive nerve.
"Oh?" Wenyuan raised an eyebrow. "She's looked like this for ten years?"
"Absolutely certain!" The hunter nodded vigorously. "Everyone within a hundred li knows it—go ask them yourself if you don't believe me."
Wenyuan stroked his chin. "That is rather interesting."
His nephew had told him there was a spirit-monster in these parts. Fulfilling what he saw as a cultivator's duty to subdue demons and slay monsters, he had come to investigate. If there truly was a monster, a single sword stroke would suffice. But after seeing this little girl, he knew she was no monster.
Even a monster that had achieved cultivation couldn't conceal its demonic energy this perfectly—not unless its strength far surpassed his own.
He was, after all, at the Void King Realm now. Any monster capable of hiding from his perception would have to be at least at the Dao Origin Realm.
There were hardly a handful of such monsters in the entire Void Continent—how could one possibly appear here?
Still, hearing that this little girl had looked the same ten years ago had piqued his curiosity.
He was about to ask the girl if she would let him examine her when he suddenly felt a shadow fall over him from behind.
Wenyuan turned to look and saw a sturdy woman standing behind him—he had no idea when she had appeared. Her fleshy face was twisted with fury as she glared at him.
Behind her, more than a dozen hunters and village women had surrounded them, armed with bows, arrows, and farming tools, eyeing him like tigers.
The village was a small one. When outsiders showed up with a young man and blocked the schoolhouse entrance, it could only mean trouble.
No shouting was needed—the sight of it was enough. Adults from every one of the dozen or so households came running over.
The hunter from the other village felt his confidence waver at the sight, but remembering his uncle's abilities, he straightened his back and returned their gazes with a defiant look.
"Is there something you need, ma'am?" Wenyuan asked the angry woman, looking puzzled.
The woman slapped her palm down on his shoulder and growled, "I'm fine. I want to know what *you're* doing here."
She put force behind her hand, only to discover to her shock that the seemingly slender young man stood as immovable as a boulder—not budging an inch, not even flinching.
Her palm strike could split a log!
The woman suddenly realized something, and her eyes turned grave. She changed her grip from a grab to a push. The young man cooperated, stepping aside.
The woman strode into the schoolhouse, turned around, and stood in the doorway like an iron tower, shielding everything behind her from wind and rain.
Behind her, Xiao Xiao poked her head out and pointed at the hunter. "Mama! That man says I'm a monster!"
The woman gnashed her teeth and spat toward the hunter. "You worthless piece of trash, Changgen! I think you've got a death wish! What right do you have to call my Xiao Xiao a monster? If anyone's a monster, it's you—you and your whole family!"
Changgen the hunter craned his neck defiantly. "How dare you behave this way in front of a distinguished expert from the Shuiyue Prefecture! Whether she's a monster or not, one look from my uncle will tell."
"The Shuiyue Prefecture?" The woman looked at Wenyuan. She had already guessed he was a cultivator, and now it seemed she was right. But she didn't back down an inch. "So what if you're an expert from the Shuiyue Prefecture? That gives you the right to slander people at will?"
For ordinary people across the entire Void Continent, cultivation was no secret—though most had never experienced it firsthand, they had all heard of it.
So even with a Shuiyue Prefecture cultivator standing before her, the woman felt not the slightest fear.
Wenyuan smiled bitterly. "Please calm yourself, ma'am. I never said this child was a monster."
The woman glared at him. "Then what are you doing here?"
Wenyuan was rendered speechless. He had come purely out of caution, but now explaining that would be quite tedious.
After a moment's thought, Wenyuan said, "Ma'am, your daughter must have endured quite a bit of gossip over the years because of this monster label, or you wouldn't have reacted so fiercely today. I am a steward of the Shuiyue Prefecture. Though my cultivation and rank aren't particularly high within the Prefecture, I'm confident I have a discerning eye. If you would allow me to examine the child thoroughly, I can then confirm with my own voice that she is not a monster—that should carry some weight and help silence the wagging tongues. What do you think?"