"Larvitar, we should—"
Lin Xia had just begun to speak when his voice abruptly stopped.
He had originally intended to say they could return to Gengxin City.
At almost the same moment, Larvitar's body tensed. Its crimson eyes instantly sharpened as it turned vigilantly toward the far side of the sand dune.
Its small ears, covered in lava-like armor, twitched slightly, catching an extremely faint yet clear sound.
Rustle… rustle…
It was the sound of footsteps on soft sand!
Light, yet carrying a peculiar rhythm, steadily approaching the ruin area where the quicksand collapse had just occurred.
Man and Pokémon held their breath in unison, lowering their bodies in perfect coordination. They hid behind a weathered boulder half-buried in the sand, revealing only half their heads as their gazes shot toward the source of the sound like lightning.
Not far away, along the ridge of a sand dune, a figure appeared.
It was a woman.
She wore a long, flowing dress of moon-white gauze, light and almost translucent. The design was simple yet elegant, fluttering gently in the scorching, dry desert wind, outlining her tall and graceful figure.
Most striking of all, she was barefoot.
Her jade-like feet were spotless and crystal clear, as if the desert's heat and roughness could not touch them at all. Each step she took upon the scorching sand felt as if she were walking upon cool ripples of water, so light that she left almost no trace behind.
She walked straight to the site of the quicksand ruin that had just swallowed Lin Xia and Larvitar, now reduced to a massive crater.
Her gaze was calm and focused, like the most precise optical instrument, slowly scanning the residual energy fluctuations at the bottom of the pit, the vitrified edges, and the faint traces of spatial distortion lingering in the air.
Her brows furrowed slightly, as if analyzing something. A hint of barely noticeable doubt and curiosity flickered deep within her eyes.
At the very moment she was concentrating on her observation.
She seemed to sense something.
Without any warning, she abruptly shifted her gaze away from the crater and locked it precisely onto the boulder where Lin Xia and Larvitar were hiding!
Her eyes were clear like a cold lake, deep as the starry sea, carrying a power that seemed to see through everything.
In an instant, they pierced through the obstruction of the rock and locked onto Lin Xia and Larvitar.
Their eyes met!
Lin Xia's heart suddenly tightened!
A low, guarded growl rumbled from Larvitar's throat.
Their position exposed, there was no point in hiding anymore.
When the woman saw Lin Xia, a boy who appeared no more than seven or eight years old, his clothes covered in sand yet his gaze unusually calm and sharp and the strange little beast beside him, with its dark, faintly reddish armor and crimson eyes staring at her with vigilance.
She was clearly stunned.
A trace of genuine astonishment crossed her stunningly beautiful face.
She had clearly never expected that, in the core region of this extreme western desert—known as a forbidden zone of life, such a combination would appear so abruptly.
A young child with no apparent guardian, and a completely unfamiliar, peculiar soul beast.
A brief silence spread through the scorching air.
The surprise in her eyes quickly faded, replaced by a trace of seriousness.
She was well aware of the dangers of this desert, countless powerful soul beasts, treacherous quicksand, and a harsh environment.
A child alone here was no different from seeking death.
"Little one."
The woman finally spoke. Her voice was like a clear spring flowing over jade crisp and pleasant with a faint, almost imperceptible hint of concern, breaking the silence.
She stepped forward barefoot, her movements light and graceful. Her moon-white gauze dress brushed against the sand without gathering a single speck of dust, stopping less than three meters in front of Lin Xia.
She bent slightly, meeting his gaze at eye level, her expression gentle yet inquisitive.
"How did you end up here? This place is very dangerous."
An invisible pressure quietly spread as she approached.
It was not an intentional release of pressure, but rather the natural weight brought about by a difference in life level, like standing before a towering mountain that demanded reverence.
Lin Xia's heart tightened. In an instant, he judged that this seemingly gentle woman possessed unfathomable strength, far beyond what he and Larvitar could contend with at this moment.
Larvitar also tensed up, its small claws digging slightly into the ground, ready to protect Lin Xia at any time.
However, the concern in her tone was genuine, and her eyes were clear, without any malice.
After quickly weighing the situation, Lin Xia decided to reveal part of the truth to ease her suspicions.
"Big sister."
His voice carried the crispness of a child, yet remained unusually steady, without panic.
"We came here to obtain a soul ring."
"We?"
The woman keenly caught that word. Her slender brows lifted slightly, showing a hint of confusion.
Her gaze instinctively swept behind Lin Xia and across the empty sand dunes around them. Her spiritual power spread like invisible ripples, instantly covering a radius of several hundred meters, yet found nothing.
"Where are your elders? They would actually allow you to hunt a soul ring here alone?"
Her tone carried clear disapproval and deeper confusion.
Lin Xia immediately understood her doubt and explained.
"When I said 'we,' I meant Larvitar and me."
He raised his hand and gently patted the little one's head beside him, who was ready to act at any moment.
"Larvitar is my martial soul."
"Martial soul?!"
For the first time, genuine astonishment appeared in the woman's cool eyes.
She looked at Larvitar again. This time, her gaze no longer regarded it as a soul beast, but rather with disbelief and scrutiny, as if redefining her understanding of something.
"A martial soul materialized? With an independent form and intelligence?"
Her voice carried a rare fluctuation as she murmured softly.
"The world is vast indeed—full of wonders. I had thought it was a soul beast you had raised and tamed."
Hearing the first half of her words, Lin Xia simply responded with a calm smile.
But Larvitar instantly lost its composure!
"Larvi Larvitar—!"
As if its tail had been stepped on, the little one suddenly jumped out from behind Lin Xia. It placed its tiny claws firmly on its lava-armored waist, raised its head, and began protesting loudly and angrily at the woman.
Its little face tried hard to look "furious," its crimson eyes wide open, while its tail slapped the sand forcefully, kicking up small clouds of dust.
Clearly, being called a "soul beast" made it extremely dissatisfied!
It was Lin Xia's one and only martial soul partner!
Although the woman could not understand Larvitar's language, its vivid anger and expressive body language conveyed its meaning perfectly.
She was momentarily stunned. Then, seeing Larvitar's attempt to look fierce, yet appearing even more adorably clumsy, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.
That smile was like ice melting, instantly dispelling her cold and distant aura, revealing a beauty that was breathtaking.
"Pfft… hehehe…"
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