Chapter 19
As the magic circle glowed brighter and brighter, Su Jiu realized she had actually formed a proper magical-pet contract with the little silver snake.
A feeling of blood ties washed over her, making the whole thing feel like a dream. After all, a Warrior’s spiritual space could hold only one beast companion until they reached Battle General level.
Most people at Warrior level or above contracted a beast companion suited to their fighting style. Afterward, the beasts could serve as mounts and even transform into weapons for battle.
Su Jiu’s eyelids twitched nonstop. Looking at the little silver snake wrapped around her wrist like an intricately carved ornament, she felt utterly screwed.
She’d planned to spend money on a rare sword-type beast, something like the male lead Bai Ming’s Holy Light Pegasus. His beast companion could evolve into the legendary unicorn, and even its Warrior-level transformation—a white-tasseled spear—was so cool it was in a league of its own.
“Mommy, hungry...” The little girl’s voice rang in Su Jiu’s mind again, sounding rather pitiful.
Now everything was ruined. She’d contracted a greedy little snake. It must have wrecked the egg and slipped inside, right?
Su Jiu had no idea what this little silver snake ate. Just as she was about to feed it some egg liquid, the snake slipped into her pocket.
When Su Jiu felt around in her pocket, she found the little snake’s mouth bulging. She suddenly remembered that the last piece of Dragon Whisker Ginseng was in there, and her hair practically stood on end.
“My Dragon Whisker Ginseng! You glutton, spit it out!”
She grabbed the little silver snake by the tail and held it upside down, shaking it until the little girl’s voice rang out in her mind again:
“Mommy, I’m so hungry... I haven’t eaten in ages.”
Hearing the slight sob in that voice, Su Jiu paused. The pitiful image of a little girl involuntarily surfaced in her mind, and her heart softened. With a sigh, she said, “Let’s lay down a few rules. You’re not allowed to eat random things anymore. I’ll give you something tasty from now on.”
“You’re such a glutton. I’ll call you Hungry Glutton from now on.”
She’d just treat it like having a pet. Even if she couldn’t get a good beast-transformation weapon before reaching Battle King level, a standard-issue steel sword was enough to make her invincible among those of the same rank.
“Mm-hmm...” The little silver snake flicked its tongue and swayed gently. She didn’t seem to care much about her name.
Su Jiu remembered that most people kept their beast companions in their spiritual spaces. They weren’t suited to human cities and could easily frighten ordinary people. So she tried asking, “Aren’t you going into my spiritual space?”
“It’s dark in the little black room. It feels awful.”
The little silver snake transformed into an exquisite bracelet. Her eyes shone like brilliant rubies, and she seemed to be feeling much better after eating that little piece of Dragon Whisker Ginseng.
It almost looked as if she’d just gotten away with some scheme...
Bai Qianyu watched Su Jiu talking to herself with a blank look. She figured that even if someone contracted an unranked demon beast, they couldn’t communicate with it telepathically.
But Su Jiu was so stunned by the little silver snake’s appearance that she hadn’t even considered that. Could an ordinary demon beast really be this intelligent? Could it force her into a contract?
...
Halfway up the mountain, at the campsite.
“There’s always this smell of dead rats...”
A strange-smelling gust of wind blew across Su Xiaoyu’s face as he finally sobered up. His nose wrinkled slightly as he glanced at his classmates nearby, bragging around the bonfire. A vague sense of unease lingered in his heart.
He took out his phone and opened the chat with the white-haired anime girl avatar. The two latest messages read:
[Sis, are you home yet?]
18:49
Useless Sis: [Not yet. I came to find you. Don’t wander off.]
One minute ago
Suddenly, another chilly gust swept past. Su Xiaoyu realized that a huge figure was standing behind him. A chill ran from his toes all the way up his spine.
Clenching his fists, he was about to turn and throw a punch when a familiar male voice sounded: “Young Master Xiaoyu, don’t wander off at night... The master specifically instructed me to make sure nothing happens to you.”
Hearing that, Su Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief and turned around. It was one of the Lin family’s guards.
He gave a slight nod, then headed toward the campsite, inwardly cursing himself for getting spooked.
Just then, for some reason, the dark clouds overhead suddenly dispersed, and bright moonlight spilled down, making the surroundings much clearer. Behind him, a Lin family guard shouted, “A Blazing Wolf?”
At that, Su Xiaoyu instinctively turned around. Terror filled his face, and his legs trembled uncontrollably. Was this three-meter-long, nearly two-meter-tall creature the Blazing Wolf from the textbooks?!
Weren’t there supposed to be no ranked demon beasts here? Just being stared at by the Blazing Wolf left him struggling to breathe.
“We’re under attack! Young Master Xiaoyu, hurry and get Sister Lin Wu and the others!” the guard shouted. He tapped his forehead, heat shimmering around him as he activated his beast transformation and quickly drew his weapon, ready to fight.
“Okay.”
Su Xiaoyu’s throat bobbed. He gritted his teeth and ran toward the campsite, shouting as he went, “A Blazing Wolf is attacking! Everyone, be careful!”
His warning had an immediate effect. Lights came on around the campsite, and Lin Wu and another guard quickly joined the first guard.
“It’s a Warrior-level demon beast!”
“Am I going to die?”
“This is way scarier than the textbooks! Do we really have to face monsters like this someday?!”
The students reacted just like Su Xiaoyu: with panic and fear. It was their first time seeing such a terrifying demon beast in real life.
Lin Liuer grabbed the megaphone she’d used for fun earlier and shouted, “Don’t be scared, everyone! It’s just a Blazing Wolf. My cousin and the others can kill it without breaking a sweat!”
Lin Liuer was still fairly confident that her cousin and the other two could handle one Blazing Wolf.
“Little Red.”
Unlike the earlier guard, she gently closed her eyes. Her aura shifted as she murmured a name, and a crimson fire snake over a meter long suddenly coiled around her arm. The next moment, the snake transformed into a three-foot-long scarlet sword.
The sword amplified Lin Wu’s aura tremendously, making her look like a war goddess wreathed in flames.
The Blazing Wolf even showed a trace of fear.
Lin Wu’s eyes narrowed. Gripping the red sword tightly, she charged straight at the Blazing Wolf, while the two guards beside her protected the other students.
Lin Wu immediately engaged the Blazing Wolf in battle. Taking one down by herself would take some time.
After fighting for a little over a minute, Lin Wu’s gaze sharpened. She swept her sword across the wolf, leaving a wound deep enough to expose bone. Blood sprayed everywhere.
“Nice!”
“So that’s all a Blazing Wolf is? Once I learn a skill, I’ll be able to kill one easily.”
“You? You’re in Class C! Hahaha!”
The students around the bonfire kept cheering. Eager looks even appeared on their faces, as if Warrior-level demon beasts weren’t all that scary after all.
“Awooo!” The Blazing Wolf howled in pain and bolted toward the forest. Lin Wu wore a look of disdain.
After staring for half a minute, she turned around and struck a rather heroic pose for the students. But the ones who’d been cheering moments earlier couldn’t utter a word.
Their faces were as white as corpses. Lin Wu looked at her companions in confusion, only to find them just as terrified.
Just then, one of the students shakily pointed behind Lin Wu and said, “Eyes... so many eyes.”
Lin Wu turned around in confusion. At the sight, the sword nearly slipped from her hand. Her arm trembled violently, and her expression was no better.
“A whole wolf pack with an alpha?! There must be more than twenty of them!”