Chapter 310: A Legendary Beast
Jin LiJuan had a choice to make. Master had arrived, so there was no more putting her decision off. Did she want to attend the tournament, even at the expense of betraying the memory of her parents, or did she want to give up the opportunity to contribute to the sect that had done so much for her?
Both options had horrible drawbacks, and she simply couldn’t pick which was worse. She needed help, and since Master would give her no further guidance, there was one source of counsel left open to her.
“Master,” she said, “which direction is the village?”
He turned and pointed behind him.
She got down on her knees and kowtowed toward where he pointed, the best guess of where her family’s farm had been that she could figure.
“Honorable Mother. Esteemed Father,” she said internally, keeping her forehead pressed into the dirt. “I don’t know what to do, and I need your help. Beasts killed you, and I want to wage war against them so that no other child suffers as I did, so that no other parents are killed. I want to protect.
“But the only way for me to gain that power is to embrace beasts. I have bonded with one of them—I didn’t mean to, I swear, but I did it seeking power. So it was my fault.—and Ganzou—that’s the beast’s name—isn’t really that bad. He guards me. And cuddles up to me when it’s cold at night. And I’m sorry, but I just can’t hate him any longer.
“I accepted that I need him to fight other beasts. He makes me strong. Soon, I’ll advance my cultivation higher than Senior Brother and Senior Sister. They are so amazing. I wish you could have met them.
“Liking one beast isn’t that bad, right, Honorable Mother and Esteemed Father? You wouldn’t hate me for that even if it is dishonoring your memory, would you? I promise that I’ll use the power he gives me for the right purpose. To protect. I will bring honor to the family name.
“Now, though, the path to strength means bonding even more beasts, and I don’t know if I should do it. Please Honorable Mother and Esteemed Father, tell me what to do. Give me some sign of what you will your filial daughter to do.”
She rose to a kneeling position and cupped her hands, waiting.
Several minutes passed, and she became aware of Pan Jiang, Master, Leizhenzi, and others staring at her. She ignored them. Her parents would answer. They’d been too poor to always provide her with enough food, but they’d always done everything they could for her.