Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13: The Contract
Of those two reasons, the first one—that it was useful to his path—was true enough.
But the latter part, about sensing heavenly will and the like, was completely fake.
Lin Bai could not sense a damn thing!
He could hardly count the Detection Skill that came with Metamorphosis as heavenly will, could he? But if he wanted to leave himself an explanation for his spirit beast’s abnormal future evolution, he had to add that excuse in.
Why was his Dark Crow different from the rest?
Because heavenly will had vaguely told him so. Perfectly reasonable, wasn’t it?
And as for why heavenly will did not tell anyone else, that was obviously because their talent was insufficient and their fortune too shallow. Lin Bai had a top-grade talent. He also loved helping little old ladies cross the road. His talent and fortune were both first-rate.
What? You didn’t believe him?
Then clearly he was still too gentle. Lin Bai had kindly gone out of his way to make up a plausible explanation for you, and you still dared not believe it.
To be honest, the reason he had chosen this Dark Crow was entirely because of the Detection Skill.
When Lin Bai had first seen this Dark Crow’s panel, he had been stunned.
Species: Dark Crow (Mutant?)
Strength: 0.3
Agility: 0.7
Constitution: 0.5
Spirit: 0.5
Level: Not yet Transcendent
Traits: Shadow Affinity, Stealth, Extreme Speed
Skills: Shadowmeld, Shadow Perception, Sinister Venom
Evaluation: A blue-chip among rising prospects. Buying it is pure profit. If not now, then when?
At present, this Dark Crow’s four basic attributes were quite mediocre. Even its greatest strength, speed, lagged far behind the Windfeather Sparrows. After all, Lin Bai had seen that the Windfeather Sparrows’ average Agility started at 0.9.
But its skills and traits more than made up for that. An ordinary Dark Crow should only have one skill, Sinister Venom, but this one had two additional skills aligned with shadows.
What truly made Lin Bai decide on it was its traits. Traits represented future developmental potential.
Take its Extreme Speed trait for example. Even though the little Dark Crow only had 0.7 Agility right now, once it matured, it would absolutely far surpass spirit beasts of the same level. It might even reach the very limit of Transcendent-Mortal.
An ordinary spirit beast might not possess even a single trait, yet this one had an astonishing three. If this Dark Crow had grown up in the wild, there was a high chance it would have become the Dark Crow King of its region.
And Lin Bai’s Beast-Taming Martial Artist could inherit its traits.
That was why this Dark Crow was the best possible fit for Lin Bai at the moment.
On top of that, with the Metamorphosis talent, the Dark Crow would not fall behind in the future either. Lin Bai intended to shape it into his Life-bound beast focused on enhancing speed.
After fumbling around for quite a while, Lin Bai finally figured out the exact ritual for forming a Life-bound contract with the Dark Crow.
He still had to wait. Dark Crows were attendants of the night and generally only emerged after dark, so the highest chance of success came from forming the contract at night.
After clarifying everything, Lin Bai checked the time. There were still roughly twelve hours left.
No rush.
While feeding it, Lin Bai looked at the very intelligent hatchling for a while, thought about it, and decided he should ask for its opinion after all.
“Little Crow.”
He spoke softly, as though discussing matters with a person.
“I wish to form a Life-bound contract with you. I swear that I will treat you well, and one day, I will make you shine more brilliantly than a phoenix of the nine heavens.”
He stretched out both hands, holding a piece of minced meat in each.
“If you are willing to trust me, then eat from my right hand. If not, take the one in my left.”
After speaking, Lin Bai deliberately waved both hands a little so the bird could understand clearly.
It could not be helped. This bird looked far too intelligent, and what Lin Bai wanted was a Life-bound spirit beast. This was no joke.
What was a Life-bound beast?
Soul and life intertwined, never to part, never to abandon.
This was even more important than a Dao companion. A Dao companion might only be a fellow traveler for a single stretch of the Great Dao, but a Life-bound beast was a true companion in the pursuit of the Dao. Here, Dao companion meant a like-minded companion, not a romantic partner.
You could hit or curse a beast tamer, and they might not care that much. But if you treated their Life-bound beast that way, then just see whether the beast tamer would fight you to the death.
If this Dark Crow did not agree, Lin Bai could only release it into the mountains and forests and let it return to its original home.
He would simply treat their meeting as a matter of fate, and the money he had spent as the price of forging a karmic connection and accumulating merit.
On this point, Lin Bai was broad-minded. Since arriving in this world, he had come to believe in heavenly will a little himself.
The little Dark Crow tilted its tiny head, as though considering the human’s words. In the end, it pecked at Lin Bai’s right hand, the one that represented agreement.
At once, a great weight lifted from Lin Bai’s heart, and joy crept into his brow. He had been so nervous just now that even his heartbeat had quickened.
In truth, Lin Bai still did not fully understand this world. Spirit beasts did not possess the myriad thoughts and schemes of humans. They simply followed the direction that would make them stronger.
In the worldview of spirit beasts, forming a contract with a human was a good thing.
Seeing the little Dark Crow agree, Lin Bai fed it with even greater enthusiasm. His fingers gently stroked the feathers on its back, like one of those pet owners from his previous life who had been hopelessly addicted to petting cats.
He continued until the little Dark Crow could bear it no longer and lifted a claw to push his finger away, as though warning him to stop while he still could.
Lin Bai paid it no mind. On the contrary, he was enjoying himself immensely.
After a moment, Lin Bai thought that he should give it a name. He could not keep calling it Little Crow forever. That would not do at all.
“Little Dark Crow, what do you think of the name Mo Ling?”
Lin Bai had thought about it for quite a while. After saying it, he looked at the little Dark Crow expectantly.
The Dark Crow was jet-black, so he would use Mo, meaning ink-black, as its surname. And since this was a little female crow, he chose Ling as its given name. The sound of Ling was close to the word for spirit, while also carrying the flavor of a bird’s plumage. Lin Bai felt the name was excellent.
After coming up with it, Lin Bai was quite pleased with himself and felt that his own cultural refinement had risen yet another level.
To his surprise, the little Dark Crow did not give a certain someone any face at all. It simply stood there blankly without responding. But Lin Bai refused to give up and kept pestering it over and over, trying to make it accept.
So when Lin Su came by to bring Lin Bai some food, she found her silly little brother earnestly teasing a bird, as though carrying out some great and important mission.
Meanwhile, the little Dark Crow already looked half dead from being pestered by him. It truly could not understand how this human had so much energy.
“Xiao Bai, what are you doing?”
“Sis, you’re here. I’m teaching Xiao Ling. We’ve made tremendous progress. It’s almost learned to recognize its own name.”
“Xiao... Ling?”
“Oh, that’s the name I gave the little Dark Crow. Mo Ling. What do you think? Nice, right?”
“As long as you’re happy.”
Lin Su pressed a hand to her forehead and spoke helplessly.
Seeing that his sister did not believe him, Lin Bai immediately prepared to show her a little proof.
He began calling the little Dark Crow by name, and this time it was extremely cooperative and responded to him.
Seeing the successful result, Lin Bai planted his hands on his hips and looked absurdly smug.
Lin Su started to speak, then stopped herself. She had the distinct feeling that this Dark Crow had only agreed because it had been pestered beyond endurance. But seeing how happy Lin Bai looked, she thought for a moment and swallowed the words back down.
There were still four hours left until the most suitable time for the contract.
Lin Bai stopped teasing Mo Ling and instead settled himself, conserving his energy and spirit.
That earlier “lesson” had not only come from playfulness. He had also intended to become more familiar with it and cultivate mutual understanding.
In truth, Lin Bai could have waited a few days before forming the contract, but he felt that the best moment was now, so he decided to follow his heart.
Night deepened, and the bright moon slowly climbed into the heavens. Lin Bai sat cross-legged, silently counting the time until he felt it was about right.
He moved the table into the courtyard where the moonlight fell, then placed the birdcage at the center of the table.
As the night deepened further, the ritual began.
Lin Bai cut his finger and began drawing a strange formation around the birdcage.
It resembled a pentagram, yet atop each of the five points was a different talisman.
These talismans served to strengthen the communion of minds between Lin Bai and Mo Ling during the contract.
Lin Bai began reciting, in a strange cadence, the contract words from the Beast-Taming Martial Artist path for flying birds like Dark Crows.
This was a passage of contract speech refined from an ancient shamanic curse.
“Heaven and earth bear witness. Moonlight stands as pledge.”
“I, Lin Bai, use my soul as the lead and my spirit as the bond.”
“You shall bear hidden messages, explore shadowed paths, and take me as your master, with neither disobedience nor betrayal.”
“I shall offer moonlight essence, feed you pure dew, and protect your flesh and frame, without change and without abandonment.”
“When the contract is formed, we shall live together. Whoever betrays the contract shall be struck down by heaven!”
As Lin Bai finished proclaiming the final line, his Beast-Taming Martial Artist path began to exert its power.
Within Lin Bai’s sea of consciousness, a thread of his divine soul separated from the main body of his soul and flew out from the sea of consciousness.
At the same time, as Lin Bai’s incantation ended, the formation on the table also activated. The moonlight within five feet of the area gathered toward the formation.
In the end, the moonlight condensed into a thick beam of lunar radiance and flew toward Mo Ling.
The little Dark Crow instinctively sensed danger. It let out a shrill cry and beat its wings against the bars of the cage. It was not that it had regretted the contract, but that the concentrated moonlight essence felt to its senses like a blade pressed against its throat, an immense threat.
At last, the moonlight settled onto Mo Ling. It was as though its life had been seized in a chokehold. Its body stiffened instantly, unable to move, while the moonlight seemed to be stripping something out of its body.
The strand of Lin Bai’s soul that had flown out seemed to have found where it belonged and entered Mo Ling’s body.
Like a catalyst, that thread of soul pulled a dusky radiance out from Mo Ling’s body and sent it flying toward Lin Bai’s head.
In this state, Lin Bai felt neither joy nor sorrow. He merely waited for the radiance to enter his sea of consciousness.
Beside him, Lin Su, who was standing guard over Lin Bai, knew this was the most critical stage. She held her breath outright and did not even dare breathe loudly.
The radiance entered Lin Bai’s sea of consciousness. Within that inner sea, the dusky glow rose and sank, condensed and gathered, until it finally formed a simple Dark Crow emblem. The lines of the emblem were crude, as though casually scribbled by a child, yet one could still make out the posture of a Dark Crow spreading its wings, carrying a faint touch of cuteness.
This pattern was formed from important things such as the Dark Crow’s soul, true spirit, essential nature, and more. From this point on, Mo Ling’s life was in Lin Bai’s hands.
What Lin Bai had given was a thread of divine soul. On Mo Ling’s side, it could only be used for communion of minds and did not have the same effect as it did for Lin Bai.
Just as the contract words had said: Take me as your master.
In this contractual relationship, Lin Bai was the dominant party.
After all, this was the Beast-Taming Martial Artist path, and at its core, it was still the path of a martial practitioner.
Once the emblem had formed, Lin Bai slowly opened his eyes.
Looking at Mo Ling, who was still undergoing the final stage of the ritual on the table, he knew there was one step left: fusing that thread of Lin Bai’s soul into its own soul.
Lin Bai could not help with that part, but fortunately, this final step rarely caused problems. With the assistance of the pentagram talisman formation, nothing should go wrong.
A short while later, Lin Bai clearly sensed that the thread of his soul had already blended with Mo Ling’s soul like water with milk. A marvelous mental connection had been established. He could even vaguely sense that Mo Ling was feeling a little tired, yet also dazed with curiosity.
“It worked.”
Lin Bai could not stop the corners of his mouth from turning upward.
He opened the birdcage. Without any instruction at all, Mo Ling affectionately flew onto Lin Bai’s shoulder and rubbed its little head gently against his cheek.
Smiling, Lin Bai lifted a finger and teased Mo Ling, savoring this newborn bond.
Lin Su stepped forward, looked at the harmonious scene of one person and one crow, and let out a relieved breath.
“It looks like everything went smoothly.”
Lin Bai smiled and nodded.
“Very smoothly! Mo Ling and I can now both sense each other very clearly, and our souls are continuing to intertwine.”
Seeing how pale Lin Bai looked, Lin Su handed him the Foundation-Nurturing Pill and Spirit-Nourishing Pill she had prepared long ago.
Both Lin Bai and Mo Ling were exhausted. Lin Bai had given up a thread of his soul, but Mo Ling had paid even more.
That was why, in the short term, Lin Bai could only form a contract with a single Life-bound beast. Otherwise, he would have already filled up his allotment of Life-bound beasts and would not have wasted his Shared Journey talent.
Lin Bai swallowed the pills himself, then carefully fed some to Mo Ling as well. Though the pills refined by Lin Su were only First-Grade in medicinal effect, to the man and crow who had just undergone a soul ritual and expended so much, they were no different from sweet rain after a long drought.
While recovering, Lin Bai also activated the Shared Journey talent.
The spiritual star representing Shared Journey in his spiritual chart flickered faintly. Then, from the depths of the star chart, an invisible tendril stretched out, crossed the distance of space, and connected to the Dark Crow emblem.
Then the light radiating from the Dark Crow emblem shone over Lin Bai. He felt a warm current flow through his entire body before finally returning to its point of origin.
Lin Bai knew that his speed had increased.
When he checked with the Detection Skill, it was exactly as expected.
Agility: 9.2 + 0.7 = 9.9
Shared Journey added on top of Lin Bai’s own limit. At the moment, the increase only seemed to be 0.7, and the effect did not look all that obvious.
But when his speed reached a certain critical threshold, that extra bonus would be the key to breaking past the limit. It was like the hundred-meter sprint in his previous life. The difference between ten seconds and 9.8 seconds was a qualitative leap.
This was a talent at the level of a concept itself.
That was why Lin Bai had already realized that Shared Journey seemed a little stronger than Metamorphosis.
Forget it. They’re both my wings, so there’s no point comparing them. They’re both absurdly strong anyway.
After taking the pills, Lin Su started chatting with him.
“Xiao Bai, you’ve only been in Yunmeng City for a week, and you’ve already obtained your full path inheritance, advanced to the Transcendent-Mortal, and acquired your first Life-bound beast.”
Lin Su could not help but sigh in amazement. When she had achieved something similar on her own path, it had taken her about two months.
This was not merely a matter of talent. That mysterious and unfathomable thing called fortune was probably at work as well.
“Haha, Sis, am I amazing or what? Your little brother’s incredible, right?”
In front of outsiders, Lin Bai might act modestly and try to lower his own profile. After all, the tallest tree in the forest was the first to be broken by the wind.
But there was no need for that in front of Lin Su. Did Lin Su not know him well enough already?
Seeing Lin Bai like this, Lin Su laughed despite herself, then grew annoyed again.
This hateful brat truly did not know how to hold back in front of her at all. Did he not realize how badly he was dealing a blow to his dear elder sister?
Lin Su immediately reached out and pinched Lin Bai’s face.
“You little brat really aren’t modest at all. It’s fine to say that in front of me, but don’t you dare show off like that outside.”
“Sis, I know, I know. Let go already, it hurts!”
“My divine soul is depleted right now, so if we round up, I count as a patient. Since you’re an alchemist of the Benevolent Heart Hall, rounding up means you’re a physician. Bullying a patient like this violates medical ethics. I’m going to submit a complaint to the Benevolent Heart Hall!”
“A patient? A complaint?”
Little Mo Ling tilted her head and watched the two of them bickering and laughing. Her tiny mind still could not understand the subtleties of human speech.
But through the clear thread of connection within the sea of consciousness, she could feel that her master’s emotions at this moment were like spring water just beginning to thaw, warm and peaceful.