The Immaculate Fox curiously sized up the giant wolf on the stone platform. The giant wolf’s aura was so formidable that it felt a little frightened, its ears flattening against its head.
Chu Shaoye rubbed its ears and said to the giant wolf, “Shuangyue, I’m back.”
The little fox looked up at him. How come this wolf had such a nice name like Shuangyue, while it had to be called Xiaobai?
The giant wolf opened his eyes and leaped down from the stone platform. He first lowered his head to nuzzle Chu Shaoye, then turned his gaze toward the little fox in the boy’s arms.
His ice-blue eyes were nearly as large as the curled-up fox. Under that gaze, even the tip of the little fox’s tail stiffened.
“Is this your Natal Spirit Companion?”
Chu Shaoye nodded. Gripping the little fox under its forelegs, he lifted it up for the giant wolf to see.
“The Aptitude Examiner said Xiaobai is an Immaculate Fox.”
An Immaculate Fox?
Snow-white fur, silver-red eyes, and pure, spotless Spiritual Energy—it was indeed an Immaculate Fox.
Yet given the aptitude of his master and mistress, the young master’s Natal Spirit Beast should not have been merely a low-tier Immaculate Fox.
The giant wolf pondered in silence for a moment. Afraid of discouraging Chu Shaoye, he said, “It is indeed an Immaculate Fox. However…”
“However what?” Chu Shaoye asked, intrigued.
The giant wolf’s expression turned very solemn. “The name Xiaobai sounds terrible. You should change it.”
The little fox immediately nodded in vigorous agreement. This giant wolf was quite decent after all—truly worthy of bearing a name like Shuangyue.
Since neither Shuangyue nor the little fox liked the name, Chu Shaoye did not insist. “Then let’s call you Xuewu. An Immaculate Fox with fur as white as snow.”
The little fox let out an “awoo” in agreement, fearful that Chu Shaoye might come up with an even worse name if it refused.
The giant wolf nodded. “The Immaculate Fox is a very rare Spirit Beast. Although most Spirit Lords only keep them as pets, the Immaculate Fox’s potential goes far beyond that.”
“Why are they called ‘Immaculate’? It is because the Spiritual Energy within their bodies is very pure, as unblemished as a blank sheet of paper. How their Spirit Lord nurtures them determines what they become. They hold boundless possibilities.”
“Legend has it that a Tier Nine Saint Spirit Lord once nurtured an Immaculate Fox into a Transcendent-Grade Divine Beast, the Heavenly Illusion Fox, and thereby ascended to godhood. Perhaps this little fox will share such fortune.”
Chu Shaoye looked at the little fox bouncing across the carpet of moss, pouncing at the glowing moss blossoms, feeling somewhat doubtful.
No matter how he looked at this silly, adorable little creature, it did not seem like something that could become a Divine Beast.
“But Immaculate Foxes can only grow to Tier Three. How can it break through?”
The giant wolf shook his head. “I am not entirely clear on that either. But as a fellow Spirit Beast, I believe that if you wish to help an Immaculate Fox advance, you as its Spirit Lord must understand it intimately.”
Chu Shaoye fell into thought. Looking up at the giant wolf, he said, “Now that I have summoned my Natal Spirit Beast and received the recommendation letter to the Crimson Firmament Sect, Shuangyue, isn’t it time you told me about my origins?”
What was meant to come would come eventually. Seeing that Chu Shaoye had made up his mind, the giant wolf let out a deep sigh and slowly recounted the heavy past.
“Twelve years ago, shortly after you were born, Master traveled to overseas islands to seek a rare treasure to celebrate your first month of life. The search went smoothly, but on the return voyage, Master was afflicted with a strange poison that lay dormant within his body.”
“On the day of the full-month banquet, the poison inside Master suddenly erupted. In agonizing torment, he lost all reason and slaughtered more than half the guests who had come to the feast. It was at that very moment that Master’s younger brother stepped forward, hunting Master down under the banner of righteousness.”
Bloodshot veins spread through Shuangyue’s eyes, as though the scene from that day played out before him once more. “All of this was his younger brother’s scheme. The City Lord’s Manor swiftly fell under his control. Once Master regained his sanity, he fought his way into the manor, desperate to take Mistress and you away, but his brother had already laid an ambush.”
“Disregarding her own safety, Mistress urged Master to escape with you first. We had no choice but to break out with you, Young Master. Along the way, we ran into countless assassins, and most of Master’s Contracted Spirit Companions perished during the flight.”
The giant wolf choked back a sob at this point. Those fallen Spirit Beasts had been his companions and family. “For your sake, Master voluntarily severed his contract with me, entrusting you to my care while he went to draw the assassins away.”
Two large tears welled and rolled down from the giant wolf’s ice-blue eyes. “I brought you to Chu Family Village and had Chu Wangshan and his wife take you in. And here we have stayed for twelve years.”
Though the giant wolf’s account was brief, every word was stained with blood and tears. Chu Shaoye could almost envision his parents parting at the City Lord’s Manor, his father fleeing for his life, and the wounded Shuangyue carrying him away in desperate flight. This story is hosted at novelping(.)com.
Chu Shaoye’s eyes reddened. He asked urgently, “Then what about my parents? Are they still alive?”
“I do not know,” the giant wolf said, shaking his head. “Once the contract was severed, I could no longer sense Master. As for Mistress, she should still be alive, kept imprisoned within the City Lord’s Manor by his brother.”
Not knowing meant there was still hope. Chu Shaoye clenched his fists so tightly that his nails bit deep, bloody marks into his palms. “They must still be alive. I will find Father and rescue Mother.”
Grief hung thick in the cave. The little fox stopped its playing. As Chu Shaoye’s Natal Spirit Companion, its heart was bound to its Spirit Lord’s; it could feel his every joy, anger, sorrow, and delight.
Right now, Chu Shaoye’s heart was flooded with boundless sorrow, fury, and anguish.
The little fox crawled into Chu Shaoye’s arms, propped itself up to lick the tears from his cheeks, and whimpered softly in its throat as if comforting him.
Chu Shaoye held it tight and asked in a raw, hoarse voice, “Shuangyue, tell me! Who is the man bound to me by blood who destroyed my family?”
“Forgive me, Young Master.” The giant wolf shook his head. “I cannot reveal his name to you yet. All I can tell you is this: until you have grown strong, you must not set foot in the Western Ocean Continent.”
Chu Shaoye was slightly taken aback. The Myriad Spirits Continent was divided into five great regions: the Eastern Victory Continent, the Northern Expanse Continent, the Western Ocean Continent, the Southern Continent, and the Central Continent. Zhuyu City lay in the southwestern corner of the Southern Continent, worlds apart from the Western Ocean Continent.
Had Shuangyue fled this immense distance with him, crossing the boundless expanse of sea between the Western Ocean Continent and the Southern Continent, just to escape the enemy’s pursuit?
Chu Shaoye clenched his fists. Shuangyue was right; he was still far too weak. Showing himself before that man now would be nothing short of courting death.
The giant wolf looked upon the anguished youth. He had once considered never revealing the truth, allowing him to live a carefree life under the name Chu Shaoye.
Yet the young master’s will was set. Like his father, he possessed an unyielding resolve and was destined for greatness. And the debt of blood that man owed them would have to be repaid one day.
The giant wolf extended his tongue, revealing a black ring rolled within, crafted from neither metal nor jade.