In a few seconds, Ronghua surrounded the furnace with her spiritual power.
Ronghua then lifted her sight and looked at Rongnuan, who was sleeping on the branches, with her catching eyes. Ronghua’s dress fluttered in the midnight wind, shrouding the insipid atmosphere with a shade of mystery.
After a short moment of silence, Ronghua lifted the lid of the furnace. The scents of medicine soon blew out, suggesting a success.
Suddenly, Ba Luo howled from behind. Ronghua turned around in confusion and thought, “Is it…about to evolve?”
Ba Luo had almost recovered. But still, it was surprising to see it evolve right after signing the contract. Ronghua stood there in silence and did not interrupt.
A lone wolf would usually be born as a grade-five monster. But Ronghua suspected Ba Luo might be born with defects because it was not as agile and speedy as its kind. “Otherwise, how could it be struck down so easily and lost the ability to fight after taking one hit?” thought Ronghua, “This contract served in its interests!”
Ba Luo’s body grew rapidly, and its wounds were healed by the power it gained in the evolution. It stood up and look down on Ronghua, with a pair of newly stretched wings on its back. “Was that mutation? That’s something rare. The lone wolf was already one of the fastest hunters on land, and now with its wings, I think I would be able to assert supremacy for speed in the air,” thought Ronghua.
Bai Luo’s eyes glared with anger. “Is it a sign that it has recognized me? And now it wants to kill me?” thought Ronghua.
Ronghua raised her eyebrow and said, “What? Ready to kick down the ladder and get rid of me once you’ve evolved?” Prince Ba Luo obviously did not understand what Ronghua was talking about. It then struck against Ronghua. “How dare it!” thought Ronghua.
Ronghua dodged that attack. The poor Ba Luo then missed Ronghua and threw himself straight into a tree, hitting a big dint into it.
Ronghua looked at the dazzled Ba Luo in surprise. “It is not bad at all, at least I can use it as a cushion,” thought Ronghua.
“…Can you knock it off for a second?!” asked Ronghua.
As soon as Ba Luo recovered from the stunning, it ignored Ronghua’s warning and positioned itself for the next attack. Speechless, Ronghua did not have time for this and came up with an idea pretty soon. She tried to provoke Ba Luo by pointing at it with her fingers, welcoming its attack. Enraged, Ba Luo waved its wings and dashed toward Ronghua with a howling. “It certainly needs to learn about how to use its newly fledged wings better,” thought Ronghua.
Just when Ba Luo’s claws were about to reach Ronghua, Ronghua snapped her fingers. Ba Luo suddenly felt a burst of headache. It stopped attacking Ronghua, curled its body on the ground, howled violently and held its head in agonizing pain.
Now it was Ronghua’s turn to look down on Ba Luo. “How about that?” asked Ronghua.
“How about what? Is she talking about me? Is my headache yet another trick of hers?” thought Ba Luo. It managed to stand back on its feet and asked, “What have you done to me?”
“It could stand back on its feet?” thought Ronghua. She then stopped teasing Ba Luo in recognition of its strength.
With another snap of Ronghua’s fingers, Ba Luo went prone on the ground. “Now, it’s more comfortable to talk to you,” said Ronghua.
To Ba Luo’s chagrin, it felt helpless in the face of Ronghua’s suppression. “What have you done to me?” asked Ba Luo.
Ronghua was looking down to inspect Ba Luo. Upon hearing Ba Luo’s question, she held up her chin with one hand and said, “…I thought you knew about what had happened! I don’t suppose that you are as blunt as not knowing that.”
Ba Luo stared blankly at Ronghua and asked, “Know about…what?” Ba Luo felt that there was something ominous about this conversation.
Ronghua managed to put on an amiable smile on her face. She then asked, “Haven’t you notice that you can’t even move a finger when I suppress you?” Ba Luo suddenly noticed that it was indeed entirely suppressed by Ronghua. “She seems to know about what I want to do and where I want to go, and she could suppress my actions with a snap of her finger,” thought Ba Luo.
Suddenly, Ba Luo speculated for the worst. “…Did you sign a contract with me?” asked Ba Luo in a heavy voice. It was so angry that it would swallow Ronghua alive if it could. Ba Luo’s wings also erected in aggression.
Ronghua waved her hand and said, “Give me a break. Look around you. Your pack and father are all here, waiting for you to come out. But if you upset me…”
Ronghua summoned a tongue of the fire of nothingness and casually threw it away. The flamed then set a tree ablaze and reduced it to the ground in no time.
Ba Luo, “…” “Is this a threat?” thought Ba Luo. This time, Ronghua’s threat seemed to have reached Ba Luo.
Ronghua continued to say, “The same fire dug a hole in your body. I suppose you can still remember how it felt.”
Ba Luo immediately showed obedience to Ronghua. “Maybe I should listen to what she says! That fire really can hurt,” it thought. Ba Luo could still remember the pains and felt lucky that he survived.
Ronghua was satisfied with Ba Luo’s obedience. She then said, “What’s wrong with signing a contract with me? You’re healed, evolved, and even mutated! Other monsters would dream about these things, and you’ve got all of them with ease. You should be thankful.”
Ba Luo said nothing and thought, “I am most certainly not thankful that you’ve nearly killed me! And you’ve even signed a contract with me without my consent!”
Ronghua then pointed upward. Confused, Ba Luo looked to the direction Ronghua had pointed. “There is nothing but darkness and trees. What is she pointing at?” thought Ba Luo. Ronghua said, “A person is now up there. Would you take me up and help me to get him down here?”
Ba Luo was confused. “Why? How did that person get up there in the first place?” thought Ba Luo. It then said, “No!”
Ronghua was not content with Ba Luo’s upright rejection and asked, “What? You don’t want to do that?” “Of course I don’t,” thought Ba Luo. It then turned away without looking at Ronghua. “I am a monster that has a temper,” thought Ba Luo.
It then noticed Ronghua raised her hand and was about to snap her fingers again. “I will get there immediately!” Ba Luo said in a hurry.
“Where is your temper now?” thought Ronghua.
Sitting on Ba Luo’s back, Ronghua noticed that it was not exactly proficient in using its wings in her turbulent flight. Ronghua clung to Ba Luo’s fur, thus prevented her from falling off.
Ba Luo noticed that Ronghua was not happy with flying on its back. Ba Luo twitched its lips and said, “I am trying my best. These are newly grown wings, after all.”
Frustrated, Ronghua instructed Ba Luo how to fly. “Fly steadily. Try to keep your wings at a suitable level and feel the wind flowing toward you,” she said.
Ba Luo tried to learn and incorporate Ronghua’s instructions into its flying. It somehow worked. “Where is he?” asked Ronghua while searching for Rongnuan. “He is there!” said Ronghua, pointing to a direction.
When they reached there, Ronghua and Ba Luo noticed that Rongnuan was still sleeping. “Don’t get too close, you will scare him,” said Ronghua. Ba Luo then tried to approach the tree slowly and gently. Rongnuan then timely woke up to the winds fanned by Ba Luo’s wings.
Rongnuan was scared when he opened his eyes and saw Ba Luo’s big face. Frightened, Rongnuan slipped off from the tree. “I was still on the tree! Am I still dreaming?” thought Rongnuan.
“I told you don’t get too close!” Ronghua shouted in anger.
Upon hearing Ronghua’s shouting, Rongnuan realized that this was not a dream.
“Rongnuan!!” shouted Ronghua. Rongnuan then opened his eyes courageously, seeing Ronghua was flying toward him on the back of a lone wolf. “…Ronghua,” replied Rongnuan, stretching his hands toward her, feeling breathless. “…help me!” Rongnuan continued to say.
It was to Ronghua’s surprise that Rongnuan was falling faster than Ba Luo. “Faster!” shouted Ronghua.
Ba Luo then tried to accelerate, retrieving its stretched wings and dashed toward Rongnuan. But still, Rongnuan was out of reach.
“Faster!” said Ronghua.
Ronghua was getting increasingly close to Rongnuan. “Give me your hands,” shouted Ronghua, while reaching to Rongnuan with her hand. But Rongnuan’s body was still weak, and could not catch Ronghua’s hand after several times. Ronghua’s anxiousness was mixed with a bit of anger.
At this critical moment, Ba Luo also dropped the ball; his course deviated from Rongnuan after an unexpected blow of wind hit it.
After Ronghua had steadied herself, she asked ferociously, “What are you doing?” Ba Luo was afraid and said, “I…I, I don’t know.”
Ronghua summoned the fire of nothingness in hand and asked, “A-R-E Y-O-U S-U-R-E?!” Ba Luo shocked its body even more violently in fear when it saw the flame.
Ronghua then jumped off Ba Luo and moved toward Rongnuan. With the light emitting from the fire in her hand, Ronghua saw Rongnuan. She then caught Rongnuan’s hand at this life-defining moment, holding him into her arms. Ronghua could clearly sense Rongnuan’s fear, for his body was still shivering while wearing a coat.
There was no time to comfort Rongnuan. Ronghua then surrounded her and Rongnuan with the spiritual power she had marshaled. Then, she slapped against the ground, mitigating the shocks. But they still fell heavily on the ground.
Ronghua held Rongnuan tight as she was petrified that he might be hurt. They rolled together on the ground, drawing along a deep trench in the ground as they wallowed together.
Rongnuan finally opened his eyes, with trembling lips he said, “…I am fine. But Ronghua, are you…ok?” He was aware that Ronghua took the hit with her body for him when he did not touch the ground first.
Seeing Rongnuan was ok, Ronghua then tried to comfort him. “I am fine. Can you stand up?” asked Ronghua.
The way their bodies tangled was a bit embarrassing. Though Rongnuan was taller than Ronghua, Ronghua was holding Rongnuan, who cuddled his curled body in Ronghua’s arms with his head in her breast. This scene could certainly inspire some romantic vagueness in their relationship.
Rongnuan was acting a bit unnatural. He then slowly stood up. Ronghua sighed in relief, and dusted her clothes while she stood up. Rongnuan was covered by the white coat she put on him earlier, facing Ronghua with her back and blushing earlobes. “Is he…feeling bashful?” thought Ronghua.
Ronghua thought that was funny. “He’s overreacting,” thought Ronghua.
Putting on a smile on her face, Ronghua walked around Rongnuan, toward the lone wolf for the reckoning. Rongnuan then followed Ronghua when he saw Ronghua walked pass him. A mixture of anger and an impulse to laugh struck Ronghua when she saw Ba Luo huddled his body into a circle by the tree.
Ba Luo seemed to have been aggrieved and wronged. A passerby would speculate that someone was bullying it.
Ronghua summoned a tongue of the fire of nothingness. “What? Are you wronged?” asked Ronghua, in a tone so cold that it could inspire fear. “She must be angry. What should I do? What should I do?” thought Ba Luo.
Though Ba Luo then crawled to Ronghua and huddled his body at her feet, it could still feel the mounting pressure exerted by Ronghua’s anger.
Rongnuan dashed toward Ronghua and held her arms before she could scold Ba Luo. Rongnuan asked in fear, “Why is it here? Is it here to kill us?” Startled, Ronghua tried to explain, “No… That’s not the case. It’s my contractual monster.” “Rongnuan would live in fear of Ba Luo for a while,” Ronghua speculated.
Ronghua then turned around and tried to comfort Rongnuan. “It’s alright. It dares not hurt you. And I would stew it alive if it did,” said Ronghua.
Upon hearing that Ronghua might stew him alive, Ba Luo shivered in fear, and tears started to drop down its weepy eyes. “Master, I am not tasty!” whimpered Ba Luo.
Ronghua turned around and took a look at Ba Luo. It then stopped saying anything.
Ronghua waved her hands and opened a rift in the fire circle of the fire of nothingness that surrounded them. “Get out. We’ve got things to do,” said Ronghua.
Lest it might be stewed, Ba Luo ran away. Yet, Ba Luo asked an unwitted question when it was about to reach the exit. “What would you guys do? Why can’t I watch it?” asked Ba Luo.
Ronghua glared at it with a cold look and said, “You are an eyesore here.”
Ba Luo then suffered a huge blow to its self-esteem. “Why did I ask her in the first place?!” thought Ba Luo.
After Ba Luo left, Ronghua then gave Rongnuan a pill. Rongnuan took over that pill and asked, “Is this…the soul-restoring pill?” Rongnuan then wondered, “Its fragrance is special indeed, but where did she get all of the medicinal herbs?”
Noticing the confusion on Rongnuan’s face, Ronghua was ready to explain. “Oh, all the medicinal materials were gathered by Prince Ba Luo’s father. I saved its son, and he had repaid me by gathering the herbs. Fortunately, this mountain had got everything we need. Take the pill, and your spiritual power will be restored,” explained Ronghua.
Rongnuan’s doubts were dispelled, and he quickly took the soul-resorting pill.
Rongnuan then sat cross-legged. The pill dissolved quickly, releasing its power in Rongnuan’s body like a stick of exploding dynamite. The effect of the pill was so strong that it caused Rongnuan to spit some blood.
Ronghua was duly worried. “Can he really take it?” wondered Ronghua.