After the Immortal Disappeared

"Once our kin escort the Young Master back to the North Star Tundra, the clan will send another ten Rock Wolves to join your ranks."

Huh? Hee Yue was taken aback. This sounded familiar. He secretly asked his older brother, "Is it talking about an Immortal Pet Contract?"

The voice was quiet, but the Wolf Demon’s hearing was exceptional. Luu Xin was greatly displeased. "It is not an Immortal Pet Contract! A Rock Wolf will never be a pet!"

"Alright, alright." Seeing them all bristle, Hee Chunhua quickly stepped in to soothe them. "This agreement is quite good."

While still worked up, Luu Xin added another condition: "And another thing—each of us wolves must eat at least eight pounds of good meat every day."

"That’s not a problem." ’It’s just a matter of food, isn’t it? Is the army supposed to be afraid of big eaters?’ Hee Chunhua went over to the street youth’s cart, took out a brush and paper, and wrote out the contract in duplicate. He signed it, then brought it back for the Wolf Demon to inspect.

Luu Xin had another old wolf come over to review it. They repeatedly confirmed the contents were correct—though it was really only two sentences—before he finally pressed his paw print onto the contract.

The contract was sealed.

With the strange man in the sky long gone, the Werewolf gradually calmed. The Wolf Pack gathered around it, nuzzling its head and sniffing its tail. It was unclear how they communicated, but the Werewolf licked a few of them in return.

One of the wolves produced a blood-red, lantern-like orb from somewhere and fed it to the Werewolf. After eating it, the latter’s eyes grew brighter. It even started wagging its tail, and its attitude toward the Wolf Pack warmed considerably.

Luu Xin then asked Hee Chunhua to retract the Silk-entwined Celestial Net, and the Wolf Pack descended the mountain, surrounding the Werewolf. They had to get the Young Master out of Shihuan’s territory before dawn to put distance between him and the strange man.

As per their agreement, Luu Xin and another wolf, Luu Jin, stayed behind.

As for how the Werewolf would be transported back to the North Star Tundra, that was the internal business of the Rock Wolf Race, and the humans did not pry.

Seeing the situation here had stabilized, the guards from Luming Garden took their leave and returned up the mountain.

The carriages used by Ke Jihai and the Hee Family were both broken, so they had to descend the mountain on horseback. The prisoner Hee Yue had injured was still alive; after his wounds were crudely treated, he was immediately interrogated on the spot.

It was hard to say whether the man lacked backbone or if Ke Jihai’s methods were just too vicious, but in any case, he confessed quickly. He admitted that he and his men were pawns left in Shihuan City by the Xunzhou Governor, Nian Zanli. The masked man who commanded the strange Demon Beast was respectfully called Mr. Dong, an assassin hired by the Grand Commandant for a hefty sum.

Ke Jihai and Hee Chunhua were common enemies of both parties. After learning they would both be attending the Zhu Family’s night banquet, Mr. Dong decided to wipe them all out in one go.

"The sheer audacity of this man!" Ke Jihai laughed in anger. "Daring to assassinate high officials of the Royal Court protected by Primordial Power, and trying to kill two at once!"

"Mr. Dong is very powerful. I’ve heard he’s killed many officials."

Hee Chunhua cut in, "Why did you only rush out after I had captured his Werewolf?"

"We didn’t dare come out sooner," the man said with a bitter smile. "Mr. Dong’s Pet Beasts are vicious and bloodthirsty. When they get agitated, they’ll even kill their own allies, so they can’t coordinate with people in a fight. There were originally ten of us, but a few days ago, one unlucky guy had his head bitten clean off and eaten by that Ghost Ape."

Next, Ke Jihai pressed him for more intelligence, such as how many rebel remnants were left in Shihuan and the Capital City, where they were hiding, and who their contacts were. But the man’s status was low, and he knew very few inside details.

Fortunately, he did know where his direct superior lived and what his name was.

With this information in hand, Ke Jihai bid farewell to the Hee Family. "Mr. Hee, we shall meet again. I expect we’ll see each other very soon—if not on the battlefield, then in the Imperial Court."

Hee Chunhua returned the salute with cupped fists. "May General Ke crush our enemies on the battlefield and be victorious in all directions!"

"Victorious in all directions! I like the sound of that!" Ke Jihai laughed heartily, then turned to Hee Lingchuan. "Kid, you’re growing on me. We’ll have a drink together next time."

Hee Lingchuan nodded. "Of course. I’ll be sure to have good wine ready for you, General."

Ke Jihai then departed with the prisoner in tow, leaving in grand style. He had to rush back to the Capital City, traveling day and night.

One could well imagine that tomorrow, the winds of change would once again sweep through the Capital City. There was no telling how many more heads would roll.

The Wolf Demon, Luu Xin, had stayed behind. The Wolf Pack had tracked Dong Rui to this place, collecting a good deal of information along the way, which he could now explain to the humans. Of course, Hee Lingchuan had also assured him that if he stayed, there would be meat.

"We like venison. Mutton is also acceptable." Upon arriving at Luming Garden, they had seen many sika deer, so fat they could barely run. If it weren’t for the fear of alerting the humans...

The hungry wolf started to drool. In the Northern Land, venison and Rock Sheep meat were delicacies of the highest quality, a favorite of every wolf.

"No problem. As long as you answer every question I have, you’ll have all the tender young lamb you can eat tomorrow morning."

The point everyone was most concerned about was the identity of the masked man, Dong Rui.

"Have you ever heard of a ’Demon Puppet Master’?"

The Hee Family members naturally shook their heads.

"A Beast Master?"

"No. A Demon Puppet Master."

Beast Masters were a type of Mage, and there were many of them. Their defining characteristic was, of course, fighting with beasts. But no Beast Master’s Demon Pet was as bizarre as Dong Rui’s.

"He rarely appears in the Yuan Kingdom, so you know very little about him. This man uses any means necessary to capture powerful Demons, subjecting them to cruel and unimaginable modifications and a process of Refining the Spirit, turning them into Puppets he uses to kill!" For the sake of meat, Luu Xin was indeed showing exceptional patience in his explanation. "As far as I know, he has committed atrocities in at least the Seven Kingdoms. His victims range from high officials to commoners, and even many famous Mages have died at his hands."

"That Ghost Ape was the son of the Beiga Kingdom’s Left Imperial Guard General. I heard he was only fifteen when Dong Rui abducted him. For more than a decade, the Beiga Kingdom has been trying to get revenge on Dong Rui, but the man is exceptionally vigilant. He slips away at the slightest hint of trouble."

"So you’re saying that Ghost Ape isn’t even thirty years old?" Hee Yue asked, astonished. "Demons usually have long lifespans and their Daoist Practice progresses slowly. Judging by its power and size, it looks like it’s at least three or four hundred years old."

"That is Dong Rui’s specialty. Rumor has it, he once bragged while drunk that while being pursued by enemies, he fell into an Ancient Immortal’s Cave Mansion in a Secret Realm. There, he learned the arts of Refining Beasts and Mastering Beasts. He then expanded upon these arts himself, fusing the traits of numerous Demon Beasts into one to create monsters like the Ghost Ape, even managing to skyrocket its Cultivation by several hundred years out of thin air. But the price is that the process is excruciatingly painful. The modified Demons lose their sanity, their temperaments become violent and unstable, and they often go berserk. It’s a mystery what methods Dong Rui uses to make his Demon Puppets obey his commands."

"How many other Demon Puppets does Dong Rui have?"

"I’ve heard that three of them appear frequently. Now that our Young Master has been recovered, that’s down to two." Luu Xin thought for a moment. "But whether Dong Rui has any other Demon Puppets, nobody knows for sure."

"The prisoner just said that Dong Rui was hired by Dongg Haoming for a huge sum."

"Money can’t hire him," Luu Xin said, shaking his head. "Only precious materials can move him."

Hee Lingchuan had another lingering question. "During the earlier battle, the Ghost Ape was already being suppressed by General Ke’s Primordial Power. How did it suddenly surge with energy and even sprout two heads and four arms?"

Luu Xin admitted he didn’t know. "Logically speaking, a Ghost Ape shouldn’t be able to transform into such a form. There’s no telling what tricks Dong Rui pulled during the modification. Our Young Master also... developed some strange changes."

A Demon cannot take human form unless its original appearance is already humanoid, like an ape. The Rock Wolf Clan was also deeply shocked that Luu Ze had taken on the appearance of a Werewolf after being modified.

"As far as we know, several nations have issued bounties for Dong Rui, dead or alive. Of course, the reward for capturing him alive is especially generous."

Hee Lingchuan smiled. "The fact that the Demon Puppets he creates can fight against Primordial Power... that’s a secret everyone wants to get their hands on."

The answer to this mystery had far-reaching implications, yet Dong Rui, with a massive bounty on his head, was still committing crimes everywhere, roaming free beyond the reach of the law.

"Dong Rui returned empty-handed this time. Of his three great Demon Puppets, two are injured and one is lost. He will definitely wait for an opportunity to take revenge on you."

Hee Lingchuan grinned at the Wolf Demon, showing his teeth. "What’s this ’you’ and ’us’? From now on, we’re all in this together."

「They were finally down the mountain.」

Back at their inn, the Hee Family first settled Madam Ying in. The Medicine Ape, Ling Guang, came over on its own to tend to Hee Lingchuan’s injuries. Only then did the father and his two sons finally close the door to talk.

Hee Lingchuan had been wanting to ask for a while. "Tell me about the Immortal Pet Contract." He had heard of it before but had never looked into it deeply.

Hee Yue smiled. "Didn’t Uncle Hao raise a Hawk Demon named Xiaohui? That was his avian pet, bound by a contract."

Hearing this, Hee Lingchuan also found it strange. ’How odd,’ he thought. ’Why have I never raised a Demon?’

He was increasingly feeling that the original owner of his body, who seemed to have been able to get whatever he wanted in Black Water City, was actually nothing special.

He just had a bit of money and could act high and mighty in front of the common villagers.

"Almost no one in Black Water City keeps Demon Pets," Hee Yue explained. "In a rural place like that, the Demons are far fiercer than the people."

"Well, you have your chance now," Hee Chunhua said. "For better coordination in the future, a one-on-one pact must be made between human and wolf. The Rock Wolves will choose their own partners."

Hee Yue then proceeded to bring his older brother up to speed.

It turned out that whether for Beast Masters or ordinary Cultivators raising Demons, the prerequisite was always the Immortal Pet Contract.

This wasn’t a modern invention but a creation of the Ancient Immortals. They subdued powerful Demon Beasts and then used the power of the contract to restrain and control them. The Immortals gradually disappeared, but this method was passed down.

Of course, many different versions of the Immortal Pet Contract have evolved over time. The method Dong Rui used to control his Demon Puppets was surely closer to the original, master-strong-pet-weak version. The "pact" proposed by the Rock Wolf Clan, however, was a modified, weaker variant. In it, the Demon and human have no master-servant relationship; their status is equal. It retains only the most important Law of the Immortal Pet Contract:

Contracted partners cannot harm each other. Furthermore, under certain specific conditions, they can also share external damage. For instance, this version of the pact stipulates that if the partners are within a hundred feet of each other, either the human or the wolf can activate the "Share Weal and Woe" special effect, transferring half of any damage taken to their partner for a duration of twenty breaths.

Furthermore, Hee Chunhua had also heard that the Rock Wolves were most famous for their innate stamina. If a contracted partner was in the same space as one, they could most likely share this trait.

It made sense when you thought about it. A Wolf Pack could run for ten double-hours straight while chasing prey; their stamina was naturally outstanding.

"So by ’stamina,’ you just mean good physical endurance?" Hee Lingchuan rubbed his hands together eagerly. "This is great, this is great! Can I use it anytime?!"

For example...?