“Gululu—”

After just a few seconds of staring at each other, before his brain could process what was happening, the enormous white beast saw the serious-looking person in front of it, whose pupils were unfocused and mouth agape, and it suddenly gulped down several mouthfuls of water. Its hands and feet began to flail.
“…?”

Seriousness never lasts more than two seconds. Lin Zhusheng, who had forgotten that he was about to drown, choked on water and was pushed to the surface by the giant beast before sinking.
For a moment, it was hard to tell who was saving whom.

As the golden-red formation disappeared, the discomfort of drowning faded away. He lay on the soaked white fur, did a quick fish-like leap, spat out a large mouthful of water, and took several deep breaths of fresh air. Finally feeling alive again, he wiped his face dry and let out a long sigh, saying, “I thought I was going to die.”

With the formation gone, his face returned to normal. The heavy rain continued to fall on his face, blurring his vision. He wiped his face again and turned to look in the original direction.
—So high.

High enough that he could basically see half of the library, while the other half was obscured by the body of the snow-white giant beast. Realizing where he was, he suddenly looked down, randomly patted the place where he had just gulped down water, and muttered an apology.

The white fur was soaked, and it was impossible to tell which was rainwater and which was from the courtyard. When he patted it, he could only say he was spreading the water around more evenly.
Now was not the time to be causing trouble. The rain continued to pour, his hair and clothes were drenched, and as the evening wind blew, he yawned right there, momentarily unsure whether he should take off his clothes or wrap them tighter.

His ears twitched, and the golden vertical pupils of Wuqi lifted, saying, “Hold on tight.”
“Hmm?”

Busy thinking about his clothes, the words went in one ear and out the other without registering in his brain. Lin Zhusheng hadn’t even reacted to what was being said when suddenly he felt a movement beneath him, and the scenery around him changed dramatically. He leaned back, instantly gripping the fur beneath him, not daring to let go.

Soaring through the air, Wuqi didn’t go far; he simply moved from the library to the square in front of the library that could accommodate him. The rain pelted down on him, and he bent down, pressing his face against the damp ground.

The sudden jolt had Lin Zhusheng feeling more alert. Not daring to stay on top any longer, he quickly jumped off in the direction of the fall, his feet landing back on solid ground, and he raised both hands as if he had been reborn.
“…”

A gust of wind blew, and the coldness of the clothes sticking to him intensified, so he quickly pulled his hands back.

As he withdrew his hands, a white shadow flickered at the corner of his eye. He turned to look, but before he could see clearly, his body was swept away, and he fell backward.

Instead of hitting the ground as he had imagined, he fell back into the unexpectedly dry and warm fur.
The giant white tail covered his head, shielding him from the rain that kept drifting in, creating an absolutely warm shelter.

His body instantly warmed up, and he opened his eyes, turning to look at the nearby snow-white beast. The golden vertical pupils were now close enough to meet his gaze, then they slowly closed, tired.
In this small courtyard, the water was accumulating unnoticed, but the aura of the great demon was rampant, and the mountain-like white beast emerging beside the library was impossible to ignore.
The library was on high alert. From sensing the aura to arriving at the scene, the sect leader and elders saw the quiet white beast lying in the center of the square.

Taking advantage of the night to escape, Wuqi had already drawn his sword, and the elders were preparing the formation, infusing spiritual power amidst the wind and rain.
The trapped beast formation was about to be set, the sword was drawn, and just as they were on high alert, the quietly lying beast slightly raised its head and glanced sideways.

As it moved, they finally noticed that nestled within its snow-white fur was a person. Dressed like an outer sect disciple, his hands seemed to be quietly rubbing the white fur, but upon noticing them, he quickly withdrew his hands.

This was Lin Zhusheng’s first meeting with the sect leader and the grand elder, along with the steward of the library. The sect leader looked like a middle-aged man, with a very serious square face, while the grand elder had graying hair, a long beard, and the most serious face ever, with deep wrinkles.
Wuqi recognized his master, breaking the cold sky-locking formation and automatically detaching. The moment Lin realized Wuqi had recognized him as his master, he was met with a lot of curious gazes.
It was still raining, and it wasn’t convenient to talk here, so he was invited to the courtyard where the steward of the library was staying.

Wuqi was too large to fit anywhere, so under the regretful gaze of someone nearby, he transformed back into human form. Before going to the courtyard for a detailed discussion, Lin Zhusheng requested to return to the library first.

Not for any other reason, mainly because his little cat was still out there in the rain.
This was a special situation, and the steward opened the door, allowing him to enter.
The inside of the library was inaccessible, and the little cat was still on the original rooftop, easy to find as long as there was light. Lin, who was afraid of heights, couldn’t go up, so in the end, it was the sect leader who went up to help rescue it and brought it back to him, while the grand elder dealt with the water that had filled the courtyard.

Dragging his soaked robe, Wuqi quietly picked up the umbrella that was barely placed outside the courtyard, opened it again, and sheltered the person standing in the rain to receive the little cat.
With his clothes drenched, Lin Zhusheng went to the steward’s courtyard to change into a clean outfit. Wuqi and the grand elder, somehow, after entering the room, were instantly dry from the steam.
“…!”

He sat down in his still mismatched clothes, sneaking a glance, and decided that even when he leveled up, he would do the same and steam several times a day.

After sipping some hot tea to drive away the cold, he learned the whole story. The sect leader kept his word and set down his teacup, looking at Wuqi and saying, “If you can ensure that no one and no beast gets hurt, and this young friend agrees, you may leave at will. My sect will not obstruct you.”
A vow has no actual effect, whether for humans or beasts, but a beast with a master is different; every word spoken is a promise to the master and must be fulfilled.

They looked at Wuqi, who looked at Lin Zhusheng. Propping his chin and sitting to the side, observing the conversation, Lin, who was wholeheartedly focused on drying his little cat, finally realized the conversation was about him. He looked up, his attention entirely on the little cat, and stated, “I have no objections.”
He was just an ordinary player trying to increase his favorability; whether Wuqi wanted to leave or where he went had nothing to do with him. As long as he could live in some corner of the world and fill up his favorability to complete all achievements, that was all that mattered.
“If…”
“No, wait.”
The vertical pupils turned back, Wuqi slightly parted his lips, just about to speak when the person sitting next to him quickly interrupted, extending a hand to block him, saying, “That’s not very good, is it?”
Unexpectedly, a matter that was nearly settled had a twist, and the sect leader and grand elder looked over.
Pushing the person beside him back, Lin Zhusheng straightened his back and said, “If you can’t hurt people or beasts, then isn’t that just a walking sandbag?”
That was close; thankfully, his brain kicked in.

From the perspective of the fierce beast, suppressing its nature was already very difficult. Adding the restriction of not being able to hurt people or beasts, a powerful ancient beast that couldn’t strike back and could only passively endure being beaten was essentially a living sandbag.
A fierce beast turned into a sandbag was worse than just sweeping leaves in the courtyard.
A small outer sect disciple, unexpectedly having the courage to refute in this situation, made the grand elder’s beard twitch as he met his gaze.

The sect leader poured another cup of tea and asked for his thoughts.
“Change it to not,” Lin turned to Wuqi and continued, “He can’t actively harm people or beasts, but he can retaliate if there’s actual unlawful harm… Ah, what I mean is, if someone hurts him, he has the freedom to fight back, as long as it’s not excessive.”

Facing the gazes of the sect leader and grand elder, he turned to the person involved in the agreement and added, “Of course, you can’t intentionally provoke others to attack you.”
Then he rubbed his hands together and asked, “Is that okay?”

He was the master and had absolute command, but he chose to negotiate, or rather, he was completely unaware of his command authority. Not receiving a response, his hands were almost rubbing sparks, just short of directly slapping him. Wuqi smiled for the first time, lowered his eyes, and nodded in agreement.
The agreement was made quite smoothly, and Lin Zhusheng turned back to the sect leader and grand elder.

What he thought would be decided quickly turned into a lengthy discussion on paper.
The agreement was revised and amended, and finally, it was finalized, ensuring the safety of both humans and beasts, while Wuqi gained the maximum freedom.

After a dry and tongue-tiring back-and-forth discussion, the sect leader took a sip of tea and said with a smile, “Young friend, you’re quite bold. Which elder is your master?”

Ordinary inner sect disciples would be nervous just seeing them, let alone outer sect disciples. This person was now sitting here as if he were at home, and he could even find ways to negotiate more rights for Wuqi. He truly had good guts and eloquence.

Lin Zhusheng’s mouth was dry too, and he gulped down a large mouthful of tea before replying, “I’m the disciple of the second elder.”

The sect leader asked, “New this year?”
Lin Zhusheng confirmed.

Having only joined for less than two months and already being able to form a contract with Wuqi, the sect leader raised his eyebrows slightly and said, “Such good talent! When you enter the inner sect in the future, if you like, you can come to my peak.”

Even while still in the outer sect, he was already being reserved. The grand elder, with his graying hair, glanced at the sect leader and then returned his gaze, still wearing that unyielding serious face.
While they were talking, Wuqi, who had originally been sitting to the side, had already collapsed, lying on the table with his white hair hanging down, making a sound. Thinking he was dead, Lin Zhusheng was startled and quickly leaned over to check.

Fortunately, he wasn’t dead; he was still breathing. The sect leader said, “The cultivation of the beast is influenced by its master. Young friend, your current cultivation is relatively low, unable to support his consumption, so he easily gets tired.”
“…”

The last thing Lin Zhusheng wanted to hear was the word “master.” Hearing it made his eyes twitch, and he returned to his seat, withdrawing his hand from checking.