032

The Senior Elder walked leisurely towards the opposite side of the table and took a sit. Meanwhile, owl was freaking out internally. It was fortunate that being an owl, his facial expression always remained nearly the same. Otherwise, it would have sported quite the look. There was only one thought that kept popping inside his head "I'm so fucked, I'm so fucked…"

The Senior Elder was in no hurry. He took out a tea set from his spatial ring and two tea cups and began to prepare some refreshments. He heated the kettle through the use of spiritual energy fused with the fire element and served the tea. As he did so, he also took out a plate with a few pastries. One could only wonder what was on the mind of someone who walked around with such sets already prepared. Owl's thoughts only revolved around his doom though.

The Senior Elder signaled towards the tea cup as he gently said: "Enjoy"

He went for his own cup himself and sipped for a moment. The Senior Elder loved it though that was obvious. He looked at the spiritual beast in front of him, the beast that remained unfazed and motionless throughout. He wondered whether it was still trying to act. Anyways, it wouldn't remain like that for much longer.

The Senior Elder began: "My name is Sun Yong-Hik, I am a Senior Elder of the Serene Summer Pavilion which we are in right now. You already know about this though. So, who are you?"

Owl remained silent, still scared shitless. He wasn't too far from peeing himself. The man in front of him was someone who had passed the 30th stage, someone far stronger than he ever was even in his previous life. This was no joke.

The Senior Elder thought that the beast was still acting so, after sipping a bit more tea, he spoke again: "We know you're the one behind the incident, we know you are at the peak of the 9th stage and not the 4th stage as was written on the records and we know you understand our words. As such, I would be grateful if we could stop playing around, my patience is thin"

Owl glanced around the room. It was truly sealed. Not like he could have escaped anyways but it was out of reflex. It was clear to him that the elder here wished to converse and might blow him in pieces if he refused and remained stubborn. Since he was found out, he decided to entrust himself to fate. What could happen? Death?

Damn, the mere thought of it scared him even more.

But he had no choice if he wanted to at least prolong his birdy life. He didn't have anything to write with though as he hide all his belongings…He pondered for a moment on how to communicate and looked at the table. It was made of wood. Not too dense but not too thin, it would do. He moved a wing and placed it on the table. Then, infusing spiritual energy into it, he began to engrave a single word on the table under the eyes of the Senior Elder: "W-R-I-T-E"

The Senior Elder didn't know what to make of those words at first but then noticed that he had been trying to speak with a bird. Birds didn't have the ability of speech like men, except for a few species like parrots. This was an owl. It likely couldn't speak words. Since it wasn't at the 10th stage, it didn't have access to the elements either, making it impossible for it to have the ability of speech. The Senior Elder chuckled at his own mistake. Of course, he couldn't have discussed with a bird through speech… Still, this showed that the owl truly had awareness and knew the human tongue. It proved that he could communicate with it too.

Since the owl could only write his words and not speak them, it was obvious what he needed. The Senior Elder took out a brush, ink and a few blank papers. This was harder to use than a simple pen but he owned only those as he enjoyed calligraphy. The owl didn't seem to mind as he picked the brush in its beak and dipped it in ink before writing on the paper: "I am Owl"

The Senior Elder coughed as he tried not to laugh. An Owl that named itself Owl, how ingenious. He found it interesting and wanted to know how much awareness this beast had. The more it had, the more chances it could become a sentient. Having a sentient would prove to be very useful…

The Senior Elder nodded at the beast and spoke: "Good. Then, Owl, let me give you a choice: will you break your contract with the kid and make one with me or will I have to kill the kid and force it upon you?"

There it came. Owl expected this much. It was still depressing when hearing it. He knew how attractive a beast like him would be to humans yet he still dared to take on so many risks. He had been foolish. He should have escaped as soon as he got the brick, he wouldn't have been in such a predicament. But greed pushed him to stay. It was so much easier to get goods here… He sighed internally. Destiny was a cruel bitch and fate a sadistic slut. And they had their sights on him.

He remained still for minutes as he tried to think of a way to get out of this. And he ended up finding a few. The easiest way out was suicide but this would be his last recourse. He didn't want to die yet again. Beyond that, there were a few more. The one that seemed the most doable was to play with his worth. He was caught but he could at least negotiate his future treatment. This seemed like the best solution.

He picked the brush once more and wrote: "What if others learn of me?"

The Senior Elder did not expect such an answer. This might not seem like much but those words held a lot of meanings. Simply put, this Owl was threatening him with others. If he wanted to own this owl, wouldn't others do so as well. This was the same as asking him if he had the qualifications to hold onto the treasure that was this owl. Do you have the strength to keep me with you? That's what it meant. And the answer was rather ugly. He did not. Sure, he was a Senior Elder but so what? He was not the only one. There were also three Grand Elders including the Sect Master. And that was only in his sect.

The reality was that having a sentient beast as a tamed beast was something that even pinnacle experts would be willing to fight for. They were equals to humans in potential, who wouldn't to have a few at their beck and call? But there were none who did have any. Because there were many sentients with might equal to those of pinnacle human experts. If they witness one of their own being enslaved…They would kill both the slave and the humans behind its imprisonment.

Sentient beasts were a weird bunch. They hated other sentient beasts that weren't the same race. For example, a tiger man would hate a dragon man. However, they hated humans even more. Enough that a dragon man would fight humans to free a tiger man and vice versa if the situation happened.

Having a tamed sentient beast seemed like having a path to success but it could also be a path to doom. The fact that this Owl was already aware of all this… It had many implications. One thing was certain however. It was that he needed to reconsider carefully how to deal with this spiritual beast.

It could definitely bring great benefits. But it could also bring devastation not only to him but to the entire sect.

He carefully looked at the Owl. Then, he drank his cup and refilled it. He drank some more before he asked the beast: "You are right. I should probably kill you now. At least, no one else will be able to have you"

As the words left the elder's lips, instead of being frightened, Owl felt relieved and safer. That was because he knew. He knew this was an empty threat. The temptation of gaining control over a sentient spiritual beast was too great. His worth while alive too high. This Senior Elder wanted him alive, not dead. He only needed to be given a way out of the dead end he sent himself with his own words.

This sentence that seemed like a threat was, in fact, an olive branch. He wasn't telling him to die but asking him to give a satisfying solution to the problem at hand. As long as Owl gave a satisfying proposal, his safety would be guaranteed.