Niu Niu

Ryan realized that he could now maintain his Qi Gong posture for an hour, and the sensation of energy flowing through his body had become more noticeable. However, he wondered if he was practicing incorrectly. In the past, his Qi Gong would only produce small red light spots, but now, the colors were all over the place, like the sensation of being hit in the head and seeing stars. He didn't experience the typical cycle or path of energy circulation described in online guides. Instead, he felt the energy start from his soles, travel up through his abdomen, and disappear at his third eye. At first, he only felt it in his soles, but now, the sensation extended up to his calves. The energy began at the size of chopsticks but thinned out as it reached his forehead. Although it was just a feeling, it had clear benefits: no matter how tired he was, maintaining the posture for an hour would restore his mental energy and physical strength by 70-80%. This was enough of an improvement for Ryan to keep practicing, prioritizing safety.

What Ryan didn't notice was that when he slept, his body emitted a faint white glow, almost imperceptible, like a hazy light. The strange egg left on his pillow also glowed white, but upon closer inspection, it was absorbing the white light emanating from Ryan. This continued throughout the night until dawn, by which time the glow was no longer visible.

"Time to head out," Ryan said to himself, wearing a pair of straw sandals, ragged cloth bindings on his legs, a hat on his head, and an old cloth bag on his back filled with leftover food. He had several copper coins tied to his waist as knives, and in his left hand, he carried a wooden stick to probe the path ahead, which also served as a walking cane. His right hand held a sharpened sickle—his weapon. Although Tory had assured him there were no large beasts around, he still took precautions. After all, wild animals don't announce their arrival.

From what he learned from Tory, Teri Town was located in the center of human territory, surrounded by dense forests, but with no large beasts or magical creatures. The surrounding mountainous area had poor soil, which made the town impoverished. There was little production beyond some grain and timber, leaving mostly rocks as a resource.

Ryan's luck wasn't great today—he hadn't encountered anything edible. There were plenty of wild fruits, but he didn't recognize them and didn't dare eat them. He had to settle for some cornmeal dumplings that he had made himself, adding dried fish, mushrooms, and salt. It was a simple recipe: cook the grain, dried fish, and mushrooms together until soft, then form into balls and roast them over the fire. They were tasty when fresh, but once cold, they were as hard as rocks, so Ryan had to break them into small pieces and soak them in water to soften before eating.

"Did there been an explosion here?" Ryan thought as he looked around at the scattered stones covering an area of a few hundred square meters, with the occasional shrub. The way the stones were spread out looked like the aftermath of an explosion, with shockwaves distorting the ground.

After further inspection, Ryan concluded that it wasn't just one explosion but two. He carefully measured the radius of the impact zones and identified the centers of both blasts. One had been stronger, with a wider radius, while the other had been smaller in scale.

"Only about four hours left before I have to head back," Ryan thought, so he began digging. He was feeling restless and curious about what could have caused such destruction. Plus, he felt that if he didn't keep himself occupied, he might go mad from the monotony.

"Damn it! No treasure here," Ryan cursed as he discovered that the supposed rocks were loose and easily dug through. Within two hours, he had dug a pit about a meter in diameter and 40 centimeters deep. However, the ground was solid stone underneath, and he couldn't continue any further with just a small shovel.

"Maybe I should dig the other side and see if I can find anything, or I could head to Harry City—nobody is likely to visit the horse farm for a while," Ryan thought. He had long been curious about Harry City, and now that the farm would be deserted for a while, he figured it was a good time to explore the unknown.

"Wait, what's this?" Ryan exclaimed as he uncovered a few pieces of what looked like parchment or torn book pages. They were covered with strange lines that gave him a headache just looking at them.

"Forget it, I'll head back. It's been a long day, and I'll go check out Harry City tomorrow," Ryan decided, no longer the naive boy he once was but a man with the soul of someone nearly 30 years old. If it had been the old Ryan, he would have been too scared to go alone.

By the time Ryan returned to his shelter, it was dark. He lit a fire, boiled some water to fill his stomach, and began reviewing his findings for the day.

"Why are these so clean? No dust at all," Ryan said as he carefully examined three sheets of parchment. Not only were they spotless, but the strange lines on them seemed unusual.

"Maybe I should tear one open to see what it is?" Ryan thought. He picked the sheet with the fewest lines and tore it open.

"Bang!" As soon as he tore it, Ryan felt a wave of dizziness, as if countless insects were crawling into his brain. The sensation was so sudden that he collapsed onto the hot water pot.

"Ouch, ouch!" Ryan quickly submerged his red-hot arm into the cold water bucket. Thankfully, the water wasn't too hot, though the pot itself had burned him.

Once he composed himself, he looked down at the torn parchment.

"A contract scroll—Fireball." Ryan was shocked as he could now clearly read the strange, curved writing on the other two sheets.

He quickly flipped through the other books, amazed that he could read them now, though the contents were mostly about love, relationships, and nobles. Ryan felt disappointed, finding it all to be "garbage."

"Wait, there are two more books: 'Monstrous Creatures of the Continent' and 'Alchemist's Basics.' Those look interesting. I might not need to go to Harry City tomorrow," Ryan said. But he didn't immediately read these books; it was already late, and Ryan wasn't one to rush. He had plenty of time.

"This contract scroll... Could it be a monster-summoning contract? And what about this Fireball spell—how powerful is it? Looks like even non-mages can use this scroll," Ryan thought as he lay on his bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Magic was so fascinating to him—just the idea of it made his mind race. He couldn't wait to discover more about the other two scrolls.

"Sigh, sleep," he finally decided, too tired to keep thinking. He tossed the contract scroll aside, not realizing that as he did, the scroll landed on the strange egg. As Ryan's body began to glow with white light, the egg responded, emitting a similar glow. It seemed to absorb the light from Ryan's body, but the presence of the scroll interrupted the flow. The scroll immediately ignited.

"Ah! Damn it, the Soul Contract Scroll!" A sudden scream pierced the air.

"Ah! Who hit me? Who hit me?" Ryan, still dreaming, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head and touched it, only to find a huge bump.

His jaw nearly dropped to the ground when, in front of him—more precisely, in the air—a tiny, palm-sized, beautiful girl with transparent wings was holding a wooden stick that was several times larger than her body, striking him as the culprit.

"I can't tell him the truth, or I'll be in big trouble. Besides, they wouldn't think I'd sign a soul contract with a human, would they?" The tiny beauty thought to herself, her eyes shifting.

"You... you... who are you?" Ryan stammered, utterly confused by the bizarre situation.

"I don't know either. I signed a contract with you, and then I appeared," the little beauty replied, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Ah! You're the one that came from that weird egg," Ryan quickly searched around and found that the strange egg and the contract scroll were missing, confirming the situation.

"I don't know either," the little beauty replied with the same bewildered look. In her mind, however, she was cursing Ryan. "This lowly creature... If it weren't for my father being plotted against, with my Diamond Angel identity, you wouldn't even be worthy to lick my toes. But I'll bear it. You'll see, even though it's a soul contract, our levels are too far apart. I can know your thoughts, but you can't know mine. If I hadn't been in a deep sleep, instinctively absorbing surrounding elemental energy, I would never have signed a contract with you."

"Well, can you leave then? You know, it's hard enough for me to support myself. What if I voluntarily cancel the contract?" Ryan stammered, finally managing to voice his thoughts.

"Why? Isn't having a magical pet a good thing?" the little beauty asked, confused.

"No! It's just that I don't have money. I'm even wearing old clothes," Ryan explained, trying to convey that raising a magical pet was a very expensive endeavor, and he had no intention of keeping her around.

"I'm really sorry, but we signed a soul contract. This means that if one of us dies, the other dies too. Do you still want me to leave?" the little beauty said innocently.

"No! No! No! Stay with me," Ryan cried, his heart sinking. His life was now bound to someone else's.

"How about I call you Niu Niu?" After a long pause, Ryan reluctantly accepted the situation and decided to name the little beauty.

"Okay, Niu Niu sounds nice," the little beauty said happily.

With green hair and transparent wings, she looked like a sprite from magical beast legends. Ryan recalled that sprites typically had lifespans similar to humans, and it was considered a great fortune to bond with an elemental sprite. He had read about it in books like "Basic Alchemy" and "Monsters of the Continent," where a warrior once formed a partnership with a light-element sprite, creating an ideal battle-healing duo. Many alchemists also kept sprites as assistants due to their intelligence and loyalty.

"What assets do we have?" Niu Niu asked Ryan.

"Six gold coins," Ryan answered, intentionally omitting a coin or two to avoid any complications.

"Give it to me," Niu Niu said, extending her tiny hand.

"What for?" Ryan asked, suspicious.

"I'll manage the finances," Niu Niu replied with a grin, secretly thinking, "If it weren't for the fear of you dying and dragging me down, I wouldn't bother with this."

"Alright," Ryan sighed and handed over the coins, knowing that Niu Niu was incredibly strong. She wasn't just any magical pet—she was a first-tier magical beast, a rank above ordinary wild beasts. Even the weakest first-tier magical beast would be more than a match for a human apprentice wizard, and Ryan wasn't even an apprentice yet.

（As for Niu Niu's true identity, it would gradually be revealed as the story progressed. Ryan's future strength, as well as the reasons behind his pursuit and survival, would all be connected to Niu Niu, with many secrets unfolding as the plot deepens.）