16. Meeting a Little Friend

Mo Yichen barely had time to register the blur of fur charging at him from the side before instinct kicked in.

With a swift move, he twirled on his left leg, body twisting in awfully graceful movements, he was throwing a razor-sharp, mana-infused pebble at warp speed.

The unsuspecting wolf didn't even have time to process its impending doom.

The pebble sank straight into its neck, and for a heartbeat, the beast froze—a strangled, guttural howl tearing from its throat. It staggered back, losing its balance.

Mo Yichen, smelling blood (literally), didn't give it a second to recover.

He launched himself forward, his foot colliding squarely with the wolf's chest with the kind of force that could shatter bricks.

CRACK!

The sound of breaking bones resonated through the clearing as the wolf soared backward, smashing into a nearby tree like a ragdoll flung by an angry toddler.

It crumpled to the ground in a pitiful heap, twitching, struggling to stand, but the pain had it wheezing like an old man climbing stairs.

One down.

Mo Yichen barely had time to relish his small victory before the rest of the wolves tensed.

Their fur bristled, ears flattened, teeth bared—and when they howled in unison, the sound sent a shiver straight down his spine.

Mo Yichen gulped.

Shit...

The wolves charged—one by one, in perfect synchronization.

Mo Yichen's fingers scrambled into his ring, pulling out—

Nothing.

His heart screeched to a stop.

Wait. WAIT.

WHERE ARE MY PEBBLES?!

His eyes darted to the ground—empty. Not a single pebble in sight.

His stomach dropped.

"You have got to be kidding me!!" he wheezed. There was no time to panic—because the first wolf lunged, fangs flashing like daggers.

Mo Yichen barely dodged, twisting out of the way with the grace of someone who absolutely did not have a plan on staying alive. His reflexive punch caught the wolf in the snout, sending it yelping backward.

But that hardly mattered.

All the remaining wolves had now fully surrounded him.

Four pairs of glowing, ravenous eyes locked onto him, radiating pure malice.

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

"Okay. Stay calm," he muttered to himself, scanning the area desperately. His eyes landed on the pile of dry branches.

His mind clicked.

Like a man possessed, he bolted.

The wolves, momentarily thrown off by his sudden sprint, hesitated—but then they snarled and chased after him.

Mo Yichen dove for the pile, fingers snatching up a thick branch. Before he could turn back toward the wolves, something moved beneath the twigs.

Something small.

Something white.

Mo Yichen pauses.

His breath hitched as he slowly squinted down.

Nestled inside the mess of sticks was a tiny, snow-furred creature, curled up like a dumpling.

Its fluffy ears twitched.

Mo Yichen's brain stalled.

What the hell—

Before he could process anything, the familiar sound of a wolf launching at him at full speed registered in his ears.

SHIT!! GIVE ME A BREAK BROTHER!!

He didn't even think—he reacted.

Mana flooded into the branch in his hands, the dull wood igniting in a crimson glow. With a wild swing, Mo Yichen lashed out.

The wolf—sensing danger—twisted its body mid-air, barely dodging the attack.

But Mo Yichen had been waiting for that exact moment.

With every ounce of strength in his body, he lashed out with a devastating kick.

His foot slammed into the beast's ribs.

The wolf was sent soaring backward, flipping mid-air before landing onto the ground but the next moment he stood up.

It whimpered once, shaking, then went back to normal like nothing happened.

Mo Yichen exhaled sharply, shaking out his aching leg. "These are made of steel" he mutters. Before he could even process the close call, the rest of the wolves closed in.

This time—they weren't waiting.

His stomach sank.

"Okay, okay, okay!! Let's finish it!" he mumbled to himself, gripping his glowing branch like his life depended on it. (Which, let's be honest, it did.)

He sneaked a glance toward the tiny furball still nestled in the twigs before swiftly pulling it out to his chest. "...You better be worth this."

Mo Yichen cast one final glance at the wolves mid-air, their fangs glinting in the moonlight, before—

Poof.

The only thing left in his wake was the rustling of disturbed leaves.

The wolves landed awkwardly, their claws skidding against the damp earth. Their heads snapped around, ears flicking, noses sniffing the air.

Nothing.

Not a single soul in sight.

Meanwhile, inside his dimension—

Mo Yichen lay sprawled across the damp, muddy ground, panting like he had just run a marathon.

He stared at the sky of his dimension—a vast, swirling sky of bluish-grey mist.

After a long sigh, he muttered, "What a close call..."

"Hmph!"

A sharp, disapproving snort echoed from behind him.

Mo Yichen's heart nearly leaped out of his chest.

He jerked upright, spinning around to find an old man in pristine white robes, arms folded, eyes narrowed.

Bai Xuan.

His so-called master, who had the patience of a snapping turtle and the temperament of a thunderstorm.

"...Aren't you ashamed of running away from those little beasts?" Bai Xuan's voice was laced with disappointment, his long white beard swaying slightly as he spoke.

Mo Yichen's brows twitched.

Little beasts?

Was this old man blind?! Those wolves were practically killing machines wrapped in fur.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, muttering, "They were… really strong."

"Strong?" Bai Xuan scoffed. "What's next? You'll say you ran because a butterfly flapped its wings too aggressively?"

Mo Yichen's face burned with embarrassment.

"If you can't even defeat those pests, don't ever call me Master." Bai Xuan's tone was firm, cold, and carried the weight of absolute disappointment.

Mo Yichen bit his lip.

"I—I don't have a weapon yet..." he mumbled, eyes glued to the ground.

"Dunce!" Bai Xuan snapped instantly. "Do you even need a weapon?! Can't you form one with your soul force?"

Mo Yichen's mouth opened—only for something hard and swift to come flying at his head.

Thwack!

"OW!" He yelped, clutching his skull.

A rain of scrolls landed beside him, the golden inscriptions on them glimmering under the soft glow.

Mo Yichen blinked, crouching down to untie them. The moment he unraveled one, his eyes widened.

"This…!"

His fingers trembled as he took in the contents—ancient techniques, long-lost cultivation methods, soul weapon forging techniques beyond anything he had ever seen.

Bai Xuan huffed, unimpressed. "Hmph. Took you long enough to realize how generous I am."

Mo Yichen wasn't even listening anymore, his mind racing with delight until-

A soft, warm weight nestled against his side.

He glanced down.

A small, round fluffball snuggled against his robes, her pure white fur almost glowing silver. Tiny paws twitched in sleep, her little pink nose scrunching up as she let out a barely audible "mnn…"

Mo Yichen stared.

Bai Xuan's eyes narrowed sharply. "Are you going to make a contract with it?"

Mo Yichen looked between the tiny white dumpling of a creature and his old wly master standing before him.

"...Umm, I might?"

Bai Xuan exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose as if Mo Yichen was giving him an actual headache.

"You truly have no idea what you're holding, do you?"

Mo Yichen blinked. "...A fluffy fox?"

Bai Xuan's eye twitched.

"That—" he jabbed a finger toward the tiny creature "—is a pure-blooded Dreamfox."

Mo Yichen just stared.

"...A what now?"

Bai Xuan let out a long, suffering sigh. "I swear, the heavens must have played a joke on me when I made you my disciple."

He crossed his arms.

"The Dreamfox of pure bloodlines is an extremely rare and powerful spirit beast. It specializes in illusions so formidable that even Saints have been trapped in their dreamscapes. They are known to alter reality, deceive divine senses, and, if properly raised, can even craft illusions so vivid that they become indistinguishable from reality itself."

Mo Yichen gawked.

"...So you're saying I just picked up a baby who could potentially brainwash anyone?"

Bai Xuan nodded.

Mo Yichen looked down at the tiny, sleeping fox.

She twitched her ears cutely, letting out a tiny snore.

Mo Yichen: "...Doesn't look that scary to me."

Bai Xuan: "...That's what makes them dangerous."

Mo Yichen stared at the fox, then at Bai Xuan. Then back at the fox.

"...How do I make a contract with it?"

Bai Xuan sighed. "By feeding it a drop of your blood, of course. But be warned—if it rejects you, your soul might suffer severe backlash."

"Oh…"

Mo Yichen replied absentmindedly, his entire attention glued to the tiny, fluffy dumpling nestled against his side.

A satisfied grin stretched across his lips as he ran his pale, thin fingers through her fur—soft as clouds, white as freshly fallen snow.

"Haaah… so soft…"

Bai Xuan, who had been watching his disciple turn into a lovestruck idiot over a baby fox, rubbed his temples in frustration.

"...Are you going to stay by that little pond all the time?"

Mo Yichen finally looked up, still dazed, as if he'd been hit by a spell. "I was planning on finding my way to some village or town nearby, hopefully."

Bai Xuan snorted, clearly unimpressed by his answer.

"I'll be going into seclusion. You better memorize all of these before I come back," he said, pointing toward the pile of scrolls scattered on the ground.

Then, before Mo Yichen could even react—

The old man vanished.

Mo Yichen stared at the empty space Bai Xuan had occupied just a second ago.

Then, he let out a long, deep sigh of relief as he sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Finally…" he muttered, rolling his shoulders. No more nagging!

He turned his gaze toward the scrolls, quickly counting them. Twenty in total.

A quick skim revealed that 70% were skill techniques, while the rest were soul and core cultivation methods.

Mo Yichen gathered them all into a neat stack, placing them beside him before his gaze inevitably drifted back to the little fox curled at his side.

A smile tugged at his lips.

"Little Foxy?" he murmured.

The tiny creature stirred, fluffy ears twitching before she blinked open her big, round eyes.

Bright purple orbs.

They glowed like gemstones like moonlight, swirling with an almost otherworldly depth.

Ahhhhhhh—

Mo Yichen almost screamed.

Too cute. TOO CUTE.

His body trembled violently, his soul hanging by a thread as he struggled not to squeeze the little fluffball to death.

But his self-restraint was non-existent.

"Little Foxy, you are so cute!!!" he exclaimed, rubbing her forehead enthusiastically.

The fox tilted her head slightly, blinking innocently.

And then—

CHOMP.

A sharp sting shot up Mo Yichen's finger.

"ACK—"

He winced, trying to retract his hand, but the little fox latched onto his forefinger with shocking force, sinking her tiny fangs into his skin.

His mind blanked.

He had half a second to remember that Bai Xuan had warned him about potential contract rejection backlash before—

The fox started sucking his blood.

Like a tiny, fluffy vampire.

Mo Yichen's soul almost left his body.

He hesitated for a moment, but—

The little thing was drinking so happily, tail wagging slightly as she suckled on his finger.

"Y-You…"

His instincts screamed at him to pull away, but the moment he saw her tiny paws gripping his hand as if afraid he'd take away her meal—

His heart completely melted.

"…Ah, fine. Whatever," he muttered, resigned to his fate.

A moment of silence stretched between them—

Until—

A string of shimmering purple energy spiraled out from their point of contact. The glowing hue danced in the air, swirling around both of them, the atmosphere thick with binding energy.

The purple gemstone-like orbs seemed to glow brighter—

And then, a small, delicate purple crescent moon mark appeared behind Mo Yichen's ear, faintly shimmering against his pale skin before slowly fading.

Then—nothing.

Silence.

Mo Yichen blinked.

He waited.

Still no soul backlash.

No mind-splitting pain.

No sudden urge to roll on the ground screaming.

It worked..

The contract was successful!!

A grin broke across his face as he quickly stood, scooping up the baby fox in his arms.

"HAHA! I DID IT!"

The tiny fox tilted her head, yawning before snuggling into his robes like she belonged there.

Mo Yichen rubbed her ears, still buzzing with excitement. "From today onwards, you're my contracted beast! I'll call you Ziyun!"

The little fox blinked sleepily before giving him a small, content rumble—almost like a purr.

Mo Yichen's smile widened.