Chapter 49 – Admiration

“I always feel like someone’s watching me.” The Golden-Winged Great Peng… no, the divine beast that called itself Little Peng squatted on Yun Xiguang’s shoulder, and spoke with a vigilant expression.

Yun Xiguang looked at its tiny body, smaller even than the little spirit bird’s, and felt deep sympathy for Li Zheng.

Previously, upon a single “chirp” command from Chi Qiong, the Golden-Winged Great Peng had transformed into a blur, and arrived at Yun Xiguang’s home. With its wings pressed against the ground in a gesture of submission, it said devoutly to Chi Qiong, “Phoenix Venerable, I can find Bai Ze’s whereabouts. Please follow me.”

The little spirit bird’s gaze swept over the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s wings, which resembled gold, and its claws, similar to steel, emitting a soft “hmm.”

Its body, ten meters long, covered the entire living room floor of Yun Xiguang’s home. The Golden-Winged Great Peng trembled all over, then shrank into a small golden ball. Its claws and beak turned into chibi versions, small and adorable, looking completely harmless.

Only then was Chi Qiong satisfied. It haughtily lay on Yun Xiguang’s hair, emitting a low “chirp” sound steadily.

“Alright, Phoenix Venerable, I’ll lead you to Bai Ze right away. Through my Spiritbond Master’s memories, I found out that Bai Ze has actually met you once, Phoenix Venerable. Not recognizing you after seeing you is truly blind, unworthy of its title as the ‘First Sage of Ancient Times.’ Little Peng will go teach it a lesson!” The golden-winged Little Peng spread its wings and flew up, intending to lead everyone to search for Bai Ze.

Yun Xiguang asked, “Where exactly is Bai Ze? Where is Director Li? You can’t leave Director Li more than 15 kilometers away, can you?”

Golden-winged Little Peng gave Yun Xiguang a jealous glare and said, “Since I’m serving Phoenix Venerable, I naturally won’t let the Spiritbond Master hinder my wings. Your house is 20 kilometers away from Bai Ze’s location. I threw my Spiritbond Master on the straight line between your house and where Bai Ze is. He is now five kilometers away from your house and 15 kilometers away from Bai Ze. Everything is just perfect.”

Yun Xiguang: “…”

Threw… So you really did carry Director Li here and casually tossed him down somewhere?

Yun Xiguang suddenly felt sorry for Li Zheng.

After witnessing the behavior of these divine beasts, Yun Xiguang increasingly felt that his little spirit bird was truly a divine beast without airs, cute and well-behaved. It merely liked being wiped down, having its feathers kissed, and had overly intricate aesthetics; there were fundamentally no other flaws!

“But Li Zheng is human, he moves around,” Yun Xiguang reminded the golden-winged Little Peng.

Golden-winged Little Peng said proudly, “You underestimate us divine beasts too much. Our bond with Spiritbond Masters is equal. In case of emergencies, I can drag Li Zheng along using the contract thread!”

Yun Xiguang: “…”

So if Golden-winged Little Peng flies at 40 kilometers per hour, would Li Zheng be forced to run forward at 40 kilometers per hour? If Li Zheng couldn’t keep up, would he be dragged along?

Is this how divine beasts treat their Spiritbond Masters? Yun Xiguang looked at Azure Dragon with doubt.

Azure Dragon, with its wisdom and experience, naturally understood what Yun Xiguang hadn’t said aloud. It explained kindly, “Spirit beasts don’t have clear goals in this world. Most spirit beasts only want to find a lair to withstand the heavenly fire calamity, so wherever the Spiritbond Master is, that’s where the spirit beast will be. Unless there’s something particularly desired, the spirit beast will ‘negotiate’ with the Spiritbond Master.”

Yun Xiguang recalled how the snow wolf bit Wu Ailang’s butt and the attitude Golden-winged Little Peng had toward Li Zheng; it didn’t seem like negotiation.

To prevent Li Zheng from being dragged along by the subway, Yun Xiguang first checked the map and found a route that, as long as Li Zheng didn’t run around aimlessly, wouldn’t exceed the 15-kilometer range. Only then did he set out with everyone to visit Bai Ze.

To conceal the identities of the spirit beasts, Golden-winged Little Peng transformed into a small doll that squatted on his shoulder, while Azure Dragon became a bracelet. The Crimson Chi continued to cultivate inside Azure Dragon’s stomach, and the little spirit bird turned into an ornament.

As soon as they stepped out the door, Golden-winged Little Peng keenly sensed that they were being watched.

However, Golden-winged Little Peng could only sense the presence of eyes on them, unable to determine the direction of the observer.

It told Yun Xiguang that enemies from all directions were watching them.

Following Xiao Peng’s indication, Yun Xiguang saw some surveillance cameras on the roadside and sighed. “You just threw Director Li onto the road; he’d naturally want to see what you’re doing. No worries, let them watch. We’re not doing anything secretive.”

As a student of Zhuzhao Academy, visiting the sick dean of his own school, there was nothing to hide. He would let them watch openly!

Thus, Yun Xiguang arrived at the sanatorium quite openly, found a detached villa, and rang the doorbell.

Qin Shu opened the door, leaning on a cane.

Seeing Qin Shu, Yun Xiguang was momentarily stunned. Three months ago, during the ceremony, Qin Shu was still a middle-aged man with slightly thinning but sufficiently black hair. Today, however, Qin Shu had become a frail old man with white hair. Only a few strands remained on his balding head, and his face was covered in wrinkles.

Qin Shu’s original height was around 1.8 meters, but now it had shrunk to 1.6 meters.

In just three short months, what had happened to Qin Shu?

“Dean Qin, you…” Yun Xiguang held the hair care gift set in his hand, hesitant to present it.

“There’s nothing much. Spiritbond Masters don’t live long lives. I’ve already lived longer than most,” Qin Shu said somewhat wistfully. “But my death doesn’t matter; Bai Ze… sigh!”

He let out a long sigh.

Seeing Qin Shu like this, Yun Xiguang’s mood instantly became heavy.

Bai Ze held significant meaning for the students of Zhuzhao Academy.

Ever since Qin Shu became the dean, Bai Ze had been the rule of Zhuzhao Academy.

Upon entering the academy gate, one could see a statue of Bai Ze. Whenever a student saw this statue, they would feel a small twinge of envy.

Yun Xiguang had once been the same.

And his desire was even stronger than that of other students.

Other students had spirit roots; their admiration for Bai Ze was simply awe for a divine beast. Yun Xiguang, lacking spirit roots, admired Bai Ze and took Qin Shu and Bai Ze as his targets. These two had opened a path for him to become a Spiritbond Master, giving him hope.

Before meeting the little spirit bird, Yun Xiguang had always hoped that he and his future spirit beast could be like Qin Shu and Bai Ze.

“Dean Qin, may I pay respects to Senior Bai Ze?” Yun Xiguang asked.

Qin Shu refused Yun Xiguang. “Bai Ze doesn’t want others to see its pitiful state. It tried several times to shake me off and find a grave for itself, but I discovered and stopped it each time. Fortunately, I look bad enough myself now, so it can accept me staying by its side.”

“I can cover my eyes,” Yun Xiguang said sincerely. “I’ve always admired Senior Bai Ze. Once, I so fervently wished that my spirit beast could be similar to it…”

“Chirp?!” Before Yun Xiguang could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a hurried and angry “chirp.”

Chi Qiong, who had been dozing in the golden hair, heard Yun Xiguang say “admire,” and the three tufts of hair on its head immediately stood up like antennae. The bird became fully awake.

Then it heard Yun Xiguang say “wish his spirit beast could be like Bai Ze.” Hearing this, Chi Qiong couldn’t wait to call out.

Like whom? Him, the Master of the Skies, the Source of All Fires, the God of Beasts, the Spirit of the World, like Bai Ze? That sheep with a tiger’s head, like him?

What an absurd joke!

“Chirp!” Chi Qiong cried out.

He was saying: Bai Ze, come out! You have the ability to make my spirit servant admire you, yet you don’t have the guts to come see me?

Inside the villa, the dying Bai Ze lying within the formation moved its hind legs slightly. In its semi-conscious state, it seemed to hear the call of that great one.

This was probably a hallucination before death?

They, these spirit beasts, possessed sentience due to that great one. After death, the spirit within their bodies returning to that great one’s body was natural.

Since it heard the call of that great one, it meant its time had come.

Bai Ze slowly opened its eyes, waiting for that great one to appear and take its soul.

That was its destiny, its future.

Outside, when Chi Qiong called out and Bai Ze didn’t appear, he felt a bit embarrassed and began anxiously stepping on Yun Xiguang’s head with his claws.

That was the spirit beast Yun Xiguang admired. If he didn’t suppress Bai Ze’s arrogance immediately, how would Yun Xiguang view him in the future? Would he still treat him wholeheartedly and continue courting according to his preferences?

What to do? Chi Qiong looked at Golden-winged Little Peng anxiously.

Golden-winged Little Peng was extremely alert. It immediately sensed the Phoenix Venerable’s order, promptly flew into the sky, and spread its wings that blocked the sky, enveloping the entire villa. It said, “Bai Ze, why haven’t you appeared quickly?”

Bai Ze barely lifted its eyelid, glimpsing the darkness outside the window and the faint golden light seeping through the darkness. Hearing Great Peng’s phrase filled with Buddhist nature, it felt its end was near, its soul was about to leave its body.

Qin Shu, seeing the Golden-Winged Great Peng, exclaimed, “This… Director Li also came? Why would Director Li want to trouble Bai Ze?”

“No, Director Li didn’t come. It was I who asked the Golden-Winged Great Peng to bring me here to visit you,” Yun Xiguang explained.

“Lies need a draft. Without a Spiritbond Master, how could you possibly be alone with the Golden-Winged Great Peng? How could you command a divine beast to help you? Cough cough!” Qin Shu’s emotions stirred, causing him to cough violently. His body was gaunt and weak; with such a cough, it seemed like all his parts were about to fall apart.

Yun Xiguang racked his brains trying to think of a reason that would convince Qin Shu of his words.

At that moment, Azure Dragon sighed softly, revealed its true form, flew above the villa, and bit the peng’s neck to drag the bird away. It carried the now smaller Golden-winged Little Peng to Qin Shu, saying in a distant and vast voice, “I wanted to come visit Bai Ze. The peng was invited by me to lead the way. Dean Qin, please take us to see Bai Ze. Old friends should meet at least once.”

Only then did Qin Shu calm down, saying, “So it’s Senior Azure Dragon. If it’s you, Bai Ze should be willing to see you. I’ll take you to see it right away.”

With that, Dean Qin stepped aside, inviting Yun Xiguang and the others in.

Azure Dragon transformed to human size, and deeply looked at Chi Qiong, Yun Xiguang, and Golden-winged Little Peng. His eyes were filled with fatigue.