The next day, under Li Shuqing’s envious gaze, Bai Luxin emerged from Nuobai’s body.
Last night, after Nuobai grew larger, she had curled around Bai Luxin, enveloping her within her body. She had even extended an invitation to herself.
But judging by Nuobai’s expression, if she dared to accept, Nuobai would definitely throw her out in the middle of the night to freeze to death.
So envious. Li Shuqing sniffled, utterly unable to imagine just how soft and warm Nuobai must be.
“Little Sister Bai, I’m planning to leave the Mirror Hidden Sky Secret Realm. What are your plans?”
“Nuobai and I are looking for the Snow Velvet Flower’s growing place.”
“Snow Velvet Flower? Then you’ll have to go to Jun Bu Jian.”
“Jun Bu Jian?”
Li Shuqing took out a map. “It’s the highest mountain in the secret realm. It’s called ‘Jun Bu Jian.'”
“It’s a great place, but also very dangerous. I can’t go there.”
This is the greatest pain for a traveler: knowing of an excellent location, yet being unable to reach it due to one’s own lack of ability.
Bai Luxin held up the map, looking at it left and right. Oh no, it seemed she had been infected by Nuobai.
“I’ll take you there. A traveler’s map is generally hard for others to understand.”
Li Shuqing made a very kind suggestion.
“Then we’ll trouble you, Sister Li.”
“No trouble at all. We travelers believe in repaying a drop of kindness with a gushing spring.”
Li Shuqing summoned her second Beast Pet, the Swift Thief Mouse.
The moment it poked its head out, it was startled by the Nuobai in Bai Luxin’s arms. It stiffened, fell over on the spot, and lost all signs of life.
“This…”
Is it trying to stage an accident?
Li Shuqing’s face darkened. She flicked its head hard.
“Stop playing dead! She’s an ally!”
“You should have said so earlier, Little Li.”
The Swift Thief Mouse opened its eyes, even complaining about Li Shuqing.
“Sorry, it’s a bit timid.”
“What timid? This is our survival strategy!”
The Swift Thief Mouse is an Ornamental Species Beast Pet, born with the ability to discern direction and sense the presence of living creatures.
Its most skilled ability is [Feign Death], which is nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.
It’s no good at fighting, but it’s an expert for traveling, one of the best Beast Pets for travelers.
Li Shuqing had only allocated a portion of her Contract Power to form a contract with it because her main Beast Pet had no hope of advancing further.
A main Beast Pet is extremely important to a Beast Tamer, determining how far a Beast Tamer can ultimately go.
Under normal circumstances, even if a second Beast Pet is contracted, no Contract Power would be provided to it.
All energy is exclusively enjoyed by the main Beast Pet. The difference between the biological child and the non-biological one is just that stark.
Under the Swift Thief Mouse’s guidance, the two began their arduous journey. Nuobai lay in Bai Luxin’s arms, showing no intention of getting down at all.
‘My Beast Master’s face is too thin, unwilling to ride me alone. And I’m unwilling to let anyone else ride me. So, we’ll all walk.’
Nuobai wasn’t doing nothing, though. In Bai Luxin’s arms, she activated her [Snow Joy] talent to its fullest, communicating with the wind and snow for them, telling them to avoid her Beast Master.
This situation was quickly noticed by Li Shuqing. The wind and snow, as long as they got within one meter of Bai Luxin, would become very gentle.
One meter away, the cold wind cut to the bone. Within one meter, a gentle breeze brushed their faces.
After repeatedly confirming this, Li Shuqing became certain of one thing.
“Little Sister Bai, what’s your Beast Pet’s name?”
“Snow Joy Cat.”
From a corner of her memory, Li Shuqing recalled that this was a type of Beast Pet long thought extinct, rediscovered six years ago by a Doctor surnamed Qin.
She muttered to herself, “A superior species…”
“No, Nuobai is an Ornamental Species.”
Li Shuqing denied her own statement.
“Little Sister Bai, there’s no such thing as a pure ‘Ornamental Species.’ In this world, among all Beast Pets that can appear, not a single one was born purely for ornamental purposes.”
“Born with a high affinity for a certain element, having no natural predators in its corresponding domain, even exhibiting extraordinary characteristics…”
“Different from ordinary Beast Pets, they are undoubtedly superior species.”
“I’ve heard that superior species all have racial skills for protection. You can have Nuobai pay more attention to that. It’s the key to the path of the Beast King.”
Bai Luxin didn’t take it to heart. Nuobai was still very far from being a Beast King.
She didn’t want to put that much pressure on Nuobai, so she changed the subject.
‘Is she talking about the [Snow Joy] talent?’ Nuobai thought to herself.
Ever since she arrived at the Mirror Hidden Sky Secret Realm, she had indeed felt different.
The snow here was different from the artificial snow at the breeding center.
It was very lively, had its own emotions. It would welcome her arrival, help adjust her mood, and also swirl around her joyfully.
This was something Nuobai had never felt before. The entire world felt intimate, paying attention to her every moment.
At the foot of Jun Bu Jian Mountain.
After just a short time together, Li Shuqing had grown fond of this younger sister, and of course, of the majestic and adorable Nuobai.
“Little Sister Bai, I can only take you this far.”
“Jun Bu Jian gets colder the higher you go. You also need to watch out for the cold veins within the mountain body. The cold currents of the entire secret realm converge here. It’s very dangerous.”
After giving her instructions, Li Shuqing left with a carefree air. A traveler is destined not to stay in one place for long.
“Goodbye, Sister Li.”
“Haha, take care. I hope we meet again someday.”
Li Shuqing left very decisively, as if parting was not a sad thing for her.
“Nuobai, can we make it up?”
Jun Bu Jian grew steeper the higher one went. At its most extreme points, the mountain face presented a ninety-degree vertical angle. Combined with the high-altitude cold and strong winds…
The cold veins hidden within the mountain body were more like landmines; contact would result in being invaded by cold energy.
It was a veritable natural fortress. Bai Luxin was somewhat worried if Nuobai could manage.
Nuobai grew larger, stretched lazily, skillfully curled around Bai Luxin, and declared boldly,
“Hold on tight. Leave everything to me.”
What was extremely dangerous for others was, in Nuobai’s eyes, just a vertical path.
Her [Constant Temperature Physique] protected her from the cold.
The vision provided by [Energy Perception] allowed her to clearly see the flow of the cold veins.
The never-ending snowflakes also used their unique way to guide Nuobai, telling her where to go.
Bai Luxin lay on her back with complete trust, not even taking any protective measures for herself.
With Nuobai here, her sense of security was more than sufficient. She just needed to close her eyes and not cause any trouble.
Bai Luxin comforted herself like this. But when they really reached the high altitudes, she found everything was different from what she had imagined.
A howling wind laughed eerily in her ears. The feeling of weightlessness grew stronger. Her head was spinning.
She couldn’t help but tremble. She couldn’t catch her breath. Her heartbeat felt so heavy…
“Nuobai… slow… down a bit…”
Bai Luxin’s pale face gave Nuobai a huge fright. She had been running too fast. The sudden increase in altitude in a short time was something she could handle, but Bai Luxin couldn’t.
Nuobai found a sheltered spot, transformed into her cat-girl form, and let Bai Luxin rest her head on her lap.
“Beast Master, drink some water.”
“I’ll massage your temples for you.”
“Where else feels uncomfortable?”
…
After a flurry of chaotic efforts, Bai Luxin finally felt a bit better, lying weakly on Nuobai’s thigh.
This was Bai Luxin’s first time climbing a mountain. Nuobai was now a Beast Pet and also didn’t know that climbing a mountain could be too much for her Beast Master.
Even Li Shuqing hadn’t anticipated that this common knowledge, known to everyone, was something these two didn’t know.
Even less did she expect that Nuobai could ignore Jun Bu Jian’s harsh conditions and ascend rapidly in a short time, nearly sending her own Beast Master off in the process.
The sky grew dark. Nuobai lit a campfire.
Bai Luxin leaned against her chest, taking small sips of hot water. After drinking, she handed the water to Nuobai.
Her head still felt dizzy. She turned over, lying on Nuobai’s neck.
“Hmm… hmm~”
She made ambiguous nasal sounds.
Her breath blew against Nuobai’s soft, smooth skin. It was unbearably mischievous.
For a moment, Nuobai couldn’t quite tell who was the cat anymore.