Like a Ray in My Night

49 A Spiritual Wolf

When Mei Chao Bing arrived, Yun Bei Fen was already lying on the ground, the little bunny Xiao Hui shivering just an arm's length next to him. In front of the two of them stood a spiritual beast, its growl reverberating through the meadow. It was a huge wolf with black fur that glinted even in the cold moonlight.
Mei Chao Bing raised his hand and his spiritual energy rushed out. The wolf noticed it and jumped aside, evading it with yet another growl. Mei Chao Bing gritted his teeth. Judging from the way it had evaded, he would be able to defeat this thing but he had to be fast or it would pounce on Yun Bei Fen first. After all, eliminating one threat before concentrating on the fight with the other was always better when even a small distraction could lead to death.
The wolf closed in on Yun Bei Fen but still kept an eye on Mei Chao Bing. It obviously wanted to make sure that he wouldn't try to attack it from the back once again.
"Fen'er!" Mei Chao Bing imbued more spiritual energy into the flying sword and rushed over, jumping down from the weapon while still in flight. His hand shot out and another burst of spiritual energy blasted toward the wolf.
The spiritual beast could only give up on attacking Yun Bei Fen. Instead, it charged right at Mei Chao Bing, baring its teeth and giving yet another growl. A white mark appeared on its forehead and glowed as if imbued with a ray of moonlight.
Mei Chao Bing's eyes narrowed. It seemed this was actually a midnight wolf. Among the spiritual beasts, its grade was quite high. In fact, if one didn't have the once-in-a-millennium chance Of obtaining a mythological beast, then this kind of spiritual beast was already one of the best one could get.
Although the level was relatively high, he didn't worry too much. Not only considering the way it had reacted before, just judging from the thin crescent that the mark showed, this one shouldn't be too old. It shouldn't be stronger than he. And even if they were of the same level, his strength would at least be enough to fight this thing to a draw and make sure that Yun Bei Fen wouldn't be hurt. Also, he hadn't seen any other strong beasts in the valley so far, so this midnight wolf might not have too much experience fighting. That should make this easier.
Mei Chao Bing and the spiritual beasts finally clashed. Each strike of those claws, every slash with the sword was followed by a blast of spiritual energy. Holes were blasted into the ground and the grass around them was soon flattened to the earth while they themselves didn't manage to escape unscathed either. The sleeves of Mei Chao Bing's robe had been torn in several places while faint traces of blood made the midnight wolf's fur glimmer even more in the pale moonlight.
Seeing that the beast was already injured to this degree, Mei Chao Bing frowned and put away his sword. This midnight wolf had almost reached the equivalent of the nascent soul stage. For such a young spiritual beast, that was commendable. Killing it would be a waste. This time, he lashed out with his hand instead, accurately hitting the midnight wolf's side. The beast landed on the ground a few meters away with a soft whine.
Mei Chao Bing turned to look at his little bunny that had picked up Xiao Hui and was watching him with a worried expression. "Are you alright?"
Yun Bei Fen nodded eagerly. Nothing had happened to him. But was Mei Chao Bing alright? His sleeves were ripped. His arm wouldn't be hurt, would it?
Mei Chao Bing was satisfied with Yun Bei Fen's answer. In that case, he could first finish this up. He walked over to the midnight wolf, standing in front of it and examining it. If not because it lacked experience, it might have put up more of a fight. Now, it hadn't really had an opportunity to make a comeback against him.
"You didn't do too bad. Actually, with a few more years, I wouldn't have won this easily. This valley ..." He looked around and shook his head. "There's no way for you to progress in it. How about following me instead? You will have opportunities to fight and gain more experience. If you want to, you can also return here someday."
The midnight wolf gave a low growl but finally turned silent when Mei Chao Bing just looked at it. Well, there was no way to hurt him anyway. Especially now, that it was already hurt. In the end, it could only reach out with its paw and scratch at his leg.
Mei Chao Bing nodded, leaned down and gently touched its head, sending out some spiritual energy to sign the contract.
The midnight wolf thought of rejecting for a moment but finally let it happen. This person was powerful. Following him shouldn't be too bad. Furthermore, it wouldn't have to hunt here in the valley anymore if it did. Wasn't that also good?
A faint mark appeared above the crescent on its forehead and then disappeared again. The midnight wolf's eyes rolled up as if it wanted to take a look at the mark on its head. Then it turned to Mei Chao Bing and gave a low whine again.
Mei Chao Bing smiled and crouched down, petting its head. He glanced over his shoulder and waved at Yun Bei Fen. "Fen'er, it's alright now. You can come over."
Yun Bei Fen got up with Xiao Hui still on his arms and carefully walked over. Since his senior martial brother had said that it wasn't dangerous anymore, he wasn't too worried. But still, seeing this dangerous beast in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a little afraid in his heart. He made sure that he stood very close to Mei Chao Bing and even reached out to grip his robe.
Mei Chao Bing reached up and took his hand. "Now, this will be my spiritual beast from now on. How do you think we should call it?"
Yun Bei Fen blinked and looked from the little spiritual beast in his arms to the big spiritual beast lying on the ground that was looking back at him with big eyes. "Well, since we called the little bunny Xiao Hui, how about calling it Da Hei?"
Mei Chao Bing almost burst out laughing but still nodded in the end. "Mn, that sounds like a good name. Let's take that.
The midnight wolf could only look up at its new Master with a wronged expression. If it had known that things would turn out like this, it never would have attacked the youth! It would have stayed in the forest and then maybe, it would have gotten a better name. Now, it was already too late.