Chapter 29: You and I Must Form a Pact

Chapter 29: You and I Must Form a Pact

Lang Jiuchuan and that mass of spiritual consciousness sat facing one another across the round table.

“Speak. What kind of being’s spirit are you? Why attempt to seize this broken body of mine?” Lang Jiuchuan’s face was cold. If not for those two doglike eyes of hers greedily eyeing the willpower surrounding the other, like a mutt staring at meat, she might have been called aloof.

The spirit sighed. “If I remembered, would I be entangled with you as my turning point?”

Not honest.

Lang Jiuchuan sneered, flicking her fingertips. The jade-bone talisman brush in her hand seemed to come alive, spinning swiftly until it dazzled the eyes. She spoke carelessly: “Oh? What turning point has you hung up over a woman’s body of mine?”

The spirit was so dazzled that when she asked, it blurted without thought: “Of course I’m conflicted. I was once the mighty White Tiger King—if I end up in a woman’s body, does that not make me a mothe—”

Realizing its mistake, it leapt onto the table with a roar. “Despicable human, you tricked me!”

Lang Jiuchuan’s eyes narrowed. “So it’s just a cat.”

At that, the white tiger grew even more enraged, baring fangs and claws. “A cat? I am the White Tiger, King of Beasts of Mount Taibai, worshipped by all creatures! How could I be the ‘little cat’ you speak of?”

A cat—such an insult was unbearable!

“Oh? Weren’t you just saying you remembered nothing?” Lang Jiuchuan’s lips curved faintly. “So you never intended to deal fairly with me from the start. ‘Not of my kind, surely their hearts are different’—indeed, the saying is true.”

Caught in her snare, the white tiger faltered for words. After a long pause, it muttered: “I suffer from… intermittent memory loss.”

Damn it. Even it knew that sounded fake.

And sure enough, the hateful woman began to drive it out.

“No sincerity, no need to talk. Be gone.”

The white tiger grew anxious. “Why should I leave?”

“Because this is my domain. This is my body. Don’t tell me I too am an outsider—now that I am here, it is mine. And I returned through proper reincarnation, not by vile possession.” Lang Jiuchuan’s tone was icy. “You seek to seize a body, but have you considered how many bolts of heavenly thunder your fragile spirit can withstand?”

Those who attempted possession were struck by heaven’s thunder. Survive, and one lived. Fail, and one perished.

The White Tiger recalled the lightning tribulation it had once endured—the purple bolts as thick as water barrels. Even as a beast properly cultivating toward ascension, it had not survived, leaving behind only a wisp of spirit drifting between heaven and earth.

“But I was guided!” it argued. “Since a great master pointed the way, this must be a chance for survival. It is said, the Dao numbers fifty, Heaven evolves forty-nine, leaving one line of life. I grasped that sliver of life—how could Heaven deny me? Do you know how long I waited for this turning point? Three hundred and fifty-nine days!”

“What has that to do with me?”

“This body is my turning point! If I inhabit it, I can truly endure, no longer fading away. Given time, I will rise again and ascend to the heavens as a divine beast—”

“Your skills may be lacking, but your boasts are vast. ‘Ascend to the heavens’? This is the mortal realm,” Lang Jiuchuan mocked.

“I am the White Tiger, who cultivated five hundred years! A natural God of War!”

“Yes—dead God of War.”

The White Tiger puffed up like a pufferfish, its spirit swelling severalfold, glaring viciously at the small Lang Jiuchuan.

She raised the talisman brush upright. “If it’s battle you want, then battle. Spare me the posturing.”

The tiger snorted. “Do not pretend before me. Your soul is incomplete, this broken body of yours you keep up only through spells. Sooner or later, you will falter and be exposed. Should you face a stronger foe, unable to withstand them, you might very well scatter into nothing—no better off than me.”

Lang Jiuchuan’s face darkened.

The White Tiger returned to a calmer tone. “So why not cooperate, and both gain?”

“Oh?”

“You and I together, sharing one body, complementing each other.” The White Tiger coaxed, “I will not waste wish power and magic fighting you now. But if I did fight to the end, you would not fare well either…”

“Oh? Then let’s fight again. Surely the White Tiger clan is no coward.”

The White Tiger nearly exploded. “A woman, yet so eager for battle? In a fight where both sides are wounded, is there ever a true winner?”

Lang Jiuchuan chuckled coldly. “Who knows? Perhaps in the end I swallow your spirit whole and win outright.”

A chill ran through the tiger. Damn this arrogant woman!

“Enough boasting. You’ve only just entered this body, haven’t you? It must have died wretchedly, else it would not be in such ruin. A violent death leaves resentful spirits. Since you took this body, cause and effect binds you—you must avenge it, release its grievance, and only then will you truly become its master.”

Lang Jiuchuan was surprised. She hadn’t expected the beast to have some wits.

“And just now, you coveted my willpower, did you not? If you let me share this body, my power can nourish you as well. Two souls sharing one body—our strength will be boundless, far greater than you struggling alone. Once this body is healed, I can find another host and leave. Meanwhile, your spirit will also gain sustenance.”

Lang Jiuchuan twirled the talisman brush between her fingers. “Then tell me, how did a born spirit beast like you end up in such straits?”

“What else? Heaven was unjust. I sought ascension, but failed the thunder tribulation.” The White Tiger King sighed sorrowfully. “After failure, I wandered the earth until an old monk enlightened me. Thus I seized this thread of life. And you—you are my turning point.”

“So you are even more desperate than I.”

The White Tiger froze. Tricked again. This human was too cunning.

“But why should I believe you?” Lang Jiuchuan pressed before it could retort. “Just earlier you lied, claiming you remembered nothing. Now you recall quite clearly.”

The White Tiger slammed its fist on the table. “We are but chance acquaintances. Is it wrong to be cautious?”

Lang Jiuchuan’s gaze was cool. “A moment ago you said I was your turning point. Now you claim we are but chance encounters. Big Cat, you truly are dishonest.”

Ah, infuriating! I’d fight her till dawn if I could!

The White Tiger restrained its rage. “Then you tell me—how am I to earn your trust? You must think carefully of your present state.”

Lang Jiuchuan lowered her eyes, tapping the talisman brush against the table, as though considering the feasibility of its words.

Willpower—yes, she needed it. And she did need a useful helper.

The White Tiger, equally uneasy, eyed her from the side. From where had she drawn that momentary display of immense fortune?

If she truly bore such vast destiny, could she not be like the ancestors of old—worshipped by multitudes, a true divine beast?

One woman, one tiger, each calculating in secret, yet neither revealing it.

At last, Lang Jiuchuan said, “Sharing a body is not impossible. But on one condition—we must establish a Heaven-and-Earth Pact, bound by the laws of Heaven itself. What say you?”

Staring, staring, staring—let’s see who is spinning this tale!

(End of Chapter)