Today was a day of revelations. First the thing about Su Lin, and his crippled brother. Then Zou and now Labby. Admittedly, I really should’ve looked into Labby’s gender before making any assumptions, but in my defence, I had no idea what and how rats could be differentiated anyways.

“Wait,” The crazy girl muttered as my gaze shifted back to her. “You don’t have a bond with your spirit? Ah, that explains why she can’t talk to you.” Yan Yun replied, and I saw her spirit eagle flick its head at Labby silently at her words. I wonder what conversion they were having.

“I’d just received an art for Labby, after registering him- err, her, with the sect. I never had the time to form one. Today has been a busy day,” I replied, shrugging. The trip took a lot of detours and side business and by this point, I just wanted to be back in my room experimenting with all the new equipment and herbs I had.

“I see. I can sense lightning Qi in your spirit, not something I find commonly in rats. Yet I don’t sense a shred of lightning Qi in you. Are you sure you’re ready to have her as your spirit?” the girl asked me, and I frowned for a second. I’d never really considered Labby’s lightning to be an issue, but I could see how it might be a problem if I was supposed to help her grow.

I frowned. I needed to look into cultivation more thoroughly. It was clear that cultivation would play a key role in how I made my pills, and in my understanding of Qi itself. Even if I didn’t wish to get involved in cultivator quarrels or waste away all my time in meditation, I could still learn more and try to understand it better. Any added years to my life from cultivation would be an added bonus on top.

“She’s already my spirit, it’s not a choice I need to make now. But, I must admit I hadn’t given it thought that far,” I replied.

“If you’d like, then I can help you form your bond. And give you a few pointers for how to take care of a lightning spirit beast,” the girl said, and I stared at her in surprise.

That was… unexpectedly kind of her.

I saw her avert her gaze from me, as a light blush came to her cheeks. I paused, taking a second glance at her, a cultivator, about sixteen if I had to place her age but you could never tell with cultivators. She wore simple clothing, yet clearly expensive, her hair was a light brow tied in beautiful knots with two silver Qi filled hairpins on her head. With pearlike green eyes that shone with a golden crackle of thunder as her Qi churned and a resplendent thunder eagle perched on her shoulders.

A jade beauty through and through, just why was she involving herself with me so much?

“If… senior sister is willing, then I’d be very grateful,” I replied, bowing my head.

I didn’t know why she seemed so interested, and I wasn’t curious enough to pry. She could have any reason to be helpful and maybe she was just kind. I wasn’t nearly dumb enough to think she was interested in me. Lu Jie wasn’t the best looking guy around by a big margin. And the possibility itself scared me more than anything when I thought of the hordes of ‘you dare??’ screaming young masters coming after me.

A quiet shudder went down my spine at the thought.

“Ya won’t ask what she was doing all the way out here in this alley? Isn’t she the young mistress who’d got you?” Su Lin said, eyeing Yan Yun sceptically. I was slightly surprised to see his sceptical expression, I’d have expected him to be trying to butter the crazy girl.

Despite learning about the thing with his friends, or brothers, it was still difficult to adjust to the non-sleazy Su Lin I was meeting here today.

“Did she ask why we were here?” I asked Su Lin.

“I s’pose not,” Su Lin muttered, shrugging. I saw the scarlet glow return to Yan Yun’s cheek, but whatever it was, I decided not to pursue it. The less I got involved with her, the higher chance that I didn’t die by some young master chasing the prodigious jade beauty.

I heard Yan Yun cough, as the glow faded from her cheeks. “Well, let us head back to the sect first. We can form the bond after that,” she suggested as her spirit let out a loud whistle, taking off in a show of flashing sparks.

I nodded, picking up the bag of herbs I’d dropped during the fight, Su Lin picking up the stuff he’d been carrying. I heard Labby squeak happily, running up my leg before she jumped into my pouch. I smiled, rubbing her fuzzy head.

It’d take me a bit to get adjusted to calling Labby her, but be it a Junior Brother or Junior Sister, it didn’t matter to me either way.

I carried my little fuzzball spirit in my pouch, as I began to return from my long shopping trip.

***

I sat down on an open field, crossing my legs. Su Lin sat nearby watching idly, looking bored as he scratched his nose. I saw him shuffle a few herbs from the bunch he was carrying and shook my head in silent disapproval. There was no way he was being that obvious if he planned to steal, the act was purely to get a rise out of me.

“Alright, I’m assuming you know how spirit bonds work?” Yan Yun said.

I looked at her with as blank an expression as I could muster, and saw her expression falter. “R-right, heavens. From the start then. So, I hope you’re aware that bonds can only be formed after you’ve broken through to the second realm and finished your Qi foundation?” Yan Yun asked and I nodded. I did know that much.

“So that isn’t an issue with you, seeing you’re at the peak of Qi condensation. The realm of the spirit matters as well, and mostly, you can only bond with a spirit one realm lower than you. Your Qi will be sustaining these spirits after all, and you need to have enough of it. Thankfully, your spirit has just broken through and spirit rats need a pitiful amount of Qi to have them.” Yan Yun said.

Squeak! Labby squeaked in protest, raising her paws. I gently pet her head, laughing as lightning crackled around her fur.

“Yes, you’re the best Labby. She meant other spirit rats,” I replied and heard a satisfied squeak come from Labby.

“As I was saying. In Qi you are fine. A cultivator’s spirit may eventually catch on to them in cultivation given time as well, so a cultivator’s own growth is often related to the growth of their spirits as well,” Yan Yun continued, walking around with a spring in her step. She might have been enjoying this more than I was.

“It’s notoriously difficult to tame young dragons for example. Their pride is like the heavens themselves, and if a dragon spirit thinks it can best you and free itself, it often will. As such, only a powerful cultivator has them, and even then, usually one that is a realm lower in cultivation,” Yan Yun said, and I nodded.

I was starting to become more interested in the topic myself.

With a crackle of lightning Yan Yun’s spirit manifested on her shoulder all of a sudden and I almost jumped back. I sensed a haughty pride in the bird as it stared right at me when all of a sudden I heard a voice speak.

Lacking manners. Just like his spirit.

A young, male voice, yet clearly not human, spoke in my head, and I could sense it was the spirit talking to me. The fact that I didn’t even bat an eye at a lightning bird talking to me with magic telepathy made me do a double-take. This magic shit was escalating by too many levels too quickly and I couldn’t keep up.

Let me stick to my shiny water and funky spirit plants!

“I was lucky Leiyu is a part of my family, having been raised by my grandfather. He’s nearly the same cultivation realm as me and not a spirit I’d be able to keep on my own,” Yan Yun said, as Leiyu vanished once more.

I still couldn’t get used to the disappearing act, even though I knew spirits could do that.

“Can you show me your spirit binding art? The one you received?” Yan Yun asked, and I pulled out the jade slip I’d been given.

A very obvious grimace passed over her face as she sent a pulse of Qi into the jade slip. That bad huh?

“This… an outer disciple I suppose. I’ll be slightly modifying this to suit you better,” Yan Yun said, and once again, I had the strange sense that she was being far too generous to me for no obvious reason.

“Alright,” Yan Yun continued. “Have a look, and let’s begin the binding,” she said, handing me the jade slip.

I grabbed the offered item, sending a slight amount of Qi through it as the art began to reveal itself to me. I put away the thought of how information was being transmitted like this for now and focused on the contents of the art.

“Still your Qi, Lu Jie. And follow the guided paths that the art is showing. Try to reach out to your spirit,” Yan Yun instructed.

I followed her word, following the guidance of the art as I circulated my Qi.

Qi swirled, moving in my dantian and pushing against it. Slowly, but surely, it began to escape out of my dantian, into my pathways and then outwards. I sensed Yan Yun’s Qi guiding my own, and I refocused, trying to reach out to Labby. A small presence, with a tingly sensation to it.

Labby’s Qi happily reached out for my own as I felt my Qi merge with hers, both mixing together. I could sense a stir in my dantian, a portion of it shifting and changing with the flow of my Dantian, as if to make space for Labby.

Qi pulsed once more, this time from Labby, as lightning Qi came back through our bond, merging with the much larger amount of Qi in my dantian.

I felt a sensation deep within my gut as a new presence bloomed in my mind. Something sharp, yet small, a fuzzy intangible voice that chittered once, before I sensed elated joy gushing forth like a tidal wave, as a little girl’s voice called out.

Labby greets her Great Master!!