Xiao Yan leaned against the rusted bars of the cage. His head felt light, and a dull ache throbbed behind his eyes. The loss of two points of Soul Force was more taxing than he had expected. It felt as if a part of his consciousness had been physically carved out. He wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead and looked at the fox.
The small creature had finished the blood-soaked bread. It sat huddled in the corner of the cage, watching him with an intensity that wasn't there before. The soul link was a faint, warm thread in the back of his mind. He could feel the fox's exhaustion and a lingering, sharp pain from its poisoned bloodline.
'I need to get it out of here before someone notices,' Xiao Yan thought.
He stood up, his legs feeling a bit like jelly. He looked around the neglected back area of the stables. About twenty paces away, a small wooden shack sat leaning against a stone wall. This was the office for the low-level stable hands. A man sat on a stool out front, his back against the wall and a straw hat pulled over his face.
This was Old Ma. He was a man who had long ago given up on cultivation. His only goal in life was to do as little work as possible while drawing a meager salary from the Xiao Clan.
Xiao Yan walked over, his boots crunching on the dry dirt. He made sure to keep his footsteps heavy. He didn't want to startle the man. Old Ma didn't move until Xiao Yan was standing right in front of him.
"Old Ma," Xiao Yan said, his voice steady despite the fatigue.
The straw hat tilted back. A pair of bloodshot, squinted eyes looked up at him. Old Ma took in the white hair and the clean, though slightly rumpled, robes of a clan member. He recognized Xiao Yan immediately. Everyone knew the "weird" kid who saw ghosts.
"Young Master Yan," Old Ma grunted. He didn't bother standing up. "What brings you to this end of the stables? The Wind-Wolves are further up the path."
"I'm not here for a wolf," Xiao Yan said. He gestured vaguely toward the row of rusted cages. "I was looking at the discards. I need something to practice my basic taming techniques on. The instructors say I'm too distracted for a wolf yet."
Old Ma let out a dry, wheezing laugh. He scratched at a patch of stubble on his chin. "Practice? Those things back there are more dead than alive. You'd be better off taming a rock."
"The little fox at the end," Xiao Yan continued, ignoring the jab. "It looks like it's on its last legs. The clan is just going to toss it out anyway. I'll take it off your hands."
Old Ma's eyes sharpened slightly. He smelled a chance to make a little extra money for his jar of wine. He stood up slowly, stretching his back. He walked over to the cage where the Faded Star-Fox sat. He kicked the bars lightly. The fox didn't even flinch.
"This thing?" Old Ma asked. "It's a runt. Probably has a lung rot or a blood parasite. It won't survive the night. If you take it and it dies in your room, the elders will blame me for giving you a diseased animal."
"I'll say I found it in the woods," Xiao Yan replied. He reached into a small pouch at his waist and pulled out five copper coins. "For your trouble."
Copper coins were the lowest form of currency in the Spirit Beast Continent. One hundred copper made a single silver bit. Five copper was enough for a cheap meal or a jar of the lowest quality grain liquor. To a man like Old Ma, it was a fair price for a piece of trash.
Old Ma snatched the coins from Xiao Yan's palm. He didn't even count them. He just shoved them into his pocket and grabbed a heavy ring of keys from his belt.
"Fine. It's your funeral, Young Master," he said. He unlocked the cage with a loud click. "Take it and go. If anyone asks, I never saw you today."
Xiao Yan nodded. He reached into the cage. The fox looked at his hand, its ears pinned back, but it didn't growl. It sensed the link between them. He gently scooped the small creature up. It was incredibly light, feeling more like a bundle of dry sticks than a living animal. He tucked it inside the folds of his outer robe, using his arm to support its weight against his chest.
"Thanks, Old Ma," he muttered.
He turned and walked away before the stable hand could change his mind. He avoided the main paths of the estate. He took the narrow service trails that ran behind the servant quarters and the storage barns. His heart hammered against his ribs. He felt like a thief, even though he had technically bought the animal.
The walk back to his quarters felt twice as long as the walk there. The sun was higher now, and the heat was starting to make the musky scent of the fox more prominent. He kept his hand over the opening of his robe, feeling the tiny, rapid heartbeat of the creature.
'Just a little longer,' he thought, comforting both himself and the beast.
He eventually reached his private courtyard. It was a small, secluded area with a single plum tree and a stone bench. He slipped inside his room and barred the door. He let out a long breath and carefully placed the fox on the silk cushion where he had been meditating earlier.
The fox curled into a ball, its breathing shallow. Xiao Yan sat down across from it.
"System, open," he whispered.
[Status Interface]
[Name: Xiao Yan]
[Class: Beast Cultivator (Locked)]
[Cultivation: Body Refining Layer 2]
[Beasts: 1/1 (Faded Star-Fox)]
[Skills: None]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 1.3]
[Agility: 1.1]
[Constitution: 1.5]
[Intelligence: 3.8]
[Soul Force: 2.0]
He looked at the Fox's status next.
[Bonded Beast: Unnamed]
[Species: Faded Star-Fox]
[Condition: Critical (Poisoned Bloodline)]
[Evolution Progress: 0%]
[First Step: Bloodline Purification. Requirements: 10 units of Spirit Qi or 1 Basic Cleansing Pill.]
Xiao Yan frowned. He didn't have much. As a "troublemaker" in the clan, his monthly allowance of resources was often withheld or "lost" by the stewards. However, he did have a small wooden chest under his bed where he kept his basic necessities.
He pulled the chest out and opened it. Inside were a few spare robes, some dried meat, and a small ceramic bottle. He opened the bottle and poured the contents into his hand. There were two small, chalky white pills. These were Basic Cleansing Pills, given to all clan members to help purge the impurities released during Body Refining. They weren't high-grade, but they were designed to clear minor toxins from the system.
"Will this work?" he asked the system.
[Analysis: Basic Cleansing Pill detected. Effectiveness: 40%. It will stabilize the condition but will not fully clear the Poisoned Bloodline.]
"It's a start," Xiao Yan said.
He crushed one of the pills into a fine powder using the back of a spoon. He mixed it with a little bit of water in a small bowl. He held the bowl toward the fox.
"Drink this. It'll help with the pain."
The fox lifted its head. It sniffed the bowl and then began to lap up the bitter liquid. As it drank, Xiao Yan placed his hand on its back. He tried to channel a bit of his own Qi into the creature, guiding the medicine toward its heart.
He felt a faint pulse of energy from the fox. The system interface began to flicker.
[Purification in progress... 12%... 25%...]
The fox's shivering began to subside. Its fur didn't look any better, but its breathing became deeper and more rhythmic. Xiao Yan watched the progress bar with a focused gaze. He knew he couldn't stay in this room forever. He needed to find a way to get Moon-Grass to finish the job.
Moon-Grass was a common herb that grew in damp, shaded areas, but it only became "active" under the light of a full moon. It was used in many low-level concoctions. If he could find some, he could unlock the first evolution path.
'I'll have to go to the clan's herb garden tonight,' he decided. 'It's risky, but if I can heal it, the "Locked" status on my class might finally change!'
He leaned back against the wall, watching the fox fall into a deep sleep. For the first time since waking up in this world, he felt a spark of genuine hope.