novelRenewal of the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's Trust
| ← Ch.226 | Ch.228 → |
Translator: Minotauruz
The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf was by nature an incredibly vigilant and wary spirit beast. If anyone did not appear kind and harmless enough, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf would attack that person as long as it came within a ten-meter radius of it.
In fact, there were even times when the person approaching it would still be unable to earn the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's trust even if it appeared kind and harmless enough.
Jun Xiaomo had earlier managed to obtain the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's trust under the unique conditions during the group battles. But now, things had changed. The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf was captured by the organizing committee and even restrained in this small little enclosure. This made it suddenly realize that Jun Xiaomo might very well have betrayed its trust.
At the very least, Jun Xiaomo had not kept to her end of the bargain, which was to give it its freedom. This was the reason for the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's burgeoning hatred and animosity towards Jun Xiaomo in its heart.
Thus, it was going to be an uphill task if Jun Xiaomo were to obtain its trust again. This was the reason why the chief referee had earlier advised Jun Xiaomo not to waste her efforts here earlier.
To the chief referee's mind, there was no reason for Jun Xiaomo to put herself in harm's way for a spirit beast that did not appear to be particularly spectacular.
That said, Jun Xiaomo could hardly care less about what the thought processes of other people. She lived by her own principles, and she knew that as long as she had given her word that she would do something, she would do everything she could to see it through. And this was despite the fact that the thing that she had given her word to was no more than a spirit beast.
Roar! The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf cried out once more, and the flames on its back grew even wilder. It took two steps back, its hair began to stand on end tensely, and its hind legs were cocked and ready to pounce towards Jun Xiaomo at a moment's notice.
Jun Xiaomo walked to the border of the formation array and opened her palm to the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf. A beautiful, gleaming medicinal pill sat atop the center of her palm. This was a secondary-tier, fifth-grade medicinal pill – it could be said that this was a rather rare and valuable pill.
Despite that, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf continued to glare vigilantly at Jun Xiaomo. There was not a single trace of easing of the tension in its eyes.
Jun Xiaomo didn't mind this at all. She continued to smile faintly with an outstretched arm. She neither revealed any signs of further approach; nor did she reveal any signs of backing off.
Jun Xiaomo looked straight back at the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf, while the referees stared blankly at Jun Xiaomo's back. Everyone was certain that Jun Xiaomo's efforts would fail this time. The problem did not lie with Jun Xiaomo's abilities; rather, it was an issue that had been set in stone given the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's personality.
Furthermore, Jun Xiaomo had already lost a prime opportunity to obtain and maintain the trust with the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf, so how could she possibly be able to win the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's trust once more with merely a medicinal pill?
It's not possible.
One incense stick of time passed... two incense sticks of time passed... one hour passed... Yet all this while, Jun Xiaomo continued to stand there with an outstretched arm with the medicinal pill atop her palm. Even some of the referees behind her had begun to grow frustrated and exasperated at this ostensible stale mate.
Logically speaking, cultivators who had attained a high level of cultivation, including these referees, would never be so easily influenced by the circumstances around them. Generally, as spiritual cultivators get stronger, they tend to be more patient and have more willpower. That said, these referees firmly believed that Jun Xiaomo's efforts were going to be in vain at the end of the day.
Yet because of their position as referees, they were forced to waste their time and wait it out with Jun Xiaomo as she made her attempts with the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf. It was no wonder that the referees would grow anxious and frustrated, and no longer be able to maintain the calm and peaceable state of mind that they originally would have.
Finally, it was the chief referee who spoke first. He attempted to walk forward to persuade Jun Xiaomo that her efforts, but she immediately held him back with a hand gesture.
"Shh..." Jun Xiaomo placed her finger on her lips as she mouthed the following words, "Dear seniors, please wait a little while more."
Another referee witnessed Jun Xiaomo's reaction and was about to leap up in anger when he was held back by the chief referee.
"Let's play along and wait a little while more." The chief referee cajoled him in a hushed tone of voice. The other referee's standing was naturally not as high as the chief referee's stature, and he naturally had to obey the chief referee's instructions. Thus, he could only suppress the indignation and frustration in his heart as he glared at Jun Xiaomo and took a few steps back in a huff as he grew taciturn.
Another hour or so passed. Just as Jun Xiaomo's arm was beginning to get tired, she finally noticed some movement on the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's part.
Most spirit beasts possessed an incredibly sensitive sense of smell, and the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf was no exception to this. Thus, Jun Xiaomo firmly believed that the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf would be able to tell for itself that the medicinal pill held up by Jun Xiaomo was a valuable treasure.
As long as the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf was willing to consume this medicinal pill on Jun Xiaomo's palm, the rift between them would naturally mend and close that much more.
Roar! The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf roared once more as it attempted to shock Jun Xiaomo into retreat. Yet in the end, not only did Jun Xiaomo not retreat, she even took a few steps forward. At this moment, she was only one step away from the edge of the formation array.
If the members of the Heavenly Peak were here right now, they would undoubtedly rush forward to Jun Xiaomo and drag her back from what she was doing.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Peak members were not around. Those who were present right now did not overtly care about Jun Xiaomo's life. Apart from their assessment that Jun Xiaomo's stubbornness bordered on idiocy, none of them appeared to have much concern for Jun Xiaomo.
As soon as the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf noticed that Jun Xiaomo had advanced a few steps rather than back off, it immediately leapt towards Jun Xiaomo. However, it paused when it was one inch away from the edge of the formation array's domain.
It knew that if it got any closer to the edge of the formation array, it would undoubtedly suffer from the formation array's "punishment". In fact, some of the injuries on its body had been caused by this very formation array.
At this point in time, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf was practically next to Jun Xiaomo.
Their eyes met. Jun Xiaomo deliberated for a moment, before she took another half a step forward, and she stretched her hand through the formation array and essentially exposed her hand to the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's attacks.
"Is this young brat nuts?" One of the referees murmured.
In the very next moment, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf opened his mouth wide, and instantly clamped down on Jun Xiaomo's arm.
Every one of the referees' eyes widened. Everything had happened too quickly, and nobody had the time to react, much less think about rescuing Jun Xiaomo's arm from the jaws of the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf.
What these referees failed to notice was the fact that Jun Xiaomo hardly bore any reaction at all. In fact, she did not even cringe or groan in pain.
Jun Xiaomo only continued to look at the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf with a smile on her face. She did not retreat nor retaliate at all.
The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf tightened its jaws even more, but Jun Xiaomo continued to stare at the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's eyes with hardly any intention to react.
Finally, just as the referees could no longer find it within themselves to stand idly by any longer and were about to think of a way to rescue Jun Xiaomo, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf suddenly curled its eyes into a delighted squinch and spat Jun Xiaomo's arm back out.
Apart from the fact that Jun Xiaomo's sleeve had turned into a soaking wet rag, there were hardly any injuries on Jun Xiaomo's arm. Furthermore, the medicinal pill that had been on her palm was finally consumed by the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf.
The medicinal pill melted as soon as it entered the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's mouth, and it immediately curled its eyes in delight as it enjoyed the soothing power of the medicinal pill course through its limbs, its bones, its meridians and its Dantian. It even emitted some gentle, growling sounds in pleasure.
The wounds on its body had only appeared to look serious, but they did not extend beyond the surface at all. Thus, it recovered fully in no time.
As soon as it discovered that its body no longer had any discomfort with it, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf opened its eyes once more and looked back at Jun Xiaomo. Its eyes were finally no longer filled with hostility or animosity, and the blazing flames on its back had also dwindled substantially.
This was a sign that it had finally let its guard down and once again accepted Jun Xiaomo's advance.
"Sigh, could it be that this little brat had actually succeeded?" One of the referees sighed as he exclaimed.
Jun Xiaomo smiled as she spoke to the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf, "The referees say that if I want to bring you out of this place, I'll have to stay with you in your enclosure for a night. Will you allow me to come in and join you? If you agree, then please show me where my place should be."
The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf howled once as it stared at Jun Xiaomo, but it made no other gestures.
Notwithstanding that, Jun Xiaomo continued to look straight into the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's eyes with sincerity and earnestness, as though she were using her perseverance to signal her intentions that she was not going to harm it.
Thus, some time passed again, before the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf finally lifted its eyes and shifted its legs as though it were giving way, and it took one step to the side.
Naturally, one step to the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf was tantamount to a few large steps to Jun Xiaomo. The amount of space that it had parted with was more than sufficient for Jun Xiaomo to even lie horizontally on the ground.
Just like that, Jun Xiaomo walked straight past the formation array and into the enclosure without hesitation. Behind her, several referees were completely taken aback by her audacity and bravery. Even as they sighed with admiration and approval, they couldn't help but wipe of some beads of sweat on their foreheads.
The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf won't suddenly pounce on this little lady and devour her, right?
Some of the referees thought with some measure of wariness and suspicion in their heart. They felt that Jun Xiaomo's success was rather unbelievable.
However, the dreadful scenario that they had envisioned in their minds did not take place. Instead, Jun Xiaomo remained completely safe as she took her seat beside the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf.
When she noticed the unmistakable looks of astonishment on the faces of the referees outside, she smiled radiantly at them as she added, "The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf is a very spiritually aware spirit beast that has its own principles as well. Once it has decided to trust someone, it will not go back on its word that easily."
This was why she boldly strode into its enclosure as soon as the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf made a gesture of approval to Jun Xiaomo by giving her some space.
Compared with some human beings, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's character was far more trustworthy.
A few of the referees appeared to be deep in thought, while the chief referee nodded his head as he addressed Jun Xiaomo once more, "Since you've already obtained its approval, you're well on your first step towards the conditions that we've set. We'll keep observing its conduct from now onwards then. If it doesn't show any more signs of hostility or threat towards you, we'll fulfill our end of the promise tomorrow and let it go free."
Jun Xiaomo smiled in response, "I sincerely thank the esteemed referees for your magnanimity in accepting my humble request."
Thus, the chief referee led the other referees as they took their leave from this enclosure, leaving Jun Xiaomo alone with the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf. At this point in time, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf had finally also let go of the remaining tension of its body.
Before the referees took their leave, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf had still been rather vigilant about them.
Howl... The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf howled slightly before it ignored Jun Xiaomo and lay down on its belly. It even swished its tail about from time to time.
After sitting on the ground for some time, Jun Xiaomo found that discovered that the ground was too bumpy, and it was uneven and filled with stones and tiny pebbles. Thus, she looked greedily at the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf – that thick layer of fur looked incredibly comfortable. How nice would it be to lean against that!
Thus, she attempted to draw closer to the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf. It sensed that Jun Xiaomo's aura was drawing closer to it, but it simply opened its eyes and glanced at Jun Xiaomo lazily.
Jun Xiaomo chuckled lightly.
Then, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf ignored Jun Xiaomo once more. It simply shut its eyes and began to rest.
Jun Xiaomo grew emboldened. In the next moment, she minced her way over to the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's side and plonked down just beside it as it leaned on the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf's luscious fur.
The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf attempted to move its legs slightly, but it discovered that it had no way of pushing away the "deadweight" on its leg. Thus, it decided to simply turn a blind eye to Jun Xiaomo's existence by its side.
She's not too heavy anyway. I'll leave her be. The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf huffed lightly before it grew taciturn.
| ← Ch. 226 | Ch. 228 → |