Chapter Fifty-One: The Roaring Little Jin

"I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you! Ah! Ah! Ah!" The lightning beast, having been struck and sent flying, charged back in a frenzy, battering Ji Mo with its claws while bellowing furiously.

"Wait, wait, Goldie, stop with all the yelling! What did you just say? We signed a human-beast contract? When did that happen?" Ji Mo was stunned, momentarily forgetting her wounds as she scrambled upright, staring in disbelief at the frenzied beast bouncing on her chest. On impulse, she gave it a name based on its golden fur.

"Goldie? Your whole family is called Goldie!" The lightning beast froze in surprise, then glared at Ji Mo and roared even more angrily.

Yao Fei and the others, seasoned by battle, were only stunned for a heartbeat. As soon as they regained their senses, their eyes turned murderous. With the scarred man, one gripping a hammer, the other a spear, they advanced menacingly toward Ji Mo. At the same time, the twelfth-level Qi Refiner who had been standing still finally took a step forward, also heading for Ji Mo. Clearly, they were determined not to let her escape alive.

Of the seven drawn here by the lightning beast, one had been slain by Mu Baiyun’s sword, another by Ji Mo, and a third, caught off guard, lay paralyzed on the ground after being struck by Wei Qiu’s lightning. Four remained, but these were the strongest: two twelfth-level Qi Refiners, one eleventh-level, and one more at the twelfth level.

One of the four moved toward Mu Baiyun, apparently intent on finishing him off as he lay helpless on the ground. The other three all converged on Ji Mo. To them, Ji Mo and Mu Baiyun were too dangerous, too unpredictable. As long as the two could be eliminated, cleaning up the remaining unconscious ones would be a trivial matter.

Seeing the three closing in, Ji Mo had no time to argue with the lightning beast. Coughing, she forced herself to her feet, gripping the white jade dragon whip tightly, ready for battle. Of their group, Mu Baiyun had essentially lost all combat ability, Zhao Hu and Wei Qiu were both unconscious, and even if they weren’t, neither could do much against these four.

As for the lightning beast still raving atop her, Ji Mo put no faith in it at all. She’d be lucky if it didn’t use the opportunity to harm her, let alone expecting any help.

Given the situation, unless something unexpected happened, they would likely die within moments. Ji Mo quickly analyzed this in her mind, a fierce light gathering in her eyes as she prepared to awaken the whip spirit within her jade dragon whip, to gamble everything on one throw and slaughter all four enemies at once.

“Hey, Sister Ji, what’s going on here? Which peak are these people from, and why are they attacking fellow disciples?” Just as Ji Mo hesitated about calling forth the whip spirit, a surprised voice rang out from afar.

Yao Fei and the others halted, turning to see a group of five hurrying toward them. This squad consisted of an eighth-level Qi Refiner, a seventh-level, a sixth-level, and two at the fifth level. They all looked quite young—either new initiates or from the previous intake. With such cultivation at their age, they were likely as gifted as the ones present, all geniuses of the sect.

For outer disciples like Yao Fei, genius disciples were both the objects of envy and resentment; their brilliance only highlighted the mediocrity of the rest. Normally, no matter how much they disliked such talents, Yao Fei and his ilk would never dare lay hands on the likes of Ji Mo or Mu Baiyun.

But today had been different. Greed for the lightning beast had driven them to act before knowing who Ji Mo and her companions were. Once the fight began, they found themselves unable to retreat, intent now only on killing them all and hoping the sect would never discover the truth. If that happened, they could get away with it.

Now, five more had arrived. No one could say how strong these newcomers were. If they were as monstrous as Ji Mo and Mu Baiyun, Yao Fei’s group might meet their end here. Even if they managed to win, who knew what further trouble it would invite? Should word get out, whatever great fortune they might acquire would be useless if they didn’t live to enjoy it. Retreating now might offend Ji Mo’s group, but with two of their own already dead and none of Ji Mo’s, perhaps the matter would not be pursued.

With this in mind, they shot Ji Mo’s group one last venomous glare, turned without a word, and took the wounded with them as they left. Only after these adversaries departed did Ji Mo look toward the source of the earlier voice. She saw Zhong Qiongyue, Brother Chen, and Brother Jiang of Thunder Peak approaching with astonished faces, followed by Zhong Yao and Jiang Ping. The one who had spoken was Jiang Ping.

“Sister Ji, oh? Is that Brother Mu? Are you all right?” Brother Chen and Brother Jiang hurried over. When they saw Mu Baiyun lying on the ground, they were shocked.

“We’re all right, thanks to you all. If you hadn’t arrived when you did, we might not have survived today,” Mu Baiyun replied with a wry smile from where he lay.

“No need for thanks, Brother Mu. Who were those people? Which peak did they come from, to be so lawless?” Chen and Jiang frowned as they looked at the wounded, the unconscious Wei Qiu and Zhao Hu, and the bodies—one cleaved in two, another beheaded.

“We don’t know which peak. They attacked us the moment they arrived,” Mu Baiyun replied, pale-faced.

“You don’t look well, Brother Mu. You should focus on healing,” Brother Chen advised, seeing his condition. Mu Baiyun thanked him again and closed his eyes to rest.

“Hey, Ji Mo, is that a lightning beast on your shoulder?” Jiang Ping, her gaze having been fixed on Mu Baiyun earlier, now stared at Ji Mo and caught sight of the little golden beast perched there. Her eyes lit up, and she cried out in surprise.

As soon as she spoke, the others’ eyes snapped to Ji Mo’s shoulder. When they recognized the golden-furred creature, both Zhong Yao and her kinswoman Zhong Qiongyue’s eyes flashed with envy and resentment.

“Yes, it’s a lightning beast,” Ji Mo admitted, seeing that Goldie was brazenly clinging to her shoulder and there was no use denying it.

“Sister Ji, you’re really lucky. I heard the lightning beast mission has been open for over twenty years and never completed. I can’t believe you accomplished it as soon as you entered,” Jiang Ping exclaimed, eyes full of envy.

“Just lucky, I suppose!” Ji Mo gave a somewhat awkward chuckle. Her contract with the lightning beast had been pure chance: the blood she coughed up earlier had splashed into its mouth, accidentally sealing the pact. Otherwise, with its cunning, it would never have let her off so easily.

“Luck is an essential part of the immortal path. Sister Ji, you are truly favored by the heavens. In a few hours, the tide will recede, and countless people will flock to Blue Moon Lake in search of treasures. What do you say, sisters and brothers—shall we team up?” Brother Chen smiled kindly at Ji Mo, extending an invitation.

Both Ji Mo and Mu Baiyun were recognized prodigies. Half a month ago, because of Zhong Qiongyue, Brother Chen had gotten on Ji Mo’s bad side and had been uneasy about it since. Now, seeing a chance to mend relations, he was eager not to let it slip by.

“We appreciate your kindness, Brother Chen, but right now the four of us are all wounded and might become a burden to you,” Ji Mo replied, her gaze sweeping over the group, noting the expressions of the Jiang sisters. Her voice was calm; she truly had no interest in treasure-hunting, but could only speak for herself, not the others.

“Sister Ji, there’s no need to be so formal. We’re all from the same sect and should help each other. Brother Mu may be badly hurt, but with careful treatment, he should recover by evening. As for Brother Wei Qiu, I just checked his pulse—he’s only unconscious and will wake soon. With your and Brother Mu’s strength, I suspect we’ll be relying on your protection instead. Unless you think we’re the ones who’d hold you back?” Brother Chen feigned a stern face.

“That’s right, Sister Ji, we’re all from Thunder Peak. No need to treat us like outsiders!” Brother Jiang chimed in.

Ji Mo smiled and replied, “With such goodwill from you both, I’d be remiss to refuse. But I can’t decide for everyone. Once the others wake up, we can ask for their thoughts—how about that?” She didn’t want to offend Chen, Jiang, and the rest, but couldn’t make decisions for Mu Baiyun, Wei Qiu, and Zhao Hu.

“You’re right, Sister Ji. Let’s wait until Brother Mu wakes and ask him. For now, we’ll guard you while you recover. Your wounds don’t look light either—better start healing up,” Brother Chen said, not seeing her words as an excuse. With Mu Baiyun’s pride, even if he and Ji Mo were in a team, she wouldn’t presume to decide for him.

“Thank you, brothers and sisters!” This time, Ji Mo thanked them sincerely. With several hours yet until evening, three of their four were incapacitated, and who knew if those who had just left might return, or if others might come to take advantage? With Brother Chen’s group around, their safety was much improved.

Chen and the others had offered their goodwill, and Ji Mo accepted it. But now, once her group recovered, she would be hard-pressed to refuse their invitation to join the treasure hunt. Whether joining them at Blue Moon Lake would be a blessing or curse, only time would tell.

Not to mention potential conflict with other cultivators during the hunt, there were already two people in Chen and Jiang’s team who clearly disliked her, and Jiang Ping’s attitude was a mystery. When it came to Jiang Ping, ever since six years ago, Ji Mo had instinctively felt wary of her—no matter how friendly Jiang Ping appeared, Ji Mo could never sense any sincerity.

In their group, Brother Chen was the highest in cultivation. With his decision, and Brother Jiang’s support, any dissent among the others could only remain unspoken. The group soon settled down at a random spot.

Ji Mo glanced at everyone, then sat beside Zhao Hu and closed her eyes to meditate. In truth, her injuries were no lighter than Mu Baiyun’s, but her body was tougher, allowing her to hold out. About half an hour passed before the unconscious Wei Qiu and Zhao Hu slowly awoke.

“Xiao Mo, are we alive or dead?” Zhao Hu asked in confusion, staring at Ji Mo who was sitting beside him with eyes closed.

“Of course we’re alive. Do I look like a corpse?” Ji Mo couldn’t help but laugh, opening her eyes and giving him a mock glare. Zhao Hu could be so adorably clueless at times.

“So we’re really alive. I thought we were done for this time… Sister Ji, I’m really sorry. Ever since I teamed up with you, I feel like I’ve only held you back,” Wei Qiu, now conscious and gazing blankly at the sky, picked up the conversation. Since the giant bear incident, the tide, and now the fight for the lightning beast, Wei Qiu had suffered blow after blow. Once this trial was over, he’d surely be determined to improve.

“No need to apologize. If anything, you were dragged into this by me. I was the one outwitted by this little beast—if not for it, those villains wouldn’t have found us. Isn’t that so, little one?” Ji Mo turned, seized Goldie by the scruff, and glared at him.

“Chirp! Chirp!” Goldie struggled furiously. In terms of power, he was far superior to Ji Mo, but now that they were bound by contract, the blood pact’s instinctive suppression made it easy for her to restrain him.

“What? You really tamed it?” Wei Qiu turned his gaze to Ji Mo in surprise.

“More or less. But with such a troublemaker as a beast companion, who knows whether it’s a blessing or a curse? And we owe our survival to Brother Chen and the others—if they hadn’t shown up when they did, we’d likely all be dead by now.” Ji Mo glanced at Goldie, then shifted her gaze to Chen and the rest.

Goldie, gripped by the neck, struggled even harder, his furious voice howling in Ji Mo’s mind: Trouble maker? How dare you call me a trouble maker? So many would beg to have me as their bonded beast, you don’t even know how lucky you are! And yet you complain? His furious roar pounded in Ji Mo’s ears until her vision swam and her head spun…