The Ascension of Contracted Spirits

Chapter 24: Chapter 23: Taking a Bath with Tadpoles_1

After he heard the story from Da Mu'er, Ye Hanjun took a moment to ponder over it.

Typically, after signing a contract, although the Patron doesn't have absolute control over the Fond Spirit, they are bound by an unspoken bond.

As long as the contract is not broken, the success of a Contracted Fond Spirit slaying its Patron is possible.

This happens at a much heavier price than a Patron dying by accident, causing negative backlash to the Fond Spirit.

The outcome is akin to suicide; heart wrenching, piercing torture of the soul. It's something that a mentally stable Fond Spirit could never do.

"The Disabled Fond Spirits Assistance Centre should be kept as our last option."

Sikong Wei gently reminded him, "The people who work there hope to replace part of the hunting with adoption."

"But this is extremely difficult. Who would willingly contract with a Fond Spirit that is missing parts, and who would dare take the risk and coexist with a Fond Spirit with and abnormal mind? Isn't this like looking for trouble and cutting off the path of one's own cultivation?"

Da Mu'er concurred in agreement, expressing his full endorsement.

After pondering for a moment, Ye Hanjun did not comment.

He bid his three companions farewell and, with his weary body, slowly strode away from smithing room number seven.

...

"This trip has been quite fruitful. From a beast soldier corpse to new intelligence, it was worth it to risk my life to prevent the smithing table from exploding."

Ye Hanjun walked down the street, and noticing he was alone, directed his Bloodsucking Dagger while reciting, "Talent Identification."

In an instant, the world of his soul emerged, presenting an attribute panel.

----

[Species Name]: Bloodsucking Dagger

[Chaos Seal]: 'Soldier'

[Main Study]: Furnace Path/Weapon Refining Path/Plunder Path

[Rank]: Rainbow Light Fetus?Great Completion

[Chaos Spirit Pattern]: ×××

[Core Personality]: ×××

[Current Status]: Death

[Contractual Relationship]: ×××

"Another gain from this trip is discovering another characteristic of Talent Identification - the ability to identify corpses."

"Perhaps it requires the corpse to be as complete as possible, but even the identities of dead Fond Spirits can be discerned. This active ability is too powerful, 'Instructor' is definitely more mysterious and special than I imagined..."

Ye Hanjun toyed with the idea for a while, stowing the Bloodsucking Dagger and hooking it onto his belt.

Having an extra weapon for self-defence, combined with the existing Shield Tortoise Shell, gave him the feeling of gradual growth and increasing strength.

But this still wasn't enough, far from it.

Only one's ability and Fond Spirit can be considered core powers.

Everything else, be it weapons, runes, or anything else, are like a dream, extraneous things.

— A Patron can use them, but should not rely on them.

This saying is very popular among elite Patrons, almost considered a golden rule from the elders to the younger generation, and hasn't faded over tens of thousands of years.

All the descendants who tried to prove this as sophistry and fallacies eventually paid the price, albeit with varying severity.

"I am going home."

Ye Hanjun originally wanted to go to the Canghai Pavilion's dining hall to see how good their complimentary meals were.

he ended up with half his body burnt from his trip to the smithing workshop.

His thigh, toes, arm, shoulder... many parts of his skin were still flaming red, burning with pain.

Under these circumstances, all he could do was rest and recuperate at home. At the same, he decided to try the medicinal wine given by Tu Long to see if it was effective.

"Welcome to the station, please tell the staff where you would like to go."

"... Alright, according to your needs, we recommend you take carriage number 89, it will be leaving in five minutes..."

This was his third time in a hitch ride, this time the vehicle was driven by a middle-aged, dark-skinned woman.

The specifics of her ability were unknown, but her Contracted Fond Spirit was quite interesting and was called a "Spring Earthworm".

Yes, it was an earthworm as wide as a bowl and more than six meters long.

The back half of its body was shaped like a spring, exerting great kinetic energy every time it sprinted, pulling the carriage forward at high speed.

Ye Hanjun had to complain; the Spring Earthworm wasn't slow in pulling the carriage, but it was too shaky. Even with three safety buckles, there was still an overwhelming sense of discomfort.

When he alighted, there was no doubt that he vomited blood again.

The woman pulling the carriage was terrified, constantly muttering "Oh no, I'll be complained about again. I should have listened to my husband's advice and brought my little worm home to farm..."

"Never mind, it's alright."

Ye Hanjun didn't have the intention to casually accuse people, he just expressed his resignation.

Good heavens, he was once considered a seedling with great potential in the Ye Clan, at one point he attracted great adulation from the masses.

How did he become what he was now? Even getting onto a carriage made him seem frail?

"I need to procure more supplements to recover the essence of life lost due to blood loss. For the time being, this is the only way to restore my body..."

Massaging his temples, Ye Hanjun fell into deep thought.

Without realizing it, he had entered his residential area and returned to villa number 233.

He temporarily suppressed his chaotic thoughts, opened the front door, and headed straight for the bathroom.

"Yiye?"

The little tadpole poked its head out. Its two rice-sized eyes looked mini but adorable.

It took a look at the figure that had just entered and noticed it was the big tadpole. Its tail wagged from side to side, seemingly expressing its joy.

"Little fellow, you seem very energetic."

Ye Hanjun thought that the little tadpole would turn into a stone to sleep, but an entire morning passed, and it was still happily playing in the basin.

Even when the little fish and shrimp utterly ignored it.

It remained clueless and unfazed, occasionally darting through the underwater grass. If it saw the one-eyed goldfish chasing the hopping shrimp around, causing a stir and a string of fights, it would immediately stop to watch with relish.

"I've grown increasingly curious about how far you can grow with such a disposition."

Ye Hanjun lightly stroked the little bugger's head, basking in the rare moment of tranquility.

The little tadpole uttered a little 'yiye,' opened its tiny mouth, and playfully spat out a jet of water, once again hitting Ye Hanjun right on the nose.

Before Ye Hanjun could say anything, it swiftly dived back into the water, pretending that nothing had happened and continued swimming leisurely.

"Innocent yet mischievous."

Ye Hanjun chuckled, shook his head, and walked towards another bathtub.

It was bath time.

Setting aside the issue of injuries, the journey had left him covered in dust.

If he didn't thoroughly bathe and scrub himself clean, he'd always feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Ye Hanjun adjusted the water temperature and began to add cold water.

This time he didn't use soap, and didn't even light any scented candles or incense.

He opened the Ice Skin Jade Dew bottle, a hazy mist erupted out. It contacted his skin, bringing a cold and refreshing sensation, it was incredibly soothing.

Expectantly, Ye Hanjun quickly stripped off his clothes. He did not plan to wash the dirty clothes and tossed them directly into the garbage bin.

As soon as his foot tested the icy blue bathwater, he let out a soul-stirring 'Ahhh,' clenched his teeth and grimaced, shaking from the chill.

"Ssss... the medicinal effects are quite potent. I wonder if my broken body can withstand it?"

Ye Hanjun added more water, continuing to dilute the medical alcohol.

"Yiye? Yiye?"

The little tadpole poked its head out and spat out some water to attract the attention of the big tadpole.

"What's wrong? You want to bathe too?"

Ye Hanjun turned his head and met the little tadpole's tiny eyes full of curiosity.

"Pure beasts inherently have clean bodies, which seems to purify when they touch impurities..."

Ye Hanjun hesitated for a moment.

Pure Fond Spirits aren't weak in all aspects. If they encounter severe poison or abnormal element corrosion, they would stimulate the purifying power in their bloodlines.

But the biggest problem, is that the little bugger is too young.

The composition of Ice Skin Jade Dew also has unknown factors. He was afraid of hurting the young tadpole with reckless attempts.

"Yiye~~~"

The little tadpole jumped three centimeters off the water's surface, and after falling back in, it jumped again.

Ye Hanjun's expression subtly shifted as the sudden burst of activity sparked more speculation.

"Right, Pure Beasts possess strong spirits, their perception of danger far surpasses that of spirits of the same rank."

"Seeing its curious behavior, could it be that the scent of the medicinal liquor is attracting its instinct?"

"Maybe what it's sensing is 'attraction' and not 'evil and pollution'... Does this Ice Skin Jade Dew benefit it?"

Ye Hanjun thought it made sense the more he dwelled on it. He scooped up the little tadpole in both hands and helped it leave the basin.

"Yiye~~~"

As they approached the icy bath, before he could let go, the little tadpole cheerfully hopped right into the tub on its own accord.

It was as if it hadn't eaten for three days and three nights, suddenly seeing all kinds delicious food piled up. It roared and dove head-first into the icy water.

"Yiye~~~ Yiye~~~"

The imagined purification did not occur. The tadpole was as joyous as a fish in water, reveling in refreshment as much as it wanted.

Its speed was inconsistent, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. It was like a runaway wild horse, frolicking in the icy blue bathtub, splashing delicate sprays of water ceaselessly.

"Don't waste it!"

Ye Hanjun once again plunged into the bathtub, submerging more than half of his body.

Only his head remained above water. He made a move as though to catch the little tadpole, instructing sternly:

"This is all medicinal liquor, could be sold for money if taken out."

"I'm broke now; I can't afford to be wasteful. These spiritual items have to be used sparingly, do you understand?"

"Yiye..." The little tadpole appeared to understand.

But it was good at imitating, learning from the big tadpole, it stopped swimming and hovered in place.

"I'm going to sleep for a bit, play by yourself."

Ye Hanjun clamped an air tube available in the washroom between his teeth, took a deep breath, and plunged his entire body underwater.

As his eyes closed, darkness gradually consumed his consciousness.

The chill seemed to come from all directions, his previously burning skin swiftly turned numb and stiff.

When the chill had pierced through his inner organs, Ye Hanjun's consciousness gradually blurred, his entire person seemed to be soaring in the high heavens, in a state of bliss, uninterested in descending back to the mortal world.

"Yiye~~~~"

The small tadpole swam to the big tadpole's side, using its tail to fiddle with his nose.

After a few attempts without any response, it suddenly lost interest in playing.

It coiled up into a white pebble shaped egg and stayed motionless, wedged at big tadpole's collarbone position.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Silence replaced the noise, just like a frozen picture scroll. Even the circulating air seemed to be stealthily frozen.