Chapter 6: The Shadow Mouse "Bebe" (Part 2)
The little shadow mouse had seen Linley go to Mount Wu to catch rabbits before, but this time, Linley wasn't heading toward Mount Wu. Instead, he was walking along the road in a different direction. The little shadow mouse panicked.
"Squeak, squeak~~~"
The little shadow mouse suddenly dashed toward Linley.
Just as Linley took a step, he felt his foot being grabbed. Looking down, it was the little shadow mouse. The little mouse stood upright, its two front paws tightly hugging Linley's leg, its eyes looking at him pitifully, as if about to cry.
"Hey, little shadow mouse, how did you get here?" Linley asked, somewhat surprised.
Hillman turned to look and, upon seeing the little shadow mouse, exclaimed in shock, "A magical beast? Could it be a stone-eating rat?" Hillman wasn't very familiar with magical beast types, but he had once heard of an entire army being devoured by a swarm of stone-eating rats. As a result, most soldiers were wary of rat-like magical beasts.
"Linley, be careful." Hillman immediately kicked out, and Linley only saw a blur before the foot was already near the little shadow mouse.
But the little shadow mouse was faster, darting onto Linley's shoulder in an instant.
"Uncle Hillman, stop!" Linley finally reacted.
Hillman froze.
"Uncle Hillman, this is the animal I've been feeding in the backyard," Linley quickly explained. "Little shadow mouse, isn't that right?"
The little shadow mouse seemed to understand Linley's words and nodded its tiny head.
Hillman stared at Linley in amazement. "Linley, you mean you've been raising... raising a magical beast?"
"Uncle Hillman, wait a moment. Let me persuade the little shadow mouse to go back." Linley reached back, picked up the little shadow mouse, and said to it, "Little shadow mouse, I'm leaving with Uncle Hillman to go to the royal capital. You can't come to the royal capital, understand?"
The little shadow mouse just looked at Linley pitifully, as if about to cry.
Linley set the little shadow mouse on the ground and waved his hand. "Go back now." Then he pointed down his path. "I'm going this way, to the royal capital."
Saying this, Linley waved and continued walking.
"Squeak, squeak~~~" The little shadow mouse stood in place, watching Linley.
"Uncle Hillman, let's go. Haha, the little shadow mouse is very smart. It knows what I mean," Linley said to Hillman beside him. Hillman, also somewhat surprised by the scene, smiled and continued walking with Linley.
Watching Linley and Hillman grow distant, the little shadow mouse stayed rooted to the spot.
"Squeak~~~"
Suddenly, the little shadow mouse let out a sharp cry, transforming into a black blur that shot out twenty or thirty meters in an instant, its speed terrifying and its form erratic. Linley and Hillman were still walking and chatting when Hillman suddenly felt something fast approaching from behind and turned around.
"Whoosh——"
Before Hillman could block it, the blur landed at Linley's feet and bit him directly on the calf.
"Ah!" A sharp pain shot through him, and Linley leaped up.
He looked down and saw it was the little shadow mouse, staring at him with watery, pitiful eyes. Linley touched his calf and found blood seeping out, making him quite annoyed. But seeing the little mouse's expression, he couldn't bring himself to be angry.
"Linley, are you alright?" Hillman asked from beside him.
"I'm fine." Linley forced a smile.
Suddenly——
A dense black light enveloped the little shadow mouse. A trace of blood flew from its mouth—some of it Linley's, some its own. That trace of blood eerily formed two black triangles, one upright and one inverted, while thick black light merged into them, creating a strange magical array that radiated a dense aura of darkness.
Hillman and Linley watched in shock.
"Is this... could it be?" Linley had a guess forming in his mind.
From the Ring of Dragon, Doehring Cowart flew out, his white beard bristling with surprise. "Linley, that little one is setting up an equal contract."
"An equal contract?" Linley was stunned. Even though he had guessed, he was still shocked.
The strange black magical array split in two. One black triangle flew into Linley's body, while the other flew into the little shadow mouse. Seeing this, Hillman grew alarmed.
"Linley, are you okay?" Hillman asked, worried.
"I'm fine. In fact, I'm great." Linley could already feel the faint soul connection between himself and the little shadow mouse.
On the quiet road of Mount Wu Town, Linley and the little shadow mouse stared at each other, beginning their first communication.
"Little shadow mouse, what's your name?" Linley asked directly in his mind.
The black shadow mouse was excited. "Beh, beh..."
Linley stared blankly at the little shadow mouse.
"What is it saying?" Linley had no idea.
The white-haired Doehring Cowart appeared beside him, transmitting mentally, "Linley, this little shadow mouse is still in its infancy. It can't form clear syllables. Even in soul communication, it can only convey simple meanings."
Through their soul link, Linley could feel the little mouse's excitement, but it couldn't form any words.
"Well, you keep saying 'beh, beh'... I'll call you 'Bebe,' how about that?" Linley said cheerfully, looking at the little shadow mouse.
The little shadow mouse looked thoughtful for a moment, then happily nodded.
"Bebe." Linley grinned widely.
"Squeak~~~" The little shadow mouse immediately hopped in response.
"Bebe!"
"Squeak~~"
"Bebe!"
"Squeak~~"
...
An eight-and-a-half-year-old boy and a little shadow mouse kept calling out to each other excitedly.
"Linley, what... what just happened?" Hillman finally snapped out of it, his eyes wide. "Linley, what was that black magical array? What happened? Are you sure you're okay?"
Hillman had heard that dark magic included curses.
Had Linley been cursed?
With only a vague understanding of magic, Hillman was filled with fear and worry.
"Haha, it's fine. Bebe has become my magical beast," Linley said cheerfully. "Come on, Bebe, hop onto my shoulder." The little shadow mouse squeaked happily and leaped onto Linley's shoulder.
"You... tamed it?" Hillman was dumbfounded.
Hillman, having seen the world, knew how difficult it was to tame a magical beast. Yet Linley had just done it.
Uncle Hillman felt dazed. "But you don't even have a soul contract scroll. How... how?"
"Alright, Uncle Hillman." Linley grinned. "Let's hurry up. The royal capital of Fenlai City is still far away." With that, Linley grabbed Hillman and, without further explanation, continued their journey to the royal capital.
And the little shadow mouse, "Bebe," squeaked excitedly on Linley's shoulder.
With the little mouse's calls, Linley, Hillman, and Bebe disappeared into the distance at the end of the road.