Standing now face to face with the man, the fox replies to his question.

"I never once said you should allow me to run free. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't allow myself to run either. Out here, being careful is never enough."

"And what do you propose we do then? First you said I shouldn't kill you. Now you say letting you go free also isn't a good option. What are you proposing I do exactly?" asks the man.

"You could always commit suicide. I mean, if there's one thing fate didn't decide for sure, that would be you committing suicide. That would also make things easier for me," the fox retorts.

Though these thoughts ran through the fox's mind, he did not allow them to show on his face. In fact, the words coming from his mouth had a totally different tone.

"Well, I propose you take me along on your travels. If you keep me close by, you'd be able to monitor my movements as you wish. If you detect anything wrong with my behavior, you'd be able to address it before I become a problem for you as well," replies the fox.

"Well, well, aren't you a shameless fox. Sparing your life wasn't enough; now you're asking me to be your babysitter as well? Shall I also serve you a cup of tea every evening starting now? Maybe a massage every morning as well?" he mockingly replies.

'Motherfucker,' the fox barely manages to prevent himself from cursing at him.

Here he was trying his best to reach an acceptable compromise, and here was that bastard making him the butt of the joke.

'Calm down. You can't let his words get to you. Things have been moving well up to now. Just a little more and I'll be able to convince him. I just need to remain calm and not lose myself to anger.'

After a deep breath, the fox continues the exchange.

"Of course, you don't have to bother yourself with such tasks. I wouldn't even dare to imagine having you do something like that. When it comes to my well-being and necessities, I'll take care of everything myself.

What I was alluding to was simply allowing me to tag along with you on your journey. That way, you'd have more time to gather information and make a more informed decision when the time comes, rather than acting now without any clear confirmations.

At the same time, keeping me close would prevent me from scheming behind your back.

Like they say, 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.'"

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, huh? So, correct me if I'm mistaken, but you're implying that you're my enemy, right? Is that really the right impression to leave? Displaying your hostility that openly towards me in the situation you're in... You're quite the courageous one," replies the man.

"Damn it. That's not what I meant at all. I was simply using that expression to exemplify my point, not to present myself as an enemy.

Why does this guy read so much into things? Is he doing it on purpose to make things harder for me? Or is he just naturally hard to deal with?

Either way, I see a harsh road ahead of me," laments the fox in his mind.

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"I wouldn't dare to present myself as an enemy towards you. Not even six more lives would be enough for me to live through that.

I simply used the expression because, looking at it from your point of view, you would certainly view me as an enemy. Our current conditions make any other interpretation from your part impossible. The fact that I'm still alive right now is nothing more than a reflection of your kindness," the fox replies with the first excuse that came to his mind.

The young man laughs.

"I'll stop making things hard for you for now, little fox."

'So you were making things hard on purpose, you bastard,' violent thoughts run through the fox's mind.

Unaware of what's running through the fox's mind, the man continues.

"Though, there's still one issue we need to solve here.

Keeping you nearby would indeed eliminate basically any risk of you scheming behind my back. I would be able to control your level of strength and reduce your potential options to get back at me by a potential margin. However, it's not as if it doesn't bring its own set of dangers.

For instance, what if you get involved whenever I'm fighting somebody else? Distracting me or outright helping my opponent fight against me?

What if you take advantage of a time when I would be too weak to defend myself, to make your move and end my life?

Or perhaps distracting me in the middle of a cultivation session, leading to my Qi getting out of control and causing me severe damage, maybe even death?

There are several ways for you to sabotage me even if I have my eyes on you at all times.

You're not foolish enough to think I would just believe any words or promises of devotion, right?

I don't want to spend the foreseeable future sleeping with an eye open, having to always factor in your potential betrayal in every situation I get myself into.

So, how will you address these concerns of mine?" Asks the young man. The tone he used seemingly indicates that this was the crucial point of the conversation.

'He's really going to force me to say it myself, isn't he? That bastard is quite the sadist,' thought the fox.

"Of course, you won't have to rely solely on my words.

We can create a master-servant blood pact.

As I'm sure you're already aware, with a pact like this, I would relinquish all my freedom to you. If I ever attempted to disadvantage you in any way, the pact would activate and immediately end my life.

This way, you won't have anything to worry about," says the fox.

"Ohhh. That's a pretty hardcore decision, isn't it? Are you sure you want to go through with this?" asks the man.

'You bastard! You literally gave me no other option. Obviously, it's far from the ideal solution, but I'll at least be able to stay alive. As long as I don't die, there will always be a chance to turn things around in the future.

It's not like I have any pride left for me to protect anymore. That has been thoroughly trashed and buried already. Between lowering my head to you and dying, the choice is obvious.

But I wouldn't be so smug if I were you. You'd do well to keep your wits about you, lest some tragedy befalls you,' thought the fox.

Obviously, he would never voice these thoughts. Instead, he follows up with:

"Yes, I am sure. If this is the only way to resolve this grievance, then I'm willing to take on the role of the servant."

"My, my, how noble. I've been touched. Don't worry about it, you're in luck. I happen to be an amazing master. Slaves would fight just for the opportunity to serve me. You'll see that your decision was not the wrong one," says the man mockingly.

At this point, the fox outright ignores his response. If he kept focusing on what he was saying, he might very well try to rush him and kill him.

Instead, it focuses on the task at hand.

It brings one of his paws to his mouth and bites deep.

His face slightly grimaces as a red, viscous liquid starts flowing from his paw down his leg.

After that, he stretches his paw out, seemingly requesting the man to take it into his own hand.

Curiously enough, this time, the man doesn't take his time or make things difficult for the fox.

Very casually, he flicks his arm and takes the fox's paw into his hand.

A bright light instantly shines at the point of contact. A pact was being imprinted deep into the fox's bloodline. Its life now tied to the man standing in front of him.

'It's finally done,' thinks the fox.

It seemed like death would have to wait another day if it wanted to claim him.

Instead, a chill ran through his whole body.

There was something wrong here. Even though he had implemented his plan flawlessly, something felt wrong. He couldn't tell what it was nor why it had appeared, but a sense of dread was spreading from deep inside of his body.

He looked up, straight into the man's eyes.

He had no logical explanation, but he felt he had just made a deal with the devil.