Spread across the elemental regions of Lao Guo, 136 black eyes took their first glimpse of the world. The single soul behind those eyes could not understand what it saw, and curled in on itself. The spirit recoiled from the blinding light of its own awareness, and instinctively sought refuge in the cool gloom of unknowing. 

Seventeen disparate pinpricks of consciousness faded like stars in the dawn, until there was only one. In that limited state, the spirit no longer suffered from confusion, and allowed that portion of itself to unfurl. To its quiet horror, it discovered that it possessed eight spindly green limbs, which it felt was far too many.

“Xiao Lu! Why haven’t you eaten the jade spirit crickets I gave you? Are you too depressed to eat after your friend Da Lu died?”

A young girl’s face pressed against the glass of a terrarium as she shouted at a small green spider. The spider was at first shocked by the size of the girl in comparison to its own small body. Then it fidgeted awkwardly, as if it felt uncomfortable in its own carapace.

“Young Mistress Xin Mei! The patriarch has requested your presence in the inner courtyard. He wishes to discuss your upcoming engagement with Young Master Xiao,” a middle-aged man said respectfully while bowing at the entrance of the room. The young girl groaned and stamped her feet, looking at the servant with an indignant and helpless expression.

“Dong Zi, father knows how much I hate Xiao Wang. How can he ask me to marry him and spend my life in misery?” the young girl asked imploringly. 

“Young …  young mistress …  I’m sorry, I have no answer for you. This old slave can only do as he is told and ask the young miss to please go see her father.”

The girl rolled her eyes and brushed a stray lock of long black hair behind her small ear. Though she was still too young to be considered a true beauty, the sight made the old servant sigh with admiration in his heart. 

In the terrarium, the small green spider had stopped gesticulating in distress and seemed to be watching the exchange, turning left and right to face whoever was speaking at a given time. Seeing this, the girl forgot her frustration and smiled brightly.

“Xiao Lu, did you want to go see father with me? I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you,” Xin Mei said mischievously as her smile turned somewhat strange. She reached into the terrarium and placed her hand near the small green spider. To her delight, the spider promptly clambered into her hand. 

On the side, the elderly Dong watched the scene with astonishment written plainly across his face.

“Young Mistress, to think that you’ve progressed in your Spirit Beast Companion Art to such a degree—even such a common spider that could be found anywhere has attained this level of intelligence in such a short time. I'm afraid that even your elder brother, whose talent defies the heavens, did not cultivate this technique so quickly. I’m sure the patriarch will be pleased with your progress.”

“Hmph,” Xin Mei snorted coldly as the spider crawled up her arm to perch upon her shoulder. “I’m obviously upset with Father, do not speak to me about him. As for Elder Brother Gui … I am not in the mood to discuss this matter with you either.” With a twist of her spiritual energy, Xin Mei operated a portion of her beast controlling technique, causing Xiao Lu to wave his tiny forelegs menacingly at the old servant.  

Dong Zi quickly cupped his hands and bowed his head in apology, and did not dare to continue speaking idly. Without another word, the girl stomped down the hall to her father’s abode. Being small even for her young age, she naturally had to stomp with great vigor to create the desired effect.

Following behind, Dong Zi watched the young mistress’s exaggerated way of walking and hid a bittersweet smile. Though Xin Mei would soon become a woman in her own right, he felt reluctant to allow the girl he had looked after for so long to be married off. He understood the tight spot the Xin Family was in at the moment, and had a vague idea of the danger involved, but he still wished the Young Miss would not be forced to grow up so fast. 

The old servant was drawn from his thoughts as the pair stopped before the entrance to the patriarch’s abode. Xin Mei heard raised voices in the room beyond, and so didn’t bother to seek permission or announce herself, choosing instead to enter directly.

“Mei’er is our Xin Family’s precious treasure, Father! How can you sell her off for scraps to some Xiao Clan bastard? After this, can you still be considered her father, or even a man!?” A handsome teenager with long black hair shouted, clenching and unclenching his fists in the center of a minimally decorated sitting room. Across from the hot-blooded youth, an older gentleman who shared several features with the boy had long lost his dignified air.

“Unfilial child! Who was it that thoughtlessly provoked other clan heirs one after another, heedless of the bigger picture? You forced my hand to this extent, yet still have the face to come here and cause a ruckus!?” The Xin Patriarch was so loud that Xiao Lu tried to cover his ears, only to discover that as a spider, he had none. He sensed sound through the countless follicles lining his carapace. Xiao Lu did not care for this, but he had no choice but to try and adjust to his strange new life. 

It was these small hairs that allowed him to notice Dong Zi surreptitiously slip to the side and pull wide a set of sliding paper doors to reveal the carefully maintained courtyard beyond. Xiao Lu did not know why Dong Zi had done this, nor did he understand the look of tired resignation that had appeared on the old servant’s face.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“That’s a lie! Those dogs came for me, barking ceaselessly—I merely taught them a lesson. What use is our family’s beast controlling technique, if we do nothing when animals grow a large head and misbehave?” 

“Hmph, still unrepentant? Your sister may pay the price for your arrogance this time, but don’t think you can act like this and walk away without a beating!” The Xin Patriarch roared and closed the distance between his son and himself with blinding speed before hurling him bodily into the attached courtyard. Xiao Lu saw this and clapped two of his small forelimbs together in realization, and couldn’t help but look at Dong Zi in a new light. In contrast, Xin Mei, who had not been acknowledged at all despite having been summoned, wore a dull expression. She muttered something about not having an opportunity to play a prank and appeared quite sullen. Given the tense atmosphere, no one paid her any mind.

“Tch. We haven’t sparred in six cycles—don’t assume things will go like they did last time, old man,” Xin Gui said after taking control of his fall with a flip and landing in a crouch. He stood up slowly, making hand signs and circulating his Yuan Qi in a pattern familiar to all Xin clan members.

“Spirit Beast Companion Art: Qi Materialization!” Xin Gui shouted. As if to answer his call, an unusually large white wolf faded like a mirage into existence at his side. Across from him, his father performed the same technique, summoning a black bear. 

“Did you see that, Xiao Lu?” Xin Mei asked, turning to speak to the spider on her shoulder. “When you and I have both advanced in the companion art, I will be able to carry you everywhere in my Dantian, and call you out whenever I need you. Isn’t that great?”

Xiao Lu hesitated slightly but eventually bobbed in agreement, causing the girl’s face to split with a wide grin. Out in the courtyard, the spirit beasts of Xin Mei’s brother and father fiercely clashed with tooth and claw, but their strength was roughly equal. When the Xin Patriarch saw that he was in a stalemate with his son, he snorted coldly and called back his spirit beast. The bear lumbered over to him with a swiftness that belied its great size, and their figures suddenly overlapped.

“Spirit Beast Companion Art: Man-Beast Fusion!” The Xin Patriarch shouted as his muscles bulged. The silhouette of the bear surrounded his form, blurring the boundary between man and beast.

“This is another technique of our family’s beast controlling style, Xiao Lu.” Xin Mei quietly explained. “In the third layer of the companion art, we will learn to merge our spirits and fight together as one, combining our strengths with perfect coordination for the greatest effect.”

Xiao Lu, unable to speak, could only bob in reply. He watched closely as Xin Gui likewise merged with his giant wolf spirit. When the father and son resumed their battle, even the naive Xiao Lu could tell that their blows had doubled if not tripled in speed and strength. He found himself pumping a few of his forelegs in excitement when either party landed a particularly impressive strike or dodged at the last possible moment.

After what seemed like hours but could in actuality not have been more than a few minutes, Xin Mei’s brother struck their father with a brutal claw to the temple. The Xin Patriarch let out a pained roar and stumbled back as bright red blood seeped from a large gash on the side of his head. The wolfish form of Xin Gui tensed, poised for another strike, but a moment later his father collapsed to the ground as his beast form faded away like a dream.

“Patriarch!” Dong Zi shouted, unable to contain himself. The old servant rushed to his master’s side, and then sighed in relief upon inspecting him. “Thank the nine heavens, his injuries are not serious—he has just been knocked unconscious.” Dong Zi applied a cloth to the patriarch’s head wound to stem the bleeding, and turned to eye Xin Gui appreciatively. “Your time in the Misty Mountain Sect has not been wasted, Young Master. When the patriarch reawakens, he will undoubtedly be overcome with pride.”

Hearing the servant’s praise, Xin Gui startled as if from a daze, having not moved since he’d watched his father fall. He did not relax, however, and instead took in the scene with wide eyes and a rigid posture. Glancing between his father’s slumped form and his beloved little sister, Xin Gui’s sharp eyebrows suddenly descended, and his entire demeanor shifted to one of intense determination. 

He marched over to his father’s form and with a swift movement of his arm retrieved a jade token from the unconscious man’s waist. Heedless of Dong Zi’s protests, who was powerless to stop him, Xin Gui quickly moved to his sister’s side and pulled her along with him. 

“What’s going on, brother? What are you doing?” Xin Mei asked, trying not to stumble as she was forced to keep up with her brother’s longer strides. Instead of answering her question, Xin Gui hurriedly brought her to the Xin Family treasure vault and placed the token he’d taken from his father against the door. A pulse of spiritual energy emerged from the token, signifying the release of the protective array, allowing Xin Gui to decisively enter the chamber. In contrast, Xin Mei hesitantly followed after him.

Moving with purpose, Xin Gui ransacked the place, emptying the room of its most precious items. He collected the complete scriptures of the Spirit Beast Companion Art, a large pile of spirit stones and protective talismans, and an Earth Tier spiritual sword and saber.

While he was doing this, Xin Mei was unable to resist her curiosity, and explored the only room in the house to which she’d never received permission to enter. She was busy examining a particularly beautiful butterfly hair pin when her brother finished storing the items he'd taken into a pair of storage rings, and swept her up into his arms. 

“Aiya! Put me down, Gui’er!” Xin Mei protested, but her complaints fell on deaf ears. Xin Gui carried her out of the Xin Mansion and summoned his wolf. He leapt onto the creature’s back, arranged Xin Mei in his lap, and compelled the great beast to run east at a break-neck pace. By this time, the entire household had become aware of the confrontation and Xin Gui’s subsequent reckless actions, and the servants were pouring out of their rooms.

“Young Master, stop this foolishness!” One of the braver guardsmen shouted as he and a pair of his brothers-in-arms attempted to block Xin Gui’s path. However, they lacked the qualifications to make Xin Gui yield and were unceremoniously bowled aside by the great wolf, not impeding the brash young cultivator’s flight by even a second.

In a few leaps and bounds of the wolf’s powerful legs, the pair of siblings were transported outside of the Xin Clan territory and the surrounding Falling Moon City. Xin Mei attempted to ask her elder brother where he was taking her, but he ignored her. She realized Xin Gui was pouring all of his concentration into his beast controlling technique to hasten their flight. Knowing she lacked the strength to struggle out of her brother’s grasp, Xin Mei resigned herself to the situation.