No desire to...No means to...

Jin Yangrui clenched her jaw as she stared out into the dense forest. What was out there? She couldn't be sure as her skills from her past life and the knowledge of the current war with each other. When she was still Iria, she possessed razor-sharp senses. It wasn't uncommon for her to sense all the inhabitants in a room, even those hiding right outside it. The position she had as the Shadow Princess of her father's empire meant she served as his treacherous hidden blade. It was so much unlike the pampered life of her sister despite the wars in which she fought. However, in this life, she couldn't rely on those same senses. The use of qi gave people and even animals the capability to conceal their presence.

The adrenaline pumping through her took the edge of the pain, but she sensed the mental stress was becoming too much. It wasn't every day someone died, came back to life (in another's body), and had to drag their would-be-carcass through a deadly forest. She was determined to live and she'd hate to die in a more pathetic state than in her last life. A martyr versus becoming fertilizer. There was no comparison!

"C'mon!" She shouted and had to suppress the blood wanting to be spat out. 'Great, I have internal injuries,' she begrudged.

The echo of her voice seemed to shake the outer edge of the forest. Whatever was watching her was approaching. Jin Yangrui felt a shiver run down her spine. For all her bravado, she still feared death. The kind of death that was empty, without purpose or peace. She didn't want to experience that again. She braced herself against the wall of stone while she steeled her gaze ahead of her. 'Whatever is to come...I will face it with grace,' she determined.

A breeze picked up, swaying the branches of the forest and allowing Jin Yangrui to catch a glimpse of a figure. The figure glided forwards, seeming to be carried by the wind instead of their force. She, then, noticed the gentle sound of a rattle that fluctuated with the strength of the wind. Despite the strangeness of it, Jin Yangrui could only conclude that the sound came from the figure. She looked on and felt unsettled as her eyes met slitted pupils of the figure's. The face had a gentle demeanor despite the predatory origin of the pupils. The softness of the face leaned towards a female figure and a gentle voice confirmed it.

"Be at peace," the figure spoke and stopped several yards from Jin Yangrui. "Nobody will be killing you today."

She stared at the woman warily and willed herself to respond, "Today? Do you imply I'll be killed at a later date?"

The figure's face turned blank and the grace which they possessed earlier disappeared. "I...what?"

Jin Yangrui looked on, her expression turning sarcastic. Did this person think she'd be on her knees with relief? Nobody would blindly trust a stranger after how she was raised. "That ambiguous statement makes me think you have the means to kill me later." She felt the need to explain this to the dumbfounded woman.

"No! I have no...Well, I have the means, BUT I have no desire to," the figure rushed to explain, even going so far as to stump her foot.

Jin Yangrui's expression deepened as she innately sensed the power that belonged to the figure. This woman had rank 7 energy coming off her like thick perfume. She didn't know if it was her fortune or an insult that this woman had no desire to kill her. Or, perhaps it was that her thinking was warped after the events of her past life. "Then what do you desire?" She asked, unable to discern anything more.

The figure instantly calmed down and walked a few steps closer. "Make a deal with me!" She declared in a loud voice. "I, Konglun of the Xiangwei Clan, offer my daughter to you and to help you escape the Sixin Forest in exchange for a life debt owed."

Jin Yangrui felt like she heard her wrong. "What?" This...could be seen as luck, right? She hadn't imagined that some spirit beast, especially one capable of taking human form, would offer her such a good deal. Wait...why did she inherently believe this to be a trick?

She fell into silence and remembered her situation. Jin Yangrui was pushed to the point of death due to jealousy and her lack of ability. A lack of ability was caused by the Song Family as well. The expression on her face turned grave as she seemed to stare through her would-be savior. "I have the desire, but not the means to," she responded with a blank voice.

Konglun took her turn to stare curiously at her. "What...that can't be right," she mumbled and in an instance was standing before her. "You...can't form a contract?"

Jin Yangrui stared at the woman. How many years did it take for spirit beast to reach rank 7? How much power and knowledge-seeking did that take? Yet, this woman could not tell her meridians were shot? "Medicine, know anything?" She didn't have the energy to waste full sentences on this seemingly impulsive creature.

"Know," Konglun answered automatically. Aiya, she felt embarrassed. The girl in front of her was a mere fourteen years old without any qi fluctuations. But the annoyance in her tone and the deadpanned expression sent a chill of concern down her spine. If this little girl cultivated seriously then she'd be terrifying even if she's trash at it.

Jin Yangrui didn't waste even any words as she held up her wrist. Konglun stared at it before the pressure from Jin Yangrui spurred her into action. 'Pulse, take her pulse,' she realized while wanting to wipe her brow. She took the girl's fragile wrist in her hand and studied her pulse.

The first thing she noticed was the damage in her meridians. They were not crippled, but it felt more like they'd been deprived of proper nutrients. Konglun felt that she needed to observe this strange situation further. Careful not to agitate the starved meridians, Konglun injected a portion of her qi into her.

Jin Yangrui felt a coldness seep into her body and the pain in her body eased briefly. Was this the effect of being able to absorb qi? She had never experienced anything close to it be it in this new life or her past one. The closest that she might've compared it to was when she was submerged into a spring during the height of summer. However, this good feeling transformed into a sharp pain as a warm liquid forced its way up her throat. Jin Yangrui didn't resist it as she coughed. The energy in her body waned and she grew slack. What did that snake do to her?

Konglun pulled back her qi as fast and carefully as she could. The sight of her target coughing up blood sent a shiver down her spine. How ruthless were those people? This girl was inflicted by a powerful poison. It was designed in a malicious way. The poison would make it so the body believed qi to be an illness and any attempts to cultivate would cause an allergic reaction. This reaction was compounded by the girl's heavy injuries. It could be deadly.

She gave her patient another look and felt panic bloom in her heart. The girl's form keeled over and into her reactive arms. Konglun took her pulse and that panic turned to dread. The pulse was weak and erratic. "I can't have such a person die before me," she secretly vowed.

The sound of a rattle infiltrated the quiet air and in response the wind erupted into a gale force. Konglun laid the girl on the ground and her form changed. She went from a graceful woman to a large rattlesnake. The scales along her form glistened with the waning sun and seemed resistant to any attack from a normal weapon. This impression was aided by the fact the snake's upper half would measure the height of two full grown men, not to mention the width of her body couldn't be contained by a human arm span.

Konglun's daughter zipped from the edge of the forest and stood before her queen and parent. "What are you doing?!" She demanded, worry saturating her tone.

"Saving a life," she answered in a grave tone. Konglun began to weave her body in complicated patterns. It was a sight which inspired as much admiration and potential for fear as a peerless beauty performing a sword dance. Deadly and captivating. This complicated dance was accompanied by a steady increase of qi gathering around her. The air grew denser and Lining struggled to stay besides her mother.

The next few moments would've shocked even the strongest spirit beast in the forest because Konglun was performing an ancient and, unspokenly, forbidden technique. Most contracts exchanged between tamers and beasts were of equal footing. A lower ranked beast could increase their chances of survival and cultivation by joining forces with the tamer and the tamer was able to enter the path of cultivation with the aid of a lifelong companion. Both parties possessed their own wills and reasons for entering the contract.

The technique Konglun was performing was vastly different. Konglun was submitting herself to Jin Yangrui, tying her blood to her tamer's. This meant there would be a shared bloodline between beast and tamer. Should one die the other would follow. There were several drawbacks to this technique and it was even taboo amongst modern tamers as well. There wasn't a beast nor person alive that would consider tying their life force and entire bloodlines to the other. It required too much sacrifice from each party!

However, this didn't faze Konglun. She was determined to save this girl before her. Even risking her entire being and clan to do so. She wouldn't be able to properly explain, but she knew that this little girl was someone special. Special enough to risk it all on. This girl would be able to bring their clan to new heights, ones which were far above the Sixin Forest.

And this would only be achievable with this Beast-Blood Contract! This was forgotten by many, but this technique had huge benefits. With enough trust between parties, the synchronization between tamer and beasts was much higher than regular Beast Contracts. The beast could take on a human form sooner and even the tamer could take on attributes of their beast. The intelligence of the beast became more human-like. The demeanor of the tamer became more beast-like. Two different beings taking the best from the new blood in their bodies. For some, such risks would be worth it.

The blood which spilled from Jin Yangrui's mouth lifted upwards in glistening drops as the same happened to Konglun, who suddenly had several small cuts inflicted upon her body. The drops of blood seemed magnetized to each other as they gathered into one larger orb. The qi in the air reached its pinnacle and sent the rank 4 Lining into unconsciousness. The orb of blood rippled as it sucked in all the qi in the air, even draining it from Konglun's cultivation. It was only when qi could not be detected from either beast or tamer that the blood orb divided between the two.

Thé paleness of Jin Yangrui's face faded and her meridians greedily absorbed the nutrients found in the new blood. The cuts along Konglun's body disappeared and she transformed back to her human form. The scent coming from her no longer carried the strength of a snake, but was instead tempered by that of a human's. These changes sent both partners into a coma-like state, vulnerable and unprotected.

Unbeknownst to the party of three another breath appeared amongst them. One so powerful that it sent any curious beasts of the forest scattering from yards away. A ghostly image of a mamba towered over the group. The head of the snake brushed the tops of the trees and it's an entire body laid curled upon itself in layers the height of three grown men. In the vent of those layers were the passed out party. The mamba gracefully lowered its head and gingerly lifted Jin Yangrui upon her head. There was a motherly and reverent note to this action. The end of her tail took hold of both rattlesnake spirit beasts. The mamba carried them the rest of the way to the cave which Jin Yangrui hoped to stumble across.

Once all parties were cautiously placed upon the floor of the cave, the image of the mamba decreased in size. It became the discreet size of a regular mamba, nine feet in length. The mamba rested its head on the shoulder of Jin Yangrui and carefully wrapped its body around her form. The ghostly sight of the mamba seemed to sink into Jin Yangrui's body and the only remainder of its presence took the form of a tattoo marking her pale skin. The new edition of a grey mamba curling around her body had stunning detail and didn't detract from her attractiveness, it only enhanced it.

There would be no need to worry about the party of three. The breath of the mamba may be hibernating, but it's strength was enough to protect them in a measly Sixin Forest. The most important thing to the mamba was to allow herself to rest and become accustomed to the changes taking place in her partially awakened state.