Hand Watching, Contract

Dark Moon was observing Guihu Luixing, who was observing the Qi on his own palm.

At first, Dark Moon wanted to throw herself onto him and make him spoil her, but after looking at his face, she couldn't do it. He had that serious expression, one he only had when he was completely focused, usually on something he believed was very important.

Becayof that, Dark Moon decided against interrupting him. She couldn't train here right now. Her training could break his concentration and she also wanted to surprise him when she completely controlled her new powers.

Having nothing to do here anymore, Dark Moon decided to leave and go to the library. Maybe she could learn something about her new abilities.

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Many hours later, the sun was starting to set and the sky was growing darker.

Guihu Luixing's observation didn't yield many results. Other than some very basic things like 'Gold Qi feels very cold, aggressive and sharp' or 'Darkness Qi can be both heavy and light, fast and slow, restrictive and freeing, stealthy and flashy'.

Guihu Luixing felt really disappointed by his results and felt like he wasted his wholr day doing nonsense.

If experts knew his thoughts, they would slap him to death. Not only had a lowly Qi Gathering Realm kid managed to somehow observed Qi characteristics, he managed to get insights about them, even though they were extremely superficial.

Disappointed on himself, Guihu Luixing went home, walking slowly, thinking about his plans.

"Gau!"

He was already almost home, when he suddenly heard the unmistakable bark of his young partner fox. It seemed she was returning from outside, just like him.

"Dark Moon!" Guihu Luixing kneeled and spreaded his arms.

Seeing that, the fox pup, immediately broke into a dash and leapt into his chest. After he wrapped his arms around her, she nuzzled up against him.

"I'm sorry Dark Moon. Even though were are almost always together, I haven't been making a lot of time to spend with you." he apologized to his partner.

"Wauu." said the pup lightly while she kept nuzzling against him.

"Let's go! The dinner should be ready." he said before carrying het with him the rest of the way home.

In a couple of minutes, they arrived. They could smell the delicious scent of his mother's homemade dinner. Both Guihu Luixing and Dark Moon hadn't eaten anything since morning, so they were quite hungry.

When they arrived everyone was waiting for them. The headmaster, Antonietta, Old Tail and Silver Moon seemed to be waiting for them.

"Father, Mother, Uncle Tail, Aunty Moon, we have arrived." he announced.

He could feel there was something going on. Their parents didn't seem to be waiting for them just for dinner.

"Hmm. Luixing, Dark Moon, take a seat." said the headmaster.

Guihu Luixing and Dark Moon looked at each other, surprised with the headmaster's formalty. Dark Moon jumped from his arms and they both took their seats.

"Young Master, as you know, you and Dark Moon are partners." Started Old Tail "Ghost Fox partners are one of the greatest privileges a disciple of the Ghost Fox Valley Sect can have."

Guihu Luixing nodded his head. He was aware of that.

"Usually, as soon as their partners are chosen, the disciples and the pups form a contract to mark their partnership." Said Silver Moon "But because of the circumstances about you two were too special, we decided to postpone it."

Imagining wherr the conversation was headed, Dark Moon's tail started to wag energetically.

The headmaster continued the conversation "You must already have an idea where this is going. We're here to ask you if you are sure of forming a contract with each other."

"Gau!" the headmaster hadn't even finished speaking when Dark Moon barked positively. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"I'm also completely fine with it. But shouldn't Dark Moon have some sort of cultivation method before forming a contract?" asked Guihu Luixing.

"Not necessarily." Answered Old Tail "While normal beasts might need to start cultivating before forming a contract, beasts with spiritual intelligence do not need to have previous cultivation. This is another advantage of being a fox."

"But you also don't have to worry about that. Old Tail pulled some strings and managed to obtain some cultivation methods that might suit Dark Moon." said Antonietta.

"You can choose which one you want between yourselves after you make the contract." supplemented Silver Moon.

"Back to the topic." said the headmaster "There are five tipes of contrar two different class of being can form. The first is the slavery contract. As the name implies, one being becomes slave to the other, restricting their actions to those allowed by the master. Usually this one is used on enemies and although not failproof, it's quite reliable."

"Obviously, we hope you don't settle for such contract, but it isn't unheard of a disciple choosing to enslave their fox partner." said Silver Moon.

Guihu Luixing shook his head, he clearly had no intention to enslave Dark Moon.

"The next type of contract is a Temporary Partnership contract. This is usually useb between enemies or neutrals when their objectives align. They work together for a cause, with lesser risk of betrayal, but as soon as the terms of the contract are fulfilled, the contract becomes null. This kind of contract is usually full of loopholes and is unreliable, but can be quite useful." instructed Old Tail.

"Disciples rarely sign this type of contract with the pups, and when they do is to do a 'trial run' with the foxes to know if they are good partners or not. They usually sign another type of contract later." said Antonietta.

Seeing they weren't interrupted, Old Tail continued.

"The next type would be the Partnership Contract. Different from the temporary contract, this contract is set to last a very long time or even eternally. It's usually used between people of neutral relationship who don't trust each other, but need to cooperate for extended periods of time and need someone they can trust. Usually these contracts are used to guarantee the safety of both parties and slowly build trust between them."

Guihu Luixing nodded. This was the kind of contract he signed with Serana, so he already knew about it.

"Next we have the Retainer Contract. This is the one most used by the disciples and pups, and the one we use." explained the headmaster "The retainer owes their loyalty to the master, while the master has the responsibility of providing for the retainer and raising them to the best of their capabilities. It's a contract where one must trust the other. Either both grow together, or both wither together."

"There are other benefits to this contract. It's possible to form a tiny soul connection between the master and the retainer. Allowing them to share very simple communication like urgency, fear, comfort or happiness. If their cultivation progresses after a certain point, its also possible for them to help each other through their connection, even if they are very far apart." said Silver Moon.

Guihu Luixing and Dark Moon nodded. This seemed to be the best contract and the most effective so far. It wouldn't change their relationship too much, as they already trust each other, and they would gain benefits from it.

"Well, just for the sake of reference, there's also the last type of contract..." continued Silver Moon with a mischievous smile.