Half Ghost Beast

"Half Ghost Beasts aren't worth saving. Perhaps if the Baron Lord intervened and asked Lord Ross for help, he could drive out the Snow Demon's interference."

Charles sipped his tea as he gave Russell a detailed explanation of Half Ghost Beasts. "But even if the interference is successfully removed, the Half Ghost Beast will at most revert to an ordinary animal. It will basically have no hope of evolving into a Phantom Beast again, so it isn't worth the cost."

"We should at least try, shouldn't we?"

"My lord, what I mean is, a token gesture from you will be enough." Charles smiled. "There's no need to trouble the Baron Lord over this. Earning a favor from the Wildcat Sisters will be enough. When we deal with Lone Wolf Lisbon, the Wildcat Sisters will be of help as well."

Charles's words were pragmatic, but they were also the most advantageous choice.

Russell neither agreed nor disagreed. He had his own thoughts, so he simply had the valet Tom bring over a chessboard and played several games with Charles.

"Aren't you going to rest?" Charles yawned and asked.

"No rush. I want to see what this Half Ghost Beast looks like first." Russell began setting up the pieces, intending to play until the middle of the night.

"All right." Charles rubbed his eyes, having no choice but to stay up with Russell.

At two in the morning, Eric returned with the Knight Retainers. The carriage behind them carried the Half Ghost Beast the Wildcat Sisters had sent over.

"What kind of Half Ghost Beast is this?"

Russell looked at the dying monster on the carriage and asked.

The Half Ghost Beast somewhat resembled a wolfhound, but its entire body was covered in huge tumors, making it incomparably ugly. Several enormous tumors had even grown on its head, swelling its eyelids shut so that it could only let out weak whimpers.

Eric had already examined it on the way back. "It's an ordinary wolfhound, probably mixed with sled dog and hound bloodlines. A mutt."

"Mm." Russell nodded, not wanting to look at the wolfhound any longer.

Those bloated tumors were truly nauseating, but he still forced himself to cooperate with Eric in carefully examining the Half Ghost Beast.

They could sense two invisible forces clashing within the Half Ghost Beast's body.

One half came from Earth Power, while the other came from the Snow Demon's interference. Invisible and intangible, they were nevertheless constantly eroding its body.

"If it isn't treated, it won't survive more than a few days," Eric said.

"Do you have a way to treat it?"

"No."

"What about Teacher Charles?"

"I'm sorry, my lord. Unless the Baron Lord can persuade Lord Ross, there may be a slight chance of saving this poor dog. I can't think of any other way." Charles clicked his tongue, seeming regretful but actually unmoved.

After discussing it for a while, they truly could not find a good solution. They could only temporarily settle the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound in the kennel outside the manor's annex.

The kennel had long been abandoned and was being used as a storage room.

Butler Morris and the servants worked busily for quite some time before they cleaned out the kennel and gave the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound a temporary home.

"Master, should the servants keep watch over it tonight?" Butler Morris asked.

"No need. Go get your usual rest. Oh, it's already so late. Inform the servants that they may get up an hour later tomorrow. The kitchen staff as well."

"Master, you are truly benevolent."

To Russell, it had merely been an offhand remark. To the servants, however, it was a benevolent grace. The standards for a noble lord to be considered excellent were indeed very low.

Xiangshui River Cave. A dry cave chamber, small in size yet warmly decorated, with the feeling of a home.

A small campfire burned, illuminating the entire cavern room.

"Big Sister, do you think that newly come-of-age lord will really ask the Baron for help, then save Kevin?" Catherine asked with a frown. The two deep, long lines around her mouth made her look like a woman in her forties.

In truth, she was only in her twenties.

Katie, seated on the other side of the campfire, looked considerably younger. She was not yet thirty, but appeared only thirty-four or thirty-five.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Catherine was speechless. "And you still had me deliver the letter, then sent Kevin over too. What if they kill Kevin and eat him... Big Sister, you're really cruel. Kevin has been like family to us all these years!"

"I know."

"You know again?"

"Is that any way to speak to your big sister, Catherine?" Katie raised her head and looked sternly at her younger sister. "No matter what, let Kevin protect us Wildcat Sisters one last time... If they kill Kevin, then abandon all fantasies and completely throw ourselves in with Lone Wolf."

Catherine asked, "What if they don't kill him?"

"Then it means Russell is at least a lord who keeps his word... Catherine, life in the caves is too dark. If there's a chance, I hope to see the light again... My life will be like this, but I hope that you can live beneath the sun... get married, have children..."

"Big Sister..."

"You've always dreamed of life in a manor too, haven't you?"

"But aren't we free now? Lone Wolf may be domineering, but we aren't afraid of him. We can always avoid him!" Catherine searched for reasons.

Then she gritted her teeth and said, "Russell may be very handsome, but he isn't gentlemanly at all... He slapped me several times!"

"Who told you to get caught red-handed?"

"I was only planning to slip a letter through the gap in the window, and take a look from outside to see what this lord looked like. Who knew..." Catherine still could not understand how she had once moved freely through the manor, yet had been caught that night.

Katie sighed faintly. "Forget it... Lisbon has forgotten his commoner status. He's started playing with fire... Just wait and see. Sooner or later, he'll burn himself. Baron Gloomlight will never allow a commoner to stir up trouble around his territory!"

Catherine suddenly asked in a low voice, "Big Sister, did Lone Wolf really pick up a Mushroom Bug?"

"Who knows?"

"He definitely did. Otherwise, he couldn't be so arrogant. Tsk, if Baron Gloomlight heard this news..."

The campfire went out then.

Katie clapped her hands. "All right, sisterly heart-to-heart time is over. Sleep, Catherine. Our food stores are running low. Tomorrow, we still need to gather mushrooms and moss."

At the same time.

In the manor annex, Russell entered the Dark Dreamscape once again. With a cry of "Gah," Little Dream Dragon arrived as promised.

"Come here, Snowy. I might need your help today." Russell beckoned.

The two little cartoon figures, one man and one dragon, quickly took flight and lit up the magical light within the Dark Dreamscape.

Russell almost immediately spotted the kennel. Two dim lights, one blue and one white, were entwined there.

"Let's go!"

"Gah!"

Little Dream Dragon carried Russell to the kennel. Russell could clearly see the blue and white lights tangling together, then outlining the distinct shape of the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound, even tracing the contours of the tumors on its body.

"The white one should be Earth Power. The blue one resembles the power of the Hail Bead. It's clearly the Snow Demon's interference."

"Gah?"

"Snowy, can you draw out the blue light—the light right there?" Russell asked. The reason he had agreed to Katie's request today was because he wanted to see whether his Snowy could save the Half Ghost Beast and conduct an experiment.

First, he suspected Little Dream Dragon was a true dragon. Since a Wyvern like Lord Ross could treat a Half Ghost Beast, Little Dream Dragon, as a true dragon, should naturally be able to do so as well.

Second, after Little Dream Dragon devoured the Hail Bead, the Dark Dreamscape had expanded. If it could devour the Snow Demon Power on the Half Ghost Beast, perhaps the Dark Dreamscape could expand once more.

Third, if the Half-Ghost Beast Wolfhound truly could be cured, the Wildcat Sisters would become loyal to him. That would be an excellent aid in eliminating Lone Wolf Lisbon.

In short.

It was a rare experimental opportunity. For both practical and personal reasons, Russell would not give it up.