"Old Master Jiang!"
The man raised his voice. "That's the monster I caught!"
"It's the gift I'm going to give my master!"
Old Master Jiang's mouth twitched.
His junior brother hadn't even agreed to take on a disciple yet.
And this boy was already calling him master?
"Xiao Jie."
Old Master Jiang spoke more gently.
"I brought Young Friend Xiao Xiao to see you because we wanted to find out whether the monster you caught was the one Young Friend Xiao Xiao was looking for."
"If it is..."
"Xiao Jie, do me a favor and give the monster back to Young Friend Xiao Xiao."
The man's expression stiffened.
G-give it back to him?
He didn't want to.
But he couldn't exactly contradict Old Master Jiang to his face.
He looked back at Xiao Xiao.
"This monster isn't yours."
Although he couldn't remember whose body he'd plucked the monster off of...
It definitely wasn't the person standing in front of him.
That much he was sure of.
"Mm."
Xiao Xiao nodded.
"It belongs to a friend of mine."
The man's lips moved.
"...He's looking for this monster?"
That seemed to be what the man had said earlier.
"Yes."
Xiao Xiao's eyes curved slightly. "He's been looking for it for days."
"Why look for it?"
The man muttered under his breath.
He genuinely didn't understand.
"This monster absorbs spiritual energy."
"And it drinks blood."
"A monster this dangerous..."
The man lifted his eyes, his gaze sharp. "It should be destroyed."
"He ought to thank me."
"Wasn't he being pestered by this monster?"
"Why would he still look for it?"
"Let me correct one thing."
Xiao Xiao's lips lifted slightly. "It's not quite accurate to say that he was being pestered by this monster."
"They're..."
Xiao Xiao