"Resonance Step, Shadow Instant Kill!"
Zhu Zhuqing's lips parted slightly. She had already appeared behind the Giant-Toothed Hound's neck, her claws slicing down.
The Giant-Toothed Hound yelped in pain. Its steps faltered, and it stumbled into a tree trunk.
Bang!
The tree snapped in half.
"Pika." The Golden Soul Beast curled up in alarm. It looked back, saw the huge beast lying on the ground, and stood up with a puzzled expression. "Pika, pika?"
Then it saw a figure—or rather, a cat—lightly land on the ground, her cheeks crackling with electricity. "Pika, pika!"
Zhu Zhuqing saw that the Golden Soul Beast was covered in dust, and that its dark eyes were still filled with fear and confusion. Her heart began to ache as if someone had grabbed it.
"Little one, it's okay!" Zhu Zhuqing's voice was as gentle as she could make it. She bent down and slowly approached the Golden Soul Beast.
The Golden Soul Beast stood there, stunned. Suddenly, it cried out, "Pika, pika!"
Then, in an instant, it was gone.
"Don't run. I mean no harm." Zhu Zhuqing stood there helplessly. The shadow on the ground suddenly darkened.
She glanced back. The Giant-Toothed Hound stood behind her, baring its teeth as it glared at her. One massive paw swung down.
"Resonance Step."
Zhu Zhuqing quickly dodged, appearing farther from camp, then took off running!
The Giant-Toothed Hound howled, drooling as it lunged after Zhu Zhuqing, transferring its desire for the Golden Soul Beast onto her.
No one knew how far it had chased her. Somewhere along the way, Zhu Zhuqing had vanished from its sight, but the Giant-Toothed Hound continued charging ahead.
Before long, a dark figure appeared where she had just rescued the Golden Soul Beast. The moonlight revealed her pale face and purplish-black clothes.
"Little one, where are you?" Zhu Zhuqing called softly. When she received no answer, she thought of the little one's dirty face and couldn't help worrying.
Perhaps the little one hadn't eaten in a long time, either.
Zhu Zhuqing picked some familiar wild fruit from the surrounding area. After making sure it wasn't poisonous, she plucked a large leaf, placed the fruit on it, and left it at the foot of a tree. Then she climbed into the tree and watched quietly.
After a long wait, the Golden Soul Beast finally appeared again.
This time, Zhu Zhuqing got a good look at it. The Golden Soul Beast was an Electric Mouse, and the red markings on its cheeks were where it controlled lightning.
The Golden Soul Beast clearly noticed the fruit on the leaf. Though delighted, it remained wary of its surroundings.
Its eyes were full of fear. It approached cautiously, taking a long time to survey the area after every step.
At last, after making sure there was no danger nearby, it began to feast without restraint.
"So cute!" Zhu Zhuqing murmured. Her cool eyes were fixed on the tiny golden creature, and her heart was practically melting. "I want to take it with me."
But she didn't come out, afraid of frightening it. She simply watched in silence.
The Golden Soul Beast kept its head down and ate. Before long, it had gobbled up all the wild fruit. It patted its round belly with satisfaction and chirped, "Pika, pika!"
Zhu Zhuqing watched the Golden Soul Beast leave, then used Resonance Step to return to camp, her mind full of its adorable little face.
She still needed to find a way to take it with her!
Soon, the sun clocked in for work, which meant their next day of hunting Soul Beasts was about to begin.
Thanks to the understanding between the three of them, ordinary Soul Beasts in the area were no match for any one of them in a one-on-one fight.
Even so, whenever Su Yan acted as bait, he only dared to pick a lone beast or a herbivore.
"Let's get ready to set out." Su Yan spread out the sheepskin map and began working out their direction.
"Let's stay a few more days," Zhu Zhuqing said. "There's a Soul Beast nearby that I want to catch."
"Sure. Do you need help?" Su Yan asked.
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "Not for now."
"A Soul Beast..." Tang Chi murmured, shivering. Could you actually catch one of those things?
Even Xue Ke looked puzzled, blinking her clear eyes, unable to make sense of it.
Over the next few days, Zhu Zhuqing volunteered to keep watch every night. Before nightfall, she prepared wild fruit and left it in the same spot.
The Golden Soul Beast showed up every time, just as expected.
The girl and the mouse seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement.
She fed; the mouse ate.
With the time right, Zhu Zhuqing prepared a net and gave it a hard tug. It was sturdy.
"I'll keep watch again tonight." Zhu Zhuqing headed into the woods with the net.
"I'll help you." Su Yan followed her. "Tang Chi, look after Princess Xue Ke."
The two of them went into the woods. While there was still light, they set down the net and covered it with dead leaves. Then they placed a leaf piled with wild fruit on top.
Everything was ready. All they had to do was wait for the rabbit to come to them.
Night fell.
"Hell Spirit Cat, Martial Soul Possession."
"Blazing Spirit Cat, Martial Soul Possession."
A blaze of light instantly illuminated the dark woods. Su Yan hurriedly withdrew his Martial Soul. "Blazing Spirit Cat, disperse!"
Without Martial Soul Possession, he couldn't gain the cat's night vision. All he could see outside was pitch black.
Luckily, the moon was bright, and Su Yan could make out what was happening in the woods by its light.
Before long, the Golden Soul Beast arrived for their appointment. But this time, the human side was going to break their agreement.
Su Yan heard a rustling sound, and a tiny golden figure appeared before his eyes.
The Golden Soul Beast was completely off guard. It rushed up to the leaf and started eating the fruit.
Zhu Zhuqing leaped down from the tree, and the net shot up, trapping the Golden Soul Beast in midair.
"Pika, pika!" The Golden Soul Beast panicked, kicking its limbs wildly as its lightning-bolt tail trembled.
"Pika-God!" Su Yan cried out. No wonder the little creature had seemed so familiar.
That voice—it was unmistakable!
He ran over to the net and saw the Electric Mouse inside by the moonlight.
Golden fur, red cheeks, a lightning-bolt tail.
Pika, pika, Pikachu!
"Pika-God!" Su Yan was overjoyed, ecstatic, with nowhere to put his hands.
He regretted not coming sooner!
He'd left Big Brother Pika to suffer, covered in dirt.
This was all his fault!
"Brother Yan, you know this Soul Beast?" Zhu Zhuqing tied up the net and came over. A rare, radiant smile spread across her face. "Little one~"
"This is Pikachu. To be precise, it isn't a Soul Beast but a Pokémon!" Su Yan explained with encyclopedic confidence. "Pikachu is an Electric-type Pokémon. Its signature move is Thunderbolt. It can release a voltage of up to one hundred thousand volts from the electric sacs in its cheeks, and it's incredibly powerful."
Zhu Zhuqing didn't know what volts were, but one hundred thousand had to mean it was a powerful skill.
Pikachu huddled in the net, trembling. It could feel the two strange people staring at it, and its heart sank.
This little mouse was done for.
"Pika-God, we'd like to sincerely invite you to become our partner!" Su Yan said warmly and earnestly, his dark eyes fixed on Pikachu without wavering.
Pikachu ignored him, even turning its back on him. Its electric sacs crackled twice, as if voicing its displeasure. What kind of people were these? They just sprang this on it without even looking at the fact that it was still dangling in a net. They couldn't even let it down first.
The atmosphere was like an ice cellar: cold, and nothing but cold.
Zhu Zhuqing took out some wild fruit and offered it to Pikachu. "Pikachu, these are for you."
Pikachu saw the familiar fruit and gazed at Zhu Zhuqing with big, watery eyes.
So it was you!
But when it saw the pointed ears on Zhu Zhuqing's head, the long whiskers by her cheeks, and the furry paw holding out the fruit instead of a hand, it was so startled that it pulled its own paw back.
It was an instinctive reaction to a natural enemy.
Before you continue