The air froze in that instant.
The temperature inside the cave kept dropping.
Li Hao, however, didn't feel cold at all.
He could clearly sense an invisible, unbreakably strong bond that had firmly linked his soul to that of the girl before him.
Soul Contract.
Loyalty: MAX.
Those five words had been branded into his awareness the moment the contract was sealed.
So he could understand.
He could understand what lay beneath those icy, vertical pupils.
It wasn't hostility, nor was it resistance.
It was a kind of... bewilderment and helplessness born from having handed over everything she had.
She was like a newly hatched chick, and the first thing she saw was Li Hao.
And so, he became her entire world.
But she didn't know how to express herself, or how to draw near.
She could only raise all her quills with the most primal instinct, carefully wrapping up the deepest, most fragile dependence inside her, almost overflowing from within.
The realization made Li Hao's heart soften for no reason.
Tsundere?
No, this was even more extreme than that.
She was the dream cat of every social anxiety sufferer!
"Daddy, who... who is she?"
A timid, childlike voice, brimming with curiosity, broke the silence inside the cave.
Xiao Wu poked her little head out from behind Li Hao, blinking her big eyes as she cautiously studied the black-clad girl before them.
She could feel that this big sister was really cold, but... she was so pretty, too.
After hesitating a moment, Xiao Wu leaned closer to Li Hao's ear and asked in an even smaller voice.
"Is she... a little kitty?"
That innocent question melted the icy atmosphere inside the cave, if only at one corner.
Li Hao nearly burst out laughing.
That's so you, Xiao Wu. The eternal god of breaking the tension.
The girl's golden, vertical pupils finally moved.
Her gaze swept over Xiao Wu's curious little face without pausing, then returned to Li Hao.
It was as if Li Hao were the only person in the world worthy of her attention.
She didn't answer Xiao Wu's question.
She simply moved in silence.
Barefoot, she stepped forward from the pool of congealed blood.
Her movement was impossibly light; she landed without a sound, with an elegance that seemed beyond mortal.
Each step carried the unique rhythm of a feline.
She walked up to Li Hao and stopped.
Then, under the watchful eyes of Li Hao, Xiao Wu, and Medusa,
thick black mist suddenly flickered around her!
The next moment, the girl's slender figure vanished.
In her place stood a Hell Spirit Cat, lithe and strong, with glossy black fur and the regal bearing of royalty!
Her wounds had long since vanished without a trace.
Every strand of fur shone with a healthy, dangerous gleam.
Her golden, vertical pupils were still cold, but now they held even more awe-inspiring spirit and majesty.
She raised her head and tentatively rubbed it against Li Hao's trouser leg.
"Wow!"
Xiao Wu gave a little gasp, her eyes lighting up.
It really was a little kitty!
And it could transform!
Before Xiao Wu could get closer and give her a pat, black mist once again enveloped the Hell Spirit Cat.
Light and shadow shifted.
She changed back into the black-clad girl, with her stunning figure and icy beauty.
The entire process was smooth as flowing water, so fast it dazzled the eye.
This was the Soul Beast Girl's special ability.
She could freely switch between human and beast forms.
Li Hao looked at her and tried to start a conversation.
"What... is your name?"
The girl looked at him, her long lashes trembling slightly.
She parted her lips, as if she wanted to say something.
But in the end, she only shook her head softly.
Then a faint, puzzled sound came from her throat.
"Mm... meow?"
Her voice was light and soft, nothing like her icy appearance.
Instead, it had a tender, sweet quality that made one's heart itch.
Li Hao was stunned.
Had her language system not updated yet? Or did she simply not want to speak?
Through the Soul Contract, he could sense that she understood what he meant. She just wasn't used to speaking, or perhaps didn't think communication was necessary.
Everything she had already belonged to him.
Words were superfluous.
The girl seemed to realize she had made a fool of herself, too. A faint blush flashed across her fair cheeks, then she returned to her usual cold expression.
She made no further attempt to speak.
She simply stepped back half a pace.
Then she turned and walked behind Li Hao.
She stood shoulder to shoulder with Medusa, who had remained silent all along but never once dropped her guard.
One was as cold and beautiful as an iceberg queen.
The other was as aloof as a dark-elf.
Two peerless beauties stood on either side of Li Hao, like the most loyal royal guards, protecting him from both sides.
Their positions said everything.
She had accepted her new identity.
She had found her place.
Watching them, Li Hao felt the satisfaction of a collector swell until it was almost too much to contain.
It was worth it!
The third of his Soul Power he'd spent earlier, and that high-tier-sounding origin power—it had all been worth it!
Now that was prestige!
He turned to look at the girl's flawless profile, and an idea came to him.
The system notification had mentioned her name.
Then he would give her this new identity himself.
"From today on,"
Li Hao said, his voice clear and firm as it echoed through the cave.
"Your name is Zhu Zhuqing."
Zhu Zhuqing.
The instant those three syllables reached her ears, the girl's tense body relaxed almost imperceptibly.
Something seemed to ripple violently in her icy golden eyes.
Confusion, bewilderment, struggle...
In the end, every emotion settled into stillness.
It was as if a wandering, lonely soul had finally found her name, finally found a home.
She didn't nod or speak.
She simply kept her gaze fixed on Li Hao, more focused now, more... dependent.
An unprecedented calm filled her heart.
"So this is my name?"
"Is this the first mark bestowed upon me after my rebirth?"
"Given to me by him, with his own lips."
Just as Li Hao was savoring the sense of accomplishment that came with "naming" her, Medusa suddenly spoke in a low voice beside him.
Her gaze lingered on Zhu Zhuqing for a moment, complex and sharp light flickering in her emerald-green snake eyes.
"Master."
Her voice was hushed, carrying a gravity all its own.
"She's strong."
"Not just strong in terms of potential. She's already strong."
"The Nether Power inside her is pure to the extreme, carrying the laws of death and severance."
Medusa paused, as if searching for the most fitting words to describe her.
At last, she reached a conclusion.
"She has completely submitted to you."
"She's not a pet, nor a maid."
"She's a sword."
"A peerless killing blade, born for you, ready to be drawn at any moment, to cut down every enemy in your path..."
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