Mount, the One-Eyed Violent Bear

"You bit me just now, so I'm kissing you now. That makes us even." Liu Erlong said it with complete conviction.

Deng Tianxin's eyes widened. It was as if lightning had struck him right in the crown of his head. In the span of half a second, his little face went from shock to mortification, then to utter despair.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, nothing came out. He could only let out a long, anguished sigh.

"How does you kissing me make us even? I bit you for revenge, and you kissed me for revenge too. Doesn't that mean I bit you for nothing?" Deng Tianxin complained, looking at Liu Erlong.

"Then how do you think we should settle it?" Liu Erlong asked, watching him with interest.

Deng Tianxin thought it over seriously, only to realize he couldn't come up with a solution that wouldn't leave him at a disadvantage.

Bite her back?

He bit her, and she kissed him. That really would make them even, just like she'd said.

But he'd bitten her to get revenge. How had he ended up being kissed after getting his revenge?

However he looked at the score, he was the one getting the short end of the stick.

"...Forget it." Deng Tianxin gave up thinking. His head drooped, and he slumped into Liu Erlong's arms like a deflated ball. "I can't beat you anyway, so kiss me all you want."

Liu Erlong burst out laughing at Deng Tianxin's reaction and pulled him closer. She reached out and separated the strands of hair stuck together with saliva on his forehead.

She wiped the saliva from his dragon horns with her sleeve, caring for him as naturally as if he were her own little brother.

Deng Tianxin had already given up resisting. He lay across her shoulder, his little face full of despair, radiating the dejected air of someone who had become completely useless.

In the blink of an eye, the next morning arrived.

"Stand up."

"Sit."

Hearing Deng Tianxin's voice, Liu Erlong opened her eyes in confusion.

What she saw was utterly absurd: Deng Tianxin was training the One-Eyed Violent Bear.

Liu Erlong rubbed her eyes, thinking she was still dreaming.

The seven-thousand-year One-Eyed Violent Bear that had nearly driven her and Deng Tianxin into a desperate corner last night was sitting on the ground like a well-trained giant dog.

Its head, bigger than Deng Tianxin's entire body, was tilted slightly to one side. Its right eye was fixed on the tiny figure in front of it, its tongue lolling out as it panted.

Deng Tianxin stood in front of the Violent Bear with his little hands clasped behind his back and his chest puffed out. A satisfied smile Liu Erlong had never seen before spread across his face.

"Lie down." Deng Tianxin raised a hand.

The One-Eyed Violent Bear immediately lay down, resting its big head on its front paws, as obedient as a puppy waiting for a treat.

"Roll over." Deng Tianxin turned his hand in a circle.

Without hesitation, the One-Eyed Violent Bear rolled onto its side. Dew and grass clippings clung to its fur as it rolled across the grass, exposing its furry belly.

A deep, old scar ran across its belly, but in the morning light, it didn't look menacing. If anything, it seemed a little comical.

"All right, all right. Get up." Deng Tianxin clapped his hands, pulled a piece of hardtack from his pocket, and tossed it toward the Violent Bear.

The Bear opened its mouth and caught the hardtack perfectly. It crunched twice and swallowed it, then continued staring at Deng Tianxin, eyes full of longing.

Liu Erlong finally couldn't hold back. "What are you doing?"

Deng Tianxin turned around with a bright smile. "Training the Bear, of course. That stupid Bear licked me all over last night. I won't be able to swallow my anger unless I train it to be my mount."

Liu Erlong looked at the obedient One-Eyed Violent Bear lying on the ground, then at Deng Tianxin. She remained silent for a full three seconds.

Then Liu Erlong rose from the coat spread on the ground and walked over to Deng Tianxin. She reached out and touched his forehead. "You don't have a fever, do you? That's a Soul Beast with at least seven thousand years of cultivation. You want it to be your mount?"

"So what if it's seven thousand years old?" Deng Tianxin patted the big head the Bear had nudged toward him.

The Bear contentedly narrowed its single eye and gave a low rumble.

As Deng Tianxin stroked the One-Eyed Violent Bear's head, he said, "It's strange. When I woke up, it was already super obedient. It listens to everything I say."

He figured his domain had made the One-Eyed Violent Bear lose its hostility toward them.

As for why it was so obedient, he had no idea.

Liu Erlong walked around the One-Eyed Violent Bear. Her gaze moved from its docile, half-closed eye to its short tail wagging so fast it was nearly a blur, then from its neatly pressed-together front paws to the flattened pile of hay on the ground.

In her seventeen years, she had seen at least eight hundred Soul Beasts, if not a thousand. But even so, the scene before her was enough to shake her understanding of the world.

A One-Eyed Violent Bear with at least seven thousand years of cultivation had been trying to tear her and Deng Tianxin to pieces just last night.

Now it was staring longingly at the hardtack in the tiny figure's hand, like a hunting dog that had been trained for three years.

"You really did turn misfortune into good fortune," Liu Erlong said, crossing her arms, her tone carrying a hint of amusement and a hint of wonder. "After being licked for a while, you got a seven-thousand-year-old mount. All things considered, it wasn't such a bad deal."

"What do you mean, 'wasn't such a bad deal'?" Deng Tianxin tossed the last piece of hardtack into the Bear's open mouth and clapped the crumbs from his hands.

Deng Tianxin turned to her and gave her a look that said, Are you kidding me? "I made a killing! A Soul Beast with around seven thousand years of cultivation as a mount? Even that old hag doesn't get that kind of treatment!"

That wasn't wrong.

Though Bibi Dong was the Saintess of the Spirit Hall, her mount was only a specially bred Hundred-Year Soul Beast horse. Compared with the genuine seven-thousand-year One-Eyed Violent Bear before them, the difference was like a house cat compared to a tiger.

The more Deng Tianxin thought about it, the more pleased he became. His grin nearly reached his ears as he pictured himself riding the Violent Bear back to the Spirit Hall in grand style.

The Spirit Hall's students would all have to crane their necks to look up at him. Even Qian Xunji would have to see him in a new light.

Seeing Deng Tianxin looking so pleased with himself that his tail was about to shoot into the sky, Liu Erlong couldn't help smiling.

As Deng Tianxin stroked the One-Eyed Violent Bear, he said, "From today on, your name is Liu Dalong."

"Dalong?" Liu Erlong's brows twitched almost imperceptibly. She crossed her arms, her tone a little odd. "Why that name?"

She had a feeling Deng Tianxin had given the One-Eyed Violent Bear that name for some ulterior motive.

The Bear was called Dalong, and her name was Liu Erlong...

Liu Erlong instantly understood what Deng Tianxin meant. So he was making her the number-two mount.

At that thought, Liu Erlong silently decided to remember this grudge for now.

Deng Tianxin was busy rubbing the One-Eyed Violent Bear's furry ears. Without looking back, he answered casually, "It sounds good. My dragon horns go well with its bear face, and Dalong sounds so impressive. Anyway, it sounds good. Do I need a reason to name something?"

Liu Erlong: "Heh..."