"Give him back! Keeping him at home is dangerous. What if he bites someone?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk pleaded.
"No!" Sylvanas said, tossing her head.
"How about ten frostwolves in exchange?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.
"Frostwolves? What kind of frostwolves?" Sylvanas asked.
"Exactly like Lupos," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
"Really?" Sylvanas eyed him doubtfully.
"Really!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
"No deal!" Sylvanas said, shaking her head.
"A hundred frostwolves, then? Surely that's enough!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said through gritted teeth.
"If they're all the same, why do you have to have him?" Sylvanas asked.
"No particular reason. I just like him," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. "You don't have a Soul Trinket right now anyway. What use is he to you? I have one! Besides, I'm the commander of the first battle-pet unit. Surely I ought to have a battle pet of my own." He scrambled for excuses.
"Don't you already have plenty of battle pets? Aren't there enough for you to choose from? Why do you insist on stealing mine?" Sylvanas asked.
"You're the one who stole mine!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said in frustration.
"I'm not giving him back!" Sylvanas said.
"What will it take for you to return him?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked. "Name your terms. I'll agree to anything I can."
"Six hundred frostwolves. Enough for a whole unit," Sylvanas said, her eyes gleaming slyly.
"Done!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk agreed without hesitation.
Perfect. Good thing I ordered six hundred frostwolves, or I really wouldn't have enough. Besides, those six hundred frostwolves had always been his backup for satisfying Sylvanas if crossbreeding the dire wolves failed. He was merely handing them over a little earlier.
"I've changed my mind," Sylvanas suddenly said with a smile. "I still think one is enough. Six hundred would eat too much."
"...How can you go back on your word?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk demanded anxiously.
"Why can't I? I feel like it. What of it?" Sylvanas said.
"You're a noble, a Windrunner. This tarnishes your image," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
"I don't care," Sylvanas said.
"How about I add another condition?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.
"What condition?" Sylvanas asked.
"You still get the six hundred frostwolves, and if I find another one as good as him later, I'll give you that one too. How's that?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. Deep down, he was already setting his sights on the frostwolf in Dwarf territory.
"There'll be more good ones later?" Sylvanas asked.
"Yes!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk nodded. For Lupos's sake, he was going all out.
"If you hadn't said anything, I never would have known that beasts aren't all alike!" Sylvanas nodded. "Looks like I'll have to pay attention from now on. Otherwise, someone might pick out all the good ones and leave me nothing but rubbish. That would be awful! You certainly have plenty of secrets."
"What rubbish? They're all good beasts, all right?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said angrily. This girl really knew how to jump to conclusions.
"Tell me what's different about that wolf. I'll consider it," Sylvanas said.
"Ordinary beasts aren't really any different." Yu Lin Bloodhawk thought, If I tell you, will you still give him back?
"You're not being sincere. We're done talking!" Sylvanas said, turning to leave.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk hurriedly grabbed her. "Let's talk. Let's keep talking."
"What's there to talk about when you're not being sincere?" Sylvanas ignored him.
"I am! I'm very sincere. Look into my eyes. They're full of sincerity," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said, blinking at her.
"Doesn't look like it! All I see in your eyes is deceit," Sylvanas said, shaking her head.
"Your eyes must be playing tricks on you. Look more closely," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
Sylvanas pretended to study him carefully for a while, then suddenly said, "I see it now. There's eye gunk in there too."
Yu Lin Bloodhawk hastily rubbed his eyes. "It's gone. Now you should believe me, right?"
"All right, talk!" Sylvanas said with a smile. "Don't lie. I can tell."
"You really can tell?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk didn't believe her, but he was cautious nonetheless.
"Of course. Everyone in the Windrunner family has this supernatural ability," Sylvanas said.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk thought it over. He had never heard any rumors of such a thing. Still, he had to give her at least some truth. "He's a Wolf King. The first time I saw him, I was captivated by his magnificent bearing. I swore I'd capture him and train him into a battle pet. Is that good enough?"
"A Wolf King, too? Wonderful!" Sylvanas said happily. Suddenly, she poked Yu Lin Bloodhawk in the chest. "Why not say the rest of what's in your heart? I heard you thinking, 'His attacks also deal shadow damage.' Doesn't it feel uncomfortable keeping that bottled up?"
"How did you know?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk exclaimed in shock.
Sylvanas pursed her lips in a smile. "That's what you were thinking. How could I not know?"
Yu Lin Bloodhawk looked at Sylvanas doubtfully, unsure whether she was telling the truth.
"I know you don't believe me, but that doesn't matter." Sylvanas turned back to fiddle with her crystal ball.
In truth, Sylvanas couldn't read Yu Lin Bloodhawk's thoughts at all. She had discovered that detail because Lupos had bitten her. But revealing it now left Yu Lin Bloodhawk full of doubts and suspicions.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk stood rooted to the spot in shock. Is it real or not? Isn't this bug ridiculously overpowered?
Alleria noticed that after talking to Sylvanas for a while, Yu Lin Bloodhawk had been left standing there in a daze, looking utterly lost.
Curious, she went over to Sylvanas and asked a few questions. Smiling, Sylvanas leaned close and whispered a few words into her ear. Alleria's eyes lit up. She strolled over to the dazed Yu Lin Bloodhawk with an air of indifference and asked, "Is that wolf especially unusual? Why do you look so lost?"
"Of course he's unusual! A Rare Silver Elite World-Famous Pet! How could he not be?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk answered without thinking.
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. When he realized that the person listening was Alleria, he regretted them even more.
"Rare, huh?" Alleria murmured. "I don't know how you classify them, but if he's rare, there must be something special about him. Find me a rare battle pet too."
"I..." Yu Lin Bloodhawk had wanted to say, Where am I supposed to find one for you? But before he could finish, Alleria cut him off.
"Sylvanas told me there would be more later. Don't forget." With that, she walked back, as though she were giving instructions to
her own steward.
Is everyone in the Windrunner family like this? Yu Lin Bloodhawk lamented. Do I owe you something? You ask, and I just have to provide? What about Shalandis Isle, which you promised me? I haven't seen so much as a glimpse of it! Not only have I failed to get Lupos back, now I have to throw in another rare elite. What a terrible loss!
"The next round of testing will now begin." The voice carried by Amplification Magic brought Yu Lin Bloodhawk back to reality. He had no choice but to set aside his frustration and walk over to the group preparing to record the proceedings. The space was broad and offered the best view, making it ideal for both recording and watching.
Only then did he notice a male elf standing in front of the wooden door below his viewing platform, accompanied by a gray Ghostclaw Lynx. The lynx wore no trinket, yet lay quietly at his feet, occasionally scratching its whiskers with a forepaw. It showed no sign of suddenly attacking anyone.
He suspected that this elf had already completed the soul ritual, but couldn't quite believe anyone had finished so quickly. Turning to Sylvanas, who was fiddling with her crystal ball, he asked, "Why isn't that lynx wearing a trinket? Aren't you afraid it'll suddenly attack someone?"
"What's there to be afraid of? The soul link is already complete. Of course it doesn't need one anymore," Sylvanas said.
"Complete? Already? Don't tell me all the pets being tested today have completed their soul links!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.
"Not all of them. Some still need trinkets. Only about twenty have managed it. How could it happen that quickly?" Sylvanas answered casually, still focused on fiddling with her crystal ball.
"Oh, good! I thought they'd all finished. That gave me a fright," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
Ever since arriving in this world, he hadn't properly practiced much of anything himself, yet he was always making demands of others. Thinking about it made him feel ashamed.
"But completing soul links will get faster and faster. Now that we have plenty of practical experience to draw on, many soldiers who haven't finished their soul links wish they could spend every day glued to their chosen battle pets. Anyone who carelessly feeds their pets will get an earful, and might even start a fight. Your method really works. How did you know?" Sylvanas put down her crystal ball and turned to ask him.
"What's so difficult about that?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. "Beasts have intelligence too."
He tapped his head. "They're about as intelligent as little children. You can win children over with a bit of candy. Once they're happy, isn't it easy to make friends? Some of the prouder ones might not care for the candy. What matters to them is whether you're sincere."
Speaking of children, Yu Lin Bloodhawk couldn't help thinking of the adorable two-year-old boy who had lived next door to him on Earth. He used to play with the boy often.
"You know, children are actually quite clever. They just lack experience, and their thoughts are simple, so they don't really understand all the complicated thoughts and actions of adults. But precisely because they're so simple, they're especially good at seeing through people. They're really sensitive. Sometimes, one look into your eyes tells them whether you mean them harm. Working with beasts is much the same. Give them good food and sincerely take care of them for a while, and they'll become as obedient as well-behaved babies."
"Is it really that amazing?" Sylvanas asked with fresh curiosity.
"Of course! Don't you know that when a wild beast gets injured for some reason, and someone happens to pass by and treats and bandages its wounds, it might repay that kindness once it recovers? It might hunt some food and bring it to that person, for instance. Some will even risk their lives to protect that person from danger, fighting their own kind to the death. That's why, once you've chosen a pet, it's best to treat it as a friend or brother. If you only enslave pets like the Trolls do and ignore their feelings, things can easily go wrong. It's perfectly normal for them to turn on you. That said, it's still best to keep some distance from wild beasts. Not every beast will repay kindness. Some might attack you even after you've healed them," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
"No wonder Lupos doesn't like paying attention to me. Looks like I can't keep him at home anymore. I'll have to bring him back to the barracks," Sylvanas said.
"Then he definitely doesn't like you!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said delightedly. "I've got plenty of space. Bring him over to my place."
Once he's here, who knows which of us will complete the soul link first?
Before you continue