Chapter Ninety-Six: Little Nine and Everblood

"Good."

As soon as Li Hao heard Qin Zhen's suggestion, he agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing how readily he accepted, everyone grew excited and eager. The spirit of the Nine-Dragon War Halberd, Xiao Jiu, was someone not even Lu Yao had ever seen. Aside from Lin Xueyou, who had met him before, the others knew of artifact spirits only from hearsay.

Then Lin Xueyou seemed to remember something and warned Li Hao, "Little brother Li Hao, you had better not summon the spirit of the Nine-Dragon War Halberd for now."

At her words, Kui Hu and the others immediately wilted like frostbitten eggplants. Li Hao, too, looked puzzled and asked, "Why is that, Sister Xueyou?"

Lin Xueyou said, "Little brother Li Hao, have you forgotten how enormous that nine-headed creature's true form is inside your Nine-Dragon War Halberd? If you let him reveal it here, won't he squeeze us flat against the walls like leaves?"

She still remembered the first time she had seen Xiao Jiu's true form, and even she had been startled. That immense body stretched for thousands of yards; even one dragon head would be enough to fill this small cave abode. If Li Hao made it manifest here, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Clearly, after all the shocks and surprises of the day, Li Hao had completely forgotten how vast Xiao Jiu's true form really was. Only after Lin Xueyou's reminder did he realize his own carelessness. He scratched his head awkwardly and said to Zhen Ba and the others, "Brothers, Sister Yao, the spirit within the Nine-Dragon War Halberd is far too large. This place is too small to contain its enormous body. After we leave tomorrow, how about I let everyone behold the spirit inside the Nine-Dragon War Halberd then?"

Though his tone sounded courteous, it carried an unmistakable finality. This was also the result of the fine upbringing Li Hao had received from Divine Healer Baicao.

No one made things difficult for him. They all nodded and said, "All right."

Li Hao went on, "It's getting late. In another two hours, day will break. If I am not mistaken, the storm outside should also have died down by then."

Lin Xueyou agreed, "Little brother Li Hao's judgment makes sense. I think so too."

Hearing this from Li Hao and Lin Xueyou, the others could only wait two more hours before making any plans.

They looked around the cave abode. Qin Zhen said, "Come to think of it, this is rather strange. Aside from the Young Master's God-Demon World-Ending Sword, it seems there is nothing else here."

"Yes. This cave abode has existed here for who knows how many ages. Even if there had once been something here, time may already have worn it away."

The others found Lin Xueyou's explanation very reasonable. Whether or not anything else had once been in this cave abode was an unsolved mystery to which they would likely never know the answer.

Afterward, they each found a spot, sat down cross-legged, and began to cultivate.

Lin Xueyou and Lu Yao, as always, sat together. Li Hao also summoned the God-Demon World-Ending Sword into his sea of consciousness.

Once Li Hao sat down, his soul swiftly entered his sea of consciousness. There he saw Xiao Jiu in human form, sitting dazed and still within the boundless inner space. Only when Li Hao's soul drew near did Xiao Jiu notice his master's arrival and recover his composure enough to greet him.

"Xiao Jiu greets the Young Master."

Li Hao came to Xiao Jiu's side. With a thought, a meditation cushion appeared before him. He sat down calmly and noticed that You Xue was still in the form of a sword.

With a shift of his mind, You Xue instantly transformed into the shape of a girl in red, appearing before him. She bowed respectfully and said, "You Xue greets you, my... You Xue greets the Young Master. Please forgive me for almost speaking incorrectly."

She had always called the sword bearer her master. Since Li Hao preferred humility, he had told her not to call him that, but she had not yet fully corrected the habit. Li Hao had no intention of rebuking her. He merely smiled faintly and said, "Sister You Xue, rise. From now on, we will rely on one another, so there is no need for such formalities."

You Xue had never encountered a master so open and easygoing. In that instant, she felt deeply moved that heaven had arranged for her to meet such an exceptional person. She replied, "Yes, Young Master. You Xue will remember that."

Li Hao asked, "You two should already know each other by now, right?"

Xiao Jiu and You Xue answered in unison, "We do, Young Master."

With a movement of his will, Li Hao immediately probed You Xue's past and saw it all clearly. As those unbearable scenes unfolded before him, he felt great sympathy for her.

He said to her, "Sister You Xue, your past is truly heartbreaking. It's a pity that I cannot do anything for you."

To hear her master pity an artifact spirit like her filled You Xue with emotion. She could not remember how many ages had passed since she last felt this way; the only time it had ever appeared before had been with her mother. She had never dared imagine that, after so many years, she would encounter a master who could move her heart so deeply.

Li Hao had spoken no grand or flowery words. It was only a simple sentence, yet it touched You Xue profoundly. She replied, "You Xue does not need the Young Master to do anything for her. Those words alone are enough. They have given You Xue comfort for this life, and that is already more than enough."

Li Hao seemed to recall something and asked, "Sister You Xue, when I summon the God-Demon World-Ending Sword, why does your consciousness seem so weak? Is there some hidden circumstance between you and the sword?"

You Xue answered respectfully, "To answer the Young Master's question, when I first became a sword spirit, I was in a state of utter hatred and madness, and I had no powerful expert to guide me. By the time I became a spirit, I was already like this. I do not know why, but whenever the master summons the God-Demon World-Ending Sword, I fall into a deep sleep, and all my memories become blurred."

Only then did Li Hao understand why, whenever he summoned the God-Demon World-Ending Sword, the connection between his soul and You Xue felt so faint. He wanted to repair this flaw, but he did not know whether there was any way to do so.

After thinking for a long while, he still could not find a method to restore what was missing in You Xue. So he asked, "Sister You Xue, do you know any way to remedy this flaw?"

You Xue considered it for a moment and said, "There is no definite method. Perhaps if I were to merge fully with the God-Demon World-Ending Sword, a way might be found to wake me. But that is only my own conjecture. Whether it would work, I have never tested."

Hearing this, Li Hao tried to imagine how one might awaken her while she was fused with the God-Demon World-Ending Sword, but after a time he still thought of nothing. So he asked in confusion, "Sister You Xue, when your former master encountered you, did he never consider how to wake you while you and the God-Demon World-Ending Sword were merged?"

You Xue replied, "No. By the time my former master found me, his cultivation was already unfathomable. In battle, he could suppress my murderous state with sheer power."

Li Hao understood then. In the face of absolute strength, all things could indeed be made to bend at will. His longing to become stronger grew even more intense.

After some thought, he said to the sword spirit You Xue, "Sister You Xue, I will definitely find a way to restore you to normal."

You Xue felt yet another surge of emotion at how thoroughly he was thinking of her. She said respectfully, "Then You Xue will thank the Young Master in advance."

Li Hao did not offer any lofty promises or polite pleasantries. He simply smiled and said, "As long as we never give up and keep striving, every difficulty will eventually be solved."

At his words, You Xue and Xiao Jiu merely nodded in quiet agreement and said nothing more.

Xiao Jiu said, "Young Master, it turns out that in our youth, both of us were orphans without any family to accompany us."

Hearing this, Li Hao looked somewhat desolate. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Xiao Jiu, were you just thinking about this a moment ago?"

Xiao Jiu understood that Li Hao was asking about the matter he had been brooding over when Li Hao's soul first entered the sea of consciousness. Looking at him earnestly, he replied, "Yes, Young Master. I don't know how many ages it has been since I last thought about such things. But when I just heard Miss You Xue speaking of her painful past, I began to wonder: where is my homeland? Who are my parents? Why did they abandon me?"

Li Hao, Xiao Jiu, and You Xue sat there in silence, master and two servants, wordless for a long time.

After quite a while, Li Hao broke the silence. "Xiao Jiu, don't think about it too much. Aren't I also going to search for my grandfather and my father and mother, and in the end return to the homeland that belongs to me? In the future, I will accompany you as well and help you fulfill the wish you have yet to complete."

Xiao Jiu had never dared hope for such a day. He had not expected this young master before him to treat him so well, to the point of taking matters that had nothing to do with him and making them his own. In his heart, Xiao Jiu thought, "If my master treats me like this, then even if I am destined to scatter my soul to the winds for him someday, I will not regret it."

Li Hao sensed the subtle turbulence in Xiao Jiu's emotions and glanced at him with curiosity. Xiao Jiu immediately realized Li Hao's doubt and said, "Thank you, Young Master. As long as I have your words, I am already content. Whether I learn the truth or not, it no longer matters very much."

There were two reasons Li Hao had not perceived Xiao Jiu's thoughts just now. First, Xiao Jiu's thoughts held no threat and no hint of betrayal toward him. Second, Li Hao did not wish to know what Xiao Jiu was thinking.

In a master-servant contract, the servant does not know the master's thoughts, but the master's spirit can fully perceive the servant's experiences and intentions. Yet there are exceptions, for under heaven there is no such thing as perfect completeness; everything has its flaws.

As long as a servant does not harbor betrayal toward the master, then even some of the servant's private secrets may remain unclear, and only a vague sense of direction can be sensed. But if a contracted servant harbors even the slightest harmful intent toward the master, the contract will immediately recoil upon him, sending all the information straight into the master's soul.

Li Hao, hearing Xiao Jiu say this, replied, "There is no need for that. For me, Li Hao, if I want to do something, I should give it everything I have. If I succeed, that is the most perfect outcome. And even if I fail, then I will have no regrets. So long as I leave no remorse behind in the life ahead of me, I can be at peace with my heart and live freely without restraint."

Xiao Jiu and You Xue had never imagined that their master, though so young, possessed such mature character. Hearing Li Hao's words, Xiao Jiu suddenly felt enlightened.

He bowed deeply to Li Hao in gratitude and said, "What the Young Master said is most reasonable. Thank you for those precious words, which have opened my eyes."