As time passed, the little shadow mouse — which had never received much affection — gradually lost its wariness of Lin Lei. By the eighth day, Lin Lei had barely taken two steps after setting down a wild rabbit before the little shadow mouse darted out and started eating, even squeaking excitedly at him.
The tenth day!
"Right, today's the day I let the little shadow mouse try some roast meat." Lin Lei wrapped a roasted wild chicken in a small cloth bag and headed happily toward the old cluster of buildings behind the mansion.
Derinkoort walked alongside Lin Lei, though no one besides Lin Lei could see him. The old man's white beard curled upward with his grin. "Lin Lei, it's been nine days already, and that little shadow mouse has absolutely no wariness toward you anymore. Today you've got even better roast meat — it's going to be thrilled, and your bond will only grow closer."
Lin Lei couldn't help but smile at that.
Just as he reached the original threshold —
"Squeak, squeak~~~" The little shadow mouse darted over to his side in an instant, stood up on its hind legs, and bounced up and down while squeaking at him nonstop.
"It ran over before I even took anything out. It's not the least bit afraid of me." Lin Lei felt a rush of delight.
Beside him, Derinkoort watched the little shadow mouse with a warm smile. The creature couldn't sense Derinkoort's presence at all. "From the looks of it," the old mage said, "this little shadow mouse is already quite fond of you."
"Squeak~~~" The little shadow mouse fixed its glossy black eyes on Lin Lei and squeaked in an impatient tone, as if urging him to produce the food already.
"Don't rush." Lin Lei pulled the roasted wild chicken from his cloth bag.
The moment it caught the scent, the little shadow mouse's dark eyes lit up immediately, and then it gazed at Lin Lei with a pitiful, pleading look. Lin Lei's stomach nearly hurt from laughing — back when he used to bring treats in front of little Wotton, his brother would call out, "Big brother, I want some," while making exactly the same pitiful face.
Now this little shadow mouse was pulling the same trick.
"Ha, here you go." Lin Lei tossed the roasted chicken to the shadow mouse.
The little creature let out a cheerful squeak, leaped up and clamped its jaws around the chicken. After the first bite, it tore into the meat at an ever-faster pace. In no time at all, a roasted chicken roughly the same size as the shadow mouse was devoured clean.
"I honestly can't figure out how you fit all that into such a tiny belly," Lin Lei marveled with a laugh from the side.
The little shadow mouse seemed exceptionally pleased this time. It bounced up and down on its hind legs in delight, squeaking at Lin Lei, and even tried to wrap its two front paws around his calf. Lin Lei's heart surged with joy — this was the first time the little shadow mouse had been this affectionate after a meal.
"Lin Lei, try stroking and grooming its fur. Most magic beasts enjoy having someone they're close to brush their coat," Derinkoort suggested.
Lin Lei slowly reached out and placed his hand on the magic beast's head. The little shadow mouse didn't flinch at all. Instead, it closed its small eyes in enjoyment. Reassured, Lin Lei began gently grooming its fur. To his amusement, the little creature actually started snoring contentedly.
"This little guy is really adorable," Lin Lei thought, growing even fonder of the shadow mouse.
"Grandpa Derin, magic beasts really are something. You look at something like the Rapid Dragon — so massive, with such hard scales — and it's a seventh-level magic beast. And this little shadow mouse could grow up to be seventh-level too. They're the same rank, so why is the difference so enormous?"
Lin Lei stroked the little mouse, marveling at the thought.
"You can't judge by appearances alone. You might see some ordinary old man on the road, and for all you know he could ride a flying dragon and level a mountain peak with a wave of his hand," Derinkoort said with a smile.
Lin Lei understood the道理.
And yet, instinctively, he still tended to judge by appearance.
Look at the Rapid Dragon — just seeing its enormous frame and the cold, metallic sheen of its scales told you all you needed to know about its power.
"I wonder when this little shadow mouse will agree to form an 'Equal Contract' with me," Lin Lei murmured. There was nothing he could do about it. The Equal Contract had to be initiated by the magic beast itself, so he could only wait passively.
Derinkoort chuckled. "Everything's going well. Remember — be patient."
"Yeah, I know," Lin Lei replied, smiling too.
…
In the blink of an eye, twenty days had passed since Lin Lei started feeding the little shadow mouse, and the two had grown incredibly close. Yet somehow, despite their intimacy reaching absurd levels, the little shadow mouse still showed no signs of initiating an Equal Contract.
Night descended over the land, and all of Wushan Town fell into deep quiet.
Inside the Baruch Family mansion's main hall, candlelight flickered, illuminating the room. Lin Lei, his parents, and the butler Xili all sat around the long table sharing dinner.