《The Contractor of Gods》


 The Transmigration

    Face illuminated in the darkness, Xiao Feng stares intently at his tablet. Dark circles droopping down below his eyes, his eyes themselves bloodshot from lack of sleep. Lazily scrolling through his massive collection of completed novels. "Ai, time to find another one... wonder if there''s anything new..."


    "Read it... read it... read that one too... oh? Demon king... princess... nevermind. Read it too."


    Grumble


    Stomach rumbling, Xiao Feng lets out a long sigh as he stretches his arms and shuts off his tablet. ''Better put in a pizza'' he thought. Covered in his blanket that drags on the floor, he heads down stairs. Heading into the kitchen, he opens up the freezer. Upon gazing upon the empty freezer for about a minute, he slowly slumps to the ground. Gazing at the ceiling for god knows how long, he groggily stands back up and walks to the pantry. "Please... Cereal is fine... Ramen is fine... just don''t be empty..." he says.


    Opening up the pantry and seeing nothing but a granola bar, Xiao Feng slams the pantry shut. A single tear forming in the corner of his eye, he removes his blanket and robe, and heads back to his room. Listening to his fan running, and staring at that unmade bed, he reluctantly heads over to his dresser and gets dressed in a stained t - shirt and some old shorts. Grabbing his wallet, he heads back downstairs to head out.


    ...


    "Enjoy your food! Get some sleep young man!" said the old woman at the food stall.


    "Mm. Thanks granny. Have a good one." Responded Xiao Feng.


    Walking back towards his house, gnawing on some cheesy bread, the half asleep Xiao Feng hears a high pitched scream sound out to his right. Coming to a stop, he looks down at his cheesy bread and seems to come to a split second decision. He takes another bite, and continues on his way home. ''Hell nah, lady, whoever you are, that spider or whatever you just saw, use the shoe. Works wonders.'' he thought.


    After walking for another few seconds and not hearing anything else, Xiao Feng continues on his way at his usual pace. Being in a much better mood after getting some food into his stomach, and as he takes another bite, "someone... please... help!" With a loud smack and another scream that followed, Xiao Feng stuffs the rest of his cheesy bread in his mouth and slowly makes his way towards the screams of the woman. ''Oi, Feng, just call 911... don''t be a hero... call you idiot...''


    After dialing the police and ruining his possiblilities of saving the damsel in distress, outside the alleyway of the screams turned sobs, he slowly itches his way back the way he came to rinse himself of anything to do with this situation. ''Good luck, I did my best. Police should come eventually...'' before he even finished his thought, with a loud clang, he tumbles over a trash bag and directly falls to the ground with a loud thump. ''Oi... this isn''t even funny... I did a good deed, and now this?'' scrambling to his feet, not even picking up his wallet, Xiao Feng immediately makes a run for it. Without looking back, he runs straight down the street. Loud shouts echoing behind him, Xiao Feng runs even faster. As he turns a corner, all he sees is a flashing red and blue light. Wiping the cold sweat off his forehead realizing it''s a police car, he turns around with a mocking smile on his face to see the shocked expression of his pursuers. But, before he could mock these idiot thugs, with an extremely loud honk, followed by his legs buckling under himself as he flies into the air, his smile frozen on his face as he flies across the road. Landing on the hard concrete, all he feels is a cold numbing feeling throughout his entire body. Lifting his hand off of his chest to his face, what meets his gaze is his hand, soaked in blood that could only be his. Completely losing strength, his hand slumps to his side. A mocking smile on his face, one filled with regret and unwillingness as his eyes begin to shut. Loud shouts, guns firing, car alarms, none of the surrounding sounds reach Xiao Feng''s ears, as he slowly loses consciousness.


    ...


    Chirp Chirp


    "Ugh..."


    Barely opening his eyes, Xiao Feng immediately feels a wave of pain through his whole body. His hand instinctivly grabbing onto his head, images continue to flood his mind. People, beasts, contractors, all sorts of jumbled information floods itself into his mind. With so much information, Xiao Feng nearly loses consciousness again. He barely holds on as he slowly sits up as he attempts to unravel all the information. Taking a deep breathe of fresh air, Xiao Feng lays back down and closes his eyes. After an unknown amount of time passes, he slowly opens them once more. Struggling to sit up, his head throbbing, he slowly breathes in and out.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    After another few minutes, the pain and throbbing slowly subsides. Xiao Feng looks to his left, out the window of the room he''s in. Checking out the blue sky, the sun high up in the air, his expression of one of utter disbelief. Opening his mouth, inaudible mumbling escaping his mouth. Only one word could be made out of the mumbling, ''unbelieveable''.


    After gathering his bearings, he slides out from under the covers of his blanket and sheets, and stands up to examine in more detail the outside to confirm his suspicions further. Seeing the inner garden and fountain shooting high up into the sky, something that resembles a squirrel but definitely not a squirrel scurrying about the clean cut grass of the garden only futher solidifies his guess. He had transmigrated to a completely different world, just like all those novels he reads. Looking down at his body, examining the black gold robe that ecompasses his body, his lips curl up into a grin. Looking around the room, in the corner he spots a mirror upwards of three meters tall and one meter wide, he makes his way over.


    Standing before the mirror, Xiao Feng is completely stunned. Seeing the 1.8 meter tall, extremely handsome man in the mirror, he nearly falls straight to the ground. Short, groomed blonde hair with nearly shaved sides, his narrow blue eyes that are slightly bloodshot but still much better than his past self''s droopy black eyes filled with lazyness. Upon further inspection, he notices his extremely pale and sick skin. As he examines further, images once more surface in his mind as his head starts to pound. This time, however, the images are much clearer. People mocking the old owner of this body, their scornful gazes, vulgar insults, disgust, all of it. Xiao Feng couldn''t help but cry out in alarm and look towards the mirror once more. Seeing this handsome guy staring right back at him, Xiao Feng can''t help but let out a light cry of alarm. ''Someone that looks like this can get ridiculed? Man... if it was me I might of just become food for the pigs...'' he thought.


    After sifting through a few more memories, Xiao Feng found what he was looking for. Two days ago, or so he believes, his cousin Xiao Kao gave this ''Xiao Feng'' something that could only be described as obvious poison, calling this body''s old owner a waste of space, and to finish it once and for all and stop wasting the families resources. And after a thorough inner battle, the old ''Xiao Feng'' took the poison and, by all rights, passed away a few hours ago. It seems that the poison didn''t end his life instantly, so the mother of this body had many of the cities doctors do all they could to try and save his life. But, it seems he kept denying treatment, but he still got it in the end, only prolonging his suffering. "Ha... so it''s like that."


    Bowing towards the mirror in honor of this world''s Xiao Feng, and then vowing to use this body to its fullest potential. How he plans on doing that, even he doesn''t know. But, as an otaku of earth, he has a gut feeling that he will be able to get payback for all the grieviances done to the former Xiao Feng. Standing up straight once more, with a salute to the mirror, a slight smile on his face, Xiao Feng returns to the window to gaze upon his new world.


    ''According to the memories I''ve seen of the past few days, I should have another doctor coming to check on me. They shouldn''t of seen this body lifeless before I took over. So, I guess I should just wait.'' With that thought, he continues to gaze out the window at the passing clouds, taking note of all the flying beasts that he has never seen before. Birds the size of eagles flying around making nests, people in the distance flying on huge condors, Xiao Feng can''t help but get a little giddy and excited. Looking at the memories he inherited, this world has people known as Contractors. Contractors are people who have been able to contract something known as a Gaia Crystal. Upon obtaining a Gaia Crystal, Contractors can contract beasts, and summon them to fight alongside them. It seems like this ''Gaia Crystal'' is the source of the old Xiao Feng''s troubles. He wasn''t able to obtain one at the age of sixteen, which is the age when Gaia allows humans to contract the crystal in this world. Since then, a year and a half has passed, and no changes to said predicament have come along. So, he had been labeled by the world as trash. As part of the great Xiao Family of this Scarlet Beast Kingdom, and not being able to contract a Gaia Crystal, he was an extreme embarassment to the family. Since young, he had been pampered and fed all sorts of great medicines and materials to allow him to cultivate very well once he contracted his crystal. Yet, when he was unable to obtain a crystal''s recognition and labeled trash, all those materials are said to have gone to waste. Which isn''t an exaggeration in the least. As Xiao Feng is the second son of the main branch, he was given much more resources than his brothers and sisters, along with his cousins. As soon as he was labeled trash, all that envy that bottled up in his relatives exploded out, which after nearly two years, forced the situation where he drank the poison given to him by Xiao Kao to get rid of his suffering, along with the suffering given to his mother, who is only a concubine to the family head.


    Sighing, Xiao Feng can''t help but shake his head. With all the knowledge from the novels of his world, it goes without saying that he is a differnt soul than this Xiao Feng. He hopefully should be able to turn this situation around. All he needs to do is contract one of those so called Gaia Crystals, and become an extremely powerful Contractor, and that in itself will make up for all the grieviances given to the old Xiao Feng. Sifting through his memories, he makes sure to take note of every last person that scorned the old Xiao Feng, to make it up to him for taking control of his body. Clenching his fist, Xiao Feng turns to gaze at the door of his room, awaiting the owners of the footsteps that are anxiouslessly coming towards him. With a slight smile, he unclenches his fist, and sits upon the window sill, awaiting his guests.

 New Identity

    While waiting for his door to swing open, Xiao Feng continues to sift through the memories he inherited. He simply wishes to find out the personality traits of the body he inherited. He can''t help but to think of feigning memory loss. After all, he has both memories of his life and the life of this body now. There will without a doubt be differences in the way he and the old Xiao Feng will act. Even if he wished to act like his life from earth, he can''t do that either. The memories of this body will conflict with his as well. He could very well be said to be a different person from both of the two Xiao Fengs. However, the Xiao Feng of earth seems to be slightly dominating of the Xiao Feng of this world, as not only was he older by a few years of this body, but also his soul was transmigrated here. Xiao Feng can''t help but sweat a bit thinking about the possible personality issues he might face in the future. That''s a problem to be seen, however.


    While he continues to be lost in his thoughts, the door begins to slowly creak open. The first person to enter the room is an older looking woman carrying a sack in one arm, along with a little spotted orange gecko sitting on her shoulder. Xiao Feng creases his brows, trying to recall if he knows this old lady. After not being able to recall, she must be the doctor that was hired to check up on him. When the two lock eyes, the old lady can''t help but be a little startled. After the door is pushed completely open, a lady who looks to be in her twenties follows the older lady into the room. She seems to be extremely weak and frail, obviously from not eating and lacking of sleep. However, that doesn''t affect seem to affect her beauty in the slightest. Her smooth flowing golden locks that droop down just past her shoulders, her big and round blue eyes that are slightly misty, and her flawless skin that is just a tad pale is completely stunning. Upon seeing this woman, Xiao Feng can''t help but smile. Memories of her fill up his head, instead of the pain he had from earlier, all he feels is bliss, followed by loads of guilt. "Good morning, mother..." he whispers as tears start to form from his eyes.


    Upon hearing those faint but audible words, the woman immediately shivers. Both hands covering her mouth, she trembles as the tears flow like a waterfall down her cheeks. "Feng... my little Feng... are... are you okay?" she says as she makes her way towards her son. Seeing this woman before him showing such loving care, Xiao Feng can''t help but curse a little at the fact that Xiao Feng tried to kill himself. With such a mother, who cares about some Gaia Crystal? With the memories of his childhood continue to flow like a tide within his head, he can''t help but walk towards this mother of his, taking a hankerchief from the nearby dresser, he wipes away the tears from his mother''s cheeks. "I''m alright, mother. I... I''m sorry. I don''t know what else to say. I just couldn''t take it anymore. I couldn''t keep letting you down... I couldn''t let the family down, I felt like I was of no use, better off gone. I''m sorry."


    He couldn''t help but feel slightly guilty upon saying those words, after all, is he still that Xiao Feng? Is he earth''s Xiao Feng? ''Who cares'' he thought. This is his body now, and this is his mother. Whether he is Xiao Feng of this world, or earth''s Xiao Feng, that is knowledge of his past lives. This is his world, but he has knowledge of earth, and knowledge of this world. Regardless of what he knows, this is his mother now, he thought. Embracing his weeping mother who hasn''t yet called down, he signals to the doctor to take her leave.


    After the lady takes her leave, Xiao Feng sets his mother down on his bed, and sits beside her while she calms down. After a few minutes pass, the lady wipes her tears away with the hankerchief one more time, and looks towards her son with a solemn look. "Feng''er. You never let me down. Don''t every say that again. You are my son. I know you feel that way, but it''s just some Gaia Crystal. If the clan pushes you down, your mother will leave the clan and take you with. Mother wishes you happiness. We can go to the country side, Contractors aren''t that abundant. it is perfectly normal that you aren''t able to be one. The majority of the population can''t even get one! So, if you can''t handle being in the Xiao Family, we will leave. I will speak with your father. He won''t stop us. He wouldn''t be able to anyway."


    Hearing this, he can''t help but sigh to himself. This mother of his would give up everything she has worked for her entire life just to help this miserable guy. "No, we will stay. Regardless of whether I can contract a Gaia Crystal or not, regardless if I am ridiculed, unless the family personally exiles me, we won''t leave, mother. I won''t hurt myself again. I promise, alright?" he said. Seeing her smile and nod, he himself lets out a slight smile as he stands back to his feet. Seeing her son stand up abruptly, the woman quickly grabs his wrist and quickly chides him, "Feng''er! You still need to rest. No more standing. You have been bedridden for almost three days now! Look at you, all pale and sick looking. I will have the kitchen make you something to eat. Also, have Grandma Che check on you. She came all this way, even if you aren''t bedridden anymore, whatever you drank can''t have fully left your system yet."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Xiao Feng can''t help but frown a little on hearing that. That''s right, how could that poison just disappear? He feels fine though. Maybe something to do with the transmigration? God''s gift saying that he won''t die after getting a second lease at life? After pondering for a moment, he gives a slight nod towards his mother, who was already at the door opening it. At a loss for words, Grandma Che enters the room and walks over to his side to take his pulse. After taking his pulse, she creases her brows and then moves the little spotted gecko over to his wrist. He can''t help but flinch a little, but still lets the gecko crawl up his arm towards his shoulder. Upon reaching his neck, the gecko licks him. ''What kind of treatment is this...'' he thought to himself, but he didn''t dare say it out loud. After the gecko went back down his arm to Grandma Che, he lets out a little squeak towards her. After a slight back and forth between the gecko and old lady, Xiao Feng can''t help but be a little baffled at the scene of gecko and human conversing. ''She must be a contractor...'' he thought to himself.


    "Miss Yu, little Xiao Feng seems to be devoid of any toxins, and his pulse is perfectly normal. Any toxin that couldn''t be detected by this little guy wouldn''t exist in this country, so I assure you he should be perfectly alright. I wouldn''t even believe he was ever poisoned had I not seen him a few days ago." Grandma Che said to Xiao Feng''s mother, Xiao Yu.


    After hearing the verdict, she couldn''t help but let out a blossoming smile. Quickly thanking Grandma Che, she turns to tell Xiao Feng to get a little more rest while she gets some food for him to eat. Apparently, he hadn''t eaten since he was poisoned. Upon hearing that, he couldn''t help but notice how starving he was. Nodding to his mother, he swiftly returns to his bed so not to upset his mother.


    Not even fifteen minutes later, his mother returned followed by a petite little maid carrying a plate full of food. Seeing the assortment of colors and the delightful aroma coming from the platter of food, Xiao Feng takes a big gulp of saliva. Once the food reaches his bedside, he quickly thanks the young maid, despite her superb looks, Xiao Feng instantly picks up his untensils to dig in. Seeing that, his mother quickly gave him a little smack on the head. Stunned, he looks up at his mother. Upon seeing his confused look, his mother tilts her head and points to the maid. This only further confused him. ''I thanked her, didn''t I? He thought. Seeing his mother not backing down, he takes another look at the maid. Or what he thought was a maid. The smile he had on his face from seeing the food instantly froze. ''Ai, this can''t be my fault. My memories are still jumbled up. Even if I saw my own father, it would take a second, let alone someone who brought me food... aren''t I a young master? I thought it was a maid'' he thought to himself. Looking at the little lady who brought him food who is pouting her cherry red lips, Xiao Feng quickly scratches his head giving a "I''m innocent, I was very hungry" sort of look. "Pig." she said as she stormed off.


    Stunned, he can only watch as the little lady slams the his door shut. Sighing, he looks back over to see his mother shaking her head. "Your sister was extremely worried about you these past few days, she hasn''t even gone to the academy since you were bedridden. I can''t help you here, son. Go find her after you eat. I will leave some silver for you downstairs, take her out to town today once you feel ready to get out of bed."


    Seeing his mother about to leave, he bites his lip and musters up every ounce of courage, "Mother... could you talk to father for me...?"


    "Hmm? What for?" she asks.


    "I... I wan''t to try contracting a Gaia Crystal again... I feel like something changed. I don''t know what, but... I just feel something changed. So could you talk to father? He banned me from trying anymore afterall..." he said.


    Hearing this, his mother can''t help but frown a little. before she could speak, Xiao Feng quickly adds on; "this is the last time. I promise. I just feel like I can. Please." he said.


    "Sigh... I can talk to him. But, even if he allows it, no matter what you can''t be too upset if the outcome is the same, alright? It''s extremely rare for someone to be unable to contract a Gaia Crystal right away and be able to at a later date, you know this. I will do my best, now eat up and go out with your sister." she said before she leaves the room shaking her head.


    As his door shuts, and he''s left alone with his food, Xiao Feng once more clenches his fist as he narrows his eyes. "This will be my new beginning in this world. Xiao Family, Scarlet Beast Kingdom, Blazing Phoenix continent, everywhere in this world, you will know the name Xiao Feng." he says in a mumble.

 Cheerful Xiao Feng

    After finishing up his meal, Xiao Feng got up and head over to his closet. On opening up the closet, he couldn''t help but to start sweating a little. The amount of clothes, along with the quality, is something that was slightly startling. He couldn''t help but feel another headache coming on with the amount of clothes he now owns. ''Just close your eyes, and pick a shirt and pants'' he thought to himself. Sifting through his memories, one thing he notices is that almost everything in here is never worn. Finally, he decides on something that it seems he wore often. It resembled a karate gi from earth, yet fancy at the same time. Snow white with gold outlines, along with a golden black dragon embroidered on the right side of his chest. Followed by a simple yet elegant white gold belt.


    Checking himself in the mirror, he really couldn''t stop himself from giving a nice thumbs up to the guy in the mirror. Once he was done with his self absorption, he picked up his empty platter of food and started his way down to the kitchen.


    Standing before the door to the kitchen, before he steps up to open it the door swung open and nearly smacked him directly in the face. Stepping back out of reflex to avoid the person leaving from running into him, he sat back and waited. After a few seconds, a girl with short black hair down to her shoulders that looked to be about sixteen years old came out carrying two platters of food. Before she could notice him, he made sure to look directly at her to make sure he didn''t know her personally by chance.


    After a moment of thought, he did indeed remember that she was a maid of this manor, and her name was Xiao Que. She is a member of a branch family of the Xiao Family. All branch families of the big families, such as the Xiao Family, were once started by the founding fathers. With how long ago the Xiao Family was created, the bloodlines were so diluted that they could hardly be called relatives. However, they still kept the Xiao Family name, therefore the branch families were still sheltered by the name of the main family that Xiao Feng is apart of. Sometimes, talented members of branch families would even marry into the main family. Something which wasn''t frowned upon here, especially since the bloodlines are so diluted by the passing of the ages.


    "Good morning, Xiao Que." he said with a bright smile to the young lady. Hearing her name called, she swiftly looked over to see Xiao Feng standing before the kitchen door with his empty platter. "Ah!" she called out with slight alarm upon seeing this.


    "Young.. Young Master... good mo... morning. I''m so sorry! I didn''t know you ate yet... I would of gotten that for you if I knew! I''m sorry!" she stuttered out. Flustered, she quickly found a place to put down the food she was carrying to take the empty platter from Xiao Feng. Seeing this, he was extremely confused. Was he some scary person? He thought. After thinking for a moment, he seemed to notice the issue. "Xiao Que, it is no trouble. Mother and Sister brought me some food to celebrate my recovery. I was coming down to head out, therefore I decided to bring down the dish myself. No need to worry. Who are you bringing lunch too?"


    "Uh... I uh... the madam! Ms. Xiao Yu and the little miss. Please, let me take that from you. You don''t have to do these things, Young... Young Master." She said with a slight blush on her cheeks. After all, Xiao Feng was still the second son of the main family''s head. Even if he is trash that couldn''t contract a Gaia Crystal, he is still quite the handsome young man. Along with that, she is just a maid, and he has quite the status despite the ridicule. Hearing him call her by name twice made her quite flushed. Noticing this, Xiao Feng couldn''t help but laugh a little. He couldn''t help but poke a little fun at her. "It''s alright, just tell me where to put it, I was just about to head to see my sister anyway. Allow me to help with one of those, alright?" he said with a slight chuckle.


    "I..."


    "It''s just a dirty dish, no harm done!" he said while interuppting her. Before she could try and argue again, with quick movements he confiscated one of the full platters from the little lady and made his way into the kitchen leaving behind a completely stunned Xiao Que.


    "Already done little Que?" Said the head chef as he turned around from the stove. When his eyes made contact with Xiao Feng''s, he couldn''t help but sound out; "Eh?"


    "G''mornin, just brought this down here." he said while whistling as he put the dirty platter into a sink while carrying the other platter full of food.


    "Uh... g''mornin Young Master. I heard you were feeling better. Good to see you up and attem." said the chef with slight confusion.


    "Good to be up it is! Lunch was great, thank you!" Xiao Feng said as he exited the kitchen and closed the door.


    "What the..." mumbled the chef.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ...


    "Let''s meet up with sister and mother!" said Xiao Feng to the still stunned little maid.


    "...En." she nodded with some slight struggle.


    ...


    Entering the dining room where he could hear his mother and his sister chatting, followed by the little maid, Xiao Feng is all smiles. Hearing the door open, the two look over at the door. Seeing Xiao Feng carrying a tray of food into the room, his mother and sister look at eachother and both blink twice. Seeing this, Xiao Feng laughed to himself a little. It seems he should maybe learn how to act more like a young master. Just carrying in a plate of food for his family is considered weird apparently. All smiles, he makes his way over to his mother to place down the food. However, he gets his foot caught onto the side of the table as his smile froze on his face. ''Oi oi oi... isn''t this a tad deja vu? What''s with my tripping?'' he thought.


    Seeing Xiao Feng trip, his mother elegantly swings her hand, as little panda manifests itself infront of his fall. Seeing this, his eyes open wide with glee. ''Saved.'' He thought. But, that thought was short lived as he saw the little panda catch the falling tray of food, and place it up onto the table. With a crash, Xiao Feng fell face first into the ground.


    "..."


    "..."


    After a few seconds of silence, laughter completely to fill up the room. Looking up and seeing his mother and sister laughing at his pain, he feels heartbroken. Turning around, when he sees the cute black haired maid covering her mouth with her free hand, he thought she was worried for him which mended his broken heart. But, on closer inspection, seeing the laughter in her eyes, his broken heart completely shattered as he slumped to the ground and groaned. "Brother, this is well deserved. Earlier, you were so hungry you didn''t even bother to notice me. Now, you ate the ground. Pig."


    Hearing the scorn of this sister who he only just recently knew, he could barely hold in his tears. "Ahem." He said while getting to his feet. "Lulu, calling me a pig will get you nothing from me. I was starving, and just recently got out of a crisis. With my memory slightly hazy, so I didn''t immediately notice you."


    "Hmph. I won''t fall for that. Pig." responded Xiao Lulu.


    "...How can I get you to forgive me?" said Xiao Feng while sweating. In his memories, this sister of his usually took advantage of the original Xiao Feng.


    "Well... you know, pig brother, next month is my sixteenth birthday... and I have to study for the next month before I head to try and contract a Gaia Crystal... You''ve been sleeping for the past few days... I only have this afternoon free. You have to take me to out this afternoon!" she said while pouting. Seeing this cute little sister of his, Xiao Feng once more cursed the guy who drank the poison. Why wouldn''t he cherish such a wonderful family. He told himself that he would cherish them for him, he could even be called half that guy anyway with all his memories in his head. Thinking back to what his sister just said, and thinking about the Gaia Crystal, he couldn''t help but look over to his mother. Noticing her furrowed brows and worried expression, he could easily tell what she was thinking.


    "Mother, I stand by what I said earlier. The last time. No matter the outcome, I will accept it. I promise." he said.


    "Huh?" said Lulu.


    "Xiao Que, you may take your leave. Thank you for the food." said Xiao Yu to the little maid. Seeing the solemn look of the madam, the little maid quickly gave a courtsey and left the dining room while shutting the door. After about a minute of silence, the first one to speak was Lulu. "Brother... you... are you planning on trying again...?"


    Hearing the worry in her voice, Xiao Feng let loose a smile. Looking back to his mother who seemed to be in deep thought, Xiao Feng couldn''t help but be a little confused. It''s just a test isn''t it? Haven''t I failed before? He thought. Looking back at his sister, he gave her a slight nod.


    "Brother..."


    "I have to try once more. I will never be content if I don''t." he said with a firm tone. He once more looked back at his mother. Then, he shifted his gaze to the panda that was below her chair snoring. Seeing this little panda, he could barely hold in his excitement. After all, if he could get a Gaia Crystal, what beast would Gaia give as his first beast? However, he had to avoid showing that excitement on his face to avoid his mother worrying for him anymore.


    With a sigh, his mother looked him dead in the eyes. Seeing her worried and serious expression, Xiao Feng makes his way over and gives her a big hug. "I said it before, this is the last time, Mother. No matter the outcome, I will be content. Please ask permission from father. Afterall, he made sure they banned me from Gaia''s chappel..."


    "...Alright. I will visit your father this afternoon. I will head over to the main house and talk to him. You will get your answer tomorrow. He will most likely accept, but he will most likely have conditions of his own. He can''t just take your words at face value anymore. Your father loves you. You know that. You might not think it, but it hurts him every time you try." said Xiao Yu.


    "Thank you." said Xiao Feng. Looking back to his sister, seeing her being so worried, he quickly ran over and rubbed her head. "And you, we are going out. Finish up your lunch, mother gave us some silver. Let''s go have a good celebration. If I fail to get a Gaia Crystal, you gotta protect me and your mother, alright?" he teased.


    "Hmph. Who wants to protect you, pig brother." grumbled Lulu. But, she was secretly very pleased. She hasn''t seen her brother smile and tease like this since he failed his contract the first time. As long as he stays like this, even if she fails herself, she wouldn''t be all that upset.


    Being called a pig again, Xiao Feng was slightly grumpy, but he could tell she was secretly enjoying his teasing. With a smile, he told her to meet him out front when she finishes her lunch. With a skip in his step, he makes his way to the front of his manor. Grabbing the pouch of silver his mother put out earlier, he sits down in a chair in the manor''s entryway and awaits his sister to head out for the afternoon.

 Encounter

    "Brother, where are we going?" asked Lulu.


    "That''s a good question..." responded Xiao Feng. Lulu couldn''t help but pout after getting such a response. Seeing her puff out her cheeks Feng couldn''t help but go over and pinch them slightly startling her. Afterwards, she giggled and gave a bright smile towards Feng and took his hand, running straight out of the manor hand and hand. "This can''t be appropriate..." he mumbled.


    ...


    After walking out of the manor, Xiao Feng was completely dumbstruck at the bustling streets. All sorts of people and beasts nearly fill up the whole area, all kinds of stalls set up on the side with people bartling and yelling, laughing and screaming. He was only dazed for a moment, however, before Lulu broke him out of it, "brother! Do you still not know what to do? You said we are celebrating!"


    "Uh..." before he could think of something, he heard loud shouts from around the corner. Curious, he grabbed his sister and pushed through the crowd of people. After making his way around the corner, he noticed a bunch of people crowding around in a circle cheering loudly. Getting closer, he could make out a few figures that were in the center. There was a man, who looked to be around his age of 17, surrounded by six other people that all looked to be about sixteen to twenty years old. When his eyes landed on the man leading those six people, Feng immediately frowned. This man was someone he had quite the impression of, as he was the one who gave him that poison and pushed his past self over the edge, Xiao Kao. Xiao Kao was a little shorter than Xiao Feng, at around 1.7 meters, along with blonde hair and dark blue eyes, somewhat resembling Xiao Feng. He had slightly longer arms, which made his slightly shorter legs and his arms contrast into something that didn''t look quite right.


    Looking over at the man who Xiao Kao''s goons were surrounding, Feng''s frown only got bigger. The man was covered in blood, with a silver monkey infront of him that was also beaten black and blue, with one of its arms dropping down to its side. When Lulu noticed the man and the monkey all bloodied, she let out a frightened shriek, and when her eyes fell on Xiao Kao''s arrogant expression, she immediatley escaped from Feng''s grasp and pushed through the crowd into the circle, and yelled at the top of her lungs; "XIAO KAO!"


    "Hm? Ah, is that you Lulu?" when Xiao Kao saw Lulu, he quickly went and scolded the other five people surrounding the bloodied Silverback Ape and the young man, "what are you idiots doing!? Quickly, get out your first aid pills, ah, no, bring out a 100 year blood ginseng! Quickly, give it to this man immediately!"


    "Huh? But, boss you sai-"


    "What are you talking about? Give him the blood ginseng! Also, give him a few copper for his troubles. Everyone, disperse! Nothing to see here." After shoving a blood ginseng into the hand of one of the other five men, Xiao Kao turned around to Lulu with a bright smile on his face. Seeing this, Xiao Feng couldn''t help but sneer in contempt at this shameless bastard. Seeing the huffing and puffing Lulu, he made his way into the circle through the slowly dispersing crowd. When Xiao Kao saw Feng, his eyes opened wide in shock, but quickly went back to his amicable appearance and made his way over to Lulu. "Lulu! I didn''t know you were in town, here, come with me, I heard uncle talking about you turning 16 next month! Come with me, let''s head over to the Sacred Pill Hall, let brother Kao buy you a gift in advance to celebrate you becoming a Contractor!"


    "Hmph, she doesn''t need you to buy her anything. We were heading over there ourselves, and you aren''t wanted." said Feng in disgust. Tapping Lulu on the shoulder, he started walking towards the young man and his Silverback Ape."You-"


    Before Xiao Kao could continue talking, Feng had already walked directly past Xiao Kao without giving him another glance. With a huff, Lulu followed along, only sparing Xiao Kao a look of utter disgust. After getting that look, Xiao Kao''s eyes went cold. He looked over at Feng with contempt, then quickly nodded to the two young men beside him. Seeing this nod from their boss, the two lackeys had a cold smirk plastered on there face as they slowly walked towards Xiao Feng. Unknown to them, this was all caught in the attention of Feng. With a light smile, he made his way over to the bloodied young man acting no different. Snatching the 100 year blood ginseng from one of Xiao Kao''s goons, Feng snapped it in half and tossed both pieces towards the young man and his Silverback Ape. Making eye contact with the young man, Feng signaled for him to take it and go.


    Seeing the the young man take away the blood ginseng and make his way out, Xiao Kao clenched his teeth in anger. Following which, was replaced with a smile as he watched his two little lackeys block Feng''s path.


    Looking at these two people blocking his path, Feng gave his most innocent smile and crossed his arms behind his back. "May I ask what you two require?"


    "Hehe, well you see, us two brothers heard you say that you were heading to the Sacred Pill Hall, you see, you owe us money! Remember?" said the young man on the left. Hearing what he said, Feng was stunned for a moment. ''What kind of nonsense is this? At least come up with something better. My as well just ask for my money, sheesh. Sound like an idiot, even I feel bad for you.''


    Keeping his innocent expression, "You see brothers... I don''t have much money today. I won''t be able to pay you, how about next week?"


    "Hmph. You said you are buying a gift for Lulu? Master Kao will do that for you. Hand all you have, or else we will-"


    "What a joke." Feng''s smile immediately disappeared, as he rushed towards the two. Seeing Feng rush towards them, the two brothers were shocked. Before they could react, Feng had already planted his foot to the left of the one speaking, as his right leg shot forward like a whip towards his abdomen. With the sound of bones breaking, the unfortunate goon was shot backwards, his fate unknown as Feng''s eyes shifted towards the second. Looking into the indifferent eyes of Xiao Feng, the other young man shuddered as he held up his palm and jumped backwards to get away from him. Space started to distort above the young man''s palm, as a crystal began to take shape. Seeing this, Feng snorted and shot towards him like a bullet. Shoulder cocked, he threw his fist directly towards the fear stricken young man. Face meeting fist, the young goon flew backwards to the ground with a shriek and a shattered nose. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Watching all this, Xiao Kao''s face was distorted into something ugly. Lulu was deadpan, still processing what happened, and the other three goons were rushing over to the two downed members of their group.


    Shooting Xiao Kao a look of contempt, Feng walked over to Lulu and dragged her off into the crowd.


    "FENG TRASH! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU''RE GOING?!" Screamed Kao.


    "Save it, cousin. By the way, that drink you gave me the other day, it tasted great." responded Feng, as he made his way through the crowd, laughing.


    Hearing such a response, Kao''s face distorted to become even uglier. Lifting up his palm, a purple crystal started to form as Kao chanted a few phrases under his breath. After about two breaths of time, a dark red eagle came into being hovering infront of Xiao Kao. The eagle had a wingspan of two meters, with a pointed beak, razor sharp talons, and crimson feathers covering its whole body.


    "Bloodfire Eagle!" screamed someone in the crowd. No one knew who said it, but everyone in the crowd shifted their attention towards the eagle that just manifested next to Kao. Seeing the huge crimson eagle, the people surrounding Feng quickly dispersed. When Feng himself saw the eagle, his pupils contracted into needles. "Shit! You crazy bastard Kao!"


    "Hahaha! Where''s your beast, Feng?! Oh right! You''re just a wastrel! It seems you actually can fight back, my, that brought me quite the surprise! But, that only justifies this! Cripple his arms and legs, go!" screamed Kao through manaical laughter. Hearing its master''s command, the eagle darted directly towards Lulu and Feng. Seeing this massive crimson eagle shooting towards them, Feng quickly shoved Lulu to the side as he shot away from her. Kao only laughed harder in response as he controlled the eagle to directly shoot towards Feng.


    "Damnit!" screamed Feng in a panic, without looking back he ran straight towards a nearby stall, seeing the stall owner vacate immediately in fear, Feng cursed in his heart as he dove straight over the stall and huddled behind as the Bloodfire Eagle slammed into the stall. wooden figurines and dolls flying all over the place, the eagle shrieked as its talon shot towards Feng''s back. Before it landed, the eagle''s talons started to become smouldering hot, and without any resistance they slashed straight across his back, tearing apart his clothes and leaving three long bloody gashes as the blood directly evaporated from the heat, barely missing his spine and nearly paralyzing Feng. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he was screaming in his heart as his back was on fire.


    As the Bloodfire Eagle flew up and was on its way back down and started to screech, its screech was cut off midway as a black shadow flashed across the sky, disappearing along with the Bloodfire Eagle.


    Witnessing this, tear stricken Lulu, maniacal Kao, and all the surrounding witnesses went silent. A tyrannical aura surged through the surroundings as everyone felt as if a boulder had been placed onto their backs, forcing everyone but a few stronger bystanders, including Lulu, to their knees. Cold sweat dripped down Kao''s forehead, as he struggled to look towards where his eagle disappeared in fear. Standing directly infront of him, was a man standing at around 2.2 meters, with a dark, scruffy beard, shaven head, and bloodshot brown eyes. Beside the man, a pitch black panther that stood up to the man''s shoulders, and pinned under its blade like claws was the Bloodwing Eagle, heaving in agony.


    When the crowd saw this man, everyone let out a resounding gulp as they kept their heads down, not daring to meet his gaze. That was everyone, except Lulu. Who upon seeing this man, was immediately joyous, but quickly whipped out a few herbs from her pouch as she directly ran towards the bloodied Feng.


    Kao was completely filled with terror while looking at this man. "Uncle I-"


    Smack


    With a resounding slap from the man, Kao went flying backwards nearly ten meters as he was smashed into a wall, turning it into rubble. The Bloodwing Eagle turned into a streaking light as it returned to Kao''s Gaia Crystal as he instantly lost consciousness.


    With a low grunt, the man signaled to the panther to pick up the now unconscious Kao. Following which, the bear like man turned towards the crowd, and in a voice that resounded directly into everyone''s ears, said; "Regarding this incident, I, Xiao Rongleng, apologize on behalf of these two hooligan youngsters. Any and all damages will be paid by the Xiao Family, disperse."


    With a simple sentence, any and all bystanders had no refutes, and immediately dispersed. Looking over at Feng, the man, Rongleng, threw over a medicinal paste which was caught by Lulu, who immediately applied it.


    "Lulu, take Feng over to the main house. The patriarch wishes to speak with him."


    Xiao Rongleng, without sparing another glance at Kao who was now being dragged by the panther, made his way towards the main house of the Xiao Family himself.


    ...


    After about thirty minutes of being treated by Lulu, Feng was able to walk again with the aid of Xiao Rongleng''s medical ointment. Hearing the name Xiao Rongleng, Xiao Feng barely had to look into his memories before he became cold from head to toe. The man known as ''Xiao Rongleng'' is one of the 14 Great Generals of the Scarlet Beast Kingdom, as well as Xiao Feng''s uncle. He is known to be ruthless to his enemies, and more ruthless to his kin. When he isn''t working as one of the Great Generals of the kingdom, he is often one of the Xiao Family''s martial arts trainers. Xiao Feng himself, having not been able to contract a Gaia Crystal, took martial arts extremely seriously, as seen by how those two goons of Kao were dispatched instantly dispite having contracted Gaia Crystals. Xiao Rongleng is by far the most ruthless when he teaches, and the scars from the training are deeply imbedded into the memories of Xiao Feng.


    ...


    Getting the order to return to the main house from Xiao Rongleng, Xiao Feng was slightly worried. His mother left the manor at the same time he did, so she should have been able to make it to the main house of the Xiao Family to see Feng''s father already. And with his uncle Rongleng''s speed when riding his panther, the time checks out as well. Being summoned back immediately, Xiao Feng was slightly worried. Especially when Xiao Rongleng was sent.


    Regarding these thoughts, Xiao Feng just shook his head and put them aside. Giving a smile to Lulu to assure her he was alright, they made their way to the main house of the Xiao Family to meet with Xiao Feng and Lulu''s father, the Xiao Family Patriarch.