Little Leopard Cat, who seemed to have seen that Zhou Kai was still confused, explained helplessly, "To put it simply, after the death of everything, the soul will be drawn by the underworld and can usually stay for seven days. After seven days, you must leave, or you will lose the opportunity to be reincarnated. Most souls become lonely spirits if they don't meet with any mishap, and their souls slowly disperse. A small portion of them has the chance to come into contact with the Yin Qi and negative energy and hence become a vengeful ghost, an evil ghost, or a fierce ghost."
"So there aren't any good ones?" Zhou Kai asked seriously after muttering to himself.
Even though he had almost fallen for it this time and become the accomplice of an evil spirit, these were experiences and general knowledge related to the cultivation realm. Rather than being annoyed and furious, understanding the inside story and learning what he didn't know was more important.
Little Leopard Cat said, "There are naturally good ones, but those who can maintain their humanity and kindness are called spirits and are rarely seen. If you have the chance to encounter one later, you will understand the difference between ghosts and spirits almost at first glance."
Zhou Kai nodded. "I got it. Well, what about that woman? What was she?"
Zhou Kai looked in the direction the tall woman had left, but she was no longer visible. The image of her eating the spirit earlier was still lingering in his mind, making him shudder in fear.
Little Leopard Cat said, "An evil anomaly."
"The same as the Fox Spirit Lady?" Zhou Kai was somewhat surprised.
Little Leopard Cat nodded. "Yes, but there is a big difference between evil anomalies. Some are very scary, while others can only be mischievous. This one was a scary, evil anomaly, but the scariest thing on it was the braid on its back. I could feel that there were countless wails of wronged souls on it." As she said that, Little Leopard Cat had a fearful expression on her face.
Zhou Kai looked at Little Leopard Cat doubtfully and said, "I seem to have seen that it was a little afraid of you."
Little Leopard Cat quickly answered, "It wasn't afraid of me, but it feared the necklace I am wearing. This is a protection Dharma treasure my mother gave me. If it's broken, it can summon the divided spirit of a leopard cat ancestor that can crush an evil anomaly at any moment."
Zhou Kai's mouth twitched.
F*ck. She had said that the evil anomaly was really terrifying, yet she was now saying that it could easily be crushed.
He he… Aren't you praising yourself by beating around the bush?
"Alright, although I had an accident this time, I've given you a lesson and shared with you a part of the general knowledge of cultivation. I'm starving now. I want to eat meat," Little Leopard Cat said.
Zhou Kai counted the money in his pocket, feeling some pain.
There were still five days left until his next living expenses. Based on the way he spent money, he couldn't last until then.
This won't do. I need to think of a way to earn money.
As he thought about it, Zhou Kai didn't turn down Little Leopard Cat's request.
This time, he had indeed gained knowledge, so treating her to meat was a necessity. However, he could change the way he did it.
Zhou Kai bought two large skewers of grilled meat.
Well, one skewer cost three dollars, and two skewers cost five. This meal was cheap, it contained a lot of meat, and it was fragrant, thus making one drool over it.
Then, under Little Leopard Cat's grudging gaze, each of them had one.
While biting a piece of tough grilled meat, Zhou Kai asked, "That evil anomaly mentioned a soul contract. What did that mean?"
Upon hearing that, Little Leopard Cat hesitated for a while before saying, "A soul contract is a kind of contract that is like a marriage between us and humans. After one goes through a soul contract, one can only follow that particular human."
Zhou Kai was stunned. "A contract? Is it the kind that makes one live and die with a human?"
Little Leopard Cat rolled her eyes at Zhou Kai. "Dream on. A soul contract is signed for the sake of becoming stronger and doesn't include many restrictions. For example, as long as humans have sufficient luck and strength, they can have a soul contract with many kinds of demon spirits. After the human dies, the demon spirit of the soul contract can choose once again and will not be foolish enough to die along with the human."
Zhou Kai said, "How is this soul contract beneficial to you?"
Little Leopard Cat explained, "Our cultivation speed is very slow, and humans are the world's protagonists. Only by depending on humans can we get stronger alongside them. However, not everyone is suitable to sign a soul contract. Some people are born with this ability, while others are ignorant. Therefore, the choice is very important. If the person we sign a soul contract with is very poor, that means our future will be bleak."
Zhou Kai suddenly understood and asked, "Can you tell me what you are?"
After a few experiences, as well as that weird identification card, Zhou Kai didn't think that Little Leopard Cat was truly human.
Little Leopard Cat stopped eating the meat and looked at Zhou Kai before sizing him up. After some time, she replied, "Are you willing to sign a soul contract with me?"
Zhou Kai was left speechless.
Little Leopard Cat quickly added, "My mother said that I can sign a soul contract with a fated person. After I descended from the mountain, I met you. I think you're not bad. There would be no problem if I signed a soul contract with you."
Zhou Kai said doubtfully, "Are you sure you're not doing it for the food?"
Little Leopard Cat was speechless.
"I'm not doing it anymore." She puffed up her cheeks in annoyance and rolled her eyes at Zhou Kai before she turned to leave.
When an ordinary person was presented with a soul contract, it was a really good thing. Besides, they could get magical abilities.
You mentioned it first, but you are actually suspecting me. That's really too much.
"Don't get angry. I was just saying this casually. Ha ha… A soul contract is pretty meaningful. Let's continue to chat." Zhou Kai chased after her brazenly and pacified Little Leopard Cat with a smile.
They talked as they walked and Zhou Kai slowly fished out a lot of information from Little Leopard Cat.
A soul contract was indeed a very special thing. However, it wasn't that good for humans.
The soul contract targeted the human. Humans could have a contract with many things as masters, including demon spirits, evil anomalies, demons, and souls. As long as they were non-human beings without a real body, almost all of them could sign a soul contract with a human.
Speaking of that, after the soul contract, humans could use the power of the contract to become stronger.
However, after the contract, it was akin to sharing part of one's cultivation resources with the other party. These resources included life, potential, and luck. In other words, when a person with a chance of becoming a big boss signed a contract with a demon spirit, their chances of becoming a big boss would decrease by half. There would basically be nothing left after signing a contract with two of them. The more contracts one signed, the shorter one's lifespan would be.
Of course, there were disadvantages for humans, and the same applied to the other party.
If a demon spirit signed a contract with a person without potential, it would instead put its own potential and future at stake. If the demon spirit was powerful and had a contract with an ordinary person with no potential, then the demon spirit would be considered ruined. Even if the human who signed the contract died, it would be implicated and most of its way to advancement would be blocked. If it signed a few more contracts, the demon spirit could choose to give up and cultivate again.
Thus, although a soul contract had a very low threshold, anyone who wanted to sign a soul contract would choose carefully and think twice about it. Otherwise, they would end up in a crematorium after the contract, despite being happy when they went through it.
Little Leopard Cat then told Zhou Kai that the tall woman was a contract between a human and an evil spirit. Humans were living things, while that braid had been an evil anomaly.