"I'm no Little Huang or Little White. I'm not your regular household cat and dog! My name is Huangdu!"
The little hamster sighed deeply. "The disciples these days are getting worse with each generation. Forget it, it's not like you'll understand. Let me go now and I'll let this slide."
"Let it slide eh?" Chu Chen nodded. Before the hamster could have said anything, he pulled it out from the vines and held it by its round body. "Little Huang, you've stolen quite some spiritual herbs from me. How will you settle this?"
"How is that considered stealing!?" Hearing that, the little hamster got angry. "I rule over all lands and realms. How would I resort to such a lowly act?! I'm just eating it openly! Kid, do you know that I was framed by a rival back then? When I woke up, I was surrounded by a bunch of random people that placed thousands of restrictive spells on me and turned me into this stupid form! As long as I have enough spiritual herbs to break my restrictions, I will take you in as my true disciple and let you inherit all the secret techniques that I learned over the billions of years. What do you think?"
Chu Chen's mouth twitched.
"Secret techniques? You know a lot of them right? Then give me one example."
"I've been suppressed by thousands of restrictive spells. Those memories about the cultivation techniques were naturally sealed away. How can I tell you about them? As long as you let me go and let me eat all the spiritual herbs in this field, those secret techniques will be yours when my restrictions are lifted and memories restored! Come on, my good disciple, what are you waiting for? Kowtow and greet your master."
Chu Chen's brows twitched, struggling to have suppressed his urge to squeeze the little hamster to death. He took out a little box and placed it in front of the hamster.
"What's this?" The hamster curiously moved closer to the box and took a whiff. Its fat face no longer shook around. "Blood pact elixir! Don't feed me that thing! How can I, a ruler of the universe, be subdued by a human and be their pet! Take this away immediately!"
The hamster had been shouting as it waved its little paws wildly. Unfortunately, its paws had been too short, unable to have escaped from Chu Chen's grasp even after all that flailing.
"You actually know that this is the blood pact elixir. That's quite knowledgeable of you." Chu Chen eyed the hamster curiously, whose stomach coincidentally growled. "Look here. I'll give you two options. You can eat this blood pact elixir and be my pet. I'm sure Junior Sister Tong would love a talking hamster. Otherwise, if you refuse to take the elixir, I'll eat you. I've not had meat for quite some time—"
"Don't be like that!" Hearing that, the little hamster was scared witless. "I'm very fat. My body is oily and the texture is bad. I'm also a carrier of a plethora of diseases, sour and bitter. It's better that you just let me go—"
"Eat, or be eaten by me." Chu Chen steeled his expression and stared at the pitiful hamster. His gaze had been one of a hungry wolf.
"Little Hero…"
"Eat, or be eaten!" Seeing the little hamster making that ingratiating expression again, Chu Chen decided to ramp up the act. He grabbed the hamster and brought it closer to his mouth. "I'm so hungry. That's it, I'll take a taste—"
"I'll eat it! I'll eat it okay?"
Seeing Chu Chen's wide opened mouth, the hamster could not have helped but let out a sigh, seemingly having resigned itself to its fate. It did not expect to run into a human with the blood pact elixir.
Chu Chen immediately made a prick on his finger and squeezed a drop of blood onto the elixir. The scarlet elixir had been like a sponge, having absorbed all the blood in just an instant. On its surface, a vague golden pattern started appearing.
"There." Chu Chen placed the elixir before the hamster. The hamster looked uninterested. Seeing the scarlet blood pact elixir, its paws subconsciously held onto the elixir. Its beady eyes had actually teared up.
"My child...I'll be gone. From today, the supreme king of beasts would be a slave for a human...don't feel sad for me. With my wisdom and intelligence, I won't let myself be harmed by this small matter. One day, I shall—"
Seeing the hamster having rambled on while having held onto the elixir, Chu Chen grew impatient. When its mouth was open, Chu Chen took the opportunity to shove the elixir into its mouth.
"Cough cough cough...are you trying to f*cking choke me to death!?" The hamster that had prepared to make a long winded speech had been choked by the sudden squeeze.
However, the elixir melted the moment it entered its mouth and did not cause it to suffer much. Very soon, a layer of reddish glow shimmered between the little hamster's white fur and a series of light golden colored patterns appeared on its body.
"Sob sob sob...I've finally fallen to such a state…"
Seeing the blood pact elixir's power spreading throughout its body, the little hamster broke into tears. "Back then, I ruled over heaven and earth…" All the while, the little hamster dropped to the floor and tried to run away.
"Where are you going?" Chu Chen looked at the little hamster, asking curiously.
"What else can I do? What do you want me to do? I've already eaten the blood pact elixir. What else do you want?" The little hamster looked at Chu Chen. Its expression had clearly been dispirited, as though a wife that had been bullied. "If you don't nurture me properly with elixirs in the future, I'll never let you go even in death! I need to settle some matters now and will come back for you after that!" Saying that, it disappeared into the darkness angrily.
'This hamster has quite the personality.'
Chu Chen helplessly rubbed his nose. Ever since the little hamster ate the blood pact elixir, an extra awareness suddenly appeared in his mind. He vaguely felt the little hamster's location and controlled its current state. It felt as though he could have easily caused its soul to dissipate with just a thought.
'Alright, I think my junior sister will love this interesting hamster.'
However, Chu Chen had been more concerned about the little hamster's secret. It was obviously no ordinary hamster. Maybe it could have brought him more surprises in the future.
Chu Chen took a stretch. After the whole night's ordeal, he felt really hungry. Just as he was about to find something to eat, he felt a weird sensation in his soul.
It had been the mysterious eaglet clone of his!
It turned out that the hunger had been from the eaglet instead. He had been busy with the herb garden for the past few days and paid no attention to the eaglet. The eaglet had been the key for him to explore the Black Fog Valley!
Putting all else aside, having entered the Black Fog Valley to obtain the sect founder's Ring of Green Fortune Emperor was his first goal. He needed to have this eaglet grow quickly in order to have continued exploring the Black Fog Valley.