Li Dahai asked, "Do you know how those spirit birds and spirit beasts in the Spirit Birds and Beasts Hall are controlled?"
He Xiaoyao said, "I have no idea. Weren't they domesticated by them?"
Li Dahai said, "Domesticated, yes, but relying solely on domestication isn't enough to keep them in check. What if a spirit beast or bird wanders a thousand miles away or leaves the boundaries of the Immortal Sect? If they no longer obey domestication and commands, that would be disastrous."
He Xiaoyao said, "Then what can be done? Surely they don't make them swallow poison and keep the antidote to themselves, do they?"
Li Dahai frowned slightly and said, "Doctors are truly dangerous."
He Xiaoyao said, "You surely can't sign a written agreement with them."
Li Dahai slapped his thigh and said, "That's right, signing a written agreement is precisely what they do! But here in our Immortal Mountain, it's called an Immortal Pact. Once any cultivator or spirit bird or beast signs it, there's no going back."
He Xiaoyao said, "There's such a magical thing? What happens if someone breaks it?"
Li Dahai said, "If someone breaks it, their soul will scatter, they will be utterly destroyed, vanish into thin air, and disappear from this world."
He Xiaoyao said, "That is too terrifying."
Li Dahai said, "Precisely because it's terrifying, people don't sign pacts lightly. Once signed, there's simply no turning back. Those spirit birds and spirit beasts in the Spirit Birds and Beasts Hall have all signed pacts with the Immortal Sect. Some are long-term, some are indefinite, and some are medium-to-short-term."
He Xiaoyao asked, "Then why would they sign a pact and willingly serve the Immortal Sect?"
Li Dahai said, "There are benefits to signing a pact to serve the Immortal Sect. First of all, spirit beasts and birds need to eat and cultivate, so they require resources. The Immortal Sect can provide them with a place where the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is much denser inside the Immortal Sect; they need to live within the Immortal Sect."
He Xiaoyao said, "Oh, I see. Truly marvelous."
Li Dahai said, "A buddy of mine who works in the Spirit Birds and Beasts Hall told me this. He even promised to get me a pact."
He Xiaoyao said, "Wow, you have connections like that? Can you get one more for me?"
He Xiaoyao was extremely curious and loved researching and analyzing things, especially new and interesting ones.
As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.
Li Dahai said, "Two pacts are too difficult. Just getting one takes a lot of effort, and I won't get it right away; he won't hand it over until three days from now. Don't go getting any ideas about my pact."
He Xiaoyao's thoughts raced as he said, "Brother Dahai, how about this? I'll teach you a method to clear your sixth meridian, which might even elevate you to the Four-Star Stage. How's that? Isn't this condition extremely generous and tempting? In exchange, you give me that pact."
Li Dahai was utterly shocked. "What? You aren't tricking me, are you! You know so much about Cultivation Formula, yet you still seem to have hardly any cultivation yourself."
He Xiaoyao said, "The things I know are vast and miscellaneous, and they'll definitely come in handy in the future. But my foundation is currently too poor, I haven't reached the five meridians yet, and my True Qi is insufficient, so I can't use them just yet—or rather, I'll only be able to use them when the time is right. For now, I can only practice slowly. You're different. You've been practicing for three years and already have a fair amount of True Qi, so you can break through to the sixth meridian or advance to the Four-Star Stage."
Li Dahai said, "You aren't lying to me, are you?"
He Xiaoyao said, "Have I ever lied to you?"
Li Dahai said, "You may not have lied to me, but you tricked me into eating croton beans."
He Xiaoyao said, "You were the one who asked for a strong medicine! Croton beans are a potent medicine to begin with, and I had your consent. I didn't trick you."
Li Dahai pondered for a long time before saying, "I'll give it to you, but you must keep your promise."
He Xiaoyao said, "Fine, what I promise, I can definitely deliver—within these three months you're spending on losing weight."
Li Dahai said, "It's a deal."
He Xiaoyao said, "It's a deal."
Three days later, Li Dahai indeed brought a paper talisman and a small pink pig.
This paper talisman was actually a talisman, but rather large, with spell scripts drawn on it and blank spaces left at the bottom.
The small pink pig stared at He Xiaoyao with round, blinking eyes. Its long nose was quite cute, and it had been washed very clean.
He Xiaoyao asked, "Where on earth did you get a small pink pig?"
Li Dahai said, "I had to pull out all the stops just to borrow this small pink pig."
He Xiaoyao said, "Where did this come from? You didn't steal it from someone else, did you?"
Li Dahai said, "Don't slander me. I, Li Dahai, am an upright and honorable man. I borrowed this from the Spirit Birds and Beasts Hall, and we can only borrow it for seven days. It's for you to use with this pact."
He Xiaoyao said, "You even got this spirit beast ready for me, but what's so special about this little pig? Can it sign a pact? It's much too small."
Li Dahai said, "All the spirit birds and beasts there have already signed pacts. This small pink pig was only born two months ago and hasn't signed one yet, so it's just right for you to use."
He Xiaoyao said with gratification, "Ah, good."
Li Dahai pulled out the pact, then hesitated as if reluctant, pulling his hand back.
He Xiaoyao urged, "Hurry up and hand it over, I need to use it immediately."
Li Dahai said, "You really mustn't cheat me."
He Xiaoyao said, "I won't cheat you, hurry up."
Li Dahai said, "Once a pact is signed, it cannot be altered. You must willingly bear all the good and bad that comes with it, and you can't blame me when the time comes."
He Xiaoyao said, "I know, stop nagging, hand it over."
Li Dahai handed the pact to He Xiaoyao.
He Xiaoyao asked, "How do I use it specifically?"
Li Dahai said, "First of all, we only have seven days, so you should set the pact for seven days. During these seven days, you must supply delicious food to this little clumsy pig. This small pink pig will stay within a step of you and obey you obediently. Later, you and the small pink pig will each drop a drop of blood onto this pact, and then read out loud the conditions I just mentioned. Once the two drops of blood dry, the pact will take effect, and the validity period will be seven days."
He Xiaoyao found it immensely interesting and said, "Alright, alright, let's hurry up."
Li Dahai said, "You have to persuade the small pink pig first. You must use your eloquence and terms to convince it; it has to be entirely voluntary, no forcing allowed."
He Xiaoyao scratched his head and muttered, "Talking to a small pink pig—can it understand?"
Li Dahai said, "Both parents of this small pink pig are high-grade spirit beasts from the Spirit Birds and Beasts Hall. They possess spiritual intelligence and can understand."
Biting the bullet, He Xiaoyao squatted down, smiled at the small pink pig, and said, "Little pink pig, have you eaten yet? Would you like me to make some food for you? The food I cook is super delicious and fragrant. Sometimes I even grill wild hare and sika deer meat, it smells amazing."
The small pink pig was overjoyed, jumping, hopping, wagging its little tail, and nodding.
It felt just like a cheerful little puppy, and its appearance was utterly adorable.
He Xiaoyao said happily, "It really understands! This is fun."
He continued speaking to the small pink pig, "Little pink pig, if you stay within a step of me and listen to my words, I'll make tons of delicious food for you these seven days and take you to interesting places. Will you sign this pact with me?"
The small pink pig nodded almost without a second thought.
With that, Li Dahai said, "It's done, it nodded. We can begin."
He Xiaoyao took out a silver needle, pricked the middle finger of his left hand, and let a drop of blood fall onto the pact. Then he walked over to the small pink pig, pricked its front left hoof, and let a drop of pig blood drip onto the pact. Miraculously, the small pink pig didn't struggle or cry out in pain.
Li Dahai said, "Now you have to recite the terms of the pact. You cannot make any mistakes, not a single word can be missed, especially the time limit."
He Xiaoyao nodded and said, "I am willing to make a pact with the small pink pig for a duration of seven days. The small pink pig shall remain within a step of me and obediently listen to my commands, while I shall provide delicious meals and roasted meats to the small pink pig throughout these seven days. Should anyone violate this, their soul shall scatter and they shall be utterly destroyed. Thus is this pact established. Contracting parties: He Xiaoyao, small pink pig."
After hearing this, the small pink pig nodded.
The pact was successfully established!
Li Dahai said, "I have some matters to attend to and need to head out. I'll leave this small pink pig in your care—remember to return it to me after seven days!"
He Xiaoyao said, "Got it. Thank you."
Still immersed in the novelty and joy, He Xiaoyao spent his time playing with the small pink pig in Qilu Garden. He even cooked four dishes and a soup for it to eat. The last time he cooked for Li Dahai and Zhang Susu, it was only two dishes and a soup; the standard of their meals was worlds apart, a clear case of double standards. Truly, he still had the heart of a youth.
The small pink pig ate with great relish, nodding repeatedly, beaming with joy, and wagging its head and tail.
Early the next morning, He Xiaoyao went to clean up by the lake, and the small pink pig followed every step of the way without needing to be called.
He Xiaoyao thought to himself: The effect of this pact is truly extraordinary.
Trading a meridian-clearing upgrade method for a pact was entirely worth it.
He finished sweeping in an hour and a half.
Li Dahai didn't show up all day, and nobody knew where he had gone. He Xiaoyao didn't bother about him either; anyway, with the small pink pig keeping him company now, whether Li Dahai came or not didn't really matter.
When it was time to eat, He Xiaoyao headed to the cafeteria. That was when he felt a bit bewildered and rather awkward—this small pink pig insisted on following him. Usually, it was very obedient: whatever he told it to do, it did; wherever he told it to go, it went. But at this moment, He Xiaoyao discovered that he couldn't make the small pink pig stay away from him; it always had to remain within a zhang of his side.
With no other choice, He Xiaoyao had to bite the bullet and go to the cafeteria to get his meal.
And the small pink pig followed step for step, clinging to him like a shadow.
Everyone in the cafeteria stared at He Xiaoyao and the small pink pig as if they were looking at a pair of blood brothers.
He Xiaoyao felt extremely awkward, lowering his head to eat in silence.
Yu Dongxi smiled and asked, "Are you two biological brothers?"
He Xiaoyao said, "Get lost."
Aunt Deng said, "Definitely not biological brothers. They must have met later and become sworn brothers."
He Xiaoyao ignored Aunt Deng.
The Great Romantic chimed in, "Biological or sworn brothers, the bond is definitely deep! Following every step, inseparable."
He Xiaoyao found it hard to swallow. He hastily shoveled down a couple of mouthfuls of rice and hurried out to look for Li Dahai.
However, he searched the entire Public Academy and the nearby market, but there was no sign of Li Dahai anywhere.
Where on earth did this kid run off to?
In the afternoon, when he went to the vegetable garden to farm, the small pink pig naturally followed along again.
He Xiaoyao picked some fresh vegetables for the small pink pig to eat, and it munched away happily.
Aunt Deng said, "You'd better keep an eye on it and don't let it trample our cabbages."
He Xiaoyao said, "It's fine, it's very obedient and well-behaved." He turned to the small pink pig and said, "Little pink pig, don't root around in the vegetables, okay?"
The small pink pig nodded.
Aunt Deng smiled and said, "How amusing."
He Xiaoyao said, "Aunt Deng, you think it's amusing too? I think it really is quite fun. But going to the cafeteria is a bit inconvenient; so many people look at us with weird expressions. Whenever I tell it to do anything else, it listens to me, but when I tell it to leave me, it refuses."
Aunt Deng asked, "Then why does it listen to you? I never saw this small pink pig by your side before, how did it suddenly start listening to you?"
He Xiaoyao said, "Because I signed a seven-day Immortal Pact with it. For these seven days, it will obediently listen to me and follow me step by step."
Aunt Deng said, "Oh, so there's a pact involved! Then of course it's going to listen to you. Besides, since you specified in the pact that it must follow you every step of the way, trying to chase it away would violate the pact, which definitely won't work."
He Xiaoyao said, "So the problem lies right there! No wonder. Had I known, I wouldn't have said 'follow every step of the way,' wouldn't it have been enough to just say 'listen to my commands'? Ah, what a lapse in judgment."
The next day when he went to the cafeteria for lunch, many female disciples whispered among themselves and giggled, covering their mouths as they looked at He Xiaoyao. His scalp tingled with numbness, and he quickly lowered his head, his face flushing red like someone drunk on wine.
After hastily swallowing a few bites of food again, He Xiaoyao quickly fled the cafeteria.
Truth be told, he had just eaten, but he barely remembered what dishes were served in the cafeteria today; he only knew he had to eat fast and leave quickly.
On the third day, after He Xiaoyao finished sweeping the lakeside, he didn't dare go to the cafeteria. He simply took the small pink pig to the market and bought some snacks.
Buying osmanthus cake for a pig to eat—how extravagant! He Xiaoyao even began to suspect he was losing his mind.
Yet the girls at the market also snickered behind their hands, casting glances as if they had seen some bizarre monster.
Later on, He Xiaoyao didn't even dare go to the market.
On the fourth day, he had no choice at noon but to stay home and cook for himself.
Oddly enough, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Li Dahai for the past few days. Could he have been out there feeding the mosquitoes by the edge of the mountain all this time? There was hardly any need for that; after all, this was a small pink pig, not a young maiden.
This kid was acting rather suspicious.
On the night of the fifth day, just as He Xiaoyao finished his cultivation practice and was preparing to rest, he heard a very faint noise coming from the storage room next door.
He Xiaoyao quickly scrambled up and rushed over to the storage room.
At that very moment, Li Dahai had just laid down on the bed in the storage room.
He Xiaoyao asked, "Brother Dahai, where have you been these past few days? Why haven't I seen you around?"
Li Dahai said, "Oh, I've had some matters to attend to these past few days. I'll have free time in a couple of days."
He Xiaoyao looked at Li Dahai, who had the expression of someone harboring guilty secrets.
He Xiaoyao said, "You couldn't have known all along that the small pink pig would stick to me and be impossible to shake off, following me even to public places like the cafeteria and the market? You knew this would happen from the start, didn't you?"
Li Dahai said, "Mm-hmm, I knew. Didn't you know too? I already told you that the contents of that pact cannot be changed."
He Xiaoyao said, "You made me the laughingstock of the cafeteria and the market! I don't even dare step outside now. This is all your fault, Li Dahai. You definitely did this on purpose."
Li Dahai said, "I originally intended to use that pact myself, but you insisted on taking it from me, so I had no choice but to give it to you. Now you're saying I harmed you."
He Xiaoyao said, "Are you still holding a grudge because I made you eat croton beans last time? But when I gave you those croton beans, I had your consent."
Li Dahai smiled and said, "That pact was also signed with your consent. Not only did you consent, you even gave your consent in blood—an even more explicit agreement. You brought this upon yourself, and we agreed you couldn't blame me."
He Xiaoyao was left speechless. He had indeed fallen into a trap; this kid Li Dahai was still holding a grudge.
Now that he thought about it, why was the pact duration set to seven days? It was simply because Li Dahai had suffered from diarrhea after eating the croton beans, lasting for about seven days in total, and this fellow refused to spare even a single day.
Now, out of the seven days he had contracted with the small pink pig, five days had already passed, and he just had to endure two more.
Li Dahai said, "Go to sleep, Brother Xiaoyao, don't overthink it. In two more days, everything will be fine. Luckily I reminded you to specify a seven-day term, otherwise you'd have to drag this small pink pig around for the rest of your life. When you get married in the future, you'd still have to bring the small pink pig along—that would be rather awkward and quite ridiculous."
He Xiaoyao was speechless and silently returned to his own room.
On the sixth day, He Xiaoyao went to the market again with a cloth masking his face, bought rice, flour, steamed buns, and meat and vegetables, and rushed back to Qilu Garden. Along the way, he overheard people whispering that the little handyman He Xiaoyao was leading a small pink pig everywhere he went.
Having cooked for himself these past few days, he had long since used up his grain, meat, and vegetables, and the small pink pig had to be fed as well.
On the seventh day, his rest day, He Xiaoyao took the small pink pig and headed into the mountains to hunt.
At that moment, Li Dahai appeared, tagging along into the mountains to hunt with a thoroughly cheerful mood.
Li Dahai asked, "Why did you choose today to bring the small pink pig into the mountains to hunt?"
He Xiaoyao said, "I promised to feed the small pink pig delicious food and grilled meat. I only gave it the leftover meat to grill on the first day, and it hasn't had any for the past five days. I wouldn't dare not do what was agreed upon in the pact, so I have to make some grilled meat for it today, otherwise what would happen if my soul scattered and I vanished into thin air?"
Li Dahai said, "You still think things through thoroughly. Let's go, let's go hunting."
He Xiaoyao said to the small pink pig, "Stay close, don't get lost, and don't stray too far from me. There are dangerous beasts in these woods."
The small pink pig nodded.
Their harvest that day was quite bountiful; they bagged a muntjac, a fox, and a wild hare.
He Xiaoyao slaughtered the muntjac and the wild hare, then roasted them. He tossed the wild hare to the small pink pig, which ate with great relish, jumping and hopping around in high spirits.
He Xiaoyao wasn't angry anymore. This was finally the night of the seventh day, and tomorrow the pact would expire. He could finally return to living the life of a normal person—eating normally and shopping normally at the market.
Li Dahai was even happier, chuckling at how his grand revenge had been successfully carried out.