The black bull glanced at Chen Xun, then at the Flameglow Ancient Lion, blinking twice.

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After hearing Chen Xun’s words, the Flameglow Ancient Lion fell into silence. The firelight flickered softly around them, and its expression slowly grew calmer.

That night, gray clouds blanketed the plains, and a cold, bitter rain soaked the land. The lion remembered the night its entire tribe had fallen, their bodies strewn in pools of blood, with almost no survivors.

A thousand years of solitude and darkness rippled through its heart, spreading out in waves. These feelings had long since overwhelmed its desire for beauty or hope. All that remained was the primal instinct to survive.

It remembered how, as a cub, it had snuck out in the dead of night to eat the rotting corpses of the fallen, too ashamed to trouble any other tribe, no matter how much it suffered.

Its features twisted slightly, and with great difficulty, it slowly began to speak. "Eld—"

"Lion, why don’t you come with us? Old Bull and I haven’t seen much of the world either," Chen Xun interrupted, placing a hand on the black bull’s back. "We’re not ones for fighting, either. We just enjoy traveling and seeing new places. We wouldn’t put you in danger."

"Elder, are you... asking to make me your mount?" The Flameglow Ancient Lion’s heart sank, the last bit of hope fading away. Thinking it over, it realized it wasn’t good for much besides being a mount or a meal.

Before Chen Xun could reply, the lion’s eyes sharpened, its last sliver of sincerity vanishing. "Elder, if you wish, I wouldn’t dare resist. I’d gladly serve as your mount."

It forced that same obsequious smile, which looked comically out of place on its otherwise majestic face.

"Lion," Chen Xun said calmly, "there’s more to life than just transactions and self-interest between people, or between spiritual beasts and cultivators."

Chen Xun’s tone was relaxed, as if he could see right through the lion’s thoughts. "A Nascent Soul-stage mount? I could have as many of those as I want."

The lion shuddered at these words, sneaking a glance at Chen Xun and the black bull. They both looked completely at ease and carefree.

Taking a deep breath, the lion hesitantly asked, "Then, Elder, what is your intention?"

"A companion," Chen Xun replied, chuckling. "We’ve been cultivating for a thousand years, but you’re the only fellow traveler we’ve come across. Haha."