91:

  Xiao Feng watched as Beast Master Zen plucked one of the multi-coloured vials from his workbench’s upper layer, a vivid yellow solution that had been sealed with a clay stopper. Placing the solution next to the egg, he reached out to open the same drawer he had pulled out the tongs from earlier, tearing a handful of fibrous, cotton-like material from the larger whole, the deep violet plant fiber catching Xiao Feng’s attention as he tried to decrypt his actions.

  The vial was unstoppered and a gentle helping was poured onto the deep violet plant fiber, changing the plant fiber’s hue to a strong olive where the solution seeped into it’s surface. Xiao Feng watched intently as Beast Master Zen began to wipe down the egg’s surface with the portion of the plant fiber that had absorbed the solution, a light sizzle accompanying the motion of his right hand.

  When Beast Master Zen was finished with the egg, it’s originally black exterior had deepened until it could be compared to a hue that embodied the darkest of nights, the whorls texturing it’s surface that had been clearly visible before, now subtle contours that required focused attention to discern. Xiao Feng wasn’t certain if he was imagining it, but to him it appeared as if the egg was absorbing the light in it’s vicinity to appear darker than it was.

  A sigh escaped Beast Master Zen before he spoke, “I had expected that cleaning the surface with the Water Cleanse concoction would wipe clean the impurities and reveal the egg’s true colour, but it appears that I was mistaken. Or should I say that the hue and texture of the beast egg does not match any that I have encountered or studied before?” He voiced the rhetorical question in the air, though his tone sounded far from disappointed, much more close to excited instead. In fact, Beast Master Zen’s eyes scoured the egg’s surface with what Xiao Feng could only see as a dangerous level of interest, before he finally tore his gaze away from it.

  Xiao Feng watched carefully as Beast Master Zen walked over to one of two bookshelves he had made a note of upon entering the cabin, his gaze moving from column to column until it paused on a thick, leatherbound tome that was easily as thick as his well-built upper arm. Retrieving it from the bookshelf, he walked back to the workbench and placed the heavy tome a safe distance away from the egg with a light thump.

  “Rare Beasts— A collection of records, folklore and personal accounts,” Beast Master Zen read out the title of the book as he tugged the book open from near it’s centre. “Truth be told, even Beast Master Mei, who wrote this account, is unlikely to have believed in even half these records and descriptions. However, there are kernels of truth hidden in every myth and folk-tale, warnings concealed in personal accounts that are passed down from one generation to the next as ancestral wisdom and reasoning behind every record,” He explained as he flicked through the pages with unsurprising dexterity, turning page after page with practiced haste without damaging them in the slightest.

  Finally, Beast Master Zen paused, leaving the tome fully spread open. Xiao Feng leaned in to get a better viewing angle.

  On the top of the left page, the words Frost-Hound (Tier 3) were neatly written, followed by the presumed location where it’s eggs could be found and the folk-tale that the account was based on, but Xiao Feng’s gaze turned and fixed on the vivid illustration that was drawn with the hues of gray and light blue. It was a beast egg, it’s shape an elongated oval with pointed ends that was clearly far larger than his own and far from the same shape, yet the proportionally smaller whorls running across it’s surface in a tapestry of icy blue on gray had a marked resemblance to his own beast egg.

  “When I used the Water Cleanse concoction on your beast egg, I was hoping that it would reveal a different colour,” Beast Master Zen revealed. “This is the closest comparison I have available and although it is a bit of a stretch given the size and shape difference, it could have been chalked down to inaccuracies in the record or it being the same genus but a different species, a smaller relative in effect.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “But it isn’t,” Xiao Feng muttered under his breath, a mannerism that he hadn’t shaken the habit of from his life on Earth.

  “No, it is not,” Beast Master Zen nodded, the words not having escaped his superior hearing. “You told me that you have been keeping the egg alive by feeding it Bi-Horn Milk. Does it absorb as much Bi-Horn Milk as you pour upon it, or is there a limit?”

  “There’s a limit, after I pour half a vial it stops sizzling and the milk just pools upon the ground,” Xiao Feng explained.

  “Has the Bi-Horn Milk been the only thing you have fed it?” Beast Master Zen asked, his tone curious.

  Xiao Feng thought back to the panic and fear he had felt on the first day he had discovered the egg, how it had drained a quarter of his Qi reserves in what felt like a blink of an eye. Answering the question might be key to figuring out what the egg was, but Xiao Feng wasn’t sure if—-

  “Don’t tell him that”, His predecessor’s voice echoed in his mindscape, his tone as firm as steel.

  Trying his best to keep his shock out of his expression, Xiao Feng answered, “Yes.”

  “And what are your plans to get this egg to hatch?” Beast Master Zen asked.

  It was Lianhua who answered, “My theory is that a Beast Bonding Pill might give the egg enough nutrients to repair the damage that has been inflicted upon it.”

  “If it is a limitation of volume that the egg can absorb, then it very well might be,” Beast Master Zen nodded in agreement. “I would be hard pressed to find an substitute that has the same density of nutrients, not to mention the added advantage of the Beast Bonding Pill. Very well, I am done with my assessment. Would you like to hear my opinion?”

  Xiao Feng enthusiastically nodded.

  “Since I cannot find a match for this egg in my records, there are three possibilities,” Beast Master Zen began, his words spoken with a certainty that made them hard to doubt. “The first and the most likely is that the egg has been damaged so heavily that it has lost it’s original shape and the hue and texture we see now is due to that damage or infection. The second possibility is that the egg was carried to this region by a migratory beast of some kind and abandoned when the mother realized that it was damaged, assuming it was sourced from this region and not some far off land. Third and the unlikeliest of all, is that it is a hitherto never before seen beast egg, atleast by the records I have access to, making it’s capabilities and tier completely unknown. Which sounds like a fascinating probability, yet is most likely to be a Tier 1 or Tier 2 beast.”

  Xiao Feng took a few moments to digest the information, before replying, “I see.”

  “Now, since you are acquianted with Little Li here,” Beast Master Zen gestured at Lianhua with his right hand, “And appear to have inherited a small fortune recently, there is an offer I can make you.”

  Xiao Feng’s ears perked up at that, his expression intrigued as he spoke, “Go on.”

  “Obtaining a Tier 2 Spiritual Beast Egg with limited but definite combat capabilities is within my skill-set. It will cost you heavily, but you can just about afford it in case your efforts at hatching this beast egg fail. If you are still interested after, we can talk about procurement. Now, if you find your gold taels too precious to part with, there is another arrangement we can come to.”

  “What is it?”

  “If you fail to hatch the egg or it dies in the process, I would be willing to purchase it from you along with the information on where you found it for a price that will be more than anyone else will be willing to give. I would also be happy to consider that sum towards the Tier 2 Spiritual Beast Egg I spoke about earlier, though of course, the value of the trade will be much higher if the egg is alive when you come to me.”

  “A generous offer”, His predecessor’s words sounded in his mindscape. “Too generous. Be careful.”

  “That’s a generous offer,” Xiao Feng said, forcing a grateful smile onto his features. “I’ll definitely consider it, though I’d like to give it a try first.”

  “Of course, of course,” Beast Master Zen offered him an amused smile as he gingerly picked up the egg and offered it back to Xiao Feng.

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