The sudden turn of events left everyone in shock.
The proprietress, the first to recover, urgently called out, "Quick, stun it!"
She dared not treat Lu Fei with any carelessness now.
She firmly believed he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, perhaps a young master from a wealthy family pretending to be poor to pick up girls. She had seen such tricks countless times after all these years as a matchmaker.
"No one come closer!" Lu Fei stopped everyone.
He then turned to the contracted beast that was still biting his arm, letting blood flow freely from it, and spoke gently with a smile:
"Don't be afraid, I mean no harm."
The Sword Guard, already a startled bird, showed no reduction in its shock and anger on its abstract face. It did not believe the human before it, even though the human was showing kindness rather than coercion.
"Come with me, and no one will bully you again."
The Sword Guard's shocked and angry face clearly faltered for a moment.
But in the next instant, its expression turned ferocious again, and it increased its bite force.
Lu Fei's eye twitched, his brow furrowed, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. The intensity of the pain was no less than someone slicing him with a knife!
"Old Lu! Let go quickly!"
At this moment, a familiar voice urged him on.
Brother Ji ran out from his spatial ring. On any other day, this would have drawn curiosity from others, but now all attention was focused on Lu Fei.
"Brother Ji, don't you remember? You pecked me hard when we first met."
Lu Fei gritted his teeth, but his tone remained calm.
Brother Ji froze.
*Holding grudges, this Old Lu...* Brother Ji muttered inwardly.
It couldn't just watch Lu Fei be bitten like this; his arm could be ruined!
Brother Ji hurried forward, ran to the Sword Guard's side, cleared its throat to bolster its courage. The reason it had not appeared until now was that it was somewhat afraid of this irritable contracted beast. But now Lu Fei needed its help, so it disregarded everything else.
Brother Ji flapped its wings and chirped.
"Brother! We feed you, you can't repay kindness with enmity!"
The Sword Guard glanced at Brother Ji.
With its mouth still clamped around Lu Fei's arm, it said somewhat indistinctly:
"Scram!"
Brother Ji froze.
It was instantly annoyed. It was trying to explain out of good intentions, and this guy was cursing it!
But this was a negotiation with someone else, and it definitely couldn't sour the relationship.
Brother Ji took a breath and said with a smile:
"Brother, whatever you want, we can satisfy you. If you want to leave this place, we can take you with us!"
As soon as it finished speaking, the Sword Guard snorted coldly.
"Human's lackey!"
At these words, Brother Ji's pupils suddenly contracted.
*You're so noble, so amazing, and yet you're still locked up here...* Brother Ji pouted:
"Brother, what exactly do you want?"
"Shut up!"
Brother Ji was thoroughly berated.
With a helpless sigh, it thought, *This is a piece of shit from a latrine, both stinky and hard.*
The perfect record in diplomatic negotiations was thus broken...
"Old Lu, I can't handle it."
Brother Ji reported the situation.
Upon hearing this, Lu Fei's brow furrowed even deeper.
In a daze, he noticed the broken sword behind the Sword Guard.
Lu Fei's gaze shifted, and then he said to the Sword Guard:
"Even if you leave here today, with your strength, you'll either be captured by humans in the wilderness or become food for other contracted beasts."
"You can choose to come with me temporarily today. If one day in the future you wish to leave me, you are free to come and go!"
Lu Fei sensed that a flicker of movement appeared in the Sword Guard's angry eyes.
Lu Fei struck while the iron was hot.
"Moreover, I will help you find a suitable weapon! If you still wish to use this broken sword, I can also find someone to repair it for you!"
The Sword Guard's angry expression turned to bewilderment, and its tightly clenched jaw began to loosen slightly.
After a long silence.
It slowly released its mouth and spoke a few words in a low voice.
Lu Fei immediately looked at Brother Ji.
Brother Ji understood immediately and translated in sync:
"It says: Are you telling the truth? What proof do you have!"
Lu Fei was overjoyed. With the conversation reaching this point, it was just a matter of the final push!
He immediately promised:
"You just need to leave with me. I won't ask you to form a contract with me!"
The Sword Guard's wary expression slowly faded.
It looked at Lu Fei, its round eyes filled with bewilderment, its thick black eyebrows showing a hint of sadness. This expression, combined with its body, looked extremely incongruous.
After a long silence.
As if making a major decision, the Sword Guard clenched its fists and uttered a single word.
Brother Ji exclaimed excitedly:
"It says: Okay!"
*I understood that too...* Lu Fei gave Brother Ji a subtle glance. It always considered itself the leader of the team, but ever since the arrival of the Reckless Snake, Brother Ji had been bullied by the Reckless Snake. Now, this Sword Guard was also half joining their team.
Given this Sword Guard's personality, it was likely another one that Brother Ji couldn't afford to offend...
*Brother Ji... may you have good fortune...*
Lu Fei muttered in schadenfreude.
"It actually let go voluntarily! What did he do!"
The middle-aged woman stared blankly.
She had witnessed the entire process from Lu Fei being bitten at the beginning to the fierce contracted beast finally letting go.
Because one of the shop assistants had died at the hands of this contracted beast, the shop owner knew its temperament very well. Therefore, let alone letting go voluntarily, it would have been a great fortune if it hadn't harmed the young man's life.
But now... the middle-aged woman shouted loudly, "Strike while the iron is hot! Quickly subdue it!"
*Subdue my ass... I'm just a beginner beast tamer...* Lu Fei quipped.
Besides, even if he had the strength to subdue the Sword Guard now, he had already promised the other party that he would not ask to form a contract if it didn't agree.
Lu Fei ignored the middle-aged woman.
He extended a hand, clenching it into a fist.
He looked at the Sword Guard, his eyes filled with anticipation and excitement.
The Sword Guard stared blankly for a moment.
Finally, it also raised an arm, clenched it into a fist, and bumped fists with Lu Fei.
A friendly transaction was thus concluded!
The onlookers exchanged bewildered glances.
"Li Er, what's this move? Is this how you subdue contracted beasts now?"
"I don't know..."
Suddenly, the shop assistant named Li Er exclaimed in surprise.
"Zhao Biao! He seems to have really subdued the Sword Guard!"
Zhao Biao also snapped back to reality.
"My heavens! But this young man doesn't look like a powerful beast tamer! Subduing this Sword Guard would require at least an intermediate beast tamer, I reckon!"
The two spoke one after another, their words filled with disbelief.
As they marveled, the young man walked slowly towards them.
"Proprietress, I'll be taking this contracted beast with me."
Lu Fei greeted her.
"Um... alright..."
The middle-aged woman was still shaken.
The next second, she suddenly shook her head and said as if waking from a dream,
"Are you alright? Your injuries!"
Lu Fei glanced at his arm, which was hanging limply to his side, and found that he couldn't lift it at all.
"Just a minor thing, I can't feel anything anymore."
With a "crack!" sound!
Lu Fei collapsed onto the ground, having lost too much blood...
"Brother Fei!"