This way of asking was also quite appropriate.
For these young animals who had just gained sentience, even if they obtained fragments of the Fuxi Qin by chance, they wouldn't know what it was. They would only know that it greatly helped them in opening their minds and cultivating, making it a treasure.
Asking in this manner wouldn't reveal too much information at once.
When the little creature heard Long Miaomiao's question, he didn't even need to think. How could he not know how he had gained sentience?
Upon hearing Long Miaomiao inquire about such a treasure, he immediately became nervous.
This treasure undoubtedly brought him immense benefits, and he believed it to be an extremely powerful item. Now, even a dragon was actively asking about it, suggesting it was truly something extraordinary.
He was reluctant to hand over such a precious treasure directly. However, facing a dragon, how could he possibly protect it? He was no match for a dragon, and it seemed there was no other option but to compromise.
After all, having a treasure would be useless if he couldn't protect it and even lost his life. How could he accept that?
Yet, he was even more unwilling to simply hand over the item.
After gaining sentience, even if he was just a small animal from the wilderness, he had become much smarter, capable of thinking about many things and weighing pros and cons.
The little creature fell into a dilemma. However, his reaction precisely indicated to Long Miaomiao that this little creature likely knew the whereabouts of the Fuxi Qin fragments and had benefited from them, and was now reluctant to part with them.
As someone who had also benefited from the Fuxi Qin fragments before, Long Miaomiao understood his reluctance. This was, after all, the little creature's own destiny. If not for the current special circumstances, Long Miaomiao wouldn't have wanted to take the item directly from him.
After all, this item wasn't of great help to Long Miaomiao, and she wasn't the type to be overbearing. There was no reason for her to snatch his belongings.
The current situation was first come, first served. To obtain the fragments, it was best to reason with him and offer some benefits in exchange. Forcefully taking it was the most inappropriate approach and did not align with Long Miaomiao's principles of conduct.
Seeing the little creature's hesitation, Long Miaomiao began to entice him, saying, "I know that if you truly obtained such a treasure, it's normal to be reluctant to hand it over. I can understand. However, this treasure has a very important purpose, and I have special reasons for needing to obtain it."
"Otherwise, for me, although this item is a treasure, it's not that important anymore."
"But I can't take your things for nothing. How about this: if you truly have clues to such a treasure, exchange it with me, and I can give you certain benefits. I can guarantee that these benefits will be no less than what you can gain from this treasure. I will never let you suffer a loss. What do you say?"
With Long Miaomiao having spoken to this extent, the little creature couldn't help but waver.
If he were to resist a dragon by force, it would yield no benefit to the little creature. In the end, he might lose his life without gaining anything.
However, since this dragon was willing to reason with him and exchange with him, it seemed more advantageous to compromise. After all, a wise person knows when to yield. If he truly wouldn't suffer a loss, then exchanging the treasure he obtained might not be a bad thing.
Long Miaomiao saw the little creature's wavering and knew that this matter was likely settled.
To break through the little creature's defenses, Long Miaomiao increased her offer, saying to him, "If you agree, besides equivalent benefits, if you wish, I will also allow you to cultivate by my side. You must know the benefits of this, right? If you are still worried, I can even sign a contract with you to guarantee that I will never go back on my word."
With the offer made to this extent, the benefits were simply irresistible to the little creature.
He became even more afraid that if he continued to stall, Long Miaomiao might get angry and withdraw the offer, or even consider him greedy and try to kill him. That would not be worth it.
The opportunity to cultivate by the side of a dragon was extremely rare, and the benefits were self-evident.
In comparison, based on what the little creature had learned since he began cultivating, the benefits of following a dragon were likely no less than the treasure itself.
Not to mention that Long Miaomiao had also promised to provide other benefits.
Furthermore, he had previously worried about what to do if Long Miaomiao broke her promise. But since Long Miaomiao herself had proposed signing a contract, there seemed to be nothing to worry about.
Once a contract was signed, both parties would have to fulfill their promises, or face retribution.
The little creature finally relented and said to Long Miaomiao, "Alright, I am just a little spirit creature from the snowy mountains who has just gained sentience. I cannot possibly resist you, Dragon God. You are also very polite and promised not to let me suffer a loss. What reason do I have to refuse?"
Long Miaomiao then let out a哼笑 and said, "It's good that you're sensible and didn't continue to be greedy."
The little creature's heart skipped a beat.
He quickly said, "As I said, I am merely a little spirit creature from the snowy mountains who has just gained sentience. How could I dare to covet your belongings, Dragon God? The reason I didn't dare to agree at first was not because your offer was insufficient?"
"It's simply that I was blind and lacked foresight, and I feared your power and being deceived."
"I never expected you to be such a magnanimous Dragon God, not holding anything against me and even willing to sign a contract with me. How could I dare to continue being insensible?"
Long Miaomiao truly didn't expect this little creature to be so glib-tongued.
He attributed all the problems to himself, saying he wasn't sensible enough, subtly praised her power, and finally, didn't forget to mention the willingness to sign a contract, as if afraid she might have been taken advantage of.
After gaining sentience, this little creature had likely interacted with humans a lot to learn so many tricks.
Long Miaomiao smiled and said, "Stop with the roundabout flattery. You can rest assured, my words are my bond, and I will never go back on my word."
"I said I wouldn't let you suffer a loss, and I absolutely won't. You can think carefully now about what you want to exchange with me. As long as it's a reasonable request, I will do my best to satisfy you."
After Long Miaomiao finished speaking, the little creature first expressed his profuse gratitude, but not excessively. Before Long Miaomiao could stop him, he had already paused and shifted the topic back to the main business.
The little creature said, "However, before that, I have another matter that I must explain to you, Dragon God. If I don't explain this matter beforehand, I wouldn't dare to shamelessly agree to your terms, lest I take advantage of you."
When Long Miaomiao heard the little creature say this, she narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, "What else do you have?"
The little creature didn't dare to delay, fearing Long Miaomiao would lose patience.
However, he truly didn't dare to agree to Long Miaomiao's terms without clarifying this matter first. Otherwise, if he inadvertently offended Long Miaomiao, he would be truly finished.
He said to Long Miaomiao, "Although I am very willing to accept your conditions, Dragon God, I am also not sure if the treasure I obtained is what you are looking for. If I directly agree to your terms and exchange it, and you later find out that the wrong item was found, wouldn't you be at a disadvantage?"
Long Miaomiao saw that he wasn't trying to gain more benefits for himself, but was merely making a reasonable and cautious suggestion. She felt it made sense and said, "It's thoughtful of you to consider this. Alright, I agree."
"How about this, you show me the item first. If it's truly not what I'm looking for, given your good attitude, I'm willing to reward you with something."
With this assurance, the little creature became happy.
He said to Long Miaomiao, "The item is not here. Please, Dragon God, accompany me, and I will show you what the item looks like."
When Long Miaomiao heard him say this, she asked, "Hmm? Such a good item, and you don't keep it with you but store it elsewhere? Aren't you afraid someone else will take it?"
The little creature then explained the reason for his actions to Long Miaomiao.
It turned out that after the little creature found the treasure by chance, he used it to gain sentience and embark on the path of cultivation. For such a good treasure, he naturally wanted to protect it well, lest it be snatched away by other beings.
However, he was naturally playful and liked to run around. He hadn't learned the art of spatial storage, nor had he cultivated into human form. He couldn't carry the treasure around in his mouth all day, as that would be even less secure.
Therefore, he would only bring out the treasure when he needed it. At other times, he preferred to hide the treasure in his lair, setting up concealment spells. It was always simpler and easier to learn concealment spells than to learn spells for carrying items.
Coincidentally, he was just out playing and exploring at the time, so he hadn't brought the treasure with him. That's why he needed to lead Long Miaomiao back to his lair to show her the item.
Long Miaomiao followed the little creature back to his lair.
The little creature's lair was quite hidden. Perhaps because he had already begun cultivating, the location he chose for his lair was different from his natural habits, and it was also a place that was difficult to find and reach.
As Long Miaomiao followed him, she discovered that the little creature had set up his lair in a cave on a cliff face.
As a dragon, Long Miaomiao could naturally fly and easily followed him.
However, the little creature's lair was too small, and it was inconvenient for Long Miaomiao to follow in her human form. So, she changed her size and transformed into a small snake, with two small bumps on her head, which were actually her dragon horns.
Long Miaomiao entered the little creature's cave. The little creature seemed to be quite clean, and the cave was not messy. It was also quite comfortable.
Upon returning to the cave, the little creature found the place where he hid his treasure. Long Miaomiao could see that a simple concealment spell had been set up there. It was fortunate that there were no powerful beings around, and the little creature's cave was sufficiently hidden. Otherwise, the little creature might not have been able to keep the treasure.
Long Miaomiao shook her head and said, "Your spell is too rudimentary. It's fortunate that I was the one who found you. Otherwise, how could you possibly hide anything?"
When the little creature heard Long Miaomiao say this, he smiled sheepishly.
He said to Long Miaomiao, "You mock me, Dragon God. However, since I gained sentience, I have been alone. I haven't met any other creatures who can cultivate. These spells are all things I figured out myself. I am self-taught, and can only manage these unrefined things."
Seeing him say this, Long Miaomiao asked curiously, "How many years have you been cultivating since you gained sentience?"
The little creature replied, "Not very long, only a little over a decade."
Long Miaomiao thought that, in that case, the little creature's talent wasn't too bad. After all, he had been self-taught without any guidance from seniors, and to reach this level was indeed very difficult.
Thus, if she kept him by her side to cultivate in the future, she wouldn't have to worry about being exasperated.