Eternal Beast Taming Family

It snowed again, and the earth was covered in silver.

This year, Heyu Town has experienced an unusually heavy snowfall. It is said that a timely snowfall promises a bountiful year, but in Heyu Town, every snowfall seems to bury a group of people.

It has been seven days, and not a single person from the town who was conscripted has returned.

There was neither good news nor bad news; it was as if those who left had vanished into thin air.

On December 30th of the 3397th year of the Yuanhe calendar of the Jingyuan Dynasty, at the end of the year, most families in the town and villages were bustling with activity, busy preparing New Year's Eve dinner, or children of all ages gathered at the village entrances and alleys to light firecrackers.

Jiang Nian had just distributed the salaries and New Year's red envelopes to all the maids and servants in the mansion, so that they could go home and have a family reunion for the New Year.

Granny Liu flicked her handkerchief and stepped forward, whispering, "Young Madam, that girl is here again, crying at the gate."

Jiang Nian knew that the girl Liu Mama was talking about was the granddaughter of Xu Yinghui, a guard in the family. She had met her once before and was deeply impressed by the girl's bright and clear eyes.

This is the third time the little girl has come. The first two days, Liu Mama persuaded her to go back. It seems that she has to see her today no matter what.

"Take her to the flower hall in the front yard."

Granny Liu responded softly and left the main hall to make the arrangements.

Most of the maids and servants in the house had already been given a year-end holiday and returned home, but a few widows, old women, or orphans remained in the courtyard to continue their duties.

These days, widows, widowers, and the lonely are all too common. The power of the world of contract masters is that the lives of these mortals are sometimes as insignificant as weeds.

The three giant pythons in the house were growing faster and faster, and the yard was no longer big enough for them to move around in. So, when there was nothing else to do, the three giant pythons were usually free-range in the back mountain.

Since the "Wood Spirit Crystal Pattern Python" recovered its health, its size has grown at an alarming rate, showing a tendency to surpass its older brothers and sisters.

Chu Shengyuan even went so far as to declare in a domineering manner that the "Wood Spirit Crystal Pattern Python" was his second source beast that he had not yet contracted, and the situation was not far from the truth, because he had been feeding the "Wood Spirit Crystal Pattern Python".

The "Wood Spirit Crystal Pattern Python" was always exceptionally affectionate towards Chu Shengyuan and was also exceptionally intelligent, accurately carrying out Chu Shengyuan's commands.

In the past two days, whenever Chu Shengyuan had a spare moment, he would drag Chu Shenghan to the back mountain, seemingly to conduct some kind of adaptation test on his sister. As a result, when Chu Shenghan faced the three giant pythons, she was able to remain expressionless and not retreat or dodge.

At this time, Chu Shengfan should be with the head steward checking the accounts for this period, unlike his two younger siblings who are still just playing around.

Chu Shengfan, who was only two years older, seemed far too mature and sensible.

Chu Qinhui, however, remained guarding the ancestral hall, never leaving it for a moment.

Pulling her wandering thoughts back, Jiang Nian was a little worried about her husband. She wondered if he would get bored in the ancestral hall. She wanted to ask Xiao Fan to take over for him for a while, but he refused.

I wonder if this is a form of "punishment" he's inflicting on himself.

With a soft sigh, Jiang Nian got up and sat down in the flower hall in the front yard.

Inside the flower hall, Granny Liu whispered something to a simply dressed young girl sitting around the round table.

Upon seeing Jiang Nian arrive, Granny Liu bowed and then quietly stood behind Jiang Nian.

The little girl stood up from the chair and, imitating Liu Mama's manner, bowed to the lady in front of her.

Jiang Nian came to her side and pulled her to sit down next to her.

"Your name is... Xu Yinyue?"

Xu Yinyue nodded twice, then looked at Jiang Nian with her clear eyes.

Looking into her eyes, Jiang Nian was momentarily stunned, then smiled gently, "You're here to see your grandfather?"

Xu Yinyue nodded again, "The New Year is almost here, why hasn't my grandfather come home yet?"

Jiang Nian picked up a handkerchief and wiped Xu Yinyue's tear-streaked face. "Why are you doing this all by yourself? Where are your parents?"

"My parents died when I was two years old." Xu Yinyue's face showed no sadness when she talked about her parents' death.

A look of pity flashed in Jiang Nian's eyes. "Did your grandfather say anything to you before he passed away? This mission he went on was very dangerous, and there's still no news of his return. Can you give me your home address? We'll let you know as soon as we have any news, okay?"

Upon hearing Jiang Nian's words, Xu Yinyue's bright eyes instantly filled with tears, and she said in a hoarse voice:

"I saw that Grandpa is dead. Can you let me take his body back with me?"

Jiang Nian's heart skipped a beat. She placed her hand on the edge of the table and forced a smile. "Young lady, what are you talking about? We still haven't heard from your grandfather. How can you say you saw him dead?"

Xu Yinyue slowly shook her head. "I don't know. A couple of days ago, I saw my grandfather lying on an ice field, holding Feiyu. There were so many source beasts and so many corpses around him... some were human and some were source beasts."

I could see that Grandpa was in great pain before he died. He must have had something to say to me… The other old man beside Grandpa must have known something. Has he come back? I want to see him.”

The little girl spoke haltingly and illogically, but Jiang Nian could roughly understand her.

These things sound like a little girl's fantasy, or perhaps she missed the scenes in her grandfather's dreams so much that she took them as reality.

But seeing the certainty in her eyes, Jiang Nian paused for a moment, then asked softly, "Can you tell me what kind of source beast you've contracted?"

The little girl spread her arms, and a "leaf-winged insect" appeared in her hands.

Jiang Nian was naturally very familiar with the abilities of leafwing insects; they had absolutely no ability to see other places across spatial distances.

Could it be that human contractors can also develop some kind of innate ability, or is it some kind of special connection the little girl has with her family?

Regardless of the reason, Jiang Nian felt it was necessary to take the little girl to the ancestral hall.

Although we don't know if it's true, at least we've got some scattered news from outside the area.

Without hesitation, Jiang Nian stood up and took Xu Yinyue's hand. "Shall we go to the ancestral hall together?"

The little girl nodded blankly.

As we stepped out of the flower hall, the sky grew increasingly dark, and snowflakes, carried by the north wind, pelted the ground.

Jiang Nian and Xu Yinyue are both contract masters, so the bad weather didn't affect their speed at all, except for their mood.

The two arrived outside the ancestral hall. Jiang Nian pushed open the door, took the little girl's hand, and walked inside.

Chu Qinhui was puzzled by the arrival of the two and his gaze fell on Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian simply repeated what Xu Yinyue had said to Chu Qinhui, who was momentarily stunned.

He crouched down and asked the little girl with some excitement, "When did you see it? How did you see it? Can you watch it again now?"