Chapter Seven: My Knight Is Named Kael

When the starlight dispersed, a figure appeared: clad in armor, its surface flecked with tiny points of light, as if forged from the power of the stars. Wu Yue let out a sigh. Indeed, you get what you pay for; one measure of starlight, one measure of strength. Fair dealing, from child to elder.

Among all summoned beasts, humans were the rarest. But rarity did not mean power; it only spoke to numbers. Human beings, after all, were always known for intelligence and rich emotion, and for surviving through clan and tribe. Yet as a summoned beast, what mattered was not wisdom or feeling, but the strength of innate skills and the measure of growth. Most importantly, there was only one true criterion.

Fortunately, memory was shattered, leaving only the deepest instinctive awareness. Otherwise, the two of them might already have begun fighting to the death.

“Respected Lord, Sky Knight Kair is honored to serve you,” said the armored warrior, kneeling on one knee as he lowered his visor.

Very good. A fine appearance indeed. Wu Yue felt a touch of regret, but not anger. As long as this Sky Knight died, he could summon another. One simply had to wait a little while, rather like a cooldown. And a humanoid summoned beast was not entirely useless either. After all, they possessed the ability to think independently, though trouble often came from that very independence. In the end, gains and losses always went hand in hand.

“Kair, now destroy the formation beneath your feet.” Wu Yue also wanted to test the power of the summoner himself.

“I would be delighted to serve you, my lord, but a knight does not casually destroy plants and flowers,” Kair said with great sincerity, brimming with earnest conviction.

“You mean to disobey me?” Wu Yue looked at the knight, and an uncanny feeling rose in his heart. Because of this feeling, he could sense him, control him, even destroy him. And because of this bond, the knight could quickly adapt to this world.

“No, my lord. As a knight, I will offer you my loyalty. If you doubt me, I am willing to prove myself to you.” As he spoke, he drew the long sword at his waist with a reverse grip.

Wu Yue felt a faint headache coming on. A strange thought surfaced suddenly, and that thought was becoming harder and harder to restrain. Yet in the end, he still said nothing. Summoned beasts, after all, were such things: though this knight was a person, he shared a mind-link with him. It fully revealed the visionary, cutting-edge nature of this Star Summoning Art. Communication without limits.

“My lord, would you test whether your knight possesses the quality of sacrifice?” With that, he thrust the blade straight into his own body, naturally unable to pierce armor that heavy with so slender a sword.

It was already well past midnight. Yu Fu, who had only wanted to pretend to sleep, had long since fallen into real sleep. But Wu Yue, who had worked through the whole night, was utterly wrapped in hunger and had no trace of sleepiness left.

Wu Yue brought Kair with him.

“Oh heavens. How can a lady sleep like this? So crude, so hard-won. It is a disgrace to a knight,” he said, then flipped his sword and made a deep slash across his own arm. He glanced at Wu Yue, whose expression was not pleasant. Then he simply stripped off Yu Fu’s outer coat and decisively draped it over Zhao Qingzhu.

Wu Yue twitched the corner of his mouth and said, “Go catch some game.”

“Very well. It is my regret not to serve you better, my lord.” Kair thumped his chest hard, producing a ringing clash of metal.

Yu Fu woke up, whether from the cold or from hunger, he could not tell. A rich aroma drifted into his nose.

“So fragrant.” He sniffed hard twice, then blinked groggily awake and saw that his clothes were covering Zhao Qingzhu.

Then he saw two people: one was Wu Yue, who was cultivating. Ever since Yu Fu had met him, it seemed Wu Yue had been either sick or cultivating. The other person completely captured Yu Fu’s attention: a red-haired youth in strange armor, with a helmet set beside him, its interior filled with food.

“Eat,” Wu Yue said calmly.

Yu Fu did not even have time to ask questions before a fierce wave of hunger crashed over him. He hurriedly reached for the food.

“Wait! How can you let a child test poison?” Kair said with righteous anger.

“Poison? What is going on here?”

Wu Yue sighed. After being slowly corroded by Qing Yuzi’s habit of cultivating at any moment, his own cultivation had not increased much, but he had grown more and more precious with his time.

“To put it simply: this is my friend. His name is Kair. These were taken from a merchant caravan up ahead, so we’re seeing whether they’re poisoned.”

“My lord, Kair feels deeply honored that you regard me as a friend. But my faith tells me I cannot tolerate letting a child take such a risk, even if he is not caring for a beautiful lady.”

“Does he have something wrong with his head?” Qing Yuzi’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Indeed.” Wu Yue looked up at Kair. “Then you can taste it yourself.”

“As a knight, we possess knightly spirit. We are brave. We never fear sacrifice.”

“Leave it. Let me eat, you bastard!” Yu Fu cried in panic. “I want to taste it too!”

Zhao Qingzhu woke slowly, looked around, and saw that they were not on Old Yellow Mountain. Good. Very good. Then she noticed an outer coat draped over her and was slightly surprised. Don’t ask why it was only slight surprise; she was still just a child.

She was then stunned by the scene before her: a child and a strange armored man, both frantically shoving food into their mouths.

Food!

After all, she was a girl, and after all, she was still a child. Zhao Qingzhu pointed at the two of them, while Wu Yue was still cultivating. She only grew more and more worried about this summoned beast of hers. He couldn’t even beat a child for food. Truly alarming.

“You are a brave man.” Kair looked at Yu Fu with utmost seriousness. “I apologize for my ignorance. Just last night, I even thought you were unworthy of being a knight.”

“Now, I offer you my sincere apology once again. Your courage is worthy of the admiration of Sky Knight Kair.” As he spoke, he extended his fist.

Yu Fu instinctively retreated. “What are you doing? Gentlemen use words, not fists. We’re still friends, aren’t we?”

“No, no, you misunderstand. This is the highest praise I can give,” Kair said in a low voice.

Yu Fu barely swallowed the food in his mouth and, pointing at Kair, said in unison with Zhao Qingzhu, “Who is this guy?”

Wu Yue frowned, rubbed his temples, and said, “You can call him Kair. He is our friend.”

“A friend? Thank the gods, I hear that word again.” Kair remained intensely excited and took a large swallow of grape wine.

Yu Fu and Zhao Qingzhu looked at each other and chorused, “Put it down, let me have it!”

And thus began a war over food, over moral standards, and over self-cultivation.

Wu Yue began to focus on his sixth qi channel, and his mood was still fairly good. After all, they would soon have a carriage to ride in.

The sky began to brighten.

“This is my knight.” Wu Yue looked toward Kair, and his spirits sank somewhat.

Note: Regarding updates, there will be at least three each day. There are still arrears, though no one seems to care. Still, they will definitely be repaid. I will certainly write enough to reach three hundred thousand words this month.