Chapter 128: Plant Pet Cao Cao (4)

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Plant Pet Cao Cao (4)

When it came to its area of expertise, Cao Cao was absolutely radiant with confidence. "From now on, just ask me whatever kind of plant you need, Master! Because I’m a High-Level Spirit Plant, all plants with a lower Rank will obey me due to Rank suppression. They’ll pass information to me, so I can easily find any plant you need!"

"You’re that amazing?" Gu Nuan Nuan’s heart stirred. She was finally beginning to realize just what kind of treasure she had stumbled upon. With a powerful tool like Cao Cao, it seemed she’d have no problem helping her grandparents improve their health in the future. She broke into a smile, praising it as she stroked its leaves and branches.

"But of course." Cao Cao straightened up proudly, slowly regaining the confidence it had lost earlier. ’It looks like Master is very satisfied with me. As long as I’m useful to Master, she probably won’t abandon me so easily, right?’

"I have more questions, Cao Cao. How long have you lived, and how many masters have you had? And... can you switch masters whenever you want?" As Gu Nuan Nuan asked, she was especially wary about that last question. It was what concerned her the most.

"I don’t know how long I’ve lived, either. Although I had some hazy spiritual wisdom from the moment I was born, I was muddled about everything back then and have no real memories of it. I only remember that the master before my last one was a Cultivator. He was the one who gave me the Spirit Stone for my Companion Space. But by the time I woke up from my slumber, he was gone. Our connection was completely severed, and I suddenly became your grandfather’s Plant Pet."

At this, Cao Cao felt very sad remembering how the master before its last one had abandoned it. Unwilling to waste any Plant Essence by crying, it could only rub its leaves together aggrievedly before continuing, "Your grandfather was a mortal. Although he had a Wood Spirit Root, it wasn’t pure. It’s a good thing he gave me to you, Master. You have a single Wood Spirit Root. Even if you can’t practice Cultivation, I still really love the aura around you."

"Did you ever communicate with my grandfather when you were his Plant Pet?" Gu Nuan Nuan was stunned for a long moment before she recovered. "Grandfather gave you to me in my past life... so what about this life? Does he still have a ’you’ with him?"

"I never communicated with my previous master. And from the moment we returned, the ’me’ that was with your grandfather—my previous master—already merged with the current me. So it’s impossible for another me to exist by his side."

Cao Cao’s stem drooped, and it felt very ashamed. Because its previous master didn’t have a single Wood Spirit Root, it hadn’t liked his aura. That, and it was still wallowing in the shadow of being abandoned by the master before him. So even when its previous master tried to communicate with it, it always ignored him.

’Thinking back on it now, it seems I was a bit too cruel to my previous master.’

As Cao Cao was deeply reflecting, it tried to recall if it had ever done anything for its previous master, hoping to alleviate its guilt. Suddenly, its leaves quivered, and it said gleefully, "Although we never communicated, I did save my previous master’s life once. He accidentally ingested arsenic, and I used my Plant Essence to neutralize the poison for him."

"Plant Essence can also detoxify poison?" Gu Nuan Nuan was astonished.

"It can, but there are some side effects. For example, although my previous master was ultimately detoxified, he still couldn’t avoid several bouts of diarrhea."

"Just diarrhea? That’s incredibly lucky!" Gu Nuan Nuan was both surprised and delighted. ’What’s a bit of diarrhea compared to your life?’ She never thought Plant Essence had such a use. "Besides controlling plants and detoxification, does Plant Essence have any other uses?"

"Nope."

’That’s more than enough. It would be greedy to ask for more.’ Although the answer was negative, Gu Nuan Nuan was still very satisfied. For the last question, she looked at Cao Cao seriously and repeated the one that worried her most, "Can you change masters freely on your own?"

"Of course not." Cao Cao’s leaves and branches swayed. "But previously, after my former master died, if a new master hadn’t yet claimed me, I could still choose whether or not to sign a Soul Contract with them."

"Previously?" Gu Nuan Nuan keenly caught the word "previously" in Cao Cao’s explanation, her heart starting to beat faster. "Are you saying there are different ways to acknowledge a master? Like a normal one and a Soul Contract? Which kind do we have?"

"You’re so smart, Master! How do you know everything?"

Cao Cao exclaimed in amazement. It hadn’t told her all those things about Cultivators, but it already found it strange that she seemed to know everything. And now she knew this, too! Even if her knowledge wasn’t complete, it was still enough to make Cao Cao admire her to no end.

’Because I read a ton of web novels in my past life.’

Gu Nuan Nuan laughed inwardly but didn’t say a word, listening carefully as Cao Cao continued.

"A normal contract just requires a drop of blood to acknowledge the master. The contract automatically terminates when the master perishes, their lifespan ends, or they ascend. Usually, in the Cultivation World, a Plant Pet’s master will choose the next master for it ahead of time—typically a blood relative or a direct disciple. But if the Plant Pet’s master perishes unexpectedly out in the world, then who the Plant Pet chooses as its next master is left completely up to fate.

"A Soul Contract is different. This is the deepest secret of my kind. Unless we’ve already signed a Soul Contract with a master, we won’t take the initiative to tell them that this type of contract even exists, even if they are already our master. Once a Soul Contract is signed, a Plant Pet must follow its master for lifetime after lifetime, unless the master actively breaks the contract."

At this point, Cao Cao swayed its leaves and branches. "So, Master, our contract is now a Soul Contract. It’s only because of this that I was able to bring you back to your childhood. As long as you don’t actively abandon me, I will follow you through your reincarnations."

"Why did you choose me? I’m just a mortal who can’t practice Cultivation, aren’t I?" Gu Nuan Nuan raised an eyebrow.

"Because you have a single Wood Spirit Root, Master! Forget the Mortal World, a Spirit Root like this isn’t even easy to find in the Cultivation World on the Chu Mountain Continent. Even my master before last, who was a Cultivator, only had Earth and Wood Dual Spiritual Roots. So, when I learned of your wish back then, I decided to sign a Soul Contract with you and give you a little help." Cao Cao answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.