No, Harry hadn't misheard it. The owl had just talked.

"You can talk?" he blurted out.

"Help," it groaned.

Its plea cut through the shock Harry felt, and he hurriedly ran over to support it. It lifted a broken wing and wrapped it around his arm, using it as a support to stand upright. Harry took a better look at its wounds.

There were dozens of cuts all across its body, out of which copious blood flowed, and both its wings were bent. But that wasn't the worst injury, not by far, because along its chest, a horribly large wound had nearly cut this bird in two. Through the wound, Harry could see its internal organs, dripping red blood. With a mix of horror and fascination, Harry realized the owl was using its own Qi to keep its blood flowing and heart beating.

Harry didn't need any medical training to know this owl was about to die. There was no kind of magic pill or cultivation technique to heal a wound this grievous.

Unable to keep looking, he tore his gaze away from its wounds.

"I don't think I can help you. You're injured badly," Harry stated the obvious.

"Yes, in fact, my entire clan was annihilated," the owl rasped out. With each sentence, a trickle of blood dripped out its beak. It's voice was weak, so soft that Harry could barely hear it. He had to lean in just to make out what it was saying.

It opened its beak again, but perhaps deciding speaking was too much effort, looked into Harry's eyes instead. Suddenly, he heard its voice in his mind.

'Forgive me for the intrusion, as speaking is difficult for me now. There is a group of hunters who has slaughtered my clan. We were in hiding but they found the rest of us today. Though we fought, it was not enough. I am the last of my race – and will die very soon.'

'This – this is the same thing as what the Exalted Cat did!' Harry's eyes were wide open in shock. This beast was speaking directly into his mind! And combined with how this beast could speak out loud too, there was no doubt about it. It was a Spirit Grade beast.

Harry wasn't sure what to be more shocked about, that he had stumbled upon one of the very few Spirit Grade beasts in the empire, or that someone, or something, managed to deathly injure it. Just who was capable of injuring even a Spirit Grade beast?

Even at the verge of death, the owl's eyes shined resolutely. It didn't appear scared of death at all. The only emotion Harry could discern was one of resignation, as if it had accepted death long ago.

'As I fled, I felt my bloodline power urging me to fly this way. My Snowy Owl Clan has always trusted our blood, for it contains the strength of our ancestors. I followed it, and it lead me to you. Perhaps, this is destiny. Will you do one thing for me?'

"I can't heal you," Harry repeated. There was truly nothing he could do, other than accompany this owl in its final moments.

'I was not going to ask you to heal me. There is no power in this world that can heal me now.'

"Then what do you want me to do?"

'I know you and I are strangers, having been acquainted for mere minutes. Forgive me for asking a tremendous favor from you. The hope of my entire race lies in my egg, which I carry on me.'

Harry suddenly noticed a small and pure white egg was clutched in its left talon. It was a beautiful egg, an object that anyone could determine was a treasure with just a glance. Other than the drops of red blood on its shell, it shined like a brilliant ice crystal. It almost appeared to be carved out of a gemstone.

'Of course, it is a parent's duty to raise their children. But to my shame, I will not be able to accompany it. I must ask you – you, who holds my child's last chance of survival – will you raise it for me?'

'This owl… it wants me to raise this egg?' Harry hadn't been expecting this development from it. Though if it truly was the last of its race, then Harry supposed this request made sense. The survival of this egg determined whether the Snowy Owl Clan continued, and there wasn't anyone else around.

'How sudden this is! But, it's just one egg. It's no trouble for me to raise it.'

'Though, I better get away from this forest as quickly as I can. There are hunters who can injure even Spirit Grade beasts here! Dammit, I really I am cursed! I came all the way to this remote forest but still ended up in danger!'

Harry was about to agree, but then the owl said something that made him halt.

'Before you agree, I am morally obliged to tell you one thing, even if it may cause you to refuse.'

"What is it?"

Suddenly leaning over, the owl began violently coughing. The gash on its body opened fully, and Harry clearly saw its internal organs, pulsing and dripping with blood. This Magic Beast probably had mere minutes to live.

'It is a deep secret of our clan, though that no longer matters now. My Snowy Owl Clan is cursed – or at least, we believe we are cursed.'

"What do you mean, you believe you're cursed?"

'It is a rumor, one that originates from before our clan's records. Not even our brave founder knew for sure if the curse was real. Yet, we all believe it.'

"Ok, what does the curse do?"

'I do not have the time to explain it fully – but our Snowy Owl Clan is a magnet for disaster. If you study the history of our clan, you will find it is misfortune upon misfortune. We have many enemies, and none of our members live long. I can't explain it all right now, but it has been this way for centuries, millennia even.'

'More pressingly... we believe the curse has the ability to spread, like a virus. Those who help us end up suffering too. It may sound unbelievable, but we know it to be true from centuries of experience.'

The owl stared at Harry silently, then closed its eyes and turned around. Harry saw a tear drip out the corner of its eye.

'Likely, if you accept this responsibility, the curse will transfer to you.'

Harry hesitated, perhaps for too long, and the owl took that as confirmation. Weakly flapping its wings, it rose once more to fly away.

'When they attacked today, I was already resolved to abandon this child. Yet, in the last moment, I found I could not bear to. No matter how unlikely, I wished it would have a chance of survival. Even as my clan was destroyed around me, I grabbed it and fled. I was searching for a hiding spot when I felt my blood awaken, and lead me to you.'

'I will not blame you for refusing. I understand, there's no reason for you to raise my egg. I will hide it somewhere safe, and hope it can survive on its own. There is no reason for you to shoulder our curse.'

"Wait!" Harry yelled.

"I'll do it! Your egg – I'll take care of it."

'You will?' the owl spun to stare at Harry in surprise, almost ripping open its wound further in the process.

'Why?'

"Because, your child is not even born. It deserves a chance to live. To curse someone yet to take its first breath, or see its first glimpse of the world, is far too cruel. I would never stand by and watch as that happened. You have my guarantee – I may only be in the Qi Absorption Realm, and I don't know what I can do, but I promise to raise this egg to the best of my abilities."

Those words were spoken from the depths of Harry's heart, fueled by his own experience with the Fetal Crippling Poison. He knew better than anyone else what it was like to be fated for death – before one was even born. Even though he had only met this creature for a few minutes, he couldn't just stand by.

Before the owl mentioned the curse, Harry was already planning to agree for two reasons. One was simply because he saw no harm in doing so, and he didn't want to turn down this owl's last request. The second was – somewhat selfishly – Harry thought if he raised it carefully, then one day, he would have a Spirit Grade Magic Beast for a companion.

When the owl mentioned the curse, the first reason disappeared. Yet, Harry found a third reason – simply put, he didn't want anyone to suffer like he had.

"Besides, you openly admitted that your clan was cursed, without hiding anything from me. You could have hidden it from me, to get me to take care of your child. But despite that, you still told me the truth. From that, I can tell you have a good moral character."

"And as for your curse... to tell the truth, I am also a cursed man. What is another one?"

Though this wasn't the time, a part of Harry's mind wondered if the two curses had been attracted to each other. Like magnets.

"Thank you," the owl whispered, finally finding the strength to speak. It looked like a massive weight had been lifted off its wings.

'This must be why my bloodline awoke in my final moments, and urged me in this direction. The spirits of my ancestors are still watching me.'

Harry gently picked the white egg out of the owl's talons, and held it close to his chest.

"What do I need to do?"

'It will still be some time before it hatches. Months, or perhaps a year. Until then, there is nothing you need to do. Once it is born, Ice Qi will help it grow the best.'

'The attackers will be here any moment. Once I am dead, collect my Beast Core – when my child is born, and awakens its bloodline, give it to her.'

"What – wait, the attackers are coming here?!" Harry exclaimed.

The solemnness and sincerity of the situation were erased in an instant. It felt like someone poured a bucket of ice water over his head.

If the attackers were coming here... it wasn't like this owl could put up a fight, not in its condition. It was certainly going to die. And after they finished it off, wouldn't they just kill him right after?

'She is named after the founder of our clan, our brave ancestor. Her name is -' the owl abruptly stopped talking, and turned around.

'- they are here,' it sighed.

Not a moment later, a group of five people appeared in the clearing. One moment, the clearing held the two of them, then the next moment, these intruders were there, like they materialized out of thin air.

The five were dressed from head to toe in black, and Harry couldn't make out a single feature of any of them, other than that they were human. Male or female, age, even the body stature and physique, nothing was discernible. All he saw were five blurry outlines, their figures blending seamlessly into the darkness.

Each of wielded a weapon – a short dagger, pitch-black in color. Once Harry looked at the weapon of the figure in the lead, he gasped and closed his eyes. In that moment, he had a feeling that his vision itself had been stabbed. If he looked at the weapon for any longer, he felt his eyes would start to bleed.

And when he tried to sense their cultivation, he got nothing at all. But of course, for them to injure a Spirit Grade beast, they must have been Spirit Fusion Realm cultivators, or high-level Core Formation Realm, at the very least.

"A boy?" one of the figures spoke. Her – for the voice was definitely female – was soft and slithery, with a vicious edge to it. Everything about her screamed 'danger!' to Harry.

Though Harry was tempted to turn tail and run, he knew it would do no good. He could only hope this injured owl had a plan.

Speaking of the owl, it was just barely managing to hover in place. It put itself between Harry and the five attackers.

"We tracked you for a long time, owl. After today, there will be no more Snowy Owl Clan in the world. Kill it, and kill the boy too. There can't be any witnesses."

Three of the figures flickered, then appeared right in front of the owl. A fourth one raised its dagger, then sent it shooting through the air at Harry. In that moment, Harry felt an immense sense of crisis. Before he could even react, the dagger was already there, about to reach his throat. Harry hadn't even had the time to properly notice it – he was still looking towards the masked hunters, seeing only pairs of merciless, unfeeling eyes.

And then -

"Blood ignition!"

The owl roared with its last breath, sending a shockwave through the clearing. For a creature on the verge of death and having difficulty speaking just moments before, its voice was surprisingly loud. It must have used the last of its strength just now.

Then a vast pressure erupted out its body, stronger than anything Harry had ever felt. It was a howling storm, a chilling tempest, and for an instant, the world stopped.

'I leave my daughter in your care.'

The owl seemed to have set itself alight. Flames could be seen rising from its body, but strangely, these flames were the color of pure white, and gave off no heat. Instead, the surroundings grew cold, like they were flames made of ice. The temperature dropped below freezing in a flash, and continued to plummet.

"Not good!" the female yelled. "It's going to commit –"

Whatever she was going to say was drowned out as all of a sudden, the entire world turned white. Snow, a whole blizzard of it, filled the world. The forest, the sky, the ground, the owl and the humans, all of it disappeared, replaced by a roaring white snowstorm. No matter which direction Harry looked, all he saw was an endless flurry of snowflakes.

'I-i-i-it's freezing!' Harry's teeth chattered, and he couldn't stop himself from shivering uncontrollably. This was the coldest he had ever felt, like he was soaked in water and then tossed naked into a blizzard.

Burning Blood!

Fire spread through veins, bringing a temporary burst of warmth to his body. But it was ineffective against the encompassing, biting cold. How could it compete against the power of a Spirit Grade beast?

Numbly, Harry dropped to the ground, huddling himself into a ball to stay warm.

A minute passed, the longest minute of Harry's life. He was sure he was going to freeze to death – and then suddenly, the snowstorm died down, and the blizzard disappeared just as it came.

Harry hesitantly got up, and his jaw dropped open at the sight in front of him.

All the snow was gone, the entire storm was gone, but in its wake, the world had transformed.

He was standing in a world of ice. The surrounding trees, as far as Harry could see, turned into large icicles, refracting the moonlight in all directions. As for the five hunters, they were encased in blocks of ice, frozen to their bones. They were still in an attacking posture, unable to flee or withdraw. The dagger that had been at Harry's throat was on the ground, also covered in ice.

Even as Harry watched, the ice began to crack. He quickly retreated, thinking the hunters would free themselves from their prison, but then, all five blocks of ice collapsed into a shower of dust. No trace of them, from their bodies to clothing or even weapons, remained.

'Unbelievable!,' Harry numbly thought.

That was the power of a Spirit Grade beast!

Five hunters, with some or even all in the Spirit Fusion Realm, were killed just like that!

Harry sat there for a while, in too much awe to move. He finally picked himself up, and walked over to where the owl made its last stand. There, two items rested on the icy ground. One was a pure white feather, which he held carefully. The other was a small and transparent sphere, like a ball of ice. Within it, Harry could sense a shocking amount of energy, despite it not even being the size of his eyeball. It was the owl's Beast Core.

Harry reverently picked it up, and placed it into his Space Ring along with the egg. The Beast Core of a Spirit Fusion beast was a priceless treasure. The whole empire would go crazy to obtain such a thing – but strangely, Harry didn't feel his usual greed or desire for money take over. His principles wouldn't allow him to sell this item either, as the unborn owl still needed it.

"Don't worry, I'll raise your child," Harry made a promise to the empty clearing, as if the spirit of the owl was still lingering around. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he thought he felt a response of gratitude from his surroundings.

'Right before it died... what was that?'

In the moments before it combusted its own blood and launched a devastating attack, the owl used the last of its strength to send something into Harry's mind.

It was a series of directions, a path from his current location to somewhere else in the forest. The path was sent as flashes of images and snippets of directions, but Harry was able to piece it together with some effort. He concluded that it led him straight to the depths of the forest.

'Follow this path. My feather will protect you, and grant you entrance. There, you will find what you need to raise my child.'

Far away from the Winter Fold Forest, in a hidden room of a certain clan, a man sat in a cross-legged pose, silently meditating.

Other than him, the room was empty. However, the walls of the room were not. On one wall, there was a large mirror. It covered the wall from floor to ceiling, corner to corner, showing a reflection of the entire room. The opposite wall was nearly bare, except for a row of hooks. Most of the hooks were empty, but items were hanging off four of them. The items were little pendants, made of jade, which peacefully dangled side by side in an orderly row. All was silent.

The silence was disturbed by a sudden cracking noise, and the man opened his eyes in alarm.

On the row of pendants, one of them began shake. At first it just vibrated slightly, knocking against the wall of the room, then all of a sudden, it shattered into hundreds of small fragments!

"Not good!" the man exclaimed, and turned to run out the room. But before he even took two steps, he froze.

By the entrance, another man had appeared. He seemed to have materialized out of thin air. Or perhaps, he had always been standing there, invisible to the world and human senses.

"Greetings, Patriarch," the first man hurriedly bowed.

"Just then, Number 4's Spirit Jade broke. She's dead."

The death of a Spirit Fusion Realm cultivator was an event that would send shockwaves through the empire. Yet, the man in black showed no visible change in expression at the news.

"Number 4 – she was to finish off the Snowy Owl Clan on behalf of the centaurs. Show me her last moments."

With his command, the mirror on the wall shimmered. It originally displayed a reflection of the room, but suddenly began showing a scene of pure white. Within, all the two people could see was a torrent of snow howling.

The Spirit Jade was a jade gem with a formation inscribed on it, connecting it to a single person's life. When the person died, the Spirit Jade would shatter. It required a Spirit Fusion cultivation base to create one, and each one was incredibly precious. Not only could it monitor another person's life, it also had the ability to record their last few moments. Everything the woman saw before she died was stored, and could be viewed on this enormous mirror. Right now, it was showing the blizzard the last Snowy Owl had generated before it died.

Seeing that sight, the Patriarch nodded in approval.

"That was the most powerful ability of the Snowy Owl Clan – said to be able to freeze any living being, Magic Spirit, or possibly even the world itself, if the beast is powerful enough. It can only be used once the owl reaches the Spirit Fusion Realm. And as they only have one Spirit Grade beast, Number 4 must have accomplished her mission."

"But if she's dead, how can we be sure the mission was finished?"

"This move is only used as a last resort, and requires the forceful activation of its bloodline power. After the beast used the move, its body turns into snow, and it dies right after. Of course, we'll send some people to verify and collect the corpses."

"Although – the beast should not have the strength to kill Number 4..."

The Patriarch paused for a while, his mind churning over dozens of possibilities, before speaking again.

"Perhaps, we underestimated it. But there is no doubt that the beast is dead. Since the contract was only for their Spirit Grade beast, I shall report to the centaurs that it has been accomplished."

Before he could say more, the scene in the mirror caught both their attentions.

The snow died down, replaced by an icy panorama of the Winter Fold Forest. The image was blurry, and the surroundings were all reflected in odd angles because Number 4 was trapped in ice. It was also dark, with only a bit of moonlight illuminating the surroundings. Yet, in the corner of the frame, a person could be seen, curled into a ball to huddle against the cold. The two of them leaned for a closer look – and then the picture on the mirror went blank. Number 4 had died.

"A human, a male," the Patriarch muttered. "Not one of our's."

"How was he not frozen alive? Is he allied with the owls?" the other man wondered.

"I do not know... but the Snowy Owl Clan does not have any allies. That was why we felt comfortable accepting the contract."

"Then this poses a problem. Word of us eradicating one of the Beast Clans cannot be allowed to go out."

"Correct. We must make sure this man is dead," the Patriarch stated without any emotion.

"But, we didn't get a look at his face."

"The centaurs have the means to track him down. Since we need to make the trip anyways, I'll have them do a scrying while I'm there. After that, we will handle it."

"Yes, Patriarch. Though, we lost one of our Spirit Fusion cultivators – what will we do?"

"It is unfortunate," the Patriarch coldly said. "But, we accepted the contract. It can only be blamed on Number 4's carelessness. Our Selwyn Sacred Clan has fallen to lower depths before, but we have always recovered. Bear patiently for a few more years, and when the Young Master enters the world, it will be time for our clan to rise again."