Da Bao had decided that Sia was magnificent.
Sia, on the other hand, hadn't quite decided what to make of Da Bao.
It was their second evening together, and the giant had spent much of supper trying to win her affection with roasted boar.
He sat on a log beside the fire, holding a generous strip of meat between his fingers. Sia watched him from beside Xu Hao, her blue and brown eyes following every movement of his hand.
"Come on, girl. I cooked this myself, and it's the best piece of the whole boar. You can't expect me to keep offering you the good meat forever."
Xu Hao looked up from his bowl.
"Brother Da Bao, perhaps you should stop approaching her with it. She doesn't know you well enough yet. Put it down and give her a chance to come over when she's ready."
"I've been feeding her since yesterday. Surely she knows I'm not going to hurt her."
"She knows you're a very large stranger who keeps trying to put his hands near her face. From her perspective, that's probably worth being cautious about."
Da Bao considered this. Then he placed the meat on a clean leaf near the fire and returned to his seat.
Sia watched him for another moment.
When he made no attempt to approach, she rose, padded over to the leaf, and collected the meat.
Da Bao grinned triumphantly.
"See? She likes me!"
Sia walked straight past him and deposited the meat on Xu Hao's knee.
Er Bao lowered his cup to hide a smile.
Da Bao stared.
Xu Hao examined the offering.
"Well, that's thoughtful of her."
"She's supposed to eat it!"
"Perhaps she thinks I need feeding."
"After all the meat I've given her?"
Xu Hao broke off a small piece and offered it back to Sia. She accepted it, licked his fingers, and settled comfortably against his leg.
A moment later, she looked towards Da Bao again.
The giant noticed immediately.
"Ah! Now she wants another piece."
He reached for the platter, looking considerably happier.
Xu Hao shook his head.
"Be careful, Brother Da Bao. Once she discovers you control the food supply, you'll never have a moment's peace."
Da Bao laughed.
"That's how most people come to like me."
Even Er Bao couldn't help chuckling at that.
The conversation drifted towards their plans for the following morning. Da Bao wanted to see how fast Sia could run, while Er Bao thought they should first learn whether her strange abilities could be controlled safely.
Xu Hao listened with one hand resting on Sia's neck.
She had slept beside him the previous night.
Twice he'd woken in the darkness and reached down, half convinced that the familiar warmth against his leg had been a dream. Both times, he'd found her there, breathing quietly with her nose tucked beneath her tail.
He still couldn't explain how much of the Sia he'd known on Earth had been brought into this world.
But she remembered the old commands. She still pushed her head beneath his hand when she wanted attention, and scratching behind her crooked ear made her hind leg twitch exactly as it used to.
For now, that was enough.
---
The next morning, Da Bao was waiting beside the clearing when Xu Hao arrived with Sia.
He'd planted three wooden markers in the ground and cleared a little space between them.
"I've been thinking about what she could do," he announced. "If she's really as fast as the card says, we might be able to use her for hunting. Imagine sending her after one of those mountain deer. We'd never have to spend half a day tracking wounded animals again."
Xu Hao looked at the markers.
"That's certainly possible. But we don't know how the ability works yet. I'd rather find that out before we start chasing anything through the forest."
"Then let's find out. I could race her."
Da Bao looked quite serious about the suggestion.
Xu Hao examined his brother's enormous frame.
"She'll probably follow me instead. You haven't even convinced her to listen when you ask her to sit."
"I'll persuade her."
"With more roasted boar?"
"If necessary."
Er Bao arrived before they could discuss the matter further.
He examined the clearing, then looked towards the shallow ditch at its far end.
"Move the last marker farther away from the slope," he said. "Whatever this Wind Step does, we don't want her running straight into the trees."
Da Bao glanced at the ditch.
"She's a dog. She knows how to stop."
"Ordinarily, yes. But she's never used a movement technique before. We don't know whether she'll be able to control her speed once it starts."
Xu Hao agreed.
They shifted the markers towards the centre of the clearing and removed several loose stones. Er Bao walked the course to check for exposed roots, while Xu Hao led Sia from one end to the other.
The husky investigated each marker with great interest.
At the final stick, she discovered the scent of a small animal and spent nearly a minute examining the ground.
"Sia, come on. We're not hunting mice."
She lifted her head reluctantly and followed him.
They began with familiar commands.
Sit. Stay. Come.
Sia obeyed without difficulty, although she approached the final command with rather more enthusiasm than the distance required.
At Da Bao's suggestion, they also tested whether she would listen to someone else.
The giant stood a short distance away, raised a hand, and called her.
"Sia! Come here, girl!"
She looked at him.
Then she looked back at Xu Hao.
Da Bao tried again.
Sia sat down.
"She heard me," he complained. "I'm certain she did."
"Of course she heard you. Whether she considers your instructions worth following is another matter."
Da Bao scratched his head.
Xu Hao knew the problem well. Sia had been stubborn even before acquiring the body of an enormous spirit beast. It had taken months of patient training to persuade her that commands weren't merely suggestions.
He called her over, rewarded her for coming, and let her rest before the real test.
There was no reason to exhaust her with ordinary exercises.
Finally, he stood beside the starting marker and concentrated on the faint connection he could feel whenever he focused on Sia.
The information from her card surfaced in his thoughts.
Wind Step.
Three strides.
One-minute cooldown.
The description sounded simple enough.
Unfortunately, Xu Hao had learned that simple descriptions rarely included every important detail.
He pointed towards the far marker.
"Sia, run to that stick."
She looked where he pointed.
"Go!"
Wind struck the grass flat.
Sia vanished from beside him.
For three enormous strides, her paws seemed barely to touch the ground. Leaves spiralled into the air behind her, and a sharp gust swept across the clearing.
She passed the final marker in a blur of grey and white fur.
Then the wind disappeared.
Unfortunately, Sia's momentum did not.
"Stop!" Xu Hao shouted.
She tried.
Her front paws skidded through the grass while her hindquarters swung sideways. A spray of dirt rose behind her, and for one horrible moment she was sliding towards a stone they hadn't noticed near the clearing's edge.
Xu Hao broke into a run.
Sia twisted at the last instant, narrowly avoided the stone, and stumbled onto firmer ground.
Then she recovered, turned around, and bounded happily towards him.
Her tail was wagging.
She looked extraordinarily pleased with herself.
Xu Hao dropped to one knee and caught her around the neck.
"You ridiculous girl! Do you have any idea how close that was?"
Sia answered by trying to lick his face.
He checked her paws, examined the pads for cuts, and carefully ran his hands along her legs. Her breathing was faster than usual, but she showed no sign of pain.
Er Bao joined them.
"Is she hurt?"
"I don't think so. She seems fine, but that was much faster than I expected."
They looked back across the clearing.
The three long marks cut through the grass made the distance obvious.
Da Bao had followed them over. His expression was a mixture of astonishment and delight.
"Did you see that? I've never seen a beast move like that at the Dust Realm! She could catch a deer before it even realised something was chasing it."
He looked towards Sia.
"Let's try it again. I want to see whether she can—"
"Not yet," Xu Hao interrupted.
Da Bao stopped.
Xu Hao gestured towards the torn grass and the stone Sia had nearly struck.
"She couldn't stop properly. We don't know whether she can turn while using it, either. If that had happened on a mountain path, she could have gone straight over the edge."
Da Bao examined the marks.
His excitement faded a little.
After a moment, he picked up the offending stone and carried it away.
"You're right. We'll make certain there's nothing she can hit before trying again."
Er Bao nodded approvingly.
"We should also find out whether the technique leaves her tired. A skill that looks impressive isn't much use if it exhausts her after one attempt."
Xu Hao looked at Sia, who had already begun sniffing a patch of grass as though nothing unusual had happened.
"That doesn't appear to be a problem so far."
"Then let's give her some time and observe."
They rested beside the clearing while Xu Hao recorded what he'd seen on a strip of bark.
The writing was awkward. The surface was uneven, and his charcoal stick left marks far too thick for the amount of information he wanted to record.
He made another mental note to purchase proper paper when they eventually visited Hibiscus Town.
---
Their next tests were slower and considerably less dramatic.
Er Bao suggested waiting before attempting Wind Step again.
"The card says she needs a minute to recover," Xu Hao explained, "but I don't know how accurately we can measure that here. It might be an exact interval or simply an approximation."
"Then we'll wait longer than we think is necessary," Er Bao replied. "There's no prize for being impatient."
Da Bao sat on a rock and watched Sia with barely concealed anticipation.
After a suitable interval, Xu Hao asked her to run the course normally.
She did so without any wind gathering around her paws.
They repeated the exercise before the expected recovery period had passed. Once again, she ran at her ordinary speed.
When they allowed more time, however, the technique returned.
This time, Xu Hao positioned himself at the far end of the clearing.
He reasoned that Sia would be more likely to run directly towards him than towards a wooden marker. More importantly, he could encourage her to slow down as she approached.
"Sia, come!"
Wind rushed across the grass.
Sia shot forward in three enormous bounds.
Xu Hao had expected her to be fast.
He hadn't quite appreciated what it would feel like to have that much dog arriving at him all at once.
He braced himself.
Sia struck him squarely in the chest.
Both went tumbling into the grass.
For several seconds, Xu Hao lay on his back, staring at the sky while Sia stood above him with her tongue hanging out.
Da Bao's laughter echoed across the clearing.
Er Bao came over and helped Xu Hao sit up.
"Are you hurt?"
"No. Although I believe we've discovered that standing in front of her isn't the best way to test this ability."
Da Bao was still laughing.
Xu Hao looked at him.
"Brother Da Bao, I seem to remember you volunteering to race her earlier. Perhaps you'd like to stand at the finish line next time."
Da Bao's laughter stopped.
Er Bao smiled and helped Xu Hao to his feet.
They agreed that future tests would require a longer course and a safer method of slowing Sia down.
Xu Hao added another observation to his bark.
Wind Step functioned for three strides. It appeared to require approximately one minute before it could be used again. The increase in speed was considerable, but Sia's ability to change direction or stop remained uncertain.
That last detail concerned him most.
In a fight, speed might save her life.
On a narrow trail, the same speed could get her killed.
---
Guardian's Instinct proved much harder to investigate.
Unlike Wind Step, it produced no visible sign that it was working.
According to the card, Sia could sense hostile intent towards her owner.
That sounded useful.
But Xu Hao wasn't prepared to accept the description without understanding what it meant.
Da Bao had an immediate suggestion.
"I could pretend to attack you. If she stops me before I reach you, we'll know the ability works."
Xu Hao turned towards him.
"Brother Da Bao, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you're forgetting what happened when you first met Sia."
Da Bao looked at the enormous husky resting beside the rocks.
She was watching him.
"You think she'll bite me?"
"I think she'll try to protect me. Whether that's because of Guardian's Instinct or because you're approaching with a club is precisely what we're trying to discover."
Er Bao considered the problem.
"She may also recognise our footsteps and scent. Even an ordinary hunting dog can detect someone approaching through the trees."
"Exactly," Xu Hao said. "We have to separate what a dog can already do from whatever her new ability might provide."
After some discussion, they settled on a simple test.
Xu Hao would sit facing the stream with Sia beside him. Da Bao would circle through the trees and approach quietly from behind, intending to surprise Xu Hao without actually striking him.
He would carry no weapon.
Xu Hao wasn't entirely satisfied with the arrangement, but it seemed safe enough.
Da Bao disappeared among the trees.
Xu Hao sat on a low rock and scratched Sia behind the ears.
At first she appeared relaxed.
She lay with her head against his leg, listening to the stream while a breeze stirred the grass.
Then her ears lifted.
A moment later, her whole body stiffened.
She stood and moved in front of Xu Hao.
A low growl rolled through her chest.
Only then did Xu Hao hear a faint rustling among the trees.
Da Bao emerged with both hands raised.
"She noticed me before you did!"
Xu Hao rested a calming hand against Sia's neck.
"Yes, she did. But that doesn't tell us whether it was her ability. She might simply have heard you coming."
Da Bao looked disappointed.
"I was being quiet."
"You were trying to be quiet," Er Bao corrected. "There's a difference."
Xu Hao nodded.
"Sia used to recognise our neighbour approaching the apartment long before I heard him. Dogs have excellent hearing and smell. We need more evidence before we can say this was anything supernatural."
Da Bao looked towards Sia, who was still standing protectively in front of Xu Hao.
"Then how do we prove it?"
"I don't know yet," Xu Hao admitted. "We may need to observe what happens naturally instead of creating situations that frighten her."
Er Bao agreed.
"A genuine threat would tell us more, but deliberately putting Xu Hao in danger would be foolish. There's no reason to force the matter today."
Xu Hao was relieved to hear him say that.
There were limits to what he was willing to do in the name of research.
He'd spent much of his previous life teaching students that a successful experiment wasn't simply one that produced an interesting result. It also had to be conducted responsibly.
He wasn't about to abandon that principle because the subject happened to be a giant magical husky.
"Enough testing for today," he decided. "She's done well, and we've learned plenty about Wind Step."
Da Bao opened his mouth as though preparing an objection.
Then he glanced at Sia.
She was no longer growling, but her attention remained fixed on him.
Instead of arguing, he crouched several paces away and held out his empty hand.
"All right, girl. No more sneaking around today. Are we friends again?"
Sia studied him.
Then she approached cautiously and sniffed his fingers.
Da Bao waited without moving.
After a moment, she allowed him to scratch the side of her neck.
The giant's face broke into an enormous smile.
Xu Hao watched them with quiet amusement.
Da Bao had fought dangerous spirit beasts without showing the slightest hesitation, yet winning a little affection from Sia seemed to please him just as much.
---
That evening, Xu Hao transferred his observations to a fresh strip of bark.
Wind Step had worked twice under controlled conditions, although their attempts to measure its recovery time had been crude. The three strides produced extraordinary speed, but controlling the momentum afterward was clearly a problem.
Guardian's Instinct remained unverified.
Sia had detected Da Bao approaching from behind, but an ordinary dog might have done exactly the same thing.
Xu Hao drew a line beneath his notes.
Beside it, he wrote three words.
More evidence needed.
Er Bao was sitting nearby, repairing a leather strap. Da Bao occupied himself with preparing the evening meal while Sia watched from a distance that suggested her opinion of his cooking was still under consideration.
"Well?" Er Bao asked when Xu Hao finished writing. "What have you learned?"
Xu Hao explained his observations, including the uncertainties.
Er Bao listened carefully.
"I think we should concentrate on getting her accustomed to the speed before testing anything else," he said. "She'll need to learn how to stop and turn safely. The ability won't help much if she injures herself the first time she uses it somewhere dangerous."
"Agreed. But not tomorrow. I'd like to give her a rest and make sure she hasn't strained anything."
Da Bao looked over from the fire.
"She seemed ready to run another ten times."
"She probably was," Xu Hao replied. "But the fact that she wants to do something doesn't mean it's good for her."
Da Bao considered that, then glanced at the plate of roasted meat beside him.
He quietly moved it farther from Sia.
Xu Hao smiled.
Er Bao set aside the strap.
"There's something else we should consider. Even if her abilities are useful, we can't allow strangers to see her using them. A spirit beast that moves that quickly will attract attention."
Xu Hao looked towards Sia.
She had settled near the fire with her head resting on her paws. Even without Wind Step, she was far larger than any ordinary husky.
Anyone familiar with spirit beasts would probably recognise that there was something unusual about her.
"We'll keep her abilities hidden when other people are around," he said. "There's no reason to demonstrate what she can do unless we absolutely have to."
Er Bao nodded.
Satisfied, he returned to repairing the strap.
Xu Hao folded his bark carefully.
He was about to put it away when his thoughts returned to two entries on Sia's card.
Superimpose: Locked.
Copies available: 2.
He still didn't understand what Superimpose meant. Perhaps it was some form of strengthening or combining cards, but that was speculation.
The copies were another matter.
Whenever he entered his mind palace, he could sense two faint outlines waiting behind Sia's card.
He didn't know what would happen if he tried to bring them out.
Would they be identical to Sia? Would they possess the same abilities? And more importantly, how much of his strength would creating them consume?
Making Sia's original card had nearly killed him.
That wasn't something he could afford to forget.
He could simply leave the copies alone until he understood his power better.
Er Bao would certainly approve of that decision.
And under ordinary circumstances, Xu Hao would have agreed.
But he looked across the fire at the two brothers and remembered everything they had done for him.
They had protected him, shared their food, and taught him how to survive in a world he barely understood.
He knew about the destruction of their family. He knew why they were hiding in the forest, and he had seen how close they had come to death when they encountered the two-headed snake.
They were strong men.
Even so, strength alone couldn't guarantee their safety.
Xu Hao glanced at Sia.
With her speed and Guardian's Instinct, she might become an extraordinary companion. If the copies possessed even part of those abilities, they could prove invaluable to the brothers.
Two copies.
Two brothers.
He found himself smiling at the coincidence.
Sia raised her head when he reached down to scratch behind her ear.
"Don't look at me like that, girl. I'm only thinking."
She licked his hand.
Xu Hao looked towards the brothers again.
He knew what he wanted to give them.
The question was whether he could create the cards without putting himself—or anyone else—in danger.