Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

"Dee dee."

As soon as Adinishi came out, its eyes locked tightly on the food on the dining table.

"Do you want to eat?" Qiao Sang smiled kindly.

Adinishi looked at the human in front of it, then at the food. In the end, it couldn't resist the temptation and nodded.

Seeing this, Qiao Sang was delighted and took the opportunity to say, "I was hoping you could help predict where Yabao and the others will evolve next. Would that be possible?"

"Xun xun!"

Before Adinishi could answer, Little Treasure anxiously floated forward with a cry, reminding it that he had already promised to consider it earlier.

After all, it made a huge difference whether it was his Beast master who convinced Adinishi or himself.

If Adinishi agreed because of the Beast master, all his earlier efforts would be overlooked.When Yabao and the others heard the flute, they wouldn't realize how much effort he had put in, and how could he become the big boss then?

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure looked at Adinishi with an expression that clearly said, "Say something!"

"Dee dee..."

Adinishi looked at Little Treasure and remembered how it had eaten all the food inside his ring earlier. A guilty look surfaced on its face, and it nodded in agreement, it was true.

Little Treasure breathed a sigh of relief.

At least the guy was still reliable, he hadn't worked so hard for nothing.

Qiao Sang was momentarily stunned, then smiled: "That's great! So... have you considered it yet?"

Adinishi looked at her. She seemed easy to talk to, and it had willingly entered Little Treasure's ring twice and even helped drive away wild pet beasts. She probably wasn't hostile to it, and she seemed to have a good relationship with Little Treasure. Helping out with a flute prediction shouldn't be a problem.

Just the thought of Adinishi agreeing made Qiao Sang's heart race.

Aside from Little Treasure, Yabao, Lubao, and Gangbao desperately needed that prediction.

"Dee dee."

Adinishi shifted its gaze to the food on the table and swallowed hard. A flash of cleverness crossed its eyes, then it sighed and shook its head regretfully, indicating that it wanted to help, but couldn't.

Qiao Sang couldn't understand its words, but the head-shaking was obvious to anyone.

Her heart sank instantly, but she still looked to Little Treasure: "Translate."

"Xun xun."

Little Treasure stayed quiet for a moment, then began translating.

"Xun xun?"

After the translation, he cried out with gritted teeth:Why not?

Which was exactly what Qiao Sang also wanted to ask.

She looked at Adinishi, her eyes questioning.

"Dee dee."

Adinishi looked helpless.

Predictions couldn't just be made anytime, it had already made one recently, so it needed some time before the next.

"Xun xun."

Little Treasure nodded and translated.

Though a little disappointed it couldn't happen immediately, it wasn't a big problem.As long as Adinishi was willing to help, he would still get credit. Yabao would surely hand over the boss title then!

Qiao Sang thought for a few seconds and asked, "When did you last make a prediction? How long do you need to wait before the next one?"

She hesitated, then cautiously asked: "Would you be willing to stay here until then?"

That was the question it had been waiting for.

"Dee dee. Dee dee."

Adinishi responded to the first two questions, then when it came to the last one, it looked conflicted, sighed, and finally nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Dee dee."

Sure, it would stay, but all meals must be provided during that time.

This time, Little Treasure didn't translate immediately. Instead, he looked at Adinishi with confusion.

"Xun xun?"

What? That earlier prediction, was it for me?

"Dee dee."

Adinishi nodded.

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure immediately started recalling.

He did vaguely remember hearing the flute and seeing some strange scene afterward...

So that was where he would evolve next?

"Adinishi already predicted for you?"

Qiao Sang caught on to the question and Adinishi's nod. Her eyes lit up as she made a reasonable guess.

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure turned to his Beast master and nodded.

Qiao Sang looked delighted and asked: "So you saw the place where you'd evolve next?"

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure hesitated, then nodded.

So it had already been done, that was great. Even though Little Treasure's evolution form and path weren't mysterious like Yabao or Gangbao's, and it wasn't absurdly difficult like Lubao's, knowing the location was still much better than not knowing.

Of course, asking Little Treasure to describe that place was out of the question. Qiao Sang figured she needed to find a pet beast that could visualize thoughts into images, just in case Little Treasure forgot what the scene looked like.

Various thoughts swirled through her mind, making her silent for a while.

"Dee dee."

Adinishi saw the human fall silent and couldn't help poking Little Treasure with his flute, lowering its voice to say:Translate the rest of what I said!

"Xun xun."

"Xun xun."

Little Treasure translated instinctively.

He hadn't forgotten that this guy was still crucial to securing his future as boss.

"Of course we'll provide all your meals!"

Qiao Sang lit up upon hearing that. She didn't even need to think about it.

A phantom beast, after all!

It was a phantom beast!

It was willing to stay and help predict evolution locations, what's a few free meals?

Even a lifetime of meals would be worth it...

Wait. Her unlimited expense card was about to expire... maybe not a lifetime.

Qiao Sang immediately sobered up.

"Dee dee."

Hearing her reply, Adinishi instantly teleported to the dining table. Its eyes curved into happy crescents as it joyfully began eating.

Watching Adinishi eat, Qiao Sang recalled what Little Treasure had just translated, that it could take days or even months before it could predict again. She couldn't help falling into thought.

She just hoped Adinishi could finish predicting for all her pet beasts before she had to return to Blue Star...

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure watched Adinishi stuffing food into its mouth like crazy, wanting to say something but holding back.

He really felt like playing the flute and predicting didn't take it any effort at all... but there was no proof.

After reminding Little Treasure to take care of Adinishi, Qiao Sang returned to her room, sat at her desk, opened her computer, and logged into the Yulianton University website to look up a pet beast that could turn thoughts into images.

She had just typed in her search requirements...

Suddenly, her phone vibrated repeatedly.

Qiao Sang picked it up, it was from Maral.

[#Midnight Terror! 30th District Airport Ravaged!]

[#Why did the Airport Barrier Collapse? Wild Beasts Rampage!]

[#Shocking! 30th District Airport Crisis Resolved by Mysterious Flute!]

[#30th District Airport Sees King-Level Beast Grass Candle Appear!]

[#Beast master Star Champion Qiao Sang Suspected at 30th District Airport!]

[#11 Injured, No Fatalities in 30th District Airport Incident!]

[#King-Level Grass Candle Sings Cursed Song at 30th District Airport!]

"Qiao Sang, are you okay?! Are you back yet? These news stories scared me to death!"

News spreads so fast... Qiao Sang resisted the urge to click open the articles and typed a reply: [I'm back. I'm fine.]

Maral instantly replied: [That's good! Were you really at the airport? The news said Grass Candle cursed everyone present, did you hear its song?]

Cursed?

The second time the barrier shattered... that must've been the curse's effect, right?

Recalling the scene made Qiao Sang's heart skip a beat.

She had tried searching online before her plane took off, but there was no detailed info about Grass Candle's curse.

Later, seeing the barrier collapse right after the curse-song, it was too much of a coincidence.

She could only conclude that was the curse's result.

---

Thinking back on it now, was she being too naive...?

Qiao Sang typed out her question to confirm: [What exactly is Grass Candle's curse effect?]

There was nothing online, but Maral, a top student at Yulianton University, should know...

This time, Maral didn't reply instantly.

Almost a minute passed before her message came through: [I asked for you. Grass Candle's curses are usually of the disability type, not fatal, but it could cause sudden blindness, deafness, or damage to limbs or organs.]

That's terrifying…

Qiao Sang felt a chill down her spine and quickly typed: [How long does it take to take effect? Is there a specific time limit or number of times?]

Maral replied quickly: [Looks like you were really at the scene. There's no clear info on the timeframe or number of activations. It probably depends on the curse level. Our university has quite a few professors who specialize in curse purification, you should reach out to them.]

Qiao Sang's eyes lit up at that message.

Indeed, curse purification Beast masters might be hard to find elsewhere, but not at Yulianton University.

Waiting around for someone to accept her posted request would be too slow, so Qiao Sang quickly thought of someone.

She swiftly scrolled through her contacts, found Dean Liz's number, and sent a message: [Dean Liz, could you recommend a professor who can purify curses?]

Dean Liz didn't reply immediately.

Qiao Sang resisted the urge to call directly.

As the Dean of the Medical Department, it was normal for her to be busy. She couldn't be expected to have her phone on 24/7.

Her phone buzzed again.

Maral had sent another message: [Only four days left until the Coordination Tournament. Don't forget our promise!]

Qiao Sang replied: [Don't worry, I haven't forgotten.]

Maral sent a string of "Love you" emojis.

Qiao Sang put her phone down and continued filling out her requirements for the pet beast she wanted to rent.

At that moment, her phone vibrated again.

She looked down, it was Dean Liz.

[I can purify curses. Why? Were you cursed?]

Qiao Sang quickly replied with a crying emoji and typed: [Yes, I got cursed by Grass Candle, please help! Emergency!]

Dean Liz responded instantly: [Send me your location.]

Qiao Sang immediately sent her location.

[On my way.] Dean Liz replied.

Seeing those two words, Qiao Sang instantly felt much calmer.

With the Dean of Yulianton Medical Department personally coming to purify her curse, what did she have to fear?

But in the next second, something hit her, she abruptly stood up, hurried to the living room, and looked at Adinishi, who was still stuffing its face.

She said urgently, "Get back into Little Treasure's ring. Someone's coming."

The allure of a phantom beast was no joke, not even to the Dean of Yulianton's Medical Department.

"Dee dee~"

Adinishi didn't even lift its head and continued shoveling food into its mouth.

"Xun xun~"

Little Treasure was eating alongside it while translating in real-time.

Someone's coming? It's fine, he said. I can make sure they won't see it.

Qiao Sang fell silent.

"You mean that skill that got exposed instantly in the cave?"

Adinishi: ...

Suddenly, the food in its mouth didn't taste so good anymore.

"Dee dee..."

It swallowed its food, pointed at the food still on the table, then at Little Treasure's ring.

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure took a deep breath, showing a look of restraint, then carefully placed the remaining food into the ring.

As Adinishi was about to go in, the ring gradually expanded.

Little Treasure gave a strong shove and stuffed it inside.

"Xun xun..."

After doing all that, Little Treasure looked utterly drained.

Qiao Sang saw this and said comfortingly: "You've worked hard."

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure sighed.

It was tiring.

He had thought that after returning home, he could finally become the boss.

But now this flute-playing guy was going to be hanging around for a while...

And who knew how much of their food reserves it would eat in the meantime...

Qiao Sang noticed Little Treasure's expression and was just about to say more when-

Ding dong!

The doorbell rang.

Qiao Sang went to open the door, and standing outside was none other than Dean Liz.

She wasn't especially surprised.

For someone of the Dean's level, time was precious. She would either ride a beast-powered vehicle in a large entourage or teleport using a psychic-type pet beast.

Dean Liz wore a white lab coat, and beside her stood a roughly two-meter-tall feline-type pet beast, also in a white lab coat, with fur that was nearly green.

Qiao Sang began to speak: "Thank you for coming-"

But Dean Liz cut her off: "Purification."

The feline pet beast didn't waste a word. Its tail swished forward and gently rested on the back of Qiao Sang's hand.

In an instant, a soft white light lit up.

Qiao Sang felt a warm power rush through her from where the tail touched her hand, like it was washing away everything inside her.

At the same time, all the negative status effects seemed to vanish.

She could feel that something inside her had been cleansed.

When the white light faded, Qiao Sang opened her mouth gratefully: "That was really-"

Dean Liz interrupted again: "I'm leaving."

The feline beast's eyes glowed blue.

The next second, both Dean Liz and the beast vanished on the spot.

"...Thank you." Qiao Sang stared at the now-empty doorway, her mouth twitching slightly.

Her phone vibrated.

It was a message from Dean Liz: [The curse should be lifted. I've got something urgent back at school. Since you're back, I'll send you the list of terminal patients you agreed to help later.]

She even made time to purify my curse in the middle of her packed schedule…

Qiao Sang was moved. She typed her reply: [Okay okay.]

Just then, a slightly surprised voice rang out from ahead: "When did you get back?"

Qiao Sang looked up.

It was Vice Principal Liu Yao. She smiled warmly: "Just now."

Liu Yao stepped inside and casually asked: "How'd the trip go? Did you find the phantom beast you were looking for?"

Qiao Sang closed the door and answered, "I found it."

Liu Yao: ???

"You found it?"

Liu Yao froze mid-shoe removal, staring at Qiao Sang in disbelief, like he hadn't heard her right.

A phantom beast?

She'd only been gone for a few days...

And she already found it?

Qiao Sang gave an "mm" and then turned to Little Treasure: "You can let Adinishi come out now."

What the heck?

Liu Yao was stunned, brain short-circuiting.