Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Family, who understands!
Sikong Wang finally ate those two starch sausages.
Not for any reason, but because Qian Qi was staring at his starch sausages so intently that her eager little hands seemed to say, "If you don’t eat them, then I’m helping myself."
This fueled his innate desire to fight for food as a person.
After finishing the grilled sausages, Sikong Wang finally got down to business, "Hey, fellow Qian Qi, I see you’re pretty good at dealing with beasts. My contracted beast hasn’t had an appetite lately, can’t seem to eat anything. Can you take a look?"
"Oh?" Qian Qi perked up at the mention of a contracted beast, "What kind of contracted beast?"
"I have a contract with a D-level Ghost Leopard, not very common, and I’ve seen quite a few veterinarians without success."
Ghost Leopard, Qian Qi had seen this breed in "Magic Beast Study," a compulsory textbook for freshmen in the Magic Beast Department and Beast Taming Department. She had borrowed it to study from senior Su Xingle.
The textbook said that the Ghost Leopard possesses an Invisibility Skill. The thought of seeing one in real life made Qian Qi excited. She nodded eagerly, "I can take a look for you."
Upon saying this, she turned to ask the system, "Can you diagnose a contracted beast?"
[Of course, I know everything!] The system puffed up its interface with pride. [But, you know...]
"Understood, understood~ You just want money!" Qian Qi generously patted Sikong Wang on the shoulder, "No time to lose, where’s your contracted beast? Let’s go right away!"
She had to enter the instance tomorrow to continue grinding buffs, so she needed to hurry!
Seeing Qian Qi so proactive, Sikong Wang couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and happily said, "Let’s go, I’ll drive you there!"
What Qian Qi didn’t expect was that Mr. Sikong’s car was actually a hovercar, which refreshed her perception of Sikong Wang: a prime customer... no, a wealthy customer.
However, seeing the hovercar made Qian Qi a little unhappy.
She thought of a certain guy already on her blacklist. It had been a month and a half, and that annoying Su boy still hadn’t sent her money!
Ugh, as the dean mother said, good-looking men are indeed liars!
Qian Qi grumbled to herself as she got into the car and headed to Sikong Wang’s house.
...
Sikong Wang indeed came from a wealthy family.
And not just an ordinary wealthy family.
The silver hovercar stopped on the green lawn of a large manor. Sikong Wang got out and introduced it to Qian Qi, "This is where Bai Yin usually trains, and over there is its den."
Following his direction, Qian Qi looked over and found that the Ghost Leopard’s "den" was even larger than her orphanage.
Not only that, but the exterior of the beast den was adorned with various luxurious architectural decorations, like fountains and artificial mountains. The splendor of it left Qian Qi feeling a strong sense of the saying "humans are not as well-off as beasts."
"Let’s go, it has been staying in the room recently and hasn’t come out. Despite the delivery of Demon Beast Meat every day, it refuses to eat and has been fasting for several days."
Sikong Wang led Qian Qi to the beast den. After opening the door, Qian Qi saw that the interior space was even more spacious and luxurious, with a dedicated bathroom, a specialized kitchen, a custom-designed oversized litter box, and a specific beast den.
"Mr. Sikong..." Qian Qi couldn’t help but ask, "Do you need a bodyguard?"
She felt that she could be even more formidable than the Ghost Leopard.
So, could she live in this room?
Sikong Wang: ??? "Why do you ask?"
Qian Qi wiped her face in frustration, "Nothing, I’m just really envious of your contracted beast."
Qian Qi decided to take her contracted beasts to rich people’s places less often. What if, one day, her own beast discovered the beauty of city life and felt a sense of disparity, thinking she’s poor?
She’s very sensitive at heart!
"Bai Yin?" Sikong Wang called out, but when Bai Yin didn’t appear, he searched around and found the Ghost Leopard in the bedroom. "Qian Qi, come here quickly."
Qian Qi rushed over and saw the Ghost Leopard, which looked exactly like the photo in the textbook, lying on the ground. Its majestic head had two tiny black horns, and its glossy, jet-black fur shone. But the tip of its long, black tail was a clean white.
Qian Qi moved in for a closer look. The Ghost Leopard seemed lethargic, its eyelids drooping lazily. Even seeing a stranger, it showed no aggression, only giving its tail a slight flick before letting its head drop to the floor, breathing weakly.
Feigning expertise, Qian Qi petted it for a while but found nothing wrong, so she sought the system’s wisdom, "Tongzi, your turn?"
[50 bucks.]
That cheap?
Seems like the answer is simple. Qian Qi transferred 50 bucks to the system without even bargaining.
System: [The answer is that Sikong Wang is too heavy, and the Ghost Leopard can’t carry him, so it fakes being sick. Just have Sikong Wang lose weight.]
Qian Qi: ???
No way, is that really the answer?
Qian Qi glanced back at the slightly chubby Sikong Wang and then down at the Ghost Leopard, which was only the size of a regular adult leopard.
Though the answer seemed absurd, she couldn’t find anything wrong with the Ghost Leopard earlier.
Could it really be pretending?
Seeing Qian Qi’s hesitant expression, Sikong Wang grew nervous, "Qian Qi, does Bai Yin have some terminal illness?"
He really liked Bai Yin, having made a contract with it since he was ten, taking care of it for eight years.
It accompanied him in and out of instances, completing numerous missions, and was there during times when many of his family members were absent. If Bai Yin truly had a terminal illness, Sikong Wang simply couldn’t bear it.
"Not really..." Qian Qi wiped her face and said awkwardly, "Your contracted beast is in good health. It’s pretending to be sick because you’re too heavy for it to carry."
"So as long as you lose weight..."
Sikong Wang: ???
System: [Hahahahahahaha—]
Sikong Wang looked incredulous, "No, that’s impossible! Previous veterinarians clearly said something was off with Bai Yin’s health, it can’t be nothing!"
Qian Qi: ???
Qian Qi turned to look at the system and saw its screen filled with [Hahahahaha].
Qian Qi: ...
[Hahaha, you actually believed it!] The system laughed so hard it was rolling mid-air. [Guys, who would have thought! I said to have Sikong Wang lose weight, and my host actually told him to lose weight, hahahahahaha—]
Qian Qi: ...
Her trust in the system was decreasing by -1-1-1-1-1-1.
[Ahem, no more joking.] The system switched to new words: [For just 3000 bucks, you can get the right answer~]
Qian Qi pursed her lips and sent 3000 bucks to the system.
The speed at which Qian Qi transferred money was swift, without any complaints, which made the system feel a bit embarrassed. It scanned the Ghost Leopard and, seriously, said [It’s suffering from an element disorder. Families like these always feed their contracted beasts different Demon Beast Meat. Stuff like Golden Demon Yak Meat, Red Fox, and Ice Weaving Beast, all from D-level magical beasts with various attributes. Overeating these is bound to cause stomach issues.]
[This Ghost Leopard probably left its parents at a young age, and doesn’t understand that before digesting certain attribute Demon Beast Meat, it shouldn’t eat others. Normally, a brief tummy issue would resolve by stopping for a while, but it happened to have ingested Illusion Heart Grass recently, causing a buildup that led to an element disorder, making it unable to use its skills.]
After reading this, Qian Qi stroked her chin.
She turned to Sikong Wang with a grin. Based on the principle that if she’s not embarrassed, Sikong Wang would be, she seriously said, "I was just joking earlier. Don’t mind that; this is the real deal."
"Wasn’t your contracted beast eating Illusion Heart Grass earlier?" She pretended to calculate like a sage.
Sikong Wang was startled and surprised, "It did eat some, how did you know?"