Eat Something Good

"Ha ha, haven't I been spending my time training Fire Fang Dog? Otherwise, how could I have gotten first place in the special admissions?" Qiao Sang laughed awkwardly and secretly put a little force into the hand stroking Fire Fang Dog. "Fire Fang Dog, don't you agree?"

Now that she had graduated, explaining herself to the Class Teacher was no longer important. Explaining herself to her mother was the top priority.

"Fang."

Fire Fang Dog nodded earnestly, cooperating with a response.

Before her mother could say anything, Old Class Teacher spoke first. "Getting first place in special admissions is truly impressive."

He smiled at Qiao Sang, but he was speaking to her mother. "Qiao Sang's mom, how have you been feeling?"

Qiao Sang's body jolted. Old Class Teacher had definitely done that on purpose!

Her mother shot Qiao Sang a knowing look, then turned back with a smile. "I'm doing quite well."

"Mom, Auntie called for me. I'll go over first." Taking advantage of someone at another table calling her, Qiao Sang slipped away the moment she finished speaking.

"Third aunt, did you call me?" Qiao Sang breathed a sigh of relief as she arrived at the neighboring banquet table.

Most of the people seated there were relatives from her mother's side of the family.

Her mother had three older brothers and one younger sister.

Other than her third brother—Qiao Sang's Third Uncle—who had remained here, her eldest uncle, second uncle, and youngest aunt had all gone to other provinces to make their way.

The place where Third Uncle lived was not Hanggang City either, but Qitang Town, more than ninety kilometers away from Hanggang City.

Qitang Town was Qiao Sang's hometown, the place where her mother had been born.

Third uncle had spent his entire life in that small town, for no other reason than to take good care of her grandfather and grandmother. Third aunt had stayed there with him all this time as well.

They had two children. Their eldest son was already in college, yet they still had never properly gone out for a trip together.

As far as Qiao Sang was concerned, she was closer to Third Uncle's branch of the family than to her other relatives on her mother's side.

After all, they were still in the same province and visited each other during holidays from time to time.

"Qiao Sang, do you want to come over during summer vacation? Your grandfather and grandmother really miss you. If they hadn't been feeling unwell this time and I hadn't stopped them, they definitely would have come to see you," third aunt said with a smile.

Third aunt was not a Pet Tamer. Without a Pet Beast Codex or the feedback from a pet beast, the traces of time were especially obvious on her face.

"Sure. I'll go over around the middle of July," Qiao Sang agreed, giving a specific time right away.

Even if third aunt had not mentioned it, she had already planned to spend some time in her hometown during summer vacation.

Qiao Sang lived on the sixth floor, and it was inconvenient for Fire Fang Dog to train downstairs in the residential complex every time.

It was a fire-element pet beast. If it carelessly spat even a little fire, it could easily damage the landscaping in the complex.

Qitang Town was different.

The house in Qiao Sang's hometown came with a large yard behind it.

There was also a small grove near Tan'an Township, just a bus ride away, making it an excellent place to train.

Qiao Sang had already worked out the timing. In a few days, on June 30, Hanggang City would hold a competition open to F-rank Pet Tamers. She could enter the competition before returning to her hometown.

To Qiao Sang, that competition was not a competition at all. It was naked points!

"All right, we'll wait for you then." Third aunt smiled, her gaze shifting to Qiao Sang's arms. "Is this the pet beast you contracted? It's so cute."

As she spoke, she reached out and began petting it.

Fire Fang Dog narrowed its eyes comfortably.

Seeing that, Qiao Sang relaxed. Whether a pet beast liked someone or not was sometimes truly a mysterious matter.

After the banquet ended, her mother went shopping with third aunt and the others while Qiao Sang returned home first.

Not daring to ask Fire Fang Dog for help again, she cleaned every inch of the house by herself.

Only when the house looked spotless did the worry hanging over Qiao Sang's heart finally settle a little.

The High School Entrance Exam was over, and she had gotten into Saint Water High School. Everything that needed to pass had passed.

Even if she had hidden the fact that she had been requesting leave from her mother for nearly two weeks, seeing the house this clean when she got home should keep her from saying anything else...

Qiao Sang took Fire Fang Dog downstairs as usual, intending to do speed training.

"Fang."

Fire Fang Dog shook its head, unwilling.

It had gone to great lengths to make itself look this handsome. If it trained and started sweating, wouldn't all of that be ruined?

"I didn't know you had such an idol image to maintain." Qiao Sang crouched down, stroked Fire Fang Dog, and smiled.

Fire Fang Dog usually took the initiative to ask for training. This time, it rarely did not want to train in order to preserve its look, so Qiao Sang naturally did not force it.

"Fang~"

Fire Fang Dog wriggled shyly.

"I'll take you to eat something good." Qiao Sang picked Fire Fang Dog up.

"Fang?"

Fire Fang Dog cried out in confusion.

Hadn't they just eaten?

They were eating again?

It turned its head and thought about it.

Actually... it wasn't impossible...

Without resisting, Fire Fang Dog followed Qiao Sang to a snack shop.

"Boss, three skewers of Super Invincible Perverted Spicy Grilled Wings."

"Coming right up!"

Qiao Sang carried Fire Fang Dog over to an empty seat.

"Fang?"

Fire Fang Dog blinked its moist eyes.

Would three skewers be enough?

"It'll be enough." Qiao Sang smiled, then continued, "After you finish eating, try releasing Spark. Gather the energy into one point, compress it, then release it."

Her purpose in coming here was not to eat. She wanted to test her theory about skill development.

With her Golden Finger, Qiao Sang did not need to worry about skill proficiency failing to improve, so she had recently been considering how to teach Fire Fang Dog new skills.

She could not afford the medicinal baths mentioned by the Vice Principal of Saint Water High School.

She also could not afford the normal route of going to an institution that specialized in teaching skills, and there were no elders around her who had contracted fire-element pet beasts to guide her.

She could only keep blindly figuring out the development of new skills on her own.

There were quite a few skills that beginner fire-element pet beasts could learn, yet Fire Fang Dog currently only knew Fire Fang and Spark among fire-element skills.

A few days ago, Qiao Sang had already asked Fire Fang Dog to try compressing its energy before releasing Spark.

But aside from making it a little more powerful, there had been no substantial difference.

Spark was still Spark.

That was when Qiao Sang thought of Super Invincible Perverted Spicy Grilled Wings.

The chili oil drizzled over them was not ordinary chili oil. It was extracted from the flower seeds of the plant-element pet beast Jiaomo Vine.

Even a pet beast that was not fire-element might end up spitting flames after eating this stuff.

If a genuine fire-element pet beast ate it, wouldn't it stir up all the energy in its body?

If it then gathered, compressed, and released that energy, the effect would definitely be different.

Although Fire Fang Dog did not understand its Pet Tamer's approach, gathering energy and releasing a Spark was not difficult training for it at all. It would not even need to sweat a single drop.

Since it would not affect its appearance, Fire Fang Dog naturally nodded without refusing.

Before long, the Super Invincible Perverted Spicy Grilled Wings were served.

The grilled wings, coated in red chili oil, were charred on the outside and tender within, their fragrance wafting through the air.

Fire Fang Dog's appetite was instantly aroused, and it stretched out a paw to grab a skewer.

Qiao Sang swiftly picked up all three skewers.

"Fang?"

Fire Fang Dog was full of confusion. Hadn't she said they were eating?

"We'll eat outside," Qiao Sang said.

How could they practice compressing and releasing skills after eating them inside someone else's shop?

If Fire Fang Dog lost control and spat out a burst of fire, they would probably have to stay and wash dishes to pay off the debt.