"A special-type Contract Beast?"
As Xu Ran looked at the unusual yet beautiful creature before him, surprise flickered in his eyes.
Before last night, he would probably have been shocked by this Contract Beast's appearance.
But after cramming Beast Taming knowledge, Xu Ran had learned that supernatural creatures in this world were born not only from existing plants and animals, but also from nonliving things such as mountains and rivers.
The one before him clearly belonged to the latter category.
"You've got a good eye, young boss." Liu Gu smiled. "It isn't a supernatural creature native to the area around Qingzhou City. It came from somewhere farther away. I paid the deposit ages ago, but only now could I afford to buy it."
"So hurry and give it a grooming session, boss!" A hint of anticipation showed on Liu Gu's face.
"All right." Xu Ran glanced at the little creature, which had no eyes but was turning its head to survey its surroundings. "Come with me."
"Go on, follow him," Liu Gu told the Sea Wave Flower.
"Glub~"
The Sea Wave Flower trembled, making a faint sound like a bursting bubble, then slowly floated after Xu Ran. The man and beast soon disappeared into the grooming room.
"Phew!" Only then did Liu Gu let out a small sigh of relief and scratch his head. "Hopefully, the Sea Wave Flower will warm up to me a little after its grooming."
Naturally, he hadn't brought his newly contracted second Contract Beast here first thing in the morning merely for Grooming.
The Sea Wave Flower came from a distant region rather than the area around Qingzhou City, and Liu Gu didn't know much about it. He only knew that it was a fairly rare water-type healing pet beast, which happened to be exactly what the Hunting Squad lacked.
So Liu Gu had readily paid the deposit without hesitation.
After finally saving enough money to buy the little creature and bring the Sea Wave Flower home, Liu Gu discovered a very serious problem.
This Sea Wave Flower was extremely aloof. Even after forming a contract, it barely acknowledged him and refused to let him touch it.
A problem like this between a Beast Tamer and his Contract Beast posed a significant risk for Liu Gu, who frequently fought supernatural creatures to the death.
For a while, Liu Gu had no idea how to handle it.
That was when the Wind Lion Dog gave him a suggestion.
It suggested bringing the Sea Wave Flower to Xu Ran for grooming.
Its reasoning was simple: after coming here once, it wished it could stay here every day. If the Sea Wave Flower experienced this shop's incredibly comfortable grooming service just once, it would surely open its heart to its Beast Tamer.
Even if that didn't work, he could still offer visits to the shop for Grooming as a reward to make it cooperate obediently in battle.
The Wind Lion Dog knew better than anyone how tempting grooming could be. It was certain that no matter how aloof the Sea Wave Flower was, it would never be able to resist!
Though the Wind Lion Dog was a hopeless lovesick fool, after winning back its old flame with its new look yesterday, it had finally regained the intelligence befitting an Elite Rank supernatural creature.
Liu Gu was somewhat dubious about his dog's suggestion, but with no better option, he decided to give it a shot.
And that was how this visit came about.
"Come on, buddy. Let's wait in the lounge." Liu Gu scratched his head and led the Wind Lion Dog toward the lounge.
Purple Cloud, lying on the counter, withdrew its gaze from the Wind Lion Dog, a trace of smugness flashing in its eyes.
When it had seen this big fellow yesterday, it had been so frightened that it hid in a corner. Seeing it again today, Purple Cloud was still no match for it, but no longer felt instinctively afraid.
So happy!
[To improve the results of this grooming session, the system will grant the host knowledge from "Water-Type Pet Beast Grooming Basics" and "Special-Type Pet Beast Grooming Basics."]
As a line of small text appeared before his eyes, a wealth of knowledge silently surfaced in Xu Ran's mind.
In an instant, he gained a thorough understanding of the Sea Wave Flower's habits, grooming precautions, and all the other necessary information.
When he looked again at the seemingly clean little creature before him, a peculiar expression appeared on his face.
Sea Wave Flowers were supernatural creatures obsessed with cleanliness.
Although they were water-type creatures, they lacked the ability to clean themselves. Once they became dirty, their only way to appear clean was to hide the grime inside their bodies.
As time passed, more and more grime accumulated inside a Sea Wave Flower. Unable to remove it, they underwent changes in temperament, becoming irritable and short-tempered.
This Sea Wave Flower's grooming needs had reached three stars. The fact that it could still remain calm was already quite remarkable.
"Don't worry, little one. I'll get you nice and clean." Xu Ran gave the Sea Wave Flower a friendly smile, then fetched a basin and quickly mixed a suitable cleaning solution inside it. "Hop in."
"Glub~"
The Sea Wave Flower cautiously floated over the basin, then lowered itself little by little, carefully touching the water with a ribbon-like tentacle as though checking whether it was clean.
Then its body slowly sank into the water. It trembled gently and made an unusual sound.
"Glub~~"
[Happiness Points from the Sea Wave Flower +20]
Xu Ran froze for a moment, then couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath. He looked at the Sea Wave Flower as though it were a priceless treasure.
Twenty Happiness Points right off the bat!
He rubbed his hands together excitedly.
I'm going to give you the most thorough wash today!
With cleaning gloves on both hands, he worked generous amounts of cleaning solution deep into the Sea Wave Flower's body, gradually loosening the grime clinging to it.
The Sea Wave Flower felt the spots that had been bothering it and keeping it constantly irritated suddenly grow ticklish and tingly. The strange, soothing sensation made it tremble uncontrollably.
"Glub~~~"
[Happiness Points from the Sea Wave Flower +30] [Happiness Points from the Sea Wave Flower +30] [From...]
As the Happiness Points kept rising, Xu Ran's gaze grew ever gentler.
Time to take it a step further!
He gently rubbed its body. The grime, already loosened by soaking in the cleaning solution, quickly came free under his gentle scrubbing and floated on the surface of the solution in the basin.
[Happiness Points from the Sea Wave Flower +40] [Happiness Points from the Sea Wave Flower +40] [From...]
"Glub~~~~"
In the lounge, Liu Gu paused with a snack halfway to his mouth as he heard the strange noises coming from next door. Suspicion crept onto his face.
That's my Sea Wave Flower, right? Why does it sound so strange?
"Woof~"
That's normal~
The Wind Lion Dog reached out a paw and patted its Beast Tamer's shoulder, then glanced toward the grooming room with envy in its eyes.
If only I were the one in the grooming room right now...
Before you continue