A Lucky Accident

"Creak~"

The door slowly opened, and Xu Ran stepped out of the Grooming Room, cradling Sea Wave Flower in both hands.

"How did it go, boss?" Liu Gu put down his snacks and quickly rose to approach Xu Ran, looking at his Sea Wave Flower with a hint of apprehension.

"The grooming's done." Xu Ran casually held Sea Wave Flower out to Liu Gu.

Liu Gu instinctively reached out to take them, then suddenly remembered that Sea Wave Flower refused to let him touch them. His hands stopped in midair.

"Gurgle~"

Sea Wave Flower floated lightly upward, pressing a ribbonlike tentacle against Liu Gu's outstretched hand while conveying their thoughts to him through the Beast Taming Contract.

"Your hands are filthy! Go wash them!"

"Huh?" Liu Gu's eyes widened, filling with delight.

Ever since they had formed their contract, Sea Wave Flower had refused to communicate with him. This was the first time they had clearly conveyed their wishes to him.

And just as Wind Lion Dog had predicted, Sea Wave Flower no longer resisted his touch. They merely wanted him to wash his hands first.

"Okay! I'll wash them right now!"

Overjoyed, Liu Gu went to the sink nearby and washed the grease and seasoning powder left on his hands from his snacks, then excitedly hugged Sea Wave Flower.

This time, Sea Wave Flower did not dodge.

It really worked!

Holding his own Contract Beast for the first time, Liu Gu suddenly felt like crying. Heaven knew how much Sea Wave Flower's aloof attitude had troubled him last night.

"Boss, you really are amazing." Liu Gu scanned the payment code and paid for the grooming without hesitation, then looked at Xu Ran with admiration. "You actually managed to change my Sea Wave Flower's aloof personality through grooming..."

Before he could finish, a somewhat disgruntled voice echoed in his mind. At the same time, Xu Ran spoke with an odd expression.

"Who said I was aloof?"

"Who said Sea Wave Flower was aloof?"

"...Huh?" Questioned by both man and beast at once, Liu Gu was momentarily dumbfounded. "But Sea Wave Flower barely acknowledged me after we formed our contract yesterday..."

"That was Sea Wave Flower trying to suppress their irritation," Xu Ran explained, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "A lot of grime had accumulated inside your Sea Wave Flower's body, and they couldn't clean it themselves. For a clean freak like them, that made them irritable and short-tempered."

"They probably ignored you because they were afraid they'd start cursing the moment they opened their mouth and make you feel even worse."

"Is that so..." Liu Gu's eyes widened. Only after Xu Ran's explanation did he realize he seemed to have misunderstood Sea Wave Flower.

"Sorry. I didn't understand your habits well enough, and that caused this misunderstanding." Liu Gu took the initiative to apologize to his Contract Beast, then scratched his head sheepishly. "But why wouldn't you let me touch you?"

Sea Wave Flower struggled free of Liu Gu, desperately trying to avoid the hand he had used to scratch his head, all while letting out an endless stream of "gurgle, gurgle, gurgle."

The voice ringing in Liu Gu's mind, however, was entirely different.

"How long has it been since you washed your hair? It's full of dandruff and grease!"

"And you scratched it with your hand! Now there's dandruff all over your hand!"

"I wouldn't touch you yesterday because your hands were dirty!"

"Go wash your hands already!!!"

Speechless, Liu Gu looked at his hands with a doubtful expression.

They look pretty clean. Are they really that dirty?

Watching from the side, Xu Ran couldn't help laughing.

Even without understanding Sea Wave Flower's words, he could guess roughly what was happening.

Sea Wave Flower probably refused to let Liu Gu touch them because he hadn't washed his hands.

After all, this species loved cleanliness and was especially sensitive to dirt. Even the smallest stain could not escape their notice.

He suddenly found it rather amusing. Liu Gu looked like a rough-and-ready fellow who paid little attention to personal hygiene. Now that he had contracted such a clean-freak Contract Beast, the two of them had plenty of adjusting to do.

While Liu Gu was communicating with Sea Wave Flower, Xu Ran picked up Purple Cloud, who had approached him, and text appeared before his eyes.

[Host: Xu Ran

Contract Power: Tier 1

Contracted Contract Beast: Purple Cloud [View details]

System skills:

[Fur Plucking (D-rank)] (3/10)

Contract Beast skills:

[★Self-Healing] (Teachable)

Happiness Points: 2874

System upgrade experience: 50/1000]

Sea Wave Flower had brought Xu Ran a considerable haul of happiness points. He now had enough for two draws.

More importantly, Fur Plucking had yielded another reward!

The one-star skill Self-Healing accelerated a Supernatural Creature's recovery when injured, and it did not conflict at all with Purple Cloud's current skills.

Come to think of it...

Xu Ran couldn't help glancing at Liu Gu.

Since acquiring Fur Plucking, he had used it three times. Both times it had yielded a reward, he had been grooming Liu Gu's Contract Beasts.

Could it be... that Liu Gu has some special knack for bringing good luck?

At the thought of that possibility, Xu Ran couldn't resist stepping forward and placing a hand on Liu Gu's shoulder. "Uncle Liu Gu."

"Huh? What is it?" Liu Gu looked up at Xu Ran in confusion.

"Nothing." Xu Ran withdrew his hand as though nothing had happened, suppressing his delight.

While his hand had rested on Liu Gu's shoulder, he had slipped in two single draws.

Both had come up green, with a value somewhere between white and blue.

And both draws had awarded the same thing: something called a Stamina Potion.

[Stamina Potion: One dose grants a Contract Beast an inexhaustible supply of stamina for three hours. Effects can be stacked, with no usage limit.]

Two Stamina Potions would give Purple Cloud six continuous hours of inexhaustible stamina, like a perpetual motion machine.

If Purple Cloud trained, they could use their skills countless times without worrying about exhaustion. If Purple Cloud fought, their endless stamina would let them wear an opponent down to defeat...

"Anyway, thanks for this, boss!" Liu Gu's hearty laughter brought Xu Ran back to his senses. "I'll be going now!"

He had already promised Sea Wave Flower that he would take a proper bath when he got home and pay more attention to personal hygiene from now on. Now that he understood their habits, he believed they would gradually learn to get along.

"All right." Xu Ran nodded and watched Liu Gu leave, then suddenly remembered something and called after him. "Uncle Liu."

"What is it?"

"Since you didn't know about Sea Wave Flower's habits, what made you think of bringing them here for grooming?" Xu Ran asked curiously.

"Oh, that!" Liu Gu patted Wind Lion Dog's head and told Xu Ran about the dog's suggestion, then strode away, leaving Xu Ran bewildered.

"That really was... a lucky accident!"

Xu Ran chuckled despite himself, then quickly closed the shop door and looked at Purple Cloud with shining eyes. "Let's learn a skill. Once you've learned it, we're heading out!"

Now that he had drawn the Stamina Potions, his original plan needed a few adjustments.

[Teach the Contract Beast skill [★Self-Healing] to the Contract Beast Purple Cloud?]

[Yes] [No]

Did that even need asking? Of course I'd choose [Yes]!