Unlike the peaceful days at Starfire Foster Shop, fierce battles raged outside Qingzhou City, where Xu Ran lived.
Beast tamers could command Contract Beasts in battle, but not all Supernatural Creatures were willing to follow their orders and coexist peacefully with humans.
Especially when higher-tier supernatural creatures were nearly as intelligent as humans.
These Supernatural Creatures, hostile to humanity, lurked outside human cities and frequently gathered to launch attacks.
To them, the flesh and blood of beast tamers could substantially boost their strength. Humans were merely food.
Naturally, humanity would not sit back and wait for death. Countless powerful beast tamers stood at the outskirts, defending their cities.
Many of them were not there out of some noble desire to protect humanity. The Beast Tamer Association in the city simply offered very tempting prices for supernatural creature materials.
Liu Gu was one such beast tamer.
"Fall back!"
At another man's shout from nearby, Liu Gu signaled for his Contract Beast, a Wind Lion Dog fighting Supernatural Creatures in the distance, to return.
Across the battlefront, the surging hordes of supernatural creatures were showing signs of collapse.
They had defended Qingzhou City once again.
Although he risked his life in battle to earn money from supernatural creature materials, Liu Gu still felt a surge of pride whenever he saw the creatures retreat.
He, too, had played a part in defending the city.
A dog as tall as a person appeared beside Liu Gu.
Long fur covered its body, and its streamlined build fully displayed the powerful physique of a supernatural creature. Although it was a canine, the thick ring of fur around its neck made it look like a lion.
Now drenched in its opponent's blood, with the enemy's mangled corpse still clamped in its jaws, it looked particularly fierce and formidable.
This was the companion Liu Gu trusted with his life: his Elite Rank wind-type Contract Beast, the Wind Lion Dog.
The Wind Lion Dog dropped the supernatural creature's corpse on the ground and let out an excited howl.
"Awoof!"
Then it eagerly pounced on its beast tamer, rubbing against Liu Gu and sticking out its blood-scented tongue to lick his cheeks.
In an instant, the valiant Contract Beast of the battlefield became a clingy pet dog.
It was just a little oversized.
"All right, all right!" Liu Gu wiped the slobber from his face with a deadpan expression and pushed the Wind Lion Dog's enormous head away.
"Hahaha, Liu Gu, your Wind Lion Dog really loves you!" Several companions approached with laughter, their own Contract Beasts beside them.
"Let's start tallying our haul! We got quite a lot this time. Once we sell it, we can take two days off." The man leading the group grinned broadly.
"Sure, Captain Zhang!"
The others answered and methodically cut the valuable materials from the supernatural creatures they had killed, taking those parts and casually discarding the rest.
They belonged to the same Hunting Squad.
Beast tamers themselves were relatively vulnerable, so fighting in groups was a common way to better ensure their safety on the battlefield.
Once they finished tallying everything, they headed toward the city, chatting and laughing.
"Liu Gu, with this haul, you should have enough saved up now, right?" one companion asked with a smile.
"Yeah!" Liu Gu could not help looking excited.
After exchanging their materials for money at the association's counter, they divided the proceeds as usual, agreed on when to meet for their next outing, and said their goodbyes.
On the way home, Liu Gu patted his old partner's big head. "We've saved up enough. Soon, I'll contract a new Contract Beast to keep you company!"
"Awoof!"
The Wind Lion Dog barked loudly, looking equally eager.
"You've worked hard lately, too." Liu Gu stroked the Wind Lion Dog's long fur. "Anything you want? Some tasty food, maybe? I'll buy it for you!"
At its beast tamer's words, the Wind Lion Dog perked up.
A thoughtful gleam appeared in its large eyes, and it soon solemnly made its decision.
"Awoof!"
"You want a bath?" Liu Gu glanced at the blood and grime on the Wind Lion Dog. "That's easy. I'll hose you down later."
The Wind Lion Dog shook its head, looking displeased.
The baths its beast tamer had given it with a hose before had not only been uncomfortable, but had failed to get it clean.
"Awoof!"
"You want to go to a boarding shop for Contract Beast grooming?" Liu Gu rolled his eyes. "That stuff's all show and no substance. Listen to me. I'll give you an extra meal of beef tonight—as much as you can eat!"
"Awoof! Awoof!"
The Wind Lion Dog shook its head with a determined expression.
It did not care. It wanted grooming!
"Why?" Liu Gu could not understand.
"Awoof, awoof, awoo..."
After the Wind Lion Dog howled for a while, Liu Gu understood.
A little while ago, a new neighbor had moved in near his home.
The neighbor also had a canine Contract Beast. Like his Wind Lion Dog, it was male, but the neighbor kept it as a household pet and made it look nice every day.
That would normally have been no big deal, but his Wind Lion Dog had a sweetheart in the neighborhood.
Because the neighbor's Contract Beast looked better, that sweetheart had fallen for him instead.
It was a sad story.
When Liu Gu found out, he had laughed at his Wind Lion Dog for days.
And now, the Wind Lion Dog planned to use this opportunity to win back its love.
"Old buddy, you really are a simp." Liu Gu let out a long sigh toward the sky and patted the Wind Lion Dog's big head, exasperated by its hopelessness. "Fine, you win! Let's get you Grooming!"
"If I remember right, there's a boarding shop near our place!"
"Awoof!"
The Wind Lion Dog nodded excitedly.
"Sigh..."
Sitting behind the counter with his chin propped on his hand, Xu Ran sighed. "Why haven't any customers come yet?"
"Meow..."
The kitten beside him copied Xu Ran and sighed, even though it had no idea why he was sighing.
Just as Xu Ran was feeling dejected, a voice came from outside.
"Owner! I wanted to ask..." A burly man entered the shop, leading a Contract Beast even bigger than himself. When he saw Xu Ran, he paused. "Where's your boss?"
"I'm the owner of this shop." Xu Ran sat up a little straighter. "But we only offer grooming services at the moment."
"Then I've come to the right place!" The burly man slapped the counter excitedly. "Get my Contract Beast nice and clean. Ideally, make him the best-looking dog in the whole neighborhood!"
"Awoof!"
The Wind Lion Dog held its head high.
"No problem." Xu Ran nodded, equally excited.
This Contract Beast clearly met the requirements for earning Happiness Points. Breaking a thousand points was within reach.
He could also try out the Fur Plucking skill while he was at it.
His gaze settled on the Wind Lion Dog, and he activated the system's built-in appraisal function.
``` [Species: Wind Lion Dog
Attribute: Wind
Growth Rank: Elite Rank
Size: Medium
Grooming needs: ★★★★☆
Assessment: It is truly rare to let a Contract Beast get this filthy. Host, put those magical hands to work and bring pleasure to this misguided Wind Lion Dog!]
This system really was shameless.
Before you continue