"Beast Tamer, we have customers!"
Purple Cloud's call reached Xu Ran's mind through the Beast Taming Contract.
Although he had always said Purple Cloud should help watch the shop, this was the first time customers had arrived while Purple Cloud was minding it alone.
"Coming!"
Xu Ran washed the food bowl and placed it on the rack in the corner of the Preparation Room, then called back and hurried out.
Work was here!
"Look, Gu Ling, this is the owner's Contract Beast!" Su Xiaoxiao pulled a quiet-looking girl over to Purple Cloud and grinned. "Little one, do you still remember me?"
"Meow~"
Purple Cloud's gaze slowly drifted down from Su Xiaoxiao's face to the Blazing Fox in her arms.
The instant the two Contract Beasts, who had fought once before, met each other's eyes, sparks seemed to flash through the air.
"Looks like you do remember." Noticing the exchange of looks between Purple Cloud and her Blazing Fox, Su Xiaoxiao chuckled.
"Xiaoxiao, is this shop really as good as you said?" The quiet girl looked around, her eyes settling on the price board, and couldn't help frowning. "Whether it's grooming or boarding, the prices here are two or three times those of other shops."
"Trust me, Gu Ling. This shop is absolutely worth every... wait..." Su Xiaoxiao quickly turned toward the price board on the wall, surprise spreading across her face. "Oh! The owner finally offers boarding!"
Looking at the prices, which were clearly much higher than other shops' boarding fees, Su Xiaoxiao's first thought was actually, The owner must have a good reason for charging so much.
"Too bad I don't need to board Little Flame." Su Xiaoxiao looked a little disappointed. "I guess I won't be able to give the owner any business there."
She wished she could cuddle her adorable little fox twenty-four hours a day!
Boarding was completely out of the question!
"You..." Gu Ling stared at Su Xiaoxiao in surprise. After a few years apart, the dear friend she had grown up with seemed a little strange.
At those prices, she was actually disappointed that she didn't need boarding?
Forget a Third-Tier Town like Qingzhou City-even the larger second-tier cities didn't have boarding shops with such outrageous prices!
"You'll understand once you try it." Guessing why her friend looked so surprised, Su Xiaoxiao gave a mysterious smile and excitedly wrapped an arm around Gu Ling's shoulders.
"Speaking of which, now that Uncle Gu has been transferred back to Qingzhou City, does that mean he won't be transferred away again? Can we see each other every day now?"
"Yes!" Gu Ling smiled. "I've already completed the school transfer paperwork. In a few days, we might even be classmates."
"That's wonderful!" Su Xiaoxiao's delight grew.
Their families had been friends for generations, and the two girls, close in age, had played together for as long as they could remember. A few years ago, Gu Ling had moved to Cloud-Gathering City because of her father's work transfer, and Su Xiaoxiao had cried for ages.
Heaven knew how happy she had been when Gu Ling contacted her to say she was back in Qingzhou City.
After all those twists and turns, the two childhood friends could finally play together again.
But then she began to worry about her friend. "Cloud-Gathering City is a second-tier city, much bigger than Qingzhou City. Will coming back here affect your future prospects?"
"It will have some impact, but not much." Gu Ling chuckled. "I haven't contracted my second beast yet, but I've already started building a bond with it."
"The resources a Beast Tamer needs are basically Contract Beasts and training resources. I don't need to worry about the former, and my dad can help with the latter, so it's fine."
"That's good." Su Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief, then admiration crept into her eyes. "I never imagined that after working in Cloud-Gathering City for a few years, Uncle Gu would already have..."
"Sorry for the wait." Xu Ran pushed open the back door and entered the shop. Seeing Su Xiaoxiao, he looked surprised. "What brings you here?"
"Ah! You're here, boss!" Interrupted mid-sentence, Su Xiaoxiao grinned and changed the subject. "I brought you a customer!"
"Ta-da!" She pulled Gu Ling forward. "This is my good friend Gu Ling. Her Contract Beast wants to try your grooming service."
"Oh, right, Little Flame needs another grooming session too," Su Xiaoxiao added, then winked furiously at Xu Ran, hinting at a discount.
Xu Ran ignored Su Xiaoxiao's frantic winking and scanned the Blazing Fox as usual.
[Species: Blazing Fox Attribute: Fire Growth rank: Transcendent Rank Size: Small Grooming needs: ★★☆☆☆ Evaluation: A diligent, hardworking Blazing Fox has been discovered. It needs a thorough reward from the host's nimble hands!]
As inappropriate as ever.
"All right, grooming is fine this time." Xu Ran paused and looked at Gu Ling. "You can summon the Contract Beast you'd like groomed now."
Su Xiaoxiao's face darkened.
Was this owner deliberately pretending not to see her hints?
Damn it!
"All right."
Seeing Su Xiaoxiao fuming after her failed hints, Gu Ling let out a giggle. Behind her, a Six-Pointed Star Formation flickered into being, its lines intertwining.
Amid a fierce gust of wind, a dragon-type Contract Beast slowly emerged. It looked young, but already stood two meters tall, with black scales covering its body and a bony protrusion at the back of its head.
Hmm?
Xu Ran's gaze sharpened slightly.
Perhaps because the Red-Eyed Demon Dragon he had seen that day also had black scales, he felt that this unfamiliar dragon-type Contract Beast looked somewhat familiar.
[Species: Dark-Scaled Dragon Attribute: Dark Growth rank: Transcendent Rank Size: Medium Grooming needs: ★★★☆☆ Evaluation: An arrogant fellow from a big city seems thoroughly disdainful of the host's skills. Hurry and show it the power of pleasure with your nimble hands!]
An arrogant fellow from a big city?
Xu Ran couldn't help taking another look at the Dark-Scaled Dragon before him.
No wonder he had never seen a similar Contract Beast in Qingzhou City.
"Which of you wants grooming first?"
"Me, me!" Knowing her friend was still a little hesitant, and with Little Flame already impatient, Su Xiaoxiao eagerly volunteered.
"All right." Xu Ran nodded. "Then you..."
"Meow~"
Purple Cloud suddenly gave an urgent cry.
The last time the Blazing Fox had visited, Purple Cloud had been asleep and missed out. This time, that couldn't happen again.
Purple Cloud still vividly remembered losing their previous sparring match.
Now things were different. With more skills and considerably greater strength, it was time to avenge that defeat!
Xu Ran turned to Purple Cloud in surprise. After confirming he had understood correctly, he turned back to Su Xiaoxiao. "After the grooming, my Contract Beast would like another sparring match with yours. Do you have time?"
"Yip~"
Before Su Xiaoxiao could answer, the Blazing Fox had already raised its head.
You lost to me before. What's one more fight!
"Then let's have a match after the grooming." Seeing the Blazing Fox willingly accept the challenge, Su Xiaoxiao naturally wasn't about to back down either.
Beside them, Gu Ling was a little dumbfounded.
The grooming hadn't even started, and they were already challenging each other to a fight?
After just a few years away, had the folk of Qingzhou City become this simple and honest?
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