Chapter 50
Chapter 50: Contracting Magic Beasts Starts with Shoveling Poop!
Qian Qi didn’t waste time. “Uncle Li, do you take part-time help? Feeding magic beasts, shoveling poop—stuff like that.”
Uncle Li’s eyes lit up like he’d just found a winning lottery ticket. “You want to work here?”
Qian Qi nodded, putting on her most reliable good-student face. “Yes. I’ve been researching the relationship between magic beasts and magic plants, so I want to do some odd jobs here. Also… I’d like some free magic beast poop for research.”
“Oh, that’s perfect!” Uncle Li slapped the desk, delighted. “We’re desperately short-handed—especially for poop shoveling!”
Magic beasts were vicious by nature. The school hired awakeners to help manage them, but awakened pride was its own kind of beast. Most would rather fight a monster than feed one, and cleaning up after them was basically an insult.
So the burden kept landing on Uncle Li.
If Qian Qi came part-time, it would save his back and his sanity.
“But this work is exhausting,” Uncle Li warned, genuinely kind. “It takes strength. Little Qian, are you sure you can handle it? The awakeners can help intimidate the magic beasts for you, but shoveling poop is still hard work.”
Even grown men didn’t want to do it, let alone a girl her age. He didn’t want her quitting after two days.
“I’m fine,” Qian Qi said, utterly confident. “I’m strong, and I can endure hardship.”
Besides, she had ulterior motives.
She thumped her chest. “As long as the pay is good, I’ll make sure everything’s spotless!”
Uncle Li laughed, pleased. “Good! Let’s start in the E-rank area. Show me what you’ve got, and I’ll set your pay.”
“Deal,” Qian Qi said crisply.
…
The Magic Beast Storage Room had two levels: one above ground, one underground. The underground level connected directly to the large north gate of Beast-Taming Plaza.
The E-rank zone was on the second floor above ground. When the elevator doors slid open, Qian Qi stepped into a wide corridor lined with dozens of identical rooms.
Five sides of each room were solid walls made from the same material as the tower’s exterior. The front was a barred gate of special alloy—wide enough for an adult to pass through, but designed to keep large beasts from squeezing out.
Qian Qi looked down the line and realized every room held a blazing hound. Each wore a black collar.
“These are E-rank blazing hounds,” Uncle Li said cheerfully, pointing at one that was already snarling. “Compared to other E-rank magic beasts, they’re relatively tame.”
Then he tossed her into it like it was nothing. “You’ll handle feeding and cleaning on this floor.”
He chose the first room and slipped through the bars, calling back, “Little Qian, the cleaning tools are by the door. Bring them in and give it a try!”
Qian Qi found two big iron buckets, a mop, and a heavy shovel. She lifted them with ease and followed him inside.
The blazing hound instantly lowered its front half, muscles coiling. Orange-red eyes glittered like embers, pale yellow fangs bared in a low, threatening growl.
Qian Qi sized it up.
For an E-rank, it was almost handsome. Its long red tail ended in fur that deepened to a dark crimson, like a flame burning hottest at the tip. It whipped the ground with heavy thuds—dangerous, and weirdly cool.
“Don’t be scared,” Uncle Li said, casual as could be. “Usually there are awakeners to intimidate them, and we have punishment remotes too.”
He coughed lightly, glancing at Grandpa Sun watching from the doorway like this was free entertainment. “This one’s the best-behaved. It knows me. With me here, it won’t attack you.”
Qian Qi nodded. She set down the buckets and mop, then surveyed the crime scene.
This blazing hound’s stomach was clearly having a bad week. Poop was everywhere—some in round pellets, some basically porridge. She’d need water and a mop to get it all clean.
At least the room had a dedicated drain system, so it wasn’t as awful as it could’ve been.
Qian Qi lifted the shovel and got to work.
A translucent panel popped up like it had been waiting for this moment. “Go, Qian Qi. Shovel poop, go.”
Qian Qi: “…”
For one vivid second, she pictured slamming the System face-first into the mess. Then she remembered she might need to chew on it later and forced herself to endure.
Blazing hound poop was the size of a green apple. And it didn’t come in singles. Dozens dropped like artillery.
For most people, it would’ve been brutal.
For someone with D-rank strength, it was just… disgusting cardio.
When she finished scraping and mopping, the room looked clean enough to shine.
Uncle Li walked a slow circle, nodding approvingly. “Not bad, Little Qian. That’s perfect.”
“No,” Qian Qi said suddenly. “It’s missing something.”
Uncle Li blinked. “Huh?”
Qian Qi snapped her fingers. “I know what it is!”
She was here to build a bond with magic beasts. How could she shovel poop and leave without making an impression?
It was like a job interview. You didn’t just answer questions—you made the interviewer remember you.
She rinsed the mop, stepped behind the blazing hound, and—without hesitation—jabbed right between its cheeks.
“Puppy baby,” she cooed warmly, “when you have diarrhea, keeping this area clean is really important for your health.”
The blazing hound froze.
“?”
Grandpa Sun and Uncle Li burst into helpless laughter.
In the end, Qian Qi got the job.
She would come every day at noon to feed them, and clean each room once every three days. Salary: twenty thousand a month.
That same day, she cleaned every room on the floor—and, in the name of “bonding,” offered a personal greeting to every blazing hound’s rear end.
Honestly, their butts were huge.
Bigger than her face.
Grandpa Sun and Uncle Li watched the entire day’s “shovel poop, poke butts” showcase like it was the greatest comedy special of the year.
Grandpa Sun even recorded a video and sent it to the other old guys.
Old Zhao, Old Zhou, Old Wu, and Old Zheng responded with one unified reaction: explosive laughter.
…
After leaving the Magic Beast Storage Room, Qian Qi went to Back Mountain to check on her magic plants and help her classmates answer a few magic plant questions.
By the time she got back to the dorms, the sun was already sliding low.
And standing outside her door was Senior Li Shu Yun—beautiful, polished, and currently fixing her perfect hairstyle in a small mirror.
The moment she spotted Qian Qi, she snapped the mirror shut and waved. “Junior! You’re finally back!”