Chapter 55

Chapter 55: A Slap for You

Liu Wang Da answered with a cold smile: “Because if one Flame Hound disobeys, all the others get punished too.” It was cruel but efficient.

Qian Qi toyed with the controller and asked: “Can we not use this?” She was here to build a deep bond with the Flame Hounds, not to make them fear her more.

Liu Wang Da glanced at her, sighed, and said with a disappointed look that he had expected this: “You students are so soft-hearted, pitying a Magibeast. Especially girl students.”

He lifted his own controller and said, his tone impatient: “Do you know how many people Magibeasts kill every year? You should get used to it early. These beasts only obey when they feel pain.”

A strong current blasted into the hounds. They shook in place, and dozens of miserable howls filled the floor. The echoes rose and fell, painful to hear.

Watching the first room of twitching, howling Flame Hounds, Qian Qi frowned. That had been the first hound she ever interviewed. Her feelings for it were different from the others. She grabbed Liu Wang Da’s wrist and said: “Don’t. Turn it off.”

Liu Wang Da looked at her in surprise and said, amused by what he saw as a reckless move: “Little classmate, follow the rules. If you get hurt or die, I will be held responsible.” Old Master Li had said that if there was a death or injury, he would have to pay.

“So you better…” he began, but Qian Qi put down her controller, picked up her cleaning tools, and slipped into the room.

Inside, the Flame Hound lowered its front half, tense and wary when it saw her. Its pale yellow fangs were bared and wet with drool from the current’s side effects, making it look even more dangerous. But its rear stayed pressed to the wall, refusing to stick out.

Qian Qi couldn’t help laughing. She set down the mop and bucket, beckoned, and said: “Come here.”

The hound growled. Its sharp claws scraped the smooth floor again and again, making a harsh sound. It had no plan to listen.

Qian Qi flexed her fingers and said: “Fine. If you won’t come, I’ll come.” She crouched, dragged her right foot on the floor like a dog, and gave a low growl. Who couldn’t bark? In her last life the orphanage kept guard dogs that snarled and bared teeth at her. In the end, her own barking sent them back to their nests with their tails tucked.

But Flame Hounds had much worse tempers than normal dogs. Provoked, the hound kicked off with its hind legs and charged straight at her.

Outside, Liu Wang Da jumped in shock at her boldness. He was about to press the button when Qian Qi shouted: “Brother Liu, don’t press it.”

At the same time, she kicked the bucket of water. The spreading water made the floor slick, and she shot forward, sliding under the hound’s belly toward its hind legs. She grabbed both back legs and yanked hard. With her powerful strength, the hound lost balance and skidded. Its chin smacked the ground, splashing water everywhere.

Qian Qi sprang up like a monkey, stepped onto the hound’s back, and raised her fist. She slammed a heavy blow into the back of its head as it tried to rise.

The hound yelped in pain, almost to tears. It had underestimated her. This butt-wiping food source turned out to be D grade.

Qian Qi gripped the hound’s neck and asked softly: “Will you behave?”

The hound’s eyes rolled white, not from sarcasm but from lack of air. Its whole body twitched as it flailed to throw her off, but she refused to let go and even smashed her forehead into the back of its head again and again, asking: “Will you behave? Will you behave? Will you behave?”

At the door, Liu Wang Da gripped the bars and pleaded: “Little classmate, stop choking it. If you keep going, it will die.” He finally understood what Old Master Li meant by a casualty. He had not meant Qian Qi. He had meant the Flame Hound. And a Flame Hound cost a fortune. He would go bankrupt.

Hearing his plea, Qian Qi glanced at him and released her grip. The hound lay there coughing as if its lungs would fly out, its whole body shuddering. It looked pitiful.

She bent to study the mess of a hound, sighed, and said: “Why do this to yourself? Wouldn’t it be better to sit nicely and let me clean the room?” She patted her thin arm and added: “I’m not even tasty.” Then, remembering something, she gave the hound a judging look and said: “You aren’t one of those dogs that like gnawing bones, are you?”

The hound was silent. Its breathing eased physically, but emotionally it only got worse. It started to rise to attack again.

Would Qian Qi spoil it? Not a chance. She swung her palm across its big face with a loud crack. The hound’s vision blurred, and it almost got a concussion. She had held back. This was an E minus Magibeast. If she used her full strength, she could burst its head.

The hound had never suffered like this. Being shocked was different. Outsiders used a strange, scary tool to hurt it, but this short human did it with her own body. Even with low wit, it knew it had been wronged. It curled its big body into a small corner and started to cry, partly from pain, partly from humiliation.

Seeing it finally behave, Qian Qi picked up the bucket and mop and cleaned the room. When she finished, she nudged the hound’s rump with her toe and said gently: “Up. Time to wipe your butt.”

The hound didn’t move and made a sad sound, “Woo…”

Qian Qi rolled up her sleeves, lifted her little hand, and gave it a sharp smack on the rear.

With a yelp, the hound obediently raised its hindquarters.

[Your kink is really weird,] the System muttered.

Qian Qi replied: “No, I have one that’s even weirder.”

[???] The System paused. Wait, did she mean that thing she made earlier?

After wiping the hound clean, Qian Qi patted the sore back of its head and said: “Hold on. I prepared a gift for you.” She slipped out through the bars, reached into her bag, and pulled out a giant hairless toothbrush she had carved.

What’s that? You’re asking about the bristles? Qian Qi stroked the Flame Hound’s red coat and showed a kind, penny-pinching smile.