Chapter 85

Chapter 86: The Fire Qilin Lotus Planting Event

The Fire Qilin Lotus planting event was in full swing. While Qian Qi taught her classmates how to plant Fire Qilin Lotus, she also kept going to the Magibeast storage room to feed the Flame Hounds and clean up after them. After some time together, the Flame Hounds grew used to her scent and even greeted her with excitement, mostly thanks to her great massage skills.

Qian Qi wrapped both arms around A Tu’s now fully furred big head, rested her own head near its mouth, and gently stroked its shiny, clean tusks, then asked softly: “I treat you so well, so why won’t you make a beast contract with me?”

A Tu gave a huge eye roll.

She lifted her head, her small, rough face full of confusion, and asked in a low voice: “Are you worried about something? Or maybe…” She paused for two seconds, then said: “You don’t understand human speech?”

She clapped her thigh as if she had an idea and said with sudden pride: “That must be it! Then starting tomorrow, we’ll learn Chinese characters!”

A Tu: ???

[…What does understanding human speech have to do with learning Chinese characters?]

“No no no, not just Chinese characters,” Qian Qi said, shaking her head fast. “When you go out, it’s safer to know more foreign languages. And if we meet danger and can’t talk easily, we can use secret codes.”

[…Do you really think an E rank Magibeast has that kind of IQ?]

Qian Qi turned her back and thought hard, then murmured: “Morse code? Maybe too hard for you. Playfair cipher? No, even harder… How about pinyin? I don’t think this world has Chinese pinyin…”

The System zipped to her face: [Hey, look at me! Are you a devil? Are you really going to make a beast study characters?]

“Stop talking,” Qian Qi said, waving the System away. She had no patience for it today. “If you don’t even understand Chinese, you don’t deserve to be my contract beast. I’ll set that as the entry rule, and I’ll add math too. If a Magibeast can’t even do basic numbers, it’s not worthy to serve under me!” She spoke with high spirits.

[…]

The System did not believe Qian Qi could teach A Tu to understand Chinese any time soon. But it forgot about Pavlov’s experiment, and it forgot that even Magibeasts bow to the power of food.

A few days later, in the Beast Taming Plaza, Qian Qi twirled a bright red Fire Qilin Fruit coated with Magic Honey. Watching A Tu drool onto the ground, she pointed at a distant human-shaped dummy and said with a grin: “When I say assault, you dash over and knock it down. Got it?”

A Tu’s long, fluffy tail swished high. It nodded with great excitement. At Qian Qi’s sharp command, it shot forward and tore the dummy to pieces.

“I’ll shout retreat, and you run back right away,” Qian Qi called. A Tu’s four hooves flew, and it charged straight back.

“Good job!” Qian Qi stuffed the sweet Fire Qilin Fruit into A Tu’s mouth and rubbed the fur on its head in praise, and while “praising,” she wiped the Magic Honey on its head too.

“Next, we’ll try something harder. If you learn it, you get two Fire Qilin Fruits at once!”

At the promise of two, A Tu’s long, pointy ears stood straight up. Its red beast eyes looked at Qian Qi with eager hope.

“When I say grab him, you bite the enemy’s collar, then stand on the announcer’s platform with your head up and chest out,” Qian Qi said, pointing at a picture on her light-brain that showed a Magibeast gripping a person. “Understand?”

After staring at the picture for a moment, A Tu promptly bit Qian Qi’s collar, lifted her off the ground, and marched to the plaza’s side platform with its head high and chest out, tail wagging in proud little flicks.

Dangling in midair like a floating trash bag, Qian Qi thought: […]

The System cackled at the side: [Hahahahahaha (*???)]

After proving the Flame Hounds could be trained, Qian Qi felt much more confident about winning the bet. Still, an E rank Flame Hound facing an experienced, even reckless E rank Awakener would not win one hundred percent of the time. She had to make sure the winner would be her.

To win, Qian Qi would use every trick.

Sitting on a big stone beside her test plot, she curled her lips into a familiar wicked smile and said in a quiet, creepy voice: “Heh heh heh, Xu Jing and those fools have no idea how scary Magiplants can be.”

[What are you going to do?] the System asked, curious.

Qian Qi dug into the dirt and pulled out something that looked like a potato. The moment the System saw that Magiplant, it knew what she planned.

[…You are even more shameless than I thought,] the System said, not sure whether to laugh or worry.

“I’m honored to be shameless,” Qian Qi said as she pocketed two “potato” bulbs and headed for the lab.

For the three contestants in the wagered match, she had already chosen Zhang Feng and Liang Yu Ting. As for the last slot, she would keep watching. If no one fit, she would send A Tu onto the field.

After all, she only said three would come from Magiplant, not that three had to be people.

Time flew with how busy she was. A month later, Qian Qi finished her finals and welcomed her first summer break at Awakener University.

“Remember to train hard, and don’t forget to keep the students who stayed on campus planting and selling Fire Qilin Fruit,” Qian Qi said, giving Zhang Feng and Liang Yu Ting one last round of reminders before leaving. “The cost to grow other Magiplants later will not be cheap. The Skills Department’s funding is tiny. We need to earn money ourselves.”

The Fire Qilin Lotus needs people to care for it during its 7-day growth, and the market wants a lot of Fire Qilin Fruit. So most Magiplant students chose to stay at school and planned to visit family near the end of summer.

Qian Qi was very pleased. She let the students sell on their own to open more sales channels and slowly build a stable chain, so it would be easier to sell future Magiplant by-products. That way she would not have to run around alone. It was like using her classmates to build a sales network across the world, saving her lots of time and energy.

This would also reveal any hidden sales talents in the Magiplant department. Those who were best at selling would become her first distributors and help her travel everywhere to make serious money.

Oh, my lovely and charming Magiplant classmates.

All the “gifts” from Qian Qi already had secret price tags attached.

Work hard to make money!

Work hard to make money for me, Qian Qi! Money Sect!

She rode the subway back to Bright Light Orphanage. This would be her home from now on. Being alone felt cool, but she liked places with lots of people, noise, and life. Also, she liked kids.

Not because they were cute, but because she could beat them in a fight.

Here, she was the big sister.