Chapter 92

Chapter 93: Guys, who gets it!

Si Kong Wang finally ate both starch sausages. Not because he wanted to, but because Qian Qi’s eyes were glued to them. Her twitching fingers seemed to say: “If you won’t eat them, I will.”

That stirred the primal urge to guard his food.

When they finished, he got to the point and said: “So, Qian Qi, I think your Beast Taming is pretty good. My Contract Beast has lost its appetite and won’t eat anything. Could you take a look?”

Qian Qi’s eyes brightened as soon as she heard “Contract Beast,” and she said: “Oh? What Contract Beast is it?”

“I contracted a D grade Ghost Panther. It’s not common. I’ve taken it to several veterinarians, but none of them could fix it.”

Ghost Panther. Qian Qi had seen that species in Beast Studies, a textbook all first years in Magibeast and Beast Taming had to learn. She had borrowed it from Senior Su Xing Le. The book said Ghost Panthers have the Invisibility skill. Thinking she could see one in real life, Qian Qi nodded, excited, and said: “I can take a look.”

Then she asked the System in her head: [Can you treat Contract Beasts?]

[Of course. I know everything,] the System said proudly, panel puffed up. [But you know how it is.]

“I know, I know, you want money,” Qian Qi said. She clapped Si Kong Wang on the shoulder and added: “No time like the present. Where’s your Contract Beast? Let’s go now.”

She had to dive into the Dungeon tomorrow to keep grinding buffs, so time was tight.

Seeing her so eager, Si Kong Wang let out a breath of relief and said happily: “Great, we’ll take my car.”

What Qian Qi didn’t expect was that Classmate Si Kong drove a hover car. Her view of him refreshed at once: not prey to be slaughtered, she corrected herself, but a wealthy client.

Still, the hover car made her frown a little. She thought of a man on her blacklist. It had been a month and a half, and that jerk with the surname Su still hadn’t sent the money.

Ugh. The dean’s mother was right. Handsome men are liars.

Grumbling to herself, Qian Qi got in. They drove to Si Kong Wang’s home.

Si Kong Wang was rich.

Not normal rich either.

The silver hover car glided onto a huge green lawn in front of a grand estate. Getting out, he pointed and said: “This is where Bai Yin trains. That over there is his den.”

Qian Qi followed his hand. The Ghost Panther’s “den” was bigger than her orphanage.

On top of that, the outside was decorated with fancy features, fountains and rock gardens. The golden, glittering vibe hit her hard. Qian Qi finally understood the phrase people not as lucky as beasts.

“Come on,” he said. “He’s been holed up in his room and won’t come out. We bring Magibeast meat every day, but he won’t eat. It’s been a few days of fasting.”

They entered the den. The inside was even more spacious and luxurious. There was a private bath, a kitchen, a custom beast bed, and even an oversized custom sand box.

“Classmate Si Kong,” Qian Qi couldn’t help asking: “Do you need a bodyguard?”

She was pretty sure she could fight better than the Ghost Panther.

So could she live in this room instead?

Si Kong Wang blinked and said: “Why would you ask that?”

Qian Qi rubbed her face and said: “Nothing. I’m just jealous of your Contract Beast.”

She decided she should take her own Contract Beast to rich homes less often. If it discovered how nice city life could be and then looked down on her for being poor, what would she do?

Her heart was fragile.

“Bai Yin?” Si Kong Wang called. When the panther didn’t come out, he searched and found it in the bedroom. He waved Qian Qi over and said: “Come take a look.”

Qian Qi jogged in and saw a Ghost Panther that matched the textbook picture. Two tiny black nubs of horn grew from its proud head. Its sleek black coat shone. Only the tip of its long black tail was a clean white.

She looked closer. The panther’s spirit was low. Heavy lids drooped. Even seeing a stranger, it showed no aggression. It barely flicked its tail, dropped its head to the floor, and breathed weakly.

Qian Qi put on a show, petting and checking for a while. She found nothing. So she asked the System: [Your turn?]

[50 coins.]

So cheap?

The answer must be simple. Qian Qi didn’t even haggle. She sent the 50 right away.

The System said: [The answer is that Si Kong Wang is too fat. The panther can’t carry him, so it’s faking sickness. Tell him to lose weight.]

Qian Qi froze.

Was that really the answer?

She looked at the round cheeked, harmless looking Si Kong Wang, then down at the Ghost Panther, about the size of a normal adult leopard. The answer felt ridiculous, but she truly hadn’t found a problem.

Maybe it was faking.

Seeing Qian Qi hesitate, Si Kong Wang grew nervous and said: “Qian Qi, is Bai Yin… does he have something incurable?”

He loved Bai Yin. He had contracted him at age ten. It had been eight years. The panther had gone in and out of Dungeons with him, helped with many tasks, and kept him company when family wasn’t around. If Bai Yin had something fatal, Si Kong Wang couldn’t accept it.

Qian Qi coughed and said: “Not exactly. Your Contract Beast is healthy. He’s pretending because you’re too heavy and he can’t carry you.”

“So if you lose weight…”

Si Kong Wang stared: “No way. The veterinarians said his body did show an abnormality. It can’t be that he’s not sick.”

Qian Qi blinked.

She looked back at the System. The panel was filled with: [hahahahahaha]

Qian Qi went quiet.

[Hahaha, you actually believed that,] the System wrote, rolling around midair. [Guys, who gets it! I said to make Si Kong Wang lose weight, and my host really told him to lose weight. Hahaha.]

Qian Qi’s trust in the System dropped by the second: [-1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1]

The System cleared its text and wrote: [Ahem, kidding is over. Pay 3000 and you get the real answer.]

Qian Qi pouted, but she sent the 3000 without complaint. Her speed even made the System feel a little guilty. It scanned the Ghost Panther and wrote seriously: [This is elemental disorder. Rich families like to feed their Contract Beasts all kinds of Magibeast meats, like Gold Magi-yak, Red Brocade Fox, and Ice Spinner Beast. They have different attributes. Eat too many mixed types and the stomach will rebel.]

[This Ghost Panther must have left its parents young, so it never learned that you can’t pile a new attribute meat on top of an undigested one.]

[Normally it would just be a stomach issue that clears up with a break, but some time ago it also ate Phantom Heart Grass somewhere. That stirred up the stored elemental mess so badly it can’t even use its own skill.]

Qian Qi rubbed her chin when she finished reading.

She turned to Si Kong Wang and smiled. If she wasn’t embarrassed, then he would be. In a solemn tone she said: “I was joking just now, don’t take it to heart. Now for the real answer.”

She tapped her fingers like she was divining and said: “Did your Contract Beast recently eat Phantom Heart Grass?”

Si Kong Wang jolted and said, amazed: “He did. How did you know?”