Chapter 4: Going Home

Qin Nian pushed the door open and saw the two of them acting all cozy, prompting her to tease them.

“My, my, am I interrupting something?”

“Aunt Qin.”

“Sister Qin.”

Nuobai was inwardly surprised. For some reason, her seniority had suddenly dropped a level.

“Little Sister Bai Luxin, let me borrow your Nuobai for a moment.”

Bai Luxin held Nuobai, her eyes filled with worry and her brow slightly furrowed.

Qin Nian took Nuobai from her and offered some comfort. “Don’t worry, I’m just taking her for a check-up. I’ll give her back to you in a bit.”

“Okay…”

Once they left the room and saw that no one was around, Qin Nian pinched the scruff of Nuobai’s neck and held her up to her face, scolding her angrily.

“Do you have any idea how close you came to dying?!”

“You don’t learn anything good all day; you just cause me trouble.”

Nuobai habitually tried to turn her head away, but Qin Nian straightened her back out.

“I’m going to have Bai Luxin join my Research Center. You’d better settle down and behave yourself!”

“No!”

Nuobai’s beautiful heterochromatic eyes flashed with defiance. “Aunt Qin, I… I have a reason why I must become a Beast King.”

Become a Beast King? As if it were that easy.

Seeing her stubborn expression, Qin Nian felt helpless and temporarily gave up on the idea of forcing Nuobai to stay.

“Sigh, I really can’t do anything with you.”

Setting her down, Qin Nian’s expression turned serious and stern.

“Even if you’ll be in constant danger from now on, you’re still unwilling to give up?”

“Constant danger?”

“Yes. Advancing in growth without undergoing a ritual.”

“Nuobai, in the history of Beast Tamers, there has never been such a precedent.”

“Only by forming a contract with a human can one quickly pass through the five stages of growth via rituals: Infant Rank 0, Juvenile Rank 1, Youth Rank 2, Adult Rank 3, and Prime Rank 4.”

“That is an ironclad rule.”

“If this secret gets out, you’ll be captured and sliced up for research. When that happens, in a cold laboratory, you can scream for help all you want, but nobody will come.”

“Don’t blame me for not saving you then.”

Hearing Qin Nian’s threat, Nuobai took a deep breath.

“Aunt Qin, I won’t give up. This has been my dream since I was little.”

As she spoke, she used her trump card, rubbing against Qin Nian in a fawning manner.

The cool, soft sensation was a trick that never failed. Qin Nian was easily defeated as usual.

“I really can’t do anything with you. I’ve handled today’s situation, but you have to be more careful in the future. You absolutely cannot let anyone find out.”

“Otherwise… I’ll catch you myself and turn you into a specimen to hang in my house!”

Thinking of the room full of specimens she had seen before, Nuobai shuddered and nodded frantically.

“It’s time to go back. Your new Beast Master must be getting anxious.”

……

Even before she saw Bai Luxin, a wave of concern reached her through the contract.

Nuobai savored the taste of this concern. Her gaze softened significantly as she jumped onto the floor and ran toward her.

With a flash of white, Bai Luxin saw Nuobai appear before her.

“Eh?”

“You’re back!”

“Nuobai, you’re so fast!”

She scooped her up and rubbed her face against the cat.

After the heat of the moment during the contract signing had passed, Bai Luxin realized that she now had family.

The intense, burning emotions instantly crashed into Nuobai’s recently shattered heart, flowing firmly through the cracks and infusing them with vitality.

“It—it wasn’t that fast.”

“Let go, Aunt Qin is coming!”

“Sorry, I got too excited.”

Bai Luxin had a silly smile on her face, feeling as if she were in a dream. She finally had her own beast pet, and it was such a cute little cat.

“Nuobai is fine now. You two should head home.”

Qin Nian gave a few instructions and prepared to leave, but mentioned one last thing before she went.

“Come to the Beast Center in two days to update the registration information.”

Nuobai and Bai Luxin spoke in unison, “Okay.”

The two of them looked at each other and smiled. Bai Luxin reached out to pick Nuobai up, but Nuobai jumped onto her arm instead, climbing up and settling onto her shoulder.

The soft fur pressed against her cheek. The intimate contact on her left shoulder made Bai Luxin glance sideways.

It tickled a little.

“Master, is it okay if I sit here?”

Nuobai acted first and asked later. She didn’t want to be carried in someone’s arms. It was so strange—why did everyone want to hold her like that?

Subconsciously, Nuobai licked her paw. ‘Foolish humans…’

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, her expression froze. She put her paw down and looked around, pretending nothing had happened.

‘Damn it, the influence is getting stronger and stronger.’

Part of the reason she was so eager to become a Beast King and regain her human body was that the feline form was constantly influencing her.

She had almost forgotten what warm colors looked like or what sweetness tasted like. She had to look up at everyone; it was exhausting!

Bai Luxin tried to stay calm, discreetly scratching her cheek with a finger.

“Of course you can.”

“Nuobai, let’s go home.”

By now, the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared. The sun shone on the two of them, casting a long shadow.

Along the way, Bai Luxin kept peeking at Nuobai out of the corner of her eye. Once the excitement faded, she started to worry.

Raising a beast pet was a massive expense. As the beast grew, the costs would increase exponentially.

This was why most people only raised one beast pet. Aside from the limitations of the contract power, the biggest reason was money.

Unfortunately, she was very poor. She didn’t even have the money to raise one beast pet.

Fortunately, she had passed the Junior Nutritionist exam. She should be able to afford her…

Probably…

Nuobai was simply too beautiful, making her feel a bit self-conscious.

At the same time, because she had become Nuobai’s Beast Master, a strange sense of satisfaction spread through her heart.

It was like being paired with the prettiest person in class whom she liked the most; she could wake up laughing from her dreams.

On her shoulder, Nuobai unconsciously wagged her tail while analyzing her talents.

The Golden Left Eye could absorb energy, while the Red Right Eye required betrayal to obtain the Power of Betrayal.

If both conditions were met, she could evolve and grow stronger.

Compared to before, her attributes in all areas had grown tremendously. If she encountered the Silverback Dragon again, she wouldn’t be as pathetic as before; she might even… be able to defeat him.

The feeling of being filled with power after reaching Rank 1 made her gaze gradually turn hazy.

‘If I keep betraying my masters, I should be able to become a Beast King very quickly. When that time comes…’

Nuobai looked at Bai Luxin. Coincidentally, Bai Luxin also turned to look at her.

Their eyes met. The distance between them was less than 1 inch. The reflection in each other’s eyes became their entire world.

Time seemed to freeze for an instant before suddenly flowing again.

The two of them jerked their eyes away as if they had been electrocuted.

Nuobai snapped out of it instantly. ‘What was I thinking?’

Her Master had just saved her and didn’t even mind her history of Rebellion.

How could she return kindness with such malice?

She encouraged herself internally. ‘Nuobai, even without using the betrayal talent, you can definitely become a Beast King. Have some backbone; don’t let your eyes be blinded.’

After turning her gaze away, Bai Luxin looked flustered at the scenery by the road, her mind in a muddle.

Those heterochromatic eyes remained in her mind—bright, sparkling, and impossible to forget.

She decided then that she would protect this beauty. She had to take good care of Nuobai from now on, make her delicious food, give her baths, massages, and dress her up beautifully…

No matter how hard things got, she wouldn’t let Nuobai suffer!

“Master, watch the road,” Nuobai said, tapping the back of Bai Luxin’s neck with her tail.

“Ah, ah?”

Interrupting her fantasy, Bai Luxin realized she had almost walked into a tree.

Covering her reddened face with her hands, she peeked through her fingers to see the road and quickened her pace.

Nuobai suppressed the dark thoughts in her heart. For a moment, she felt ashamed and didn’t know what to say.

At the door of the house, a note was posted. Bai Luxin saw it and quickly grabbed it, crumpling it in her hand.

“Alright, we’re home.”

Bai Luxin set Nuobai down.

“Welcome home.”