Fire-Fang Dog woke up early in the morning to rummage through its backpack, but after searching for a long time, it still couldn't find the specific pair of sunglasses it was looking for.
Its movements stopped for a moment, and it tilted its head, face full of confusion.
It remembered that those flashy pink sunglasses were in the bag.
Fire-Fang Dog didn't worry for long and turned directly to Qiao Sang.
When in doubt, just find your own Beast Tamer.
Carrying the backpack in its mouth, Fire-Fang Dog approached Qiao Sang, who was currently tying her hair into a ponytail.
"Ya!"
"Ya ya!"
After tying the last loop of the hair tie, Qiao Sang said calmly, "That pair? I forgot where I put them too. Just wear the red sunglasses; they match your fur color and look good on you."
Beside them, Little Treasure Ghost, who was preparing to take off its hoop, froze.
Hadn't its Beast Tamer just put those pink sunglasses in its possession last night?
Little Treasure Ghost looked toward its Beast Tamer, just in time to see her wink at it.
It understood instantly.
Its Beast Tamer did this on purpose.
"Xun..."
Little Treasure Ghost instinctively covered its mouth.
So this was a secret!
Upon hearing this, Fire-Fang Dog immediately forgot about the sunglasses it had been searching for. It looked down, found the red triangular sunglasses, and put them on.
"Ya!"
After putting on the sunglasses, it wagged its tail and barked at Qiao Sang.
"So handsome!" Qiao Sang praised with a face full of sincerity.
Compared to those pink heart-shaped sunglasses, any pair looked better.
"Ya."
Fire-Fang Dog's tail wagged even more vigorously.
Unfortunately, there was no full-length mirror here like there was at its previous home; otherwise, it would definitely have gone to take a look.
...
Qiao Sang was someone who had participated in a formal competition before, so she expressed that she wasn't panicked at all facing this marathon relay race.
Anyway, she was just here to fill a spot...
However, when she arrived at the scene, she was still startled by the scale of the event.
Pingxiang Street.
The starting point of the race.
The two sides of the street were packed densely with people from one end to the other.
Looking up, the track made of floating clouds created by Flying-type pets stretched from west to east, seemingly endless.
Along the sides of the floating cloud track, dozens of Beast Tamers riding Flying-type pets could be seen.
It was unclear whether they were staff members or just spectators.
Looking at the bustling crowds on both sides of the street, Qiao Sang seriously suspected that the entire Qitang Town had shown up.
Little Treasure Ghost perched on Qiao Sang's head, blinking its eyes and looking around curiously.
This was the first time it had seen so many people.
Soon, its eyes met with several people.
Immediately following that, those people began to smile at it.
Little Treasure Ghost froze, somewhat confused.
"Xun?"
In the past, whenever people made eye contact with it, they would look away in fear.
Why was it different this time?
"A-Sang, come over here to collect your equipment," Ye Ranran waved from a place marked as the Athlete Initial Check-in.
"I didn't expect so many people to come," Qiao Sang remarked as she walked over.
"The people of the town probably all came. There aren't many entertainment activities usually, so everyone basically never misses a competition involving Beast Tamers," Ye Ranran said.
Qiao Sang nodded. In the city, there were many Beast Tamers and many competitions; if a small competition was held without promotion, basically no one would care.
The Baixin Competition was the best example.
But in town, Beast Tamers and competitions were few. Any slight wind of a Beast Tamer competition didn't even need special promotion; word of mouth would spread it everywhere.
"A-Sang, don't be nervous later. Just keep a normal mindset," Third Uncle suddenly spoke up from the side.
Qiao Sang: "..."
Although she was surprised by the crowd, she really wasn't nervous. It wasn't like she was the one running...
"Ya-bao, are you nervous?" Qiao Sang asked, looking down.
"Ya."
Wearing its sunglasses with a cool expression, Fire-Fang Dog extended the short toe in the middle of its right paw and shook it.
"Third Uncle, we aren't nervous, so you don't be nervous either," Qiao Sang said, looking up.
Third Uncle: "...Mm."
Qiao Sang waited in line to collect two bib numbers and tied them onto Fire-Fang Dog and Little Treasure Ghost.
Fire-Fang Dog was number A071, and Little Treasure Ghost was C166.
The bib numbers started with A, B, or C.
These respectively represented the first track (Land), the second track (River), and the third track (Sky).
These bibs didn't just mark the individual's entry number; they also contained timing chips. When passing a timing point, the arrival time could be successfully read and uploaded to the timing backend to calculate the race results.
"I'm heading to the second track first. Your Third Aunt and Jingwen are waiting over there; we'll meet up later," Third Uncle said.
"Third Uncle, go on ahead with peace of mind, we've got this," Ye Ranran said.
Qiao Sang nodded in agreement.
The pets Third Uncle was entering were the Roaring Swamp Crocodile and the Ink-Ink Fish, both of which belonged to the second track.
After Third Uncle left, Ye Ranran spoke up: "I'll have Aunt Lin drive you to Jinsong Village. You know Aunt Lin; she's the one who went to Huangming Mountain with me last time. She likes you quite a bit and has been mentioning you to me constantly lately."
Ye Ranran's Mo-Tailed Fox was the first leg of the first track.
Qiao Sang's Fire-Fang Dog was the second leg, located at Jinsong Village, 10 kilometers away from the starting point.
"No need, I can go by myself. It's not good to trouble others, and besides, there are so many people on the street right now, it'll be hard to drive," Qiao Sang declined.
"Alright, then I'll call you when Mo is almost at Jinsong Village," Ye Ranran didn't push.
...
30 minutes later, Qiao Sang regretted it.
Having no experience participating in this kind of race for the first time.
Could someone tell her why the distance between the first leg and the second leg had to be so far!
Qiao Sang pedaled her bicycle desperately, speeding down the street.
Had the race started?
It probably had...
It wouldn't be the case that the Mo-Tailed Fox finished the first leg before she even arrived, would it!
"Ya!"
"Ya!"
Fire-Fang Dog sat in the bike basket, shouting encouragement.
Little Treasure Ghost's two short paws gripped Qiao Sang's hair tightly, its round eyes squinting into slits from the wind.
Qiao Sang's heart was racing with panic as she rode.
It would have been so much better to take someone's car.
Why on earth did she decide to ride a bicycle...
Now look at her. She thought she was just here to lie flat and go through the motions, but now it seemed even going through the motions was a bit precarious...
"Beauty, want to carpool-fly?"
Qiao Sang looked up excitedly.
She saw a Large-Winged Tip-Sparrow flying above her, with two men and one woman sitting on it.
The man in front looked to be in his 40s, while the man and woman sitting behind looked to be in their early 20s.
While pedaling, Qiao Sang shouted loudly, "I'm going to Jinsong Village! Is it on the way!"
The Large-Winged Tip-Sparrow flew to her right side and kept pace.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man in his 40s said happily, "It's on the way, it's on the way! They are also heading to Jinsong Village. I'll charge you 800, you coming?"
The two young people exchanged a knowing glance; he was seeing someone young and preparing to rip them off.
For the two of them, the carpool price was 600 per person, yet he was telling a child 800.
Qiao Sang had never paid to fly, but her mother was a professional who took people flying.
Although it was the sightseeing kind of flight, she still knew the prices for this.
"400, do we fly!" Qiao Sang shouted.
The middle-aged man decisively replied, "Fly!"
The two young people were stunned for a long while. The ones being ripped off were actually themselves?!
(End of Chapter)