“We’re here,” Wu Chang suddenly said, looking down.
Ya Bao was still walking happily in the air.
Ever since its energy levels had increased and it realized it wouldn't run out of energy and fall down even at such a high altitude, it had grown fond of the feeling of walking in the sky.
“Stop, stop, stop, we’re already here!” Qiao Sang had to pat Ya Bao on the back.
“Ya!” Ya Bao came to a screeching halt.
“This is a cemetery?” Qiao Sang turned her head and looked down, hesitating.
“Yeah,” Wu Chang said apologetically. “It’s always stayed here and has never gone out. No matter how I try to tell it, it refuses to go anywhere else. I can't help it.”
“Understandable. Social anxiety,” Qiao Sang said.
As they spoke, the two of them reached the ground.
It had to be said that looking from the sky and looking from inside a graveyard gave very different impressions.
The sky was already dark, and xenon lamps hung on both sides, emitting a yellowish-white glow.
She didn't know what the cemetery management department was thinking; cemeteries already felt eerie, yet they preferred using these low-color-temperature lights with a yellowish visual effect.
A cold wind blew past, and Qiao Sang couldn't help but wrap her arms around her school uniform.
“Ya...”
Ya Bao’s entire body tensed up, its expression alert as it looked around.
“Don't worry, there are no ghosts here.” Sensing Ya Bao’s state, Qiao Sang stroked its fur to soothe it.
Although Ya Bao had experienced the horror escape room and had become much braver regarding eerie and terrifying atmospheres, that was only compared to before; it hadn't reached the point where it could grin in such an environment.
“Ya...”
Under its Beast Tamer's touch, Ya Bao’s body gradually relaxed.
“Xun xun!” Just then, Little Treasure-Hunter suddenly appeared, hanging upside down in front of Ya Bao and making a face with its paws.
“Ya!”
Ya Bao jumped in fright and immediately slapped down hard with a paw.
“Xun!”
Little Treasure-Hunter let out a miserable cry as it was slapped to the ground, rolling several times.
Qiao Sang: “...”
This is what you call a bratty kid... Feeling mentally exhausted, Qiao Sang stepped forward and picked up Little Treasure-Hunter.
“Xun!”
“Xun xun!”
Little Treasure-Hunter wailed with teary eyes in Qiao Sang’s arms, not forgetting to point at Ya Bao in accusation.
It was just playing around! How could that huge paw just slap it down like that!
“Ya!”
Ya Bao tilted its head back and snorted, wearing a dissatisfied expression.
This is what happens when you scare it!
“Xun xun!”
Little Treasure-Hunter buried its head in Qiao Sang’s arms and cried even louder.
Watching this scene, Wu Chang paused for a moment before saying, “Your Flame-Listening Hound and Treasure-Hunter Demon are both so... spirited...”
No need to force the compliments... Qiao Sang was about to speak when, at that moment, the surrounding lights seemed to have unstable circuitry and flickered a few times.
Little Treasure-Hunter stopped crying.
“Ya...”
Ya Bao’s body, which had just relaxed after Little Treasure-Hunter’s antics, suddenly tensed up again.
Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, a middle-aged man suddenly appeared beside a tombstone. He wore glasses, had slightly curly hair, and a refined face that looked somewhat eerie under this lighting.
“Holy crap!”
“Ya ya!”
Qiao Sang and Ya Bao jumped back a large step in synchronization.
“Xun...”
Little Treasure-Hunter wore an expression of “I can’t even look at them.”
Its own Beast Tamer and Big Brother Ya Bao were both so cowardly...
“Uncle Zhang!” Wu Chang said with pleasant surprise to the middle-aged man.
Along with his voice, the xenon lamps restored their brightness.
“Ya...”
Ya Bao relaxed.
Suddenly, its eyes met with Little Treasure-Hunter’s.
Ya Bao’s body stiffened first, then it puffed out its chest, striving to maintain its usual "big brother" persona.
Scared me to death... After confirming the other party was a living human, Qiao Sang breathed a sigh of relief and walked up, pretending nothing had happened, asking curiously, “This is your uncle?”
“He’s Uncle Zhang. He’s the uncle I told you about who is very good to me and whom I wanted to introduce to you,” Wu Chang said.
Qiao Sang glanced at the approaching middle-aged man and asked in a low voice, “Why did your uncle come here in the middle of the night?”
Generally, normal people visiting relatives to sweep a grave would do so in the morning or afternoon while there was still sun; who would come to visit in the middle of the night?
Wu Chang paused, then shook his head. “I don't know either.”
By now, the middle-aged man had arrived in front of them.
“Wu Chang, you really are here.” Zhang Rongtang revealed a smile and said, “I made some dishes and waited for you, but you never came home. Thinking you might be here, I came to check.”
After speaking, he looked at the girl beside him.
When he saw the Ghost-type pet in her arms, Zhang Rongtang’s eyes flickered, and he asked, “And this is?”
“This is Qiao Sang, she’s here for the competition,” Wu Chang introduced.
Zhang Rongtang naturally knew that many students from other Beast Taming High Schools had come to town for the competition over the last two days.
He just hadn't expected that in just a day or two, Wu Chang had already made friends with a child from another school and even brought her here...
Qiao Sang said politely, “Hello, Uncle.”
“Hello,” Zhang Rongtang smiled. “The girl is truly beautiful. Uncle has made food, would you like to come and eat together?”
“No thank you, I’ve already eaten,” Qiao Sang declined.
“Ya?”
Ya Bao walked over from behind, looking at its Beast Tamer with a confused expression.
Already eaten?
How come it didn't know?
Zhang Rongtang’s pupils suddenly contracted as he looked at the red-and-white pet that had appeared. He originally wanted to say something, but then he saw the Ghost-type pet again. He paused and, maintaining his smile, said, “Then I won't disturb you. Wu Chang, come home early, otherwise the food will lose its taste.”
“Okay, Uncle Zhang,” Wu Chang nodded.
Once Zhang Rongtang had walked far away, Qiao Sang looked at his receding figure and remarked, “Your uncle is indeed quite good to you.”
Listening to what Wu Chang had just said, it wasn't hard to tell that this uncle probably wasn't a blood relative.
For someone with no familial ties to not only cook but also come to a cemetery to find someone just because they were late coming home... wait... Qiao Sang suddenly thought of something and asked, “You didn't bring your phone?”
“I did,” Wu Chang pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“Did he not call you?” Qiao Sang continued to ask.
Wu Chang paused, looked at his phone, and shook his head. “No.”
Qiao Sang raised an eyebrow.
Under normal circumstances, shouldn't he have called first?
“Maybe Uncle Zhang didn't have his phone on him.” Wu Chang caught the meaning behind Qiao Sang’s question and explained, “He usually doesn't carry a phone. Sometimes I can't get in touch with him for a long time.”
Qiao Sang didn't speak further.
Originally, this uncle was just an interlude; her purpose for coming here was to see the pet that could multiply one's luck.
If it was just a guess at first, then the things Wu Chang had chatted about in the sky had confirmed her suspicion.
The two of them came to a tombstone.
Wu Chang lowered his voice and called out to the surrounding air, “Yun Yun! Yun Yun!”
The surroundings were silent, with no movement.
Standing before the tombstone, Qiao Sang looked at the spot where she had been startled into stopping earlier, and suddenly realized that the spot where the uncle had originally stood was exactly where she was now.
She suddenly asked a completely unrelated question
“That Uncle Zhang, is he a Beast Tamer?”
(End of Chapter)