But in the next second, Qiao Sang fell into a dilemma.
How was she supposed to take the 5 million with her?
She had tied up the 5 million in a moment of impulse, but now that it was done, just as she had worried before, how was she supposed to get down the mountain?
Even if she dragged the 5 million for a while, what would happen if the Stone Helmet Spirit and the Silver-Tailed Sea Snake realized their Beast Tamer was missing?
One must know that there is a mutual sensation between a Beast Tamer and their pets; the more the brain domain is developed, the further the distance they can sense.
This 5 million had a General-level Silver-Tailed Sea Snake, so the Beast Tamer's level could not possibly be lower than D-rank; they might even be a C-rank Beast Tamer who had passed the League examination.
If they truly were a C-rank Beast Tamer, no matter which corner of the mountain their pet was in, as long as the tamer moved, they would likely be able to sense them even after descending the mountain.
As such, tying the 5 million and bringing them down the mountain was an impossible task, and Little Treasure Hunter hadn't returned yet.
She wasn't some C-rank Beast Tamer; if she went too far, Little Treasure Hunter might not be able to find her.
Qiao Sang had a bit of a headache. Her personality hadn't been like this before; she felt she had become somewhat impulsive lately. They say that he who touches pitch shall be defiled—who had she been spending time with?
"Ya!"
Fire Fang Dog's bark pulled Qiao Sang back from her thoughts.
"Ya ya."
Fire Fang Dog let out a loud bark toward its Beast Tamer.
*Do you need me to blast a fire on the man?*
Its eyes were bright, looking full of enthusiasm.
"Don't! Although he's not a good person, burning him to death isn't right. We'll hand him over to the police," Qiao Sang quickly stopped it, fearing Fire Fang Dog would impulsively spray fire.
Fire Fang Dog tilted its head.
*So he could actually burn to death?* It had thought it would be like fighting, where they only get injured or knocked unconscious.
"Ci?"
At this time, the Magnetic Fierce Rat mother and son also caught up, looking at the man on the ground—whose hands were wrapped up like a zongzi—with expressions of confusion.
Qiao Sang thought for a while, and unable to come up with a better idea, she simply took out her phone and called the police station again.
"Hello, this is the 660 emergency reporting service. Your call will be recorded."
It went through!
Qiao Sang was startled and quickly said, "This is Huangming Mountain in Qitang, Jiazhen. Zhou Xian, that A-rank wanted criminal, is here. You need to hurry..."
"Beep beep beep..."
Before she could finish, a busy signal sounded from the other end.
The summer heat combined with the adrenaline rush had left the clothes on Qiao Sang's back soaked, but at this moment, the air suddenly turned chilly, giving her a shivering sensation.
A shadow loomed over Qiao Sang's head. She unconsciously gripped the phone still pressed to her ear and slowly looked up.
...
Qitang Town.
Police Station.
"Hello, this is the Qitang Precinct of the Jiazhen County Public Security Bureau," the operator said, picking up the phone.
"..."
The Qitang Town precinct had two teams, with one team on duty each day.
The officers on duty were divided into two types: administrative and street officers, and case officers.
The former handled cases and dispatched calls within the team during the day, while the latter were on call 24 hours a day to respond to cases.
However, because those who passed the civil service exam to become police officers in Qitang Town were all Beast Tamers, while the town was mostly populated by ordinary people, the officers on duty were more than enough to handle cases. It was almost unheard of for both on-duty teams to be deployed simultaneously.
Yet at this moment, both on-duty teams were fully deployed.
Four police cars and three flying-type pets—a fat domestic pigeon, a Wind Eagle, and a Flame Roar Sparrow—were all heading in the same direction.
Atop the Wind Eagle.
"What kind of mouth does Guang Bei have? Whatever he mumbles comes true. Out of all the places in Hanggang, Zhou Xian had to come to our area. What rotten luck," a middle-aged woman sighed.
"Can we actually take down Zhou Xian just by going over there? His file says he's a C-rank Beast Tamer with two General-level pets," Ye Ranran said worriedly.
"We can't," the middle-aged woman replied.
Ye Ranran: "..."
The middle-aged woman paused, then continued, "Normally, we should have kept an eye on Zhou Xian's movements and waited for the higher-ups to arrive, but the person who reported it isn't answering their phone."
There was a moment of silence in the air.
After a while, Ye Ranran said, "Though it's immoral to say this, my cousin just went to Huangming Mountain a few days ago. Luckily, she didn't run into anyone and came back safely."
The middle-aged woman said, "Yeah, I heard the caller was a girl. I wonder how she's doing now."
...
On Huangming Mountain.
Qiao Sang looked up, her heart tightening as she stared into the purple round eyes staring back at her.
Stone Helmet Spirit?
Where was her Little Treasure Hunter?!
Qiao Sang looked around.
She saw Little Treasure Hunter wobbling out from behind the Stone Helmet Spirit, its grey cheeks flushed red.
It slowly floated up to Qiao Sang's head, found a comfortable position to lie down, and closed its eyes, looking completely drunk.
As long as it's okay...
Qiao Sang felt relieved. With a wave of her right hand, she summoned Little Treasure Hunter into the Beast Codex for the first time.
The Stone Helmet Spirit narrowed its purple round eyes and looked at its master lying on the ground.
He had a large bump on his head and his hands were tied up; he looked even more miserable than before.
"Stone Helmet! Stone Helmet!"
The Stone Helmet Spirit cried out angrily.
Its purple pupils suddenly contracted, and a purple light emerged from its eyes.
In the next instant, its figure vanished. Using the point of disappearance as the origin, the ground rapidly turned black and expanded outward, stopping only when it reached a radius of about four meters.
Qiao Sang's heart sank.
It was Night Spirit Feast.
Unlike the Dream-Eating skill, which consumes the dreams of a target in a sleeping state to recover half of the damage dealt, Night Spirit Feast can drag a conscious target into the night and deal damage to them to recover its own energy.
It could be called an advanced version of the Dream-Eating skill.
Qiao Sang's expression became solemn.
What should she do?
Fire Fang Dog was no match for the Stone Helmet Spirit. Was she going to be defeated here?
The Stone Helmet Spirit was so easy to trick; would offering it a bottle of milk still work now?
But all the milk was in Little Treasure Hunter's ring...
Just as Qiao Sang's thoughts were racing, Fire Fang Dog suddenly leaped onto the man, opened its mouth, and its sharp teeth were instantly enveloped in blazing flames.
"Ya!"
"Ya ya!"
Fire Fang Dog lowered its head toward the man's neck, glancing around with a threatening tone in its voice.
Qiao Sang stared at Fire Fang Dog's actions, stunned for a long while.
Holy crap!
How is her pure and cute Ya-bao so... smart!
When did it learn this?
She felt like she had seen this somewhere before...
At the same time, the Magnetic Fierce Rat mother and son beside her also felt this scene looked familiar.
"Stone Helmet!"
"Stone Helmet!"
The Stone Helmet Spirit quickly reappeared, fearing that if it were too late, its master would breathe his last.
"Ya-bao, stay in that position and don't move!" Qiao Sang said excitedly.
"Ya!"
Fire Fang Dog gave a response while maintaining its lowered head position.
It understood; they had to make this ghost creature surrender, just as its Beast Tamer had just done to the Magnetic Fierce Rat.
"Withdraw the skill," Qiao Sang took the opportunity to demand.
"Stone Helmet."
The Stone Helmet Spirit nodded, and in the next second, the blackness on the ground gradually dissipated.
"Take out the thing that's blocking the signal," Qiao Sang said.
She had been able to make a call just now, but the signal vanished the moment the Stone Helmet Spirit appeared. She strongly suspected this was related to the Stone Helmet Spirit.
"Stone Helmet?"
The Stone Helmet Spirit tilted its head, not understanding what she meant.
Qiao Sang was surprised by the reaction. Had she guessed wrong?
Just then, a yellow flying-type pet with half a wing plucked appeared limping into Qiao Sang's field of vision.
(End of Chapter)