Chapter 44: Eating Something Good

"Haha, wasn't it because I spent time training Fire Fang Dog? Otherwise, how could I have ranked first in the special recruitment? Right, Fire Fang Dog?" Qiao Sang gave a few awkward laughs, secretly putting some effort into stroking Fire Fang Dog as she spoke.

Now that she had graduated, explaining things to her homeroom teacher was no longer important; explaining things to her mother was the top priority.

"Ya."

Fire Fang Dog nodded seriously, responding very cooperatively.

Before her mother could speak, the teacher spoke up first: "Ranking first in the special recruitment is truly an incredible achievement."

He smiled at Qiao Sang, but directed his words to her mother, "Qiao Sang's mom, how is your health?"

Qiao Sang's body jolted. The teacher was definitely doing this on purpose!

Her mother shot Qiao Sang a knowing look before turning to smile and say, "I'm doing quite well."

"Mom, my aunt is calling me, I'll head over first." Taking advantage of someone from another table calling her name, Qiao Sang made her escape immediately after speaking.

"Third Aunt, you called me?" Qiao Sang breathed a sigh of relief as she arrived at the nearby dining table.

Most of the people sitting at this table were relatives from her mother's side.

Her mother had three brothers and one sister.

Aside from her third uncle—Qiao Sang's third uncle—who still lived nearby, her eldest uncle, second uncle, and maternal aunt had all moved to other provinces to develop their careers.

Third Uncle didn't live in Hanggang City either, but in Qitang Town, over 90 kilometers away.

Qitang Town was Qiao Sang's hometown and the place where her mother was born.

Third Uncle had stayed in this small town his entire life for no other reason than to take good care of her grandparents, and Third Aunt had stayed there with him.

They had two children; even though their eldest son was already in university, they hadn't had a proper chance to go out and travel.

For Qiao Sang, her maternal relatives were closer to Third Uncle's branch of the family.

After all, they were in the same province, so they visited each other during holidays.

"Qiao Sang, do you want to come over and play during the summer break? Your grandparents miss you so much. If it weren't for their poor health and me stopping them, they would have come to see you this time no matter what," Third Aunt said with a smile.

Third Aunt was not a Beast Tamer, so she did not have the benefits of a Beast Manual or the feedback from a contracted pet; the traces of time were particularly evident on her face.

"Sure, I'll head over in mid-July," Qiao Sang promised, providing a specific time immediately.

In truth, even without Third Aunt's suggestion, she had planned to stay in her hometown during the summer.

Qiao Sang's home was on the sixth floor, and it wasn't convenient for Fire Fang Dog to train downstairs in the residential complex.

It was a fire-type pet, and if it accidentally spat fire while training, it could easily damage the greenery in the complex.

Qitang Town was different.

The house in Qiao Sang's hometown had a large courtyard attached to the back.

Taking a bus to the nearby Tan'an Township, there was also a small forest, which was a perfect place for training.

Qiao Sang calculated the timing; in a few days, on June 30th, there would be an F-class Beast Tamer competition in Hanggang City that she could register for. She could participate in the competition before heading back to her hometown.

To Qiao Sang, that competition wasn't just a competition—it was pure points!

"Alright, we'll be waiting for you then," Third Aunt smiled, her gaze shifting to Qiao Sang's arms. "This is your contracted pet, right? So cute."

As she spoke, she reached out to pet it.

Fire Fang Dog squinted its eyes in comfort.

Seeing this, Qiao Sang felt relieved. Sometimes, whether a pet liked you or not was truly a matter of metaphysics.

...

After the banquet ended, her mother accompanied Third Aunt and the others shopping, so Qiao Sang returned home first.

Not daring to ask Fire Fang Dog for help, she cleaned the entire house, inside and out, by herself.

Only when the house looked spotless did Qiao Sang's racing heart finally settle a little.

The high school entrance exams were over, she had been admitted to Shengshui Middle School, and what was done was done.

Even if she had lied to her mother to take nearly two weeks off, seeing how clean the house was, her mother probably wouldn't say anything...

Qiao Sang took Fire Fang Dog down to the residential complex, intending to carry out her usual speed training.

"Ya."

Fire Fang Dog shook its head in refusal.

It had finally managed to look this handsome; wouldn't everything be ruined if it trained and started sweating?

"I didn't realize you had an idol complex," Qiao Sang chuckled, crouching down to pet Fire Fang Dog.

Usually, Fire Fang Dog actively requested training, but this time, in order to preserve its look, it was uncharacteristically reluctant. Naturally, Qiao Sang did not force it.

"Ya~"

Fire Fang Dog acted coyly.

"I'll take you to eat something good," Qiao Sang said, picking up Fire Fang Dog.

"Ya?"

Fire Fang Dog let out a confused cry.

Didn't it just eat?

Eat again?

It turned its head and thought about it.

Actually... it wasn't impossible...

Without resisting, Fire Fang Dog followed Qiao Sang to a local snack shop.

"Boss, give me three skewers of the super-duper extreme spicy grilled wings!"

"Coming right up!"

Qiao Sang sat down in an empty spot while holding Fire Fang Dog.

"Ya?"

Fire Fang Dog blinked its watery eyes.

Were three skewers enough?

"It's enough," Qiao Sang smiled, then continued, "After we eat, you're going to try releasing sparks, but you need to gather the energy into a single point, compress it, and then release it."

Her purpose for coming here wasn't actually to eat, but to experiment with her hypothesis regarding skill development.

Since Qiao Sang had a "cheat," she didn't need to worry about her skill proficiency levels; therefore, she had recently been considering how to teach Fire Fang Dog new skills.

She didn't have the money to follow the vice principal's suggestion of using medicinal herbs for baths.

She also couldn't afford specialized skill-learning institutions, and there were no elders around her who contracted fire-type pets to teach her.

The development of these new skills could only rely on her own trial and error.

A junior fire-type pet could learn many skills, but currently, Fire Fang Dog only knew Fire Fang and Spark.

A few days ago, Qiao Sang had already had Fire Fang Dog try to compress its energy before releasing a Spark.

However, aside from the power being slightly greater, there was no substantial difference.

The Spark was still just a Spark.

Then, Qiao Sang thought of the super-duper extreme spicy grilled wings.

The chili oil drizzled on them wasn't ordinary; it was extracted from the seeds of the Pepper-Vine, a plant-type pet.

Even if a non-fire-type pet ate this stuff, they might end up spitting fire.

So, if a true fire-type pet ate it, wouldn't it have to mobilize all the energy within its body?

If it did that, the effect of condensing and compressing the energy before release would surely be different.

Although Fire Fang Dog didn't understand its Beast Tamer's logic, condensing energy to release a spark was not a difficult training task for it; it wouldn't even break a sweat.

Since it wouldn't affect its appearance, Fire Fang Dog naturally nodded in agreement.

Soon, the super-duper extreme spicy grilled wings were served.

The wings were coated in red oil, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with an aroma that filled the air.

Fire Fang Dog's appetite was instantly piqued, and it reached out a paw, wanting to grab a skewer to eat.

Qiao Sang quickly picked up all three skewers.

"Ya?"

Fire Fang Dog was full of confusion. Didn't she say they were going to eat?

"We're eating outside," Qiao Sang said.

How could they practice compressed skill release if they ate inside someone else's shop?

If it lost control and spat out a burst of fire, she'd likely have to stay and wash dishes to pay off the debt for the rest of her days.