I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Beast Tamer

「Early morning.」

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and wisps of cooking smoke rose from all over Red Fox Town.

In front of a small, wooden house with a courtyard in the southwestern part of town.

The location was remote; it was the only wooden house for dozens of meters in any direction. Despite this, seven or eight people were already waiting under the parasol tree in front of the house, even at this early hour.

A faint aroma drifted out from the wooden house. These people had rushed over after getting out of bed without having eaten breakfast. Smelling the fragrance, they couldn’t help but feel refreshed, and their stomachs shamelessly began to growl.

"The aroma of Young Brother Jiang’s meat buns is just too tempting.

A young man who looked like a servant couldn’t help but say.

"Of course. Otherwise, we wouldn’t all be waiting here so early in the morning."

An old man sighed, stroking his graying beard.

This group of people all had similar statuses; they were servants from the wealthy families of the town. They came here early to wait, all for the sake of buying meat buns from the owner of this wooden house to serve as breakfast for their masters.

"It’s a shame they’re so expensive. If they were a bit cheaper, I might just splurge and eat one or two every day!"

Someone else spoke up, inhaling the aroma.

Remembering the taste—the savory juices bursting in their mouths, filling their taste buds and throats with an irresistible flavor—everyone couldn’t help but swallow and nod in deep agreement.

Red Fox Town wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either. The town had a population of nearly 30,000, and bun shops were everywhere. A common vegetable bun cost only one copper coin, while one with a meat filling was no more than three copper coins.

But the meat buns sold by the owner of this wooden house cost thirty copper coins each—a full ten times the price of a normal meat bun.

The price difference was so huge because the meat buns sold here were simply too delicious, one-of-a-kind in the town.

Other bun shops had grown jealous and tried to secretly buy, analyze, and replicate them, but no matter what they did, the flavor couldn’t compare.

Not only did they fail to steal the recipe, but they also lost a lot of money in the process.

Over time, the other bun shops in town could only swallow their pride and accept the situation.

After all, according to the house’s owner, Jiang Zuo, the buns weren’t easy to make, the cost of ingredients was high, and he could only make a limited few dozen a day.

Jiang Zuo might be making money from it, but the impact on them was limited, so they simply decided it was a case of ’out of sight, out of mind’.

As the morning mist gradually dissipated, the wooden house’s door finally creaked open. A young man in simple cloth robes emerged, carrying a large, three-tiered bamboo steamer, which he placed in front of the door.

Charcoal burned beneath the large steamer, sending plumes of hot steam rising from the top. The group of people showed no hesitation and immediately crowded around it.

"Jiang Zuo, I’ll take five buns!"

"Young Brother Jiang, I need three."

Everyone shouted their orders at once, afraid the buns would sell out if they were too slow.

Their fears weren’t unfounded.

Although it was rare, it had happened before: they would rush over early in the morning only to find the buns were sold out, forcing them to return and face a scolding or punishment.

"Alright, one at a time."

Jiang Zuo was long used to this. He deftly took their money and packed the buns, his movements smooth and seamless.

In the blink of an eye, all seven or eight people had bought their meat buns and left, satisfied.

After they left, a small shadow darted down from the parasol tree and scurried to the front of the wooden house.

It was a little fox with a large, fiery-red tail, about the size of a housecat. It looked incredibly clever and cute—a Red Fox.

A small, bulging gray cloth pouch was tied around the Little Red Fox’s neck, creating a peculiar sight.

"You’re here again, little one. What did you bring today?"

Jiang Zuo smiled when he saw the little fox. He reached for the pouch around its neck and untied it.

The little fox didn’t resist, simply sitting still on the ground.

"Tiger Peppers, Black Pine Nuts... this is all good stuff. I’ll give you four buns for it today, how about that?"

Jiang Zuo opened the pouch, looked inside, and smiled at the little fox.

The little fox seemed to understand. Its eyes lit up, and it straightened up from its seated position.

Usually, it could only trade for two or three meat buns from Jiang Zuo, and sometimes just one. Four was an unprecedented amount.

Jiang Zuo took four steaming hot meat buns from the steamer and placed them on a sheet of oil paper.

Just as he was about to wrap them up, the little fox stealthily reached out a paw, snatched a bun, and, ignoring the heat, hurriedly took a bite.

The little fox’s mouth wasn’t large, but Jiang Zuo’s meat buns had thin skins and generous fillings. With one bite, scalding hot juices burst out.

The little fox quickly swallowed, then stuck out its slightly scalded tongue and panted heavily.

Once its tongue didn’t feel so hot, it lowered its head and continued to eat blissfully in small bites.

Watching from the side, Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but chuckle.

This was, of course, not his first time dealing with the little fox.

Legend had it that Red Fox Town wasn’t always called by this name. In ancient times, it was just an ordinary, remote town. Because its location was so out of the way and its population was much smaller than today’s, it was rare to see even a single traveling merchant all year.

The reason it came to be called Red Fox Town was because, over a thousand years ago, a Cultivator emerged from the town.

Through a stroke of luck, this Cultivator took in a mutated Red Fox from deep within Red Fox Valley in the forest west of town as his Spirit Beast.

This mutated Red Fox possessed immense Cultivation Talent. The Cultivator and the mutated Red Fox supported each other, eventually succeeding in their Cultivation and becoming the renowned Venerable Red Fox.

After Venerable Red Fox became famous, the town was given the name Red Fox Town. For the next two to three hundred years, it flourished immensely, its population exceeding 120,000. The tall city walls that still stand today were all built during that era.

The Red Fox became the town’s mascot, and countless people dreamed of becoming Cultivators by forming a bond with a Red Fox Spirit Beast, just like Venerable Red Fox.

Unfortunately, ordinary Red Foxes were just Mortal Beasts. Even among mutated Red Foxes, those with Cultivation Talent were one in ten thousand.

In the centuries that followed, no one could replicate Venerable Red Fox’s path to Cultivation.

Red Fox Town was already in a remote location with few resources. After its period of prosperity, it quickly fell into decline. Its current population is now less than 30,000.

However, the Red Foxes in Red Fox Valley had grown accustomed to the townspeople’s friendliness and would often come into town to beg for food.

Over two years ago, this Little Red Fox had been drawn by the scent of Jiang Zuo’s meat buns. It hid behind the parasol tree in front of the door, its big, dark, shining eyes staring intently at Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo had beckoned the little one over, given it a big meat bun, and then showed it some dried nuts and spices. He told the Little Red Fox that if it wanted more in the future, it could gather these things from the forest to trade.

The Little Red Fox had never eaten such a delicious meat bun and couldn’t forget the taste. After returning to the forest, it quickly found one of the types of nuts Jiang Zuo had shown it, hid them in its fur, and brought them back.

Seeing how clever it was, Jiang Zuo made it a small cloth pouch, tied it around its neck, and showed it how to use it to make collecting trade goods easier.

Over the past two years, Jiang Zuo had obtained many types of nuts from the Little Red Fox, especially spices like Tiger Peppers that couldn’t be grown on the land around town and were only found deep in the western forest.

Jiang Zuo’s meat buns were expensive, but they were also much larger than ordinary ones. It took the Little Red Fox a good while to finish the bun, and it even remembered to lift its paw and lick off the last drops of meat juice.

Jiang Zuo tied the cloth pouch and the wrapped meat buns around the Little Red Fox’s neck. The Little Red Fox chirped twice at Jiang Zuo, then turned and scurried off in a flash toward the town gate.

After the Little Red Fox left, more customers trickled in to buy meat buns. By a little after nine in the morning, only three buns were left in the steamer.

Jiang Zuo stretched his back and shouted into the house, "Great Black! Bring your food tray!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a large black dog shot out of the house like the wind, carrying a wooden tray in its mouth.

Placing the wooden tray on the ground, Great Black sat obediently with its paws in front of it. Its big dog eyes stared eagerly at Jiang Zuo, its tongue hanging out as it panted, on the verge of drooling.

"You glutton, all you know is how to eat! You eat better than I do. I’m afraid I’ve raised a money pit this year!"

Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but sigh.

Of all the dogs he had raised over the years, this Great Black was the biggest eater. It must have been starved as a pup, because it never left a single scrap in its wooden tray, no matter how much food there was.

Fortunately, the guy wasn’t just a freeloader. Its coat had grown in black, glossy, and smooth, and it was even a bit larger than the stockiest dog he had ever raised.

Patting Great Black’s glossy head, Jiang Zuo placed the remaining three meat buns onto the wooden tray. "Go eat in the courtyard."

Great Black immediately and skillfully picked up the wooden tray and dashed toward the backyard.

Jiang Zuo was cleaning up his stall, preparing to close up, when a portly middle-aged man walked over.

"Steward Liang, here for some meat buns? Unfortunately, they’re all sold out."

Jiang Zuo recognized the man. It was Steward Liang Du from the Liang Family, one of the town’s prominent households.

Hearing this, Steward Liang’s eye couldn’t help but twitch.

As he got older, his eyes were getting worse at seeing things up close, but his long-distance vision was still crystal clear.

Just a moment ago, he had witnessed with his own eyes from a distance as Jiang Zuo gave the last three big meat buns to that large black dog.

’What "unfortunately sold out"? Young people these days can lie without batting an eye.’

The thought that he ate worse than a dog was something Steward Liang only grumbled about internally, not wanting to say anything that would just cause trouble for himself.

"Ahem, no. Jiang Zuo, I see that the black dog you’re raising this year has gotten quite big. My master sent me to ask if you would be willing to sell it to him directly. He promises the price will not disappoint you!"

Steward Liang cleared his throat, stating his purpose.

"I’m flattered by Master Liang’s discerning eye, but Great Black still needs a bit more time—about another week of raising. As for the arrangements, we’ll have to follow the usual procedure. Once I’ve set a specific time in a few days, I’ll make a trip to the Liang Mansion. What do you think, Steward Liang?"

Jiang Zuo shook his head.

"Very well. In that case, don’t forget, Jiang Zuo."

Steward Liang hadn’t expected Jiang Zuo to agree anyway. Although it was just about buying a dog, it wasn’t a matter for Jiang Zuo to decide alone.

The Liang Family was wealthy, but in Red Fox Town, they couldn’t throw their weight around without a good reason.

"Don’t you worry, Steward Liang!"

Jiang Zuo patted his chest in assurance.

...

Although Jiang Zuo lived there alone, his wooden house and courtyard were actually quite spacious.

Past the main hall were two living quarters, followed by a kitchen and a storage room. Beyond that was a fenced courtyard of nearly eighty square meters.

The courtyard fence was built from wood and bamboo and stood a full two meters high, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

Under a persimmon tree in the courtyard, Great Black was wolfing down the meat buns.

Jiang Zuo walked over and gently stroked Great Black’s head, saying with some reluctance, "In the blink of an eye, you’re almost grown, Great Black. When you get to your new home, you’ll have to have better table manners. Don’t go scaring people."

This was far from the first time, but Jiang Zuo still felt a pang of reluctance at the thought of selling a dog he had personally and painstakingly raised.

Selling Great Black wasn’t about the money. If he just wanted money, he could simply make more meat buns or other delicacies. That would be a faster and easier way to earn a living.

It was all because when he came to this world from Blue Star, he had brought a Beast Taming System with him for raising Pet Beasts.

Through the system, for every Pet Beast Jiang Zuo successfully raised, he would gain 10% of that beast’s attributes, such as lifespan, strength, Physique, and agility.

Among these was a very useful attribute called "Beast Taming Reputation," which could only be obtained in small amounts when a Pet Beast he raised earned the sincere approval of others.

For Jiang Zuo at present, selling the Pet Beasts he raised to wealthy families was the best option.

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