I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 41: Chapter 39: Cause and Effect

"WOOF WOOF!"

Just like its father, after the bloodline enhancement, the little black puppy felt an unbearable, feverish heat course through its body.

It didn’t know why this was happening and started yelping anxiously.

"Go run a few laps."

Jiang Zuo pointed to the courtyard.

The Eighth Generation Great Black had done the same thing back then.

The little black puppy immediately took off into the courtyard on its short legs, running frantically.

—Great Black: Medium-sized black canine, juvenile period, has undergone one bloodline enhancement. Exceptionally talented, possessing two Talent Slots, equipped with "Learning" and "Combat" talents. Current development progress: 10%.

Jiang Zuo then looked at the requirements for the little guy’s second bloodline enhancement.

『Second Bloodline Enhancement: Consume 50 Beast Soul Power to perform a second bloodline enhancement on the current Pet Beast. Success rate: 15%. The success rate can be greatly increased with the blood of a Mutated Mortal Beast or Spirit Beast Blood.』

Jiang Zuo remembered that the Eighth Generation Great Black’s success rate for the second bloodline enhancement was 10%. His son’s was 5% higher.

5% didn’t seem like much, but if he could consistently produce offspring that inherited the bloodline enhancement, even if they didn’t mutate directly, the success rate of the second enhancement would rise to a point where it was worth the gamble.

’The remaining changes will depend on its development from here on out.’

...

Jiang Zuo resumed farming outside the town. His official story was that he wanted to grow some spices from the western forest.

If he could actually grow them, they would fetch a high price.

But in reality, no one had ever succeeded.

This was precisely Jiang Zuo’s plan. His real intention wasn’t to farm; he just scattered some spice seeds to keep up appearances.

The Yellow Thorn Bone was proving harder to tame than expected. It could follow simple commands relatively well, but complex ones required Jiang Zuo to repeat them many times before the Yellow Thorn Bone would slowly begin to act.

Furthermore, it would often forget by the next day what it had been taught.

If Jiang Zuo weren’t already a primary-level Beast Tamer and hadn’t raised his Learning talent to level 2, taming a fish would have been utterly impossible.

However, Jiang Zuo wasn’t in a hurry. He patiently tried various teaching methods to find the one that best suited its learning style.

In contrast, teaching the Thirteenth Generation Great Black was far simpler.

Having inherited the effects of the bloodline enhancement and then received another one, the little guy grew incredibly fast.

With the level 2 Learning talent, it learned everything instantly, and all of its physical attributes soared.

What amazed Jiang Zuo the most was the little guy’s sense of smell, which had become incredibly powerful.

In less than two months, it could already rival a Great Black with 100% development.

He couldn’t imagine how monstrously strong it would be once its development was complete.

Compared to the black dogs he had raised before, the Thirteenth Generation Great Black had an additional training regimen: combat.

Possessing the Combat talent, its fighting abilities grew stronger by the day under Jiang Zuo’s deliberate training.

Every afternoon, the Eighth Generation Great Black would come over to play with its son. During these visits, Jiang Zuo would have the father spar with the puppy.

The little black puppy, still small, was no match for the adult Great Black, but it was constantly accumulating combat experience.

In human terms, it was a combat genius.

The days passed one by one.

The number of incomplete Beast Patterns in Jiang Zuo’s possession slowly increased, and the little black puppy gradually grew bigger.

By the time it was over five months old, although still much smaller than the Eighth Generation Great Black, it could already hold its own in a fight.

That evening, after sparring with its son, the Eighth Generation Great Black looked at Jiang Zuo and whimpered, reluctant to leave.

"All good things must come to an end. Go on home."

Jiang Zuo patted Great Black’s head and waved for it to leave.

Magistrate Zhang’s term was over. Early the next morning, he and his family would be moving away from Red Fox Town.

Great Black had to go with them. Tonight was its last time here.

Over the past half-year, Jiang Zuo could see that Great Black was visibly happy, its spirits high every day.

However, Jiang Zuo had no intention of trying to keep Great Black, and Magistrate Zhang would never have agreed anyway.

Great Black glanced at the sky, nuzzled the little puppy, and slowly walked away, looking back with every step.

The little puppy didn’t quite understand what was happening. It only sensed that something was off about the atmosphere as it watched its father disappear into the twilight.

「The next evening.」

Great Black didn’t come. The little puppy kept running to the gate, looking in the direction its father usually came from.

This went on for several days.

Jiang Zuo saw this but didn’t say much. He simply increased its training load to keep it busy.

’As long as I’m alive, my world keeps turning.’

The little guy, who was gradually growing into a large black dog, slowly returned to normal.

Under Jiang Zuo’s training, the Thirteenth Generation Great Black grew at an unprecedented rate.

Jiang Zuo roughly estimated that the Thirteenth Generation Great Black would reach 100% development a full month earlier than the previous Great Blacks.

Meanwhile, Jiang Zuo was also gradually figuring out how to tame the Yellow Thorn Bone, and its development progress was steadily increasing.

As the Thirteenth Generation Great Black grew into a majestic dog, Jiang Zuo also considered its future.

He finally decided to keep it by his side instead of selling it.

Even if he sold it, it would still be in Red Fox Town.

But that way, Jiang Zuo would have no control over when it had pups or with which female dog.

If its first litter, or even the next few, didn’t produce pups that inherited the bloodline enhancement, Jiang Zuo couldn’t just keep watch and take all its future offspring.

No matter how you looked at it, that wouldn’t be appropriate.

So, he decided it was better to just keep the dog.

As for suddenly not selling a Great Black this year, he could just come up with a plausible excuse.

At his current standing, he didn’t need to worry too much about what people in Red Fox Town thought.

Time passed. Great Black grew bigger every day, getting closer and closer to 100% development.

「That evening.」

"Subai, a low-level Demon Beast came to the western forest to gather information. I’ve already killed it, but in a year or so at most, the pursuers sent by the Demon Emperor will track us down again. It’s time for us to leave this place and go to the Cultivation Realm."

Granny Mei said in a low voice to Subai after returning from outside the town.

"So that day has finally come? I understand. But before we go, I have to tell Jiang Zuo. He and I have become too close. If the Demon Beasts find this place, they won’t spare him."

Subai nodded. The Demonic Power in her body had long since been completely purged. On a previous trip out, she had even managed to draw a little Spiritual Qi into her body.

Even if the Demon Beasts hadn’t found her, she would have had to leave in a few months anyway.

Granny Mei didn’t object.

Jiang Zuo was just a mortal; his life and death were a trivial matter spanning a mere hundred years. Even if he got caught up in this, it would only be the difference between dying a little sooner or a little later.

But she didn’t stop Subai either.

Subai was destined to walk the path of a great cultivator. In the later stages of Cultivation, a small regret from her early years could evolve into a Heart Demon on her path.

"Jiang Zuo, I’m leaving."

Subai went straight to find Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo paused at her words and looked at Subai.

He sensed she was here for more than just a farewell.

"I suspect you’ve probably guessed that I came to Red Fox Town to hide from my enemies."

"And that is the case. Now, my enemies have found a trace of me, so I must leave. Otherwise, they will come looking for me within a year or so."

"You and I were the closest. If my enemies come here, they will definitely seek you out and force you to tell them about me."

"So, it would be best for you to leave Red Fox Town as well. Go as far away as you can. The central territories of the human race would be your best bet."

"And once you leave, never come back. The people looking for me are far more patient than you can imagine. If you return, they will never let you go."

"As compensation, you can tell me if there’s anything you want. I’ll give you whatever I can get."

Subai said all this in one breath.

Jiang Zuo listened calmly until Subai finished.

He had indeed suspected this for a long time.

In fact, Jiang Zuo had already planned to go into hiding for a while if Subai were to suddenly disappear one day.

But he had still underestimated the conflicts of the Cultivation Realm.

Once he left, he could never return.

"Do you have a storage pouch that a mortal can use? If that’s too valuable or you don’t have one, something that can change my appearance would also work."

Jiang Zuo thought for a moment and said.

’These two items shouldn’t be too difficult to obtain in the Cultivation Realm.’

’If Subai doesn’t have either, there’s no point in asking for anything else.’

"Wait here."

Subai’s figure flickered. She disappeared for a moment before returning.

"This is a storage pouch. It can hold three cubic meters of items. Mortals can use it too. Just touch it and focus your mind on it to open it. If it falls into someone else’s hands, they can also take out the things stored inside at any time."

"This bracelet can change your appearance to a preset one. I can help you change it to a look you want right now. Afterward, you just have to wear it on your wrist."

"However, because we are within the Heaven and Earth Sealing Spirit Array, it will lose its effect in about a hundred years and become useless."

Subai took out a bronze-colored storage pouch that looked like a sachet, as well as a Celestial Fox Bracelet, and handed them to Jiang Zuo with instructions.

"Thank you."

Jiang Zuo expressed his thanks and took them.

Both were items he desperately needed.

With Subai’s help, the Celestial Fox Bracelet was set to the appearance of an ordinary old man.

"If you’re ever unfortunate enough to be found, just tell them everything you know. The Granny Mei and I that you’ve seen are not our real appearances or names, so it doesn’t matter if you tell them. It’s a pity you don’t have any Cultivation Talent. I’m afraid we’ll probably never see each other again."

Subai said with a hint of regret.

She had a vague feeling that these past few years in Red Fox Town had been the most peaceful time of her entire life.

...

「Early the next morning.」

Jiang Zuo looked at the quiet house next door, knowing it was now empty.

Jiang Zuo didn’t have strong feelings about being implicated, forced to flee his home, and never being able to return.

His relationship with Subai was just that of slightly better-than-average neighbors. In the eyes of a Cultivator, a mortal was no different from an ant. The fact that Subai didn’t just sneak away and leave him to die was already the epitome of kindness.

Besides, Jiang Zuo knew that the root cause of Subai becoming his neighbor, and consequently his own need to flee, lay with himself.

There was one thing Jiang Zuo had never told Subai. Over the years, he had seen the Little Red Fox—the one that traded spice nuts for his meat buns—sneak into Subai’s house many times.

So, Jiang Zuo had understood early on that Subai becoming his neighbor was no coincidence; it was because his meat buns were delicious.

Their later closeness was also because of the meals Jiang Zuo cooked.

But if his cooking skills hadn’t attracted Subai, Jiang Zuo would have had no way of learning about the Cultivation Realm, nor would he have obtained a treasure like the storage pouch, something normally reserved for Cultivators.

It could only be said that everything in the world is bound by cause and effect.

The only regrettable thing was Great Black.

"Great Black, it seems you and I were fated to meet, but not to be together."

Jiang Zuo stroked Great Black’s head, his voice tinged with regret.

He had thought it over all night. He knew he definitely had to flee, and soon.

As for taking Great Black with him, Jiang Zuo had considered it.

But after careful deliberation, he knew he couldn’t.

Taking Great Black would make him too conspicuous. His pursuers were Cultivators, and there was no telling what kind of mystical tracking methods they possessed.

Bringing Great Black along would be like increasing his chances of being found several times over.

「Two days later.」

Everyone in Red Fox Town who was interested in this year’s Great Black learned that the newly developed dog was about to be auctioned off.

Furthermore, Jiang Zuo would be traveling for several years. If they didn’t buy it this year, they would have to wait several more years for another chance.

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