I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Obsession Relic

Besides the opportunity to change his Race, there were also the quests and the system’s clock to consider.

The current quest was to raise a mutated Pet Beast. The reward wasn’t specified, but the first quest—to successfully raise a Pet Beast—had rewarded him with a chance to change his Race.

It seemed that completing quests yielded extraordinary rewards.

Jiang Zuo was quite interested in the quests.

Unfortunately, Jiang Zuo had no idea how to induce a Mutation in a Pet Beast. He felt he could only rely on sheer numbers and probability, raising one after another and hoping one would get lucky enough to mutate.

Then there was the system’s internal clock.

This world didn’t have such things as clocks. For a modern man like Jiang Zuo, who valued punctuality, not being able to clearly tell the time would have been extremely unsettling.

Fortunately, the system came with a clock.

Otherwise, Jiang Zuo would have been like most ordinary people in this world, forced to estimate the time of day by relying on the sun and the stars.

’Or maybe if I become a Cultivator, I’ll be able to calculate the time with a flick of my fingers?’

...

A little over ten minutes later.

Jiang Zuo was a little surprised to see a group of people starting construction on a patch of grass about thirty meters from his wooden house.

"Mr. Yang, who’s planning to build a house here?"

Jiang Zuo recognized the middle-aged man in charge. He was a carpenter in town; nine years ago, he had helped build Jiang Zuo’s own wooden house.

"Ah, Jiang Zuo. Looks like you’re getting a new neighbor."

Jiang Zuo was now somewhat famous in Red Fox Town, so Mr. Yang turned and said with a smile.

"I’m not sure what kind of family they are exactly. Steward Luo personally brought them to me. It’s an old woman with the surname Su. She has an air of nobility, and her clothes and demeanor are very refined. She must be from some great household. But she chose this rather remote plot of land, and the house she wants to build isn’t that large. Maybe her family’s fortunes have declined, and that’s why she’s come to Red Fox Town."

Mr. Yang walked over to Jiang Zuo and said in a low voice.

In his eyes, Jiang Zuo was a capable man, so he didn’t mind doing him a small favor.

Jiang Zuo wasn’t surprised that his new neighbor was a wealthy person.

Although Red Fox Town was a town in name, it was actually a county of the Da Xi nation.

When Venerable Red Fox still lived here, it was just a town. Even when its population later swelled to over a hundred thousand, it was never officially renamed a county, though it held that administrative rank.

The population of Red Fox Town was now far below the standard for a county in Da Xi, but even so, becoming a registered resident and buying a house here was not something an ordinary person could achieve.

An ordinary family had to rent a place in Red Fox Town for fifteen years, register with the County Magistrate’s Office, complete the tasks assigned by the office every year, and maintain a clean record for the entire fifteen-year period to be eligible for residency.

Wealthy families, however, could take another path.

After their background was verified as clean, they could make a large donation to the County Magistrate’s Office and then settle in the town.

Red Fox Town was remote and had poor transportation. The fact that a wealthy family was still willing to pay this price was probably because the town was peaceful, stable, and very safe.

Jiang Zuo didn’t know what law and order was like in other parts of the Da Xi nation, but it was most likely nowhere near as good as in Red Fox Town.

Red Fox Town could be described as perfectly peaceful and orderly. In the past decade or so, only two relatively serious violent crimes had occurred.

The culprits were all publicly arrested and beheaded as a warning to others.

The only advantage of Jiang Zuo’s own location within Red Fox Town was its tranquility. Ordinary families trying to make a living would choose to be closer to crowded areas, not here.

The only ones who would choose to settle here were wealthy people who also sought peace and quiet.

"Mr. Yang, how about coming to my place for a meal in a bit?"

Jiang Zuo thought for a moment and said to Mr. Yang.

"Well... I’d better not. That Old Su is in a hurry, so I’m afraid I won’t have any free time for a while."

Mr. Yang was tempted.

He knew about Jiang Zuo’s cooking skills, which were better than many of the famous chefs in town.

But the pay for this job was high, and the schedule was tight. He had to eat with the other workers and get back to work immediately afterward.

Otherwise, if he wasn’t watching them, this group would surely procrastinate as much as they could.

After thinking it over, Mr. Yang had to decline Jiang Zuo’s invitation.

"Alright, then some other time."

Jiang Zuo said no more, nudged the squatting Great Black with his foot, and headed for his wooden house.

...

Jiang Zuo’s lunch was a simple dish of stir-fried meat and greens.

He always kept his lunches as simple as possible, saving the more time-consuming dishes for the evening.

Though simple, it was a feast for the senses in color, aroma, and flavor.

Smelling the aroma, Great Black was practically drooling.

But Jiang Zuo just feinted a kick, motioning for him to move away, before preparing him a large plate of mixed rice with grain husks, rice, and meat bones.

Jiang Zuo deliberately didn’t feed him too well, lest he develop a picky appetite.

Great Black didn’t get meat buns every morning, either. It was only his turn if there were leftovers by the end of the morning rush.

Most of the time, Great Black’s breakfast consisted of last night’s leftovers.

He had fed the third big black dog he’d raised far too well. A few days after selling it, the buyer came back to complain that the dog was too picky, refusing to eat this and that, and asked him to do something about it.

As a result, that Great Black only brought Jiang Zuo a single point of Beast Taming Reputation more than half a year after it was sold.

That was even less Beast Taming Reputation than he had gotten from the first Great Black he had painstakingly raised.

If not for that, his Beast Taming Reputation would be several points higher.

Ever since then, Jiang Zuo had learned his lesson and made a point of not making the dog food too delicious.

However, this foodie Great Black had starved as a pup and wasn’t a picky eater.

After eating the big meat buns he gave them in the morning, the previous black dogs Jiang Zuo had raised would show signs of pickiness after just a few times.

Jiang Zuo would use their desire for meat buns to speed up their training, and then gradually stop giving them the buns during subsequent training to prevent them from truly developing picky habits.

But this foodie, Great Black, would devour anything given to him, never picky.

And that was precisely why he could still occasionally get to eat meat buns.

After lunch.

In the kitchen.

A flash of the knife, and a piece of pork skin was cleanly separated from the leaf lard. The creamy white lard was then diced into neat, uniform cubes, stacked on the cutting board like sugar cubes.

"My control over my body’s movements, my reaction speed... they’ve all clearly improved!"

Jiang Zuo swung the kitchen knife in his hand, feeling very satisfied as he compared it to how it felt before he left this morning.

Of the changes brought by his attributes, strength was the most obvious.

But it was difficult to clearly perceive the effects of Physique and Agility.

Jiang Zuo had been paying close attention for a long time but had never felt such a distinct improvement until today. It was probably because the attribute increase this time was relatively large.

Compared to the morning, Jiang Zuo’s reaction speed and precision with the knife had improved to a visible degree.

This should be the effect of the Agility Attribute.

The effects of the Physique Attribute were the hardest to perceive.

From what he could tell, the Physique Attribute made his body better, more adaptable and resistant to the external environment, less prone to illness, and gave him more lasting stamina.

This physical enhancement filled Jiang Zuo with motivation.

Jiang Zuo put the lard cubes into the pot to render oil. He didn’t discard the pork skin but placed it in a pot of boiling water for five minutes, then took it out and hung it up to dry under the eaves.

’This pork skin can be made into a delicacy. I only eat it twice a month, but it’s delicious.’

Soon, a small plate of rendered lard was ready. Jiang Zuo left some of the hot lard in the bottom of the pot and then placed in slices of sweet potato coated in batter.

Before long, a plate of golden-brown fried sweet potato slices was ready.

It was a pity he still hadn’t been able to find potatoes in this world.

Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but think with a little regret every time he fried sweet potato slices.

Potatoes didn’t need batter; they were delicious just sliced and fried directly. But sweet potato slices were different; if fried directly, the outside would become very dry and hard.

CRUNCH. After eating a few fried slices, Jiang Zuo wrapped the rest in oil paper, making one large and one small package.

Calling Great Black, Jiang Zuo went out again.

Next door, Mr. Yang was still leading his crew, fervently laying the foundation. There were even more people than he had seen at noon.

"Mr. Yang, I made a little snack. Have a taste."

Jiang Zuo walked over and handed him the smaller package of fried slices.

"Jiang Zuo, you’re too kind. Thanks. I’ll try your handiwork in a bit when I have a moment."

Knowing that Jiang Zuo’s food was delicious, Mr. Yang didn’t stand on ceremony.

However, his hands were covered in mud, so he just took it and put it in his bag.

"Alright, I’ll let you get back to work."

Jiang Zuo didn’t linger, turning to walk towards the market in the center of town.

If he remembered correctly, today was the big market day, when some traveling merchants would come to set up stalls in the town market.

Blacksmith Li’s smithy was near the market. He had to go to Blacksmith Li’s place this afternoon, so it was a good chance to check out the market on the way.

A while after Jiang Zuo left, Mr. Yang finally had a free moment.

Wiping the mud from his hands, he sat down by the side of the road and took out the oil paper package.

"What is this?"

It was the first time he had ever seen fried sweet potato slices coated in batter.

In this world, there were no various vegetable oils, and lard was much more expensive than pork.

Fried food was already a rare sight; using oil to fry sweet potatoes was almost a wanton waste of good ingredients, not to mention it also used flour.

Just by looking at the outside, Mr. Yang couldn’t tell what was inside.

However, as soon as he opened the oil paper, the fragrant smell of fried food rushed out. Mr. Yang couldn’t be bothered with questions and picked up a piece to take a bite.

The moment he bit into it, Mr. Yang’s eyes lit up. He devoured the rest of the slice in two or three bites.

There were actually only five fried slices in the oil paper package. Mr. Yang longed for more, but he restrained himself in the end, carefully re-wrapping it to take home for his wife and children.

’Young Brother Jiang really is a capable person. I’ll have to visit him more often in the future!’

"Old Yang, come quick! It looks like we’ve dug up an old grave over here!"

However, before Mr. Yang could even really start his break, someone shouted at him.

’What? An old grave?’

Mr. Yang’s brow furrowed, and he hurried over.

...

The market was bustling on a big market day, with vendors and pedestrians lining both sides of the street.

Jiang Zuo walked at a leisurely pace with Great Black, squatting down to look whenever he saw something interesting.

Whenever he did, Great Black would also squat down, panting with his tongue out, staying quiet and obedient, never running off.

When Jiang Zuo came to the market, he was mostly hoping to find some miscellaneous books—essays, biographies, or texts on astronomy and geography.

Although he had been in this world for over ten years, Jiang Zuo still knew very little about it.

There was a school in Red Fox Town, where Jiang Zuo had even stayed for a while, but it didn’t have many books, and most of them were for the purpose of passing civil service examinations.

Arriving in front of a stall, Jiang Zuo suddenly stopped in his tracks.

『Obsession Relic ’Porcupine Teeth’ discovered!』

As he looked at a Beast Tooth Necklace on the stall, a line of text had appeared before his eyes.

’An Obsession Relic!’

In all these years, it was the first time he had ever seen such a prompt.

Jiang Zuo looked closely at the Beast Tooth Necklace and saw that one of the teeth was emitting a faint, dark red glow.

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