Chapter 86: The Biggest Case

This medical spray can only heal external wounds, just spray it on the injury.

Qiao Sang decided to first treat the Magnemouse she brought back to the mountain.

If the one that had struck her with lightning woke up first, she’d probably get hit again.

Since the medicine wasn’t as fast-acting as a healing skill, it took 15 minutes for the Magnemouse to wake up.

The moment it regained consciousness, it looked around, a bit dazed. Then, it quickly turned its head and saw its mother still lying unconscious on the ground.

Noticing that its mother’s wounds had been treated, the Magnemouse sighed in relief and finally paid attention to the human nearby.

“Zi.”

“Zi zi.”

The Magnemouse anxiously tried to explain itself to Qiao Sang.

With Yabao acting as a translator, Qiao Sang quickly understood their relationship, they were mother and child.

Just as she was about to speak, the other Magnemouse woke up.

Yabao immediately went on high alert.

It turned out that his vigilance was justified. The magnemouse’s mother immediately sought out Qiao Sang the moment it opened its eyes.

As the electricity crackled around its body, ready to strike, flames started to swirl around Yabao in response.

The battle was about to begin.

At that moment, Qiao Sang quickly grabbed the Magnemouse beside her, which had reacted a split second slower, and held it up as a shield in front of her.

“Don’t strike! Let’s talk this out!”

The mother and child exchanged glances, one looked confused, while the other appeared torn between worry and anger.

In the next second, the lightning around the mother dissipated.

Yabao was stunned—

this worked?

“Hurry and explain to your mom.” Qiao Sang urged the Magnemouse in her arms.

Five minutes later.

The mother Magnemouse looked at Qiao Sang with guilt in its eyes.

It was clear that the misunderstanding had been cleared up.

“Well then, since you’ve reunited with your family, we won’t disturb you any further.” Qiao Sang said to the Magnemouse.

Next, she had to search for any more wild pet beasts. If she couldn’t find any in half an hour, it was time to head back.

The Magnemouse nodded gratefully, but its mother blocked Qiao Sang’s path.

“Zi Zi!”

“Zi!”

Once again, Yabao served as the translator.

It turned out the mother magnetic fierce rat wanted to repay her with a tree fruit.

Qiao Sang initially wanted to decline but reconsidered and accepted.

After all, tree fruits that wild pet beasts liked surely contained various energies.

Although she didn’t expect any valuable tree fruits to be found on the mountains near the village, any spirit plant was useful.

If the tree had been cultivated by someone, it wouldn’t have been planted on a mountain inhabited by wild pet beasts.

Not to mention the soil and temperature issues, the timing of fertilization, and maintaining the balance of the tree's growth—everything would require human attention.

Then there’s the pruning for new growth.

For tree fruits, the goal is to encourage branching and abundant foliage; only then will the fruit yield be high, and harvesting easier.

Pruning for new growth is essential to prevent the tree from concentrating all its nutrients on the top.

By curbing the top growth and encouraging budding elsewhere, the nutrients get distributed more evenly to other branches, resulting in ideal fruit development.

Ordinary fruit trees already require so much care, so tree fruits containing energy would need even more careful cultivation. They wouldn’t just be randomly planted in such easily accessible mountains.

Since it was a wild tree fruit, Qiao Sang had no reservations about taking it.

The mother Magnemouse led the way, and after six minutes, it burrowed into a thick patch of foliage.

Qiao Sang paused for a moment before following.

---

Qitang Town.

Police Station.

A young man in his twenties, looking puzzled, asked, “Even if the person did enter Zhehai Province, they should’ve gone to Xianglin. Why would they come to our Hanggang?”

Across from him sat a round-faced middle-aged woman, who replied, “We tracked the route. After ditching surveillance, he stayed near Ming Lane. He was noticed by the police when a female college student took a photo of him because he’s handsome and shared it in a group chat.”

The middle-aged woman chuckled and said, “Sometimes, being handsome isn’t always a good thing.”

The young man frowned slightly.

“He was even photographed, and Zhou Xian still hasn’t been caught?”

With surveillance everywhere these days, any activity should leave some kind of identity trail.

Pet beasts are all registered at the Beastmaster Center. Even if a pet beast was involved, it should’ve been flagged immediately.

As a C-rank Beastmaster and someone who could rival him in skill, Zhou Xian’s presence should’ve drawn attention, even in a remote mountain village.

Yet, there had been no trace of him for days.

Plastic surgery? Gender change?

Could he have contracted a mud beast to disguise himself?

But according to the records, he had only become a C-rank Beastmaster a year ago. All his pet beasts were already registered, so there’s no way he could’ve contracted a fifth pet so soon.

Unless he’s hiding out in some secluded mountain no one frequents.

But what about food?

Beastmasters don’t just have to feed themselves; they also need to take care of their pet beasts’ diets.

He remembered the man’s file mentioned two advanced-rank pet beasts, one high-rank, and one mid-rank.

Feeding these four wouldn’t be easy anywhere.

The middle-aged woman sipped her tea and said, “He’s severely injured, and his pet beasts are hurt too. He won’t dare go to a hospital. It’s only a matter of time before we catch him.”

“No need to worry. He won’t make it to our town. Qitang’s small, and news spreads fast. Last time Ranyan went on a blind date, the whole town knew about it in no time. If Zhou Xian shows up here, the veggie seller, Auntie Wang, will probably know before the police do.”

Leaf Ranyan, sitting beside the middle-aged woman, froze.

She hadn’t said a word and still got dragged into the conversation?

“His capture is only a matter of time, but I’m worried he might lash out at civilians in desperation.” The young man said, concerned.

A C-rank Beastmaster was no small fry. If they didn’t find his hideout in time to evacuate the public and set up defenses, innocent people could get hurt.

“Guangbei, how long have you been with the department? Two years, right? What’s the biggest case you’ve encountered so far?” The middle-aged woman asked.

Zhang Guangbei paused and replied, “Isn’t it this one?”

The middle-aged woman shook her head. “We’ve only been told to keep an eye on this person; it’s not even officially our case. Even if Zhou Xian comes to Qitang, we’ll report it to higher-ups for them to send reinforcements. We don’t have a C-rank Beastmaster to take him on.”

“The biggest case is always the one you’re dealing with at the moment. Right now, your biggest case is this morning’s theft, the wild pet beast that got stolen. Nothing was caught on surveillance. Aren’t you curious?”

The young man’s attention was successfully diverted, and he argued, “It’s obvious that the Magnemouse escaped on its own. Honestly, it’s a bit much for the owner to ask the police to help find a wild pet beast they caught in the mountains. Who knows if it’ll attack people in town now that it’s loose.”

---

Huangming Mountain.

Qiao Sang stared in amazement at the scene before her.

If not for the Magnemouse leading the way, the dense foliage would have completely hidden this place from view.