Chapter 202: The Ancient Dialect

Inside the room, Li Songhai grew increasingly anxious as the girl ignored him.

“I’m not lying, I swear!” He forced out a friendly smile, trying to appear more approachable.

Who even believes in oaths these days...

Qiao Sang thought with a silent sneer but replied, “Go ahead, swear.”

Li Songhai felt a glimmer of hope and immediately raised his index, middle, and ring fingers to swear, “If I’m lying, may I remain single forever!”

This was his go-to oath since his youth, and it hadn’t changed. Despite being a well-regarded beast master, he was still single.

It was hard to tell if it was due to his personality or if he had taken too many such vows.

Hearing his oath, Qiao Sang’s mouth twitched slightly.

She paused, then deliberately remarked, “No way, Uncle. You’re still single at your age? I thought you’d have kids my age by now.”

A true stab to the heart.

Li Songhai felt as though an arrow had pierced his chest. Already in a bad mood, his spirits sank further.

After a struggle to suppress his frustration, Qiao Sang added, “Uncle, I think you’re lying. You’re probably not even a beast master. Although you’re... not exactly a sight to behold, beast masters don’t typically have trouble finding partners.”

Li Songhai froze, stunned, unable to move for a moment.

After a long pause, he pulled out a cigarette and lighter, lit up, took a heavy drag, and exhaled slowly.

Why, as a successful beast master, am I still single at this age?

Could it really be because of his appearance...?

Gazing at the smoke overhead, Li Songhai’s emotions erupted as he kicked the door hard and bellowed, “You little brat! You’ve got rocks for brains! Open this door now, or I’ll show you what happens when you tick me off!”

Qiao Sang: ...

Although she had intended to provoke him, his ancient dialect, which sounded just like Sichuanese, left her momentarily stunned.

Nowadays, the Alliance had standardized language, and everyone spoke the common language.

Even foreign countries had mandatory classes on it from elementary school. At school and with friends, Qiao Sang had always used the common language.

Hearing him speak a dialect so similar to Sichuanese threw her off.

“Lu Lu.”

A small head appeared from a tiny pool of water, Water Luriana glaring towards the door in disgust.

Qiao Sang’s face lit up, seeing Water Luriana openly appear in front of her.

What did this mean?

It meant Water Luriana had grown less guarded toward her!

Having someone else to compare against truly helped...

Clearing her throat, Qiao Sang spoke to the camera, “Uncle, shouting won’t help. Unless you summon your beast, I won’t believe you’re a beast master.”

If Li Songhai hadn’t been blinded by anger, he would have mentioned that he had only contracted with a single Water Snail

But he was consumed by proving himself a beast master.

“Watch carefully!”

Li Songhai tossed away his half-smoked cigarette and formed a seal with his hands.

A beast appeared in a green star array, with an orange and brown body made of two rocks, a single eye, four arms, and two legs. The beast was lying down with its eye closed, resting.

All of its hands were on the upper rock, each hand with five claw-like fingers.

Qiao Sang watched, her eyes narrowing with various thoughts.

It’s sleeping at this hour, so it has a regular schedule.

A green star array.

Most likely a D-rank beast master. If he contracted beasts at each rank-up, he should have three beasts in his beast registry by now.

The fact that he’s chasing Water Luriana so intently suggests he has an empty slot reserved for her.

“See? Now open the door!” Li Songhai dropped all pretenses.

“Lu Lu…”

Water Luriana seemed to think it was time to find a new place to live. It glanced at Qiao Sang, then at Little Treasure by her side, hesitating for a moment before steeling its resolve.

Just as Water Luriana was about to melt back into the water, Qiao Sang turned and pointed at the monitor, smiling, “Is it someone like that who forced you to flee to Yuhua District?”

“Lu Lu?”

Water Luriana looked puzzled, not understanding why Qiao Sang would say such a thing when the man outside looked so fierce.

Then, Li Songhai’s voice came from the monitor, filled with gritted anger, “Why are you holding me back? I haven’t done anything wrong! My beast got lost in that house, and I just wanted to retrieve it!”

Water Luriana froze, lifting its head to look at the monitor.

But it was too short, and the monitor was too high for it to see anything.

“You want a closer look? I’ll hold you up.” Understanding immediately, Qiao Sang offered her hand.

“Lu Lu…”

Water Luriana hesitated briefly, but its curiosity won out, and it leapt into her arms.

Even though she’d been prepared, Qiao Sang couldn’t help feeling a thrill.

Wow, this was Water Luriana’s first time letting her hold it so closely!

What did this mean? It meant she was one step closer to contracting with Water Luriana!

Suppressing a proud grin, Qiao Sang held Water Luriana up to the monitor, commenting, “Not the sharpest guy. He got in as a security guard but decided to yell at tenants in the dead of night. That job’s as good as gone.”

When she’d recognized the man as the security guard she’d seen a couple of days ago, she’d called the property management without a second thought.

A little bit of goading, and he’d already started spewing dialect.

Basic protocol for security personnel requires putting tenant interests first, viewing themselves as service providers rather than authorities.

But here he was, shouting and cursing late at night. Termination was almost certain.

Qiao Sang thought he wasn’t exactly bright. If she had tracked Water Luriana all the way here,

why settle for being a restricted security guard instead of a tenant?

Water Luriana, watching the restrained human on the monitor, was visibly shocked.

How could someone be so weak?!

---

“Let go of me!” Li Songhai wasn’t stupid. The fact that security arrived so quickly meant the girl in apartment 1705 had called them.

The security office wasn’t close by, so for them to arrive now, she must have called a while ago. Likely, she’d dialed as soon as he started pressing the doorbell.

Anger surged as Li Songhai realized he’d been outwitted by the girl.

After all, as a D-rank beast master, his beast’s bond had strengthened him, and with a burst of effort, he broke free from the two guards holding him.