Qiao Sangâs heart skipped a beat, and she immediately remembered that the Gis egg was in Bainie Country, monopolized by a single family. Her heart sank even further.
She replied, âI understand. Thank you, Teacher.â
No matter what, Dr. Dosharilaâs suggestion was for her own good.
Dosharilaâs eyes curved slightly as she smiled.
âYouâre my student. When you first came to me, it was to discuss the emotional fluctuations of Ice Aipalu. Naturally, I hope I can help you on this path. Even if you go to Blue Star, you can contact me anytime if you have any questions about emotional energy.â
A flicker of gratitude passed through Qiao Sangâs eyes. She said solemnly, âI will.â
After chatting casually for a few more minutes, Qiao Sang said a formal farewell and headed to the Runes Department, knocking on the deanâs office door.
âCome in.â Came the voice from inside.
Pushing open the door, Qiao Sang found Dean Li sitting in front of his computer, reading documents.
Li Dongdong looked up and, upon seeing her, his face lit up with surprise.
âYouâre here! I saw in the news that your Steel-Slash Giant Falcon underwent a sudden Bond Evolution again?â
As he spoke, he turned to glance at Gangbao, standing nearby.
Qiao Sang smiled and gave a soft âMm.â
âI didnât expect her to bond-evolve at that time either.â
âBond Evolution is a mysterious thing. Unlike other pet evolutions, it has no clear standard.â Li Dongdong smiled.
âYouâve only been on Chaosu Star for a year, yet your Steel-Slash Giant Falcon has undergone three consecutive Bond Evolutions in such a short time. That shows your relationship has already surpassed the ordinary bond between a beast master and their pet.â
Hearing this, Qiao Sang and Gangbao instinctively exchanged a glance.
Gangbao was the first to shyly look away.
Qiao Sang looked back at Li Dongdong and smiled.
âI think so too.â
âGang SliceâŠâ
Gangbaoâs face flushed slightly, but with her silver-white helmet covering her head, it wasnât visible.
Li Dongdong stood up, went to a nearby bookshelf, pulled out a thick book, and handed it to Qiao Sang.
âYouâre about to return to Blue Star. I donât have much to give you, so take this Appreciation of Runes. You can read it in your spare time. It contains rare materials and methods for drawing many rare runes. Itâs a collectorâs edition, not for sale on the market.â
Qiao Sang quickly took it.
âThank you, Dean.â
She knew better than anyone how precious these unavailable books were, borrowing them from Yuliantonâs library cost one point per day.
âYouâre still calling me Dean?â Li Dongdong raised an eyebrow.
Qiao Sang paused, then corrected herself.
âThank you, Teacher.â
âThatâs more like it.â Li Dongdong smiled.
âYou attended my class half a month ago, and youâve already been registered under my name, youâre my student now.â
Hearing this, Qiao Sang felt a little embarrassed. She had finally managed to attend one Runes class, but it was so profound that she didnât understand a thing.
At her current level, being registered under the name of the Runes Departmentâs dean, a figure of such stature, was almost laughable.
No one would believe it if she told them.
She had no idea why he was so certain she had talent in runes.
She herself couldnât see it at allâŠ
Shaking off her thoughts, she remembered her purpose.
âI came this time to say goodbye.â
âI know.â Li Dongdong sighed.
âItâs a pity Gilbert is too rigid, otherwise youâd officially be a student of Yulianton.â
No, everything had worked out for the best
⊠Qiao Sang said earnestly, âEven if Iâm not a student of Yulianton, Iâm still your student.â
Hearing this, Li Dongdong was visibly moved.
If anyone else had said this, he would have brushed it off.
But coming from Qiao Sang, the very person all those old foxes couldnât persuade to stay, it gave the words a rare weight, striking right into his heart.
âIn the future, if you have any questions about runes, just contact me.â Li Dongdong patted her shoulder and made the promise.
After saying farewell to Dean Li, Qiao Sang went to the points exchange room.
At Yulianton, points could be used for almost anything on campus, including exchanging for resources.
Normally, students just did the exchange through the schoolâs website, but if you wanted to get the items as quickly as possible, you had to come to the dedicated exchange room and find the teacher in charge.
Qiao Sang had already decided in advance what she wanted.
On the virtual screen in front of her, she selected each item she needed, clicked confirm, and said, âIâve made my selections.â
The virtual screen rotated to face the teacher in charge.
The teacher glanced at it.
âOne vial of Veil Serum, one S-grade Yinmarrow Silver crystal, correct?â
Qiao Sang nodded.
âCorrect.â
Veil Serum, which wasnât sold on the open market, could be purchased with points at Yulianton University. She planned to exchange for it to give to her mother.
Her motherâs brain domain had not made any breakthroughs for a long time, after taking it, she might see new progress.
The Yinmarrow Silver was one of the materials needed for Little Treasureâs next evolution stage.
She had tried to buy it back when she had her unlimited quota card, but shops with such items always reserved them for regular clients. After waiting ten or twenty days, all she got was an apologetic phone call.
Fortunately, Yulianton University had no shortage of rare S-grade materials.
âWait a moment.â The teacher said, pressing a few buttons on the mechanical pet beast beside them.
After about five seconds, the mechanical beast opened its mouth and produced a vial of Veil Serum.
It reached out with its claws, placed the vial on the desk, then the teacher pressed a few more buttons.
Again, after about five seconds, the mechanical beast opened its mouth and brought out a black crystal.
âYour Veil Serum and Yinmarrow Silver.â The teacher said.
The mechanical beastâs functions were truly fascinatingâŠ
Qiao Sang couldnât help but think, as she had Little Treasure store the items into the ring before leaving the school.
---
Late at night.
Villa.
Bedroom.
Qiao Sang lay fast asleep in bed.
The air beside her suddenly rippled like the surface of a disturbed lake, twisting.
Then, Adinishi appeared in the room.
It looked at Qiao Sang on the bed, moved its paw holding the red flute, but finally chose to put it down, disappearing from the room and teleporting to the living room.
âXun XunâŠâ
âXun XunâŠâ
Little Treasure, who had just said farewell to his little brothers, sat by the coffee table, crying loudly while wiping his tears and snot with tissues.
âChan ChanâŠâ
The Chan Chan Stones beside him were circling anxiously, unsure how to comfort him.
âDee dee?â
Adinishi came over, calling curiously to ask what was wrong.
âXun XunâŠâ
Little Treasure sobbed, saying
that from now on, he would only have one little brother left.
âDee deeâŠâ
Adinishi was speechless, not understanding why that was worth crying over.
Just as it was about to say something, Little Treasure called out again, âXun XunâŠâ
And that he wouldnât get to see them anymore.
âChan Chan!â
âChan Chan!â
At those words, the Chan Chan Stones beside him couldnât hold back their tears any longer and began wailing as well.
They had stayed at home all this time, so of course they knew the human who had hired them was about to leave.
âDee dee.â
Adinishi fell silent, then said that
farewells were a normal part of life.
It had lived far too long, though it spent long stretches in deep sleep, its waking years alone were many.
It had met countless people and pet beasts, some who recognized it, some who didnât.
Meeting, parting, it was always the same.
âXun XunâŠâ
Seeing Adinishi suddenly look so deep and thoughtful, Little Treasure stopped crying and instead looked curious. He asked if Adinishi wasnât sad at all.
âDee dee.â
Adinishi returned to its usual expression, picked up a bag of potato chips from the coffee table, opened it, and said that
it used to feel sad, but not anymore.
âXun Xun?â
Little Treasure was still curious.
Even if we leave, you wonât be sad?
âDee dee.â
Adinishi shook its head.
Not sad.
âXun Xun?â
Little Treasure pointed to the potato chips in its paw.
But if we leave, you wonât have these to eat anymore.
Adinishi: âŠ
âDee dee.â Adinishi gave Little Treasure a look.
See, youâre not sad anymore now.
Little Treasure froze for a moment, then immediately thought of his little underlings, and tears welled up again.
âXun Xun!â
âXun Xun!â
âChan Chan!â
âChan Chan!â
The Chan Chan Stones wailed along with him.
Adinishi: âŠ
---
The next day.
5:30 p.m.
Yulianton University.
Classes had ended for the day, and the teacher left the classroom carrying their textbook.
The students were excitedly discussing where they would travel and go adventuring during the holiday.
âQiao Sang, are you going back to Blue Star?â Dorothy asked, her face full of reluctance.
The classroom immediately fell silent.
Everyone here was a beast master, with exceptionally sharp hearing.
Almost all of them perked up their ears.
Qiao Sang replied with a light âMmâ: âIâm leaving tomorrow.â
The atmosphere in the classroom suddenly turned heavy.
In university, everyoneâs schedules were full and they all had their own things to do. Not to mention classmates, most people werenât even that close to their roommates.
But Qiao Sang was different. Since the start of the semester, she had brought countless miracles and shocks to others, she had long since become the soul of the class.
With her leaving, it felt like something would be missing from the class.
At that moment, someone spoke up: âWhen you go back, donât forget us!â
As soon as the words fell, the class grew lively again: âYeah, drop by in the group chat every now and then!â
âIâm planning to visit Blue Star sometime, Iâll come find you then!â
âIâll be waiting for you to compete in the Interstellar Cup!â
Everyoneâs words
⊠made Qiao Sang feel deeply moved.
âGoddess Qiao, if youâre leaving, you wonât need your points anymore. Do you have any left? Can you give them to me?â This voice instantly ruined the warm atmosphere.
âIf sheâs giving them, she should give them to me!â Dorothy shouted.
âIsnât the Steel-Slash Giant Falcon feather you got already enough?â The first student shot back.
Dorothyâs face turned red.
The whole class burst into laughter.
Qiao Sang couldnât help but laugh too.
When most of the students had left, Qiao Sang didnât have Little Treasure use spatial movement as usual, instead, she walked out side by side with Dorothy.
âWill you come back in the future?â Dorothy asked.
Qiao Sang thought for a moment.
âMaybe.â
Dorothy sighed.
âWithout you, my point income will drop by a lot next semester.â
Qiao Sang glanced at her.
âActually, I havenât completely used up my points. I can transfer the rest to you.â
Dorothyâs eyes lit up.
âReally?â
âReally.â Qiao Sang nodded.
âI love you to death!â Dorothy pounced on her.
Qiao Sang pushed her away in distaste.
âHow many points?â Dorothy asked excitedly.
âOne point.â Qiao Sang said.
Points were far too valuable for her to not spend, but there was nothing at Yulianton that could be exchanged for just one point, so she hadnât used it.
Dorothy was silent for a moment, then happily took out her phone.
âOne point is fine too. Hurry and transfer it to me!â
Qiao Sang took out her phone and sent it over immediately. After that, she took an invitation letter from her backpack and handed it to Dorothy.
Dorothy froze.
âWhatâs this?â
âThe VIP invitation for the semifinals of the 126th Pet Beast Arena Tournament. I donât have time to go, so Iâm giving it to you.â
Dorothy stayed silent for a while, then pounced on her again.
Just as Qiao Sang was about to push her away again, Dorothy whispered, âI wonât forget you. You better not forget me either.â
Qiao Sang paused, let her hold on, and replied with a soft laugh: âI wonât.â
---
10:30 p.m.
Villa.
After packing up almost everything, Qiao Sang went to the living room, sat beside Adinishi, and said slowly: âWeâre leaving tomorrow.â
âDee dee.â
Adinishi nodded while munching on potato chips.
It knew.
âCan you play the flute now?â Qiao Sang finally couldnât help asking.
âDee dee.â
Adinishi paused, then didnât bother pretending anymore. It let out a call, meaning it wanted to play for just one more night.
Qiao Sang: âŠ
âFine.â Qiao Sang took a deep breath and left.
Adinishi continued eating potato chips.
A few minutes later, Qiao Sang came back with an armful of potato chips and set them in front of it.
âThese are all for you. There are more in the first room upstairs, they should last you for a while. Iâve rented this place until the end of the month. Someone will come collect it then. Until that time, you can stay here. No one will bother you.â
âDee dee.â
Adinishi looked at the snacks, called out calmly, and indicated it understood.
Hopefully Adinishi would keep its wordâŠ
Qiao Sang sighed and left.
Adinishi stared at the snacks on the table, no longer eating the chip in its hand.
---
3:00 a.m.
Utter silence.
Adinishi appeared first in Piriteâs room, then in Liu Yaoâs, and finally in Qiao Sangâs.
Seeing that everyone was sound asleep, it instantly moved to the living room and took out the red flute.
âXun Xun!â
Little Treasure, who had been typing on the computer to say goodbye to teammates, saw Adinishiâs movements and looked excited.
Youâre finally going to play the flute!
Adinishi glanced at him without answering, then brought the flute to its lips.
Instantly, a melodious tune sounded.
âXun XunâŠâ
Sleepiness washed over Little Treasure, and with a
thud
, he collapsed onto the keyboard.
In the corner, the sighing Chan Chan Stones also fell into a deep sleep.
The tune shifted, changing its melody.
Invisible sound waves spread out.
In that moment, everyone and every beast in the villa began to dream.
Qiao Sang, Liu Yao, Pirite, Yabao, Little Treasure, Lubao, Gangbao, Sky Bat, Famu Moth, the Chan Chan StonesâŠ
âDee deeâŠâ
After playing for nearly five minutes, Adinishi lowered the flute, yawned, and its whole body seemed thinner.
No one knew that the price of playing a flute tune that could make accurate predictions was its own waking time.
The more it predicted, the shorter it could stay awake.
And no one knew, it could even make predictions for humans.
âDee deeâŠâ
Adinishi took one last look at Little Treasure, then turned and stepped into the twisted space.
Like water rippled by the wind.
Soon, the space returned to stillness.
Everything was quiet again.