It was already nearing the wee hours of the morning, and the entire medical clinic was shrouded in pitch blackness.
On the third floor, a faint glimmer of light flickered in one spot, as if someone had forgotten to turn off a lamp at this hour.
The beast tamer stood outside the wall of the medical clinic’s backyard, peering inside.
The courtyard was open-air with no cover, making it easy to see what was going on before nightfall.
Xuzhi might have been working at the medical clinic or staying here for some other reason.
But he protected his magical beast too well, always cradling it in his arms, so its appearance remained unclear.
The beast tamer held back and waited until now.
To keep his actions hidden, he had temporarily left his Golden Crow outside the town and come alone.
His companions had received the message and were heading toward the location of the fire-type magical beast.
He couldn’t wait any longer. They had to act tonight.
When parting from the Golden Crow, the beast tamer had sensed its anxiety and unease, as if it hoped he wouldn’t go.
Yet as a contracted beast, it couldn’t stop its master.
Confirming that the time was about right, the beast tamer took a deep breath and slowly approached.
He took out a small clod of dirt-like substance from his body, lit it, and tossed it into the courtyard.
This was a sedative toxin, also known as bewitching incense, which would cause people and magical beasts in the area to fall into a poisoned stupor.
The best outcome would be to resolve this quietly and without a sound. Once the bewitching incense took full effect, he could go in and confirm the type of that magical beast.
Meanwhile, outside the town, the Black-Furred Magical Beast grew uneasy and wanted to get closer for a look.
It clutched the fruit tightly and had only taken two steps when it caught a whiff of more ominous scents rapidly closing in.
From the distant underbrush, a Flower Leopard slowly emerged.
The Black-Furred Magical Beast turned to flee, but a Double-Horned Rhino appeared on its flank and a Water Python from behind, surrounding it completely.
…This was bad. They had discovered it here long ago.
In the next instant, three arrows coated with anesthetic toxin whistled through the air.
At the same time, Ming Shuang’s dream came to an abrupt end.
Xuzhi’s eyes snapped open, his gaze sweeping toward the door.
A wisp of black smoke was seeping in through the door crack, slowly spreading.
The Little Dragon Hatchling in his arms stirred lightly and woke up in a daze.
Ming Shuang’s body hadn’t fully recovered, but his senses were unaffected. He immediately noticed something was off with himself.
His body felt weak, his eyelids heavy, but it wasn’t the usual drowsiness.
He lifted his head and saw that Xuzhi was awake too.
In the dim light, Xuzhi made a shushing gesture toward Ming Shuang.
He slowly rose with the Little Dragon Hatchling in his arms and retreated to the corner of the room without making a sound.
The strangeness Ming Shuang felt, Xuzhi sensed as well.
This had to be some kind of Bewitching Incense, non-lethal but fast-acting—something not easily bought in town.
The prying sensation from earlier in the day hadn’t been an illusion.
Moreover, even though he was staying at the medical clinic, the attackers had still made their move, showing no fear of being discovered by Tuji’s people.
Xuzhi held his breath and tried setting up a magic array at the door to block the smoke.
The magic book he’d read during the day was already proving useful tonight.
The lightning magic array pulsed with dark light, successfully disrupting the bewitching incense smoke.
Even if the people outside came in, they’d be caught off guard by the attack.
Xuzhi carefully tucked Ming Shuang into his embrace and glanced sideways at the tightly shut window above.
About ten minutes later, the beast tamer figured it was time. He silently vaulted over the wall.
Covering his mouth and nose, he picked up the remaining bewitching incense and pocketed it. As he approached the door, he detected a faint magical fluctuation.
But he didn’t think much of it. He simply threw up a protective barrier around himself and pushed the door.
The moment his hand touched it, a flash of purple light erupted, followed by a deafening explosion.
Startled, the beast tamer leaped back to dodge. At the same time, he unleashed an attack that shattered the door.
Under the glow of the lightning magic array, the room was empty, with the window cracked open, leading who knew where.
At that moment, Tuji on the third floor also heard the commotion.
Realizing the noise came from Xuzhi’s direction, he dropped the book in his hand.
A window on the third floor swung open, and a Pointed-Head Lizard spat out green light, transforming into vines that lashed toward the beast tamer in the courtyard.
The beast tamer swung his blade to sever the vines. He was about to pursue Xuzhi when Tuji and several medical clinic assistants arrived to block him.
Tuji, who hadn’t slept a wink while flipping through his book until now, demanded angrily, “Who are you? What do you want breaking in here!”
The beast tamer had no time to waste on explanations.
He vaulted back over the wall and directly summoned his Golden Crow.
The summoning array lit up in midair. The Golden Crow swooped down, carrying the beast tamer away.
Tuji watched the scene unfold, his face darkening.
He knew a new miasma-clearing team had arrived in the valley, and one of the beast tamers had a Golden Crow as his magical beast.
Tuji hurriedly checked the room but found no sign of Xuzhi or Ming Shuang.
Deeply anxious but unsure how to help, he suddenly heard more commotion from farther away, like it was coming from outside the town.
Tuji immediately ordered his assistants, “Go check out what’s happening!”
Outside the town, the Black-Furred Magical Beast dodged attacks left and right.
It unleashed several bursts of flame, but the enemies had come prepared with a water-type magical beast.
On top of that, it had sensed something wrong on Ming Shuang’s end, which left it panicked with worry.
“Whoosh—”
Another poison arrow streaked in, striking the Black-Furred Magical Beast squarely.
Its body went rigid as it lowered its head.
The poison arrow had pierced the fruit in its arms, which now sizzled with black ooze.
…
The two fruits it had gone to such lengths to find—for the Little Dragon—were completely ruined.
The Black-Furred Magical Beast trembled lightly and let out an enraged roar at the approaching Water Python.
“Roar—”
Thick storm clouds blotted out the moon, and a pitch-black shadow began to swell relentlessly.
Not far away, the two beast tamers’ expressions shifted.
“It has a second form?”
“The poison arrows aren’t enough…”
“Where’s De Ya? Where’s his Golden Crow?”
“He said earlier tonight there was some other issue on his end and he couldn’t join the operation.”
By their plan, three beast tamers should have been enough to deal with the fire-type magical beast.
The valley needed guarding, so no one else could come. Without the Golden Crow, if the fire-type escaped, they had no way to track it…
As they hesitated, the shadow outside town ballooned to dozens of times its size, opening a pair of red eyes blazing with fury.
Amid soaring flames, the Water Python writhed in agony and collapsed, slinking into the underbrush to flee.
~~~
After quietly slipping out the window, Xuzhi circled around several rooms in the backyard and exited through a side door.
Gazing at the dark streets, he hesitated for a moment before heading toward the outskirts of town.
He wasn’t sure when he’d been targeted, who the enemy was, or what their goal might be.
Tuji had helped him a lot, and he didn’t want to bring more trouble to the medical clinic. During the day, he could have gone somewhere crowded, but it was night now.
Lately, residents kept their doors shut at night. Even if they heard something, they might not pay attention.
Ming Shuang in his arms had inhaled some of the bewitching incense. Without Xuzhi’s immunity to poisons, he was on the verge of passing out.
The Little Dragon Hatchling struggled to keep his eyes open, trying to make out his surroundings. He even tried biting himself to stay alert, but ended up nipping Xuzhi’s hand.
Xuzhi remained unfazed and soothed him in a low voice, “Sleep for a bit. You’ll be fine when you wake up.”
Ming Shuang didn’t buy it. He clamped down hard on the “claw” and began gathering his scant magical power.
Dragon breath… right, his dragon breath had recovered just a little.
Though Ming Shuang still wasn’t clear on what was happening, in his hazy state, he thought glumly that this place was no good at all—danger everywhere. He wanted to go home with Xuzhi.
Xuzhi stuck to hidden paths, cutting through someone’s courtyard to reach the town’s edge.
He planned to head for Red Coral Lake. Even if it wasn’t nearby, that place was relatively safe for him and Ming Shuang.
But before he could get far, a sudden gust rose behind him.
The sound of wings beating was especially clear in the quiet night.
The Golden Crow landed steadily, blocking Xuzhi’s path.
The beast tamer dismounted from its back and sized up Xuzhi. “You’ve surprised me a little, but that’s as far as it goes.”
He hadn’t expected Xuzhi to resist the bewitching incense toxin. Unfortunately, no matter how cautious, he couldn’t escape the Golden Crow’s tracking.
Xuzhi pulled his coat tighter, his gaze sweeping over the Golden Crow behind the beast tamer. “Who are you?”
“You don’t need to know,” the beast tamer said, stepping forward. “I’m just very curious about your magical beast.”
Curious about his magical beast?
Xuzhi’s eyes turned icy cold, and he fell silent.
Now even closer to Ming Shuang, the Golden Crow couldn’t help trembling faintly.
Sensing its emotions, the beast tamer steadied his breathing and continued, “How about this? Sever your contract with your magical beast voluntarily, and I might spare your life.”
But he had no intention of letting Xuzhi live. If word got out that a miasma-clearing team’s beast tamer had done this, it would tarnish their reputation.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a bolt of purple lightning crashed down on his position.
An attack magic array rose up as well, forcing the beast tamer to retreat.
He could tell the lightning magic belonged to a magical beast around the 3rd or 4th Tier…
But the emotions coming from the Golden Crow made him think it wasn’t that simple.
The beast tamer raised a light barrier to block it, then suddenly recalled something with a puzzled frown.
He remembered the Thunder Scorpion that had died in the mining district—it was also 3rd Tier.
The thought flashed by. With no time to dwell, another light array glowed in his hand.
Metal magic coalesced into razor-sharp blades that blanketed the sky toward Xuzhi.
Xuzhi dodged, but still took several hits.
At the same time, the Golden Crow leaped up, cutting off his escape route.
Seeing Xuzhi’s poor condition—pale-faced and leaning against a roadside tree trunk—the Golden Crow advanced step by step.
“Woo…”
A low growl emanated from the Little Dragon Hatchling beneath Xuzhi’s coat.
Ming Shuang was pinned tightly in his arms. His body had only just recovered, and Xuzhi refused to let him go outside.
Hearing the warning laced with fury, the Golden Crow actually hesitated and took half a step back.
The Beast Tamer, baffled, stepped forward.
Xuzhi was already injured, but just as he had guessed, this was a young man who had awakened not long ago. His strength hadn’t even reached the 4th Tier.
And for some reason, his magical beast had yet to make an appearance.
All in all, things were proceeding smoothly enough.
The Beast Tamer raised his hand, golden light blooming in his palm as he prepared to deliver the killing blow to Xuzhi.
Xuzhi looked up at him, and a new Lightning Magic Array flared to life once more.
As usual, the Beast Tamer summoned a light shield to absorb and block the attack. But then he saw something within the magic formation shatter into fragments.
It was something Xuzhi had tossed inside: a puff of yellow powder that rapidly dispersed into the air. Carried by the wind, it wafted around the light shield and reached its target.
The Beast Tamer’s expression shifted. He retreated in haste.
His breathing grew labored. “Are you insane?” he snarled in fury.
Xuzhi’s own breath came short too, yet the corners of his lips curved upward.
It was a poisonous mushroom he had found earlier that day. Tuji hadn’t wanted it, so Xuzhi had kept it for the time being.
According to Tuji, the mushroom’s toxin was extremely potent. The moment it touched skin, it took effect. The only drawback was that the powder was too coarse to seep through clothing.
The Little Dragon Hatchling was tucked safely away in his coat, and Xuzhi himself wore no protection. With the two of them so close, the Beast Tamer had never seen it coming.
It would take a few more minutes for the toxin to fully drop a person. Even if the Beast Tamer struck him down now, so what? They would go down together.
The Golden Crow’s eyelids brushed the mushroom powder too, and it cried out in agony.
Bloodshot veins burst in the Beast Tamer’s eyes. In his towering rage, the glow in his palm intensified.
At that moment, a sudden shift occurred.
Scorching flames surged from the distance, engulfing the Beast Tamer entirely.
Sensing a familiar aura, Ming Shuang raised his head, his eyes lighting up with delight.
