Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

As soon as Qiao Sang asked the question, she realized how foolish it was.

If the old lady’s beastmaster rank had reached level D and she had been rejuvenated by her beast, it might have been possible.

But the old lady’s appearance perfectly matched her age, aging naturally.

One must know that beastmasters who have benefited from their beasts’ rejuvenation can’t have their age easily judged by appearance alone.

High-ranking beastmasters might look like young adults, even when they’re in their seventies or eighties.

This had also significantly reduced the number of people who would approach handsome men or beautiful women for casual chats along the way.

After all, you could never be sure if the person you were hitting on might belong to your grandparents’ generation.

Of course, encountering such people wasn’t something you could do on a whim.

But there were plenty of cases where people mistakenly flirted with someone from their parents\' generation, often leading to laughter and serving as a reminder to the public not to judge based on looks, unless you wanted to be the next public embarrassment.

Given the old lady’s age and appearance, it was obvious that she had never experienced rejuvenation from her beast.

It was also impossible for her to hear a conversation spoken so quietly from that far away.

Qiao Sang put on her shoes, stood up, and asked the question weighing on her mind: "Is the old lady sick?"

Apart from the scent of medicine in the room, she couldn’t see any signs of illness.

For someone close to death to suddenly become so lively, it could only be a case of terminal lucidity.

However, research suggests that terminal lucidity usually lasts an hour or two, maybe three, but it rarely persists. The old lady didn’t fit that pattern.

The woman was startled at first but then, after some hesitation, replied, "It’s just normal old age. Her organs are failing."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "But there’s something strange. On the 28th of last month, the old lady was delirious and couldn’t eat anything. The doctors at the hospital said she wouldn’t last until the next day."

"I was so frightened that I called Mr. Jiang, the old lady’s son, and later, their entire family rushed over that very day, all ready to make funeral arrangements."

"But then…"

The woman swallowed hard, "After they arrived, the old lady was fine. Her vitality seemed much better than before. The doctors checked her out and said her condition hadn’t improved, so they assumed it was terminal lucidity. But it’s been more than half a month, and she’s still holding on."

The woman gave an awkward laugh and added, "I’m just saying this, don’t let it scare you. After all, she is a beastmaster, so maybe her situation is different from regular people."

"Still, when we went to the hospital the day before yesterday, the doctors said it would happen any day now. I figure she doesn’t have much time left. And with the Ghost Lamp nowhere to be found, I just wanted to give you a heads-up."

Qiao Sang wasn’t scared, of course.

A dying person suddenly getting better?

She had already experienced traveling to a world filled with extraordinary creatures, so what bizarre occurrence couldn’t she handle?

Still, there was something abnormal about this...

After a moment of thought, Qiao Sang asked, "Did Mr. Jiang’s family arrive on the same day the Ghost Lamp went missing?"

"Yes, that very night, the old lady’s granddaughter took the Ghost Lamp out to play, and it went missing." The woman answered without hesitation, clearly having a vivid memory of the events.

Qiao Sang felt a chill run through her.

Something was definitely off… way off...

Who would go out to play when a family member was declared near death by the doctor?

And when the Ghost Lamp went missing, instead of worsening, the old lady’s condition inexplicably improved?

With that in mind, Qiao Sang asked, "Do you have the old lady’s granddaughter’s number?"

The woman hesitated before pulling out her phone.

"I don’t have it, but I do have Mr. Jiang’s. Will that work? They should be together."

Qiao Sang smiled.

"Of course, but I don’t have my phone with me. Could you write it down for me?"

"Sure, give me a second while I find some paper." The woman turned and started to head inside.

Qiao Sang quickly reminded her, "I think I saw some paper on the table in the old lady’s room."

---

After descending the stairs and arriving at a shaded spot under Building 5, Qiao Sang pulled out the slip of paper with the number on it.

Saying she didn’t have her phone was, of course, a lie. Who doesn’t carry some kind of communication device these days?

But instead of taking out her phone to call, she summoned her beast, Yabao.

“Yap!”

Yabao excitedly scanned his surroundings, thrilled to finally be outside again!

Just as he was about to dash off for a good run, Qiao Sang called him back in time, "Quick! Use your Touch Perception to check this paper. There’s an old lady lying on the bed next to it. Help me see what she’s been up to."

Yabao’s Touch Perception could only replay events from about 10 minutes ago, so time was of the essence.

"Yap..."

Yabao, mid-step, withdrew his front paw. Although confused as to why he needed to do this, he obediently placed his paw on the paper.

Closing his eyes, he soon began to see the events of the past ten minutes unfold in his mind from an observer’s perspective.

The room was dark.

Yabao looked to the side and indeed saw an old lady lying on the bed.

Beside her stood a familiar figure, none other than his beastmaster.

"Yap!"

Yabao let out an excited cry.

Unfortunately, his beastmaster, focused on the old lady, ignored him.

"Yap!"

"Yap! Yap!"

He ran in front of his beastmaster, trying to grab some attention.

Still no response.

Yabao stared blankly at his beastmaster, suddenly remembering that this scene was only a replay.

Right, the old lady!

Yabao refocused on his task, eyes wide, staring at the old lady as if trying to uncover something.

But soon, his attention shifted to the familiar figure beside her.

Huh, wasn’t that Little Treasure? Why was he drooling at the old lady?

Although Yabao’s Touch Perception covered only a brief period, in reality, only a few seconds had passed.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Qiao Sang eagerly asked, "What did you see?"

“Yap.”

Yabao lay down on his back, imitating the old lady’s posture on the bed. Then, he turned his head and mimicked what she had been saying.

“Yap, Yap.”

“Yap, Yap, Yap.”

“Yap…”

Qiao Sang patiently listened, realizing that he was repeating the things the old lady had said to her earlier in the room...

Thankfully, Yabao soon began mimicking the events that happened after Qiao Sang had left the room.

He performed an invisible action, pulling something over himself, most likely a blanket.

“Yap, Yap.” He continued, mimicking the old lady’s words.

Qiao Sang felt like she had been struck in the head, her mind reeling.

What the hell! The old lady could hear!

While she had suspected something strange about the old lady, she hadn’t expected this!

Being able to hear so clearly from such a distance and at such a low volume, wasn’t that something a superhero could do?

No, calm down! There were no superheroes in this world, only extraordinary creatures more powerful than any hero.

It was possible for beastmasters who had been rejuvenated by their beasts to achieve such feats, but the old lady wasn’t a high-level beastmaster…

Qiao Sang forced herself to calm down and sort through her thoughts.

A dying person had suddenly recovered, and her senses had become unusually sharp, far beyond normal human capacity.

On the same day, the Ghost Lamp had gone missing...

“Yap.”

Yabao was still busy with his performance.

He stuck a paw in his ear, only to quickly withdraw it, as if burned, before staring blankly at the paw.

Honestly, if a director had seen this string of perfectly executed actions, they’d probably be drawing up a contract on the spot.

After finishing his reenactment, Yabao shook off the dust on his fur and looked over at Little Treasure, who had somehow appeared, watching him with amusement.

The scene of him drooling at the old lady flashed in his mind.

“Yap, Yap?”

Little Treasure blinked, then responded.

“Xun~”

“Xun, xun~”

Qiao Sang, who had been deep in thought, paused.

What? Vital energy and death energy?!