Beast Taming: the More the Better

Chapter 144: Chapter 118: The Monster in the Water, Su Ping the Protector! (Alliance Leader Bonus)

Outside the large medical room of the Heart of Woods Pet Beast Base.

Su Ping’s eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

The Heart of Woods had just connected to the Yuntian Resort, and now this trouble had arisen.

Guan Qianshan’s face turned red with anger as he scolded a sweet-looking girl with glasses, ”I’ve told you not to come to the Lingxi River area, why wouldn’t you listen?”

Su Ping glanced at the girl whose eyes were red-rimmed, teardrops falling like golden beans, and then at the few similarly aged, helpless-looking teenagers standing beside her. He shook his head with a sigh and then turned to the medical Beast Tamer beside them.

The latter immediately understood and hastily said, ”Boss, the Beast Tamer is all right, just some water in his lungs. He coughed out most of it and will recover soon. However, the condition of the Pet Beast, the Back-Stone Turtle, is not very good. It has a wound on its neck, and the shell is slightly cracked. Even if it heals, it will probably need a long time to recover.”

Su Ping nodded. It was fortunate that it had been discovered quickly and treated in time; there should be no loss of life. Otherwise, while it wouldn’t directly involve Su Ping or affect the Heart of Woods’ operations, it would still reflect poorly on them.

Only then did Su Ping turn to the young men and women who stood there like schoolchildren being scolded, and stopped Guan Qianshan’s admonishment, saying, ”Tell me, what exactly happened?”

Obviously, they all saw and heard the title the Beast Tamer providing treatment had used, and Lao Guan’s attitude towards him.

It seemed none of them had expected that this young person, who looked to be their age, was actually the owner of this place.

The fair-skinned Guan Lili, wearing glasses, hadn’t spoken yet when a girl next to her interjected, obviously feeling more aggrieved and frightened at the moment, ”How do you even run this Pet Beast Base? Don’t you know there are aggressive Pet Beasts in the river?”

Su Ping’s brows furrowed slightly, his gaze somewhat displeased.

Another young man beside her quickly said, ”A few of us heard that this Pet Beast Base was connected to the Lingxi River, so we went fishing to see who could catch more. Then, Lu Xiao wanted to cheat, secretly letting his Back-Stone Turtle into the water to catch fish and shrimp to put on his hook.

”Then... then... Lu Xiao suddenly screamed and jumped right into the river from the shore.

”When people came to rescue him, Lu Xiao was unconscious, and the Back-Stone Turtle was seriously injured. There was blood in the water and a dark shadow...”

So it really was an attack?

There were definitely Pet Beasts in the Lingxi River, but I didn’t expect my luck to be so bad as to actually encounter an aggressive one.

However, as these thoughts crossed Su Ping’s mind, his expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly, ”Although the Lingxi River area does indeed belong to our Cultivation Base, the path leading to the riverbanks has been sealed and marked with a prohibition sign! All outside visitors are forbidden from going there!”

The path leading to Lingxi River, especially from the Yuntian Resort side, had indeed been opened, but the main reason was the need for renovations after the land deed had been obtained. Su Ping planned to introduce river water to create a large, in-house artificial lake near Lingxi River behind Yuntian Resort, to breed aquatic Pet Beasts for the future industrial development of the Heart of Woods. Another plan was to build a bridge over Lingxi River to reach the hill behind, which was the intended scope of the botanical garden Su Ping had planned. Even though there wasn’t enough money at the moment, the roads still needed to be developed.

Therefore, this area had always been under construction, with preparations underway for the road and the early stages of excavation work. At the same time, numerous signs warning against approaching the construction site and highlighting the dangers by the riverbank had also been posted.

So, these reckless brats, who likely had never experienced the dangers of wild Pet Beasts and were sheltered like greenhouse flowers... Even if they really did get bitten to death, it wouldn’t have much to do with us. At most, we’d be blamed for lax supervision and have to pay some compensation, and that would be it.

Of course, for Su Ping and the Heart of Woods at present, paying any amount of money was a significant loss.

However, seemingly noticing Guan Lili being continuously scolded, the young man spoke up again, ”Also, Lili didn’t go fishing with us. She said her dad needed her for something today, so it was us who sneaked out this morning. Uncle, please don’t blame her.”

Upon hearing this, Guan Qianshan let out a sigh and then said to Su Ping, ”Xiao Ping, this is my fault...”

Before he could finish, a clamorous voice came from the not-too-distant corridor, ”Where’s my son! Where is my son! What kind of shoddy place is this that can’t even keep an eye on a child...”

The noisy commotion made Su Ping’s brows furrow quickly. He gave Lao Guan a look. Lao Guan understood and took the initiative to intercept them.

After that, Su Ping turned to Guan Lili and the others and asked directly, ”Did you get a clear look at what exactly it was under the water?”

Normally, Lingxi River connected to West Dragon Lake. Whether on West Dragon Lake itself, the Eastern Sea entrance connected to West Dragon Lake, or the inflow from Lingxi River into West Dragon Lake, Beast Tamer Legions were stationed. The Navy Beast Tamer Legion had the strongest patrol force. Great effort had been invested to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that powerful Ferocious Beasts from the ocean did not enter Dragon Nation through the rivers.

So generally speaking, even if there were Pet Beasts attacking underwater, they wouldn’t be inherently very strong, because the truly powerful ones couldn’t get past West Dragon Lake.

But Su Ping had to take this matter seriously. Just as he’d planned, Su Ping wanted to create an artificial lake in the vast open space connecting Yuntian Resort and Lingxi River. This would require excavating the river channel, so it was crucial to eliminate any potential dangers beforehand.

The group glanced at each other. Guan Lili hadn’t gone, so she obviously didn’t know. It was still the young man who had spoken earlier; he thought for a moment and then said, ”It seemed like a fish, pitch-black, over a meter long, but as to what kind of Pet Beast it actually was... we didn’t get a clear view...”

That’s as good as saying nothing, isn’t it?

Aquatic Pet Beasts were predominantly fish. Could it be that a bird or an Insect-type Beast bit the turtle?

Su Ping’s brow furrowed. He suddenly felt somewhat overwhelmed.

Neither the Paperman nor Old Sha could fight in that river, and Su Ping couldn’t possibly let them take such a risk.

It looked like I’d have to seek external help again. But would it be appropriate to bother Old Qin again over such a trivial matter? After all, he was the dignified president of the Beast Master Association, one of the figures at the pinnacle of Jianghai Province. It seemed a bit much for him to be constantly dealing with the trivial matters of a junior like me. This was quite different from the last Secret Realm exploration, after all.

Su Ping rubbed his temples with some distress.

In that case, I could either ask Sun Chaoju or those Breeders I met at the Breeder Association if they knew any powerful Water Element Beast Tamers. Or I could directly approach companies that offer such services and pay them to handle it.

However, Su Ping was currently so frugal he wished he could split every penny. Spending money to hire someone for cleanup again could cost hundreds of thousands, possibly even millions. It was a well-known fact: while not directly impacting common livelihoods, any business involving Pet Beasts was never cheap.

Su Ping was distressed, but clearly, there was nothing he could do.

Some money just had to be spent.

However, just then, a crisp SNAP broke Su Ping’s ruminations.

At the same time, Guan Lili exclaimed in front of him, ”Dad!”

Su Ping turned his head abruptly and saw Lao Guan in the corridor, his face flushed, with an extremely clear slap mark on his cheek.

Bright red like blood.

The force of the slap had been so strong it made him stagger and fall to the ground.

Guan Lili had already run over and hurriedly helped her dad up, ”Dad, are you all right?”

Guan Qianshan didn’t seem angry. He waved his hand dismissively but looked even more anxiously towards Su Ping.

Sure enough, Su Ping’s expression had turned pitch black.

Guan Qianshan did not pay attention to the couple behind him and walked up to meet Su Ping, who was coming forward, ”Xiao Ping, let it go. They’re angry, and we are indeed somewhat at fault here.”

Su Ping gave him an odd look. Why are *we* at fault? He’d just heard their account: those graduating students had sneaked out, bypassed surveillance, ignored the warning signs, and insisted on fishing by the Lingxi River. Now that something had happened, what did it have to do with his base? Was his Cultivation Base supposed to assign a dedicated attendant to them? If that’s the case, there’s no point in doing business anymore. After their Beast Taming Talent is awakened upon graduation, they are considered adults on Blue Star. Adults must be responsible for their actions; that’s basic common sense. Legally and morally, it had nothing to do with his base. And now, just because they were angry, they could hit someone?

Clearly, the couple was indeed furious. With Guan Qianshan trying to block Su Ping, they strode towards him menacingly.

The woman said directly, ”So you’re the one in charge here! You better give me an explanation today...”

”Was it you who just hit someone?” Su Ping interrupted.

The woman was startled. Looking at Su Ping who interrupted her, her elaborately drawn eyebrows furrowed, ”My son...”

”Even if your son died, it has nothing to do with the Heart of Woods. Now, I’m asking you: was it you who hit him?!”

Su Ping generally had a good temper. His personality was also considered amiable. For instance, when Zhou Shuchen had provoked him, it was just youthful rivalry that caused no real harm. Su Ping hadn’t truly held it against him; a little ego-deflating to show him there were always stronger people out there was enough. Similarly, when Sun Chaoju initially acted arrogantly but later recognized Su Ping’s talent and willingly humbled himself to befriend Su Ping, Su Ping hadn’t put on airs either, letting bygones be bygones over a drink.

But Su Ping had one particular trait: he was someone who tended to be protective of his own people.

Perhaps influenced by Su Ping’s tone, the woman’s cheeks flushed red.

And it was clear that Su Ping had already gotten his answer. He turned to the man beside her who had remained silent and said, ”Your wife hit someone. I’m not an unreasonable person, but so many people are watching. So, have your wife apologize right now, and we can discuss this matter privately later.”

”You little brat! My son had an accident at your place and you want me to apologize to you?” The woman was furious.

Su Ping, however, was still looking at the man who hadn’t spoken.

The man didn’t respond, but a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes. He seemed to have no intention of engaging with Su Ping, a mere child, nor did he care about the commotion. His primary concern was clearly his son Lu Xiao’s condition.

Meanwhile, Guan Lili gently tugged at Su Ping’s sleeve and whispered, ”Brother, let’s just let it go, Lu Xiao’s family...”

She didn’t continue, but the implications were clear.

Come to think of it, that Back-Stone Turtle was a Pet Beast of a special race with Racial Potential reaching Peak Command; it was also a Dual-type Pet Beast of water and earth. Its value was even higher than Zhou Shuchen’s Crimson Fang Tiger. A family that could provide such a creature as an initial Pet Beast for their graduating son was certainly no ordinary one.

Clearly, the woman also noticed Guan Lili’s hesitance and scoffed.

Just then, suddenly, from outside the door, a voice tinged with amusement spoke up, ”Little Brother Su, it seems you’ve encountered some trouble?”

Su Ping turned his head. A figure had already walked in from outside.

Jet black hair, a stunningly enchanting face, and those distinctive red lips that were deeply ingrained in his memory.

Who could it be if not Dong Muyun?