Chapter 3

After chatting for a while, Xu Ling went back home.

She came over specifically to show Xia Muqing the Bright Moon Oriole.

Xia Muqing held the Swiftwind Dog and opened the door: “This will be your home from now on. Here is the kitchen, here is the bedroom… That empty room over there—once I tidy it up, I’ll make it your room, okay?”

She had originally planned to buy a Mini Bee or a Koi Fish, both small-sized mystical beasts, so she didn’t prepare a large space at first.

But the Swiftwind Dog was different. Canine mystical beasts are usually very active and prefer spacious, bright environments, cramped spaces easily make them irritable.

There wasn’t much stuff at home, so tidying up was quick. Xia Muqing soon freed up a room and made a small bed for the Swiftwind Dog using an old sheet.

During this time, the Swiftwind Dog stayed at her feet, following her everywhere quietly like a little white furball.

Xia Muqing couldn’t help herself and picked it up to cuddle it hard.

Good boy, really good.

So good it didn’t even seem like a Swiftwind Dog.

Then Xia Muqing did some simple training with Xiao Feng.

Soon, she noticed shining points in Xiao Feng’s behavior.

Although timid, its past experiences had shaped it into a calm and obedient personality. Xiao Feng was very well-behaved, it took Xia Muqing’s commands seriously and had patience beyond her expectations, with none of the usual irritability that other Swiftwind Dogs showed after a short training session.

Attack, retreat, dodge, defend…

After an hour of simple commands, the little Swiftwind Dog was already panting, tongue out. Although a mystical beast, it was still a newborn cub with limited stamina.

Xia Muqing quickly poured it a cup of nutritional milk.

Not regular milk for humans, but a special milk formula developed to provide nutrition to mystical beasts, costing a hundred star coins per small cup.

But it worked well, Xiao Feng couldn’t stop drinking it, its tiny tongue curling constantly, its nose almost dipping into the cup.

Xia Muqing: “Does it taste good?”

Little Swiftwind Dog: “Awoo!”

Good!

Xia Muqing smiled with narrowed eyes. “Then drink more, and after you’re full, we’ll train another round.”

The little Swiftwind Dog paused mid-drink, confused.

“Oh, just kidding,” Xia Muqing said, rubbing its fluffy little head. “You’re already so tired today, you definitely need a good rest.”

But seeing how obedient Xiao Feng was, a little mischievous thought stirred in her heart—she wanted to tease it a bit.

Even a dull-looking Xiao Feng was so cute!

—

The next day, Xia Muqing took the Swiftwind Dog out for a walk.

Although it was just a stroll around the neighborhood, after the friendly interaction yesterday, Xiao Feng was no longer so reserved. Instead, it looked around curiously, sniffing here and there with its little nose.

But it didn’t run off everywhere, it still followed closely behind Xia Muqing’s feet, occasionally rubbing its soft body against her foot.

The little Swiftwind Dog’s obedient appearance caught many passersby’s attention, with about a 90% chance of people turning their heads.

Sure enough, in this world, most people can’t resist fluffy creatures.

After breakfast, Xia Muqing took the Swiftwind Dog to a training center.

They started with speed training.

The results were surprisingly good. Thanks to its danger-sensing talent, Xiao Feng could always detect traps on the road early, successfully avoiding obstacles and sprinting to the finish line at top speed.

Even the training staff couldn’t help but come over and take a few more looks. They said to Xia Muqing, “Your little one has great talent. Even among wind-attribute mystical beasts, it’s rare to see one so agile and quick.”

“Awoo~”

Pleased with the praise, Xiao Feng lifted its head slightly, happy.

But in the following simulated battle, Xiao Feng’s performance was less impressive.

Its willingness to attack was very weak. When the opponent got within a meter, it panicked and dodged hurriedly, showing no desire to fight back. Simply put, it was scared.

Really scared—to the point the staff couldn’t stand watching anymore and came over again. “Your Swiftwind Dog is seriously one-sided, isn’t it?”

“It’s this timid in simulation battles, what will you do in real combat?”

Xia Muqing was a bit troubled too.

She knew Xiao Feng was timid, but she didn’t expect it to be this timid.

“The problem is worse than you think,” the staff muttered, “Swiftwind Dogs are close-combat mystical beasts. In the future, they have to learn skills like ‘Fierce Bite’ and ‘Charge.’ Look at it now—do you think it can learn those?”

“I guess you haven’t officially signed the contract yet, and buying a Swiftwind Dog like this must be expensive. Maybe you should consider getting another one…”

Before the staff could finish, Xia Muqing interrupted, “Thanks, no need.”

“…”

The staff shrugged and fell silent.

After the training ended, the little Swiftwind Dog ran timidly to Xia Muqing’s side.

It knew it hadn’t performed well and had disappointed its new owner. Its large, glossy black eyes were moist, and its little nose twitched nonstop.

Its previous owner had returned it after the simulated training.

What about Xia Muqing?

The staff adjusted the equipment nearby, switching the training mode. “Next is bite training. So, do you want to continue?”

Xia Muqing bent down, hugged the little curled-up Swiftwind Dog in her arms, and shook her head. “No, that’s enough for today.”

—

After leaving the training ground, Xia Muqing didn’t go home. Instead, she turned east at the street corner.

The little Swiftwind Dog recognized the way to Zhu Ning’s breeding center immediately. It became visibly distressed, its fur standing on end and trembling uncontrollably.

“Awoo…”

No way, was it going to be returned again?

The little Swiftwind Dog drooped its head, feeling the future was bleak.

But Xia Muqing stopped her bike early at the corner.

“Come on, Xiao Feng,” she said, picking up the Swiftwind Dog. “I’ll take you somewhere good.”

Xia Muqing pushed open the door of a brightly colorful shop.

Inside, the noise was loud, filled with dynamic music and the clattering sound of coins rattling. The little Swiftwind Dog curled up in her arm, cautiously poking its head out to survey the new environment.

It was an arcade.

Outside were various game machines, and inside there was a spacious room with the floor covered in small light panels flashing in different colors and patterns.

“This is called the Dodge Machine,” Xia Muqing placed the little Swiftwind Dog on the floor. “Stepping on different colored tiles gives different points, but stepping on the black tiles deducts points… It’s really fun. Want to try?”

The little Swiftwind Dog: “…?”

Not only wasn’t it sent away, its owner actually brought it to play games?

“Awoo…?”

So… play a bit?

Xia Muqing smiled warmly and pressed the start button.

The tiles on the floor immediately started moving quickly. The little Swiftwind Dog was caught off guard and accidentally stepped on a black tile. A huge “-10 points” flashed on the screen at the front of the room.

The little Swiftwind Dog: “!!”

It shuddered all over, quickly alert and focused, throwing itself into the game.

Although mystical beasts have faster reflexes than humans, the arena was large and the Swiftwind Dog small, so moving around was still challenging.

After Xiao Feng adapted a bit, Xia Muqing quietly sped up the tile movement. The floor tiles began flashing like neon lights, and the little Swiftwind Dog’s speed increased until it almost became a white blur.

When the game ended, the screen erupted with bright sparks.

【Score: 7028 points, Congratulations on breaking the game record!】

The little Swiftwind Dog: “Awoo!”

Fun! It wanted to play more!

Seeing the little Swiftwind Dog regain its energy, Xia Muqing squatted down with a smile and patted its little head. “Fun, right? From now on, let’s train this way, okay?”

“As long as you break 10,000 points, for every extra 1,000 points, I’ll give you a reward.”

The little Swiftwind Dog looked up at her, staring in disbelief.

Playing games counts as training?

Really? Such a great thing exists?

Choosing this method to train the Swiftwind Dog was a decision Xia Muqing made after careful consideration.

Xiao Feng was still a puppy, and overly harsh training might not suit it. Besides, its personality was somewhat introverted. If its training results were always poor, it would only make the little Swiftwind Dog more and more insecure.

The most important thing now was to help Xiao Feng build confidence.

Also, Xia Muqing had looked into it and found that this arcade’s Dodge Machine had been modified so its speed could be adjusted higher, making it very suitable for speed training.

The appearance of the tiles was random, and since they didn’t bring any danger, they wouldn’t be detected by Xiao Feng’s innate ability. This could train it not to rely on its talent and improve its own reaction skills.

The two of them stayed in the arcade for another two hours, playing happily and thoroughly enjoying themselves.

As Xiao Feng became more familiar with the game, its scores steadily increased, eventually reaching 8,512 points. This was still a little short of Xia Muqing’s goal of 10,000 points, but the little Swiftwind Dog had already pushed its speed to the limit. Every point gained after that was progress.

This was also to give Xiao Feng a bit of pressure amid the fun.

While Xiao Feng was resting, Xia Muqing, feeling envious, gave the game a try herself.

At the lowest speed setting, her score was 3,389 points.

Xia Muqing: “…”

That was less than half of Xiao Feng’s first game score—kind of embarrassing.

“Awoo.”

The little Swiftwind Dog trotted over on its short legs and licked her hand with its tongue.

Xia Muqing thought for a moment and said, “Alright, I’ll set a goal too—let’s aim for 5,000 points.”

“Let’s work hard together and see who reaches it first, okay?”

The little Swiftwind Dog pressed its head into her palm and softly “woofed.”

—

By the time they got home, it was already late.

After a day of bonding, the relationship between Xia Muqing and the little Swiftwind Dog had quickly deepened. Xiao Feng had completely accepted Xia Muqing as its owner.

The time had come—it was time to sign the contract.

With the emotional foundation already laid, the process of signing the contract became very simple. Xia Muqing only needed to place her finger on Xiao Feng’s forehead, channel her spiritual power, and intertwine it with Xiao Feng’s spiritual energy.

A flash of white light appeared.

Xia Muqing rubbed her temples, feeling that her consciousness had somehow gained something, connecting her with the little white ball in front of her.

Now, she could understand Xiao Feng’s thoughts more clearly.

More importantly, after contracting her first mystical beast, the “Mystical Beast Encyclopedia” in her mind was finally unlocked!

Her gaze landed on Xiao Feng, who was licking its paw. With a slight movement of her mind, a series of words immediately appeared before her eyes.

【Type: Swiftwind Dog】

【Quality: Excellent】

【Trait: Danger Premonition】

【Five-Dimensional Attributes: Attack (72), Defense (73), Speed (94), Stamina (85), Spirit (91)】

Xia Muqing held her breath, her heart pounding rapidly.

As expected, it was the Danger Premonition trait.

And besides the trait, there was a clear attribute panel. This meant that while others were still exploring and discovering their mystical beasts’ abilities, she could already see at a glance Xiao Feng’s five-dimensional attributes and carry out targeted training!