Pet Care Mini Classroom (4)

White Tiger stroked his chin thoughtfully and began circling the human and leopard. “We need to guide it into producing logical syllables. We’ll have to try something else.”

Baobao flopped heavily back onto the snow, its tail irritably pounding the ice with dull thuds.

“Ignorant.”

Big White snorted disdainfully through his nose, clearly still brooding over what had happened. He offered a solution motivated by personal resentment. “For an uncivilized beast like this, one good beating and it’ll understand everything.”

Chen Guan reached out and pressed down on Baobao’s head, stroking its fur a couple of times to soothe its faint trembling. “No hitting Baobao. Think of something gentler.”

The system panel popped up at the edge of Chen Guan’s vision.

[Notice: The mutated spirit pet’s vocal organs have developed slowly.]

[Recommended item: Intelligence-Opening Pill. Price: 150,000 Popularity Points.]

Chen Guan ignored the system outright. Spend 150,000? That would be asking him to hand over his life. He absolutely would not do it. His meager wallet couldn’t support such extravagant educational expenses.

Baal spoke leisurely from within his mental space. “Kid, instead of relying on that stupid white tiger, why not use your own power to give it a hand? If I remember correctly, you’re an esper of the life element.”

Chen Guan understood at once. Creation and regeneration—perhaps he could use his life force to hasten the development of Baobao’s incompletely formed cartilage.

The older the demon, the wiser. Baal had hit the nail on the head.

White Tiger was still racking his brains when he suddenly slapped his palm.

“That’s it. We can use food as an inducement.”

He pulled out a high-grade demon core swirling with a pale-blue halo. The dense spiritual energy it released was so powerful that even the surrounding snowflakes veered off course, forming a small vacuum zone in midair.

Baobao, which had been cowering behind Chen Guan’s legs, immediately poked its head out. Its ears stood straight up, and its eyes locked onto the demon core. Drool dripped from its chin onto the snow, all traces of elegance utterly gone.

Chen Guan looked at the demon core. He couldn’t even afford scraps of such quality. Normally, all he could feed Baobao was low-grade bulk merchandise.

Following him really was a hardship for the poor thing.

“Want it?”

White Tiger tossed the demon core into the air and caught it, then pointed at his own face and leaned closer to the leopard.

“Say something nice to me. Call me Tiger Bro.”

Watching him, Chen Guan felt White Tiger looked no different from a kidnapper luring someone with candy.

Baobao stared at the demon core, its throat making a rumbling, ingratiating sound. It was clearly desperate for the food.

“Meow.”

White Tiger immediately pulled his hand back and shook his head. “Wrong. It’s Tiger Bro.”

Baobao grew frantic, kneading at the snow as its front paws scraped little sprays of ice from the frozen ground.

“Awooo.”

Big White watched in disappointment and rubbed his forehead. He finally buried his head in his forepaws, choosing not to look. “This little leopard is beyond saving. Bury it.”

Chen Guan sighed. He crouched down, and a faint glow lit up his palm.

The fluorescent green radiance of his life-element esper ability flowed from his fingertips and quietly sank into the back of Baobao’s neck. The gentle force followed its spine straight to its throat, precisely enveloping the transverse cartilage that was obstructing the airflow and accelerating its transformation.

Baobao felt a sudden itch in its throat. It stretched out its neck and opened its mouth.

“Cough.”

The sound had already shed the hoarseness of a beast. White Tiger keenly caught the change. He turned his head toward Chen Guan’s hand, which was resting on the leopard’s neck, his eyes filled with admiration.

“Life-element ability.”

White Tiger nodded approvingly and tossed the high-grade demon core directly to Chen Guan. “You’re quick on the uptake. Teach it yourself.”

Such precious things were commonplace to him. After all, he was a major pet owner with a whole hoard of them.

Besides, Beidou, the chief financial officer, was loaded. White Tiger could always file for reimbursement.

Chen Guan caught the demon core, worth a fortune, and looked at Baobao, who was staring at the food with pleading eyes. “Do you want to eat it?”

Baobao nodded so hard its head bobbed like a pounding pestle, then gazed pitifully at him. Chen Guan considered what word to teach it. A complicated phrase would surely be beyond this cat’s brainpower. He needed something simple.

“Say ‘Chen Guan.’”

He channeled his esper ability into Baobao’s throat. Nourished by life force, the cartilage reorganized itself. Baobao opened its mouth and struggled to press its tongue against the roof of its mouth.

“Chen.”

A stiff syllable emerged, a rough scraping sound rolling around in its throat.

White Tiger excitedly slapped his thigh. He was even more thrilled than if one of his own beasts had learned to call him. He urged Chen Guan on. “It worked! Teach it ‘Tiger Bro’ next!”

Big White raised his head as well. A trace of surprise appeared in his golden eyes. “The little idiot actually got the hang of it.”

Chen Guan held the demon core out a little farther and demonstrated slowly.

“Guan.”

Baobao stretched its neck as far as it could for the food, while airflow charged wildly through its newly modified vocal passage.

“Gua.”

Baobao gave the word everything it had. The volume was enough to carry a hundred meters, shaking the snow from the branches around them in a rustling cascade.

The demon core’s hardness dug painfully into Chen Guan’s knuckles. He clenched his hand expressionlessly.

Within his mental space, Baal burst into undisguised laughter. “Heh heh heh, Little Chen Gua. How adorable.”

Hearing Baal’s bizarre imitation, Chen Guan raised a hand to his forehead. He had celebrated too soon. Baobao was still a complete dummy.

“Your pronunciation is wrong. It’s ‘Guan.’”

Chen Guan taught it again. Baobao anxiously pawed at his trouser leg with both front paws before opening its huge mouth once more.

“Chen Gua.”

This time, it shouted the name with extraordinary fluency, even adding a triumphant, eager lilt.

White Tiger abruptly turned around. His shoulders shook violently, and his back twisted from the effort of holding in his laughter.

“I’m not laughing.”

White Tiger waved one hand without turning back. “I just think the name has a rustic, pastoral charm.”

“I’ve undergone professional training. I will not laugh!”

Big White mercilessly piled on. “Like master, like pet.”

Chen Guan pulled the demon core back into his palm and stood, straightening the trousers Baobao had wrinkled. “That’s enough for today.”

He absolutely could not tolerate going on teaching Baobao while saddled with the name “Chen Gua.”

Seeing its food slip away, Baobao rolled across the snow and scrambled to its feet. It clung tightly to Chen Guan’s combat boot with both front paws.

“Hungry, hungry.”

Chen Guan stopped walking. White Tiger turned around and ceased trembling. Big White also rose from the snow.

The gazes of all three humans and one tiger focused on the leopard that had broken through the barriers between species for the sake of a meal.

“Hungry, hungry.”

Seeing everyone watching, Baobao lifted its neck and clearly called out to Chen Guan again, without the slightest accent.

“This is unquestionably a miracle in the history of biology.”

White Tiger came over and circled Baobao, inspecting it as he stroked his chin. He reached a conclusion. “It didn’t fail to learn. It probably decided that your name had absolutely nothing to do with filling its stomach.”

Chen Guan looked down at the mutated leopard, realistic to an almost absurd degree, and helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead. Then he tossed the demon core into the air.

You’re so stupid, Baobao. You’ve made me lose face.

Baobao transformed into a purple blur. It opened its jaws midair and bit down on the demon core with perfect accuracy.

Crunch.

The crisp, pleasant sound of teeth shattering the high-grade crystal rang out. The dense spiritual energy flowed down its throat into its belly. Baobao let out a satisfied belch sparkling with motes of spiritual light, and its purple fur shimmered with dazzling radiance.

Human, you’re so good to me. I’ll follow you again in my next life.

Baobao, stuffed from eating charcoal, narrowed his eyes in contentment and rubbed against Chen Guan’s trouser leg.