Chapter 432 - 281: Muddling Through?
The best method, of course, was to bluff their way through, get in quietly, and avoid a fight.
But how to do so was the question. The Earthquake Beasts might look like just giant mouths, but their senses were absurdly keen. Tricking them would be no easy feat.
In their moment of crisis, a sudden knock came at the door.
"Come in."
"Oh, uh..."
Wang Baichuan timidly peeked in. Seeing Su Zhi and Tuoba Jing sitting across from each other with a full chessboard between them, he started to pull his head back. "I may have come at a bad time..."
"No, you’ve come at just the right time."
Su Zhi smiled and beckoned him inside. "What’s the matter?"
Wang Baichuan looked worried. "Here’s the thing. The Physician said the Radiant Gold Vein Opening Stone we gave my grandfather can’t be used. I remember you brought back two... Could I possibly trade for the other one?"
"Oh, of course you can. It’s no problem."
Su Zhi readily agreed, but inwardly, he was puzzled.
’How could a perfectly good stone be unusable? This was the one Yu Bao specifically put through Accelerated Maturation.’
’Maybe the aura of a Wise One was just too potent. The Physician was probably afraid he’d catch it... Yes, that must be it.’
Yu Bao rolled his eyes at him.
’Lousy Beast Tamer. Don’t drag me into this.’
Wang Baichuan nodded eagerly. "Thank you, Si— Su Zhi! If there’s nothing else, I-I’ll stop bothering you!"
"Hey, wait."
Su Zhi stopped him. "Do you know of any way to fool the Earthquake Beasts, to get past them right under their noses?"
"Huh?" Wang Baichuan asked.
Su Zhi explained, "To trick the Earthquake Beasts so they won’t attack us."
Wang Baichuan looked troubled. "How would that be possible? They attack anything that gets close. Tricking them is out of the question."
’So it really is impossible...’ Su Zhi sighed.
"But it’s not entirely impossible."
Wang Baichuan grew thoughtful. "Those families that raise earth dogs sometimes aren’t attacked when the Earthquake Beasts show up. If they’re lucky, the beast pauses for a moment and then leaves."
Su Zhi’s eyes lit up.
’There really is a way! The wisdom of the common folk is incredible!’
"I’ve heard that as well," Tuoba Jing said. "However, Profound Yellow doesn’t seem to get any special treatment from them. It sometimes worked before his evolution, but now it doesn’t work at all."
Tuoba Jing suddenly seemed to recall something and looked at Su Zhi. "My friend, do you remember yesterday? When we fought together, the Earthquake Beast suddenly grew calm when it faced Yu Bao."
"It’s fresh in my mind. In fact, when I first arrived and was taking shelter at Baichuan’s home, the same thing happened!"
Su Zhi looked at Yu Bao. "Yu Bao, can you remember what happened then?"
Yu Bao shook his head, looking completely lost.
’He had no idea...’
Just then, Wang Baichuan raised his hand. "Could it be because... Yu Bao has the Power to control the Earth and Gold Dual Element? That’s the Attribute closest to the Earthquake Beasts, isn’t it?"
"That makes sense!" Su Zhi’s eyes lit up, and he clapped Wang Baichuan hard on the shoulder. "You’re a sharp one!"
Wang Baichuan scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Ordinary Yu Dian Dogs are of the Earth Element, sharing some Attributes with the Earthquake Beasts. The Yu Dian Farm Dog is of the Earth and Fire Dual Element, which has conflicting Attributes. But Yu Bao can control the Earth and Gold Dual Element, making its Attributes the closest to the Earthquake Beasts... The key to breaking this impasse might lie right there." Tuoba Jing’s words were full of conviction, his eyes dancing with an unspoken excitement as he smiled at Wang Baichuan.
"Baichuan, well said! I knew you were exceptionally bright!"
"Oh, not at all, I’m just stating the obvious... If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going!"
Wang Baichuan’s face flushed red as he bolted out the door.
Su Zhi and Tuoba Jing watched him flee in a fluster, then looked at each other and smiled.
"I asked Baichuan on the way here if he wanted to stop in and visit you, but he was worried he’d embarrass you and was too shy to come!"
"Haha, what’s there to be embarrassed about? Baichuan is the most gifted young man I’ve seen in years. If he could become a Beastmaster, he would surely have a bright future."
Tuoba Jing shook his head, a hint of wistfulness in his voice. "It’s a shame Baichuan hasn’t managed to awaken his Beast Taming Space. The people here don’t seem to possess Beast Taming Power. It’s a real pity."
"Your words, Senior, make me feel the weight of my own responsibilities."
Su Zhi let out a thoughtful laugh. "Speaking of which, I’m just a student myself. Not long ago, I was still attending classes... I never thought I’d be here, fighting on the front lines to protect civilians. Life is full of surprises."
"This is what it means to grow. The Beast Taming Dao is precisely this."
Tuoba Jing spoke earnestly, then suddenly shot Su Zhi a sly glance. "I’d wager you weren’t exactly a student who gave your teachers an easy time. I imagine you’ve earned your fair share of scoldings, haven’t you?"
"Haha... Hahaha... You read people too well." Su Zhi covered his face.
"But let’s get back to the matter at hand. Since we have a theory, shall we test it in the next few days? If Yu Bao can successfully infiltrate the Earthquake Beast pack, it will make the next stage of our investigation much more convenient."
"Mm, I had the same idea..."
CRASH—
Before he could finish, the door was suddenly thrown open, and Wang Baichuan burst in, panting for breath.
"A pack of Earthquake Beasts... is heading for the town!"
Su Zhi and Tuoba Jing looked at each other for a moment, then got up and went out the door.
·
Unlike a River Valley Village like Jinshi Village, the town, built into the mountainside, offered a wider field of vision and more time to prepare. The townspeople set out offerings and locked their doors, appearing somewhat more composed.
Of course, this also had to do with the fact that the approaching group of Earthquake Beasts wasn’t very large.
Led by Wang Baichuan, Su Zhi and Tuoba Jing saw the pack of Earthquake Beasts approaching from the northwest. The smallest were around One-star, while the largest were Two-star, with one even reaching Quasi-Three-star.
Their quality was certainly high, but with only ten of them, there was no single beast powerful enough to require a united front to take down.
"There’s still time. Should we gather everyone to set an ambush and exterminate them?" Wang Baichuan suggested, clenching his fist.
Hearing him propose this on his own, Su Zhi and Tuoba Jing exchanged a smile, a look of profound gratification on their faces.
"That won’t be necessary this time; there aren’t many."
After calming the eager Yu Bao, Su Zhi looked to Tuoba Jing. "There’s no time like the present. Since the Earthquake Beasts are still far from town, why don’t we go test our theory now?"
Tuoba Jing laughed heartily. "I was thinking the same thing, but I felt too embarrassed to bring it up. Since you’ve suggested it, let’s go!"
After making sure Wang Baichuan was settled, the two used their respective Divine Abilities to reach the wilderness northwest of town.
Tuoba Jing rode on Zi Lu. Meanwhile, Yu Bao activated his Sand Manipulation Technique, carrying Su Zhi along, yet somehow managed to keep up.
Zi Lu gave Yu Bao an appreciative nod.
Having been praised by the pretty lady, Yu Bao squinted his eyes in delight.
"Don’t get cocky. Time to get to work."
Su Zhi gave him a flick on the head and tossed Yu Bao down from the small hill where they had stopped.
Yu Bao rolled his eyes at him and landed steadily.
"...Clara!"
The Earthquake Beasts on the ground had already shown signs of agitation when the two Envoy’s Pets approached through the air. Now, with Yu Bao on the ground, their aggression reached an unprecedented level.
The nearest Earthquake Beast opened its cavernous maw and lunged, biting viciously at Yu Bao!
Yu Bao dodged nimbly, his eyes rapidly scanning the Earthquake Beast, searching for a plan.
The more he thought, the more confused he became.
’Yu Bao was also wondering how in the world he’d managed to fool them before... Other than having somewhat similar Attributes, was there really any resemblance at all between him and this... thing?’
’There were plenty of proper Earth and Gold-element Exotic Beasts out there, and you never heard about the Earthquake Beasts being fooled by them.’
’Unless... the Earthquake Beasts didn’t stop because of any similarity.’
’It was because of "submission"!’
’I made that Great Earthquake Beast calm down mid-battle. I must have displayed some trait that compelled its submission. I don’t know what it was, but right now, the Skill that best fits that theory is...’
After a moment’s thought, Yu Bao stopped dodging.
"...Clara!"
All the Earthquake Beasts let out agitated roars as Yu Bao dodged right into the center of the pack.
Su Zhi appeared calm, but his heart was in his throat. If anything happened to Yu Bao, he would recall him in an instant.
Then, a fluctuating Golden Light began to emanate from within the pack of beasts.
Thick Earth Golden Might activated!
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