Chapter 373
Chapter 373 Textbook-style Taming
After that, they thoroughly searched this place to see if there were any necessary clues left behind.
And indeed there were—quite a few.
At the very back of the valley was a small cave, not very deep, containing a extinguished campfire and two abandoned creatures—a white fox and a grey dog.
Both looked not much different from ordinary pets, except maybe they were a bit bigger. However, Xia Xinyan could sense their aura was distinctly different from regular pets; it carried a unique vibe typical of magical beasts—clearly the two she had mentioned earlier.
Moreover, if she guessed correctly, the reason they were abandoned was quite… interesting. They probably had exhausted themselves, making them difficult to carry, so they were directly discarded here.
Judging by the previous situation, it seemed that the group had utilized the dog’s spatial abilities for their escape, but the frequent and wide-ranging use of those abilities undoubtedly took a severe toll on its stamina. That suited-bloke likely needed to stall for some time before pulling off his escape, probably waiting for the dog’s cooldown.
And when it was all used up, they tossed it aside.
Quite pitiful.
Both creatures were still awake when the others arrived and were somewhat hostile towards them. After all, there had been previous encounters, so their hostility was quite normal, but given their current state, they had no real ability to resist, and the group didn’t take it to heart.
Lin Nan hoped to capture these two and bring them back to the Ability Bureau for investigation because they were the first batch of magical beasts they had encountered. Although Xia Xinyan had mentioned magical beasts, exploring some matters personally felt more reliable.
But Xia Xinyan didn’t agree.
She wanted that fox.
The fox’s abilities had high strategic value; if tamed well, it would provide tremendous help in their future battles. And most importantly—having come this far, she couldn’t return empty-handed, could she?
Considering that this matter was primarily resolved by Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo, and the Ability Bureau relied heavily on their assistance this time, even though Chengguang and Lin Nan were somewhat reluctant, they agreed to her request.
Besides, it would allow Xia Xinyan to demonstrate how to tame a magical beast, so they wouldn’t be losing out.
Xia Xinyan didn’t hold back, directly showcasing a textbook-style taming process in front of them—she stepped up, planted a foot on the fox’s neck, its tail swaying slightly above its head, ready to slice off its head anytime she wished.
Then she spoke: “You have two choices: surrender to me and enjoy the good life, or become a delicacy yourself. Which do you choose?”
The people behind her were like: “…”
Miss Xia… doesn’t seem as gentle as the legends portray.
The fox responded with two very low, submissive whimpers.
Others could even see a few hints of human-like frustration and fear in that fox’s face.
Frustration because it was being stepped on, fear from the concern of possibly being killed.
Clearly, it could understand Xia Xinyan’s words—probably.
Then, Xia Xinyan skillfully pulled out a pet collar, putting it on the creature, and then pulled out a potion, pouring it into the fox’s mouth.
This potion could moderately restore movement capabilities to an exhausted creature. Although it still left it in a state that even a kid could easily kick over, sometimes this potion could indeed save lives.
Of course, it was effective on magical beasts too.
The fox struggled a bit before slowly rising from the ground. When it lay down, it didn’t look too imposing, but once it stood up and raised its head, it was even half a head taller than Xia Xinyan—a wave of pressure hit them.
Ling Mo immediately moved to Xia Xinyan’s side, clearly protective—if that fox dared to make any odd moves, Xia Xinyan wouldn’t need to lift a finger; he’d turn it into jerky first.
The fox likely sensed his intent, pausing for a moment before silently lowering its head, displaying a very obedient demeanor. If one were to overlook its size, someone might genuinely mistake it for a pet.
And it had to be admitted, that white fox looked quite beautiful.
Xia Xinyan felt pretty confident about the fox; magical beasts have intelligence and wouldn’t be foolish enough to attack their new owner at this moment. Attacking in its current state would be equivalent to suicide. As for what would happen later… building feelings takes time, right?
After resolving their side of things, she moved aside to let the other dog out: “Now it’s your turn.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Nan and Chengguang exchanged glances.
Given their personalities, they were not accustomed to speaking such harsh words—let alone facing an animal. Even if this creature was a magical beast, they still doubted whether it could understand human speech.
Fortunately, the dog had observed the fox’s plight, seemingly comprehending their situation. So when Chengguang approached to negotiate, before he could even say a word, it whimpered and declared its submission.
Quite smooth.
Afterward, they dealt with some miscellaneous tasks. The injured and villagers outside had already begun their evacuation under the arrangements of the Ability Bureau. Before Xia Xinyan and the others left, Chengguang did one last thing—he found a girl to recreate the events that had happened here.
This girl’s ability was to cast temporal shadows, allowing her to reproduce events that occurred in a certain place over a set timeframe, much like a holographic projection—very sci-fi.
It finally let them know what had transpired here.
First off, what the suited bald guy referred to as the Saint’s Coffin was a stone coffin—probably a stone coffin because it had a logo of an art factory on it, leaving them uncertain if it was genuinely made of stone. The only thing they could ascertain was that all those freed sons, half-human half-monster, had emerged from this stone coffin.
A normal human would quickly undergo rapid changes after lying inside for about half an hour. Since the recreation could only replicate events from up to three hours prior, and there was only one freed son emerging from the coffin during that time, they were unsure if the infection was a 100% success or if the process was as simple as that.
Secondly, the number of people in this organization far exceeded what they had encountered before; several had stayed behind during the previous battle, which included numerous magical beasts. Why they hadn’t left to participate in the fight—only the suited bald guy would know.
In summary, this was definitely bad news, suggesting that this organization was not as simple as they initially thought, and the Ability Bureau would not find it easy to eradicate them completely.
Well, it was within Xia Xinyan’s expectations.
“At least, that art factory logo on the coffin is a clue; we can start our investigation there,” Chengguang seemed quite optimistic, “We’ll also arrange people to monitor this village for a while to prevent them from returning… but this operation has officially concluded, so we’re really grateful to Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan for your significant assistance.”
Ling Mo smiled slightly, a look of righteousness on his face: “It’s what we should do.”
