Chapter 24: Essence Blood Enslavement

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Essence Blood Enslavement

"Teacher Liu, long time no see."

Gu Qing smiled and greeted Liu Zhiyi.

Liu Zhiyi recognized Gu Qing at a glance. Her smile didn’t fade, and her voice grew a little gentler as she said:

"Oh, it’s Gu Qing. Long time no see. Is this your girlfriend?"

Although she had only taught Gu Qing for one semester, he had left a deep impression on her.

After all, back then, Gu Qing was so handsome he was famous throughout the school, drawing a crowd of admirers wherever he went.

And at that time, she had only been in her early twenties, so naturally, she too had been captivated by his good looks, occasionally stealing a few appreciative glances.

"No, she’s my sister, Gu Yao. She’s a senior at Hai City First High School."

After saying that, Gu Qing asked with some confusion, "Teacher Liu, you teach English at the First High School. Haven’t you met my sister?"

Gu Yao’s liberal arts grades were outstanding.

Especially her English.

She was basically first in the entire school on every exam.

She had even placed first in the entire city before.

Since Liu Zhiyi taught English, it stood to reason that she should have known or at least met Gu Yao.

"I stopped teaching at the First High School a long time ago."

Liu Zhiyi smiled and explained, "Not long after my internship ended back then, I quit. I haven’t worked a single day as a teacher since."

Gu Qing was a little surprised.

’She quit right after her internship?’

’She didn’t even want a permanent position?’

’So headstrong?’

’Did something bad happen to her?’

’Or is she from a wealthy family, loves her freedom, and simply didn’t want to work?’

Gu Qing was curious.

"Come, have a seat over here. We can catch up over some coffee."

Liu Zhiyi’s voice was gentle as she led the siblings to the sofa and brewed them two cups of coffee.

In the time that followed, Gu Qing and Liu Zhiyi sat and caught up.

Meanwhile, Gu Yao wandered around the room, playing with the small animals.

After chatting for a little over ten minutes, Gu Qing got a general idea of what Liu Zhiyi had been through over the years.

Liu Zhiyi had quit her job at the school back then simply because she didn’t enjoy being a teacher; there were no other hidden reasons.

「After she quit.」

She took the several million in start-up capital her parents gave her.

And in Hai City’s most bustling shopping mall,

she opened a pet shop of a considerable size.

Her life was relaxed and free.

Every day was blissful.

Until the beginning of last year, when the company her parents ran went bankrupt, leaving the family saddled with a mountain of debt.

To help pay off her parents’ debts, she was forced to sell her pet shop.

Immediately after, her family’s fortunes fell.

In just half a year, she went from being an envied, wealthy beauty to just another pretty, ordinary woman.

「Later on.」

She used what little savings she had left to open this mini pet shop, only sixty square meters in size.

She also started a personal Douyin account on the side,

hoping to earn some extra money to support her family.

She was barely making ends meet.

After hearing her story, Gu Qing couldn’t help but feel a little wistful. He offered some words of comfort:

"Teacher Liu, things will work themselves out. This pet shop of yours is very unique. I’m sure it’ll blow up online and you’ll end up making a fortune."

"I hope so."

Liu Zhiyi smiled, then added, "Oh, right. Don’t call me Teacher Liu anymore. I only taught you for less than half a year, and I haven’t been a teacher for a long time. Just call me Sister Zhiyi."

Gu Qing had no objection. "Alright, I’ll call you Sister Zhiyi from now on."

Liu Zhiyi propped her chin on one hand and looked at Gu Qing with a beaming smile. "I never would have thought the two of us would become fellow alumni of Hai City University."

"And both from the School of Foreign Languages, no less."

"What I expected even less was that this pet shop I just opened a few days ago would be right across from your apartment complex."

At this point, Liu Zhiyi couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. "I have to say, it really seems like we’re bound by fate."

Gu Qing nodded. "It certainly seems so."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he discreetly glanced at the [Beast Taming King] tag above Liu Zhiyi’s head, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

’A tag related to Beast Taming?’

’Interesting.’

’I wonder what kind of Attribute this tag will give me...’

With that thought, Gu Qing felt he’d caught up with Liu Zhiyi enough. There was no need to waste any more time on idle chatter.

He immediately changed the subject, getting straight to his goal of farming Attributes, his tone sincere yet measured:

"Sister Zhiyi, I saw the Douyin video of you making a cat do a backflip."

"Seriously, it kind of blew my mind."

"I’m quite fond of cats myself, and I’d like to learn how to teach one to do a backflip. I was wondering if you could teach me a few tricks, Sister Zhiyi?"

He then added, "As for the price, just charge me the standard market rate. No need for a discount."

In truth, Gu Qing was completely confident that he could use his handsome-since-birth face to get the cat-taming skills from Liu Zhiyi for free.

But he would never do that.

Between acquaintances, he preferred to keep clear accounts, ensuring neither party took advantage of the other.

Only then could the relationship last.

Liu Zhiyi chuckled. "It’s not like we’re strangers. Talking about money is too impersonal. It’s just a few little tricks; I can just teach you directly."

"Sister Zhiyi, that’s not really appropriate..."

"Alright, that’s enough. If you mention paying me again, I’ll actually get angry."

Liu Zhiyi feigned a stern expression, which still held a trace of the authority she had as a teacher back in the day. Her attitude was firm.

Seeing this, Gu Qing could only smile and say:

"Alright then, I’ll take you up on the free lesson this once, Sister Zhiyi."

"If you ever run into any trouble in the future, Sister Zhiyi, don’t hesitate to come find me."

"If I can help, I definitely will."

He knew that Liu Zhiyi most likely wouldn’t accept any money.

But knowing that was one thing; he still had to show that he wasn’t trying to get something for nothing.

This was the proper etiquette for adults interacting with each other.

’Whether you accept it or not is your business, but I have to offer. I can’t just take advantage and let you be at a loss.’

’Otherwise, the relationship is bound to crumble sooner or later.’

「Soon.」

Liu Zhiyi brought over a kitten.

It was a Ragdoll cat.

A female.

She was very cute.

Liu Zhiyi placed the little female cat in front of Gu Qing and began teaching him with a serious expression:

"Actually, training a cat isn’t difficult, as long as you have enough patience."

"So how do you start the training?"

"First, we have to learn how to communicate with the cat."

"Cats can’t speak human language, but they use their movements to express their emotions."

"As long as you can understand their movements, you can communicate with them, and in turn, train them."

"Come, watch closely and see how I communicate with this little kitten."

Liu Zhiyi gently touched the little female cat, her soft voice guiding it as she demonstrated her method of communication.

Gu Qing watched with rapt attention, imitating her movements as he learned with great seriousness.

「On the other side.」

Gu Yao watched the two of them sitting so close together, her eyebrow twitching. She instantly smelled that something was off.

’My brother clearly doesn’t even like pets, yet now he’s saying he wants to learn some cat-taming skills.’

’Isn’t this just an excuse to hit on a girl?’

Thinking this, Gu Yao secretly took out her phone, recorded a video of the two of them nearly touching, and quickly sent it to their family’s four-person group chat.

[Gu Yao: Video.]

[Gu Yao: Your Imperial Majesties, we have a problem! Your Crown Prince wants to make a move on his master!]

The two of them, not far away, didn’t notice her little scheme.

Gu Qing was learning with exceptional seriousness.

And Liu Zhiyi was teaching with great patience.

Without them noticing,

a full hour passed.

And just as the hour was up, several familiar lines of text immediately popped up before Gu Qing’s eyes.

[You have trained an animal with your friend Liu Zhiyi for over an hour]

[Beast Language Ability +1]

[Beast Taming Skill +1]

[Accumulate 100 points in Beast Taming Skill to obtain the Attribute—Essence Blood Enslavement]

[Current points obtained: 1]

...

PS: Holding out my bowl for monthly and recommendation tickets!