Early in the morning, Yabao started rummaging through his backpack, trying to find a particular pair of sunglasses.
After searching for a while, he still couldn’t locate the colorful pink ones he was looking for. His movements halted, and he tilted his head, full of confusion.
He distinctly remembered that the flashy pink sunglasses were in his bag.
Not dwelling on the problem for too long, Yabao turned to seek out Qiao Sang.
When in doubt, ask your Beastmaster.
Yabao clamped the backpack in his mouth and brought it over to Qiao Sang, who was tying her ponytail.
“Yap!”
“Yap-yap!”
Qiao Sang calmly tied the last loop of her hair tie and said, “Oh, that pair? I forgot where I put it. Wear the red sunglasses instead, they match your fur color. They’ll look great on you.”
Little Treasure, who was about to take off his ring, paused for a moment.Wasn’t the Beastmaster the one who put those pink sunglasses with him just last night?
Little Treasure glanced at his Beastmaster and caught her winking at him.
In an instant, he understood.
The Beastmaster did it on purpose.
“Xun...”
Little Treasure instinctively covered his mouth.
So, it was a secret!
Hearing Qiao Sang’s words, Yabao immediately forgot about the sunglasses he was originally looking for.
He excitedly dug out the red triangle-shaped sunglasses and put them on.
“Yap!”
After putting them on, he wagged his tail and barked at Qiao Sang.
“You look fantastic!” Qiao Sang sincerely praised.
Compared to those pink heart-shaped glasses, any pair would look better.
“Yap.”
Yabao’s tail wagged even faster.
Too bad there wasn’t a full-length mirror like at home, or he would definitely go check himself out.
---
Having participated in a formal competition once before, Qiao Sang was feeling quite relaxed about the upcoming marathon relay race.
After all, she wasn’t really expected to do much...
But when she arrived at the venue, the sheer scale of the event startled her.
Flat Oak Street.
The starting point of the race.
The streets were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people from one end of the street to the other.
Looking up, Qiao Sang saw a race track made of floating clouds, stretching from the west to the east, disappearing into the horizon.
On both sides of the cloud track, dozens of Beastmasters rode their flying-type beasts.
She couldn’t tell if they were staff or just spectators.
Seeing the massive crowd, Qiao Sang began to suspect that nearly everyone in Qitang Town had come to watch.
Perched on top of Qiao Sang’s head, Little Treasure blinked his eyes in curiosity, looking around.
It was the first time he had ever seen so many people.
Quickly, he made eye contact with several onlookers.
To its surprise, those people smiled at it.
Little Treasure froze, confused.
“Xun?”
Usually, when people made eye contact with it, they’d nervously look away. Why was this time different?
“Sang, come over here to get your gear.” Ye Ranran called, waving from an area marked as the Contestant Check-In.
“I didn’t expect so many people to show up.” Qiao Sang remarked as she walked over.
“The whole town probably came out. There’s not much else to do around here, and everyone loves a good Beastmaster competition.” Ye Ranran explained.
Qiao Sang nodded. In the city, there were many Beastmasters and frequent competitions. Unless there was heavy promotion, smaller competitions often went unnoticed.
Bai Xin's Competition was a perfect example.
But here, with fewer Beastmasters and even fewer competitions, news of any Beastmaster contest spread quickly by word of mouth.
“Sang, don’t get too nervous later, just stay calm.” Her third uncle suddenly said from the side.
Qiao Sang: ...
Although she was surprised by the large turnout, she wasn’t nervous at all, she wasn’t the one running, after all...
“Yabao, are you nervous?” Qiao Sang asked, glancing down.
“Yap.”
Wearing his sunglasses, Yabao coolly shook the middle toe of his right paw.
“Uncle, we’re not nervous. You don’t need to be either.” Qiao Sang said, looking up.
Third Uncle: ...Alright.
After waiting in line to collect the two race numbers, Qiao Sang fastened them to Yabao and Little Treasure.
Yabao was given number A071, and Little Treasure was C166.
The numbers indicated which leg of the race they were in: A for the land stage, B for the water stage, and C for the sky stage.
These race numbers not only marked the contestants but were also equipped with timing chips.
As they passed each checkpoint, their times would be recorded and uploaded to calculate the results.
“I’ll head over to the second stage now. Your aunt and Jingwen are waiting for me there. We’ll meet up later." Her uncle said.
“Uncle, don’t worry, we’ve got things covered here.” Ye Ranran assured him.
Qiao Sang nodded in agreement.
Her uncle’s participating beasts were Roaring Swamp Crocodile and Darkscale Fish, both for the second stage.
After her uncle left, Ye Ranran said, “I’ve asked Aunt Lin to drive you to Jin Song Village. You remember Aunt Lin, right? She was with me on the trip to Huangming Mountain. She likes you a lot and keeps mentioning you.”
Ye Ranran’s Ink-tailed Fox was the first to run in the first leg of the race, while Qiao Sang’s Yabao would take over for the second leg, 10 kilometers away in Jin Song Village.
“No need. I’ll go myself. It’s too much trouble to ask for a ride, and with so many people around, driving would be difficult.” Qiao Sang declined.
“Alright then, I’ll give you a call when Momo is close to Jin Song Village,” Ye Ranran said, not insisting further.
---
Thirty minutes later, Qiao Sang regretted her decision.
This was her first time participating in a race like this, and she had no experience.
Why was the distance between the first and second legs so far?
Qiao Sang frantically pedaled her bicycle down the street.
Had the race already started?
Probably...
What if Ink-tailed Fox reached Jin Song Village and she wasn’t there yet?
“Yap!”
“Yap!”
Yabao sat in the bike basket, cheering her on.
Little Treasure clung tightly to Qiao Sang’s hair with his short claws, his round eyes squinting against the wind.
As she biked, Qiao Sang was filled with anxiety.
How much easier it would’ve been to get a ride!
Why had she thought biking was a good idea...
Now it seemed that even just passing through this stage might be a stretch...
“Miss, want to hitch a ride?”
Qiao Sang looked up, her excitement rising.
Above her, a Great Winged Sparrow was flying, carrying two men and a woman.
The man in front looked to be in his forties, while the young man and woman behind seemed to be in their twenties.
“I'm headed to Jin Song Village! Are you going that way?” Qiao Sang shouted as she kept pedaling.
The Great Winged Sparrow flew to her right and matched her speed.
The middle-aged man at the front grinned, “We are! They’re headed there too. I’ll charge you 800. How about it?”
The two young passengers exchanged knowing glances, realizing the man was trying to overcharge the girl.
They were each only paying 600 for the ride, but he was quoting 800 to her.
Though Qiao Sang had never flown for money, her mother worked in the tourism industry.
Even though it was for sightseeing flights, Qiao Sang knew the going rates.
“400, and I’m in!” Qiao Sang called out.
The man immediately responded, “Deal!”
The two young passengers stared in disbelief.
Were they the ones being overcharged after all?
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