Liu Yi nodded and patted the Little Bell Deer's head. "Go on, and thank you for bringing us here. We had a great time with you on this journey."
The Little Bell Deer gave them a reluctant look, then glanced worriedly at the Scaly Snake.
It then turned and ran deeper into the forest, quickly disappearing from their sight.
Now, only Liu Yi, Ziyue, and the Scaly Snake remained under the tree.
Liu Yi glanced at the Scaly Snake, which hadn't moved since He Yabai reached out, then scanned the marks on the tree trunk.
She took a picnic mat from her backpack and spread it next to the Scaly Snake.
After sitting down, Liu Yi took Ziyue's latent energy pills from her Beast Taming Space and handed them to her.
From the New Student Admission Ceremony to the Beast Tamer Association, entering the Myriad Realm Secret Realm, and now reaching the Ethereal Glow Forest, it was roughly time for her to eat her second latent energy pill of the day.
Moreover, perhaps because the latent energy pills she made were based on a recipe she had drawn, the latent energy pills for Ziyue could also be stored in the Beast Taming Space.
Liu Yi then took a bottle of recovery liquid and energy liquid from her Beast Taming Space and placed them in front of the Scaly Snake.
The Scaly Snake looked at the recovery liquid and energy liquid before it, making no move for a moment.
After placing the items in front of the Scaly Snake, Liu Yi didn't look at it again.
Instead, she took an energy bar from her backpack, ate it while watching Ziyue lick her latent energy pill, and then casually said:
"These two bottles can help you recover your stamina and energy faster. Once you're in good shape, you can train your skills, grow stronger, and defeat the pets that messed with you before."
After hearing this, the Scaly Snake didn't act immediately.
Its ruby-like eyes quietly watched Liu Yi and Ziyue.
Ziyue finished her latent energy pill and began observing the Scaly Snake.
Liu Yi finished her energy bar and put the wrapper into her backpack.
She said nothing more, simply sat quietly, her gaze fixed on the glowing vines in the distance.
Finally, the Scaly Snake moved.
It slowly shifted towards the bottle of recovery liquid and carefully took a sip.
The taste seemed good, as it quickened its pace and quickly drank both the recovery liquid and the energy liquid.
As the Scaly Snake finished the last drop of energy liquid, the golden ring pattern on its tail tip glowed faintly, then returned to normal.
Liu Yi observed the process from the corner of her eye, then softly asked, "Feeling better?"
The Scaly Snake raised its head, made no sound, but nodded gently.
"Bingbing~"
Ziyue leaned closer, sniffed the Scaly Snake, and gave a friendly cry.
"Scale..."
The Scaly Snake hesitated, then responded.
Liu Yi watched them interact, a slight smile gracing her lips.
She took out a small medical kit from her backpack, pulled out pet-specific wound spray, which, combined with the recovery liquid the Scaly Snake had just drunk, would help its wounds heal faster.
"There are still some small wounds that need treatment," she said, shaking the spray bottle. "Is that alright?"
The Scaly Snake looked at the spray, then at Liu Yi's eyes, and finally slowly moved in front of her.
Liu Yi carefully sprayed the medicine onto it.
The moment the spray touched its wounds, the Scaly Snake's body tensed slightly but didn't pull away.
Its scales were smoother than expected, cool and hard to the touch.
"Done," Liu Yi said, putting away the small medical kit. "How do you feel now?"
The Scaly Snake moved its body; the small wounds had already begun to heal and no longer pained it.
"Scale."
It cried out, its voice soft yet clear.
Ziyue tilted her head and translated.
"Bingbing."
Thank you.
Liu Yi shook her head. "You're welcome." She paused. "What are your plans next?"
The Scaly Snake's eyes flickered, appearing somewhat lost.
It turned its head towards the depths of the Ethereal Glow Forest, where the faint cries of other pets could be heard.
Liu Yi followed its gaze. "You don't want to leave the Secret Realm, and you want to defeat those pets from before, but if they gang up on you, you can't defeat them all with your current strength, can you?"
The Scaly Snake slowly nodded.
Liu Yi thought for a moment. "I can offer you a suggestion."
She pointed to herself and Ziyue. "We'll be exploring this Secret Realm for seven days, looking for suitable contract pets."
"According to the Little Bell Deer, you've probably moved through several areas since appearing in this Secret Realm. You should be more familiar with this place than we are, so you could be our guide."
"In exchange, you can stay with us during this time. Since I am a Beast Tamer with access credentials to this Secret Realm, the pets within won't actively attack me."
"So, if you stay with us these next few days, other pets won't bother you for now. You can train in peace and strengthen yourself."
Liu Yi added, "Of course, after seven days, I won't force you to leave. You can choose to stay in the Secret Realm. However, official personnel might come to take you away later."
The Scaly Snake listened quietly, its red eyes flickering slightly.
Ziyue friendly nudged the Scaly Snake with the tip of her tail.
Finally, the Scaly Snake made its decision.
It moved to Liu Yi's feet and gently nudged her pant leg with its head.
"It seems you agree," Liu Yi smiled, stood up, and walked to the tree, pointing at the marks on the trunk.
"These must be the marks you left while practicing your skills."
The Scaly Snake nodded, moved to the tree trunk, and pointed at different marks with the tip of its tail.
Ziyue leaned closer and sniffed the marks, her ears twitching, then cried out, indicating a corrosive smell.
Liu Yi carefully observed the marks and found that there was a clear target area.
"Can you show me your skills?" She stepped back a few paces, giving the Scaly Snake room.
The Scaly Snake hesitated, then slithered to the center of the clearing and suddenly darted forward!
Its two fangs instantly glowed with a purplish-black light, precisely biting into that area.
The spot where the Scaly Snake bit quickly blackened, emitting wisps of white smoke.
Liu Yi raised an eyebrow.
Poison Fang, a C-rank skill: uses fangs covered in poison to bite the target, dealing damage. At Entry level proficiency, there's a 10% chance to inflict [Poisoned], which causes the target to continuously lose HP.
Is it as lucky as Ziyue, or has this Scaly Snake trained its Poison Fang proficiency to a very high level?
Leading to a high chance of the [Poisoned] effect triggering.
Next, the Scaly Snake moved again, flexibly twisting its body and sharply flicking its tail.
Several drops of purplish-black venom flew out, accurately hitting the target leaves above.
The leaves withered and blackened at a visible rate, and one of them, hit by two drops of venom, turned directly into ash.
Liu Yi walked over to inspect; aside from the leaf that turned to ash, two of the remaining three leaves showed signs of the [Poisoned] effect.
Rate on N.U.
