The Strongest Beast-Tamer (Transmigration)(GL) - Chapter 25

Yi Xian had made a special mouse trap just to catch that silver mouse. The trap was crudely built, but the spring was strong enough to snap shut instantly, and it had decent force. She even spent a copper coin to make it.

But after several days of waiting, the fish meat placed in the center always vanished first. As for the trap she had paid a copper coin to build, it was gnawed clean, leaving behind only an unidentifiable shard of metal. It was completely ruined.

Clearly, dealing with a clever and worldly mouse meant that a mouse trap was useless. Even mouse poison might not work. Of course, she did not really want to kill the silver mouse. She just wanted to “educate” it for luring away the Purple Yuanxiao and the little one.

That night, Yi Xian suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. She could hear the steady breathing of the beast next to her. At the same time, she heard a faint rustling near the door, like a thief sneaking in.

Yi Xian thought, “Finally, you’re here.”

She stayed still, even synchronizing her breathing with Lan Tong’s. By listening closely, she roughly mapped out the mouse’s movements. Then she turned slightly in confusion, and under the dim light coming through the door, she clearly saw the little one, who was supposed to be asleep on her small bed, jump down and use her tiny paw to poke at the mouse on the floor.

The silver mouse, like a magician, produced two fruits. It gave one to the cub and kept one for itself, gnawing away. Soon, the sound of two creatures munching on fruit filled the room.

Yi Xian was filled with an odd kind of amusement. A line popped into her head, “Sisters share everything. If you have a bite, I have a bite too.”

She kept her guard up and watched for several nights. Every night, the silver mouse sneaked in like a graceful snail girl and played with the cub. The small crossbody pouch it carried was like a treasure bag that always produced two fruits, one for each of them.

The two little ones played together until just before dawn, then parted ways.

After the silver mouse left, the cub would jump back into bed for more sleep.

However, the cub had officially started training in the cub camp and had to wake up early each morning. Yi Xian finally understood why she always left the house with drooping ears and came back bursting with energy.

She had seen it all, yet Lan Tong slept like the dead every night, completely unaware of the commotion. This reminded Yi Xian of the strange encounter with the mouse in the forest.

That night, when the two little ones were happily eating, Yi Xian rolled out of bed with a swift motion that stunned them both.

Lan Tong, still on the bed, did not stir at all.

Yi Xian became even more convinced that this silver mouse was the reason for all of it. She presented the lavish dinner she had prepared and handed it to the mouse. “You can come play with Little Lan, but she trains every day. If she does not get enough sleep, it will affect her development.”

The silver mouse squeaked twice in protest and pulled out a purple fruit from its treasure pouch.

Yi Xian’s eyelid twitched. She remembered that day when she had fought the half-beast, the mouse had been gnawing joyfully on a purple fruit. At the time, she was too focused on Lan Tong’s condition after absorbing poison to think much of it.

Now, she was dumbfounded.

Back then, she had no idea how valuable the purple fruit was. She only knew that in Kus City, most beastmen used white or red fruits as substitutes. It was not until she came to Guata City and began using copper coins that she realized one purple fruit was worth about fifty silver coins. That made it hundreds of times more valuable than white or red fruit.

She, a poor woman who had not even earned ten thousand copper coins, now realized that her cub had been eating one purple fruit a day. No, with the mouse’s gifts, it was now two per day. That meant the cub had been consuming dozens of gold coins daily!

…

Clearly, girls should be raised in luxury.

The cub pawed at the mouse’s purple fruit, having just finished one and already craving another. The mouse tossed the fruit back into the pouch and it disappeared instantly. The cub stared curiously at the bag, gently prodding it with her little paw.

The mouse chirped and leapt onto Yi Xian’s hand, biting her thumb again!

Damn it, a mouse never changes its habits.

“You sneaky, treacherous thief!”

“…”

Before Yi Xian could unleash her fury, someone beat her to it. The long-silent madwoman in her head suddenly erupted, cursing and grinding her teeth as if she had an irreconcilable feud with the mouse.

After the mouse bit her, the mark on Yi Xian’s finger flashed silver, then vanished. The cub came over and licked her wound, looking up at her with innocent eyes.

The silver mouse stood on the cub’s head, squeaking nervously.

“Enough. You two are birds of a feather, always taking advantage of a crisis,” Yi Xian said sharply. “Now, someone tell me what exactly is going on here.”

So far, Yi Xian remained completely in the dark. She had no idea who the madwoman really was, nor did she know what the silver mouse’s background might be. But she was not stupid. The madwoman must have used her as a shell because she saw some use in her. And the mouse, appearing over and over again and feeding the cub those costly purple fruits, clearly did not just think the cub was cute.

“Pfft, I am no thief. Call me Lord Yin Bao!”

“Stop trying to glorify yourself, you thief!”

Just as the argument seemed ready to escalate into a fight, Yi Xian shouted, “If either of you says one more word, I will not agree to a single one of your demands.”

That one sentence worked like a switch. Suddenly, the entire room fell silent.

Yi Xian rubbed her forehead. “While I still have some patience left, speak. What exactly do you want from me?”

The mouse jumped from the cub onto the table, looked up, and squeaked. Unlike before, Yi Xian could now understand the mouse’s speech, which turned into a childlike voice in her ears. “She has bad intentions. She wants to take over your body to survive.”

A chill ran down Yi Xian’s spine.

She had suspected something before. The madwoman’s strange tricks made her wary. But hearing it confirmed out loud made it all the more terrifying.

Possession?

Or was it a slow, step-by-step erasure of her consciousness?

Surprisingly, the madwoman did not deny what Lord Yin Bao had said. That near-silent acceptance made Yi Xian’s heart sink.

Lord Yin Bao patted its tiny chest. “Fortunately, I am here. She has not succeeded.”

Yi Xian glanced sideways at the little mouse’s skinny body. One slap would flatten it. But she could not ignore the fact that it had saved her before. Perhaps she should treat her little savior a bit better.

Lord Yin Bao knew exactly how to climb the ladder. Sensing her softened attitude, it immediately crawled up her arm and onto her shoulder, chirping flatteringly. “Why don’t you let me be your little companion?”

Yi Xian paused. If she understood correctly, that meant ‘friend’? But her instincts screamed that there was a trap in that wording. And oddly enough, the mouse’s fawning expression was the exact opposite of the disdainful look it had given her before.

“Do not agree!”

“You venomous hag.”

“This is none of your business, you worm from the underworld.”

…

The two started bickering in Yi Xian’s mind again, clearly incompatible. Yi Xian rubbed her temples and carried the cub back to bed. From their squabbling, she managed to piece together a few things.

Her conclusion? Neither of them was trustworthy.

Lord Yin Bao wanted her to accept the “companion” proposal. Could it be that agreeing to it was akin to a binding oath?

As for the madwoman, her plans to take Yi Xian’s body had apparently failed or been delayed. Still, things did not quite add up the way Lord Yin Bao claimed.

Lost in thought, Yi Xian somehow drifted off to sleep, despite the noise.

The grilled meat business was not as lively as before. There were many reasons, but the main one was the White Lotus Flower. She had set up a barbecue stall right across from them, and her prices were even lower. No one knew if the taste was better, though.

Shi Jia and You Yu were furious. They took every chance to complain to Yi Xian, who calmly reassured them. For now, things were relatively peaceful.

Yi Xian had known from the start that this business would not last long. The idea was easy to copy. She also discovered that beastmen had powerful tastebuds and could stomach almost anything. As long as the White Lotus Flower did not make the food too awful, she could still earn some copper coins.

Seasonings, which should have been a trump card, turned out to be less important when faced with a beastman’s extraordinary palate.

Still, there was one thing Yi Xian had predicted correctly. Qin Rong often lingered nearby. After seeing someone challenge Yi Xian directly, she had firmly aligned herself with the White Lotus, making them the perfect pair of plastic best friends.

“Yi Xian.”

“Lord Lu.”

Since settling in Guata City, this was the first time Yi Xian had seen Shi Lu. Beastman names were strange. Their surnames came from their beast forms. If you were from the lion clan, your surname was always Shi. If you were from the fox clan, it was Hu, like Hu Qing.

But this naming rule did not apply to Lan Tong. She was not surnamed Shi, and her beast form was neither a lion nor a griffin.

Griffins had eagle claws, but Lan Tong’s claws were lion’s claws.

Lord Lu had a whole group of beastman guards behind her. She came with great force and did not bother with pleasantries. She said directly, “After hearing about your recent deeds, the City Lord wishes to see you.”

The City Lord?

Yi Xian had no idea who the City Lord was, but in a small city, that title likely meant absolute power, akin to a local emperor.

Her recent deeds?

What deeds could a slave like her possibly have?

Her past? The confrontation where she exposed Qin Rong? Or…

Everything about this invitation reeked of suspicion and hidden danger.

Yi Xian thought of the madwoman and felt a headache coming on. She just knew that nothing good ever came from meeting Shi Lu. Yi Xian gave a polite smile. “I am only a first-rank slave, covered in grime. Let me change into clean clothes before I go.”

Lord Lu snapped impatiently, “Hurry up. Getting a chance to meet the City Lord is a blessing few slaves could dream of.”

What kind of blessing? Is this City Lord some kind of silver coin everyone wants? Even if they gave it to me for free, I wouldn’t want it.