Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was National Day, and there were quite a lot of people and cars outside.
Fortunately, the Green-Peak Mountain was a bit quieter. It wasn’t a famous park. Apart from locals who occasionally came, there were largely no tourists from elsewhere.
Su Hao parked his bike outside the park, locked it, and started walking toward Green-Peak Mountain.
He walked right toward the barbecue area.
The barbecue area was on a platform halfway atop the mountain. On one side were the thicker woods, leading toward the top of the hill. The other side was open, and one could see An City, with its high skyscrapers and the wide river passing through the city.
White clouds floated in the sky, and there was a little breeze. It was very pleasant.
Liu Ren had already booked the location and prepared barbecue tools and ingredients with a few other classmates.
Currently, they were already busying around the two barbecue stoves.
Once Su Hao came, Silkworm Baby received a hearty welcome. The little guy looked so pleased with itself; it was as if it had lots of wine.
Su Hao was annoyed.
Look at you, can’t you be as steady as your friend Little Charcoal Tortoise?
“Gurgle?”
Little Charcoal Tortoise was laying atop a large rock facing the city, steadily… Asleep??
Su Hao was rendered speechless.
Silkworm Baby left him to mingle happily with a few other sprites, such as Little Stone Elephant.
Not everyone from their class came to the party. There were only about 20 that had signed up, but the newbie Sprite Trainers, like Chen Qi, Zhou Yuze, and Ma Ruomei, were actually all here with their sprites.
Big Face Liu has good relations with the classmates, indeed.
The barbecue meat’s fragrance attacked Su Hao’s nose.
The party’s atmosphere was very lively. Ordinary students, who were buried in the sea of exam questions, and Sprite stream students, who worried about getting into sprite universities, all briefly forgot about their troubles.
Their worries turned into appetite.
“Gurgle~”
“Gurgle, gurgle~”
“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle~٩(๑>◡<๑)۶”
Silkworm Baby was overjoyed.
It had many feeders today.
After eating the skewered meat fed by a female student, another male student fed it again round the corner.
It enjoyed itself very much, eating.
It was definitely the cutest eater on the scene.
Liu Ren prepared to showcase his amazing talent—sprite-roasting skewered meat!
He woke Little Charcoal Tortoise up and brought several skewers of food to it.
“Ma-Master Tortoise, go ahead.”
Little Charcoal Tortoise made two snorts and breathed out a bit of fire.
Liu Ren promptly turned the skewers over and sprayed on some seasoning. It looked like he had practiced it a lot on ordinary days.
It looked really familiar…
“Come, everyone, try my unique skewer…”
“Where’s my skewered meat?!”
Liu Ren looked down, and only the skewers were left in his hand. Then, he looked at Little Charcoal Tortoise, which was enjoying itself, eating.
“Master… Tortoise, I’m glad that you’re happy.”
Above the barbecue area, inside the woods…
The wind’s direction was downward, and it carried the barbecue’s fragrance with it. Two men, one tall and one short, smelled the fragrance, and their noses couldn’t help but sniff.
“F*ck! It smells so damn good!” The short man complained, touching the somewhat agitated Little Ground Wolf beside him.
The tall man frowned. “Hold on for a little. After we pass through An City, we can go offshore from Seaside City and leave Dragon Nation. Where can’t we enjoy ourselves, with our Sprite Trainer status? We’ve hidden for so many days, don’t make trouble at the last minute.”
“Brother, I know. I’m just, just too hungry.”
“Alright, we’ll go somewhere else and stop torturing ourselves, smelling the barbecue.”
The man pushed aside the grass and walked backward.
Suddenly, the Little Ground Wolf made a “woo”, and before the short man had time to pull it back, it already ran out.
…
Su Hao was putting sauce on chicken wings, breathing fresh air.
Suddenly, he heard Silkworm Baby calling.
He glanced forward and saw a big wolfhound walking toward them. Its eyes intently stared at the skewered meat on the barbecue stove, looking a bit fierce.
“It’s a Little Ground Wolf.”
Su Hao gave it a look and paid no more attention.
Sprites weren’t giant pandas, not that rare. They weren’t the only ones barbecuing in the barbecue area.
Yet the Little Ground Wolf, sniffing at the fragrance of the barbecue, kept approaching. Its mouth widened and showed sharp teeth.
Some girls couldn’t help but retreat backward a little, seeing the big wolfhound’s fierce look.
Silkworm Baby was angry. It suddenly leaped onto a chair and warned the Little Ground Wolf, “Gurgle!”
The Little Ground Wolf gave it one glance and ignored the innocent-looking Silkworm Baby. It continued to stare at the skewered meat and pressed forward, step by step.
“Gurgle, gurgle!!!”
Silkworm Baby put itself in front of it.
Su Hao frowned.
Whose sprite is this? Where is the Sprite Trainer? What are they doing!
A figure, not very tall, dashed from the front, ordered the Little Ground Wolf to stop and calmed it down. Then, he gradually brought the Little Ground Wolf away.
The man’s clothes looked yellowish like they hadn’t been washed for a long time. Su Hao found him a bit familiar-looking, but he couldn’t figure out where he had seen him.
“It’s, it’s that wanted criminal!”
A voice came from the side as a classmate blurted out. Then, he hurried to cover his mouth.
The short man, who was bringing away the Little Ground Wolf, suddenly paused, and his body abruptly tensed up.
He suddenly turned back and looked over, his widened eyes filled with sharpness. His expression was fierce and cruel.
“I, I, I didn’t see anything.”
Su Hao hated that he couldn’t cover the mouth of the classmate who had spoken.
Once these words left his mouth, that Little Ground Wolf immediately leaped over.
A fierce aura attacked them.
Unlike Silkworm Baby, Little Stone Elephant, and Little Charcoal Tortoise, although this Little Ground Wolf was also just in its initial form, it was very fierce.
Really fierce!
Su Hao had seen the Little Ground Wolf of a classmate… It was as cute and dumb as a silly dog.
But the one in front of him was a real lone wolf. It looked like it had seen blood.
The Little Ground Wolf had indeed seen blood!
The two wanted criminals were wanted for the crime of ordering sprites to murder.
After obtaining sprites and mastering supernatural powers, they had killed for a slight disagreement. This had provoked the Little Ground Wolf’s bloodthirst.
Su Hao’s heart started pulsating intensely.
The classmate that the Little Ground Wolf was staring at also stood completely still in his original place like he was numbed.
Fortunately, without needing Su Hao to give an order, Silkworm Baby forcefully bumped over from the side.
The Little Ground Wolf was unprepared, and Silkworm Baby hit its stomach. It was sent flying out across several meters.
“Woo!”
It got up, and its look got even fiercer.
The Silkworm Baby did not back down.
“Gurgle!”
The tall man came out of the woods and scolded, “What are you dawdling for!?”
“Little Ground Wolf, come back! Let’s go!”
The short man gave a hard, grievous glance, called his Little Ground Wolf back, and returned to the mountains, ready to leave this area.
At that moment, two men, about 20 to 30 years old, saw what happened from dozens of meters away.
One of them stared for a bit and spoke with some excitement. “They are wanted criminals! Stop them. There’s a money reward!”
The two youths were also Sprite Trainers.
During high school, they couldn’t afford to contract sprites. However, after graduating, making money, and becoming a part of the social elite class, they had still not given up their childhood dream of becoming Sprite Trainers.
They had bought sprite contracts and stepped forward toward their dreams.
The two had met at a sprite training class. For many who couldn’t get into sprite universities, or only contracted sprites after they left school, the best way to obtain achievements was to sign up for sprite training classes.
There were also resources in training classes in society that attracted official Sprite Trainers, who worked as coaches.
The difference was that they were expensive. Also, the teaching quality was far inferior to sprite universities.
Nevertheless, it was the only way for Sprite Trainers with a Non-Sprite stream background to chase their dreams.
Near the two youths…
A Long-Armed Gibbon and a Little Clay Chunk leaped toward the short man and the Little Ground Wolf under their orders.
