A man and a beast, their eyes met, and they remained silent.
Looking at the aggrieved look in the little black beast's eyes, Lu Qing fell silent for a moment.
He hadn't expected that the little thing would hide up there.
And judging from its appearance, it has probably been guarding this place all night.
"Little one, have you been waiting here all night?"
After a long silence, Lu Qing asked.
The little black beast didn't move, but the grievance in its eyes deepened.
"...I'm sorry, I had something to do last night and wasn't home."
"..." The little black beast remained motionless, but a hint of moisture appeared in its eyes.
Seeing the little black beast on the verge of tears, Lu Qing felt a strange sense of guilt.
If I remember correctly, this little thing is still just a cub.
Moreover, it's actually his creditor.
After all, he had received a century-old ginseng for free.
"How about... you come in with me?" Lu Qing asked tentatively. "I still have some fish left in the kitchen."
Seeing that the moisture in the little beast's eyes seemed to have lessened, Lu Qing opened the door and went inside.
When he carried Xiaoyan to the room and came out, he saw the little black beast sitting on a stool looking at him.
Lu Qing smiled, went into the kitchen, poured all the remaining fish into a wooden basin, took it out, and placed it in front of the little beast.
Upon seeing the large basin overflowing with fish, the little black beast's eyes immediately lit up.
They immediately pounced on it and began to eat heartily.
The previous grievances vanished without a trace.
Seeing the little black beast eating happily, Lu Qing couldn't help but smile.
To be honest, this little thing is quite remarkable.
Despite being starved all night, she stubbornly refused to break down the door and instead waited for him on the eaves all night.
This respect clearly shows that she truly considers him a friend.
Otherwise, with its nose, how could it not smell that there were still fish in the kitchen?
If they really wanted to break in, it would be an easy thing.
Seeing the little beast engrossed in its meal, Lu Qing didn't disturb it but went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Although he had prepared breakfast for his master and the others in the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, he hadn't eaten yet.
Lu Qing set up a pot of porridge, added some minced meat, and let it simmer slowly before taking a bath.
He's been brewing medicine for the past two days, sweating a lot, and the smoke and heat of the pharmacy have made him feel sticky and uncomfortable all over.
After taking a shower, Lu Qing came out feeling refreshed. To his surprise, the little black beast didn't leave immediately after eating its fill of fish.
Instead, it sat on a stool, leisurely licking its paws and washing its face.
As for the bowl of fish on the ground, there are still quite a few left.
That's rare!
Lu Qing clicked his tongue in amazement.
This was the first time he had ever seen a small black beast called a fish.
In the past, it would eat all the fish every time it was fed.
Even if I'm stuffed, I absolutely will not leave any fish behind.
This time he packed twice as many fish as usual, and he couldn't possibly finish them all.
But this still surprised Lu Qing.
"Little one, when are you planning to leave? I'm about to wake Xiaoyan up for breakfast."
Lu Qing knew that, apart from him, the little black beast didn't seem to like interacting with other people.
Normally, we only come to eat fish in the evenings after Xiaoyan has fallen asleep.
However, to his surprise, the little black beast seemed not to have heard him.
He walked to a corner by himself, jumped onto a cabinet, curled up, and fell fast asleep.
Lu Qing:...
"I really went and woke Xiaoyan up, okay?"
The little beast remained motionless.
Why is this guy acting so strangely today?
Lu Qing found it strange.
"...You can keep it if you want, but if Xiaoyan gets excited when she sees you, you're not allowed to hurt her."
Lu Qing gave a reminder, then went to the room and woke Xiao Yan up.
After urging the sleepy little guy to wash his face and brush his teeth, Lu Qing brought out the porridge he had cooked.
Xiaoyan was not fully awake when she drank the porridge.
He ate his porridge half-heartedly, his eyes glazed over, his gaze unfocused as he looked at the person opposite him.
Gradually, her gaze focused, and her eyes widened.
"Brother, what is that?"
Xiaoyan pointed to the dark figure on the cabinet in front of her and quickly asked.
“That one,” Lu Qing looked up and saw that the creature still hadn’t moved, then said, “That’s the little black beast you want to see every night, but you can’t seem to find it.”
"This is a small animal?!"
Suddenly, the little guy couldn't even drink the porridge anymore.
He immediately jumped off the stool, ran to the bottom of the cabinet, and looked up.
But because she was small, once she got under the cabinet, she couldn't see the little black beast on top.
This made Xiaoyan extremely anxious.
She thought for a moment, then ran back to the table, grabbed a stool, and planned to stand on it to look at the little beast.
Seeing this, Lu Qing quickly stepped forward to stop them.
"Don't disturb it, or it might scratch you."
That's not what the little black beast was thinking.
It stood up, stretched, and then gently called out to Xiaoyan.
Xiao Yan immediately perked up, "Brother, look, the little beast said it won't scratch me!"
Lu Qing:...
How come he didn't understand that meaning?
However, he could sense the little beast's friendliness towards Xiao Yan.
After thinking about it, I decided not to stop Xiaoyan from interacting with it.
After spending this time together, Lu Qing has learned that the black beast is extremely intelligent and not much different from a human.
Since it has taken the initiative to show goodwill, it seems that it does not reject Xiaoyan.
“Alright, then you can be friends with it,” Lu Qing said.
Then he said to the little beast, "Little thing, remember not to bully my sister."
The little black beast glanced at Lu Qing with disdain, then lightly jumped off the cabinet, came to Xiao Yan, and nuzzled her hand with its head.
Then he looked at Lu Qing provocatively.
Xiao Yan was even happier. She excitedly shouted to Lu Qing, "Brother, the little beast is willing to be my friend!"
Lu Qing saw the smug look on the little black beast's face.
Alright, this little thing is deliberately showing off to me.
However, the fact that the two little ones could get along well relieved him.
He felt relieved and smiled at Xiaoyan, "In that case, you should try to befriend it. It's very powerful, so don't anger it."
"Don't worry, brother, I won't!" Xiaoyan replied happily.
The little black beast looked satisfied when Lu Qing praised it.
These two-legged creatures have quite a keen eye; they can see how powerful it is.
"Little beast, little beast, can I pet you...?"
Next, it was time for the two little ones to talk to each other.
Seeing that they got along fairly well, Lu Qing stopped bothering with them.
Seeing that Xiaoyan had almost finished her porridge, I tidied up and went into the kitchen.
Just as he finished washing the dishes, he saw Xiaoyan come running in excitedly.
"Brother, brother, let's give the little beast a name, shall we?"
Happy New Year everyone! There will be another chapter tonight.
