The Blue Fox was strong and smart. It was the best target to give taming a try.
He wouldn't be able to beat a beast that was too strong, and it would be useless if it was too weak.
"You want to tame it?" Zhao Chen shook his head. "Neither of us is a Tamer. Besides, it takes a long time for Tamers to do their work…"
A level-one Tamer would spend months if not years to tame a beast. They could simply return with the Blue Fox. Why would they waste the time?
"It doesn't hurt to try!"
Knowing that the beast could understand them, Shen Zhe took a deep breath and said to the fox, "We caught you to borrow some of your blood, not to kill you! I'll set you free later as long as you're obedient, and you can have as much chicken as you want!"
"Zhi! Zhi! Zhi!"
The Blue Fox squeaked coldly.
Shen Zhe couldn't understand what it said, but he guessed that the beast would rather die than bend.
"It's your choice…"
Shen Zhe chuckled and tied up the fox's legs. After finding a cave nearby, he lit a fire with some dry branches and prepared the Pearl Chicken to cook it.
Zi! Zi! Zi!
Grease started splashing out. Knowing that they might have a picnic, Shen Zhe had prepared salt and pepper powder in advance. Fragrance began to spread out.
Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu!
The Blue Fox swallowed hard.
The gourmet couldn't hold it back anymore after smelling roasted meat.
Shen Zhe secretly smiled.
The Pearl Chicken had a golden hue and an intense fragrance.
"I'm hungry…"
Zhao Chen drooled.
"Eat your own food…"
Shen Zhe ignored him and placed the roasted chicken right below the fox's nose. He said, "Obey me, and the chicken will be yours. I'll roast you after I use your blood if you don't…"
He used both carrots and sticks.
"Zhi! Zhi! Zhi!"
Although drooling hard, the Blue Fox shook its head with determination.
Ignoring its refusal, Shen Zhe tore the roasted chicken in pieces; the fragrance was even more intense. He then wore an exaggerated expression.
"How delicious…"
He had a piece of the meat and licked his fingers.
Hesitating for a moment, Zhao Chen said, "Can I obey you?"
"…"
Not bothering with his friend, Shen Zhe looked at the Blue Fox again.
The beast drooled even harder. A moment later, it gritted its teeth and closed its eyes.
Shen Zhe smiled. He opened its eyes and stuck its eyelids with two twigs.
"Zhi! Zhi! Zhi!"
The Blue Fox was almost crying.
It had seen plenty of human beings in Dreary Wood, but none of them was as shameless as Shen Zhe.
After tearing off a chicken leg and putting it before the beast's nose, Shen Zhe mumbled, "Eat it or not, the chicken leg is right here. Obey me or not, I will be right here. You will become my fox, or my dead fox…"
"Zhi! Zhi! Zhi!"
Sensing that the fragrance was too much for it to bear, the Blue Fox suddenly opened its mouth and bit its tongue.
Hu!
Shen Zhe was quick enough to stick a poker into the beast's mouth and stop it.
"It wanted to kill itself…"
Zhao Chen looked at him gloomily while having a dry ration.
"I saw it…" Shen Zhe was grim.
A regular fox would've succumbed to such temptation. However, this fox was trying to kill itself…
It seemed that such a method would not work!
"You're asking for this…"
If carrots didn't work, he might as well choose sticks.
Raising one of his eyebrows, Shen Zhe drew a branch and whipped the fox.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
The tied-up Blue Fox started to flinch in panic.
"You have two choices. You can obey me and live a good life with chicken meat. Or you will die from whipping!" Shen Zhe offered his terms.
"Zhi! Zhi! Zhi!"
The Blue Fox gazed at him determinedly.
"You're still not surrendering?" Shen Zhe raised the branch and was about to whip again.
Zhao Chen couldn't tolerate the violence anymore. He said, "Beasts need to feel grateful if you want to tame them. Beating it up won't work…"
"Make them feel grateful?"
Shen Zhe frowned and nodded. "Alright!"
He raised the branch and whipped again.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
"Are you grateful?"
"Zhi! Zhi! Zhi!"
The Blue Fox screamed and shook its head, not daring to move at all.
He whipped for a while longer and the Blue Fox stopped moving. Zhao Chen stopped him and said, "That's enough. It'll die if you continue…"
Shen Zhe lowered his head. The Blue Fox was indeed barely breathing.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
His lips twitched.
Its blood was only useful while it was alive. It would be of no use if it died.
He touched the beast, only to discover that its heart had almost stopped beating.
Shen Zhe felt like passing out.
He merely wanted to tame the beast and it was dying?
Wasn't it a beast?
They could be killed this easily?
Shen Zhe untied the beast and asked Zhao Chen to give it some water.
Zhao Chen sniffed and said, "I told you not to try taming the beast. We could've had the chicken ourselves. Why did you waste your time?"
"Can you think of something else other than the chicken?"
Shen Zhe snorted, clearly knowing his intention. Before he finished, the Blue Box suddenly jerked and fled out of the cave.
"It was pretending to be dead…"
Shen Zhe finally realized what was going on.
He thought that it was just a silly animal, but it seemed much smarter than himself!
Foxes were truly clever in every world!
"You think you can run?"
Shen Zhe sneered and quickly appeared at the entrance of the cave, catching the Blue Fox that had yet to escape.
He had caught the beast in the empty environment moments before; he could certainly do so again in a small cave.
"Zhi! Zhi! Zhi! Zhi!"
The Blue Fox dropped its disguise after being caught again; it appeared so determined, as if it wouldn't bend even if it was killed.
Tossing it to the ground, Shen Zhe whipped it again and said, "From now on, I'll beat you up every time you escape!"
The Blue Fox seemed to have understood what he said. It stopped moving as if it had lost the will to live.
Waiting for a moment and seeing that it stopped trying to run, Shen Zhe nodded in satisfaction and threw the roasted Pearl Chicken to it.
The Blue Fox looked at Shen Zhe in confusion. Maybe it was because the temptation was too much, or maybe it was because it had given up, but the beast began to devour it.
"That's more like it!"
Nodding in satisfaction, Shen Zhe hesitated for a moment before taking out a jade bottle.
The herb liquid he made earlier had been used up, but a few drops had to remain in the container.
Since the beast had been beaten up, such herb liquid could help it recover.
"Have it!"
Shen Zhe gave the herb liquid to the beast.
The Blue Fox swallowed it.
Zi! Zi! Zi!
The resigned Blue Fox bulged its eyes. It looked at Shen Zhe in disbelief after the herb liquid entered its body.
"That's all I have. If you want more, I can refine some for you next time…" Shen Zhe shook his head, thinking that the beast indeed wanted more.
"Zhi! Zhi! Zhi!"
The Blue Fox hesitated for a moment. It suddenly rose and its tongue; a drop of blood flowed out.
Shen Zhe was stunned. After that, he saw that the drop of blood had disappeared into the center of his eyebrows.
In the next moment, mental communication was established in his head. It seemed that every movement of the beast could be controlled by him.
"Did you… really tame it?"
Zhao Chen was frozen stiff, feeling that his head was about to explode.
Beating it up and then offering it some food and herb liquid…
Since when did animal taming become so easy?