"It was in the corridor between the Round Corner Horse and Fire Cloud Dog breeding areas," Lin Su thought about his position at the time and answered.
"Fire Cloud Dog…" Xu Jiajia's expression became more complicated as she looked at Qiuqiu in her arms with an added sense of helplessness, "you little rascal…"
Hearing the words "Fire Cloud Dog," Qiuqiu's back arched slightly, and in an instant, its fur bristled.
"Meow! (눈_눈)ฅ"（I share no sky with Fire Cloud Dogs!）
Looking at Qiuqiu's adorably threatening appearance, Lin Su became a bit curious, "May I ask, does Qiuqiu's appearance in that area have anything to do with Fire Cloud Dogs?"
"Yes, it does," Xu Jiajia glanced at Qiuqiu, her expression turning somewhat strange, "If it's not unexpected, it should have been going to pick a fight with the Fire Cloud Dogs."
Fight...
Lin Su's expression suddenly became intrigued.
He couldn't associate the cute and clingy Xue Henqing before him with fighting.
Although one was of the ice element and the other of fire, a cat-type beast and a dog-type beast, it was indeed hard for them to coexist, but for Qiuqiu to take the initiative to pick fights was very rare.
"It was like this…" Xu Jiajia paused before explaining, "Last year, a very special Fire Cloud Dog appeared in the Fire Cloud Dog breeding area. After the breeders assessed it, they determined the Fire Cloud Dog had an extremely irritable temperament, which was very abnormal."
"So, after discussing the matter, the breeding area decided to separate that Fire Cloud Dog from the others for solitary breeding. Unexpectedly, we weren't attentive enough and it escaped," Xu Jiajia rubbed Qiuqiu's head and sighed softly.
"The place for solitary breeding was not far from the Xue Henqing breeding area. That irritable Fire Cloud Dog broke into the Xue Henqing breeding area, and by the time we subdued it, several Xue Henqings had already been severely injured."
"Among these Xue Henqings was Qiuqiu's mother, who was already pregnant at the time. After struggling to give birth to Qiuqiu, she died not long after due to the recurrence of her injuries. Qiuqiu's father was also bought and left the breeding garden not long after it was weaned," Xu Jiajia's face showed a trace of heartache, "You know the nature of Xue Henqing."
Lin Su nodded.
Xue Henqing cubs are raised by their mothers, and for the father to stay until weaning was already very responsible. Qiuqiu's mother died shortly after it was born, so the little guy had to rely on itself from a very early age.
Thinking of this, he felt an inexplicable pain in his heart. Perhaps it was the association of Qiuqiu's past with his own that made Lin Su's gaze towards Qiuqiu grow even more affectionate.
"The breeding area cannot feed each beast separately, they are all put together to fight for their food, and this also serves to train their combativeness. Other Xue Henqing cubs are protected by their parents and get more food, while Qiuqiu did not have that privilege, so we had to breed Qiuqiu separately."
"You must have noticed, Qiuqiu's temperament is not quite like the other Xue Henqings. In Qiuqiu's eyes, our feeding it separately is a show of favoritism, and over time it started to grow closer to humans than its own kind."
Looking at the obediently curled up Qiuqiu in Xu Jiajia's arms and the nearby Xue Henqings that were indifferent to the students, Lin Su began to understand why Qiuqiu was so different.
But then, he frowned slightly, "What happened to that irritable Fire Cloud Dog in the end? Qiuqiu wasn't born yet, so why would it go find Fire Cloud Dogs to fight?"
"Given that it attacked other beasts, that Fire Cloud Dog naturally couldn't stay in the breeding area. It has been sent to the treatment center for solitary care. Although Qiuqiu did not experience these events, its father must have told it about them," Xu Jiajia gave a wry smile. "So from a young age, Qiuqiu has held a strong dislike for Fire Cloud Dogs, and now it often runs to the Fire Cloud Dog breeding area to fight."
"Fortunately, the breeders in the Fire Cloud Dog breeding area are aware of the situation, and each time they pick a Fire Cloud Dog with strength comparable to Qiuqiu to have a fight, treating it as training for Qiuqiu's combat skills."
Qiuqiu twisted its body and began to cry out in dissatisfaction.
"Meow! Meow! (´ω｀ฅ)"（I win every time! Fire Cloud Dogs are nothing much!）
"Okay, okay, Qiuqiu is the best," Xu Jiajia chuckled, looking up at Lin Su, "What do you think? Would you like to take Qiuqiu away?"
Xu Jiajia wouldn't have spent so much effort talking to a stranger without a reason. She went into such detail because she saw that Lin Su was very fond of Qiuqiu, and judging by Qiuqiu's behavior when Lin Su carried it back, it seemed to also have a good impression of him.
Although she really liked Qiuqiu and didn't want the little one to leave, Xu Jiajia knew that for a beast, growing up with a Beast Tamer was the best choice, and this young man before her seemed very suitable.
It certainly wasn't because he was very handsome.
Lin Su was slightly taken aback, then subconsciously looked at Qiuqiu.
And Qiuqiu's gaze, filled with a bit of nervousness, was fixed on Lin Su.
(ಠωಠ)
After a long moment of eye contact between human and beast, a radiant smile suddenly spread across Lin Su's face.
"Alright."
He had changed his mind.
Xue Henqing's inherent species aptitude was actually quite good, the only problem being that it had no evolutionary path.
Lacking an evolutionary path didn't mean there was no potential for future evolution, it just meant the future was not clear and might require developing a completely new evolutionary path oneself.