"Meow, meow!" (Don't worry, Lin Su, you just focus on healing. I'll get stronger and protect you!)
Soon enough, Qiuqiu hopped out of the window and began preparing according to Lin Su's request.
Curious, Lin Su peered out the window.
There were more than just Qiuqiu in the garden; there were quite a few other young pet beasts frolicking.
Qiuqiu wondered if it could get along with these pet beasts happily.
Speaking of which...
Thank goodness his former self hadn't bought a Fire Cloud Dog, otherwise Qiuqiu would certainly have gotten its fur in a fluff right now.
...
Agilely jumping down from the window, Qiuqiu curiously sized up the vast garden before it.
In fact, the last time it had returned to Lin Su's room from the Frost Fall Mountain Range, it had passed by this garden. But back then, with Lin Su gravely injured, it hadn't had the heart to pay any attention to everything in the garden, so this was really the first time it observed it.
A few minutes later, Qiuqiu confidently lifted its head.
"Meow! (￣ω￣)ฅ" (Running route set!)
It tiptoed to the edge of the garden and blew gently ahead of itself, and a large expanse of snowflakes began to fall, laying out a large snow blanket two to three meters ahead.
The icy environment created by Snow Blow, as a manifestation of supernatural power, was not ordinary ice and snow. Such snowflakes seemed light and easy to melt, but in fact, unless they encountered a fire attribute or clearly high temperatures, they could maintain their form for a very long time in other conditions.
As soon as the snow blanket materialized, ice flowers bloomed beneath Qiuqiu's feet, and in two or three light steps, it reached the other end of the snow blanket. Then it blew forward vigorously, extending the snow blanket by several meters.
By simply going around the garden's edge and using Snow Blow, a garden running track covered in ice and snow could be easily created for Qiuqiu's training that day.
However, things weren't that simple.
Before long, Qiuqiu's actions came to a halt, for there was a Bright Light Group lazily sprawling in the sun in the area of its next snowblow.
Hesitating for a moment, Qiuqiu approached the Bright Light Group, "Meow~(￣ω￣)ฅ" (Excuse me, big guy, could you move aside?)
The Bright Light Group shifted its body a bit, "Pur-jee. (◕﹏◕)" (Then you'll need to wait a moment.)
Its body slowly gathered from a spread-out pancake-like state into a drop or ellipsoid shape, and then it began to move towards the edge of the track. However, because it had no limbs, its speed was extremely slow.
Qiuqiu: (-_-)
This feels like it's going to take a long time...
As it inwardly grumbled, the moving Bright Light Group seemed to sense Qiuqiu's dissatisfaction, its form trembled slightly, and it came to a halt.
"Pur-jee... (╥﹏╥)" (Did I cause you trouble...)
Huh?
Qiuqiu lifted its head and stared blankly at the Bright Light Group for a good while, then vigorously shook its head and trotted over, rubbing its body against the group's slight fuzz.
"Meow! (´ω｀)" (Not at all!)
"Pur-jee! (*￣▽￣*)" (That's a relief!)
Qiuqiu didn't complain further; it stood by the Bright Light Group's side, moving alongside it towards the side, all the while continuously cheering it on.
It took a good five minutes for the Bright Light Group to move to the side of the track.
It slowly unfolded from its gathered shape, becoming flatter and flatter until it was back to being a light yellow "pancake," using the largest area to bask in the sunlight.
"Pur-jee! (￣▽￣)" (I've moved aside!)
"Meow! ฅ(≧ω≦)ฅ" (Thanks for the trouble!)
After rubbing against the Bright Light Group again, Qiuqiu reluctantly returned to the snow blanket and continued to lay out its training track.
This time, without encountering any other obstacles, a complete circuit was quickly finished.
"Meow! (*^ω^*)" (Time to start running laps for training!)
Ice flowers bloomed beneath its feet, and Qiuqiu's speed increased continuously, eventually racing around the outer edge of the garden like a blur of snow.
One lap, two laps...
Qiuqiu burst forth with its fastest speed, putting all its energy into running, yet there was a look of dissatisfaction in its eyes.
Too slow.
The image of the Snow Lynx chasing Lin Su and itself at full speed flashed through its mind.
If only it could run that fast, if it were that powerful, Lin Su wouldn't have been hurt!
It needed to pick up even more speed.
A sheet of ice flowers formed under Qiuqiu's feet, as the energy liquid it had just drunk turned into new strength that Qiuqiu continuously absorbed and integrated into its body. Gradually, its already near-limit speed increased even further.
```
"Awoo! (＾▽＾)" (Wait for me!)
A voice appeared beside Qiuqiu, and as it turned its head, a surprised expression instantly crossed its face.
It was a little fox with golden fur and lightning patterns all over its body; right now, its paws were almost completely elemental, with golden electric arcs pulsing outward with every step it took, eventually weaving together into a large expanse of golden sparks.
Lightning Fox Talent Skill: Electric Chasing.
The Lightning Fox wasn't running on the thick blanket of snow laid out by Qiuqiu but hugged the edge of the snow closely, stepping on the garden's grass with each stride. Its full-speed running wasn't a bit slower than Qiuqiu's, who was using Snow Trace on the ice and snow, in fact, it seemed even slightly faster.
"Awoo! (‐＾▽＾‐)" (How about a running race?)
A strong desire to win stirred within Qiuqiu's heart.
"Meow! (ฅ≧ω≦)ฅ" (Bring it on!)
...
Lin Su slowly withdrew his gaze, smiling as he closed his eyes to begin meditation.
Whether it was Qiuqiu being considerate and encouraging to the Bright Light Group, or racing with the Lightning Fox were all under Lin Su's watchful eye.
It seemed Qiuqiu didn't need his worry anymore.
It had found new friends here.
Since it wasn't practicing Frost Storm this time, Qiuqiu's training session lasted a full six hours, during which it even leaped through the window to fetch a bottle of energy drink.
Not for itself, but for its newly made friend, the Lightning Fox.
Running alongside Qiuqiu, the Lightning Fox also expended a great deal of energy.
Lin Su fully supported Qiuqiu's decision to share the energy drink with its good friend.
It was just uncertain whether the Lightning Fox liked the fish-flavored energy drink or not.
This was the first time Qiuqiu focused solely on practicing Snow Trace; during the previous training sessions, Lin Su had prioritized Frost Storm, with Snow Trace as a supplementary exercise.
As a result, Qiuqiu's proficiency with Snow Trace had improved significantly. After six hours had passed, only the faintest of footprints appeared each time it stepped on the snow.
This meant that Qiuqiu's Snow Trace was about to reach Level II.
After meditating for six hours, Lin Su took the completely exhausted Qiuqiu back into the Beast Taming Space, his face showing a hint of amusement.
The effect of the medicinal paste on his back was starting to wear off. After changing his dressing with Azi's help, he drank a restorative medicine and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up again, it was morning on Blue Star.
Qiuqiu was still resting in the training space, and Lin Su didn't summon it out. Carrying his neatly packed luggage, he walked downstairs and soon saw Qin Nan, who was already waiting for him at the entrance of the welfare institute, standing next to a rugged and retro-looking off-road vehicle.
Off-road vehicle...
It somehow matched with Qin Nan's temperament quite well.
"Right on time," Qin Nan turned off her communicator and said, "Let's go, get in the car."
After placing his luggage in the trunk, Lin Su took the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt.
Qin Nan pressed the accelerator hard, and in the rearview mirror, the old gate of the Autumn Leaves Welfare Institute slowly shrank until it disappeared around a bend.
Goodbye, Autumn Leaves Welfare Institute.
...
"Aren't you from District 11? Why do you have a car in District 32?"
"Small issue, just borrowed one from the Beast Taming Association."
"Okay, so where are we headed now?"
"To catch a transport plane, you dunce. Were we supposed to fly to District 11 ourselves?"
"Alright, but..."
"Any more questions?"
"How should I address you? Teacher Qin?"
"Not that old, call me Sister Nan!"
"Ah?"
"What's with the ah? I'm only five or six years older than you."
"Okay... Sister Nan."
"Heh, buckle up, kid. Accelerating!"
"Holy shit! Slow down, slow down!"
```