After a long while, green orbs of light appeared and vanished around the stele, and looking at the disheveled group emerging from the orbs, Feng Yuan laughed and said,
"Go get your rewards from the stele～"
"Ji～"
"Eh? You came out so early?"
Qi Chen straightened his clothes and looked at Feng Yuan, who was sitting by the side playing with Xiao Ji, with surprise. Seeing Feng Yuan teasing Xiao Ji with a foxtail grass, he said somewhat speechlessly,
"Is your Xiao Ji a cat?"
"Nope～"
"Then why are you teasing it with foxtail grass?"
"It's fun～"
"Ji～"
Seeing Xiao Ji enjoying itself, Qi Chen shook his head and turned to inspect the Spiritual Medicine on the stele with Ah Mu. After a while, as everyone packed the Spiritual Medicine into their backpacks, Feng Yuan casually tossed aside the foxtail grass and, holding the still-engaged Xiao Ji, walked toward the rest of the group.
"Where to next?"
Zhong Liuyan, somewhat excited, asked Feng Yuan, who glanced at the Gate of Light that had appeared in front of the statue and replied,
"Out we go, where else could we?"
Zhong Liuyan looked around, realized they were in an enclosed courtyard, and said reluctantly,
"Alright..."
No sooner had they stepped through the Gate of Light than a woman who had been waiting by Lei Tan rushed over. Xiao Ji, wary, looked at the woman and gave a warning cry,
"Ji!"
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Sorry, sorry～ I got too excited."
Seeing Feng Yuan take out his sickle and eye her guardedly, the woman stepped back a few paces and apologized to the group. Zhong Liuyan, glancing at the woman's clothing with some confusion, asked,
"Are you from Maomu University?"
"Yeah～ I'm a third-year in the archaeology department at Maomu University. My name is Tang Menglan, but you can just call me Meng Lan～ You are students from Second High, right? Did you find anything inside Thunder Pond Sanctuary? Can you share it with me?"
"Sorry, but can't we just look your information up on the official website?"
"Sure, sure, this is our mentor Professor Gu Hongyi."
Zhong Liuyan eyed Tang Menglan warily as Meng Lan introduced the middle-aged man approaching them. After a moment, Pei Yu whispered something to Zhong Liuyan, who nodded and said,
"Fine, we can share what we found in Thunder Pond Sanctuary with you, but what's in it for us?"
As Zhong Liuyan spoke with them, Feng Yuan began feeling bored and walked to one side with Xiao Ji. Suddenly, several rough-looking men jumped out, one of them pointing at Feng Yuan and shouting,
"It was you! You stole my Dreaming Dragon Baby!"
"Ji?"
"Ao?"
"Kid! So it was you who stole my bro's Dreaming Dragon Baby? Bold of you!"
The burly leader clenched his fists and said menacingly to Feng Yuan, who rolled his eyes, placed Xiao Ji on his head, took out his sickle, and assumed a fighting stance, disdainfully saying,
"Enough already, wasn't making a scene in front of the tower enough for you? If you want more, then bring it on!"
"Ao!"
The Dreaming Dragon Baby haughtily glanced at the gang before floating into the air. Upon hearing Feng Yuan's words, the gang summoned their own Spirit Beasts; most of them were Barren Earth Wild Boars, and only the burly leader's was a Vile Water Ape. Feng Yuan, unimpressed, remarked,
"So with these, you think you can rob like real thieves?"
"Ao!"
"Fuck! You're sneak attacking!"
The Dreaming Dragon Baby yawned and unleashed the Fire Vortex skill directly at the gang. Not to be outdone, Xiao Ji used the Fire Whirlwind attack. Feng Yuan sighed, put away his sickle, and watched as Xiao Ji and the Dreaming Dragon Baby alternated using various Fire Vortexes and Fire Whirlwinds on the gang. Soon, not having managed to threaten effectively, the men fled with their tails between their legs.
"Ji～"
"Ao～～"
"You two, really, did you have to bully them so harshly?"
Feng Yuan chuckled and picked up Xiao Ji to ruffle its fluffy head while the Dreaming Dragon Baby looked disdainfully at Feng Yuan for a moment, then curled up on his shoulder to resume sleeping.
"What's up? Were those thugs bothering you again?"
Qi Chen had just turned around when he saw Xiao Ji and the Dreaming Dragon Baby thrashing the gang. After the gang ran away, he asked in bewilderment; Feng Yuan simply nodded and replied,
"Yeah, they just came out of nowhere. If they come back, I won't be so kind."
"What are you planning to do?"
"Release Death Storm to send them to the hospital for a cooldown."
"Don't! Don't do that! Better to call the police."
Hearing Feng Yuan's words, Qi Chen rushed to persuade him, while Zhong Liuyan walked over with some confusion and asked,
"What's going on? Call the police? What happened?"
"Nothing much, just a few fools who can't see the situation right came looking for trouble."
"Huh?"
"Those hoodlums who were causing trouble at Panlong Tower seem to have come to harass him again."
"Causing trouble?"
Tang Menglan observed Feng Yuan with some confusion. Although Feng Yuan wasn't dressed particularly well, he didn't look poor, and he even had an Eggshell Chicken sitting on his head, which puzzled her.
"Ah! Dreaming Dragon Baby!"
Just as Tang Menglan's gaze swept over Feng Yuan's shoulder, the Dreaming Dragon Baby decided to switch positions to continue sleeping, startling her with its sudden movement, and she pointed at it in surprise while looking at Feng Yuan.
"It's the Dreaming Dragon Baby, what about it?"
"Could I observe it for a bit?"
"Sure, as long as it doesn't get angry."
Tang Menglan cautiously approached to observe the Dreaming Dragon Baby sleeping on Feng Yuan's shoulder. Seeing Tang Menglan's action, Xiao Ji got somewhat unhappy, crawling in front of Feng Yuan's forehead trying to bend down and have an eye-to-eye with him. Seeing a tuft of bright yellow fluff suddenly wave in front of his eyes, Feng Yuan pushed Xiao Ji with a smile and said,
"Xiao Ji, what are you up to now?"
"Ji~"
"Sit still, don't wiggle around."
"Ji~"
Xiao Ji waggled its body proudly, and after Tang Menglan had observed the Dreaming Dragon Baby for a while, she stepped back and said to Feng Yuan,
"This Dreaming Dragon Baby of yours, you captured it at Panlong Tower, didn't you?"
"I didn't capture it; it's just staying with me temporarily. I promised some guy that I would take it to Sleepy Dragon Valley when vacation starts."
"Sleepy Dragon Valley, huh? That's a good place for it. But don't you plan to sign a contract with it?"
"Ji!"
Feng Yuan chuckled while petting Xiao Ji and said,
"Why sign a contract with it? I have Xiao Ji; that's enough for now. It's still a long way before I can sign another Beast Tamer contract, so no need to consider it."
"You sure take it easy. Some people would go out of their way to sign a Beast Tamer contract with a Dreaming Dragon Baby like that. You seem to be disdaining it a bit."
"Ji~"
"It's not disdain; just unnecessary. Do you need something from me? You seem to have come over here especially."
Feng Yuan said, looking over at Professor Gu who was studying a photo on Pei Yu's phone and the youth beside him. Tang Menglan smiled and said to Feng Yuan,
"I was hoping to ask you about the entry rules for Thunder Pond Sanctuary. After all, some things aren't very clear just by looking at photos."
"Entry rules? I only guess it has something to do with the Dreaming Dragon Baby; probably you can get in if you have one. But I'm not very clear on the details."
"Eh? Just like that? Why must it be the Dreaming Dragon Baby?"
"Don't know, you might try asking Lord Yimu Qingling yourself—though, I remember that he doesn't have a Divine Pact Maker right now, does he?"
Hearing Feng Yuan's words, Tang Menglan said with some longing,
"Yes, Lord Yimu Qingling doesn't have a Divine Pact Maker now. I wonder who the lucky person will be."
"Ji~"
"Haha, look at your Eggshell Chicken acting so smug. Doesn't it know that if you become a Divine Pact Maker, it won't be able to keep up with your pace?"
"Ji!"
"No way, I have no interest in becoming a Divine Pact Maker~"
Feng Yuan said, laughing as he rubbed Xiao Ji. Proudly, Xiao Ji looked at Tang Menglan, who, still smiling, said,
"You can't be so sure about that~ Anyone's heart would be moved in front of a Divine Beast, right?"
"Ji!"
"If you keep talking like that, be careful Xiao Ji might peck you~"
Feng Yuan said with a light chuckle, sensing that Xiao Ji was getting a bit angry. Tang Menglan turned and left with a smile, and Qi Chen watched Feng Yuan with some puzzlement.