The words caused the entire shop to fall silent.
A shop assistant quickly moved to the middle-aged woman’s side and whispered, “Boss, are you sure you should say that? What if you scare the customers away.”
The middle-aged woman bared her teeth and punched the assistant hard on the head. “I know! You don’t need to tell me!”
She then looked at Lu Fei again, seeing the young man frozen in place. *He’s scared now, isn’t he?* she thought.
“Hurry up! Take it away quickly!” the middle-aged woman ordered her assistant again.
From the moment the boss lady mentioned that this contract beast had killed the beast tamer who had trained it, Lu Fei had been staring intently at it. The contract beast’s eyes had also been fixed on Lu Fei.
The two, person and beast, locked eyes. The contract beast’s gaze slowly shifted from ferocity to calm. Finally, its hands still gripped the iron bar, but its proud head bowed.
Seeing it, Lu Fei’s eyes ignited with a fervent light. After an internal struggle, he finally made up his mind. He wanted to tame this contract beast!
Lu Fei pondered for a moment, then feigning hesitation, said, “Boss, how about I handle this contract beast for you?” He knew from his experience in the martial world that showing too much excitement would only make the other party raise their price.
The middle-aged woman paused, then asked curiously, “How do you intend to handle it?”
Lu Fei shrugged. “I’ve looked around and haven’t found a contract beast that suits me. Although this one looks fierce, I feel a connection with it. I want to take it with me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged woman sneered. “What nonsense are you talking? With your abilities, how could you possibly tame it? One slash from it, and you’d be cut in half!” She gestured as she spoke, wiping her neck and then rolling her eyes in a show of exasperation.
“Hahaha! Students are just students, with little knowledge and too much confidence!” The shop assistants burst into laughter, doubling over. Although they weren't powerful beast tamers, they had over a decade of experience in taming contract beasts. If even they couldn't tame this beast, then for this young man to try was nothing short of suicidal!
Ke Xin also knew the danger of the [Sword Guard]. She didn’t want Lu Fei to take such a risk and chimed in, “Yes, Brother Fei, forget it. Let’s look at other contract beasts.”
Lu Fei gently patted Ke Xin’s shoulder, signaling her not to worry, a smile on his face. “Boss, you were going to dispose of it anyway. If I’m lucky enough to tame it, I’ll be solving your problem. If I can’t, then any accident that happens is not your concern.”
Hearing Lu Fei’s words, the middle-aged woman gradually stopped smiling. “Are you serious?”
Lu Fei nodded, his expression sincere. The middle-aged woman paused, then after some deliberation, waved her hand again. “Forget it, forget it. Even if you volunteer, I can’t bear that kind of risk!”
Two shop assistants, as if anticipating this, picked up the cage and prepared to leave. Lu Fei immediately stopped them.
He then declared, “Boss, how about this? I’ll buy this cage from you. That way, anything that happens after we leave the shop will have nothing to do with you.”
The middle-aged woman pondered for a moment. Her eyes darted around, and a bright smile returned to her face. She said leisurely, “My cage isn’t cheap, you know!”
*What a shrewd merchant…* Lu Fei twitched the corner of his mouth. “Name your price. If it’s reasonable, I’ll buy it.”
“One hundred thousand!”
“You—” Lu Fei once again suppressed the urge to curse. He took a deep breath and said firmly, “Deal!”
The middle-aged woman was overjoyed. She had thought she was making a loss-making sale, but unexpectedly, a foolish patron was willing to pay for it.
When it was time to pay, the rich young lady indeed offered to pay for Lu Fei, but he refused. Lu Fei wasn’t the type to rely on women!
After they settled the bill, the two prepared to leave the shop. “Boss, are you really letting them go just like that? What if something happens?” one of the assistants asked cautiously.
The middle-aged woman’s brow was furrowed. As a businesswoman, and one who had transitioned from being a matchmaker, she believed that as long as something was sold and money was made, it was a good thing. However, this particular sale made her feel uneasy. Even if she wasn't liable for any consequences, she still felt a sense of guilt if the contract beast were to kill someone.
After a moment of hesitation, the middle-aged woman called out to Lu Fei, “Customer, please wait.”
Lu Fei blinked, his first thought being that she was going to go back on her word. But then, he heard the boss lady say with a smile, “Taming a contract beast requires a comfortable environment. You seem to be just a student and probably can’t find a suitable place. How about this? I have a special place for taming contract beasts behind my shop. I’ll lend it to you temporarily?”
Lu Fei looked at the boss lady with disbelief. *You don’t seem like the kind of person who would help others out of the goodness of your heart…* he muttered to himself. But then, he thought that if this were true, it would be even better, as he wasn't entirely confident about subduing the contract beast.
He turned and said, “Thank you, Boss!”
A while later, led by the middle-aged woman, Lu Fei arrived at a spacious courtyard. The area was vast, almost the size of a basketball court, with individual rooms resembling cages built around the perimeter. The low growls of contract beasts could be heard intermittently from within. Lu Fei glanced at one of the cages, where a person dressed similarly to the shop assistants was taming a contract beast.
The boss lady led Lu Fei into one of the rooms. “This room is for you. You can start taming. If any accidents occur midway, I’ll have my assistants help you.” She paused, then added, “There will be a fee, of course!”
Lu Fei glanced at her with disdain. *As expected, you’re not that kind,* Lu Fei thought to himself. He then began preparing to tame the contract beast.
Lu Fei smiled and slowly approached the [Sword Guard], taking out some beast-taming feed from his spatial ring. However, this small action completely captivated the middle-aged woman’s attention.
“A spatial ring!” The boss lady’s expression instantly turned blank. Spatial rings were rare treasures, almost impossible to find on the market. They occasionally appeared at auctions, but were immediately bid upon fiercely by the wealthy. She had initially thought he was a poor student who couldn't afford anything in her shop, but now she realized her mistake. This single ring could probably buy her entire establishment!
Lu Fei, fully focused on taming the [Sword Guard], naturally didn’t notice the change in the boss lady’s expression. He carefully opened the iron cage and offered the beast-taming feed.
Just then, the [Sword Guard] suddenly let out a fierce roar and bit down on Lu Fei’s arm!