Li Songhai's gaze wavered as he said, "I think you might have misunderstood something about me. I wasn’t following you. I was just sitting there, and it was your ghost-type pet that suddenly knocked me out with Hypnosis for no reason."

"Oh, really?" Qiao Sang replied.

"Then, according to you, your flying-type pet ambushing me from behind was also a misunderstanding?"

Hearing this, Li Songhai nodded fervently.

"It was! It really was! I haven’t had my Rain Swallow for long and haven't fully trained it, so it just randomly used a skill on the road."

Qiao Sang stared at Li Songhai, her dark eyes observing him like he was a clown putting on a show. After a moment, she spoke.

"Then, what about later, when your Steel-Clad Leg Monster grabbed the pet in my backpack?"

Li Songhai, meeting her gaze, felt immense pressure build up.

He hadn’t expected a high schooler to have such an intimidating presence.

What he expected even less was that, even after he had fainted, his Steel-Clad Leg Monster hadn’t forgotten to grab her Water Luriana.

How could he make an excuse for that?

"Have you heard of Memory Reading?" Qiao Sang asked suddenly.

Li Songhai blinked.

"Yes."

Memory Reading was an advanced skill for ghost-type pets, allowing them to enter someone’s mind and directly access their deepest memories.

While this skill was highly effective for interrogating criminals, the Alliance had regulations that prohibited its use on humans until a pet’s mastery of it was nearly flawless.

One reason was to protect privacy and human rights.

The other was that an unskilled Memory Reading could easily cause brain damage, even leading to symptoms as severe as dementia.

Li Songhai was momentarily unsure why the girl before him had suddenly brought this up. It was rather unnerving.

Qiao Sang resumed her friendly smile.

"If you still won’t tell the truth, I’ll have Little Treasure use Memory Reading on you."

"Xun!"

Little Treasure grinned, baring his teeth.

Li Songhai looked up, startled, at the small ghost.

"Your pet… it can do Memory Reading?!" He asked in disbelief.

This pet looked like a beginner; how could it possibly have an advanced skill?

Wait! Li Songhai’s nerves suddenly tightened. If this ghost-type pet was really as simple as it looked, then why did his Steel-Clad Leg Monster and Rain Swallow collapse?

Just as Li Songhai began to doubt, Qiao Sang delivered her final blow.

"Little Treasure, Memory Reading." Qiao Sang commanded.

"Xun~"

Little Treasure floated in Li Songhai's direction as if to enter his mind.

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!" Li Songhai shouted desperately, fearing that if he hesitated, this ghost-type pet might actually dive into his mind.

Becoming brain-dead was minor, but having his secrets exposed would be catastrophic!

Though he still didn’t fully believe that this ghost-type pet with a beginner appearance could have such a high-level skill, he didn’t dare to risk it.

A person could die, but never suffer social death!

Only he knew how many secrets he’d hidden since childhood.

"Little Treasure, stop." Qiao Sang called out in time.

Little Treasure paused.

Li Songhai took a deep breath, steadying himself, and finally said, "It was for the pet in your backpack."

Qiao Sang stayed silent, her gaze fixed on him.

Li Songhai felt his scalp prickling.

"I came to the Yuhua region from the Ancient Guwu region… for it."

Qiao Sang continued watching him without speaking.

Li Songhai swallowed, then continued, "The pet in your bag is called Water Luriana. In the Ancient Guwu region, it’s an endangered species. Normally, endangered pets are protected by the Alliance, making them hard for ordinary people to access. But this one was an exception."

"It emerged from a rift in the Mystic Realm a few months ago."

At this, a change crossed Li Songhai's face. After a brief hesitation, he continued, "I got this task from the dark web."

Qiao Sang: !!!

Qiao Sang kept a calm expression, but inside, her mind was screaming, What the hell?!

So, it wasn’t him personally wanting to contract Water Luriana?

Doesn’t that mean others know about Water Luriana too?!

Afraid that she might not understand, Li Songhai explained, "The dark web is an encrypted network built on the current internet. Anything can be traded there. A few months ago, someone posted a job there to locate Water Luriana, giving the precise location where it last appeared. Besides me, several others also took the job."

Qiao Sang tried to maintain a neutral expression.

So there were others as well.

Li Songhai noticed her silence and felt increasingly uneasy.

He’d said so much, yet she hadn’t reacted at all?

Stiffly, Li Songhai continued, "I had a stroke of luck and happened to track Water Luriana’s movements, which led me here."

"Don’t worry; no one else knows that Water Luriana is here. I won’t tell anyone."

Qiao Sang, hearing this, relaxed a little and decided to proceed with her plan.

"So, this Water Luriana you're talking about… is it this?" Qiao Sang opened her backpack and took out Water Luriana.

Water Luriana stared at Li Songhai with round, innocent eyes.

Why would she take it out? Wasn’t she afraid he might snatch it? But then again, he was in no position to do that.

Li Songhai looked disappointed.

"Yes, that’s it."

As soon as he spoke, his eyes widened in shock.

Before him, Water Luriana began to melt, slowly transforming into a large-headed pet with shiny black eyes, pale blue horns on either side of its head, a short tail, and smooth, slippery blue skin.

Li Songhai was completely dumbfounded.

This… this wasn’t Water Luriana at all!

Qiao Sang explained, "This is Phantom Baby Water, a pet that can transform into the appearance of other pets. It’s not the Water Luriana you’re looking for."

"Baby!"

Phantom Water Baby cried out, then melted again, transforming into Little Treasure, before melting once more and reforming as a miniature Flame Hound.

Li Songhai stared at this spectacle with his mouth agape, frozen for several seconds before murmuring, "Why did it take on Water Luriana's appearance?"

Qiao Sang replied calmly, "A while back, I saw people discussing Water Luriana on a forum. I looked it up, thought it was cute, and had Phantom Water Baby mimic it."

"Oh, right."

Qiao Sang added casually, "I remember that person saying he saw it on Shuwu Street in Gong City."

Gong City? Shuwu Street? Ancient Guwu region?!

Li Songhai: !!!

Back at home, Qiao Sang returned to her room, sat cross-legged on her bed, and began meditating.

The fact that more than one person knew about Water Luriana’s existence filled her with a sense of urgency.

Right now, her top priority was to unlock more of her brain’s potential so that the Beast Taming Codex could reveal another page, allowing her to contract Water Luriana before anything unexpected happened.

In the courtyard…

Yabao was showing Water Luriana his Flame Charge.

With flames engulfing his entire body, Yabao charged at a stone about 50 centimeters tall.

Boom!

With a loud bang, the stone shattered into pieces.

"Yap."

Yabao stopped and nodded at Water Luriana.

"Lu lu!"

Watching Yabao nod at her, Water Luriana felt a surge of energy.

She gathered her internal power, and water began to appear around her tail.

The next second, the water wrapped around Water Luriana’s body in a tight, swirling current.