Xie Sen couldn't help but feel excited because of Adam's words. He could communicate with these big guys!
Even just thinking about it was amazing.
Just as he was thinking, the Flying Rhino's voice echoed in his mind again: "After gaining energy, my abilities have increased significantly. He could defeat my former self," he sighed, "but he can't make me submit now. Perhaps our race and their family are destined to be apart."
Xie Sen heard the regret in his tone and couldn't help but ask, "Even if you're willing, can't you?"
"No," the Flying Rhino explained. "If the beast master can't make the S-rank contracted beast submit, when the bond ceremony reaches the blood-drinking stage, the beast master's aura won't be able to suppress the contracted beast, and the contracted beast will instinctively attack the beast master."
Xie Sen thought of what it had said before and asked worriedly, "If you don't bond, will your mental state improve?"
The Flying Rhino said, "I don't know. A bond between a contracted beast and its master helps stabilize its mental state. As for whether there are other ways to heal mental strength, I'm not sure."
It paused. "I feel very comfortable when I'm next to you. You might be able to help, but I'll just have to trouble you."
Xie Sen rubbed its belly. "I'd be happy if you could help," he hesitated. "Perhaps there's a way to get you to bond with him."
"What's the solution?" Flying Rhino asked hurriedly. "I'm very satisfied with this beast master. If I miss this opportunity, it might be hard to find another one."
Xie Sen recounted the story of his bond with Jin Yao. "Jin Yao is an A-rank contracted beast, and you're S-rank. I'm not sure if it will work for you."
"Give it a try," Flying Rhino said gently.
"Let him try again." Xie Sen looked at Yan Qi, who was half-kneeling on the ground, a look of dejection
in his eyes. "Try again." "It's too strong," Yan Qi said, his eyes gleaming with admiration. He clenched his fists and said shamefacedly, "I'm not worthy of it."
Xie Sen's impression of him improved. He said, "Try again. It's not in good spirits and needs your help."
Yan Qi couldn't help but feel worried. After a moment's hesitation, he stood up and looked at Flying Rhino with a determined gaze. "I'll do my best."
Flying Rhino nodded. Yan Qi looked at Xie Sen. Maine grabbed Xie Sen's hand, ready to take him away.
Xie Sen shook his head. "I'm right here."
Yan Qi was slightly surprised. Maine immediately understood and didn't leave, but stood by him.
Xie Sen said to Yan Qi, "Begin!"
Yan Qi closed his eyes, then opened them after a moment. His gaze was piercing, and his whole aura was fierce, like a peerless sword suddenly unsheathed, revealing its awe-inspiring edge.
He approached the flying rhinoceros, his hand resting on its belly. The rhinoceros' voice resonated in his mind: "It's working. Your natural aura makes me unusually calm, and I remain calm even in the face of its provocation."
Xie Sen breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
Yan Qi walked up to the flying rhinoceros, his eyes filled with surprise, but without hesitation, he opened his clothes, untied the bandages, and without hesitation, slashed a long, sharp cut across the beast pattern on its chest.
The flying rhinoceros licked his blood clean. He placed his hand on its forehead and, with a firm tone yet a slight choke, pledged his lifelong loyalty.
Soon, the bond was sealed. Yan Qi's tough face revealed a gentle expression. He stroked the flying rhinoceros' neck, finally gently touching its broken horn.
Xie Sen heard the Flying Rhino's voice: "Don't worry, our horns will regenerate."
Yan Qi's eyes widened, and he stared at the Flying Rhino in a daze.
Xie Sen was also taken aback. How could Yan Qi's reaction be as if he had heard the Flying Rhino's words?
"He seems to understand you," he couldn't help but wonder in his mind.
The Flying Rhino said, "The empathy between beast masters and contracted beasts is very high. Contracted beasts below Rank A can only sense the emotions of their masters after forming a bond. Higher-level contracted beasts can express their thoughts more accurately. My ability to express myself is more strongly influenced by energy."
Yan Qi's hand remained on it as it spoke, and he heard it too.
The words sounded abrupt to him, clearly an explanation. He didn't ask any questions. The only person who could have asked was Xie Sen, who was standing next to the Flying Rhino.
Thinking back to the previous series of events, if Xie Sen could communicate with the Flying Rhino, then everything would make sense.
He looked at Xie Sen. "You..."
Xie Sen smiled and interrupted him. "You've probably heard the rumors about my identity. Plant-type beast owners have a strong affinity for contracted beasts, and they trust me very much. I was just trying it out, and it worked unexpectedly. It's mainly because they accepted you."
Yan Qi looked at him. From Xie Sen's interruption, he understood Xie Sen's intention. He said nothing else, simply, "Thank you."
"You don't want others to know that you can communicate with me?" The flying rhinoceros cleverly understood Xie Sen's meaning.
Xie Sen smiled and said, "I've found that I don't need to say so much. Just tell him directly to keep it a secret. Sometimes the more public you are, the more dangerous and troublesome it is."
The flying rhinoceros said, "You're right. I don't want people to know either. Otherwise, we'll definitely get a lot of attention, and I don't like that."
Yan Qi patted its neck. "I understand."
"Aqi, congratulations!" Qiao Shao and the other two smiled, looking at Yan Qi with envy.
Yan Qi smiled, "Thank you." He looked at the giant tiger beast. "Mr. Qiao, can you feel your empathy with it?"
Mr. Qiao's eyes lit up. "Yes, I'm sure it's over 50%!"
The giant tiger beast roared at him with a warning, then walked over to the flying rhino beast and barked a few words.
Long Teng's eyes gleamed as he watched the majestic cat. He quietly approached, reaching out to touch it. Before he could touch it, the tiger's tail whipped towards him like a whip.
He quickly stepped back. "Wow! So fierce!"
Xie Sen looked at Long Teng in admiration. The tiger was at least three meters tall and imposing. Even though he knew it wouldn't hurt him, he didn't dare touch it like Long Teng did.
Although it looked chubby and pleasant to touch.
Unexpectedly, just as he thought this, the giant tiger beast's oversized eyes glared at him, then walked towards him, approaching.
Maine's expression froze, and he subconsciously became wary.
The giant tiger beast stopped in front of Xie Sen, looking down at him, as if dissatisfied with his height, and let out a soft growl.
Xie Sen's heart trembled. Does this big thing have the awareness of a beast? Even the smallest sound can bring pressure to people!
Maine held Xie Sen and was about to step back when he saw the giant tiger beast raised its left front leg towards Xie Sen and stretched out its claws in front of Xie Sen.
Xie Sen patted Maine's hand: "It's okay."
He stretched out his hand and placed it on the giant tiger beast's furry claws. In an instant, a strong but majestic voice came from his mind: "Human, can you understand what I say?"
Xie Sen wanted to laugh because of the contrast in its voice. He held back his laughter: "Yes, giant tiger beast."
The giant tiger beast tilted its big head and touched his hand with its claws: "The flying rhinoceros beast said you are a friend of the contracted beast. We need your help."
Xie Sen was puzzled at first, but then, thinking of the Flying Rhino's words, he speculated, "Is it related to your mental state?"
"Yes, the influence we're experiencing isn't as strong as the Flying Rhino's, so we don't necessarily need to form a pact. It's just that we're not suited to living in the forest anymore. There's daily battles in the forest, and our bellicose impulses are becoming increasingly uncontrollable."
Xie Sen: "Do you want me to take you out?"
"You're very clever," the Giant Tiger praised earnestly. Xie Sen suppressed a laugh as it continued, "We need to stay where we don't have to fight. You might need to provide food for a while. Once your mental state stabilizes, we'll double the amount."
Xie Sen surveyed its massive body, then the Giant Elephant and the Flying Eagle, wondering where to put them.
He could only think of two options: renting a place, or borrowing the Gold Medal's feeding area.
The impact of the energy had a profound impact on him. No matter what, he couldn't just ignore them. "Okay, I promise, but I need to discuss this with my friends."
"Okay," it said, preparing to lower its claws.
Xie Sen quickly reached out his hand: "By the way, how many contracted beasts are there in total?"
The giant tiger beast tilted its head and pondered for a while: "High-level contracted beasts are affected more. We have four here, and there are four more. A total of... seven?"
Xie Sen's mouth twitched: "Four plus four equals eight!"
The giant tiger beast's majestic tone could no longer be maintained, like a silly teenager: "Oh, is that all?" It blinked its big eyes.
"Yes," Xie Sen affirmed, thinking that asking beasts to do math was really putting them in a difficult position. He rubbed its paw. "You're amazing! We have four here, you're not wrong."
"Hehe," the giant tiger beast suddenly became excited, wagging its tail. "I'm really smart. Even smarter after being affected by the energy."
Long Teng, who was trying to sneak up on the giant tiger beast from behind, was nearly hit by its tail and dove aside, yelping, "That was just a little bit!"
He ran to Xie Sen's side, gazing at him enviously. "Why did it let you touch it but not me?"
Xie Sen thought for a moment. "Maybe I'm less aggressive and more approachable."
He then looked at Maine, ready to discuss how to accommodate these high-level contracted beasts. Just as he was about to speak, he remembered the others and looked at Qiao Shao and the other three.
Qiao Shao and the other three looked at him with surprise and suspicion. They had witnessed his interactions with the flying rhino and the giant tiger beast; they were truly astonishing.
"How are you planning to leave?" Xie Sen asked bluntly.
Young Master Qiao suggested, "Why don't we go together?"
Maine coldly declined, "No, the aircraft can only carry four people at most. You can make contact on your own."
Young Master Qiao said, "The aircraft we've reserved will search for us overhead every afternoon at 5:00 PM. There's no signal here, so you can't contact it. How about I get on board and help you contact it?"
Maine didn't want to agree, but he worried about delaying too long and risking danger. He looked at Xie Sen.
Xie Sen thought this method was quite safe, if more expensive. He asked, "How long have you been in the forest?"
"Five days."
Xie Sen felt relieved. They could definitely stay overnight. He said, "We still need to find some things, so we won't be leaving for now. You should go ahead."
Young Master Qiao advised, "The forest is very dangerous. We've been lucky not to encounter many wild beasts along the way; otherwise, we'd probably be in trouble a long time ago."
Xie Sen immediately understood that the beasts had been converging due to their energy, so they had encountered fewer of them.
However, so far, only he had achieved his goal among the four of them, and he was reluctant to leave now. "Thank you for the reminder. We'll be careful."
Qiao Shao knew he was determined, so he stopped trying to persuade him. He looked at the giant tiger beast and said, "I'm the giant tiger beast's master. I'd like to try to form a bond with it."
Xie Sen stepped aside, making room. "Go ahead." The
giant tiger beast roared at Qiao Shao, baring its sharp teeth, an instinctive rejection of its master.
Qiao Shao's expression grew cautious, and he approached the giant tiger beast. However, he soon stopped, his face pale, a mixture of frustration and resentment.
Xie Sen wasn't surprised. The giant tiger beast looked powerful, especially after being affected by the energy.
In fact, he was curious about the strength of those who could subjugate high-level contracted beasts with their aura. Just looking at their sheer size, he felt it was impossible for a human to defeat them.
He subconsciously glanced at Maine and Long Teng, wondering if they could pull it off.
Young Master Qiao clenched his fists and suddenly looked at Xie Sen with fanatical expectation in his eyes: "Can you help me?"
Xie Sen shook his head, thought for a while and approached the giant tiger beast. He reached out and touched its front legs: "Do you want to form a contract with him?"
"Huh, no, he's not strong enough."
Xie Sen rubbed its smooth fur and said to Young Master Qiao: "I can't help you."
Young Master Qiao stared at him: "You are lying, you just helped Aqi." He said with a wry smile, "Do you hate me? I thought I was always very graceful in pursuing you."
Maine stared at him with a cold face and a sinister look in his eyes. Xie Sen held Maine's hand, feeling uneasy. Maine's reaction was too strong.
He said to Qiao Shao, "You misunderstood. I truly can't help you. You should know that when a beast master forms a pact with a contracted beast, the beast's willingness is paramount. Tigers are naturally powerful. If your abilities aren't recognized by it, no one can help you."
Qiao Shao was stunned for a moment, then said shamefacedly, "I'm sorry, I was too impatient. I'll work hard to improve my abilities."
His expression quickly returned to normal. "This place is too secluded for aircraft to detect us. We need to get out in the open and conspicuous. Are you leaving?"
Xie Sen shook his head. Qiao Shao said, "Take care."
The chestnut-haired boy said, "Aqi, what about the flying rhinoceros?"
Aqi said, "It can't ride an aircraft, and I don't have an S-level contract space buckle. We'll have to meet up outside the forest." He spoke, stroking the flying rhinoceros's neck.
"But..." The boy glanced worriedly at the flying rhinoceros's broken horn.
"It's okay," Yan Qi said.
Xie Sen saw his calm expression and knew the flying rhinoceros must have said something.
Qiao Shao and his four companions left, leaving only the five high-level contracted beasts and Xie Sen in the valley surrounded by mountains.
Xie Sen no longer hesitated and directly stated the giant tiger beast's request: "They are too big, and we need to have a sufficient range of movement. If we rent a house, we need a large house, and it must be on the first floor." "
Another way is to contact Jinpai and rent the feeding area directly. The feeding area four and five of the Jinpai store where I work are both empty, but I don't know if they rent it out." "
So you work at Jinpai!" Long Teng smiled brightly. "Just put them in Jinpai. I can just contact my father and ask him to lend us the space."
"Father?" Xie Sen was puzzled. The part of the book he had read about Long Teng's life story had not yet been revealed, but it was said that his background should be very powerful. He never worried about money and did things as he pleased, which was very enjoyable for readers.
Long Teng scratched the back of his head. "Yes, my father is the boss of Jinpai. Grandpa forbade me to tell anyone," he grinned. "But it should be okay to tell you!"
Xie Sen was speechless when he thought of Xu Da saying he knew the gold medal boss. What did he mean by knowing? The boss was his son!
He looked at Long Teng and sighed, "So you're a rich second-generation, no wonder you can easily pull out such powerful weapons."
Long Teng smiled and said, "Ah? It's nothing, actually. In elementary school, the classmates who knew my identity didn't want to fight with me. It was too boring."
Bai Jiao shook his head, "Who would dare to fight the son of the Long family?"
Long Teng looked at him with a confused look on his face, "Why not? I won't ask my father for help."
Bai Jiao said helplessly, "Just because you don't ask, doesn't mean others won't be afraid. The business giant Long family, just because they are pirates, is enough to make people afraid."
Long Teng snorted, "They are all cowards." He smiled and looked at Maine, "It's still more refreshing to fight with you!"
Maine glanced at him indifferently and said nothing.
Xie Sen smiled and said, "If that's easy, are we going to stay here tonight?"
Bai Jiao said, "I want to go back to the waterfall and take a look. There are red flowers growing there that I want to pick." Maine
said, "It doesn't matter. The Flying Eagle Beast has appeared because of the mutation. The contracted beasts that haven't appeared are probably not here."
Long Teng said, "I don't feel any danger in the central forest. We can stay here for a night and maybe have a good fight."
Xie Sen walked over to the Flying Rhino and touched its neck: "Have you seen Flying Lion Beast and Flying Dragon Beast?"
"No, I have never seen them. They shouldn't be in the Desolate Forest."
Xie Sen relayed his words to Maine and Long Teng. Long Teng blinked, suddenly pointed at the Flying Rhino and shouted, "Can you understand what it says?"
Xie Sen raised his hand to his lips and gestured, "Shh, this is a secret. Don't tell anyone. It doesn't count as understanding what it says. You can communicate with it when you come into contact with it."
"How cool!" Long Teng excitedly ran over to the flying rhino and patted its belly. "Can you talk to me?"
The flying rhino brushed his back with its tail, and Long Teng exclaimed excitedly, "Wow, so clever!"
Xie Sen smiled and relayed their discussion to the giant tiger beast. He then asked the flying rhino for help, asking it to take them back to the waterfall.
As the flying rhino flew downstream, a sudden burst of anxious barking echoed from the clifftop.
Xie Sen looked over and saw a giant white husky perched on the edge, barking down and occasionally reaching out, as if trying to descend.
Not far below, a figure, covered in green leaves, dangled from the edge. His right hand grasped a protruding rock, his left clutching his chest, looking as if he might fall at any moment.
Xie Sen hurriedly said to the flying rhino, "Can you fly over and catch him?"
"No," the flying rhino said. "He's right next to the cliff face. I'll hit my head. I can land here." As
it spoke, it landed on top of the cliff. The giant dog saw them and its cries became even more urgent. It looked down, then turned its head to look in their direction.
Long Teng was the first to jump off the flying rhino's back. As his feet touched the ground, the giant dog bit his sleeve and dragged him over the man hanging from the cliff.
Long Teng rubbed its huge dog head. Bai Jiao said from the side, "It wants us to save its master."
Xie Sen jumped down and was caught by Main. Together they walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down.
The man hanging on the cliff raised his head, revealing a dark face. He did not look young, with wrinkles on his forehead. He was tied with green leaves on his head and body, like a wild man.
Upon seeing them, the man's dark eyes suddenly gleamed with an intense light, and he spoke in a hoarse voice, "Beast God!"
He reached up from his chest with his right hand, holding a green plant with red fruit growing from it. Xie Sen immediately recognized it: a tomato plant!
"Hold on, we'll rescue you right away," Xie Sen said, summoning watermelon vines.
He surveyed the cliff face. There were many protruding rocks. Tying someone up suddenly would scare them, and they could easily get hurt during the struggle. He had to warn them first.
He was about to speak when the man shook his head. "Don't be impulsive. You can't put you in danger because of me. It's too high down here, and too far up here. It's difficult to rescue."
"But..."
Xie Sen was about to speak when the man gasped, interrupting, "Listen to me. I can't hold on any longer. You can't save me. Please help me get this plant to the research institute and give it to Dean Ma."
He took a breath, "I'll throw it with all my might. Please make sure your contracted flying beast catches it."
As he spoke, the rocks gave way, and he slid downward a little, causing the giant dog beast to bark even more anxiously.
Xie Sen was startled and immediately ordered the watermelon vines to tie him up. Fearing that he would struggle and get hurt,
he immediately led him back to the opposite side of the cliff the moment he tied him up. The man was suspended in the air, and his limbs struggled reflexively.
Xie Sen secretly thought that he was fast, and ordered the watermelon vines to rise, then moved horizontally to the top of the cliff and recalled the vines.
The man was released by the watermelon vines, his legs went weak, and he was caught by the giant dog beast that rushed over, leaning on the dog's soft fur.
He came to his senses and immediately looked at his right hand. Seeing that the plant in his hand was intact, he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed the dog's head: "That's great."
Xie Sen said helplessly: "Do you know how dangerous you were just now? No matter how precious the plant is, it is not as important as your life!"
"No," the man said seriously, "It's more important than my life."
His tone was serious and his voice was firm. Xie Sen was shocked.
The man put the tomato tree into his backpack and rubbed his waist and wrists: "Thank you for saving me. It seems that the vines of a plant just tied me up." His eyes lit up, "Can you show it to me?"
Xie Sen said helplessly: "You should take care of your injuries now."
Bai Jiao handed him a box of medicine: "It's for treating external injuries."
The man thanked him, his eyes swept over the four people, and finally fell on the flying rhinoceros. He said in surprise: "This is a flying rhinoceros. Who among you is from the Yan family?"
"None of them," Xie Sen shook his head, "We have to go."
The man asked: "Where are you going? Is there an aircraft to pick you up? Can you help me contact them?"
Xie Sen looked at Maine, and Maine said: "There is no signal here. We will not leave the forest for the time being."
The man's eyes lit up: "I am Li You, a researcher at the Botanical Research Institute. I am injured now and it is not safe for me to be alone. Can I stay with you until tomorrow? There are many plants in the forest, and I want to collect some more."
Bai Jiao said at this time: "Let him stay. I also want to collect plants. It's a good opportunity for us to communicate."
Xie Sen nodded. They decided to stay. The main purpose was to collect plants, and it didn't matter if there was one more person.
Seeing Xie Sen nod, Li You's gaze fell on his face. After a moment, a hint of doubt appeared on his face, and he asked uncertainly, "Are you...are you Xiao Sen?"
Xie Sen was stunned: "My name is Xie Sen."
A smile appeared on Li You's dark face: "I said you looked familiar, but you are so different from before. I almost didn't recognize you. Have you forgotten? We have met before. Your father took you to the research institute once."
Of course, Xie Sen couldn't remember it. He smiled awkwardly and said, "My memory is not good."
Li You patted his shoulder: "It's good that you can come out."
Xie Sen smiled. Since he knew someone, there was no way he'd abandon them. With Li You in tow, the group continued toward the waterfall.
With the help of the watermelon vines, Bai Jiao easily picked the red flowers from the cliff face. Xie Sen felt a sense of familiarity in the flowers. "Does this look like a poppy?"
Li You leaned over to examine them. "Yes, it is."
Bai Jiao said, "Ancient texts record that the fruit of this flower can cause addiction, but it can also be used to make a tranquilizer and has high medicinal value."
"Not bad," Li You praised. "You young people today are truly admirable."
The flying rhinoceros nudged Xie Sen with its tail and asked what time they would arrive at the edge of the forest. Xie Sen calculated that even if they waited until dark to reach the landing point, continued their journey tomorrow morning, and then contacted the aircraft, it would take at least eight o'clock for the aircraft to arrive.
The aircraft would still need more than an hour to reach the forest edge, meaning it would arrive around ten o'clock. It was five o'clock now, about seventeen hours from now.
The flying rhinoceros said, "At the speed the giant tigers run, it'll take them ten hours to reach the edge. They'll need to hunt and rest along the way, so we'll arrive about the same time. I'll have them wait for you at the edge while I go meet up with my beast master."
Xie Sen patted the side of its neck. "Okay, thank you. By the way, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"
"Do you think Ah Fei or Ah Xi sounds better?" the flying rhinoceros asked. "I'm thinking."
Xie Sen was silent for a moment, then tried to say sincerely, "Both are good."
"Oh, my friend, you've made me even more confused."
Xie Sen laughed. "Perhaps you could ask Ah Qi what he thinks."
"Okay, then I'll be leaving."
The flying rhinoceros left, and the group returned in the direction they had come. However, to gather plants, they didn't stick to the cliff edge, but instead went deeper into the forest.
Along the way, they encountered many wild beasts. Long Teng was excited and chased them off one by one.
They didn't stop until it was completely dark. Xie Sen built a potato tent. Long Teng looked at him with sparkling eyes: "Watermelon!"
In the evening they had a sumptuous dinner and took away some fruits. Li You was very curious about the tent and the food, but under Maine's warning, he cleverly pretended not to see anything.
They had a good sleep in the middle of the desolate forest known as hell, and got up early in the morning to continue their journey.
The contracted beasts affected by the energy obviously underestimated their current running speed and arrived at the edge of the forest much earlier than expected.
They gathered together and chatted casually, patiently waiting for Xie Sen to come out.
Little did they know that the sudden appearance of a large group of high-level contracted beasts at the edge of the forest would cause such a shock to Star City!