158: Xiao Zhi

Meanwhile, in the Beast Taming World, the anxious boy successfully waited for his partner.

A ripple appeared in the spatial channel, and the Kachi Dog poked its head out from it, slowly walking out.

The boy looked at the Kachi Dog, whose appearance had changed drastically, and felt incredibly unfamiliar with it.

His own dog was a long-haired canine with golden fur all over and a gentle temperament, while before him stood a short-haired canine with a black-and-gold color scheme and a fierce aura.

"Is this really my Kachi Dog?"

The boy was somewhat doubtful, but the Beast Taming contract between them told him that the large dog before him might truly be his own dog.

And the gaze the Kachi Dog leveled at the boy lacked its usual intimacy.

"Kǎ Qí?"

The boy moved his body with some hesitation and reached out to touch its head, but the dog took half a step back, a low growl of warning sounding in its throat.

"It really has lost its memory." The boy sighed inwardly.

"It doesn't matter, as long as it's alive."

The boy forced a smile, took a dry biscuit from his pocket, broke it into two, and then handed the slightly larger piece to Kǎ Qí.

"Eat, from now on I will protect you well!"

The Kachi Dog caught the familiar scent on the boy, seemed to understand something, stepped forward, and gently took the biscuit, then placed it on the ground and began to gnaw on it.

The boy smiled with satisfaction and reached out to slowly stroke the dog's head.

Kǎ Qí did not refuse, whined a few times, and then buried its head in its meal.

The harmonious atmosphere did not last long; the Kachi Dog, currently eating the biscuit, suddenly turned its head to stare at the distant forest, its ears pricked straight up.

Immediately after, it faced the forest and assumed a defensive posture.

Before the boy could react to what was happening, he saw a wolf the size of a wild ox, its whole body ablaze with flames, dash out from the forest.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief; this flame wolf was the patrol captain's battle pet, which not only had a keen sense of smell but also emitted flames from its body that served as an excellent lighting tool in the dark night.

Sure enough, in a short while, several members of the patrol team ran out from the forest with their respective battle pets.

When he saw the boy, the patrol captain's face darkened abruptly, and he barked, "Xiao Zhi? What kind of madness are you up to, squatting here in the middle of the night? Get back to your dog kennel!"

The boy's body stiffened, and the Kachi Dog bared its teeth and prepared to pounce, but was called back by the boy. "No! Kǎ Qí, come back quickly!"

Hearing the boy's call, the fierce light in Kǎ Qí's eyes slowly faded, and it reluctantly returned to its master's side, extending its head to rub against his calf.

Although the movement was stiff, it made the boy's nose sting. Only then did he truly feel it—his Kǎ Qí had returned.

The patrol captain felt only disgust at the tender scene; these poor kids could only ever cause him trouble.

However, why had his dog changed so much? Could it be that it had undergone Evolution?

The captain did not know the news of the Kachi Dog's death and assumed it had recently gained an upgrade.

But even if it had undergone Evolution, it could not change the fate of this dirty peasant. Trash is always trash.

The captain signaled with his eyes for the flame wolf to step forward, intending to teach them a lesson.

The flame wolf received the instruction, its body flared with light, and after a roar, it charged forward.

A small figure like Xiao Zhi did not want to antagonize the academy patrol team, so he hurriedly took Kǎ Qí and ran toward the dormitory.

The flame wolf then stopped, looking at the retreating backs of the man and dog fleeing in panic, its eyes filled with disdain.

The patrol captain was somewhat suspicious about why Xiao Zhi was hanging around under the banyan tree so late; he arrived at the spot where Xiao Zhi had just been and found a pile of fresh soil.

After digging through the soil, he only found a small pool of blood and a few dog hairs.

The captain picked up the soil stained with dog blood and sniffed it carefully, discovering it was not human blood. "Ptui... bad luck!"

The captain spat fiercely, then led the other members to continue their patrol.

Running in one breath to the dormitory entrance, Xiao Zhi finally stopped and breathed a long sigh of relief.

By this time, the dormitory gate was already closed, and the timid Xiao Zhi did not dare to go up and knock, so he could only curl up under the eaves at the entrance, holding Kǎ Qí.

The late-night cold wind was particularly biting, and the man and dog huddled in the corner, keeping each other warm.

The next day, while in his sleep, Xiao Zhi felt his arms suddenly become empty.

Opening his bleary eyes, the sky was just barely brightening, and what met his gaze was a stern face.

"Kid, did you sneak out just to freeze outside for the night?"

Seeing the dormitory manager's stern expression, Xiao Zhi felt a bit guilty and braced himself to reply, "Auntie... I was delayed by something last night, and when I returned, the gate was already closed, so I just made do at the entrance for the night."

Hearing Xiao Zhi's explanation, the dormitory manager's tone softened, and she complained, "Why don't you take better care of yourself? I was right inside; if you had just called out, I would have opened the door for you."

"It's fine, I'm tough, I can handle it. Auntie, I'll go back and tidy up first, see you later."

With that said, Xiao Zhi tried to slip inside with the Kachi Dog. "Stop!"

The auntie's shout froze the man and dog. "Come here, to my room."

Hearing the auntie's subsequent words, Xiao Zhi felt a bit anxious, not knowing what the auntie's intention was. But he still braced himself and followed the auntie into her room.

As he entered the room, a warm atmosphere rushed to meet him, and she gestured for Xiao Zhi to sit on a stool and wait.

The auntie went into the small room behind to busy herself, and soon after, she brought out a bowl of steaming porridge and handed it to Xiao Zhi.

"This is porridge I cooked; don't mind it, drink a bowl to drive away the cold."

"Auntie—I..."

Xiao Zhi hadn't felt this kind of warmth for a long time, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.

Afraid the auntie would see his disheveled appearance, Xiao Zhi hurriedly lowered his head and sipped the hot porridge in small mouthfuls.

After a night of biting cold winds, Xiao Zhi was already famished, and after a bowl of hot porridge, he finally regained some vitality.

Composing his mood, Xiao Zhi said goodbye to the dormitory manager and returned to his dormitory, clutching the two hard-boiled eggs the auntie had given him.

"Yo~ Young Master Xiao, where did you go off to have such a good time?"

A roommate in the same room saw Xiao Zhi step into the dormitory and immediately mocked him with sarcasm.

By this time, the Kachi Dog had already been returned to his Beast Taming space, so he returned to the dormitory alone.

Xiao Zhi ignored the roommate's malice and picked up his toiletries to wash up.

Seeing that Xiao Zhi did not respond, the roommate whistled in boredom.

After tidying up, Xiao Zhi ignored this group of roommates and headed to the classroom alone.

As an academy dedicated to teaching Beast Taming knowledge and cultivating battle pets, every student had their own battle pet.

Originally, Xiao Zhi's Kachi Dog was not outstanding within the academy, and the naturally weak-willed Xiao Zhi was the target of bullying by a crowd of troublemakers.

It was when Xiao Zhi was being bullied that his Kachi Dog suddenly went berserk, completely disregarding the gap in strength, and stubbornly attacked the troublemakers.

As a result, it was besieged by the troublemakers' battle pets and regrettably died.

This was also the shadow Xiao Zhi had always buried in his heart; he dared not bring out his Kachi, fearing he would encounter the gloom of death once again.

Unfortunately, the more one fears something, the more likely it is to happen.

"Stinking brat, you still dare to come to school!"

A sinister voice sounded behind Xiao Zhi, causing his heart to tighten abruptly.