170: Ten Treasure Berries

Chu Li's words made Duan Yao shudder. A scene flashed through her mind: her four pets being drained of blood until they died!

Chu Li didn't know about the scene she had imagined, otherwise, he definitely would have accused her of having a persecution complex!

"How much do you need?" Duan Yao asked cautiously, truly afraid it would be as she had imagined.

"One small cup per pet, just about a dozen milliliters or so."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to going against her own wishes, wronging herself, and continuing to work for Yongle, a little bit of pet blood could be exchanged for freedom.

Of two evils, choose the lesser; anyone would likely choose the blood.

"I agree." Duan Yao stretched out her hand, asking Chu Li for a container to hold the blood.

Gu Xiaoyue immediately drew a summoning array and handed the crystal cup prepared by the system to Duan Yao.

Duan Yao frowned slightly, put the crystal cup into her Yu Beast Space, collected the blood, and handed it to Chu Li.

The contract termination agreement from Yongle side was also prepared, and the public account details were sent to Chu Li.

Once the agreement was signed, Gu Xiaoyue transferred the breach of contract fee.

Although Manager Jiang didn't want Duan Yao to terminate the contract, since someone else was paying the penalty, he wouldn't lose out.

It was almost a net profit of 1.8 billion, which could also be considered an explanation for the beverage incident.

He snorted through his nose and left with his subordinates.

"Are you two dating?" Duan Yao glanced at Gu Xiaoyue and asked Chu Li, "Why did she transfer the 1.8 billion?"

Gu Xiaoyue answered quickly, "Young Master Chu's money is managed by me; after all, with his status, he doesn't need to worry about such things. We are not dating."

Duan Yao pondered for a few seconds, "Thank you both, but I won't hold back in tomorrow's match!" After saying this, she turned and left.

Chu Li pursed his lips, feeling a bit aggrieved, "We aren't dating, but you don't have to be in such a rush to clarify things."

"I'm creating an opportunity for you; Duan Yao is beautiful and strong." Gu Xiaoyue blinked, looking innocent.

"You—" Chu Li was so angry he almost couldn't catch his breath, "Gu Xiaoyue, do you have a heart at all?!"

He shoved the crystal cup containing the God-Rank Pet blood into Gu Xiaoyue's arms and turned to leave.

Gu Xiaoyue watched his retreating back, feeling a sense of loss.

She cradled the crystal cup, which still held the warmth of Chu Li.

If the person he cared about was the original owner, then her own lack of emotional involvement was the greatest respect for his feelings.

After all, the original owner was already dead; she was just a remnant soul from another world borrowing the original owner's body.

She was unwilling to accept Chu Li's feelings as a substitute, even if he remained in the dark like this.

Gu Xiaoyue put the God-Rank Pet blood back into her Yu Beast Space, and the system quest progress changed to (4/10).

After collecting the blood of Ying Long, Hou, and Xiao Lu, the progress should change to (7/10).

It was known that the head of the Duan Family had one God-Rank Pet, and the head of the Xiao Family had one.

Not to mention that the blood of these two God-Rank Pets was impossible to obtain, even if she did get it, she would still be one short.

Gu Xiaoyue sighed and entered her Yu Beast Space with her consciousness.

She called for Ying Long, Hou, and Xiao Lu, and asked them for a small cup of blood.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world; naturally, we won't give our blood away for free!" Hou put on airs again, acting completely uncooperative.

Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes at him; having highly intelligent pets was a hassle, as she had to make a trade for anything she wanted.

"What do you want?"

Ying Long licked the corner of his lips, his gaze drifting to the duobao berry tree. "The requirement isn't high: one ten treasure berry."

Gu Xiaoyue had been raising this duobao berry tree for over two months, and it took ten days to bloom and bear fruit. Each additional treasure required seven days, and she had already harvested one qibao berry. What was on the tree now was a five-treasure berry.

"Does the ten treasure berry have any special effects?"

Historical records stated that apart from the qibao berry being a necessary material for pets to upgrade to Lord-level, all others, regardless of how many treasures they had, only had the effect of slightly increasing intelligence.

"Hmph, there are many benefits! The biggest benefit is—it's delicious!" Hou held his head high, as if being a foodie was something worth bragging about.

Xiao Qi leaned in and explained to Gu Xiaoyue, "The ten treasure berry is at the top of the list of the most delicious foods for pets. However, the benefits for humans are even greater; eating one can increase lifespan by three years, and the fruit pit has a chance to grow into a tree."

Gu Xiaoyue couldn't help but be surprised; no one had ever mentioned that it could increase lifespan or that the pit could be planted to grow a tree.

That made sense; regardless of the number of treasures on the berry, Beastmasters wouldn't be willing to eat it themselves, definitely prioritizing their pets. So, the lifespan-increasing effect would naturally go unnoticed.

Moreover, three years—even if you ate one, you wouldn't feel a significant difference; it would only be effective if the quantity accumulated.

If this duobao berry tree weren't in Gu Xiaoyue's Yu Beast Space, it would probably take five, seven, or eight years to grow one more treasure.

"Then once this ten treasure berry ripens, I'll let you eat it, and then you give me the pit so I can continue planting it." Then she remembered, "If I take the pit, can I plant it outside?"

"It is possible, but for one thing, it grows slowly, and for another, it needs to be watered with a Beastmaster's essence blood." Ying Long continued.

"Use blood?" Gu Xiaoyue looked at her duobao berry tree, "I haven't used a single drop of blood."

"That's because you have a spirit spring. Without a spirit spring and without watering it with essence blood, forget about blooming and bearing fruit—even taking root and sprouting would be a pipe dream!" Hou also vied to answer Gu Xiaoyue's question; after all, she only had one duobao berry right now, so naturally, whoever performed well would get to eat it first.

Gu Xiaoyue nodded thoughtfully; since the conditions had been agreed upon, she would just wait for the ten treasure berry to ripen.

She withdrew her consciousness from the Yu Beast Space and continued practicing the Yuan Absorption skill.

Early the next morning, just as Gu Xiaoyue finished washing up, Charlie was banging on the door. "Yue, are you up yet?"

Gu Xiaoyue opened the door, and Charlie rushed in anxiously. "Yue, Harry is going to be deported back to Sun Never Sets!"

"So what?" She had already gathered some understanding of this matter through indirect inquiries yesterday.

Charlie sat on the sofa, somewhat dejected. "It happened just yesterday, and I received the news from my father overnight. Perhaps other nobles added some fuel to the fire; the royal family is very angry about what Harry has done. People will come today to forcibly take Harry back to Sun Never Sets."

Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes at him; with Harry's behavior, did it even need any embellishment?

Sun Never Sets also practiced monogamy; just the fact that he was stringing three girls along was enough to make people despise him! Not to mention his unscrupulous methods to win the competition.

Even if the Sun Never Sets royal family had secretly instructed him to send people to disrupt the Long Country competition, it wouldn't be possible to bring it out into the open.

"Returning to Sun Never Sets is fine; with the Duke's protection, he won't face too much harsh criticism, at most he will lose the chance at the Duke title. Huaqing will at most take third place; you and Vincent are competing, so your chances of winning are still high."

Even with Gu Xiaoyue's comfort, Charlie still looked worried. Since he didn't want to explain the inside story, Gu Xiaoyue didn't ask further.

"Let's go; we're the first match again today."