Chapter 208: Meditation
Chapter 208: Meditation (Combined)
Qiao Sang had finally managed to get a bit closer to Aquariana, only to receive the grim news that it was old and didn't have much time left. At this moment, his heart was a complicated mix of emotions.
No wonder Aquariana had always seemed to see through human nature, maintaining a heavy guard and unwilling to get close to humans.
To be chased from the Ancient Fog Region to the Yuhua Region in the last year of its life—such a bleak and tragic existence would make anyone bitter.
With this realization, Qiao Sang couldn't help but squat down and gently pet Aquariana's head, saying somberly, "You've worked hard."
Aquariana's first instinct was to turn its head away, but it paused when it saw the human's eyes.
"Lulu..." Feeling the touch on its head, Aquariana's ears twitched involuntarily, and it called out awkwardly.
The thought of having to undergo the same rigorous training as Flame Listener and Treasure Seeker every day made it feel quite tired.
But the training hadn't even started yet, and the human already thought it was tired and was petting its head. It felt a bit strange...
"From now on, when I go out, you'll come with me", Qiao Sang said, looking at Aquariana.
"Lulu?" Aquariana looked confused.
Though it was young, it knew that familiars without a bond, if discovered in human-inhabited areas, would be taken away.
"The person who came yesterday might be fired, but there are many ways to get in. If I go out, leaving you here alone would not be safe", Qiao Sang, misunderstanding Aquariana's concern, thought it was asking why they should go together.
"Lulu..."
Aquariana nodded, finding the human's words quite reasonable.
Seeing Aquariana nod, Qiao Sang assumed it agreed and patted its head comfortingly, saying, "After we go out, you'll stay in my bag. Our school has a pond. When we get there, you can stay there. I'll bring you back when the training ends in the afternoon."
"Lulu."
Aquariana nodded, thinking this plan was feasible.
It felt that the human had thought things through quite carefully, making it much harder for outsiders to discover it.
Although Qiao Sang and Aquariana were essentially talking past each other, they eventually agreed on the daily travel arrangements.
...
Half an hour later.
"Fangy"
"Lulu..."
In the living room, Fangy and Aquariana stared at each other intently.
Treasure Seeker, drinking milk, glanced back and forth between the two.
Qiao Sang, feeling a headache, wasn't sure if it was a natural animosity between Fangy and Aquariana or if Water-type Companion Beasts and Fire Familiars just didn't get along. Even if they weren't fighting like they did at first, they still looked ready to pounce at any moment.
"Fangy, come here, I need to talk to you", Qiao Sang said.
"Ya", Fangy shut its teeth and walked over obediently.
Qiao Sang led Fangy to a room and closed the door, speaking solemnly, "You should try to be nicer to Aquariana from now on."
"Ya Ya?"
Fangy pouted, not understanding why. That guy used to sneak up and drench it with water every night while it was asleep.
"I didn't want to tell you this", Qiao Sang sighed, his tone heavy, "Aquariana doesn't have much time left."
"Fangy"
Fangy's eyes widened in shock.
Qiao Sang continued, "Aquariana's species has a lifespan of seven years, and it's exactly seven this year."
"Fangy"
Fangy's mood sank, its lips trembling in guilt. So, it had been bullying an elderly familiar...
"It's okay", Qiao Sang patted Fangy's head to comfort it, "Though it's old, it's still strong. We wouldn't have known its age if it hadn't told us."
"Fangy"
Fangy felt deeply guilty. Even though Qiao Sang said it was okay, the thought of Aquariana having so little time left and it having bullied it made it feel terrible.
Qiao Sang looked at Fangy seriously and said, "Don't worry, I'll find a way to make Aquariana evolve, so it will be fine."
"Ya Ya?"
Fangy blinked its wet eyes at its Beastmaster.
Really?
"Really", Qiao Sang nodded solemnly.
It was indeed difficult for Aquariana to evolve. For it to fall in love with a familiar and then suffer a breakup in its final days would be like an elderly person finding a late-life romance only to lose their partner. It was too hard.
But with his Golden Finger, if he could quickly awaken the third page of his Beastmaster Codex, he could use the power of the Golden Finger to make Aquariana evolve without it having to go through a heartbreak.
Although developing the brain domain wasn't something that could be done overnight, Qiao Sang felt that developing it in a short time was more reliable than letting Aquariana experience a late-life heartbreak.
Outside the door.
Treasure Seeker poked its head in, listening to the conversation between its Beastmaster and Fangy.
It pulled its head back and turned to look at Aquariana with a complex expression.
If looks could speak, this one would say: "I never expected you to be a Hometown buddy."
"Lulu?"
Aquariana was utterly baffled by Treasure Seeker's gaze, completely unaware that she was already seen as a familiar on the verge of expiration.
When Fangy emerged from the room, Aquariana’s tail stiffened, and she instinctively showed a hostile expression.
This time, Fangy didn’t return the same look. Instead, after a moment of conflicted expression, he flashed Aquariana a smile.
Aquariana: "???"
...
Qiao Sang arrived at school, took Aquariana to the pond, and then went to the training room.
When it was time for free training, Qiao Sang didn’t brush his mobile phone as usual. Instead, he approached Fierce Dragon Zheng and asked, "Teacher, could you teach me the Meditation method now?"
Zheng Guoping was taken aback. Qiao Sang hadn’t shown any interest in learning it a few days ago, and now, with school starting soon, he suddenly wanted to learn Meditation.
If it were any other student, Zheng Guoping would have ignored him. Each teacher had their own subject to teach, and he was responsible for teaching combat techniques in the School Team, not Meditation.
But since it was Qiao Sang asking, Zheng Guoping didn’t hesitate. "Wait a moment."
With that, he quickly left the training room.
Ten minutes later.
Zheng Guoping returned with a book and said, "Here’s the Meditation Technique for you. Take a look. It has annotations and diagrams. If you have any questions, ask me."
"Sure." Qiao Sang nodded and took the book.
Beastmasters were no strangers to the Meditation Technique book. Even if Qiao Sang hadn’t read it yet, he knew that high school and college Beastmasters generally followed the methods outlined in this book for Meditation.
There were countless Meditation techniques, and many researchers had studied them. They ultimately concluded that the Meditation Technique book provided the most suitable mental training method for Beastmasters.
Meditation, also known as mental exercise.
Scientific studies using tools like functional Mri and Eeg have shown that regular Meditation can significantly enhance brain activity and gradually develop the brain domain.
However, Meditation also requires talent. Many people, even after becoming Beastmasters, still struggle to enter a Meditation state, leaving their brain domains to develop slowly on their own.
Qiao Sang felt he had no such issues and began reading the book right there.
Time was of the essence. The sooner he learned Meditation and enhanced his brain domain, the greater the chance Aquariana would evolve into Glacialia before her time ran out. With this mission in mind, Qiao Sang read the Meditation Technique earnestly, following the diagrams to sit cross-legged, relax his mind, and breathe deeply until his thoughts were clear and free of distractions.
"Look at you all. Some people haven’t even started school and are already thinking about Meditation, and they enter the state so quickly. But you, you’re just letting your familiars control their energy output freely, reducing the proficiency of your Skills. Days have passed, and you haven’t made any progress", Zheng Guoping pointed at Qiao Sang, who was sitting on the ground with his eyes closed, and scolded Wang Yao and the others.
"I managed to do it in the first class when I started Meditation", Wang Yao muttered.
Zheng Guoping shot him a sharp look.
Wang Yao instantly shut up.
"Before long, the National School Beastmaster League will begin. If you don’t put in the effort in the competition, how do you expect to get into a good university? Are you relying on the College Entrance Exam?" Zheng Guoping reprimanded.
Wang Yao couldn’t help it and raised his hand. "I ranked sixth in the entire grade on the final exam."
Zheng Guoping’s eye twitched, and he raised his voice. "Was I talking about you? I was talking to them!"
Shi Gaofeng: "..."
At that moment, Xu Yajie suddenly asked, "Do you drool when you meditate?"
"Who drools while meditating?" Shi Gaofeng retorted.
Xu Yajie was silent for a moment, then pointed in Qiao Sang’s direction. "She does."
Wang Yao and Shi Gaofeng turned their heads sharply and indeed saw Qiao Sang drooling.
Fierce Dragon Zheng couldn’t stand such a misunderstanding of a genius among geniuses. He frowned and explained, "Some people do drool. When you meditate, your body relaxes, and your mind focuses. Saliva can flow continuously from the palate, which is a normal physiological response."
Now they understood... Wang Yao and the others were enlightened.
"Does your upper body also sway when you meditate?" Xu Yajie asked, looking at Qiao Sang’s swaying upper body.
"Of course your grades are poor if you don't even know this", Zheng Guoping said dismissively. "This is a natural phenomenon that occurs during Meditation. The intensity of the shaking varies depending on each person's physical constitution and vestibular balance function."
"As long as the effect isn't too severe, you can ignore it. Over time, with consistent Meditation, this symptom will gradually lessen or stabilize and eventually disappear."
So that's how it is...
Wang Yao, Shi Gaofeng, and Xu Yajie all felt they had learned something new.
Half an hour later, Qiao Sang opened her eyes.
Damn, I actually fell asleep...
...
That evening.
Qiao Sang, with her backpack slightly unzipped and Treasure Seeker perched on her head, rode on Fangy's back back to the Residential Complex.
From a distance, she saw the Beastmaster from the Ancient Fog Region standing outside her door.
He was still wearing the black suit uniform of the security guards.
He hasn't been fired... Qiao Sang couldn't help but think.
Li Songhai, hands in his pockets, resisted the urge to smoke and waited patiently. Finally, he saw the person he was waiting for.
"What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Qiao Sang asked with a smile as she approached.
Li Songhai took a deep breath and spoke seriously, "I have something to tell you. Stay calm, and don't be scared."
Qiao Sang was taken aback. "Okay, go ahead."
"There's a Ghost Familiar in your house", Li Songhai said with a grave expression.
Qiao Sang: "..."
"Seek?"
Treasure Seeker tilted its head, looking puzzled.
There's no one else here. It hasn't seen any other Ghost Familiars in the house for a long time.
Seeing that Qiao Sang wasn't speaking, Li Songhai assumed she didn't believe him and added firmly, "I'm telling the truth. My Mucosnail fainted because it saw a Ghost Familiar in your house."
He must be talking about Treasure Seeker... Qiao Sang nodded. "Thanks, I'll keep an eye out."
With that, she prepared to open the door and go inside.
At that moment, Li Songhai raised his voice, "If you don't mind, I can go in and check for you!"
That was his real goal.
Although Ghost Familiars were scary, the thought of Aquariana being inside made him feel that this fear wasn't insurmountable.
Qiao Sang looked at the man who still hadn't given up on Aquariana and said seriously, "Actually, I quite like Ghost Familiars."
"Huh?" Li Songhai was stunned.
Like Ghost Familiars?!
"Bang!"
Before he could react, Qiao Sang had already opened the door, gone inside, and closed it.
"Seek~"
As soon as they entered, Treasure Seeker happily hugged Qiao Sang's head, rubbing its cheek against hers.
Aquariana, who had just emerged from the backpack, saw this and froze. It turned its head, not wanting to watch, but ended up meeting Fangy's gaze.
"Lulu!"
Aquariana's eyes widened.
What are you looking at!
It expected Flame Listener to attack as usual, but to its surprise, Fangy simply looked away.
Aquariana: "???"
"Fangy"
Fangy was exhausted. With an elderly familiar that could kick the bucket at any moment, there was no choice but to give in.
After dinner.
Fangy was practicing Anti-Dizziness, while Treasure Seeker was using Ringabsorb to absorb materials.
Qiao Sang held her mobile phone in front of Aquariana and asked, "Are there any familiars in here that you like?"
After a day of Meditation, Qiao Sang realized that relying on a brain domain breakthrough to save Aquariana was less than a 50% chance.
She had made some progress, but it wasn't significant. It seemed that the key was long-term practice, and there was no way to see noticeable results in just a couple of days.
She didn't know how much time Aquariana had left or if it would last until her brain domain breakthrough.
She needed to have a backup plan.
Qiao Sang was showing Aquariana a collection of videos featuring celebrity familiars from TV shows.
Different familiars, different appearances, different attributes, and different personalities—there had to be one that Aquariana would like.
She could then rent a similar familiar to act the part.
Perfect...
As Qiao Sang silently praised her plan, Aquariana's eyes widened in shock at a particular scene in the video.
In the video, an ethereal Bgm played as two cat familiars looked at each other. The one with a white bow on its head glared at the one with a black bow tie.
Two seconds later, the camera zoomed in, and the cat with the black bow tie turned its head away.
The camera then focused on its face, which showed a shy expression.
The Bgm swelled.
Aquariana: "!!!"
So that guy likes it!
Fangy, who was practicing spinning, suddenly felt a tickle in its nose...
(End of Chapter)
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