Chapter 906: Fragrant Street
Chapter 906: Fragrant Street (Combined)
Leaving the Assessment Office, Qiao Sang headed to the Beastmaster Hall to meet up with Teacher Mikara.
"Mission taken care of?" Migala asked.
Qiao Sang nodded. "They said there have been flowers on the ground in Fragrant Street for a while now, and they need me to take care of it."
"Is it a problem with the Scent Ants?" Migala guessed.
Qiao Sang expressed his admiration. "Teacher, you know everything!"
As they talked, the two had already left the Beastmaster Center.
Migala smiled. "When I was in the air earlier, I saw a lot of Scent Ants absorbing petals below. They all had work badges, so I figured they were responsible for that."
She gestured with her eyes. "Look, there are two Scent Ants over there."
Following her gaze, Qiao Sang saw two familiar insects about twenty centimeters long, with earthy yellow bodies covered in green circle patterns. Their mouths were like sharp tubes, and they wore work badges around their necks. They were feeding on the petals on the ground.
A voice similar to the Treasure Seeker's sounded beside them:
"Let me see, Scent Ants, Ground-type Beginner Beast, they love anything that smells good. If they consume more fragrant plants in the Junior Stage, they might evolve into Grass-type and Ground-type dual-type herbivorous ants in the Intermediate Stage. Due to their low intelligence, they can sometimes be lured by the scent of other familiars and mistake them for food, often getting beaten up because of their weak strength."
"Master, I don't understand why such weak and stupid familiars exist..."
The Treasure Seeker quickly shut off, cutting off the Beast Identifier's voice.
Qiao Sang gave the Treasure Seeker a reassuring look, thinking to himself that it had finally realized it shouldn't listen to the second half.
"Xunxun..."
The Treasure Seeker, unaware of its Beastmaster's gaze, focused on retracting the Beast Identifier into the Ring.
"Where are we going to explore?" Qiao Sang remembered their purpose and asked.
"Fragrant Street", Migala replied.
Isn't that where I have to do my mission? Qiao Sang was taken aback but then touched. "Teacher, we agreed to explore, so let's do that. No need to go to the place where I have my mission."
Migala was also taken aback. "I just saw that everyone recommends this street for sightseeing."
Qiao Sang: "..."
False alarm...
Migala continued, "We agreed to explore, so don't think about your mission."
Qiao Sang: "...I understand."
...
Fragrant Street.
One of the famous attractions in Flora City, it stretches about two kilometers long. Apart from the various colored petals that constantly drift down from the sky, the street is lined with rare and exotic flower trees that can't be found elsewhere.
Flying Beasts and Grass-type Companion Beasts often come here to play.
The Hollow Plains once had a famous movie filmed here.
It tells the story of a Flying Beast and a Grass-type Companion Beast who fell in love at first sight in this very place. However, their Beastmasters were just passing through, so they soon parted ways. The two familiars were melancholic and, sixty years later, when the Flying Beast's Beastmaster passed away, it remembered this place. It crossed the ocean and took nearly a year to finally return here.
As it passed the spot where it had once encountered a Grass-Type Companion Beast, it noticed a shadow of the shadow it had been seeking on a massive Grass-Type Companion Beast.
Spring and winter came and went, day after day, and the massive Grass-Type Companion Beast remained there.
One day, when the Flying Beast realized it was nearing the end of its life, it curiously approached the Grass-Type Companion Beast for a chat.
After their conversation, they discovered that they had been the familiar they had been waiting for all along.
It turned out that the Beastmaster of the Grass-Type Companion Beast had passed away twenty years ago, and since then, the Grass-Type Companion Beast had stayed there, waiting.
Both familiars had evolved, changing their forms so much that they no longer recognized each other.
In the end, the Grass-Type Companion Beast accompanied the Flying Beast through its final moments before leaving the place.
After this story spread, Fragrant Street became a famous tourist attraction.
Many people chose this place for their proposals.
When Qiao Sang arrived, she saw that almost everyone on the street was a couple.
The ground was covered with petals up to the ankles.
Street performers with their familiars played music, adding to the romantic atmosphere.
“Xunxun!”
The Treasure Seeker happily darted between the flowering trees.
A sudden gust of wind swept up piles of petals from the ground.
It was quite beautiful... Qiao Sang couldn't resist pulling out her mobile phone to take a photo of the scene.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from ahead:
“Dear, will you marry me?”
The street musician abruptly picked up the pace of the music.
The crowd gathered and cheered.
Qiao Sang was about to join the commotion when she sensed Qingbao moving in that direction.
A gust of wind blew the petals onto the couple.
What should have been a romantic moment quickly soured as the fresh petals revealed a layer of withered, stinky petals beneath.
The romantic atmosphere vanished instantly.
The woman's smile, which had been blossoming, froze and became forced. She said, “Maybe next time,” and turned to leave, ending the proposal.
Seeing no more entertainment, the crowd dispersed.
“Qingqing...”
Qingbao's voice, tinged with reflection, sounded beside her.
Qiao Sang hesitated, “Was that wind just now you?”
“Qingqing.”
Qingbao nodded.
Qiao Sang felt a brief moment of sympathy for the proposer.
At that moment, Migala calmly said, “It's better that she refused. In such an environment, an acceptance might have been just a heat-of-the-moment decision.”
Qiao Sang suddenly thought of something.
“Teacher, are you married?”
“Yeah.”
“Then...”
“Gone.”
Qiao Sang fell silent.
“Really gone,” Migala said solemnly. “When you become strong enough, you must accept that the people around you will pass away one by one. The only ones who will stay with you are your familiars.”
The conversation suddenly turned heavy. Qiao Sang quickly scanned her surroundings, looking for a way to change the subject.
Her eyes landed on a familiar passing by, and she brightened.
“It's a Scent Ant!”
Migala followed her gaze.
“This Scent Ant has a work badge around its neck. Could it be one of the Scent Ants responsible for clearing the petals on this street?” Qiao Sang continued before Migala could respond.
"Teacher, wait a moment, I’ll be right back!"
With that, Qiao Sang quickly walked toward the location of the Scent Ants.
Migala’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
They had agreed not to think about the mission...
"Hello, are you in charge of cleaning up this street?" Qiao Sang crouched down beside the Scent Ant and asked.
"Food Fragrance", the Scent Ant lifted its head, initially stunned, then nodded.
There was no need for translation; Qiao Sang understood from its nod and quickly followed up.
"I’d like to know why the petals on this street haven’t been cleaned up recently."
"Food Fragrance..."
The Scent Ant lifted its foot and silently left.
Qiao Sang grabbed its tail, "Wait, you haven’t answered my question."
"Food Fragrance!" The Scent Ant jerked and struggled fiercely.
Qiao Sang let go when she saw this.
"Food Fragrance!"
"Food Fragrance!"
The Scent Ant turned its head, clearly upset about having its tail grabbed.
"Fangy"
Fangy bared his teeth from within his Beastmaster’s arms.
The Scent Ant instantly shut up.
"Sorry", Qiao Sang said. "I just wanted to know why the petals on this street haven’t been cleaned up recently."
The Scent Ant didn’t want to answer, but one glance at the menacing Fangy was enough to make it comply.
"Food Fragrance."
Because it didn't want to work anymore.
"Steel Blade."
The voice of Steel Treasure translating in Qiao Sang’s mind spoke up.
Qiao Sang was taken aback and asked, "Why don’t you want to work anymore?"
The Scent Ant was about to speak when a slightly anxious voice called out from behind:
"Xiang! Where are you!"
The Scent Ant’s body stiffened, and it turned and ran.
The breakthrough for the mission was right in front of her, and Qiao Sang wasn’t about to let it go. She immediately said:
"Bring it back."
"Growl!"
Fangy’s eyes glowed blue.
In the next second, the Scent Ant, unable to control itself, stumbled back to Qiao Sang.
"Food Fragrance?"
The Scent Ant looked bewildered, not understanding why it was moving backward.
"We’re not done talking", Qiao Sang said.
"Food Fragrance..."
The Scent Ant seemed to realize something and turned its head in fear.
Suddenly, a voice full of surprise called out:
"Xiang! There you are, you scared me!"
Qiao Sang turned to see a young woman with long black hair, who looked to be in her twenties, approaching.
The woman quickly walked over and picked up the Scent Ant.
The Scent Ant struggled in her arms.
"Hello, is this Scent Ant yours?" Qiao Sang stood up and asked.
The woman turned her head, and her gaze was immediately drawn to Fangy.
Whatever she was thinking must have startled her, as her expression changed, and she loosened her grip.
The Scent Ant took the opportunity to jump out of her arms and run away.
The woman snapped back to reality and hurried after it, calling out anxiously, "Xiang!"
Qiao Sang seemed to have the wind at her back, easily keeping up and repeating her question: "Is this Scent Ant yours?"
"No, it belongs to the Pet Beast Facility; I’m just the caretaker", the woman answered while running and glancing at Fangy.
Qiao Sang stopped and said, "Bring it back."
"Growl!"
Fangy’s eyes glowed blue.
The Scent Ant, which had been running frantically, was once again forced to return to Qiao Sang.
"Food Fragrance..."
The Scent Ant looked utterly dejected.
The woman paused, ran back to Qiao Sang, and gratefully said:
"Thank you!"
She then picked up the Scent Ant.
Qiao Sang was straightforward, "I actually have a mission to find out why the petals on this street haven’t been absorbed by the Scent Ants. Since I’ve run into you, could you tell me why?"
The woman paused for a moment, then glanced at the Scent Ant in her arms and sighed.
"Recently, the Scent Ants were normally Absorbing petals on Fragrant Street. One day, a Sweet Fruit came to the street, and one of the Scent Ants mistook it for food and tried to Absorb it. As a result, it got beaten up. When the other Scent Ants tried to help, the Sweet Fruit's Beastmaster summoned a familiar, and they got beaten up too."
"This isn't really a big deal. The Scent Ants just got a bit upset. We finally managed to get them to work again after three days, but by then, the petals on the street had gone bad, and they refused to Absorb them. Now they're staging a collective protest."
She added:
"But don't worry, we'll solve this problem soon."
So that's what happened. It doesn't seem too serious... Qiao Sang asked, "Can you give me an estimate of how long it will take?"
She knew that if she reported back to the mission with this information, it wouldn't be accepted. She could only wait for the petals on Fragrant Street to be cleaned up before she could submit the mission.
The woman apologized, "We don't have a specific timeline, but we can only say as soon as possible."
Great, "as soon as possible" is one of the biggest lies in the world... Qiao Sang had a bad feeling about this.
For the people handling the situation, "as soon as possible" could mean one or two days, or even one or two months.
Although this is a tourist attraction, it's unlikely to take that long, but she naturally hoped it would be resolved the next day.
Qiao Sang thought for a moment and asked, "Can I get your contact information? I can help if needed."
The woman glanced at Fangy, a light bulb seemed to go off in her head, and she quickly pulled out her mobile phone. "Sure, sure!"
After exchanging contact information, Qiao Sang returned to Teacher Mikara's side and shared the news with a smile.
"Teacher, you won't believe it, but the Scent Ant I just met is in charge of this street..."
She quickly summarized the situation.
Migala looked at her silently, "Didn't you say you were just going to enjoy the sights and not worry about the mission?"
Qiao Sang: "..."
"But that's just your style. I guess only by doing things this way would you become the person you are today." Migala said profoundly, then smiled, "Come on, let's enjoy the sights now."
She started walking toward the flowers.
Qiao Sang hesitated for a moment, then hurried to catch up.
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker had somehow collected a bunch of flowers of different colors and teleported to its Beastmaster's side, proudly holding them out.
"They all look beautiful", Qiao Sang said with a smile.
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker was delighted and picked a flower to stick in its Beastmaster's hair.
Then it picked another one and stuck it on Fangy's head.
"Fangy"
Fangy took the flower, looked at it, and put it back.
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker floated over to the backpack, called out, and handed a blue flower.
Lulu silently poked her head out, extending her claws to take it.
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker didn't forget its little brother, specially picking a purple flower and floating over to Steel Treasure, sticking it in its feather.
Steel Treasure: "..."
"Qingqing~"
At that moment, Qingbao floated over.
However, it was in Wind Transformation status and was in a good mood, so the wind was a bit stronger than usual.
As soon as it arrived, the flowers in Treasure Seeker's claws were blown away by a gust of wind.
"Xunxun!"
Fifth One!
"Qingqing!"
It wasn't on purpose!
Qiao Sang couldn't help but laugh at Treasure Seeker's furious chase after the wind.
Sometimes, even if you don't buy anything, just strolling around can be quite pleasant. (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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