Chapter 1114

But the good times did not last long—the river dried up for no clear reason, and the heavens were unkind; the village suffered three straight years of drought, and the tax officials who arrived levied three times the tax of previous years.

With all these factors combined, the villagers simply could not survive. Reluctantly, they left their homeland, and that pair of childhood sweethearts had no choice but to follow their elders out of the village toward the big city to make a living.

On the road they ran into bandits; the village's caravan was scattered, with heavy casualties. The villagers' last remaining money and livestock were seized, and some of the villagers themselves were carried off by the bandits as well!

The childhood sweethearts were separated after that clash, and their families all believed Rong was already dead—even if by some miracle she wasn't.

Only Yun Mo believed Rong was still alive, waiting somewhere for him to come rescue her.

Because he had never forgotten that promise.

It was also by the little stream out in the fields, gazing deeply into each other's eyes, that they made the promise—you marry me, I marry you—and it was there they shared their first kiss and swore their oath of love.

"My family says they want to betroth me to you as your wife. Will you marry me?"

"I will. We'll be together forever!"

"Till the seas dry and the stones crumble. Life and death, side by side."

Half a year ago, she had been seized during that village migration and sold to slave traders—and this band of slave traders happened to be the dealers from within Beast Pen City. They bought people from their hands, and it was precisely this group of slave traders secretly funding the bandits, letting them rob and kidnap people freely within the empire's borders.

That day, he was working at the holding area reserved for magical beasts when he happened to hear a woman's wailing that sounded both familiar and strange. Driven by curiosity, he went in and discovered Rong, who had been missing for so long. He wanted to rescue Rongrong, but was spotted by one of the guards inside and beaten up. The leader of the guards, a one-eyed watchman, told him that if he wanted Rongrong, he had to bring ten thousand gold coins—otherwise, he could forget about it.

After that, he worked himself to the bone, but ten thousand gold coins was simply far too much for a pauper!

So much that he might never be able to scrape it together in this lifetime!

Heaven rewards the diligent. He met the woman whom Yun Shang had taken the form of, and as the two of them gradually spent time together, Yun Mo learned her true identity, and learned that she was searching for a suitable habitat for the Green Fox clan.

An idea suddenly sprang to life in his mind.

If the Green Fox clan could become humanity's battle pets, wouldn't that be, in effect, the same as having a habitat?

The Battle Pet Selection Tournament!

The final plan!

None of his efforts had been in vain. As long as the Green Fox won the championship in this tournament, plenty of merchant guilds would surely come to cooperate, and at that point, the ten thousand gold coins would be within reach.

And he would fulfill Yun Shang's dream of finding a new habitat for the Green Fox clan. Everything was so perfect.

Only, by that time… where should Yun Shang go?

Yun Mo knew perfectly well that he was merely using Yun Shang, that he did not truly love her—he only wanted her to help him earn those ten thousand gold coins so he could rescue Rongrong.

Perhaps, at that point, he would confess to Yun Shang.

Kill him or flay him, he would accept it all.

As long as he could rescue Rongrong, that was enough.

After a full hour-long speech, finally… the Deputy City Lord, his throat parched, had no choice but to cut short his endless oration and reluctantly announce that the tournament had officially begun.

Hosting duties were handed over to the famous female host invited for every tournament—Beast Pen City's number-one beauty. Her graceful figure and lovely voice made her the perfect choice to emcee the event.

The moment the beautiful host stepped out, she drew the attention of the entire audience. This year's host was as lovely as ever, clad in a traditional imperial red qipao that showed off her exquisitely maintained figure.

"First, let us welcome this year's Number One battle pet contestant, and the reigning back-to-back champion—Black Hound!"

"Will Black Hound be able to claim the championship again? Let's wait and see! Ooh!"

From the stands came a roar like a heat wave, full of loud cries of "Black Hound, Black Hound!" and the like.

"The events of the Battle Pet Selection Tournament remain the same as in previous years, with judging across five categories: appearance, tameness, dependence, ability, and combat. Just who will this year's championship fall to?"