Chapter 59

"What's going on? How come I didn't gain any merit?"

Not long after, the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray flying in the sky quickly spotted a poisonous snake almost blending with the trees; under Wang Ping'an's command, it swooped down and pecked it to death in two or three bites.

Just.

What disappointed Wang Ping'an was that after waiting a long time, he still didn't hear that mechanical, cold voice reminding him he had gained a merit reward.

That is to say…

Killing the poisonous snake very likely didn't earn any merit?

"What's going on?"

Wang Ping'an pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure out what was going on; finding it too bothersome to think, he decided instead to experiment—after letting the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray have its fill, he commanded it to hunt other prey.

Wild rabbits, pheasants, wild birds…

He commanded the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray to hunt virtually anything he could see and catch, yet he still didn't gain even a bit of merit reward.

Suddenly.

"Ding! Your pet Black Cat Catch Head has killed a mouse; congratulations, you've earned a reward: Merit +1!"

A mechanical, cold voice rang out in his mind, but Wang Ping'an felt no joy at all—not because he disliked gaining just a little merit.

Instead, he was thinking about how to use the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray to earn merit rewards; if he couldn't figure it out, he feared he might not sleep well tonight.

"Wait… merit, mouse, merit!"

After thinking for a long time, just as Wang Ping'an was utterly confused, a flash of inspiration suddenly flickered in his mind, and he thought to himself:

"Before, besides killing mice, doing good deeds could also earn merit, but the Little Gray hunting these animals earned not a single point of merit—in other words…"

It seemed he had thought of something; Wang Ping'an's eyes lit up as he guessed: "Only doing things beneficial to humans can earn merit!"

Even if the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray's prey is a poisonous snake, as long as it hasn't harmed anyone, there's no way to earn merit.

The more he thought, the more plausible it seemed; Wang Ping'an found his guess likely correct, although he still wasn't clear on how to command the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray to earn merit—but it was far better than acting aimlessly.

Just as Wang Ping'an used the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray's vision to scan the ground for ways to earn merit, he suddenly spotted a very suspicious spot.

He saw two fierce-looking men wearing steel knives at their waists, carrying a heavy sack, driving a water buffalo along a deserted path.

Not far away there was a main road, yet they chose to walk this deserted, rugged little path that was clearly difficult to travel.

It was obvious something was wrong!

As Wang Ping'an commanded the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray to descend slowly, using the skill Pet's Ear, he could clearly hear the two men's conversation below despite the distance.

"Big brother, we've struck it rich this time—we not only stole a cow but also kidnapped a kid; selling the cow and the kid together should net us enough to live it up for ten days or half a month!"

"Ten days or half a month? Just this cow alone is enough for us to live it up for ten days or half a month; adding the kid, we could probably live it up for over another month!"

"Is this kid really worth that much?"

"Who knows—maybe the market's good, or someone's just lost their mind, actually willing to pay a high price for a child!"

Hearing the two men's conversation below, Wang Ping'an's face instantly turned grim; using the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray's vision, he realized these two were highly suspicious, something he never would have imagined.

They're nothing but beasts worse than pigs and dogs!

They stole the farmers' oxen and even kidnapped the cowherd boy! Whether the ox or the boy, both are the lifeblood of a farming household.

Once the farmers discover their oxen and children are gone, it will surely mean ruin for the family.

Wang Ping'an has always hated thieves and traffickers the most; seeing these two, he instantly felt murderous intent—let alone that dealing with them might very well earn merit rewards.

Even if not, he had no intention of letting these two bastards off.

"Good thing I ran into them; otherwise not only would this kid be miserable, but his parents and even grandparents wouldn't have a good day to live!"

Wang Ping'an silently sighed, his face full of relief; not daring to waste a moment, he quickly used the skill Beast Taming to command the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray to act against the two fierce men.

Unfortunately.

The Beast Taming skill could only convey his thoughts to the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray, letting it act, but couldn't control its body to attack the two men.

All he could do was rely on the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray's own combat ability to finish the job!

Wang Ping'an, using the skill Pet's Eye to observe how the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray was attacking the two men, could only silently hope.

The Peregrine Falcon Little Gray could resolve the situation smoothly!

Who let these two men, with their fearsome appearance and steel knives, dare to steal oxen and even kidnap the cowherd boy?

This novel you have reached

For either of these two acts, if caught and beaten to death, there's nowhere to plead one's case.

Without some ability, who would dare to do such a desperate deed?

"Big brother, I remember the kid didn't seem worth much; how did he suddenly become more valuable than a water buffalo? What's going on exactly…"

Just as one man was about to ask, he suddenly caught a gray shadow out of the corner of his eye, didn't think much of it, and before he could finish speaking, he felt a sharp pain in his eye—something unknown had scratched it, and he cried out in agony:

"Eye, my eye!"

As he spoke, with a 'Clang!' the wounded man drew his steel knife, using his uninjured eye to finally see that what had injured him was actually a peregrine falcon, and he shouted angrily: "You beast, I'll kill you!"

Although.

He didn't understand why this peregrine falcon had injured him, but the pain from his eye being ripped open had already robbed him of reason.

"Don't act rashly!"

The other man quickly spoke up, but before he could finish, he heard his companion's painful wail again.

He saw the man, whose reason had been consumed by anger, charge forward with his steel knife toward the Peregrine Falcon Little Gray; as he raised the blade to strike it, the falcon easily dodged—and went on to injure his other eye.

In an instant, both his eyes were damaged, and this man became completely blind.

The man wailed in pain while swinging his steel knife wildly all around.

The Peregrine Falcon Little Gray did not attack again, fearing friendly fire, and instead turned its gaze toward the other man.

"He's really smart—no wonder he's my spirit pet—but he's just too brutal!"

Although he said that, Wang Ping'an's face showed no hint of sympathy; for what these two had done, not only gouging out eyes, even death by a thousand cuts would be deserved, he said triumphantly:

"It seems Little Gray will probably be able to deal with those two beasts soon..."

However.

Before Wang Ping'an could finish speaking, thanks to Peregrine Falcon Little Gray's vision, he saw a sight that left him stunned, and the words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back.

(End of chapter)