Chapter 33 - 33 31 Talking with Animals

33: Chapter 31 Talking with Animals 33: Chapter 31 Talking with Animals When Xiao Jie used his skill to identify wild beasts again, he couldn’t find any trace of that strange goat. Could the system have wiped out the task NPC? Looking at those sheep, Xiao Jie felt a bit uneasy, but after all, he’d taken an oath, and that wasn’t something to be easily broken. So, out of sight, out of mind. He felt somewhat regretful in his heart, having learned only one of the three skills. It seemed his basic attributes were just too low. It was time to focus on leveling up. But before that, he wanted to test the effects of the Beast Language Skill. This skill wasn’t passively active but required activation and maintenance of concentration to use. Xiao Jie opened his Skill Bar, Beast Language Skill—Activate! The goats’ messy bleating instantly turned into a language he could understand. Goat: “Eat grass, eat grass, oh my goodness, this is delicious.” Goat: “Hurry up and eat, that kid will herd us back into the pen soon.” Goat: “The grass tastes a bit off today, a little salty. Didn’t one of you pee on the grassland?” Damn… Xiao Jie was speechless, these goats sure had a sense of humor. He didn’t make a big deal out of it, quietly herded the goats back into the pen, and then collected his 100 Wen coins, ready to leave. But then Old Yang suddenly called out, “Kid, why is one of my goats missing?” Xiao Jie was startled and quickly counted the goats, indeed one was missing, only 49 left. Old Yang exclaimed anxiously: “What kind of job are you doing, lad? You even lost a goat, deduct money, deduct money!” System Prompt: Old Yang is demanding 200 Wen coins in compensation, do you accept, yes/no? A dialogue box popped up before his eyes. Option 1: Hand over 200 Wen and accept the punishment. Option 2: “I have no money, but you can take my life.” Option 3: Old man, how about I continue to herd your sheep for another two hours to make up for the labor cost? This… Xiao Jie was speechless; naturally, he could not turn against Old Yang, nor did he have any interest in herding sheep any longer, so he reluctantly chose to pay and free himself from the situation. After leaving the livestock pen, Xiao Jie was quite speechless. Great, not only did he work for nothing that morning, but he also ended up 100 copper coins out of pocket. Fortunately, he had saved quite a bit of money before, so it didn’t hurt him too much. One did not have to think hard to know that the missing goat must be that strange one. It seemed this encounter was a one-time event, and once he had triggered it, it was unlikely anyone else could encounter it again. However, he’d taken an oath, so why did it still run away? Could it be distrust of the integrity of me, the Great Returner? Hmph, that’s underestimating me too much. But it was a good thing he had learned the most valuable skill; it wasn’t a loss. Xiao Jie was still looking forward to the Beast Language Skill. If used well, its value could be immense. One should know that players usually need to interact with NPCs to trigger tasks. And there are only so many NPCs in the village. According to Wang Kai, over the past three years, more than two hundred players came and went, so it’s likely that all the special tasks that could be triggered publicly had been taken already. The rest were either too difficult to complete or open tasks such as farming and sheep herding. Now, however, he had a whole bunch of animals to interact with, meaning a whole lot more NPCs to interact with. If any of these animals had hidden tasks, there was a high chance he would stumble upon them. You see, there were many animals in the village. And these animal NPCs, almost no one ever communicated with them, meaning if these animals did have tasks, no one would be competing for them. The more Xiao Jie thought about it, the more excited he became, and he couldn’t wait to start chatting with animals. First were the few old buffaloes near the farmland, as the village’s main labor force for farming, one would need them whenever there was planting to do, usually staying at the edge of the fields. Since there were no players farming, three cows were resting together around a bush, nibbling on grass. Tired old cow: “So tired, working every day, when will this end?” Resigned old cow: “Alas, this is fate. Who asked us to be cows? Next life let’s be reborn as humans, then we can make cows work for us.” Thoughtful old cow: “I’ve been pondering why we have to work for humans. We don’t eat wheat or millet, just grass is enough, and grass is everywhere. Why should we work ourselves to death for them? Better to venture outside the village, seek our freedom.” Xiao Jie enjoyed listening and couldn’t help but interject: “Hey buddy, there are a lot of monsters outside the village, and you three are domestic animals, probably not much combat ability, heading outside the village would be like a death sentence.” Resigned old cow: “Exactly, I’ve heard those monsters are really scary, better to stick to farming.” Thoughtful old cow: “Moo—That must be something you humans made up to scare us cows. Don’t think you can fool me.” Xiao Jie couldn’t help but laugh, “Alright, as long as you’re happy, that’s what matters. By the way, do you need me to help you escape? Just as long as you have something good for me, I might consider it.” The contemplative old ox: “Moo, what’s good? Can it be eaten?” “You know, like Equipment, Skills, treasure, and stuff like that. Do you have any of those?” The contemplative old ox: “We’re oxen, how could we possibly have the things you’re talking about? I can plow the fields though, do you want to learn that?” “Eh, I’ll pass.” Xiao Jie decisively beat a retreat and then set his sights on the goose that was running wild in the village. The goose: “Gaga gaga gaga, the weather’s great today, gaga gaga gaga, I’m gonna have a feast, gaga gaga gaga, who dares to block my path, gaga gaga gaga, they’ll get pecked and run everywhere.” Pretty rhythmic… Then it was the few big fatty pigs in the pigsty, followed by the flock of chickens raised by the auntie at the east end of the village… Xiao Jie made a round and listened in on the animals in the village. It was quite amusing, but he didn’t find anything special. The hidden quests he imagined were completely nonexistent. When you think about it, it makes sense – a bunch of livestock wouldn’t have personal belongings, and even if they did offer tasks, the rewards probably couldn’t be anything substantial – surely not just a handful of grass or a cup of rice. As for Skills, that’s even less likely. These beasts do nothing more than plowing and laying eggs. Some of the pigs just linger about, waiting for death, nothing that players could learn. Moreover, it seems animals don’t strictly count as NPCs – they are able to communicate but apparently lack the function of offering tasks. The peculiar goat from before must have been an exception. However, he did overhear quite a bit of useful information. Things like who’s wife was cheating and which Militia was sneaking around at midnight. Finally, Xiao Jie arrived at the hunter’s cabin. Hunter Yang Baichuan didn’t live inside the village but had settled on a hill to the north of the village, where he built an independent wooden house with a long row of kennels outside. A group of Hunting Dogs was being kept there by him. The Hunting Dogs were nothing like the stray dogs outside the village; each one was incredibly majestic and was marked with green names as friendly units. They looked quite formidable in terms of their combat strength. Looking at several dogs with an average Level of 4 or 5, Xiao Jie’s eyes were green with envy – having one of these for Leveling would surely double his efficiency. Too bad he didn’t know the Beast Taming Skill or the Dog Training Skill, leaving him no options. Suddenly, an idea struck Xiao Jie. Even though he couldn’t Tame beasts, since he could talk to animals, couldn’t he just sweet-talk a Hunting Dog into following him? Though it sounded a bit outrageous, trying wouldn’t hurt. No sooner thought than done, Xiao Jie made a beeline for the kennels. As Xiao Jie approached, a few Hunting Dogs looked toward him. He had visited once before when he was investigating a Task a couple of days ago, so they recognized him. At that moment, Xiao Jie looked at the dogs with a beaming smile. “What do you say, fellows, interested in joining me? Stick with me and I guarantee you’ll have meat buns for every meal.” Scar (Hunting Dog): “Woof, you think you can buy us with meat buns? In your dreams.” Black Claw (Hunting Dog): “We only follow our master’s orders. You’re not our master, so back off.” Rou Qiu (Hunting Dog): “Exactly, what good are meat buns? The least you can offer is roast chicken or smoked meat.” Broken Teeth (Hunting Dog): “Rou Qiu, all you think about is meat, meat, meat. You weren’t this proactive during hunts.” Rou Qiu (Hunting Dog): “That’s because I wasn’t full, so of course, I couldn’t run.” “Shut up! Woof!” A deep Roar suddenly erupted, silencing all the dogs around. Then, a giant black dog slowly emerged from the shadows of the kennels. It looked to be quite old, with a coat of pitch-black fur, and a tuft of white hair under its chin. Blind in one eye, one ear missing, it looked weathered and aged, yet its burly physique showed no signs of decline. This dog was new to Xiao Jie; he assessed it with his Beast Appraisal and a line of data immediately appeared before his eyes. [Black Tornado (Hunting Dog Leader): Elite unit. Level 7. Life Value: 190. Taming difficulty: Hard. Skills: Bite LV4, Hamstring LV3, Tracking Technique LV2, Sprint LV1, Beast Herd Leader LV2.] As Xiao Jie sized up the other, the big black dog also scrutinized him. “Human, can you actually understand our canine language?” Huh, Xiao Jie was taken aback. This dog was a bit out of the ordinary. It could actually grasp the crux of the matter. Most animals he’d encountered didn’t seem to think being able to communicate with them was anything special – probably due to a lack of intelligence. But this dog right here realized it, and he was the first of its kind Xiao Jie had seen.