Excuse my bluntness.
Are you two-legged creatures even being polite?
How dare you describe me, a noble Husky, as cute!?
The Husky turned its head, giving the speaking humans a death glare.
One of the humans: "...Uh, I think it's looking at us."
"No doubt about it, it's totally staring at us."
"Ugh, its eyes are so annoying… I kind of want to hit it."
"Honestly? Same."
The Husky: "..."
Its ears drooped as it tucked its tail and rubbed against Limiao's legs.
Limiao was baffled: "What's wrong with you?"
"Awoo!"
Someone's threatening to beat your bonded beast! Are you just gonna sit there?!
Limiao remained expressionless: "No, I won't interfere."
The Husky was stunned.
Absolutely horrified.
Weren't you supposed to treasure your bonded beast?!
And *this* is how you treat me?!
Just as despair was about to consume it, Limiao suddenly yanked the leash, dragging the Husky inside.
Turns out, it was finally their turn.
Once inside, Limiao handed the leash to the staff.
The staff took one look at the Husky and blinked. "Uh… is this a boy or a girl?"
"That's not important," Limiao grinned, shooting the Husky a sinister smirk just as it was about to protest.
"What *is* important is that its ID photo *must* be taken in *this*."
Husky: "..."
The staff glanced between Limiao and the Husky.
"...Alright then. Come here, pup. Sit nice and straight—wait, you're a boy?"
"Oh, that doesn't matter. What matters is that you *smile*. Come on, show me those teeth!"
The Husky: Soul = evaporated.
And so, a freshly printed ID photo emerged: a deadpan dog face adorned with a frilly pink bow and a lacy little dress.
As the staff handed the photo to Limiao, she couldn't help but whisper, "Hey… um, won't your bonded beast rebel over this?"
Limiao tilted her head. "Wanna take a guess?"
The staff silently looked at the Husky.
Yeah… no guessing needed. The Husky had already answered that question.
After leaving the ID center, the Husky was utterly crushed. Even its curly little tail hung limp.
*Does anyone understand my pain?*
From now on, it'd be *mortified* to show its ID to prove it had an owner.
Seriously.
A *dress*?
Humiliating.
"Whimper…"
The more it thought about it, the worse it felt. Suddenly, it planted itself on the ground, refusing to budge no matter how hard Limiao tugged the leash. It even flopped over like a lifeless rug.
"*Seriously*?"
Limiao crouched down and poked it. "It's just a little dress. You're not the only dog who's worn one."
"Awoof!"
*You don't get it.*
"How do I *not* get it?"
Limiao scoffed. "They say wearing a skirt is either zero times or infinite times. Since we've already crossed that line, you better get used to it, got it?"
*More dresses!?*
The Husky's heart shattered. "*Whiiiiine!*"
"...Stop howling. It's embarrassing."
Limiao covered her face, too ashamed to meet the eyes of the surrounding crowd.
At this point, people probably thought she was abusing the poor dog.
*Give me a break. I just wanted to indulge a little. Was this drama really necessary?*
What?
*"Male dogs can't wear dresses"?*
Like hell I care! As long as you're my bonded beast, you're wearing whatever I say!
Husky: "*...Cruel.*"
Its wails grew louder.
"*Good grief.*"
Limiao's head throbbed. Unable to endure the nonstop whimpering, she finally caved.
"Fine. If you train properly when we get back, I *promise* I'll never force you into a dress again."
"Awo?"
*Really?*
"Truer than pearls."
"Awoo!"
*Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go home!*
In an instant, the Husky leapt up, barking excitedly at Limiao, its eagerness to leave almost *disappointing* her.
"Dresses are *adorable*, though. How can you hate them so much?"
She sighed dramatically.
The Husky gave her a flat stare.
*Yeah, sure. If I hadn't seen the look on your parents' faces, I might've actually believed that.*
At last, a truce was reached.
But just as the two were about to leave, a hand suddenly clapped onto Limiao's shoulder.
"*Limiao!*"
A girl in a short pleated skirt stood there, her hair tied in a high ponytail adorned with a shimmering cyan butterfly hairpin.
Limiao's eyes locked onto the accessory.
"*Whoa.* Jiang Huan, your hairpin is *moving*. Where'd you get it?"
Jiang Huan rolled her eyes. "Jiangbei Beast Farm. Why? You want one?"
"Jiangbei… *what*?"
Limiao froze. After a beat, she muttered, "…Hard pass."
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!"
Jiang Huan grabbed her arm. "I've been calling you! We were supposed to go to the Beast Farm *together*, remember?"
"And yet, here you are, already bonded—*behind my back*!"
"Pot, meet kettle."
Limiao smirked. "*You* bonded too, didn't you?"
Jiang Huan coughed. "Well… it was a gift from my grandparents. Kinda hard to refuse, y'know?"
"Same. *Hard to refuse.*"
The two girls stared at each other before bursting into laughter.
"I *never* expected you to bond with a Snowland Husky."
Jiang Huan licked her ice cream while offering another cone to the azure butterfly perched on her finger.
The butterfly, barely palm-sized, devoured its treat faster than the Husky could gulp down half of its own. Limiao watched in amusement as her dog shuddered violently from brain-freeze.
"And I never thought you'd bond with a *Blue Flutterfly*."
Jiang Huan was Limiao's best friend—both in this world and the last. So naturally, Limiao had adjusted quickly.
"It's a wind-element. My grandparents chose it because it synergizes with my talent, [Gale's Momentum]—a 3% speed boost for my bonded beast."
She nudged Limiao. "What's yours?"
Limiao thought for a second.
"Mine's [Eyes of Truth]. I can see a beast's species and stats."
"*No way!*"
Jiang Huan gasped. "Isn't that, like, the *core* talent for Beast Cultivators?!"
"*Girl.* When you make it big, *don't forget me*."
Limiao: "..."
*Yeah… maybe I shouldn't tell her about my* other *talent just yet.*
But *Beast Cultivator*…?
She wracked her brain—and then it hit her.
Compared to Beast Tamers, *Cultivators* were the real goldmine.
In theory, every beast had limitless potential. But without a Cultivator's guidance, most followed predetermined evolutionary paths—like how Jiang Huan's Blue Flutterfly would eventually become a Stormeye Flutterfly.
A *fixed* evolutionary route.
Alternative paths required a Cultivator's intervention.
But Cultivators were rare and *extremely* talent-dependent. To minimize failure during forced evolution, all modern Cultivators *had* to possess ocular-based talents like [Eyes of Truth].
That wasn't to say no one else had awakened [Eyes of Truth].
But no one else had *two* talents in one soul—like Limiao.