Xishu Garden, seventeenth floor.

Du Yu, finally home, could finally take a breather.

Poor Senior Brother Fu had to double as both chauffeur and chef, tasked by Master Qing to prepare lunch.

At this moment, in the guest room's private bathroom on the first floor, Du Yu lay in the spacious bathtub, bubbles covering the water's surface.

"Ying~" Xiaoyan rested on Du Yu's bent knees, only her furry little head poking out above the water, with a bubble cap perched atop her head.

Just like Lazy Goat's style!

This was a hat Du Yu made especially for her, looking very much like an ice cream scoop.

Xiaoyan blinked her golden-brown fox eyes, gazing at her reclining master, not quite sure if she should disturb him or not.

Under the contract, she could sense Du Yu's exhaustion, both body and mind. After some thought, Xiaoyan turned her head, looking at her two big tails floating above the water.

At this moment, she was already an Earth-level Demon Pet!

In other words, she already had the ability to break free from the Demon Disciple Contract, but she didn't plan on it—she really enjoyed being with Du Yu.

Yeah… preferably always together, that kind of together.

Du Yu was now a Demon Tamer Journeyman as well. That rank advancement had gone scarily smooth!

The reality: as long as you showed the slightest inclination to advance, with Master Qing around, even a dog could be promoted…

Now, Du Yu could upgrade the contract's quality by one level. The Demon Tamer Journeyman contract naturally allowed for much smoother heart-to-heart communication between human and pet.

But for Demon Tamers, the first two stages are just foundational. Advancement mainly grants boosts to physical stats, like power and speed and such.

Demon Tamer Prentice and Demon Tamer Journeyman were still basic levels, not yet equipped with fancy tricks.

Once he reached Third-level Demon Tamer, Du Yu would be able to summon Elemental Demon Soldiers out of thin air, even make his own demon soldiers—that's when the real perks start rolling in.

"Ying~" Xiaoyan called out softly.

Du Yu opened his eyes, tilted his head slightly, and looked at the little fox lying on his knee.

Clearly, Princess Consort Yan didn't plan on being the lone blossom anymore. She leaped up, like a ball of fiery red towel, and plastered herself right onto Du Yu's face.

"Splat!"

Du Yu set Xiaoyan on his shoulder, and wiped his wet face. "Had enough? Shall we dry off and head out?"

"Ying!" Xiaoyan happily nuzzled Du Yu's cheek. Playing with water was only novel at first. Too bad Little You Ying refused to join, didn't even like to touch it, or else she could've bullied her a bit more.

"Hey, do you know how to swim?" Du Yu picked Xiaoyan up by the scruff and held her in front of his face, curiosity written all over.

Canines can generally swim, right?

Xiaoyan dipped a little paw in the water, looking just as puzzled. She'd been pampered all her life; she didn't even know what survival skills she might have.

Du Yu reached out and jiggled her two fiery red tails. "Also, can your tails work as propellers?"

"Ying?" Xiaoyan blinked her eyes in confusion.

What's a propeller?

Du Yu checked carefully—seemed unlikely. If those two tails started spinning, wouldn't they just get tied up in knots?

But if they didn't knot up, Xiaoyan could probably power through water at full speed—heck, maybe even fly?

Like Doraemon's bamboo-copter?

Hmm… he'd have to experiment with that later.

Du Yu pulled the stopper from the tub, stood up, and turned on the shower. He rarely took baths, usually just rinsed off and called it a day.

But as some wise guy once said: After a lifetime of battles, can't I enjoy a soak every now and then?

...

A few minutes later, Du Yu emerged from the room in clean shorts and a t-shirt, holding Xiaoyan wrapped snugly in a thick towel, rubbing her damp fur as he walked out the door.

Passing through the lush living room, he got teased by the Fire Phoenix Tree's branches—a poke in the ribs on the left, a pinch on the cheek on the right, and for a second, Du Yu was tempted to strip the bark right off that tree…

The poor tree was probably just too lonely. There were plenty of demonic plants at Master Qing's house, but most of them preferred peace and quiet; none was interested in playing with the Fire Phoenix Tree.

It finally got its hands on Du Yu, this "toy"—no wonder it dropped the act and showed its true colors.

It took a good while before Du Yu got "released" by the Evil Tree. The moment he was shoved out by the branches, another branch handed him a Firethorn Fruit.

Du Yu was left absolutely baffled!

What does this mean?

Is this supposed to be a tip?

Whatever, Du Yu couldn't care less. He snatched up the Firethorn Fruit with one hand. He was about to dash away, but his footsteps paused with hesitation.

He thought it over, looking up at the Firethorn Tree: "Brother Tree, since I'm not busy, want to play with me a bit more?"

"Splat!"

A branch lashed the floor with a crisp snap, looking very menacing.

Startled, Du Yu scooped up Xiaoyan and fled back to the guest room: "Hurry, eat up, but save me half."

"Ying!" Xiaoyan eyed her master's "wages," and took a big bite without a second thought.

The plump fruit was delicious—one mouthful, juice exploding everywhere.

She was a good girl, leaving most of it for Du Yu. He simply lowered his head and popped the rest of the Firethorn Fruit into his mouth.

Little Fen Yang cheered: "Yum, yum~"

"Ah." Du Yu's face twisted with the sourness, mumbling, "Yum, ugh~ it's good, I guess."

He went back to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, tossed away the towel, and walked out of the room again.

Passing the living room, as expected, he was blocked by the "Evil Tree" again. The whole thing made Du Yu feel like he hit restart in a video game…

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