Chapter 38 - Golden Hill Rainbow Dojo

After a while, Sudden Death King came back to life after some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from Captain Doofus. It didn't want to keep bathing in dog saliva. What interested Captain Doofus, however, was the tingling feeling it got when it touched Sudden Death King.

"Is it a Thunder-attribute beast?" Lu Ran wondered.

If it were close enough to being a King-grade species, then it would be normal to see some telltale signs.

When I have time, we'll find a testing stone and know for sure. It would be great if it was a thunder type, which is known for its most destructive attribute.

Sudden Death King felt very strange. It felt that there was a huge power hidden in its body. Despite how strong that power was, it couldn’t easily change its habits. It just kept blankly staring at the pair in front of it, not daring to move.

Lizards were fairly intelligent creatures. After it evolved, the light in Sudden Death King’s eyes became sharper.

"Let's set some ground rules."

Looking at the lizard, Lu Ran knew that he couldn’t let it do whatever it wanted.

Sudden Death King probably doesn’t know that it's on par with lions and tigers now.

Despite its size, its strength and speed would be absolutely terrifying when fully utilized. Its size was actually what made it more frightening than larger predators. Its targets might not even see it coming.

It would be an expert in break-ins and assassinations.

Of course, that was only hypothetical. Sudden Death King would probably be quite docile when it wasn’t hunting.

"In the future, you can still roam the house. You are not allowed to leave on your own. I will feed you, but you aren’t allowed to touch anything in the house."

When Sudden Death King ran around the house before, it couldn’t do any real damage since it was much weaker back then. But now that it had evolved, it could easily bulldoze the entire house very quickly if it wanted to.

Sudden Death King couldn’t understand.

Isn't that how it was before?

"Remember to be obedient, or I'll kill you for real," Lu Ran threatened.

Sudden Death King got so scared that it played dead again.

You can’t treat animals and pets like they’re people. The stick sometimes works better than the carrot. This should do for now.

He called Fang Lan, and she quickly picked up.

"You're still alive!!!" Fang Lan said in surprise. "It's rare that our resident cultivation nut remembers how to get home."

"Don't make fun of me just because your reputation in Limitless City is so bad," Lu Ran countered. "I'm working hard and making progress!"

"Hmph."

"Are my godparents home tonight?"

"Yeah."

"Do y’all want to get dinner together?" Lu Ran asked.

"Okay, I'll call them. What are we going to eat?"

"I’m thinking of either Szechuan or Hunan cuisine," Lu Ran suggested. He had been eating a lot of bland food with Captain Doofus lately, so he wanted something flavorful.

"Ok, I’ll find a restaurant," Fang Lan replied.

After hanging up, Lu Ran picked up Sudden Death King again and put it in his pocket.

"I’m taking you out with me today to see how well you can do outside. Tell me if you start feeling sick. If you do ok, then I’ll slowly start letting you leave the house."

"Woof, woof, woof!"

Captain Doofus was playing in the living room when it overheard him.

Why can't you let me leave the house?

"You are too big and will scare elderly people and children. You are not allowed to go out without me. Be obedient," Lu Ran said sternly.

After becoming trained, Captain Doofus became more sensible, but Lu Ran still kept it on a leash when going out on a walk.

What’s wrong with being big?

Captain Doofus glared at Sudden Death King that was poking out of Lu Ran’s pocket.

It’s small and ugly. I will remember this grudge.

Sudden Death King: ???

***

That night, outside of a Hunan restaurant.

Lu Ran arrived early, but he didn’t have to wait long before a taxi stopped by the curb. A middle-aged man with glasses and a scholarly woman got out, followed by Fang Lan, who was now in a new outfit.

Just like she said, she dyed her hair purple and wore it in a loose side ponytail with two strands of bangs hanging in front of her face. She complimented her hair with a pair of red earrings depicting diamondback snakes, giving her a unique charm.

In addition, she wore a black vertically striped slim-fit knit sweater paired with a black A-line skirt cinched with a belt that accentuated her figure. The dark colors emphasized her striking aura, perfectly aligning with her identity as the Five Poison Saintess.

"Godfather, godmother, Fang Lan. I’m over here," Lu Ran called out to them.

The three came over when they heard him.

"Little Ran, you finally came out of Limitless City. We were worried."

Upon arriving, Fang Lan's mother, Su Ya, saw that Lu Ran wasn’t missing any limbs and let out a sigh of relief.

"Hehe, sorry to make you worry," Lu Ran apologized.

"We understand. At your age, it's the best time to enjoy yourself. We couldn’t stop Fang Lan either."

Her father, Fang Yuhan, sighed while glancing at Fang Lan.

After he saw Fang Lan’s outfit, he almost had a heart attack and ended up in the ER. After a while, he got used to it. His daughter was beautiful no matter what.

Fang Yuhan looked at Lu Ran and said, "Little Ran, what are your plans for the future? Are you going to become a beastmaster?"

Now that the Beastmaster Era had begun, beastmasters could be considered the hottest profession at the moment, and becoming one was the dream of an unknown number of teenagers.

"Yes," Lu Ran replied. "Let's go sit down and talk inside."

"Yeah, let’s go in and order! I’m so hungry." Fang Lan laughed. It was finally Lu Ran’s turn to get nagged.

Fang Lan's parents were from great backgrounds. They both graduated from Golden Hill University with doctoral degrees and have taught there. Fang Yuhan was a very close friend of Lu Ran's father. Now, the couple ran the largest pet hospital in Green Sea City.

Just like Lu Ran, Fang Lan, who was born into a family of veterinarians, was destined to become a beastmaster.

In their private dining room, Su Ya decided to be honest. "Your father and I know that we can't convince you. In the past, we could still offer some help in our area of expertise, but these changes have come too suddenly. No one knows what will happen in the future."

"I already told you to stop worrying about it," Fang Lan rebutted. In her opinion, she was doing well on her own.

"How can we not worry?" Her dad frowned.

"I haven't told you yet, but your mother and I contacted our Golden Hill friends and learned about familiar medicine. Our hospital may be converted into a familiar veterinary hospital one day.

"Your mother and I will also attend Beastmaster University to study and teach about the similarities between modern and familiar medicine.

"I’m just hoping that we can be more helpful when you and Little Ran’s familiars get injured.”

"Ah???"

Fang Lan and Lu Ran were both shocked.

"What, you are going to be professors at Beastmaster University???"

Fang Lan stood up. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she slumped back into her chair.

"Do whatever you want."

How did I get stuck with my parents even going to Beastmaster University?

"Um, thank you."

Lu Ran could see their good intentions, but he and Captain Doofus didn't really need a doctor.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. The Divine Deer Pendant couldn’t cure abnormal conditions such as poison. It only worked for physical injuries. He probably still needed adequate medical support.

"Ahem. Little Ran, Fang Lan, remember that we are just ordinary people. Even if we get into familiar medicine, I am afraid we won’t be able to get very far. If you find a way to make someone a beastmaster..." Mr. Fang coughed.

Fang Lan and Lu Ran were both high-potential beastmasters in Limitless City #3. One day, they would definitely come into contact with some big figures like Dr. Gu. When that time comes, they might be able to obtain some advanced intel, which was why Mr. Fang asked.

"Your father now wants to become a beastmaster." Mrs. Fang jabbed. "He is already old but still acts like a child."

"What do you know?" Mr. Fang glared.

After just a few casual words, the two were on the brink of getting into a fight. Lu Ran and Fang Lan were taken back.

Fang Lan quickly stepped in.

"By the way, my birthday is next month. What are y’all getting me?"

"Birthday...?"

Fang Lan suddenly changed the topic, so while her parents were fine now, it was Lu Ran’s turn to be in hot water.

"Hmm?" Fang Lan looked at the startled Lu Ran. "You didn't forget my birthday, did you?"

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Your birthday is still a while out, but it's already mid-August?" Lu Ran asked in surprise. "It's over. I seem to have forgotten something important."

"What?" Fang Lan was confused.

Lu Ran smiled bitterly.

"It seems that my master's 60th birthday was a few days ago. I wanted to go and see him since I hadn't seen him for a while. It turns out that I completely forgot because of all this beastmaster business. Master helped me a lot after my parents passed away."

Mr. Fang asked, "Is it the master who taught you swordsmanship as a child when you lived in Golden Hill? I think his place was called ‘Rainbow Dojo'?"

"Yes." Lu Ran scratched his head in frustration. "I have to go to Golden Hill in the next few days to make up for it."

"You should go to see him and clear things up. Your master will be very happy when he sees you," Mrs. Fang commented.

"Yeah." Lu Ran agreed.

Fang Lan chipped in at this point and whispered, "Say, if your master found out that you taught his sword techniques to a husky, would he disown you?"

"Uh..."

Fang Lan’s parents also looked at Lu Ran.

Do you still want to go?

***

Rainbow Dojo had a long history and a resounding reputation in the Golden Hill region. The current dojo master, Jiang Dou, had been challenging major dojos across the Xia Empire since he was fourteen. By twenty-six, he was undefeated across the country, so he went abroad and didn’t return until he was thirty.

Rainbow Dojo wasn’t just the leading sword dojo in Jiangnan but also across the country. Lu Ran had been interested in swordsmanship since he was a child, so his parents spent a lot of money to send Lu Ran to train in Rainbow Dojo. Back then, Lu Ran was very competitive and showed great talent, so Master Jiang Dou doted on him and taught him personally.

Lu Ran was almost taken in as his final disciple. However, Lu Ran, who was quite playful, became interested in shooting and asked the master a fatal question.

"Master, if I had a gun and you had a sword, and we fought, who would win?"

This question pissed off his master for a long time.

"If we are seven steps apart, the gun is faster; within seven steps..."

"The sword is faster?" Little Lu Ran asked innocently.

"The gun is still faster and more accurate," his master lamented.

When he heard his master’s response, Lu Ran ditched him and left to learn marksmanship. Thinking about the past, Lu Ran was ashamed of his childhood naughtiness.

How could I be so mean?

But fortunately, the old man wasn’t old-fashioned. Although he regretted that Lu Ran didn’t continue down the path of the sword, he was aware that swords had become obsolete and no longer suitable for modern society.

What Lu Ran didn’t expect was that after his parents passed away, Master Jiang Dou somehow found out and came to visit him. He wanted to take Lu Ran back to the dojo to raise him, but Lu Ran wasn’t interested in swordsmanship at that time.

"Now I’m back on the path of a swordsman after becoming a beastmaster.”

After returning home later that evening, Lu Ran booked a high-speed rail ticket to Golden Hill and planned to head out in the morning.

"Well... The old man should be very happy now that I have acquired a bestial sword momentum! He will definitely understand why I missed his birthday. As for teaching swordsmanship to Captain Doofus, he shouldn’t discriminate!"