Beastmaster: I'm really just a forest ranger

Chapter 449 First Prize: My Brother Chen Yuan

As Runrun Duck led the three spirit fish off to the campsite on its own, the entire spring outing group fell into a strange silence, which was then broken into a lively clamor.

"Runrun Duck? Duck God!"

"I can't believe it! Runrun Duck actually beats Rapid Otter! Has this guy been training hard day and night?"

"Others only see its plump body, but they don't see the sweat it sheds during its arduous training."

The children were so excited that their faces turned red. They pointed in the direction where the duck had disappeared and chattered excitedly. Several of the bolder boys even tried to break free from the teacher's hand and chase after it, but Teacher Li quickly stopped them.

"You can't go. It's dangerous in the woods. You all saw what happened just now!" Teacher Li said seriously, still shaken.

"The origin of that Runrun Duck is unknown. Although it helped us, it is still a wild pet, and we cannot approach it rashly."

One of the beast tamers added, his eyes filled with wariness and deep confusion.

Hearing the various exclamations behind him, Duck Duck, though not as eager to show off as Cola, seemed to straighten his plump back even more, his head held high almost reaching the sky. Although his steps were still unhurried and pigeon-toed, he inexplicably gave people a feeling of high spirits.

Yes, to keep one's achievements hidden and to leave without a trace after accomplishing one's task—that is the true style of Gao Ya.

Only when the duck's figure was completely swallowed up by the dense foliage did everyone slowly turn their gaze away, their faces still showing shock and disbelief.

A young beast tamer let out a long breath, rubbed his still-stiff cheeks, and sighed:

"My goodness, I've really seen something amazing today."

"This Runrun Duck is definitely the overlord of this area. It's a fourth-tier Rapid Otter. It can be defeated in no time."

An older beast tamer next to him shook his head with a wry smile and chimed in:

"Who can argue with that? If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that a Runrun Duck could be this strong. It completely overturned my understanding of this kind of pet."

At this moment, another beast tamer, who hadn't said much until now, revealed a mysterious smile and lowered his voice:

"What's so special about this? You guys are still too naive."

"Let me tell you, Consultant Chen's farm is where real talents reside."

He paused deliberately, whetting everyone's appetite, and only when he saw everyone looking at him curiously did he continue mysteriously:

"Take the most common and least combat-effective Bean Chicken for example. It's the weakest pet that gets chased all over the mountain except for laying eggs."

"But if you spend some time on Consultant Chen's farm, it'll be a completely different story!"

He glanced around, lowering his voice as if sharing some incredible secret:
“A few days ago, I happened to be passing by Consultant Chen’s farm on some business. Guess what I saw?”

"Several ordinary-looking chicks were leisurely pecking at their food by the roadside. Suddenly, a swift falcon swooped down from the sky, clearly targeting the chicks as its prey."

"And then?" someone asked impatiently.

"result?"

The narrator wore an expression that was a mixture of absurdity and awe. "Those few Bean Chickens, instead of running away, got angry."

"They raised their heads and cackled menacingly at the swift falcon, and then they all jumped up and charged at the swift falcon."

"Huh?" the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

“What’s even more outrageous is that…”

The narrator slapped his thigh, his voice rising and falling: "That swift falcon was actually knocked dizzy by them and had no power to resist. Then it fell from the sky, fluttered twice on the ground, and then lay still."

"I was completely stunned. Bean Chicken knocked out Gale Falcon? Who would believe that!"

"hiss--!"

A collective gasp immediately filled the air.

After a moment of silence, someone slowly remarked, "No wonder everyone says that Consultant Chen's farm is full of hidden talents. The Steel-Cut Earth Lord alone, which guards the gate, can defeat 99% of Beast Tamers."

Meanwhile, carrying its spoils, Duck had leisurely strolled through a small grove of trees and returned to Chen Yuan's campsite.

Its triumphant appearance immediately attracted the attention of all the little guys.

"Quack quack!"

Duck walked up to Chen Yuan, put down the spirit fish it was carrying in its beak and the two spirit fish it was holding under its wings with a thud, then raised its head, flapped its wings on its chest, and made a quacking sound with obvious boasting in its throat.

"Hey? Duck, not bad! You've had quite a haul after your stroll!"

Zhang Hao stared wide-eyed at the three plump spirit fish on the ground: "You've found a habitat for a large number of spirit fish?"

Chen Yuan put down the fish grilling tongs, squatted down, and looked curiously at the spirit fish that Ya Ya had brought back. He laughed and said, "You're so lucky, aren't you?"

Spirit fish are rare, and there are no medium to large lakes nearby that can breed multiple spirit fish, so it is very rare to catch three spirit fish in a short period of time.

"Quack quack quack!" The duck immediately perked up, gesturing wildly as it recounted everything that had happened.

It turns out that after defeating the tidal otter, this guy, in order to make amends, specially took Duck to his lair and offered these spirit fish as compensation.

Furthermore, the duck deliberately scratched the ground with its wings to indicate that there is a hidden underground river at the bottom of the lake that leads to the lair of the rapids otter.

The swift otter kept several aquatic fish in its burrow.

The duck was kind and only took three.

"I see." Chen Yuan suddenly realized, and patted Ya Ya with a smile. "You're something else, you even managed to run into something like this."

"Brother Yuan."

After listening, Zhang Hao nodded thoughtfully: "The children that Ya Ya mentioned should be students from the First Elementary School. I remember they had a spring outing today."

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow, surprised, and asked, "You know about this kind of thing?"

Zhang Hao grinned: "As long as it's in Xuanhe Town, I know about everything, big and small."

"Coo-choo!!"

However, Youmi, who was happily munching on grilled fish, objected.

Looking at the three exquisite spirit fish on the ground, and then at the spirit fish that it had painstakingly caught and was now half-cooked, its large, amethyst-like eyes instantly filled with grief, indignation, and grievance.

Why!
I worked so hard, infiltrating, chasing, and capturing them, exhausting myself to get these few!
Stinky Duck just went out for a stroll, got into a fight with other pets, and ended up getting three plump spirit fish for free!

This is not fair!

Suddenly, Youmi's eyes flashed, and her thoughts surged.

and many more.

Duck said that the raft otter's nest is home to many spirit fish, so why don't I go and catch a few?

Since I'm so kind and harmonious, I'm sure the Tidal Otter won't refuse my request.

Chen Yuan saw Youmi's eyes darting around and knew what mischief this guy was up to, so he quickly spoke up:
"Alright, alright, that's enough. We have enough grilled fish."

Then, he pointed to the sizzling fish on the grill and changed the subject, saying, "I've saved the two grilled fish I promised you for you. The biggest and fattest one is yours."

Upon hearing this, Youmi's bristling fur gradually calmed down. It gave a proud hum and rubbed its head against Chen Yuan's palm, barely accepting the explanation.

Chen Yuan smiled and called to the other little guys who were staring longingly at the spirit fish: "Come on, stop staring, the grilled fish is ready, let's eat!"

The afterglow of the setting sun painted the sky a warm orange-red, and the enticing aroma of grilled meat wafted from the forest clearing. Chen Yuan and Zhang Hao distributed the grilled fish to the little ones who had gathered around. Cola wolfed it down, Huohua pecked at it gracefully, Dandan chewed slowly, Chenmu Huaxian only took a small bite, Luoyun Horned Beast seemed uninterested in the fish, and Dian Dian Flying Cat appeared from some corner and silently snatched its share.

"Coo-choo!"

Yumi opened her mouth wide, revealing her sharp teeth, and hissed and bit down.

Chen Yuan watched the little ones eating with relish, then looked at the three remaining grilled fish, and a thought struck him.

With the Frost Giant gone, there are enough grilled fish to eat; these last three are not worth it.
"Haozi, we can't finish these three grilled fish even if we keep them. Why don't we give them to the children who are on a spring outing by the lake?" Chen Yuan suggested.

“Great idea, Brother Yuan, let the kids have a taste!” Zhang Hao immediately agreed.

So, Chen Yuan found a few bags, carefully wrapped the three grilled fish, and then spoke to Youmi, who was licking her paws, and Yaya, who had just finished eating a grilled fish and was patting her belly contentedly:
"Yumi, Duck Duck, do me a favor and take these grilled fish to those humans by the lake, the place you just went."

His current identity is too special for him to appear in crowded places.

Otherwise, once they appear, they will be surrounded by enthusiastic fans and it will be difficult for them to escape in a short time.

Upon hearing this, Duck was about to shake its head in refusal, but when it met Chen Yuan's serious and earnest gaze, it pursed its lips and then reluctantly stood up.

Seeing Ya Ya's reaction, Youmi sighed inwardly and had no choice but to slowly get up.

The two little ones, one light as a shadow and the other swaggering, one in front of the other, carrying delicious grilled fish, once again disappeared into the woods and ran towards the direction of the lakeside spring outing group.

The aroma of grilled fish lingered in the air all the way. The two little ones swallowed hard, staring intently at the grilled fish in their arms, and instinctively stretched out their claws and wings.

But when they thought of the farmer's serious expression, the three little ones had to suppress their desires, forcing themselves to raise their heads high and look away.

On the lakeside, the children, having recovered slightly from the shock of the ducks, were sharing the snacks they had brought under the guidance of their teachers, but the air was still filled with excited chatter.

Suddenly, an extremely tempting aroma of grilled fish wafted over on the breeze.

"smell good!"

"What does it taste like? It smells like grilled fish? It even smells better than my mom's!"

The children twitched their little noses, following the scent.

Then, the familiar Runrun Duck appeared before my eyes once again.

This time, it was holding two vaguely visible grilled fish in its arms, and the tempting aroma just now was coming from them.

Beside it, there was another creature, Youmi, with sharp, slightly fierce eyes, also holding a fragrant spirit fish in its arms.

"It's Runrun Duck! It's back!"

"It brought something with it!"

The children immediately cheered and tried to surround them.

Seeing this, Youmi smiled slightly and grinned at the children who were running towards her, startling several of them who then burst into tears.

Upon seeing this, Youmi burst into laughter.

Daily prank task completed.

Fortunately, Youmi didn't forget the important matter. She and Yaya walked to a spot a short distance in front of the crowd, placed the grilled fish on the ground, and then called out twice, "Coo-choo!"

This is a spirit fish for you!

Looking at the oily, fragrant grilled fish, the children's mouths watered, and even the crying children swallowed their saliva and looked longingly at Teacher Li.

However, Teacher Li felt troubled.

She took the children out for a spring outing, and food safety is of paramount importance. How could she accept food of unknown origin?

If something goes wrong with the food, not only would a small teacher like her be unable to bear the responsibility, but the entire school would be unable to do so.

She crouched down and said gently to the children, "Thank you for their kindness. However, we shouldn't eat things given to us by strangers or strange pets."

After speaking, she turned her gaze to the leading beast tamer beside her, her eyes questioning.

The lead beast tamer was also racing with thoughts.

He had previously thought that this powerful Runrun Duck was a wild, dominant pet beast, but now it seemed that it had clearly been contracted by a beast tamer.

The fact that this Beast Tamer can breed such a powerful Runrun Duck and also contract with the extremely rare Youmi shows that their strength and breeding skills are unfathomable.

When did such a beast tamer appear in the Qinling Mountains?

For a moment, he felt a strong curiosity and a desire to make friends with him.

Thinking of this, he stepped forward and smiled slightly at Ya Ya and You Mi:
"Thank you for the gift. May I thank your beast tamer in person?"

The duck tilted its head and frowned slightly.

If I give you a spirit fish, you'll eat it. Why are you being so long-winded, like you're drinking cola?

If I, Duck, encountered such a good thing, I would definitely take a bite without hesitation.

Youmi squinted at the human in front of her, then her figure flickered and disappeared into the shadows like a ghost.

It couldn't be bothered to waste words with these humans and went straight back to report to the farmer.

The leading beast tamer was even more alarmed upon seeing this.

This Yumi's speed and stealth abilities are extraordinary, indicating that it is indeed backed by a remarkable beast tamer.

A few minutes later, just as Teacher Li was comforting the disappointed children and the beast tamers were whispering and guessing the identity of the mysterious beast tamer, unhurried footsteps came from the edge of the forest.

Everyone looked up subconsciously.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting a warm golden hue on the person.

The person who arrived was tall and straight, dressed in simple casual clothes, with a gentle smile on his face and a composed gait.

For a time, exclamations came one after another.

"Consultant Chen???"

"Brother Chen Yuan!"

A week later, an essay titled "My Brother Chen Yuan" won the Special Prize in the Baokun City Primary School Students' Essay Competition.

This composition recounts a child's experience of a spring outing: arriving at a beautiful spring outing destination, catching a small fish, and being ambushed by otters in the rapids.
At the end of the article, Consultant Chen, affectionately called Brother Chen Yuan by the children, appears. When the children ask why Runrun Duck is so amazing, Consultant Chen smiles and says:

"There are no useless pets, only useless beast tamers."

This simple and unadorned elementary school student's composition has sparked heated discussions across the internet:

"Got it, I'll run into Consultant Chen on my spring outing to the Qinling Mountains."

"We still don't know how many powerful pet animals Consultant Chen has on his farm."

"To be able to raise a lazy, easygoing duck into a powerful creature, the title of breeding master is well-deserved."

"Consultant Chen is right, there are no useless pets. I'll go and contract Runrun Duck right now."

(End of this chapter)