Stronger with Crimson Modifier-Chapter 69: Goat

"Of course. As long as you’re willing to help, that’s all that matters."

Song Jian smiled.

Afterward, the two followed a path paved with smooth pebbles, arriving in front of a detached villa.

The villa was surrounded by a tall, dense grove of emerald bamboo. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, making them sway and brush against each other with a soft, rustling sound.

Its architectural style blended modern simplicity with natural rusticity. The white walls contrasted with dark wooden window frames, creating a particularly elegant look.

The roof had smooth lines and was covered with dark gray tiles that shimmered with a unique luster under the sunlight.

Just then, before they had even gotten close, they heard bleating sounds coming from the villa’s courtyard.

When they pushed open the courtyard gate, the first thing Hu Qi saw was a tethered goat.

Its coat was pure white, though it had a few smudges on it.

It stamped its hooves restlessly, tugging at the rope in an attempt to break free. Beneath it was a small pile of black, oval-shaped droppings.

However, unlike an ordinary goat, it had not one, but two pairs of Sheep Horns on its head. The Sheep Horns were enormous, forked like antlers.

"That’s the goat!" Song Jian said, pointing.

"Not bad, not bad."

Hu Qi’s eyes lit up as he sized up the goat, which was much larger than a typical one.

’A big one is good! More meat means it’ll definitely provide more Modification Points,’ he thought with delight.

’Hmm, the stomach and brain could be made into a stuffed pouch.’

’The ribs could be grilled directly.’

’As for the head, I could braise it and drizzle it with chili oil. Or I could roast the entire goat, or make hand-pulled mutton.’

As if sensing Hu Qi’s strange gaze, the goat stamped its hooves nervously.

When Hu Qi got a little closer, it lowered its head, kicked off powerfully with its hind legs, and charged straight at him.

The tips of its Sheep Horns were incredibly sharp. If an ordinary person took that hit head-on, they would be left with a few holes in their body.

But unfortunately for the goat, it was facing Hu Qi.

The next moment, its charge came to an abrupt halt, unable to advance another inch.

Hu Qi had grabbed its Sheep Horns. With a sudden exertion of force, he single-handedly slammed the goat onto its side.

The next moment, feeling its legs being pulled apart, the goat let out a terrified BAAA.

Hu Qi ignored its struggles and took a look.

The goat’s hindquarters were round and firm, covered in a layer of short, soft white fur. It looked plump, and the flesh jiggled with the movement of its leg muscles when it walked.

Seeing this, Hu Qi couldn’t help but recall a news story he had seen in his previous life.

Some pirates and sailors would bring goats with them when they went out to sea to take care of certain... biological needs.

Of course, he had no interest in goats whatsoever.

"Is this a female?"

Hu Qi’s expression shifted slightly. As he spoke, he glanced at the pile of droppings underneath it and a thought popped into his head, ’Would eating this stuff also give me Modification Points?’

But he dismissed the thought the moment it appeared. ’No need.’

’Even if it did, the amount would be negligible.’

He wasn’t that desperate for Modification Points yet.

"I actually didn’t notice," Song Jian, who was standing to the side, said with a start.

"Help me raise this goat here for now. Try to find a ram to mate with it. It would be best if it could give birth to kids or produce milk."

Hu Qi stood up and let go of the goat. As if sensing how terrifying he was, the goat scrambled to its feet and retreated to a corner, making no further attempt to attack him.

"Alright, no problem."

Although Song Jian didn’t understand why Hu Qi made this request, it didn’t stop him from agreeing.

Hu Qi’s reason for suggesting this was, naturally, to see if he could get it to produce more offspring.

Even if it couldn’t reproduce, it would still be good if it could provide him with some goat milk, like the Camphor Tea Duck.

However, both methods had one prerequisite: the goat needed to get pregnant.

Until he knew whether that was possible, he would have to keep it alive for the time being.

Afterward, the two chatted for a while. Song Jian gave Hu Qi his mother’s basic information and a photograph, then transferred some money to him—not a huge amount, just 100,000 yuan.

In Song Jian’s words, Hu Qi was helping him with a task that would inevitably require some money for expenses, so he could consider this a company fund.

Seeing how sincere he was, Hu Qi made a couple of token refusals before accepting it.

And after receiving the payment, Hu Qi was naturally in a good mood, so he had Song Jian practice his Mixed Martial Arts.

Although Song Jian had decent aptitude, and his Mixed Martial Arts had at least reached the Mastery level, even bordering on Great Success...

...he was still worlds apart from Hu Qi.

Just a few casual pointers from Hu Qi were enough to benefit Song Jian immensely. At the same time, the gap between them became even more apparent to him.

Soon, several hours had passed without them noticing, and it was now afternoon.

Song Jian wanted to have Hu Qi stay for a meal, but Hu Qi declined.

After watching Hu Qi get into a taxi and leave, Song Jian finally turned and went back inside the villa.

Just then, a sound came from a nearby staircase, and a figure walked down.

It was a middle-aged man with graying temples and a slightly portly build. His face bore a slight resemblance to Song Jian’s.

Song Jian seemed to have expected this person’s appearance. He turned to the man and said in a low voice,

"Father, he’s gone."

"Mm, you did very well today."

The middle-aged man nodded.

"What do you think, Father?" Song Jian asked after a moment of thought.

"For someone to cultivate Qi Blood Power in such a short time, he is definitely a true genius."

"If he doesn’t meet an untimely end, he will absolutely become one of the most prominent figures around."

"However, from my observation, while this person appears gentle on the surface, his true nature is extremely cold. People like him can only be swayed by benefits."

"But, regardless, as long as you don’t harbor ill intentions or provoke him, there’s no harm in befriending someone like that."

The middle-aged man’s expression was serious.

"As for whether he can find your mother, all we can do is our part and trust in the Celestial Mandate. At least it’s a glimmer of hope."

...

’Interesting.’

In the taxi, the shadows of the trees flew backward past the windows.

Hu Qi took the Sword Bag off his back and laid it across his lap.

Leaning back against the slightly hard seat, he lowered his gaze, appearing to be resting with his eyes closed.

In reality, his mind was replaying the day’s events.

’Everything today seemed reasonable, but there were a few things that felt off.’

’Based on what I know of that guy Song Jian, there’s no way his personality would allow him to say something about giving me 100,000 for expenses.’

’Those words were too sophisticated; he’s simply not capable of coming up with them.’

’Besides that, I also sensed someone was spying on me during my visit.’

’There was definitely a second person in that villa.’

But that wasn’t important to Hu Qi. The important thing was that the money was real. That was enough. As for everything else, he didn’t want to bother with it.

As long as they weren’t scheming against him or trying to provoke him, he was fine.