The Carrot and the Stick

On the vast plains, a half-dragon knight was riding his drake in a mad dash. Dangling from the drake’s tail was a strange ornament: Pomelo, who had latched on with his teeth and was now swinging wildly with every movement.

Behind this bizarre duo, an army of hundreds of Flat-Horn Bulls thundered in pursuit, their eyes red with fury, fixated on the fleeing enemy, determined to teach them the power of their horns.

Up ahead on the plain, a large tree appeared. Ard, on the drake’s back, glanced thoughtfully at the army of bulls behind him. He took out a smoke bomb Yexi had made from his pack. As he neared the tree, he hurled it to the ground. In an instant, a huge cloud of smoke erupted, completely concealing his figure.

On the open plains, the smoke came and went quickly.

When the smoke cleared, the drake was still running at full speed, but Ard and Pomelo were gone from its back. The slow-witted Flat-Horn Bulls were unable to process this sudden development and could only continue their pursuit according to their original plan.

“Phew~”

On a sturdy branch extending from the large tree, Ard and Pomelo peered through the dense leaves at the thundering herd of bulls below, not daring to breathe.

Only when the bulls had been led far away by the drake did Ard let out a sigh of relief and jump down from the tree. The Flat-Horn Bulls, having lost their two targets, would not pursue the drake for long. They would likely return to their habitat after a while. The drake would be waiting for them at the mountain where Sixth Master was being held captive. For now, they needed to get off the bulls’ path quickly.

As for the real culprit, Ard looked coldly at Pomelo, who had nimbly leaped down from the tree beside him. I’ll deal with you when we’re completely safe, he thought, gritting his teeth.

Pomelo, sensing Ard’s hostile gaze, blinked innocently and licked the lingering scent of milk from its lips.

…

“It seems to be around here.”

Meanwhile, after a few detours, Yexi had finally approached her target. The area ahead was a seemingly abandoned courtyard. However, she had noticed that the servants in the rear court would all avoid that courtyard, as if they were afraid of it.

The information Yexi had gathered from servants in different positions was basically the same: there was something “unclean” in there. Rumor had it that the courtyard had once belonged to a favorite concubine of the Baron. Later, for some unknown reason, the concubine had angered the Baron and was beaten to death there.

After that, the courtyard fell into disuse. Strangely, unsettling noises would sometimes come from the courtyard, and the Baron had ordered that no one was to enter. A few daring servants and young masters had gone in and never came out. Over time, it had become a forbidden place.

Yexi raised an eyebrow and began to carefully scan the courtyard with her Ki. She soon discovered that the entire courtyard was covered by some kind of barrier, and this barrier was cursed. Anyone who trespassed without knowing the truth would be tainted by the curse. Yexi wasn’t sure of the exact effects, but judging from the rumors, it was nothing good.

Moreover, the barrier should also have a built-in alarm. Her ‘Awareness’ test showed that the barrier enveloped the entire courtyard, not even sparing the underground space. It could be said that there were no blind spots.

Yexi frowned. She had thought it was too easy before; now she was paying the price. Although this world had not developed the convenient and widespread intelligent technology of her previous life, its unique magical skills largely compensated for the shortcomings of the technology tree, and in some aspects, even surpassed what high-tech could achieve. Such a completely dead-angle-free defense mechanism would require an extremely complex system to achieve in her previous life, at least not something this small Baron’s family could possess. It seemed that one or more high-level mages had put a lot of effort into this.

But no matter the world, any tight defense mechanism would have loopholes. Even if the mechanism was complex, once you found the key, there was a chance to exploit it. Although she had no chance to use her past life’s hacking skills to invade a country’s military system in this world, the important thing was the mindset. And thanks to this world, she had gained unexpected abilities.

What Yexi needed to do now was to test the sensitivity of this barrier, and that would take time. She glanced at the radar; the red dot’s position was still stationary. Yexi then quietly left the vicinity of the courtyard.

…

In a clearing by the road, Pomelo was tied up in mid-air, its four limbs bound by ropes to the trees.

Facing it was a dust-covered Ard. It had taken him a great deal of effort to catch this little thing, and even so, he was a mess.

“My little ancestor,” Ard interrogated, “how did you manage to get a herd of peaceful Flat-Horn Bulls to stampede like that?! Even if you were just stealing milk, you caused way too much of a commotion!”

Pomelo blinked its eyes and answered, “Woof woof? (What are you talking about?)”

Ard was speechless. He had forgotten that Pomelo could understand human language but couldn’t speak it. He must have been driven mad by anger. To be inexplicably chased by a herd of bulls… did he now have to learn dog language? No, this thing was probably a wolf.

“Forget it,” Ard said, his heart weary. “I’m too tired to listen to your explanation.”

A smug smile appeared on Pomelo’s face, thinking it had escaped punishment. But Ard clearly caught its blatant expression. He was instantly furious. You dare to be smug, you little mutt!

“Dinner time!” Ard’s lips curved into a slight smile. He took out some dry rations and jerky and began to eat heartily.

The bound Pomelo drooled, a river of saliva flowing to the ground, and barked incessantly. “Woof woof woof! (I want some too!)”

“What, you want to smell it?” Ard naturally understood Pomelo’s meaning, but he deliberately misinterpreted it. He held the jerky just out of reach of Pomelo’s tongue and said magnanimously, “Go ahead, smell as much as you like. Don’t be shy.”

“Woof woof woof woof! (Smell my furry butt! You’re the real dog!)” Pomelo protested with righteous indignation.

Ard savored his food, deliberately letting out sighs of pleasure. “The jerky Yexi makes is just delicious. This flavor, tsk tsk. If I could marry Yexi, my stomach would have no regrets in this life.”

Pomelo began to struggle, howling, “Arf arf arf! (You single dog! You deserve to never get a girl in your life! A toad lusting after a swan’s flesh!)”

The rope binding Pomelo was made from the fine sinews of a Moray Mountain Ox. Its toughness was not something this little wolf could break. Ard, on his part, couldn’t understand wolf language, but he could feel the thick malice in Pomelo’s voice. He gritted his teeth and a cold smile appeared on his face. He lit a fire and began to roast a piece of raw meat, constantly basting it with Yexi’s secret spices. The juices dripped, and the rich aroma made even Ard lean in closer, as if to inhale all of it.

Ard gave Pomelo a sinister smile, which sent a shiver down its spine. He brought the roasting rack with the meat over to Pomelo, holding a fan and constantly wafting the aroma into its nose. Pomelo, smelling the rich, meaty scent, drooled like a waterfall. Its face strained forward, its tongue stretched out as far as it could, just to get a lick of the roasted meat, even a taste of the juice would do. But Ard kept it at the perfect distance. Pomelo couldn’t touch it, but the aroma was overwhelming. For the first time, Pomelo regretted having such a sensitive nose.

It couldn’t take it anymore. It abandoned its dog… wolf dignity, looked at Ard pitifully, and its voice softened into a whimper, like a little puppy begging for a treat. “Awooo~”

“Admit you were wrong?” Ard said with a cold smile.

Pomelo nodded decisively, without a moment’s hesitation. A pragmatic little wolf indeed, with no shame at all.

“Do you deserve to be punished?”

Pomelo nodded again.

“Will you dare to curse me again?”

Pomelo nodded one more time.

“Hmm?!”

Pomelo immediately realized its mistake and shook its head frantically.

“Will you do it again in the future?” Ard asked, satisfied.

Pomelo began to shake its head rhythmically.

Ard’s expression softened, and he untied Pomelo. “That’s more like it.”

The moment it was free, Pomelo didn’t care about its sore limbs. It rushed towards the roasting rack and, with a flying leap, snatched the meat in its mouth.

Ard watched the ravenous Pomelo and gently stroked its head. “It’s alright, eat slowly. I have plenty more.”

Pomelo, while chewing the meat in its mouth, looked at Ard’s sudden change in attitude with suspicion. When something is this out of character, there must be a catch. This guy is up to something. Pomelo looked at the smiling Ard with vigilance and involuntarily backed away.

“Don’t be afraid,” Ard said gently. “I’m not a good person… ahem, I mean, I’m not a bad person.” The more he said that, the more scared Pomelo became. What does this guy want?!

Ard continued, “I remember Yexi set a daily meal plan for you, feeding you a fixed amount at a fixed time. Is it enough?”

Pomelo thought for a moment and shook its head. It was only ever about 80% full.

“And you have to run yourself to exhaustion just to get a taste of that pill you like so much. Sigh, it pains my heart to see it.”

Pomelo gave him a contemptuous look. It knew very well what kind of person Ard was. When it was running laps, this guy was just standing there gloating. Pains his heart? My furry butt.

Seeing that Pomelo was not fooled by his facade, Ard decided to get to the point. Tsk, this dog is harder to fool than that fat pig.

“I can give you extra meals,” he said directly. “That is, give you a chance to eat on the sly.”

Pomelo’s eyes lit up, but it still looked at him suspiciously. “Woof woof? (What do you want me to do?)”

Even though Ard couldn’t understand, he roughly guessed its meaning. He smiled and said, “You see, Yexi is always putting you on a diet. I actually want to stop her. But you’re her pet, so how can I interfere? Right now, I’m nothing to her; my words carry very little weight. So, you see, Yexi is your mistress, and now your mistress is imposing a tyrannical rule on you, and no one can control her. At a time like this, you need a master, or a male friend, to be by her side and persuade her. The effect might be better.”

Ard had already set his sights on Pomelo.