On this day, the sun was shining brightly. On the way to the grassland, Qin Tian was in an inexplicably good mood.
He hadn’t fed the Primal Panda for four days. If all went as expected, after being hungry for four days, the Primal Panda would be forced to accept that one-ninth portion of Fish Bamboo Shoot.
Of course, that was just a possibility. What would actually happen still had to be seen once he arrived.
***
An hour later, Qin Tian arrived at the grassland. Before he even called out, he heard movement from the cave, and soon saw the Primal Panda charging toward him.
Startled, Qin Tian instinctively tried to run away.
Perhaps sensing Qin Tian’s fear, worried that this two-legged creature who brought it food would be scared off, the Primal Panda hurriedly stopped, letting out a low growl, as if asking Qin Tian for food.
“You almost scared me to death.” Qin Tian wiped the cold sweat from his brow and then smiled, “Come, come, fresh Fish Bamboo Shoot.”
As he spoke, Qin Tian tossed the Fish Bamboo Shoot out. This time, without even sniffing, the Primal Panda immediately ate it.
Seeing this, Qin Tian was overjoyed. Unlike before, he no longer tossed the food piece by piece, but threw all the Fish Bamboo Shoots out at once, and what happened next was quite amusing.
Just like a panda eating bamboo, the Primal Panda plopped down on the ground, grabbed the Fish Bamboo Shoots, and munched away with a crisp crunch.
“Tastes good, doesn’t it?” Qin Tian chuckled to himself. Unexpectedly, the Primal Panda actually responded, making a sound as soft as a kitten’s mewl.
Hearing this sound, Qin Tian was stunned. After hesitating, he made a bold move.
He took a step forward and slowly approached the Primal Panda. During the entire process, Qin Tian remained tense. If the Primal Panda showed any sign of abnormal behavior, he would immediately use his innate ability to escape.
The distance between Qin Tian and the Primal Panda was only five meters, but Qin Tian felt as if it were five hundred meters. After what felt like an eternity, he finally arrived in front of the Primal Panda.
At this moment, the Primal Panda stopped chewing and glanced sideways. Qin Tian dared not move any further; man and beast stared at each other, both frozen in place.
It seemed like an hour passed, but in just a few seconds, the Primal Panda turned its head back and continued eating the Fish Bamboo Shoots. Qin Tian let out a slight sigh of relief.
Standing in front of the Primal Panda, Qin Tian felt both excited and afraid. These two emotions tangled together, making his skin crawl with goosebumps.
Not satisfied with just watching, Qin Tian directly reached out and touched the Primal Panda’s fur.
Soft and smooth—that was Qin Tian’s first impression. It was like stroking a giant cat, an irresistible sensation.
The moment Qin Tian touched it, he was hooked. His hands moved over the Primal Panda’s body like shovels, while he kept talking nonsense, “Han Pi, all these Fish Bamboo Shoots you’re eating now are given by your daddy, you know? So you can’t hurt daddy, understand?”
The Primal Panda could feel Qin Tian’s touch, but after glancing at him, it simply ignored him.
Just a fool, it thought, no need to bother with him, as long as there’s food.
Qin Tian hadn’t brought much Fish Bamboo Shoot, so the Primal Panda finished eating quickly. Before that happened, Qin Tian had already stepped back a few meters.
“Hmph.” Looking at Qin Tian, the Primal Panda let out a soft snort, the sound so gentle that no one would believe it came from such a huge creature.
Even Qin Tian was stunned. “What is this? Acting cute? Han Pi, don’t tell me you’re a female.”
Of course, the Primal Panda couldn’t understand Qin Tian’s words. It kept humming, even showing signs of slowly crawling over.
It was clear the Primal Panda wanted more to eat, but Qin Tian had nothing left on him. He could only wave his hands, indicating, “None left! I don’t have any more food!”
***
In the end, unable to explain further, Qin Tian simply turned and left.
In the days that followed, the proportion of fish meat in the Fish Bamboo Shoots gradually decreased. After a week, the Primal Panda’s food had completely become bamboo shoots.
The transition from meat to bamboo shoots took less time than Qin Tian had anticipated—it only took a little more than a month.
***
On this day, Qin Tian came to the cave entrance as usual. The Primal Panda was already waiting outside. As soon as it saw Qin Tian, it trotted over, but when Qin Tian raised his hand, the Primal Panda sat right down.
Over this period of time, the Primal Panda had learned to understand some simple hand gestures from Qin Tian.
Satisfied, Qin Tian nodded and beckoned to the Primal Panda again. Only then did the Primal Panda walk over, and from its lively gait, it was easy to tell it was in a happy mood.
Qin Tian threw the prepared bamboo shoots, and the Primal Panda caught them in one move, then sat down and started munching away. The way it ate made it seem as if it was savoring a rare delicacy, making Qin Tian want to have a taste himself.
Sitting in front of the Primal Panda, Qin Tian watched as it ate with relish. He couldn’t help but feel that the whole thing was unreal.
In less than two months, a carnivorous animal was now eating bamboo shoots. If word got out, people would say this was even more impossible than a fairy tale.
But then again, the existence of a Primal Panda in this era was already almost unbelievable. In comparison, getting a carnivore to eat plants seemed a little more plausible.
Besides, all knowledge about Primal Pandas comes from archaeology. Maybe the Primal Panda was actually an omnivore, and the researchers made a mistake when studying the fossils, leading to the misconception that Primal Pandas were strictly carnivorous.
It was possible that the prehistoric Primal Panda had already eaten bamboo; Qin Tian was just making bamboo its main food.
Whatever the truth was, Qin Tian couldn’t be bothered to think about it. What mattered to him was whether the Primal Panda had truly changed its diet and whether it could now enter the next stage—complete taming.
“Ding — Host has successfully tamed the Primal Panda and obtained the Nu Beast Mark reward.”
Just as he was thinking, the System screen suddenly appeared in front of Qin Tian.
Qin Tian was stunned and looked at the System screen, seeing the words “Mission Complete.”
So the taming was complete? Wasn’t that a bit too easy?
Looking below the mission, Qin Tian saw a rune he couldn’t recognize pulsing at the center of the screen.
“Nu Beast Mark?” Qin Tian read aloud the three large characters beneath the rune. It was the first time the System had rewarded him with something other than points.
He had no idea what it was. Qin Tian pressed the collect button, and the rune slowly disappeared. At the same time, his hand suddenly felt hot.
Looking down, he saw that the vanished rune gradually appeared on the back of his hand, followed by a string of information.
Nu Beast Mark: When the user implants the Nu Beast Mark into a tamed pet, they can establish a connection with it. With this connection, the user can sense the pet’s condition and communicate simply.
Most importantly, as long as this connection exists, the pet will never harm the user.
The information was simple and clear. Qin Tian instantly understood how to use the Nu Beast Mark.
Without hesitation, Qin Tian stood up, pressed his hand onto the Primal Panda, and with a thought, the mark turned into a red thread, flowing from his palm into the Primal Panda’s body.
At that moment, the Primal Panda shuddered, and Qin Tian suddenly felt a vague sensation.
This feeling was mysterious and indescribable, but through it, Qin Tian could tell that the Primal Panda was currently hungry and somewhat weak.
There was no doubt—the Nu Beast Mark had established a connection between Qin Tian and the Primal Panda, and this bond would be the greatest guarantee of Qin Tian’s personal safety.
“From today on, your name is Han Pi, got it?” Without his earlier misgivings, Qin Tian smiled and patted the Primal Panda’s shoulder, feeling like a big brother teaching his little brother.
While still eating, the Primal Panda responded with a call, as if acknowledging him.
Before, ‘Han Pi’ was just Qin Tian’s own nickname, but now it had become the Primal Panda’s official name.
After spending so long, Qin Tian was finally able to tame Han Pi, and his mood soared.
***
That night, after returning to camp, Qin Tian told Ye Lin about taming Han Pi. Ye Lin immediately asked to go see Han Pi.
Qin Tian gladly agreed.
Actually, Qin Tian had already planned to take Ye Lin to see Han Pi. He also wanted Han Pi to get familiar with Ye Lin in advance, so that once they moved in together, Han Pi wouldn’t do anything dangerous to a stranger like Ye Lin.
***
The night was short; after closing his eyes and opening them again, it was already daytime.
As planned the night before, today Qin Tian took Ye Lin to the grassland. As they neared the area, Ye Lin became a little nervous.
She was curious about Han Pi—curious about what such a prehistoric beast would look like—but she was also scared. After all, it was still a bear, and a single swipe could easily take her life.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let it hurt you.” Qin Tian’s tone was reassuring.
“Really?” With Qin Tian’s guarantee, Ye Lin relaxed a lot.
Whether it was true or not, Ye Lin followed Qin Tian, stepped out of the woods, and arrived at the grassland, where she saw Han Pi sitting at the entrance of the cave.
After all, Han Pi was still a wild beast and remained wary of unfamiliar creatures. The moment he saw Ye Lin, he went from sitting to lying down, his gaze fixed firmly on her.
Hiding behind Qin Tian, Ye Lin poked her head out, curiously observing Han Pi. Just as Qin Tian had said, Han Pi looked quite different from the national treasure panda.
“You can try feeding it, so it’ll get used to your presence.” Seeing this, Qin Tian placed bamboo shoots into Ye Lin’s hands. “Remember, when you feed it, call its name.”
Ye Lin nodded without saying a word, then tossed out the bamboo shoots. “Han Pi!”
Hearing its name, Han Pi knew it was time to eat, so he dropped his guard, grabbed the bamboo shoots off the ground, and gulped them down.
After this round, Han Pi understood that, just like Qin Tian, Ye Lin was here to bring food. He sat back down and beckoned to Ye Lin.
Ye Lin was instantly amused by Han Pi’s gesture. She tossed another piece of bamboo shoot over, and after doing this three or four times, she finally plucked up the courage to step out from behind Qin Tian.