The reason Lin Su was interested in Trickster Clown was not only because of its Talent Skill, Substitute, but also because of the evolutionary form of Trickster Clown.
Trickster Clown has an evolutionary form called Master Trickster, a medium-sized monarch species. Master Trickster possesses a new Talent Skill called Trickster Pocket, which is one of the few non-spatial skills that allow carrying items or even being stored in Beast Taming Space by a Beast Tamer.
Rounded up, Trickster Clown = Carrying Items.
So, when Lin Su previously considered pets that could carry items, Trickster Clown was one of the options.
Of course, it wasn’t a high priority.
On one hand, Trickster Clown needed to evolve to carry items, and on the other hand…
It was really quite ugly.
Stroking his chin, Lin Su met Trickster Clown’s innocent large eyes.
“Hehe~(｡⊙‿⊙｡)” (“Hello~”)
Emmm…
You can’t deny, it looks kind of cute in an ugly way.
Moved by this thought, Lin Su slowly crouched down to eye level with the Trickster Clown, which was less than a meter tall, and asked softly, “Why are you following me?”
“Hehe!”
Trickster Clown uttered a syllable, but Lin Su shook his head in frustration.
The Trickster Clown in front of him hadn’t formed a contract with him, and having just met, they weren’t familiar with one another. Simple expressions might work, but getting an answer to this question seemed unrealistic.
Realizing this, Trickster Clown scratched its hedgehog-like head with a paw and quickly came up with a plan.
Suddenly, it grabbed a small wisp of black smoke burning from its body, and a small clump of smoke akin to cotton candy appeared in its claw.
This layer of black smoke looked unremarkable, but as it was part of its body, Trickster Clown could control it flexibly.
Soon, the black smoke split into a thread under its control, gathering in mid-air into a small black beast.
Since it was all black, Lin Su could only roughly discern that it seemed to be a bear-type beast.
Then, another thread of smoke substantiated into another beast—this time much clearer, and at a single glance, he could tell it was Trickster Clown itself.
Was it using the smoke to create images and explain itself to him?
Lin Su started to understand as he watched the controlled smoke intently; even Qiuqiu had quieted down beside him, all three eyes curiously observing the images created by Trickster Clown as if watching a silent film.
The smoke-conjured Trickster Clown sneaked into the bear-type beast’s shadow, but then a giant hand descended from above the next moment, grabbing the bear-type beast and inadvertently trapping Trickster Clown in the beast’s shadow, both snatched into the Nirvana Secret Realm.
Seeing this, Lin Su and Qiuqiu looked at Trickster Clown with added sympathy.
So this Trickster Clown had been mistakenly trapped in the Nirvana Secret Realm.
Although the Shadow Concealment skill was incredible, it had its drawbacks. Hidden in the shadow, Trickster Clown’s Substitute skill couldn’t activate, and without reaching the third stage of Shadow Concealment, moving from one shadow to another required the shadows to intersect.
In situations like in the visualization, if Trickster Clown couldn’t escape from the shadow in time, it would remain trapped.
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The scene continued, soon after entering the Nirvana Secret Realm, Trickster Clown quickly escaped from the bear-type beast’s shadow. However, trapped in the Nirvana Secret Realm, it began its wandering life within the realm.
With the simple display, having explained the reason for entering the Nirvana Secret Realm, the black smoke reshaped the visualization, presenting a cave in the scenery.
Seeing the somewhat familiar cave entrance, Lin Su couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
Was it the cave he hid in from the flying leaf sapling?
In the visualization, soon a wisp of smoke formed into a human who blocked the cave entrance with a stone, rested on another stone, and after a while, moved the stone to leave.
Wasn’t that him?
Watching the familiar scenes unfold in the visualization, Lin Su seemed to understand something, his face showing a look of mixed amusement and distress.
Sure enough, just as he was about to leave the cave, Trickster Clown quietly slipped into his shadow.
The rest, as they say, goes without need for further explanation.
Now Lin Su understood the whole sequence of events.
Upon reflection, he couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.
Whether it was when he split from Qiuqiu to wait for her to defeat the Ice Armor Scorpion, or when he stood outside the Nirvana Pool waiting for Qiuqiu to complete her evolution.
If the jester clown in front of him harbored any ill will, the two times he had been left alone would have been ample opportunity for it to launch over a hundred sneak attacks…
Thinking this through, did the jester clown really not mean any harm?
At this thought, Lin Su’s gaze towards the jester clown instantly softened, and he asked curiously, “So, are you following me because you want me to lead you out of the secret realm?”
From what the jester clown had shown, it had entered the Nirvana Secret Realm by mistake. Although the realm was more conducive for the growth of magical beasts, it did not belong there, so its desire to leave seemed understandable.
“Jie!” (No!)
The jester clown shook its head, negating Lin Su’s words.
“Then, are you here to enter the Nirvana Pool?” Lin Su glanced at the Nirvana Pool beside him, which was emanating a misty, colorful light, his eyes thoughtful.
Normally, magical beasts within the realm couldn’t get near the Nirvana Pool. The jester clown was a glitch, having stealthily followed him by hiding inside his own shadow.
The Nirvana Pool, being a treasure spot, was naturally beneficial for the jester clown as well.
“Jie!” (No!)
This time, the jester clown shook its head again.
“Then what are you following me for?” Lin Su asked curiously.
“Jie! (｡⊙‿⊙｡)” (Look!)
The jester clown moved its hand, and the smoke changed again.
This time, what emerged was Lin Su sitting on a rock inside a cave with Qiuqiu in his arms.
In the picture, Lin Su was patting Qiuqiu’s head.
Suddenly, the image zoomed in slowly from the whole to the part, eventually focusing solely on Qiuqiu and the hand on its head.
Was it for Qiuqiu?
Lin Su blinked, feeling that something was not quite right.
His gaze suddenly fell on the hand in the image, and a bizarre thought came into his mind.
Could it be…
He cleared his throat and spoke uncertainly, “Do you want me to pat your head too?”
“Jie!” (That’s it!)
“Mi! (◣_◢)” (No way!)
Almost at the same time as the jester clown raised both its hands in cheer, Qiuqiu spoke up warily from the side.
Gazing at the jester clown, its look turned hostile again.
Darn it, was this fellow planning to harm Lin Su?
Lin Su must have been deceived!
Sensing Qiuqiu’s thoughts, Lin Su explained with a smile, “Don’t worry, Qiuqiu. If the jester clown really wanted to hurt me, it would have had the best opportunity when I was alone before. So, it means no harm.”
“Mi…” (Well, okay…)
After contemplating Lin Su’s words, Qiuqiu seemed to find some sense in them. Its expression twisted for a moment, and finally, it nodded, but couldn’t help but advise.
“Mi!” (Be careful then!)
Facing Qiuqiu’s concern, Lin Su nodded with a smile, signaling he got the message.
After finishing his exchange with Qiuqiu, he turned back to the jester clown.
In the short time of their exchange, the jester clown had silently moved a few steps forward, its head slightly bowed.
Its large, white eyes were filled with nervousness. The jester clown clenched its teeth, with two claws each extending a finger to touch in front of its chest.
Seeing the jester clown’s nervous and embarrassed demeanor, Lin Su couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, stretching his hand through the black smoke and gently rubbing the jester clown’s spiky head.
The touch was nothing like what Lin Su had expected. The black smoke, which looked like poison, felt harmless against his skin, more like vapor patting his arm. The seemingly sharp spiky head was actually soft and not prickly at all to the touch.
Coupled with the jester clown’s cured expression of bliss from just a pat on the head, Lin Su immediately found the little guy more likable.
“Jie! (｡⊙‿⊙｡)” (Happy!)