The Kui Ox beneath him suddenly snorted uneasily, pawed at the ground with its hoof, and stared warily at the deep marsh beside them with its bovine eyes. A low warning rumbled from its throat. "Young Master, there's something in the water! It doesn't smell friendly!"
Since it would become Tongtian's mount in the future, Tongtian was naturally its master, and Chen Song was therefore the young master.
Chen Song curiously leaned over to look at the water. "Oh? Someone actually dares steal territory from Lord Ox?"
The moment he finished speaking!
"Glug glug... splash—!"
A series of enormous bubbles suddenly burst from the center of the marsh. Then, an incomparably huge, round, snowy-white figure broke through the water, sending sprays everywhere!
That thing... it looked roughly like a... Samoyed enlarged countless times?
Or perhaps a giant mochi ball with four stubby little legs and a wildly wagging tail?
Its soaking-wet fur clung to its round body, making it look even fatter.
Its head was round, its eyes like two black beans embedded in snowy fur. Its wet black nose kept twitching, its gaze locked firmly on... the pine nuts in Chen Song's hand!
It floated on the water like a white mountain of flesh, making a "wulu wulu" noise that sounded both coquettish and threatening. Then it actually spoke human words, its voice somewhat silly and urgent.
"Woof! Hey, little brother on shore! What tasty thing are you holding? Hurry up and let Lord White have a taste! It smells way too good!"
Chen Song: "..."
Kui Ox: "Moo?! What the heck is that? It can speak human language?"
Chen Song: ...Don't you speak human language too?
The white beast that called itself "Lord White" twitched its nose, then shifted its gaze from the pine nuts to the Kui Ox, which had just eaten some and still carried a faint spiritual aura and the scent of pine nuts. Greed immediately shone in its black-bean eyes!
"Woof! This black fellow smells pretty good too! Little brother, if that won't work, how about roasting this guy and giving me a leg? I'm not picky at all!"
What the hell? It wanted to eat Lord Ox?
Though the Kui Ox had been beaten into submission by Chen Song, it was still a primordial beast. How could it tolerate such provocation from some unknown fat ball? Especially when the other creature had treated it like food!
Seeing that fire was nearly shooting from the old ox's eyes, Chen Song happily watched the drama unfold as he took out a Ginseng Fruit and bit into it.
"Go, Pikachu!"
"You fat bastard! How dare you insult Lord Ox!" The Kui Ox instantly erupted, wind and lightning gathering around its body once more. Its form rapidly expanded back into its battle shape, brilliant lightning coiling around its single hoof as it viciously kicked at the incoming white meatball! Wind and thunder exploded with tremendous force!
"Bang!"
The Kui Ox's thunderous hoof struck the white beast squarely!
Yet the expected sight of torn flesh never appeared.
The white beast's body was astonishingly elastic, like an inflated rubber ball. Kicked with all the Kui Ox's strength, it merely caved inward into a deep crater, swallowing all the lightning energy!
The next instant!
"Burp~" The white beast let out a satisfied burp, a wisp of black smoke escaping its mouth as its body suddenly sprang back!
"Whoosh—!"
A force even fiercer than the original kick rebounded! The Kui Ox felt an irresistible power surge through its hoof.
With a miserable cry, its massive body was directly bounced away. It traced a graceful arc through the air before crashing into the distant forest with a thunderous boom, flattening a large swath of trees.
Meanwhile, the white beast returned to its original shape.
Chen Song had already nimbly hopped aside when the white beast sent the Kui Ox flying. He watched, dumbfounded.
"Holy crap... what breed of Samoyed is this? It has physical damage reflection too? A meatball slingshot? And such a filthy mouth?"
Having landed a blow, the white beast smugly wobbled its round body on the water's surface, letting out a snorting, giggling laugh.
Then it looked again at the Ginseng Fruit in Chen Song's hand... Its black-bean eyes were filled with longing, and its tail spun like a propeller, splashing water everywhere. It seemed to have completely forgotten that it had wanted to eat an ox just moments ago.
"Woof! Little brother! Don't just stand there! Everyone who sees it gets a share! Hurry and give Lord White some of that delicious-smelling stuff!"
Chen Song looked at this absurd, foul-mouthed creature, then at the Kui Ox struggling to climb out of the distant forest, bedraggled and filled with grievance and indignation. He found the whole thing immensely amusing.
"Alright, alright, so that's how you want to play? You beat my ox and still have your eyes on my snacks? And your mouth is that nasty?"
Chen Song cracked his neck and revealed a "kind" smile.
"Looks like I need to let you know who the snack king and language instructor of this area really is!"
He decided to act personally.
Seeing that Chen Song had no intention of voluntarily handing over his snacks and was instead walking toward it, the white beast became unhappy.
It made another threatening "wulu wulu" sound, drew in a deep breath, and puffed up its already round body to an even more exaggerated size before suddenly spitting!
"Pfft—!"
A thick water jet mixed with some of the lightning energy it had swallowed earlier, still not fully digested, blasted toward Chen Song like a high-pressure water cannon!
"Five-Colored Divine Light, Celestial Water Curtain!" Chen Song remained calm. The Five Elements Illusory Spirit Fan appeared once more, and with a light wave, a water-element barrier swirling with five-colored radiance formed before him.
The formidable water-and-lightning blast struck the five-colored water curtain, causing only a ripple in its glow before being effortlessly assimilated and absorbed. It even strengthened the curtain.
"That's it?" Chen Song raised an eyebrow, preparing to use a stronger method to teach this greedy fat ball a lesson.
But the white beast froze when it saw its attack had failed, blinking its black-bean eyes.
It did not continue attacking. Instead, it did something that nearly made Chen Song collapse—
It suddenly flopped down into the water, its round body floating on the surface. Then it paddled with all four limbs like an enormous white caterpillar, frantically... dog-paddling toward Chen Song!
As it paddled, it wailed in a deeply aggrieved voice, loud and clear.
"Wuwuwu! I can't beat you! Elder Brother! Sir! Ancestor! I was wrong! I've got a filthy mouth! I failed to recognize a great person!"
"Hungry, hungry! Food, food! Wuwuwu... give me something to eat! Just one bite! One bite!"
"Lord White... no! Little White will be your dog! I promise I'll be more useful than that stupid ox! I can dog-paddle! I can wag my tail! I can even herd cattle!"
"Woof! Woof woof woof!"
Kui Ox: ???
In truth, the white ball had already been thinking to itself, Why the hell keep fighting? I'm about as strong as that stupid ox. But it had sharp eyes. The instant Chen Song acted, it had already realized that Chen Song was far, far stronger than itself. So it decisively chose to surrender and cling to a powerful thigh.
Those final few "woofs" were utterly sincere and completely without dignity.
Chen Song: "..."
The Kui Ox, which had just crawled back from the woods, was so furious that its nose nearly twisted sideways. "Pah! You shameless fat bastard! Who are you calling a stupid ox?! Young Master, don't believe it! That thing doesn't look like a good dog at all!"
Chen Song nearly dropped the Five Elements Illusory Spirit Fan in his hand. Looking at this absurd beast that was dog-paddling while crying for food, verbally harassing others, and putting down its competition, he felt his entire worldview of the primordial world taking a massive hit.
This thing... had absolutely no bottom line?! And it sure had a slick tongue!
Was this thing trying to take the postgraduate entrance exam or something?
But for some reason, seeing its foolishly adorable—mentally challenged—appearance and its completely unburdened begging, the last traces of Chen Song's anger vanished. Instead, he found the creature to be an endless source of amusement.
Suppressing a laugh, he deliberately put on a stern face. "You want to eat?"
The white beast nodded frantically, dog-paddling even faster as water splashed everywhere. "Yes! Yes yes! Woof! Elder Brother, you're my real Elder Brother!"
"Follow me, and you'll have all the snacks you could want from now on. But you need to follow the rules. No more running your mouth and bullying the old ox. Deal?" Chen Song laid out his terms.
"All I can eat? Woof! As long as there's plenty, I'm in! I know the rules! Whatever Elder Brother says goes! From now on, Little White will be your most loyal lackey! Woof woof!" The white beast agreed without hesitation. What was dignity? Could it be eaten? Did it smell as good as pine nuts?
Chen Song's mouth twitched. "Little White? Weren't you Lord White just now?"
"Wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare! Before Elder Brother, there's only Little White! Woof woof!" The white beast tried hard to crawl ashore, but it was so fat that it took several attempts before it succeeded.
Once ashore, it quickly shrank down into the size of a normal dog.
It shook the water from its fur, then scampered to Chen Song's feet. It rubbed its enormous wet head ingratiatingly against Chen Song's leg, leaving a large wet stain behind. Its tail wagged wildly as it chattered nonstop. "Elder Brother is mighty! Elder Brother is awesome! Elder Brother, give me something to eat!"
With a casual wave, Chen Song sent a handful of pine nuts into the dog's mouth. Little White munched away happily, making the Kui Ox beside them green with envy.
Watching this spineless fellow beg for food through cuteness and smooth talk, the Kui Ox disdainfully snorted. Yet there was still a hint of envy in its eyes—it had taken a real beating before it submitted! This fat bastard had succeeded just by being shameless?
Chen Song did not play favorites and stuffed a handful into the ox's mouth as well.
"I don't think the name Little White suits you." Chen Song looked thoughtfully at the... Samoyed happily eating away.
"Then I'll be called whatever Boss says, woof!"
"Let's call you Big White. It sounds more like a dog."
Big White: ...
Fine, Big White it was. What else could he do? Chen Song was the boss.
Before you continue