Return

Gang Zong's massive figure was still eye-catching enough. For this settlement of ordinary people, such a huge body like a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast was a rare sight, so Gang Zong attracted most people's gazes the moment he entered.

"Such a big wild boar! If this were killed, it would be enough to eat for a year, right?"

"You still want to kill it? This looks like a Spirit Beast at a glance. Won't those tusks pierce you straight through? Just like the candied haws that old man sells?"

"Can't a guy even think about it? Speaking of candied haws, you say why that old man is so shrewd? How come we didn't think this was a business? A few fruits wrapped in sugar and that price tag earns a lot more. I heard he even set up a stall in the city."

"Who told you not to give others a hint back then?"

The old man who had been given two skewers of Tanghulu by Xiao Wu back then took the things home and gave them to his own granddaughter. His son unexpectedly discovered the business opportunity within them. Shortly after, the old man's family, having exhausted the rest of their wealth to obtain their first batch of startup capital, began to try, and they succeeded. Within a year, they gradually grew large and strong. The food known as Tanghulu spread through the nearby provinces, and the future first candied haw shop claiming a ten-thousand-year-old brand name also spread from then on.

As Gang Zong's pig legs stepped forward, the formed road ahead gradually narrowed and disappeared. Soon, the front was already a maze of intricate forest trails. Human traces gradually vanished, which showed that the number of humans reaching this place had become scarce, and Ye Qing had finally returned to the true Star Dou Great Forest.

The carriage was also put away by Ye Qing. In a place like this, driving a carriage was no longer comfortable, but bumpy. He took a breath of the familiar forest air.

"Back again, then."

"Is this entire forest your territory?"

"No, just a small piece of it."

"Are there beings in this forest stronger than you?"

"Except for the one who has always been asleep, there probably aren't any, but she might not necessarily be my match either." With the passage of time, Ye Qing's combat power was also gradually strengthening. Back then, relying on his gaming operations, he could fight Di Tian to a draw. Nowadays, although Di Tian led in cultivation, the difference in physical constitution was also obvious. Coupled with his own attribute of special attacks against the Dragon Clan, the Silver Dragon King who had always been asleep might not necessarily be able to do much to him.

"Xue'er, look, this guy doesn't even have a big enough piece of territory. At a glance, he's someone without pursuits, and he's definitely not suitable for you. Since you're already here, let's figure out when we're going back to the Extreme North. By then, the Empress will help you snatch back however large a place you want."

"You seem to be just the second-in-command of the Extreme North, right?"

"What did you say? That was just the Empress being accommodating..."

"Indeed. You haven't crossed the thirty-thousand-year mark yet, have you? Your Xue'er over there just crossed the sixty-thousand-year mark not long ago. I'm really supposed to believe that you're yielding to someone whose age is double yours."

"You guy, why is your way of speaking so strange today?" For Ye Qing's sudden passive-aggressive way of communicating, Ice Empress only thought water had gotten into his brain.

"Tone of voice? Has it changed a lot? I don't know either. Maybe the author's acting up today."

"Author??"

"Don't mind the details, just a writer's block and filler-content monster."

As for Snow Empress, she seemed to have already grown accustomed to the bickering between the two. Now she seemed even more interested in the unique creatures in the forest, especially various flying insect-type Spirit Beasts. Perhaps due to the climate of the Extreme North, the Spirit Beasts there had abandoned the ability to fly during their long evolution. For instance, the most common Ice Silkworm clan in the Northland—if they were in the outside world, these Ice Silkworms might break their cocoons and turn into butterflies or moths, but in the Extreme North, those insect wings would only accelerate their own demise.

Today's Northland creatures could be divided into several major categories: mammals with thick fur like Ice Bears and Woolly Pigs, creatures with special ice-crystal shells like Ice Empress, and polar creatures like penguins. Therefore, Snow Empress, who rarely left the Extreme North, was very interested in these bees and butterflies dancing among the flowers in the midsummer season.

In fact, Ice Empress was also interested in these little fellows, but she was interested in another aspect. She casually grabbed a Devil Bee and threw it into her mouth.

"Sweet, the taste is not bad. This flavor is also good, except there's too much powder on the body which affects the mouthfeel. The juicy larvae have a better mouthfeel, though. Hey, where are the nests of these guys usually located?"

"Your palate is really unique."

"What are you talking about? Don't you know that the Ice Jade Scorpion's primary food is the Ice Silkworm? Mentioning Ice Silkworms makes me angry. If the Empress catches that bastard, the Empress will definitely eat it." Ye Qing almost forgot that this tsundere loli's true form was a scorpion. Come to think of it, a scorpion's staple food seemed to be all kinds of insects and their larvae. That being said, it wasn't strange that Ice Empress wanted to find those bee pupae. Perhaps Ye Qing hadn't even noticed himself that the dietary habits of Spirit Beasts capable of Shape Transformation were still influenced by their previous races.

Just like compared to meat, Xiao Wu and Ah Rou preferred carrots and vegetables, while Xiao Qing liked to swallow or drink some liquid food when eating. As for himself, after he inadvertently discovered that the bones in meat were just like biscuits to him, he often stopped spitting out bones, and things he previously couldn't swallow had now become a textural condiment.

"Spare those larvae. Xiong Jun that fellow is still counting on these guys' honey. But with your palate, I thought of some things that suit you very well." Regarding the ingredient list of the Gourmet World, there were always some very interesting places, such as the Emperor Chocolate Nut Worm. For mollusk-type food, Ye Qing had always kept his distance, but now there seemed to be a great subject to experience the taste of these things.

"Your expression makes the Empress feel that you harbor malicious intentions."

"How could that be? Look at my smile. Don't you think it's very friendly?"

"Hehe..."

In the end, Ice Empress still abandoned the plan to search for those bee larvae. Although she completely distrusted Ye Qing's character, she also admitted that the food this guy took out along the way was rare deliciousness, which even Snow Empress, who fed on ice-and-snow energy, would develop an interest in. Thus, the few beasts continued on their journey toward Ye Qing's castle.

Inside the castle, Xiao Qing maintained the state of a lying corpse, while Xiao Wu walked past indifferently. Ever since Ye Qing left for more than a month, Xiao Qing had turned into this listless appearance, and during the winter that had just ended, she even chose to hibernate, with quite a long hibernation period at that.

Today, however, Xiao Qing broke out of this state. Lying flat as a corpse, she suddenly sat up, her gaze instantly filled with vitality. Her split tongue tip protruded from her mouth, and afterward, she captured the scent factor she wanted to find the most.

"Finally back? No, there is also someone else's aura, and it feels like a female's aura."

"Aunt Qing, how do you tell males and females apart?"

"A thing called hormones. But more importantly, my intuition."

...There are too many things to do during the first lunar month and I have writer's block too. Honestly, even I feel a bit hopeless. Once this holiday passes, it'll be fine. These past few days might have to become a single-update party.