Chapter 99

The little Peryton were the first to spot the creatures and flew into the air to investigate.

Upon recognizing them, the little Peryton excitedly darted into the river, quickly tore off a patch of waterweed, and flew towards them with the waterweed in their mouths.

"Yo--yo--" the little Peryton shouted excitedly, their words muffled, indicating that there was delicious grass here.

These little Peryton happily presented their treasures to their parents, carrying water plants in their beaks.

Before they had even fully arrived, the larger Peryton had already taken off menacingly, spreading their enormous wings and flying toward the smaller Peryton.

The Peryton were stunned for a moment, but quickly realized that their parents were furious.

They paused briefly in mid-air, then, realizing what was happening, turned and fled.

"Awooo--Awooo--" the little Peryton yelled, trying to escape the beating.

The giant Peryton paid no heed, and with a whoosh, they soared into the air, creating a dark, blotting-out effect, and roared majestically, "Awooo!"

The big Peryton flapped their wings, looking determined to give the little Peryton a good beating.

Harper and the others excitedly climbed ashore, craning their necks to look into the distance.

"Awooo!" Haxi shouted in a rough voice, encouraging the Big Peryton.

The other Companion Beast, eager for a good show, also shouted loudly, "Awooo!"

Nibote looked into the distance, then at his Companion Beast, his eyes lighting up. "Meow?"

The Companion Beast's eyes lit up when they saw it. "Chirp!"

Nibote lay prone on the ground. "Ouch!"

The Companion Beast immediately pushed off with their hind legs and jumped onto its back. "Chirp!"

The eight Companion Beast huddled together on Nibote's back.

Nibote stood up, ran forward a few steps with all four paws, pushed off the ground, spread his wings, flapped them, and successfully took off, albeit crookedly.

"Chirp!" The Companion Beast were not afraid at all, their claws gripping Nibote's Changmao tightly, directing it to fly in the direction where the little Peryton had fled.

Nibote flew off happily in that direction, meowing!

As he took to the air, Nibote turned his head and gestured to Moli, "Awoo!"

Moli took a step forward, but ultimately pressed herself firmly against Xie Juanhan's leg. "Ouch."

Seeing that it didn't seem to be giving chase, Nibote barked twice in disappointment.

The Peryton in front were howling loudly, and it sounded like the little Peryton had already been beaten.

Unable to contain his impatience, Nibote quickly increased his flight speed.

In a short while, the figures of Peryton and Nibote disappeared into the air.

Xie Juanhan watched the little ones excitedly run off to watch the excitement from afar, then turned to Telingewei and said, "Eight Companion Beast, they must weigh around 160 or 170 pounds, right?"

Telingewei stated definitively, "In jin (a unit of weight), it's about two hundred jin."

Xie Juanhan was amazed and clapped his hands, saying, "It seems that watching our old rivals make a scene is more effective in stimulating our potential."

Who would have thought that this half-grown Griffin was only able to fly slowly, its rear end twitching, just two weeks ago?

==========Author's Note:=========

See you tonight!

Chapter 99 [VIP]

Xie Juanhan listened intently.

In the distance, the howls of the little Peryton grew fainter and fainter, and the voices of the big Peryton were barely audible.

It is estimated that by this time, the big Peryton have chased the little ones several miles away and will not be able to return for a while.

Xie Juanhan looked back at Telingewei and Moli, "Since we're already here, shall we grab some Spicy Clam?"

Their family uses a lot of Spicy Clam, and even though they raise Spicy Clam Spicy Clam in their pond, the supply is not always sufficient.

We've come all this way, we should make sure we get as much as possible.

Xie Juanhan took out two baskets from his spatial armband, gave one to Telingewei, and pulled him to go down into the river to catch Spicy Clam.

Seeing this, Moli nudged his large head closer and bumped it against Xie Juanhan's thigh. "Awoo?"

Xie Juanhan looked down at it.

Moli glanced at Xie Juanhan, then looked at the basket again, gesturing with her eyes, "Oh."

Xie Juanhan understood what it meant. "You want to fish too? The water's a bit cold."

Moli lunged forward with his wolf paws, his claws stomping on the mud. "Awooo!"

Xie Juanhan fetched a basket for it to carry. "Come on, come on, if you get cold, go rest on the shore."

Moli, basket in his mouth, took a running start and jumped into the river, paddling with all four paws as he quickly submerged.

It will also spin around, catch Spicy Clam, and then rotate to the surface of the water with the current.

"Aww." Moli, carrying the basket in his mouth, proudly gestured for Xie Juanhan and Telingewei to look.

Xie Juanhan rubbed its neck. "Good wolf!"

There were many Spicy Clam in the river. Xie Juanhan jumped into the river and soon filled a small basket.

As he picked them up, he noticed aquatic plants growing at the bottom of the river.

Most of the aquatic plants swayed with the current like willow branches. Among them, some newly sprouted plants looked particularly thick and tender.

Xie Juanhan reached out and gently snapped the waterweed in two with a "snap" sound.

He brought the water plants to the surface of the water to examine them.

The newly grown stems of the aquatic plant have a light green outer skin, a semi-transparent center, and water droplets still emerging from the broken ends, giving them a very refreshing scent.

Xie Juanhan stared at the newly broken water plants. "Isn't it said that the Inner Land doesn't distinguish between spring, summer, autumn, and winter, or day and night? How come these bamboo shoots are growing so well?"

Telingewei came over to take a look. "Perhaps the aquatic plants are not native to this area. Even though they grow here, they still sprout according to the seasons in their native habitat."

"That's possible. It smells wonderful, smell it."

Xie Juanhan placed the water plant shoots under Telingewei's nose.

After smelling it, Telingewei nodded affirmatively.

Xie Juanhan said, "Right? Let's pick more to take back; these aquatic plants and tender bamboo shoots must be very sweet and delicious."

This aquatic plant has grown almost as thick as as an asparagus spear.

Whether you pair it with some grilled meat or a salad, it should taste great when you get home.

Xie Juanhan quickly turned his attention to the shoots of the aquatic plants.

Not every clump of aquatic plants will sprout tender and fresh shoots, but there are just too many aquatic plants underneath, growing in clumps and patches from upstream to downstream, covering the entire river.

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei bent down and stretched out their hands to pick the aquatic plant shoots below. After picking one, another one appeared in front of them.

They picked this one, then that one, and after picking that one, they chased after it to pick another.

After picking for a while, Xie Juanhan had gathered a large handful.

He couldn't resist bringing the plump, fragrant waterweed shoots to his nose and taking a deep sniff.

It looks so tempting.

Now he understood why the little Peryton had stayed there to eat the seaweed.

Even if he wasn't a herbivore, he couldn't resist having a few bites.

Xie Juanhan put bunches of bamboo shoots into the basket and continued picking.

He quickly filled most of the basket.

The basket was neatly filled with plump bamboo shoots, some greener and some purplish-red.

The purplish-red bamboo shoots have just sprouted, and are even more fragrant and crisp. When you break them off, you only get a short section, but the taste is a refreshing and pungent aroma.

Xie Juanhan could almost imagine how refreshing and crisp it would be after washing it clean, marinating it slightly with sugar and salt, washing it again, squeezing out the water, and mixing it with minced garlic, rice vinegar, Spicy Clam powder, and fish soy sauce.

"Meow--"

"Chirp--"

When Nibote and the others returned from watching the commotion, they shouted loudly to emphasize their presence.

Upon returning, they first saw six baskets placed on the shore.

The six baskets were filled with fragrant and crisp bamboo shoots.

Xie Juanhan broke three baskets, and Telingewei also broke three baskets.

There was also a small basket of Spicy Clam on the side, which Moli had caught one by one.

"Chirp chirp?" Harper and the others didn't understand why they had picked so many bamboo shoots and then left them outside.

Habu stretched out his paw and curiously patted the bamboo shoot inside with his paw pads, but the paw tip tore the bamboo shoot apart.

"Chirp!" Habu immediately retracted its paw and stared wide-eyed at Telingewei and Xie Juanhan.

Telingewei casually broke off a piece of seaweed and threw it at it. "Don't make trouble."

Habu, feeling guilty, indeed took a step back.

Xie Juanhan said, "This is for eating, you can't step on it."

The little ones weren't very interested in the crunchy plants.

Xie Juanhan: "You guys go play over there."

Harper's eyes lit up, and she jumped into the water to squeeze Moli.

The other little ones immediately followed suit, all squeezing in with Moli.

Moli was picking the Spicy Clam out of the seaweed pile one by one.

A bunch of furry creatures came over and jostled it, instantly knocking the Spicy Clam it was holding off its mouth.

It was momentarily stunned, but quickly went to find another Spicy Clam.

The little ones initially helped Moli look for Spicy Clam, but soon went off to play elsewhere.

When the Peryton returned after beating up the brats in their tribe, they couldn't help but drool when they saw the water plants and bamboo shoots that Xie Juanhan and his group had picked.

They let out a roar and jumped into the water, quickly searching for tender aquatic plants to eat along the upstream and downstream of the river.

Xie Juanhan and his group picked a full eight baskets of tender bamboo shoots before they were still not satisfied.

Xie Juanhan firmly refused to stuff the tender bamboo shoots into his spatial arm ring. "You can't stuff them in. The air inside isn't good; they won't smell good if you stuff them in."

Telingewei then joined him, and together they carried four baskets of tender bamboo shoots, preparing to return the way they came.

They successfully returned the following morning, just as the clouds were reflected in the water.

Even though it was early in the morning, Xie Juanhan was still in high spirits and prepared a table of dishes while the water plants were still fresh.

The tender bamboo shoots from the Inner Land tasted really good.

After returning home, Xie Juanhan stir-fried one dish, mixed another, and even grilled a dish of meat rolls.

It tastes good no matter how you eat it.