Chapter 11

No matter how quietly Xie Juanhan moved, or how blind the Peryton was, by the time he reached the last two little ones.

The Peryton returning to its nest had spotted them.

"Roar!" The Peryton immediately rose from where it lay, spread its wings, and flew out of the nest in pursuit of Xie Juanhan.

Xie Juanhan could have shaken the Peryton off, but the dragon companion beasts were on his back, with nothing to hold on to.

The little ones' muscles were taut, their fur standing on end with fright. "Chirp!!!"

If Xie Juanhan flew even a little faster, they would fall off.

He had no choice but to hold back his speed.

The Peryton kept its distance from Xie Juanhan, neither falling behind nor managing to get any closer.

After being led on a chase for a while, it grew even angrier. "Rawr!"

Just then, another Peryton returned to its nest. Hearing the commotion, it circled around without hesitation and flew over to cut off Xie Juanhan and the dragon companion beasts. "Roar!"

Xie Juanhan hadn't expected them to have some intelligence, or to know how to pursue and intercept him. His headache only grew worse.

If he couldn't deal with these two Perytons.

Once the rest of the flock returned to their nests, the fight would be to the death.

At the thought, Xie Juanhan turned with a headache and flew toward the Peryton blocking their way.

The fierce Peryton was startled. Sensing danger, it wanted to flee, but when it saw its companion, it forcibly stopped itself.

That made it hesitate.

Xie Juanhan swiftly closed the distance.

The Peryton was terrified. It stopped roaring and started yowling as it tried to escape.

Undead fairies like them were extremely sensitive to sacred creatures.

Even if Xie Juanhan merely approached, it was afraid of being burned.

Perytons were large, and unless they lived by a cliff and used the air currents to take off, they could easily fail to get airborne.

It wasn't much good at flying to begin with.

Now that it was panicking, it had even more trouble taking off.

It only flapped its great wings desperately and cawed, the human shadow it cast on the ground looking just as flustered.

The white dragon approached, reached out a claw, and gently pressed between the two antlers on its deer head, giving it a little dragon power.

Only a little.

The Peryton froze as though its acupoints had been sealed.

It stopped flapping its wings desperately and stopped its frantic yowling.

It tilted its head and stared at the white dragon with its large, round eyes, its gaze full of wonder.

Seeing that it had quieted down, the white dragon made to leave.

The Peryton came to its senses and suddenly lay down on the ground, exposing its belly and curling its hooves. It looked at the white dragon with bright eyes and gave him a dewy-eyed invitation. "Coo."

The dragon companion beasts were dumbstruck.

The other Peryton was dumbstruck too.

The Peryton lying on the ground with its belly exposed resolutely avoided looking at the dragon companion beasts or its companion.

It only blinked its round eyes at the white dragon and wriggled its sturdy body, trying to look cute.

The tense atmosphere gradually turned awkward.

The white dragon hesitated.

The Peryton wriggled on the ground.

Its enormous body didn't look particularly graceful as it wriggled.

In the end, the white dragon reached out a claw and gently rubbed its belly.

The other Peryton tilted its head and looked at its companion, its expression shifting from shock to a touch of disdain.

Xie Juanhan looked at the other Peryton. Worried that it might still give chase, he simply waved a claw, beckoning it over too.

The other Peryton looked at the white dragon, then at its companion.

After a long while, it hesitantly landed and slowly walked over to Xie Juanhan, its body still poised to flee at any moment.

The white dragon reached out a claw and pressed between its antlers, giving it a little dragon power too.

A very small amount, less than Xie Juanhan released in a single night.

"Rawr!" The Peryton's eyes widened in shock.

Immediately afterward, it quickly lay down, rolled onto its back, and curled its hooves, striking the same pose as its companion.

The two Perytons lay on either side of him.

After meeting each other's eyes, they grew a little embarrassed.

Then they realized their companion was lying right beside them, and quickly felt at ease again.

"Grrr." The Perytons called out enthusiastically, inviting the white dragon to rub their bellies.

Xie Juanhan didn't know how things had come to this either.

He returned to human form and combed the feathers of the two Perytons lying on the ground.

He paid particular attention to the soft down on their bellies.

The Perytons felt comfortable, warmed by the dragon power, and even insisted on plucking out their down and stuffing it into Xie Juanhan's hands. "Grrr!"

More and more Perytons flew back.

After figuring out what had happened, they lay down on the clifftop, enthusiastically exposing their bellies and wriggling as they invited Xie Juanhan to comb their feathers.

By the time it grew dark and Xie Juanhan prepared to leave, the down he had combed out had not only filled the large bag he'd brought, but there was plenty left over.

It was all freshly combed down the Perytons had given him.

Only now did the dragon companion beasts truly come back to their senses.

Their shock turned to excitement, tinged with pride.

"Chirp, chirp!"

Without waiting for Xie Juanhan to ask for help, they insisted on carrying the down back for him in their mouths.

The down weighed almost nothing, but it was very bulky.

Xie Juanhan tied the down into bundles, and even then the little ones had some trouble carrying them.

They didn't mind at all!

The little ones excitedly took the down in their mouths and held their little heads high, lifting it off the ground.

To make it easier to move, they spread their four legs wide and waddled along, carrying the down ahead of him as though they were tap-dancing.

Xie Juanhan watched them for a long while, unable to keep from laughing, before looking away.

He returned to dragon form, nodded to the Perytons lying below, and followed the dragon companion beasts with the bag full of down in his claws.

They were going home.

==========Author's note:==========

It's May Day! Happy May Day, everyone!

Thanks to Big Wolf Radish (*2), Full-Sugar Zero-Fat Herbal Tea, RJFTUJ, Quirky Little Girl, Koi Kitty, Maoniya, Picking Apples Under the Bayberry Tree, mgk993, 74789723, Mango King, and Celistine for the landmines.

Chapter 11: Chapter 11

The little ones ran beneath the setting sun. Sunlight scattered off their smooth, fluffy fur, making them look like little furry balls of light bouncing along the ridge.

Xie Juanhan followed behind, watching them from a distance.

He was so absorbed in watching the fluffy little ones that he didn't notice a black speck flying toward them through the sky.

By the time he sensed something amiss and looked up, the enormous black dragon flying in from afar was already close.

The black dragon spread his wings, their huge, broad spans making no sound as he glided over.

He was so large that he blocked out a small patch of sky.

Xie Juanhan met the black dragon's gaze.

His first thought, however, wasn't about how enormous he was, but-

Sure enough, Telingewei had used his largest form when they first met.

It was obvious who he had been trying to intimidate.

Xie Juanhan raised an eyebrow.

Telingewei remained perfectly composed in the face of Xie Juanhan's teasing expression.

He had indeed meant to intimidate him at the time.

A powerful creature had entered his territory. Showing his strongest form in advance could prevent a fight, which was no bad thing.

The little ones were completely absorbed in the joy of obtaining the down.

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei had exchanged several glances, and Telingewei had nearly flown right up to them, before they noticed he was there.

The little ones were startled. "Chirp, chirp."

They looked around in a panic, eager to dive into the bushes beside them.

Several meters above the ground, Telingewei returned to human form and landed.

The little ones had only just buried their heads in the bushes.

The slower ones hadn't even managed to hide their bottoms.

"Why are you hiding?"

Telingewei reached out a finger and poked one of the companion beasts.

The little one's bottom twitched at the poke. It squeezed farther in, stubbornly trying to hide, but it was too late.

Telingewei picked it up and looked it in the eyes.

Then he held it under its forelegs, raised it up, and pressed his forehead briefly against its own.

In an instant, Telingewei knew what the little ones had done.

Telingewei said, "You went to get Peryton down?"

"Yes, a whole big bag." Xie Juanhan showed him. "The little ones took me there. I didn't expect to get so much in the end. Want me to share some with you?"

"Thank you." Telingewei shook his head. "I'm not used to using down. But they-"

Telingewei looked down at the little ones. "They go steal Peryton down every spring to line their nests, but they don't succeed very often."

Xie Juanhan was surprised. "You don't help?"

Before Telingewei could speak, the little ones loudly tattled on him. "Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

Xie Juanhan listened for a moment, then looked at Telingewei with a laugh. "You used to fight the Perytons every year?"

"Chirp, chirp!"

Listening to the companion beasts bad-mouth him, Telingewei said mildly, "It's not that I couldn't beat them. Those Perytons hold grudges too well. I was worried it would affect their breeding."

Xie Juanhan nodded in understanding. "That's what I thought."

Powerful creatures had to exercise more restraint, or they could easily make a mess of things.

Since they had happened to meet, Xie Juanhan invited Telingewei over to his place for dinner.

"If you don't have any dietary restrictions," Xie Juanhan said. "I'm planning to make fried fish cakes tonight. I've already marinated the little fish."

Telingewei nodded slightly. "Then sorry for the trouble. There's nothing I can't eat. For dragons, practically all food is harmless."

Xie Juanhan said, "I thought so. The little ones don't seem to have any dietary restrictions either."

Xie Juanhan brought Telingewei back to his temporary residence.

His house hadn't been built yet, but there was already a simple stove and some furniture by the river, as well as a small shelter beside them for sleeping.

Telingewei glanced around. "Hasn't it been raining lately? Does the bedding get wet?"