Chapter 14

As it fled, it suddenly feinted.

The moment a small gap appeared in the crowd hunting it, it risked injury and charged through the opening, straight toward the Magic Forest.

Chimerao did not dare charge toward Xie Juanhan, instead heading for the other side of the forest.

As soon as the adventurers saw Chimerao rush into the Magic Forest, they stopped, hesitating.

The humans began arguing.

Their loud shouting reached Xie Juanhan's ears.

"Why did you stop? Keep chasing it! Chase it!!!"

"Goddess! That's a dragon's territory!"

"My lord, there's no need to bother with it. Chimerao definitely won't dare come back."

"Maybe that dragon will kill Chimerao!"

"No. The bounty you posted only offered gold for chasing Chimerao, not for entering the Magic Forest."

The adventurers thought the Magic Forest was too dangerous and were unwilling to enter.

The people with the constable grumbled for quite a while. Since the adventurers would not go in, neither would they.

"Chirp, chirp!"

The Companion Beasts keeping Xie Juanhan company at his feet stood on their hind legs, ears pricked and eyes wide as they listened to the argument across the way.

A few of the little ones even craned their necks to look.

Xie Juanhan picked them up and set them on his shoulders.

The little ones had only been curious about the commotion at first.

But as they listened, their expressions grew serious.

Xie Juanhan could tell at a glance that they were worried about Chimerao charging into the Magic Forest. He reached back and stroked their backs, silently comforting them.

The humans on the opposite bank argued for a while.

A beast's roar came from the Magic Forest. It sounded as though the injured Chimerao was hunting to replenish its energy.

Before long, a pack of demon wolves fled the forest. Spotting Xie Juanhan from a distance, they paused, then fled in another direction with their tails between their legs.

At the sight, the little ones could no longer sit still.

The Magic Forest was their territory!

"Roar!" One impatient little one charged out first.

Seeing their companion run ahead, the others immediately rushed after it.

The little ones let out threatening roars as they raced toward Chimerao.

Even Xie Juanhan had not expected them to be so fast when they got serious.

He had not managed to stop them!

"Wait!" Xie Juanhan shouted behind them.

The little ones heard him, but had no intention of stopping.

Their ears flattened back and their sharp claws sprang out. Baring their teeth, they charged straight ahead to beat up Chimerao.

Seeing this, Xie Juanhan immediately returned to dragon form and raced after the little ones.

Chimerao was formidable to human adventurers.

To a dragon, however, it was nothing much.

Xie Juanhan caught up with Chimerao and swiftly finished it off without much effort.

The Chimerao, larger than an elephant, crashed to the ground. Its final breath of demonic flame was still in its lion's mouth, sealed inside by Xie Juanhan with solid ice. It died with its eyes open.

Turning around, Xie Juanhan saw that the little ones' furry faces were full of admiration. Even so, he did not hold back, rapping each of them on the head with a bent finger. "Why did you run so fast?"

"Chirp." The Companion Beasts ducked their heads and lowered their ears, arguing back quietly.

"Not even if it's your territory." Xie Juanhan squatted down and gestured at Chimerao lying in the clearing. "A magical beast that big, and your claws are so tiny and thin. What if you got hurt? Call me or Telingewei if something happens."

"Chirp," the little ones called softly. "Chirp, chirp."

After listening closely, Xie Juanhan said, "If he isn't there, you can wait until he comes back and tell him then."

The little ones did not dare argue. They crouched dejectedly at Xie Juanhan's feet.

They looked like nests full of broody little hens.

Xie Juanhan examined Chimerao, turning to glance at the Companion Beasts from time to time.

Finally, he asked, "Can Chimerao be eaten?"

The little ones huddled there with their heads resting on their paws.

When they heard Xie Juanhan's question, one of them spoke up. "Chirp."

Xie Juanhan said, "Some parts can be eaten?"

The little ones all nodded, and another called softly, "Chirp."

"It tastes bad?" Xie Juanhan looked at the magical beast meat beneath his hand. He could feel how abundant the energy inside it was.

A food with such a high energy density should not taste all that bad, however bad it was.

Xie Juanhan lowered his head and sniffed it. "There's no strange smell."

The little ones were not quite sure either. They just looked at Chimerao's meat, their disgust plain to see.

Xie Juanhan was genuinely curious now. "Has Telingewei eaten Chimerao before?"

"Chirp." The little ones grew even more dispirited. "Chirp, chirp."

"He has, and he even forced you to eat it raw?" Xie Juanhan looked at the Chimerao beneath him and said sympathetically, "It is a little fatty."

Eating raw fat and all that-

All Xie Juanhan could say was that fatty beast meat was no good either.

The little ones protested fervently. "Chirp, chirp, chirp!!!"

"Don't worry, I definitely won't make you eat raw meat." Xie Juanhan smoothed the little ones' fur.

"Chirp, chirp."

"No, once it's cooked, it definitely won't taste bad," Xie Juanhan said. "I'll ask Telingewei how he prepared it back then, and avoid cooking it that way."

Xie Juanhan also wanted to ask Telingewei how to deal with Chimerao.

He immediately returned to dragon form and hovered gracefully just above the ground, gesturing for the little ones to jump onto his back. "Come on, let's go find Telingewei."

The little ones' eyes lit up at once. Like light little balls of tumbleweed, they leaped onto Xie Juanhan's back, then slid down his spine like it was a slide, all the way to the back half of the dragon.

"Chirp, chirp!" The little ones sat down in a row and called twice to the white dragon.

The white dragon picked up Chimerao in his claws and soared into the sky. "Then let's go."

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

See you tomorrow!

Thanks to Guwu Ai Pipa for the grenade; thanks to Dalang Luobo, Quantang0 Zhi Liangcha, Chensen, Nanzhi, Gulingjingguai Xiao Yatou, Aixin Bibi Ji, Kuishikui, Wo Jia Gouzi Ai Zhua Laoshu, Yuexia Qingfeng Lai, sleep, and Tangping Yezi for the mines!

Chapter 14

On the white dragon's back, the Companion Beasts chirped excitedly and waved their little paws, pointing the way to lead him back to the cave.

Xie Juanhan did not really need the little ones to guide him.

He could follow the scents in the air to find Telingewei's home.

High on a mountain,

A huge cavern faced the sky and the earth, like a mountain giant opening its enormous maw.

Xie Juanhan landed at the cave entrance with the little ones on his back.

A dry, fresh scent of hay greeted him. It was Telingewei's scent.

"I'll wait for Telingewei at the entrance," Xie Juanhan said to the little ones, returning to human form.

The little ones tilted their heads at him in confusion. "Chirp."

Xie Juanhan stroked their heads. "The host isn't back yet. It wouldn't be very polite for me to go inside."

The little ones paid him no heed and caught his trouser legs in their mouths. "Chirp, chirp!"

Xie Juanhan smiled, but stood firm. "I really can't do that."

Seeing that he would not go in, the little ones had no choice but to gather around him and wait with him.

Telingewei came back exceptionally late that day.

The little ones took several naps and had been waiting so long they were almost growing grass.

Telingewei still had not returned.

In the end, the little ones could not stand it anymore.

They chirped at Xie Juanhan, telling him they were going to find Telingewei and bring him back.

Before Xie Juanhan could object, they had already dashed off.

Although the little ones were Telingewei's Companion Beasts, they clearly had no idea where he was.

They ran back and forth, returning several times, but still could not find Telingewei.

Instead, all that frantic running left them hot, tired, and listless.

Seeing that they were so tired their tongues were hanging out, Xie Juanhan rubbed their heads. "If you can't find him, never mind. It's fine to wait a while."

The little one under his hand raised its head and rested it in his palm. "Whimper."

Xie Juanhan looked down at their pitiful appearance, thought for a moment, and asked, "Want me to brush your fur?"

The Companion Beasts hardly shed at all.

But they spent their days darting through the woods and rolling around, so their fur could get a little messy.

A few of the little ones even had knots in their fur.

At Xie Juanhan's suggestion, the little ones' eyes visibly lit up.

Xie Juanhan smiled and took a comb out of the Dragon Scale Space. "Then let's brush your fur."

The little ones had seen Xie Juanhan brush the Perytons before, and at the time they had thoroughly despised the Perytons for shamelessly lying down under his hands.

Today, Xie Juanhan brushed their fur with Dragon Power.

They behaved no better than the Perytons.

Since they were right outside the cave, they were even more relaxed, melting onto the ground like puddles of water.

They went from balls of fur to pancakes of fur.

When Telingewei returned, he saw the Companion Beasts sprawled out asleep outside the cave.

And in their midst was Xie Juanhan, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, taking a nap with the little ones in his arms.

Xie Juanhan was not asleep, but he was not very alert either.

He dozed with the little ones in his arms.

When he noticed Telingewei's return, what he actually smelled first was a hint of the ocean.

Compared with the real ocean, Telingewei's scent was much drier and fresher.

It made him smell a little like he was wearing ocean-scented perfume.

Xie Juanhan lazily opened his eyes and met Telingewei's questioning gaze.

Before Telingewei could ask, Xie Juanhan pointed at the Chimerao beside him. "I killed a Chimerao, but I don't know which parts can be eaten, so I came to ask you."

Only then did Telingewei notice the Chimerao beside him.