[VIP] (continued)

Xie Juanhan rubbed their brows, but couldn't smooth out their furrowed brows.

Instead, when he rubbed Nibote's eyebrows, he rubbed out several Griffin hairs.

This guy is shedding again.

Xie Juanhan looked at the golden-red fur in his hand and decided to brush Nibote's fur properly later.

Xie Juanhan finished fixing the bird shed, he moved the Demon Bird inside and then cleaned the study spotless.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief after brushing Nibote and Moli's fur.

A home needs to be clean and tidy to feel comfortable.

The Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and the weather is cold. Xie Juanhan and his friends rarely go out. Most of the time, they stay at home reading, warming themselves by the fire, and hibernating with their furry pets.

That morning, Xie Juanhan was making pumpkin cake for the furry creatures.

Their pumpkins keep well; they were kept in the dragon's cave and haven't been finished yet.

The naturally sweet pumpkin is taken out, steamed, mashed into a puree, and mixed with butter, fish milk, powdered sugar, etc., and baked into a pumpkin cake with a dry and fragrant exterior and a soft and molten interior. It is perfect to eat with hot tea in such a cold winter.

Perhaps because the winter was too cold and dry, the aroma of the baked cake wafted out, making the whole little house feel exceptionally warm and cozy.

The Tata Fish arrived at this time.

The river in front of Xie Juanhan's house was frozen over, with a layer of ice on the surface.

The Tata Fish, however, continued swimming along the river, creating holes in the ice every so often to breathe.

They swam downstream for quite a while, relying on their memory to reach Xie Juanhan's house, where they pushed hard against the ice and created a breathing hole.

As they breathed in the fresh air, they also smelled a rich, sweet fragrance.

The sweet aroma is a complex blend of milk, egg, powdered sugar, and pumpkin notes.

The Tata Fish tried to call out to their friends, but before they could open their mouths, they couldn't help but gulp down several mouthfuls of sweet air.

Then, they started chirping.

"Chirp?!" The Companion Beast's ears twitched, and they turned their heads sharply, propping themselves up to look at the riverbank.

Upon seeing the Tata Fish, they darted away in a flash, chirping!

Tata Fish: "Click click click!"

Xie Juanhan poked his head out from the kitchen. "The Tata Fish are here? I was just about to look for you."

The Tata Fish crowded near their breathing holes at the surface of the river, poking their heads out with a "click-clack!"

Xie Juanhan: "You guys play for a while, the cake will be ready soon."

The Tata Fish arrived, Xie Juanhan baked a few more cakes, and Telingewei cooked sweet fermented rice balls.

In such cold weather, it's wonderful to eat this nutritious and sweet food.

Everyone felt a little tipsy.

After the Tata Fish had eaten and drunk their fill, they tugged at Xie Juanhan's sleeve, indicating that they wanted to take him to the sea.

Hearing the "crunching" sounds, Xie Juanhan roughly understood that a delicious creature from the sea had migrated back.

Xie Juanhan wasn't quite sure. "A kind of Demonic Sea Urchin?"

The Tata Fish: "Click! Click click click!"

Yes! So many, and they're so plump!

Xie Juanhan looked at Telingewei: "Since you're just idling at home anyway, why don't you go take a look?"

Telingewei nodded slightly.

Xie Juanhan said, "Then let's go take a look."

Harper and the others squatted to one side. "Chirp?"

Xie Juanhan: "Yes, let's go now! If we don't make it back by tonight, we'll camp outside."

Harper and the others cheered, "Chirp!"

It's warm and comfortable at home, but it's also a lot of fun outside.

Harper and the others quickly grabbed their little blankets and ran out excitedly.

It's cold, and flying high in the air against the wind might not be very comfortable.

At least for Demonic Beast of Griffin's caliber, the impact of the weather is very noticeable.

Telingewei transformed into a giant dragon, carrying his entire family on his back, and flew into the sea with the Tata Fish.

The snow-covered earth was exceptionally quiet.

Most creatures either hibernate or hide in caves.

The giant dragon slowly flew across the sky, becoming the most prominent color between heaven and earth, appearing exceptionally majestic.

Xie Juanhan insisted on taking a detour to harvest Demonic Oyster first, instead of going to harvest sea urchins.

Their Demonic Oyster have been raised for over a year, and each one is large and plump.

We'll pick a bunch later, put them on the charcoal fire, scoop on some garlic Spicy Clam sauce, and grill them.

The taste... you have to try it to know.

Harper and the others had been looking forward to going out to play, and they were even more excited after seeing Xie Juanhan and Telingewei pick two big baskets of Demonic Oyster.

They followed the Tata Fish all the way out to sea.

As they neared their destination, Telingewei chose a suitable deserted island and selected a sheltered spot as their campsite for the day.

Next, they went to find the Demonic Sea Urchin.

The Tata Fish went to great lengths to find them, to warn the sea Demonic Sea Urchin that it was the season for them to be plump and delicious, because they had already scouted the spot.

After Xie Juanhan and the others were brought to the location, some of the Tata Fish quickly dove into the water and soon came out with dark, gooey objects.

They swam up, swaying their fish tails like playful sea dogs.

"Click--"

The Tata Fish approached the giant dragon floating on the sea surface and showed Xie Juanhan Demonic Sea Urchin.

Xie Juanhan opened his arms.

The Tata Fish stuffed the Demonic Sea Urchin into his hand.

These Demonic Sea Urchin are enormous, almost the size of Cold Melon.

These Demonic Sea Urchin had already been partially bitten open, revealing plump, orange-yellow gonads inside.

It is large in size, and its gonads are also very large.

It looks like segments of tempting melon flesh.

Xie Juanhan gently pinched the sea urchin, removed its dark gray internal organs, and then summoned water to wash the sea urchin clean.

The gonads inside were immediately visible.

Moli, with its keenest sense of smell, couldn't help but twitch its paws twice, trying to get closer to the Demonic Sea Urchin.

Xie Juanhan smiled, picked up a piece of sea urchin roe, and fed it to its mouth.

It gently nudged Xie Juanhan's wrist with its beak, then swiftly snatched the sea urchin roe and began to gnaw on it.

As Moli took a bite, an even richer flavor wafted out.

Nibote couldn't resist and licked Moli's lips, attempting to snatch food from her mouth.

"Nibote, you've really made something of yourself." Xie Juanhan took another piece of sea urchin roe and handed it to Nibote.

Without hesitation, Nibote picked it up and set it aside, nibbling and licking at it.

The Companion Beast all crowded around, their furry cheeks pressed against Xie Juanhan's arm.

Xie Juanhan divided them into sea urchin roe.

They quickly and contentedly began to eat.

Seeing this, the Tata Fish proudly dived into the water and carried away one Demonic Sea Urchin after another.

Xie Juanhan didn't forget to open the windows for them either.

Once the little ones had all eaten...

Xie Juanhan opened another one and shared it with the giant dragon.

Fresh Demonic Sea Urchin are indeed delicious.

Sweet, smooth, and rich, like ice cream slowly melting on the tip of your tongue.

The best part is that it has almost no fishy smell.

Without knowing its origin, it's hard to imagine that this is actually the gonad of some kind of creature.

"Delicious!" Xie Juanhan said to the Tata Fish, "You guys have such a knack for finding good food!"

The Tata Fish were even more proud. "Crunch!"

The Tata Fish led the way; they had found the den of the Demonic Sea Urchin and could go there to catch them.

Xie Juanhan: "A lot?"

The Tata Fish nodded vigorously. "Click, click!"

Xie Juanhan took out a basket from his spatial armband. "We'll go with you."

The dragon said, "I'll go too. I'll get Harper and the others to the island first."

Harper and the others immediately chirped to indicate that they wanted to go too, adding that they were fire-attribute Demonic Beast and weren't afraid of the cold.

They hummed and licked their lips, their purpose very clear.

They seemed to still be interested in the Demonic Sea Urchin and wanted to go down and catch them themselves.

Xie Juanhan: "Then let's go together. If you feel unwell later, just turn to look at me, and I'll bring you up."

"Awoo!"

Xie Juanhan is skilled at water control and has taken the furry creatures swimming many times, including many times in the sea.

After making some preparations, they successfully followed the Tata Fish downstream.

The Tata Fish swam happily ahead, turning their heads as they went to indicate that there were indeed many Demonic Sea Urchin ahead.

Just pick it up!

The Tata Fish weren't lying.

Before long, Xie Juanhan spotted the Demonic Sea Urchin in the shallow seabed.

These Demonic Sea Urchin were piled up on the seabed like small mountains, looking just like a large-scale acquisition of goods from a market.

They wriggled slowly, whether socializing or rotting, it was hard to tell, but they looked very fresh.

Harper and the others had just surfaced to get some air when they saw this huge pile of Demonic Sea Urchin. They couldn't resist and immediately charged forward.

During the charge, it's unclear which Companion Beast started it first.

They actually started racing each other to see who could run the fastest.

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei observed them from behind so they could be pulled up immediately if anything happened.

Xie Juanhan's entire attention was focused on the furry creatures, and he did not expect the Demonic Sea Urchin to suddenly attack.

The same is true for Telingewei.

They reacted simultaneously the moment the Demonic Sea Urchin made its unusual movement.

Almost simultaneously, Xie Juanhan fired a blast of cold air at the Demonic Sea Urchin in front of him, while Telingewei spat out a mouthful of Dragon Flame.

Some of the Demonic Sea Urchin were frozen, Demonic Sea Urchin were cooked, but Demonic Sea Urchin more went into attack mode.

They suddenly launched their spines.

The seawater was covered with countless spikes, like sharp arrows!

Xie Juanhan transformed into White Dragon, darted to the front, and with a swipe of his body, shoved aside the Tata Fish in front of him.