Chapter 16

Xie Juanhan understood, but he was curious. "How did you find out there was whale blubber here?"

"Once, when I was flying over the sea, I happened to spot a pile of rotting whales here," Telingewei said. "I came down to investigate and wanted to burn the rotting whales, and that was when I discovered that their blubber could be rendered into oil."

Xie Juanhan said, "You wanted to help, and ended up discovering a wonderful use for whale blubber. Your good deed was rewarded."

Telingewei said, "I just thought the rotting whale carcasses piled up here smelled too bad, and they weren't good for the nearby sea either."

As the two chatted and cut away the blubber, they felt like farmers harvesting rice.

The hard labor was far from easy, but it gave them a sense of groundedness.

They harvested the blubber, then carried it pot by pot to the center of the island.

Telingewei lined up the metal pots, transformed into a dragon, and breathed Dragon Flame at their golden bottoms.

The blubber melted, releasing large masses of liquid oil and water.

Once the water had boiled away, Telingewei scooped out the impurities and burned them, leaving only transparent oil.

The process was still accompanied by a powerful stench.

Watching from the side, Xie Juanhan found it a little hard to bear.

Telingewei, however, worked patiently and meticulously until he had obtained clear whale oil.

A full pot of blubber yielded only half a pot of oil.

The rendered oil was clear and bright.

It had almost no fishy smell. Instead, it carried a faint scent of the ocean, bringing to mind sea breezes, reefs, and ice fields.

After watching the whole process, Xie Juanhan felt he had gained a new understanding of Telingewei.

Telingewei poured two pots of oil together, went to collect more blubber, and returned to render it.

Xie Juanhan went with him.

After a day and a half of rendering, all the metal pots were full.

Their whale blubber gathering was over.

Xie Juanhan looked out at the sea. "Are we heading back now?"

"Wait for me a moment." Telingewei transformed back into a dragon. "I'll clean up the coastline first, so it doesn't stink."

With that, he flew toward the shore.

Xie Juanhan stood in the center of the island and watched him fly to the shore again and again, grab whale carcasses with his claws, and toss them back into the sea.

Countless fish waiting in the water swarmed forward to share the rare feast.

Watching him, Xie Juanhan said, "I'll help you."

Bit by bit, the two dragons tirelessly cleaned up the shore, restoring the island's peace and quiet.

"All done," Telingewei said. "Let's go to another island to hunt sea Demonic Beasts."

Watching from the air, Xie Juanhan was also filled with a sense of accomplishment. "Okay."

The two dragons landed, and the little ones swarmed over. "Chirp, chirp!"

The black dragon gently swept the little ones aside with his tail and transformed back into human form. "Let's load the oil first."

Xie Juanhan walked beside him toward the pots of oil. "I'll help you carry it."

Telingewei looked at him. "No need."

Xie Juanhan raised an eyebrow.

Telingewei explained, "My back is broader, so it's easier for me to carry them without spilling any."

"Spilling?" Xie Juanhan watched him walk toward the pile of oilcloth and finally understood. "You cover the surface of the oil with cloth before carrying it?"

Telingewei nodded. "If I don't cover them properly and just put the lids on, they'll spill halfway there."

As he spoke, Telingewei recalled some less than pleasant memories. "Sometimes, when something happens on the way and I get jolted around too much, the oil spills all over my back. It's very hard to wash off."

The little ones remembered it too. They whined and squeaked beside him, indicating that when it got on their fur, it was hard to wash off as well.

Xie Juanhan imagined the enormous black dragon and the Companion Beasts all coated in whale oil.

He couldn't help rubbing his arms.

"We probably won't have to do that this year," Xie Juanhan said.

Telingewei asked, "What?"

Partway through speaking, Telingewei suddenly remembered.

Xie Juanhan smiled. "Exactly what you're thinking."

Xie Juanhan lightly tapped the side of a metal pot with his finger.

Intense cold poured from his fingertip.

The clear whale oil in the pot rapidly solidified, turning into a fine, white solid in the blink of an eye.

Xie Juanhan gave the metal pot a gentle kick. "There. It's frozen solid. Just put the lid on."

Telingewei looked at the metal pot.

This was the first time he wouldn't be drenched in whale oil halfway there.

The little ones were much more expressive. They stared at Xie Juanhan with wide eyes. "Awooh."

Xie Juanhan raised a hand and lightly tapped their heads. "Now that it's frozen solid, it'll save us some effort packing it up, too."

The little ones nodded vigorously. "Chirp, chirp!"

With Xie Juanhan's help, there wasn't much packing to do.

Soon, Telingewei transformed back into a huge black dragon.

With the little ones' help, Xie Juanhan moved the large pots full of solidified whale oil onto the black dragon's back, tied them down with strips of cloth, and reinforced them with magic.

This time, Telingewei invited Xie Juanhan to ride on his back.

Xie Juanhan didn't refuse.

Surrounded by the fluffy little creatures, he sat down on the black dragon's back.

"Let's go."

After the warning, the black dragon spread his wings and rode the wind into the sky, carrying Xie Juanhan, the Companion Beasts, and a back full of supplies.

"Chirp, chirp!"

Off they went!

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

The next chapter will be VIP! I'll do my best to write six thousand characters a day after that! Please keep supporting me.

Thanks to quirky little girl (*2), Nanzhi, the uninvited Civil Affairs Bureau, Celistine, full-sugar 0-fat herbal tea, mgk993, deer pattern, and Mango King for the landmines.

Chapter 16: Chapter 16 [VIP]

The enormous black dragon flew through the sky with a pile of golden pots and fluffy little creatures on his back, making almost no sound.

He was especially quiet in flight.

Watching from behind, Xie Juanhan thought Telingewei looked particularly like a black swan flying through the sky.

The little ones sitting on his back looked like a flock of goslings.

"If you're tired, you can sleep for a while," the enormous black dragon suddenly said, turning his head to look at Xie Juanhan.

Xie Juanhan, who had just scooped up one of the little ones and set it on his lap, stroking it idly, said, "I'm not tired. I was wondering when we'll reach the other island you mentioned."

Now that they had collected the whale oil, it was time to gather Demonic Cores.

Telingewei, the local dragon, was leading him to another island with level-four Demonic Beasts.

Telingewei said, "If I fly a little faster, we can get there before noon."

Xie Juanhan's eyes curved. "There's no particular rush."

Even so, the black dragon sped up.

They kept flying onward.

Eventually, another island came into view.

This island was much larger than Whale Grave Island. Looking down from the sky, they could see several mountains rising from it.

White clouds clustered around the mountaintops, like hats perched on their heads.

The weather was just right today.

Flocks of birds were flying down from the island's tall green cliffs, skimming straight toward the sea where the waves splashed.

When they emerged from the water again, they often had a struggling little fish in their beaks.

Some birds, however, weren't skilled hunters.

They had already lifted their fish out of the water.

The fish flapped in their beaks and ultimately fell back into the water with a splash, leaving the birds dumbfounded in the air.

Telingewei and Xie Juanhan flew through the flock and landed on the island's cliffs.

The cliffs were green everywhere, with shrubs stretching from the clifftop down into the forest below.

Standing at the top of the cliff, they could distinctly smell the fresh, dry breeze.

Xie Juanhan looked around for a while, then turned to Telingewei, who had transformed back into human form. "When you go out to sea, do you usually come to islands like this?"

Telingewei nodded. "This is one of my bases. I raise Demonic Oysters over there."

"Demonic Oysters?" Xie Juanhan had heard him correctly. "Oysters that meet the standard for low-level magical creatures?"

"Mm, right over there." Telingewei pointed.

Xie Juanhan looked out to sea in the direction he indicated.

Only then did he notice a long rope tied to the rocks in the bay below the cliff. Its other end extended into the sea, rising and falling with the waves.

When the waves lifted the rope, Xie Juanhan could see things like rocks attached to it.

He had originally thought it was just discarded debris washed in from the shore, never imagining that Telingewei had deliberately placed the rope there.

The local dragon actually raised magical seafood!

Xie Juanhan marveled, "You can do that?"

Telingewei nodded. "Two ocean currents meet here. Throw a rope seeded with Demonic Oysters into the sea, and they'll slowly grow in the waves. They grow cleaner and plumper, without any muddy, fishy taste."

Xie Juanhan said, "That's a genius idea. Do they taste better raised that way?"

"They're very fresh and sweet, with no muddy taste and hardly any dirt." Telingewei explained, "Once they've grown, pick them and bake them briefly with white wine and butter. They're delicious."

Xie Juanhan found it even harder to imagine. "Have they grown yet?"

"Some have." Seeing that he was interested, Telingewei said, "I'll take you to pick some. They taste good raw, too."

They piled all their belongings on the clifftop and took only two cloth bags as they prepared to go down and pick Demonic Oysters.

"Chirp, chirp!" The little ones, who had just gotten off Telingewei's back and were resting, immediately called out.

They signaled for the two dragons to wait.

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei jumped off the cliff into the sea.

Hearing the little ones call, Xie Juanhan looked back.

The little ones were scrambling to jump into the sea.

Like tumbleweeds, they landed on the surface and only sank into the water a few seconds later.

Once their fur got wet, the little ones went from fluffy creatures to sea urchins floating in the water.

Only then did Xie Juanhan realize they weren't solid underneath all that fur.

Wet, the Companion Beasts became thin and elongated, making their eyes look especially large.

Still, there really was no need to worry about them.