Chapter 17

"Yes, floating larvae. Every year, I put prepared ropes where there are lots of larvae. They slowly crawl onto the ropes and settle there."

Telingewei said, "Once they've settled, I collect the ropes and tie them in suitable waters. If there are too many Demonic Oysters on a rope, I can remove some and keep the best ones."

Xie Juanhan listened, his face full of longing. "I want to go."

Telingewei thought for a moment. "If the Demonic Squid isn't around, we could go this afternoon."

Xie Juanhan nodded at once. "It's a deal!"

Telingewei said, "Let's have lunch first. I'll cook."

Xie Juanhan rolled up his sleeves. "Need any help?"

"Not for now," Telingewei said. "You can have a look around nearby."

Seeing how confident he was, Xie Juanhan had no intention of taking over. He thought for a moment. "I'll go have another look around the sea and see if there's any sign of that Demonic Squid."

Telingewei prepared to cook.

After all that activity, the little ones didn't want to go back into the sea.

They licked their fur nearby.

As they groomed themselves, they huddled together and closed their eyes to rest. A few of them fell asleep and began to snore softly.

Xie Juanhan swam around the sea, then returned when he figured it was about time.

By then, all the little ones had curled up together and fallen asleep.

The scent of vegetables filled the entire cliff.

Xie Juanhan landed and changed back into human form.

Telingewei was cooking in a golden pot with a lid.

The pot gleamed gold, and misty steam rose from the top of its conical lid.

Xie Juanhan had already caught the rich aroma carried by the steam while he was in the air.

It was unlike any aroma he had smelled before.

Xie Juanhan couldn't help sniffing. "That smells amazing! What did you make?"

By then, Xie Juanhan could see clearly.

There was no firewood beneath the golden pot.

A shallow golden dish sat there, filled with oil.

A blue flame flickered, and Xie Juanhan could distinctly feel the terrifying heat it contained.

It was no less intense than a raging fire.

"Braised vegetables," Telingewei said, following Xie Juanhan's gaze. "There's whale oil burning underneath."

Xie Juanhan had guessed as much, but he hadn't expected the collected whale oil to burn so hot. "Can you burn it just like firewood?"

Telingewei said, "Yes. It burns better than firewood. There's no smoke, and there's no need to worry about it going out halfway through."

Xie Juanhan said, "Then I think all the trouble we went through was worth it."

Telingewei nodded, then said, "All right, wash your hands. It's time to eat."

With that, he gently lifted the lid.

When Telingewei said he was braising vegetables, Xie Juanhan had assumed they wouldn't taste all that good.

Braised vegetables were rarely tasty.

So he hadn't expected much.

Yet when Telingewei lifted the lid, there was a potful of firm vegetables in a medley of bright greens and yellows.

As the colors met his eyes, a powerful burst of vegetable fragrance rose and drifted straight to Xie Juanhan's nose.

Xie Juanhan couldn't help quietly taking a deep breath.

It smells so good!

It's completely different from the vegetables I've tried before!

Telingewei dished the vegetables onto golden plates and turned one over to show Xie Juanhan. "Harper and the others have their own plates. They're different from ours."

Harper was probably the name of one of the little Companion Beasts.

"It's fine." Xie Juanhan took a deep breath of the fragrance. "I don't mind."

Telingewei nodded, but still took out the little ones' own plates and served their vegetables on them.

Soon, Telingewei had divided up the meal.

Holding a whole plate of vegetables, Xie Juanhan speared a piece with his fork and put it in his mouth.

In an instant, he believed Telingewei's earlier claim that he loved cooking.

Telingewei had done an excellent job with the vegetables.

They were crisp and tender, fresh, and carried the delicate sweetness unique to vegetables. They were still piping hot, and very comforting to eat.

Best of all, they were seasoned perfectly.

They were coated in sauce.

The sauce tasted of salted butter and was a little thick, as if it had been thickened with starch.

The vegetables Xie Juanhan stir-fried himself were also delicious.

But he had never made vegetables in this style before.

It was so unusual.

Most importantly, they hadn't been stir-fried, but braised, yet they still tasted like this.

Xie Juanhan speared another piece of vegetable and couldn't help asking, "How did you do it?"

Telingewei kept a calm expression. "I used a covered high-heat cooking technique. When the heat is strong enough, the vegetables cook through quickly, and the small amount of vegetable juice drawn out by the heat combines with the melted butter to form a sauce."

Xie Juanhan said, "What about the thickening? I tasted starch in it."

Telingewei said, "Before cooking, I added a little starch, salt, and crushed spices to the butter. Because they were added at the start, the flavors blend especially well."

Xie Juanhan exclaimed, "That's a stroke of genius."

Telingewei said calmly, "This is the dish I make best."

Xie Juanhan affirmed, "It's delicious!"

He probably wasn't the only one who thought so; the little ones seemed to enjoy it too.

All the little ones carried their plates off to the side in their mouths and obediently ate their portions of vegetables with great concentration.

Considering how much they usually disliked Telingewei's cooking, that was a rare sight.

After the meal, everyone grew drowsy.

They decided to take a nap first.

This time, Telingewei didn't turn back into a black dragon. Instead, he took out a blanket and lay down near Xie Juanhan.

Xie Juanhan wrapped himself in a blanket and lay down on the cliff top, with a pile of fluffy little ones pressed against him like little hand warmers.

The wind was strong on the cliff top, but surrounded by the little ones, Xie Juanhan felt warm and cozy.

He slept very soundly.

When he woke, he felt refreshed, as though all his fatigue had been swept away.

He sat up with the blanket around him. The little ones were still fast asleep.

Telingewei, however, was awake and boiling water with whale oil on the other side.

Wrapped in his blanket, Xie Juanhan watched him arrange Xesun tea leaves, butter, and cheese on a tray, with a can of magical beast meat in liver pâté beside them.

Xie Juanhan narrowed his eyes and looked.

He didn't like prepared foods and hadn't bought any canned food in this world. Only by looking at the picture and the few scattered words he recognized did he figure out what it was.

Telingewei noticed his gaze and said, "Afternoon tea. Would you like beast meat between slices of bread?"

Xie Juanhan said, "Yes!"

Telingewei's local version of a sandwich was unexpectedly good.

The bread was toasted crisp.

The magical beast meat in liver pâté was rich and delicate, the vegetables were crisp and refreshing, and the sauce squeezed inside was sour and salty, cutting through the richness.

Xie Juanhan munched away with a crunch and blinked.

As he ate the local sandwich, Xie Juanhan asked Telingewei, "Are we leaving as soon as we finish? Where are the Demonic Oyster larvae?"

"In another bay," Telingewei explained. "They live where the wind and waves are calmer. The wind and waves here are too strong, so there are hardly any Demonic Oysters."

Xie Juanhan nodded in understanding, then looked at the little ones, who were still sleeping soundly, and lowered his voice. "Are we taking the little ones, or is it just the two of us?"

Telingewei hadn't answered yet.

The tips of a few ears twitched among the Companion Beasts, who seemed to be fast asleep.

Then they opened their eyes in confusion.

After a moment, they suddenly realized what Xie Juanhan was saying and gave him an incredulous look. "Chirp chirp chirp!!!"

Xie Juanhan met the little ones' reproachful gazes. "..."

I let my guard down.

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

Here's one chapter for now. The remaining chapter will be posted at the usual time, five this afternoon.

Thanks for reading. Bows!

Chapter 17

Caught red-handed by the little ones, Xie Juanhan could no longer say he wouldn't take them.

Meeting the round eyes of the fluffy little ones, Xie Juanhan surrendered. "We'll all go together."

The little ones still glared at him angrily.

Xie Juanhan transformed into a white dragon on the spot and hovered in midair, looking down at them. "Do you want me or Telingewei to carry you?"

The little ones tried to hold back, but couldn't. "Chirp."

The white dragon lowered his body slightly, signaling them to jump on.

Appeased in an instant, the little ones ran a couple of excited steps on all fours, then leaped onto the white dragon's back. "Chirp chirp!"

The white dragon swished his tail gently and turned to Telingewei. "Shall we?"

With that, he flew out nimbly, skimming past the edge of the cliff.

Close behind him, a gigantic black dragon took off from the cliff like a battleship launching into the air.

They were going to another bay to look for Demonic Oyster spat.

It was a short flight away.

At first, the white dragon flew in front.

Later, the black dragon needed to lead the way, so the white dragon flew beside him.

Though it was another bay, it was really just on the other side of the island.

They only had to fly around the island for a little while to reach it.

Compared with their campsite, the bay on the other side was much calmer.

Xie Juanhan looked down from the sky.

There was no wind or surf in the bay; it was rather like an inland lake.

It was shallow too. From the air, he could see straight to the seabed.

It looked to be only about twenty meters deep.

In such a calm bay, there was no need to prepare on shore first.

The white dragon turned to glance at the little ones, then abruptly accelerated and dived into the sea.

The little ones' fur bristled at once, and their claws gripped Xie Juanhan's scales tightly. "Chirp!!!"

Immediately afterward, they discovered that, once in the sea, the waves gently supported them and didn't submerge them at all.