Chapter 188

Especially in this harsh winter when the sun is about to set, its fragrance is so strong that it almost makes the fur of the furry creatures smell sweet and warm.

The furry creatures looked at Xie Juanhan as if they were seeing a god, their pupils large and bright.

Xie Juanhan looked at them with a smile, "Aren't they delicious?"

The furry creatures nodded in unison.

Especially Nibote.

Nibote extended its paw, glanced at Xie Juanhan, then at Telingewei, hesitated for a moment between the two dragons, and finally stomped hard on Telingewei's foot. "Ouch?"

Is it a dream?

It doesn't seem so. Oh, it smells so good!

Telingewei looked down at the magnificent Griffin with its dreamlike expression, his fingertips twitching as he conjured a fireball to burn the tip of its tail.

Let it clearly sense whether it's dreaming or not.

==========Author's Note:=========

See you tonight!

Thank you to Nanzhi (*2), Ancient Spirit (*2), Zhuying, Linglilinglu, Yoululu, and Qianshanding for the landmines!

Chapter 188 [VIP]

The flames roared in the fireplace, warming the study to a cozy, spring-like temperature.

Xie Juanhan lay in the rocking chair, sitting by the fireplace.

He had a book covering his face; he'd only read a little over half of it, and now there was still more than half left.

The books pressing down on his face helped him stay drowsy.

It was snowing heavily outside, and occasionally you could hear the sound of snowflakes weighing down tree branches in the distance.

In this frigid weather, even the little Demon Bird are hibernating in their aviaries.

Harper and the others still ran outside to play.

"Click-click--da, da-da, da-da-da!"

First, you hear the sound of paws stepping on the snow, then on the stone path, and finally, they've run into the corridor.

Xie Juanhan silently counted in his mind, anticipating that when he reached "six" or "seven," the furry creatures would burst through the door and rush in.

As the count reached "six," a "thud" was heard as the door struck the stone wall.

The sound wasn't from the study, but from the kitchen next door.

Xie Juanhan removed the book from his face with some surprise and turned to look at Telingewei was sorting through gold coins beside him.

Telingewei was also looking up.

"Chirp?"

Before they could even make a decision, the furry creatures burst out of the kitchen, rushed into the study, and poked their heads out, barking twice at them.

Xie Juanhan: "You brought back new berries?"

Harper: "Chirp!"

Haxi: "Chirp chirp chirp!"

They indicated that berries were found under the snow, or perhaps berries that ripened in autumn.

These berries grow in a remote location, and no living thing has ever picked them.

They grew from autumn to winter, and they smelled so sweet.

Xie Juanhan stood up. "Let's go take a look."

Soon, Xie Juanhan and Telingewei saw the berries that the furry creatures had brought back.

The berries' skins were a bit wrinkled, indicating that a lot of moisture had evaporated.

However, it has a rich, sweet berry aroma, much stronger than the scents of summer and autumn.

Xie Juanhan picked two and shared them with Telingewei.

The furry creatures looked at them, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Xie Juanhan swallowed the berries in his mouth and asked with a smile, "Why are you looking at us?"

Haxi's eyes gleamed. "Chirp?"

Xie Juanhan: "Making popcorn with berries? Let's give it a try, it should work."

They've recently been making popcorn in various flavors, and most of them are delicious.

Harper and his friends have been particularly interested in popcorn lately.

Making popcorn is simply a matter of lighting a fire.

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei didn't mind spoiling Harper and the others a little in such trivial matters.

Soon, the berry-flavored popcorn was freshly made.

Xie Juanhan divided the popcorn among the children, keeping one portion for himself and taking it into the study. He and Telingewei ate popcorn while reading.

Deep winter is so boring.

Ever since Harper and the others tried the new flavor of popcorn, they've been bringing back berries from all corners of the Magic Forest and throwing them into the kitchen basket used to hold vegetables.

Xie Juanhan was amazed to see so many different kinds of berries every day. "There are so many edible berries in the Magic Forest?"

Telingewei: "Most of them are rather sour."

Harper and the others immediately retorted, pointing out that even tart varieties could have very sweet berries. "Chirp, chirp!"

Telingewei glanced at them. "You've tasted quite a bit, haven't you? Are your teeth sore yet?"

The furry creatures whined and grumbled, looking at the sky and the ground but refusing to look at Telingewei.

Clearly, no matter what Telingewei says, they won't give up bringing back berries.

Xie Juanhan asked curiously, "The snow outside is so thick, where did you find so many berries?"

The furry creatures get excited when this is mentioned.

They chirped and howled, indicating that some were underground, some were in rock crevices, and some were in water.

Xie Juanhan suddenly realized. "I knew it! In this cold weather, berries are prone to frost damage. How come the berries you picked are all fine?"

"Chirp!"

"Those black berries we picked the day before yesterday, were they from the ground? When they tasted earthy, I thought they weren't washed very well."

"Chirp! Chirp chirp chirp!"

"They're quite delicious. The red ones are the best. If you have any more, would you like to pick some more?"

"Chirp!"

The little ones readily agreed and brought back all sorts of fruits, and later, not just berries.

Some fruits are best eaten roasted, some are best eaten frozen, and some are best made into smoothies.

Despite the increasingly cold weather, Xie Juanhan and his companions had no shortage of fruit to eat.

The furry creatures' enthusiasm for popcorn gradually waned.

That day, while eating a simple serving of popcorn with berries, Xie Juanhan casually mentioned that nuts could also be used to make popcorn.

The furry creatures' pointed ears perked up immediately. "Chirp?!"

Xie Juanhan explained, "It involves roasting nuts, crushing them into small pieces, and then sprinkling them on the popcorn. You can also leave some large nuts in and mix them in, so you can enjoy both the fluffy and crispy texture of the popcorn at the same time."

The furry creatures had rather limited imaginations; they tilted their heads and tried to imagine for a long time, but they still couldn't figure out what it would feel like.

However, they are much more agile.

Xie Juanhan had just finished speaking at noon, and in the afternoon they brought back several kinds of nuts.

Xie Juanhan didn't mind the trouble, and that evening he and Telingewei made a batch of nut-flavored popcorn for the furry creatures.

This has truly opened the door to a whole new world for furry creatures.

For the next few days, they frantically brought back all sorts of nuts.

Xie Juanhan processed the nuts and made them into all sorts of delicious dishes.

Some of the nuts were really awful; I wonder which stupid creature brought them back.

Xie Juanhan didn't ask any questions. He just fed the unpalatable nuts to the little Demon Bird, who accepted them without hesitation.

That day, the furry creatures brought back a large bunch of nuts that looked like little bells.

Before Xie Juanhan could take the nuts to process, Telingewei intercepted them. "Why did you bring back these nuts?"

Xie Juanhan looked at the smooth, plump nuts. "What's wrong with these nuts?"

Telingewei: "It's very bitter, both bitter and astringent, and it tastes awful."

The furry creatures looked at Habu.

Habu retracted its paws and curled up into a fluffy ball. "Chirp chirp."

Telingewei: "Edible? Barely edible."

Habu insisted. "Chirp chirp."

Xie Juanhan: "Do the Pixie like to eat this kind of nut?"

Hearing that the Pixie liked to eat it, Xie Juanhan was quite interested and plucked a nut off, cracked it with his teeth, and tasted the kernel inside.

The taste revealed a mask of pain to him.

So bitter! So astringent!

He took a bite, and it felt like his tongue had been punched twice by a nut.

The tip of my tongue tasted so bitter it hurt.

Xie Juanhan's facial features scrunched up.

Telingewei put his hand under his mouth. "Spit it out."

Xie Juanhan frowned and spat it out.

Telingewei unleashed Dragon Flame, instantly burning the nut.

Xie Juanhan grabbed the water bottle next to him and, without caring whether the water was hot or cold, gulped down several large mouthfuls.

"It's so bitter!" Xie Juanhan frowned and stuck out his tongue, feeling like his tongue was about to cramp from the bitterness.

Moli ran to the kitchen counter, and with her massive size, easily stood up on her hind legs, picked up the jar of nectar, and shoved it into his hand, her voice low and menacing.

"Moli." Xie Juanhan patted Moli's head and politely declined, "No, I can't eat sweets, otherwise the taste will be really weird. I'd better drink some more water."

Telingewei stepped forward and heated the water in the kettle. "Drink slowly."

As he approached, Xie Juanhan smelled the nutty scent of his hands and took his hand, saying, "Hmm, it smells quite nice."

Telingewei opened his palm. "Smells like nuts?"

Xie Juanhan: "Yes, could you roast a couple more nuts for me? I want to smell them."

Telingewei went and roasted some nuts.

Xie Juanhan cracked open the nut's outer shell and smelled the kernel inside.

It smells really good.

Seeing him smell it, the furry creatures all crowded around to smell it too.

One by one, moist noses sniffed above Xie Juanhan's palm.

The furry creatures can certainly smell the aroma of nuts, but the bitterness is much stronger than the fragrance.

Startled, Hadi turned her head to the side and sneezed several times.

Haxi asked suspiciously, "Chirp?"

Xie Juanhan: "No, it's too bitter. Let's try grinding it into powder."