Chapter 17

They chirped happily again.

"Fun, isn't it?" Xie Juanhan changed back into human form and reached out to swish the water, pushing the fluffy bundles floating on the surface a little farther away. "Play nearby, all right?"

Telingewei circled the area first, then changed back into human form and landed.

He had a pile of things clinking in his hands.

Xie Juanhan swam over to help sort them out and pulled out a huge bundle of thick rope. "Where did all this come from?" he asked in surprise.

"I was planning to seed it with oyster spat and left it nearby," Telingewei said, showing him the rope, which still bore traces of dirt. "Leaving it out for a while wears down the rough fibers, making it easier to attract oyster spat to attach themselves."

Xie Juanhan lifted the rope to examine it.

It was over a hundred meters long at the very least, long and thick.

It felt all right to the touch, without the roughness of a new rope.

The fibers on its surface seemed to have been worn down considerably by wind and rain.

Xie Juanhan took one end of the rope, and Telingewei took the other.

They were preparing to lower it into the sea so the oyster spat could take root on it.

As Xie Juanhan pulled, he realized how heavy the rope was once it got wet.

Only the two of them, both dragons, could pull it.

Otherwise, even with the seawater's buoyancy, it would have sunk to the bottom.

Telingewei tied the rope to a reef he had picked out earlier.

At the other end, Xie Juanhan dragged the rope along. "Where should I tie this end?"

"Don't tie it. Let it hang down naturally to the seabed and wait for the oyster spat to climb on and settle."

Telingewei swam over to Xie Juanhan and indicated that he could let go.

"In a few days, once this rope is covered in oyster spat, we'll drag it to the bay where the currents meet."

Xie Juanhan looked at the rope, then at the seawater.

The oyster spat were still larvae now.

With his eyesight, he could see a vast number of larvae swimming in the sea at a glance.

The larvae had little fleshy feet and were searching everywhere for a place to settle.

Once they found an ideal place to attach themselves, their fleshy feet would degenerate, and they would take the form of miniature Demonic Oysters, never to move again.

But for a rope over a hundred meters long to become covered in oyster spat, he reckoned they would have to wait at least ten days to half a month.

Xie Juanhan thought for a moment, then reached out and touched the rope, injecting a little Dragon Power into it.

The Dragon Power spread rapidly along the rope.

In the blink of an eye, the entire rope seemed to glow faintly white.

In the seawater.

The Demonic Oyster larvae that had been swimming slowly about seemed to sense something.

They wriggled their little fleshy feet with all their might, settling on the rope.

In just a short while, a layer of Demonic Oyster larvae had settled on it.

If they had been left to settle naturally, a layer like this would have taken at least five or six days.

Xie Juanhan looked at Telingewei, then at the rope, looking very pleased.

Telingewei saw it too. "In matters involving life, I have no opportunity to use Magic Power."

Xie Juanhan said, "I'd already guessed."

The Demonic Oyster larvae's little fleshy feet could only wriggle so fast, so it would take them a while to cover the rope.

Xie Juanhan said, "Take a break?"

Telingewei said, "I'll check the rope again."

As soon as the Companion Beasts saw that they had finished their work, they swam over and crowded around Xie Juanhan. "Chirp, chirp!"

Xie Juanhan looked at the little ones.

Their four short little legs splashed in the sea as they dog-paddled furiously.

Unfortunately, their legs were too short and their fur too long. After swimming for ages, they had barely moved from the spot.

Their efforts were utterly ineffective.

Xie Juanhan had long arms and legs. Even in human form, a gentle stroke brought him to the little ones' side.

The little ones looked at him enviously.

Xie Juanhan swam another couple of laps nearby, playing with the little ones.

Sure enough, they struggled with their short little legs, trying their best to keep up with him.

Like a mother duck leading her ducklings, Xie Juanhan led the little ones in circles nearby.

The little ones grew dizzy and chirped in protest behind Xie Juanhan.

Xie Juanhan was about to turn back and play with the little ones.

When he looked back, he saw that Telingewei had swum over too.

Telingewei was not much of a swimmer. Though he stretched out his arms and legs, his movements were not quite right.

Just like the little ones.

He also made many ineffective movements and swam at an ordinary speed.

Xie Juanhan reminded him, "Don't let so much of your upper body come out of the water."

Telingewei lowered himself a little. "Like this?"

Seeing that he was interested, Xie Juanhan swam over to instruct him. "That's about right. Straighten your legs and stay as close to the surface as you can. Keeping streamlined will reduce resistance."

Telingewei tried hard to adjust his movements as instructed.

Xie Juanhan gently adjusted his posture with his hands. "Hold your body in a straight line. The seawater will support you, so don't worry."

Telingewei was a little stiff.

Xie Juanhan swam back a little to put some distance between them and encouraged him. "Your posture's fine. Try moving."

Telingewei stretched out an arm and took a stroke, then moved his legs and swam forward half a meter.

Xie Juanhan watched him move. "You need to coordinate your strokes and kicks a little better."

Xie Juanhan was teaching Telingewei.

Beside them, the little ones copied his movements, huffing and puffing as they tried to learn.

Seeing that the little ones were interested, Xie Juanhan stayed close to the surface and demonstrated for them. "You should stay as close to the surface as you can too."

Xie Juanhan was especially graceful when he swam, gliding a long way with a gentle stroke of his hand.

When he swam in the sea, it was as though he were swimming through air.

Light and beautiful.

It was as if the seawater offered no resistance and did not hinder his movements in the slightest.

The little ones copied him, paddling with their front paws and kicking with their hind legs.

Perhaps their bodies were built a little differently.

As soon as they tried to swim, the little ones tipped headfirst into the sea.

Only their fluffy bottoms stuck out.

In their panic, they raised their tails halfway up, then desperately pressed them down.

They looked like little arched bridges on the surface of the sea.

Seeing how flustered they were, Xie Juanhan swam over gently and lifted them by their chests.

"Don't panic. You won't sink."

"Get used to the seawater first."

"Paddle your paws slowly."

Xie Juanhan patiently taught them one by one.

The little ones were fluffy, and once their fur got wet, its surface became very rough and had a high coefficient of friction.

In Xie Juanhan's judgment, there was practically no chance they could swim very fast.

Learning a little would be enough; it would be good if they could avoid being swept away by the waves.

After making that judgment in his mind.

Xie Juanhan looked at the waves, which were gradually growing larger, and revised his opinion.

It would be fine if they weren't swept too far away.

Perhaps it was because he had complained to himself.

Before the thought had even left his mind, a wave came rolling in.

Two of the little ones were swept away in an instant.

Xie Juanhan was holding up several of the little ones and really couldn't free a hand, so he called to Telingewei beside him, "Stop them."

Telingewei had been watching Xie Juanhan from the side.

Perhaps because the sunlight was especially good today, Xie Juanhan's eyes were especially bright.

His face was wet, and the droplets seemed to shimmer as the sunlight fell on them.

Telingewei was a beat too slow and failed to stop the Companion Beasts.

The two Companion Beasts cried out in terror amid the waves. "Chirp-!!!"

Only then did Telingewei react. He reached out with his long arms and scooped the two little ones into his embrace.

The waves gradually grew larger.

The little ones didn't want to learn anymore.

Telingewei, however, was still interested.

Xie Juanhan had originally wanted to go ashore and rest, so he looked at the waves.

They were larger than before, but they had no effect on the two of them.

It was only because the little ones were so small that they were easily swept away.

There was no problem with Telingewei continuing to learn.

So Xie Juanhan focused on teaching Telingewei.

The little ones were tired, but they didn't want to go ashore.

They climbed onto Telingewei's back and crouched in a row.

Two more sat on Telingewei's bottom.

Telingewei's deep-set brows lowered as he turned to look at the little ones covering his back, looking a little fierce.

Xie Juanhan couldn't help laughing. "That's good. They'll remind you to keep your balance."

With Xie Juanhan's support, the little ones puffed out their fluffy chests and chirped at Telingewei. "Chirp, chirp!"

The little ones didn't have much patience.

After crouching on Telingewei's back for a while, they went off to play nearby.

Neither dragon paid them any mind.

The little ones gradually swam some distance away.

The waves were a little large, crashing noisily against the beach.

Beneath the surface, a length of something pale red emerged, swaying with the waves.

Several Companion Beasts were drawn to the thing that had suddenly appeared and swam over to look.

The pale red thing swayed now and then like a cat teaser.

The little ones swam closer and closer.

One of them reached out a paw to grab it.

It had only just stretched out its paw.

The pale red thing suddenly latched onto it and dragged it under the water.

"Chirp!!!" the little Companion Beast screamed.

Almost at the same time, Xie Juanhan and Telingewei rushed over.

Xie Juanhan in particular.

The instant he plunged beneath the surface, he transformed into a white dragon and shot toward the captured little Companion Beast like a streak of white lightning, reaching it in the blink of an eye.

"I spotted you a long time ago!" The white dragon lashed his tail.

His tough, powerful tail snapped three pale red tentacles in an instant, like a whip.

A faint fishy smell spread, and blue blood instantly dyed the seawater an opaque color.

The severed tentacles were still attached to the little Companion Beast.

The three tentacles were heavier than seawater and were sinking toward the bottom.

The little one paddled desperately with all four paws before being gently lifted up.

It was the white dragon.

The one that had just lured the little Companion Beasts was the Demonic Squid that kept stealing Telingewei's Demonic Oysters.