Page 27

The two dragons had noticed it long ago, but neither had said anything.

The white dragon wrapped his tail around the little Companion Beast and deposited it, tentacle and all, into Telingewei's arms. "Keep an eye on them."

The other Companion Beasts caught on at once. Rather than being afraid, they were excited. "Chirp, chirp!"

Using the swimming skills they had just learned, they stuck their fluffy bottoms in the air and dove underwater. Together, they clamped their teeth around the other two tentacles and burst back to the surface with a splash.

Wet and smug, they looked just like sea otters that had just made a successful catch.

Xie Juanhan found them adorable, and his spirits soared even higher. "Wait here. I'm going to go dig out its Demonic Core."

The little ones cheered Xie Juanhan on. "Chirp, chirp!"

The Demonic Squid had just had three of its arms snapped off. Panicking, it had dived to the seafloor and fled toward deeper water.

The water grew deeper and deeper, from twenty or thirty meters to fifty or sixty, before the seafloor dropped off sharply to over a hundred meters.

Telingewei might not have been able to do anything about the Demonic Squid.

Unfortunately for it, the one it had provoked was a white dragon who was an excellent swimmer.

Xie Juanhan took care of the Demonic Squid without much effort.

The only thing that surprised him was that, after he dug the Demonic Core out of its heart, he could still feel fluctuations of energy.

He dug around twice with his claws and pulled out two more tiny Demonic Cores, one from the base of each of the squid's gills.

This Demonic Squid actually had three Demonic Cores: one Primary and two Auxiliary.

Perhaps because it already had three hearts, the number of its Demonic Cores had multiplied as well.

The Demonic Squid had fought back fiercely, and the white dragon had practically torn it to pieces.

Xie Juanhan put away the Demonic Cores and picked up the Demonic Squid's head from the sea.

The Demonic Squid's head had been torn apart too. Blue blood drifted everywhere, along with loose strands of muscle fiber.

The white dragon tore off the skin and trimmed the meat into shape before dragging a large piece of Demonic Squid meat, white as jade, up to the surface.

Telingewei and the little ones were still waiting for him in the sea.

Xie Juanhan returned to human form. "Come on, let's go ashore and rest."

The fight in the sea had been intense. Even though Xie Juanhan was much more skilled than the Demonic Squid, his breathing was a little heavy now, and his arms and legs felt weak.

Telingewei let go of the Companion Beasts and came over to take the Demonic Squid meat from him.

Then Telingewei transformed back into a giant black dragon and carried Xie Juanhan and the Companion Beasts back to their previous campsite.

Chirping, the little Companion Beasts needed no help from Xie Juanhan. They gripped the Demonic Squid's tentacles in their mouths and hauled them from the giant dragon's back onto the reef.

The three tentacles and the large piece of Demonic Squid meat were piled to one side.

The little ones gathered around again, nudging Xie Juanhan's hand and asking to see the Demonic Cores he had obtained.

Xie Juanhan took them out and showed them.

Telingewei returned to human form and came over as well. After examining the Demonic Cores, he said, "Level four Demonic Core, below-average quality."

Xie Juanhan was perfectly satisfied. "These two Auxiliary Demon Cores are level two as well."

Telingewei said, "A good haul."

The Demonic Squid's Demonic Cores were dark green and shiny.

Xie Juanhan put away the Primary Demon Core and gave the two Auxiliary Demon Cores to the little ones to play with.

Telingewei looked at the sunset on the horizon and, without being asked, lit the whale oil and started cooking.

Xie Juanhan had just used up a great deal of Dragon Power and felt too lazy to move. He leaned against the reef and popped pieces of Chimerao jerky into his mouth, one after another.

The Chimerao jerky was packed with energy. After being thoroughly aged, it had finally absorbed the seasoning and tasted quite good.

Xie Juanhan held the jerky between his teeth and ate slowly. The fragrant, spicy jerky provided him with a great deal of energy.

Once he was half full, he felt a little dizzy from the energy and grew drowsy against the reef.

As he dozed, time passed.

He opened his eyes and looked over at Telingewei, who was cooking.

Once he saw clearly, his half-open eyes widened slightly.

Telingewei was cooking the Demonic Squid the same way he cooked vegetables.

First he stir-fried it, then he covered it and let it simmer.

Even the sauce was the same: butter with starch and fish soy sauce added.

Xie Juanhan watched Telingewei cook with such care. He held back and gave no advice.

Soon, Telingewei called everyone to eat.

Neatly cut pieces of squid meat filled the golden plates.

They glistened with oil and were coated in an inviting sauce.

Xie Juanhan looked at it, speared a piece with his fork, and took a bite.

He kept his mouth closed and chewed with effort.

It wasn't too bad. He could still chew it.

Xie Juanhan faced the sea and didn't turn to look at Telingewei's expression.

Dragons had strong teeth.

The Companion Beasts did not.

The little ones received their portions of Demonic Squid meat and eagerly opened their mouths to take a bite.

Then they froze.

They looked up at Telingewei, then lowered their heads and tried biting again.

Their tiny teeth gnawed at one side, then the other, then went back to the first.

After gnawing for ages, all they managed to taste was the sauce.

Telingewei watched them.

They looked up too and met Telingewei's gaze reproachfully.

Telingewei glanced at their plates and suggested, "Jerky?"

The little ones looked even more aggrieved.

None of them made a sound. They just stared at him.

Telingewei calmly took out some jerky and distributed it onto their plates.

Xie Juanhan had watched the whole thing. He coughed lightly. "How about trying my cooking? I brought seasonings."

Afraid Telingewei might disagree, the little ones spoke up first. "Chirp, chirp!"

Xie Juanhan said, "Then I'll make another dish, while the Demonic Squid meat is still fresh."

Although he had frozen the Demonic Squid meat, so it wouldn't go bad anytime soon.

Chilled Demonic Squid meat was never as tasty as fresh.

He had finished resting, and now he was indeed itching to cook.

When Telingewei saw him stand, he stood up too. "I'll clean the pot."

As he spoke, Telingewei breathed a mouthful of Dragon Flame onto the gold pot.

The gold pot burned red-hot, and even the air shimmered slightly.

Xie Juanhan had taken out his bottles and jars and started mixing a sauce. Watching this, his eyes widened in surprise.

That was a convenient way to clean a pot.

Telingewei burned away the residue in the pot, waited for it to cool a little, then rinsed it with clean water.

Only after the pot was completely clean did he put it back over the shallow dish of whale oil.

Xie Juanhan checked the Demonic Squid meat.

Although the Demonic Squid had been enormous, its flesh was fairly tender.

He cut the Demonic Squid meat into small strips, set the sauce to one side, and held out a hand in invitation, asking Telingewei to light the fire for him.

Telingewei snapped his fingers.

A spark transformed from Dragon Flame fell into the shallow dish of whale oil, and the oil caught fire with a whoosh.

Xie Juanhan waited patiently for the pot to heat up, poured in cold cooking oil, and then added the sliced Demonic Squid meat.

With a sizzle, the aroma rose at once with the smoke.

Xie Juanhan didn't need a spatula at all.

He held the pot in one hand and tossed its contents, pouring in the prepared sauce as he did so.

Fat splattered from the pot, forming an oily mist.

At a certain point, the mist ignited with a whoosh.

Flames flared up in the pot.

The Companion Beasts watching nearby stared with round eyes. "Chirp, chirp."

"All done." Xie Juanhan lifted the pot and poured the Demonic Squid meat onto their plates.

The entire cooking process had taken Xie Juanhan less than thirty seconds.

Telingewei, on the other hand, had stir-fried and then simmered his for over ten minutes!

The little ones looked at Xie Juanhan, then at Telingewei, and finally down at the Demonic Squid meat on their plates.

Xie Juanhan nudged their plates toward them. "Try it."

The little ones weren't afraid of the heat. They picked up the strips of meat in their mouths and tentatively tasted them.

Compared with Telingewei's Demonic Squid meat, Xie Juanhan's had one notable difference: they could actually bite through it.

Once they bit through it and tasted it, their pupils slowly widened again.

One look was enough for Xie Juanhan to know they liked it. Smiling, he gestured for Telingewei to try it too.

Telingewei picked up his plate and took a bite. His pupils visibly widened, and he couldn't hide it at all.

Xie Juanhan watched his expression with interest. Only when Telingewei's pupils returned to normal did he lower his head and taste the food.

It was as though he were enjoying Telingewei's expression along with his meal.

The Demonic Squid meat had indeed been stir-fried well today.

The Demonic Squid meat had been cooked perfectly in one pot, just until done. The sauce was neither too thin nor too thick, clinging perfectly to every strip.

The rich sauce brought out all the Demonic Squid's fresh sweetness.

As Xie Juanhan tasted it, he found the Demonic Squid meat wonderfully crisp, yet also soft and tender.

It was savory and fragrant.

In particular, he could taste the wok hei.

The only imperfection was that this dish, so well suited to rice and full of street-stall flavor, was being served with bread.

And soft bread at that, slightly sweet and rich with the flavor of milk.

Holding his plate, Xie Juanhan sighed regretfully. "If only we had rice."

The little ones ate with their heads down. They didn't understand what he was saying at all, and they weren't particularly interested.

Telingewei listened attentively. Once he understood what Xie Juanhan meant, he said, "The nearby town doesn't have any, but the port does."

"Teme Port?" Xie Juanhan asked. "I've been to that port, but I didn't see any rice."

"They sell it at the Adventurers' Association. There's very little of it, and sometimes it's not sold to the public. You need points."

Xie Juanhan had noticed something. "You're pretty familiar with how adventurers do things?"

"There was a period when I had a lot of free time. I disguised myself as a knight and formed parties with other adventurers."

Xie Juanhan's eyes lit up at once. "Was it fun?"

"No." Telingewei's expression barely changed. "The employers were always making strange and unreasonable demands."

Xie Juanhan said, "Hmm?"