Chapter 230 (continued)

Even though Haxi pretended to have a bad tooth, he couldn't escape the fate of eating dried fish.

When Telingewei lifted it out by the scruff of its neck, its resentful gaze was so Xie Juanhan couldn't bear to look it in the eye.

The Companion Beast really don't like dried fish, even when it's roasted and seasoned.

Xie Juanhan thought about going back and grinding it into fish meal, which he would then use as a seasoning in meat fillings such as wontons and meat patties.

Although the furry creatures won't eat too much at once when it's made into a seasoning, the amount they consume over time shouldn't be underestimated.

The main purpose is to make them into seasonings, so that they can be ingested painlessly, without having to suffer so much when eating them.

The Companion Beast didn't like dried fish, but Moli and Nibote didn't particularly dislike it.

Nibote, in particular, sat upright on the side eating dried fish, looking exactly like Moli in both mannerisms and actions, showing no trace of his mischievous nature at home.

Xie Juanhan glanced at it, wondering why this guy seemed to have such a psychological burden, suddenly becoming so concerned about his image after coming back to his hometown.

Soon, Xie Juanhan realized that his feeling was not a misperception.

Nibote was indeed imitating Moli in every way he did.

The next day, the whole family went to visit the Griffin clan.

After interacting with his fellow griffins, Nibote played with the little Griffin, just like Moli did with the little Demon Wolf —so calm and reliable.

Xie Juanhan quietly turned to look at Moli.

Moli didn't care at all, and just let out a soft "woof".

Several of the Companion Beast also felt that their great Griffin had been acting strangely these past few days, but they were quickly drawn to the new things on the high ground.

The Companion Beast mingled and played wildly with the Griffin, going out early in the morning and returning only in the evening; even delicious food could no longer entice them.

Xie Juanhan did not interfere with the children's friendships; he and Telingewei first went to visit the Two-Eyed Giant Akeemu.

Previously, when their Star Berry needed soil fertility to grow, Akeemu came to help without hesitation, and they all remembered Akeemu's kindness.

Akeemu was pleasantly surprised to find that they had come specifically to visit with gifts. "Have you come to see Eermirisi and the Griffin?" he asked.

Xie Juanhan: "It depends on you too."

Akeemu scratched his head sheepishly, "Oh, thank you."

The size of giants is vastly different from that of ordinary people.

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei tacitly transformed back into dragon form, making them look harmonious when sitting face-to-face with Akeemu.

Akeemu set up a huge wooden table in the valley to entertain them, on which were platters made of woven grass leaves, on which were placed local wild fruits, tubers, grilled fish, and roasted meat.

White Dragon took out the wine and cake.

They sat on the ground and slowly enjoyed their food.

Akeemu had lived on the highlands for many years and remembered little of the giants' civilization.

However, he still had a lot to say about the Peiaonuoer Hunting Grounds.

He wasn't very familiar with the Peiaonuoer Hunting Grounds, after all, it was the territory of the Cyclops Kuitifulong; he was only more familiar with the other Inner Land.

The White Dragon listened with gleam in his eyes. After Akeemu finished speaking, he said, "If we have time, we must explore those ruins."

Akeemu: "Alright, I'll give you the coordinates. It's quite a shame that no creatures from the outside have been able to get in all these years."

White Dragon: "No other adventurers went in?"

"Other adventurers, you mean humans?" Akeemu shook his head. "Ordinary adventurers aren't strong enough, and powerful adventurers wouldn't even look at those abandoned ruins, so why would they go in?"

White Dragon thought about the various Inner Land they had visited, and the most valuable thing there seemed to be Elemental Crystal, which could be picked up and used.

The Divine Goat are also good, but without the leaves of the Magic Wand Tree and level three magical plants, they don't produce mead at all.

Even if ordinary adventurers go to great lengths to bring the Divine Goat out, they can only eat its meat.

Thinking about it this way, it's really not worth it for adventurers to spend a lot of effort to enter the Inner Land, only to earn little profit.

White Dragon: "No wonder the magic encyclopedias of major adventurers rarely mention the Inner Land, and the mainstream view doesn't seem to care much Inner Land it either."

Akeemu: "There are already enough valuable places in the Surface World; there's no need for them to squeeze into the Inner Land."

White Dragon raised his wine glass. "That's good too. At least the races that hold the secrets of the Inner Land can live a peaceful life."

Akeemu: "Yes, let's have a drink."

The two dragons drank, ate, and chatted in the valley of Akeemu until evening before returning home.

When they arrived at the ruins of the castle, the furry creatures had not yet returned.

Eermirisi spoke to the furry creatures, "Now that you have new friends, it's easy to lose track of time while playing."

Xie Juanhan glanced at the sky. "Shall we wait a little longer? If they don't come back, shall we go look for them?"

Telingewei nodded.

Seeing their slight apprehension, Eermirisi changed the subject. "Shall we have barbecue today? Or grilled fish? Everything's ready."

The fish and meat were hunted in the wild before he turned into a stone statue in the early morning.

It's been marinated with various spices for a day, then roasted over a fire until it sizzles and drips with oil—it's just the right consistency to eat.

Xie Juanhan looked at him, then at Telingewei, his gaze somewhat strange.

Eermirisi looked down at herself. "What's wrong?"

Xie Juanhan said, "Now I understand why you two became friends."

Eermirisi and Telingewei both looked at Xie Juanhan.

Xie Juanhan asked, "Don't you get tired of eating the same food and cooking it the same way over and over again?"

Eermirisi scratched his head. "But the other ways of cooking it don't taste good."

Telingewei agreed, "It's better to use what we're familiar with."

Xie Juanhan sighed softly, "Now I understand why Harper and the others hate dried fish so much."

They ate the same food for decades or even centuries without any change in approach, and Harper and the others didn't scratch Telingewei's face black and blue—that's true love!

The Companion Beast were unaware that Xie Juanhan was talking about them. As night fell, a north wind blew across the grasslands, and Harvey sneezed loudly.

Moli, who was watching his companions and the Griffin chase the Demon Rabbit, glanced at the sky, let out a long wolf howl, and signaled to his friends that it was time to go back: "Awoo--"

The Griffin cried out in hoarse voices, indicating they would catch up soon, and to keep chasing. "Meow!"

Moli said that even if she could catch up right away, it wouldn't work; she hadn't caught up yet, so she had to give up and try again next time. "Aww!"

The Griffin didn't understand Moli's words; they could only roughly understand that he was refusing.

The Griffin, still trying to persuade it, meowed in their own voices.

Nibote, standing nearby, let out a majestic roar, "Awoo!"

The Griffin glanced at Nibote, then stopped chasing, letting out a soft "whoosh."

Nibote insisted that he had to go back.

Still wanting more Haxi and the others had no choice but to listen to Moli and Nibote's opinion.

Of them, only these two can fly.

If they don't go back with us, Haxi and the others will have to run all the way back on their paws, which would be too much of a hassle.

Harper was about to call his companions back when he saw that Moli and Nibote had spoken up. He immediately directed his Companion Beast to climb onto the backs of the two beasts, telling everyone not to delay.

The guests were all going home, and the Griffin went with them.

Although they failed to catch the cunning Demon Rabbit, they did dig up a particularly delicious tuber.

In early winter, when the grass has turned yellow and withered, these tuberous vines growing in the grass are not easy to spot.

Its vines are now withered and fallen, but the Griffin, relying on their experience, dug them out from the vast sea of grass, feeling quite pleased with themselves.

Therefore, although the Griffin felt a little regretful about returning this way, they still proudly carried their spoils back.

Upon seeing Xie Juanhan, the Griffin circled around Xie Juanhan legs affectionately, indicating that it was a gift they had specially brought back.

Xie Juanhan had been eating meat all day and was already tired of it. When he saw the furry creatures bringing back stems, he was overjoyed. "Steel! Great, we'll eat stems tonight!"

The Griffin had no objections and even stayed for a free meal. "Meow!"

With the help of Tlingerwei, Xie Juanhan quickly created a series of delicacies, including steamed, fried, and baked stem chunks, as well as cheese-baked stem chunk slices, by steaming, frying, or baking.

The Griffin' pupils dilated as they feasted on the various delicious stems and tubers.

They never expected the tubers could do that.

So delicious, meow!

Xie Juanhan and his group only stayed on the highlands for three days. When it was time for them to return, the Griffin were very reluctant to part with them and followed behind them to see them off.

Taking advantage of their wings, the Griffin escorted them again and again.

Then they escorted them all the way to the Magic Forest.

After spending several days pretending to be mature and composed among the Griffin, Nibote, whose skin was practically taut and who just wanted to come back and get some rest, thought, "..."

The Griffin gazed at the distant Magic Forest, meowing loudly as they admired the snow-covered Magic Forest: "Meow, meow."

Nibote had no idea that Griffin kind could speak such a rich language when praising the Magic Forest.

How obsequious, meow!

Nibote licked his lips, feeling somewhat uneasy for some reason.

Since the Griffin had all been brought to their doorstep, Xie Juanhan and Telingewei naturally had to treat them to a meal.

The Griffin came with the full strength of their clan to see Xie Juanhan off; a total of forty-one Griffin, including both large and small ones, came.

Xie Juanhan's family couldn't possibly fit so many Griffin in their house, so they had to hold the seminar on the lawn where they used to hold seminars.

Last time they came here to pick mushrooms, they cleared out a large patch of grass.

Now, using it to entertain the Griffin is easy; all we need to do is clean it up a bit and bring over the tableware.