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The little ones guiltily looked away and fell silent.

Telingewei continued to lead the way.

There were several volcanoes in the Magic Forest.

In the past, the volcanoes had spewed lava, forming lava caves.

Today, they were going into the caves to gather mushrooms.

"This way." Telingewei pointed again. "There's an entrance up ahead. It's a sinkhole."

Xie Juanhan looked around. "You can't tell at all from inside the forest."

"It's well hidden. You have to get close to see it."

Telingewei gestured for Xie Juanhan to watch his step.

"The sinkhole is full of plants. Some magical creatures aren't familiar with the terrain, or they get chased by predators, so they can easily fall in. Harper and the others sometimes come over to see if they can pick up any prey."

At the mention of Harper's name, the little one immediately puffed out a furry chest, showing that Telingewei meant them.

As Telingewei led the way, he used a knife to clear the weeds on either side of the path.

As he worked, the magic vines in the forest rustled away, trying to get as far from the two dragons as possible.

Hearing the noise, Xie Juanhan glanced over.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the vines that looked like intestines and quickly looked away.

These magic vines were very weak; they just looked a little disgusting.

Especially the ones covered in slime.

"We're here. Careful," Telingewei warned.

Xie Juanhan looked ahead.

Sure enough, a large pit sank into the level ground before them.

A stream flowed to the edge of the pit and fell over it, hanging like a white waterfall against the wall.

A damp place like this was bound to have mushrooms. It was only a question of how many.

Xie Juanhan perked up. "Let's go down."

"Chirp, chirp!" The little ones perked up too, scrambling forward and reaching out with their paws to hug Xie Juanhan's legs.

Four of the little ones were quicker than the rest and immediately clung to his lower legs like koalas hugging a tree.

Xie Juanhan glanced down, transformed into a white dragon on the spot, and jumped into the pit with the little ones.

"Chirp!"

The sensation of weightlessness sent the little ones screaming with excitement.

The other four little ones had been crowded out and had no choice but to turn to Telingewei.

Telingewei picked up the four little ones by the scruffs of their necks and jumped into the sinkhole, following the white dragon.

They entered the underground through the sinkhole. After only a few steps farther in, the light disappeared, and nearly all sound faded too. They could hear only the howling wind and the occasional drip of water.

Telingewei took out two torches, breathed a spark to light them, and gave one to Xie Juanhan.

The torches had been soaked in whale oil. They produced little smoke and burned for a long time.

Xie Juanhan held up his torch and looked at the bright flame. "Whale oil is really useful."

"We'll go get some more next year."

"We're already making plans for next year?"

Telingewei turned to look at Xie Juanhan. "You don't want to go?"

"Of course I do!"

After a moment's thought, Xie Juanhan added, "If I still haven't gone back by next year."

Telingewei fell silent.

Xie Juanhan patted him on the shoulder. "That said, I think I'll probably still be here next year. As long as I'm here, I'll go with you to get whale oil."

"Mm."

The cave ran rather deep, and the farther in they went, the more likely they were to encounter narrow passages.

The little ones were fine.

They could run through every passage, and they eagerly raced back and forth in every direction.

They had a special connection with Telingewei, so Xie Juanhan wasn't worried about them getting lost and let them be.

Xie Juanhan found the passages a little narrow, but manageable. They weren't so narrow that he couldn't get through.

He turned to look at Telingewei. "Are you all right?"

Telingewei had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a towering stature. He had to bend over to get through some of the narrower spots.

If it got any narrower farther in, he would probably have to crouch.

Looking at him, Xie Juanhan understood why he wasn't interested in underground mushrooms.

Asking a giant dragon to search for mushrooms in underground caves really was asking a bit much of him.

Telingewei said he was fine. "There aren't any especially narrow passages in these caves. It's not much of a problem."

Xie Juanhan checked again. "You can get through all of them? You won't get stuck?"

Telingewei nodded. "I can get through all of them."

Xie Juanhan said, "That's a relief."

The passage was quiet. Gradually, the sound of the little ones running back and forth became the only sound.

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei walked through the passage one behind the other.

Thump, thump, thump. Footsteps sounded, drawing closer from afar.

The eight little ones ran out of caves in every direction and rejoined them. "Chirp!"

Without stopping, the little ones rushed straight to Xie Juanhan and Telingewei's feet and excitedly reported to them, "Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei listened closely and more or less understood that there were magic mushrooms up ahead.

But the little ones' cries were so jumbled and excited that the two dragons couldn't make out much about the details.

Telingewei stood listening for a moment, then glanced at Xie Juanhan.

Puzzled by the look, Xie Juanhan asked, "What is it? Did the little ones mention something?"

"No, it's just a little inefficient to communicate this way." As Telingewei spoke, he suddenly reached out with a large hand and scooped up one of the little ones. "I'll communicate with them another way."

Amused, Xie Juanhan said, "All right."

The little one he had picked up gave Telingewei a token pat with a paw in protest, then obediently let him press his forehead against theirs.

After reading the Companion Beast's memories, Telingewei was just about to put the little one down and tell Xie Juanhan that there was a large patch of magic mushrooms ahead, some of which were edible and tasted pretty good.

Xie Juanhan suddenly said, "Wait."

Telingewei asked, "What is it?"

"The little one seems to have mushroom spores on their body." Xie Juanhan took the Companion Beast from Telingewei. "Let me see."

Telingewei leaned close to Xie Juanhan and examined the little one with him. "I can't tell."

Xie Juanhan said, "I'm rather sensitive to life."

Held up by the back in Xie Juanhan's grip, the little one's eyes went round. "Chirp?"

Xie Juanhan examined the little one carefully for a moment, then said with certainty, "Good grief, mushrooms have already taken root on you in such a short time?"

The little one was bewildered. "Chirp?"

Xie Juanhan fed a little Dragon Power into the little one.

Mushrooms visibly sprouted from the little one's smooth, flowing fur.

The mushrooms grew bigger and soon opened their caps.

In the blink of an eye, the little one was covered in mushrooms, like a broom stuck full of tanghulu skewers.

The little ones stared at their companion in horror. "Chirp?!!"

Telingewei looked down, and a spark instantly appeared at his fingertip. He looked about to flick it onto the little one.

The little one immediately cried out even more miserably. "Chirp!!!"

Like a bolt of lightning, the little one fled behind Xie Juanhan. "Chirp, chirp, chirp!!!"

The other little ones suddenly reacted and all squeezed in behind Xie Juanhan. "Chirp, chirp!"

"Wait!" Xie Juanhan hurriedly reached out to stop Telingewei. "We just need to pick the mushrooms off them. There's no need to burn off their fur!"

Telingewei withdrew the spark he held in his hand. "Sorry, force of habit."

Over the long years, the Companion Beasts had often rushed off to all sorts of places and gotten their fur into a mess.

Most of the time, Telingewei chose to shave it off for them.

With fire.

As Dragon Companion Beasts, they weren't afraid of fire anyway.

The little one with mushrooms growing on their body was still shaken.

The other little ones were terrified too.

"It's all right. We just need to pick them off." Xie Juanhan pulled out the magic mushroom guide and opened it to a page. "They're Alyxia Mushrooms. Look, the shape and smell are the same."

A three-dimensional image of an Alyxia Shroom appeared in the magic guide, and its scent wafted out at the same time.

The little ones came closer for a look and sniffed with their noses, agreeing with Xie Juanhan's identification.

Xie Juanhan gestured for Telingewei to bring the basket over.

Then the two of them picked the mushrooms off the little one together.

"They're completely cleaned off." Xie Juanhan picked up the little one and checked them over, then put them back on the ground and looked at the others. "You have them on you too."

The other little ones went, "Chirp?"

"Really." Xie Juanhan fed Dragon Power into them one by one, then watched the mushrooms grow on them. "See?"

The little ones wilted. "Chirp, chirp."

They hadn't even properly found the underground magic mushrooms yet, but they had already picked nearly half a basketful from the Companion Beasts.

Xie Juanhan comforted them. "Mushrooms grown with Dragon Power will be delicious. You'll know once you try them."

He would pass on the mushrooms from the little dwarves.

But he didn't mind the mushrooms from the Companion Beasts at all.

After all, they were a dragon's Companion Beasts.

Weren't magic mushrooms grown on a dragon's Companion Beasts more appealing than ones that sprouted from the soil?

Every little one had had mushrooms growing on them.

After the mushrooms had all been cleared away, they didn't dare run around anymore and obediently followed at Telingewei and Xie Juanhan's feet.

They continued onward and, sure enough, found a patch of Alyxia Mushrooms in a small cave.

"So many Alyxia Mushrooms." Xie Juanhan held up his torch and took a look. "Shall we pick them?"

Telingewei said, "Yes."

This patch of Alyxia Mushrooms had grown well. Carrying their basket, the two dragons quickly picked more than half a basketful.

Once they were done, they continued onward.

Before long, they found another kind of magic mushroom that glowed.

These mushrooms were poisonous and inedible.

However, they could earn a few silver coins by taking them out and selling them to a potion maker.