Chapter 3

The sun was already sinking in the west. He needed to find somewhere to stay tonight and get something to eat.

Xie Juanhan had been dealt a crushing disappointment today and couldn't be bothered with much.

He had planned to find something to eat in town, but after eating stewed meat for several days in a row, he was sick of it.

Today, he might as well have a picnic in the woods and spend the night there.

Given how tough a dragon's body was, it didn't really matter where he stayed or what he ate anyway.

Xie Juanhan turned and glanced at the stream.

The water was so clear that he could clean the deer right there by the stream. It wouldn't be much trouble.

With that in mind, Xie Juanhan grabbed the antlers and dragged the deer to the stream with one hand.

Back in modern society, he couldn't even be bothered to kill a chicken, much less butcher large game like a deer.

Fortunately, he was only feeding himself, so anything would do.

After gutting the deer, he cut off only the ribs, belly meat, leg meat, and liver.

He couldn't be bothered with the rest, so he left it where it was.

There were plenty of wild animals in the woods. Something else would eat it.

After placing the cuts on a large leaf he had washed clean, Xie Juanhan cut open the deer's heart.

He could sense a fluctuation of energy in it.

Xie Juanhan reached into the heart.

To his surprise, he felt something hard, about the size of a soybean.

When he pulled it out and looked, he found a translucent, pale red crystal.

Xie Juanhan examined it.

The crystal contained a very faint trace of energy.

It was probably what the people of this world called a magic core.

Xie Juanhan rinsed it in the stream and put it into his dragon scale space.

Once he had finished the basic preparations, Xie Juanhan took the venison and liver upstream to finish cleaning them.

The smell of blood and entrails was too strong where he had just killed the deer.

After finding another suitable spot, Xie Juanhan examined the venison.

The meat looked excellent, with an oily sheen on its surface and a faint milky fragrance. It looked very tender.

Xie Juanhan took salt out of his dragon scale space and used it to marinate the venison he had cut into chunks.

After a moment's thought, he made another circuit of the woods and found several sweet-and-sour wild fruits. He crushed them and used them to marinate some venison cut into small pieces.

Countless stones of all sizes lay beside the stream.

Xie Juanhan found a stone slab of a suitable size and washed it clean, ready to light a fire and grill the meat.

He hadn't brought a lighter, so he had to use flint.

Holding the stone, Xie Juanhan struck sparks from it with his dagger and carefully started a fire.

He could summon clouds and rain and freeze the sea, but unfortunately, none of that was much use for grilling meat.

With a sigh, Xie Juanhan gathered the dry leaves around the sparks, letting them slowly catch fire.

He missed his modern kitchen, his comfortable, bright home, and his clan and friends.

Xie Juanhan added firewood bit by bit.

Flames licked the stone slab, slowly heating it until it glowed white.

Using wooden sticks, Xie Juanhan picked up a piece of salt-marinated liver and placed it on the slab.

The moment the liver touched the stone, it sizzled. Fat seeped out, releasing its fragrance.

Xie Juanhan held the liver with the sticks and patiently seared each side.

The surface of the liver turned an enticing golden brown. Fat coated the slab until it gleamed, and a piping-hot aroma wafted up.

Once every side was seared, Xie Juanhan placed the liver on a large leaf he had gathered and left it to cool while he grilled the next piece.

After a few rounds, his movements grew more practiced, and he began putting venison on the slab to grill as well.

The slab was extremely hot and coated with fat. The venison curled almost as soon as it touched the stone, the fat along its edges turning translucent as the milky aroma of meat drifted up.

Xie Juanhan waited for the liver and venison to cool a little, then took two clean sticks and began to taste them.

He tried the liver first.

He didn't know whether it was because the liver was fresh enough, because he had cleaned it thoroughly enough, or because the meat of a magic beast was simply different.

The liver was rich and delicious. Its browned surface was fragrant, while the inside was tender and savory, with a slight crispness and no gamy smell at all.

To his surprise, the liver was not only rich and delicious but also packed with energy.

He had eaten only one piece when he immediately felt full.

It was much better than the slow-cooked beef he had eaten at the tavern over the past two days.

If he ate magic beast meat like this every day, he wouldn't need any other source of energy. He could eat three meals a day like a human, or even just two.

Xie Juanhan's eyes lit up slightly.

He picked up a piece of venison.

The venison had been sliced thin and had a browned crust. It tasted wonderfully tender and juicy.

He had marinated it with salt and sweet-and-sour wild fruits.

After grilling, the sweetness of the fruit was almost impossible to taste, having turned into a savory flavor instead.

The sour, salty juices coated the venison, cutting through its richness. Both the texture and flavor were superb.

Best of all, the venison was also high in energy. Though it had a little less than the liver, it was much better than most foods.

Xie Juanhan ate as he grilled, an indescribable sense of satisfaction in his heart.

Just as he was concentrating on his meal, a faint sound came from the woods.

All living things had an instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm. It was rare for anything to dare make a sound right under a dragon's nose.

He raised his eyes and looked toward the sound.

Although he had nearly finished eating, he wouldn't mind an extra course if some blind magic beast came looking for trouble.

As Xie Juanhan thought this, the movement among the leaves grew more pronounced.

Finally, a chubby little creature fell through a gap in the leaves and rolled over several times, coming to a stop not far from Xie Juanhan.

It was a round little beast with medium-long fur!

The little beast had big, bright, round eyes and a thick, long tail. It looked a bit like a cat, and a bit like a red panda.

It was just like a fluffy stuffed toy.

The moment its eyes met Xie Juanhan's, the little beast turned around in a panic, pawed at the leaves, and burrowed deeper into the bushes.

It was so round that its hind legs kicked twice before it managed to escape.

"Squeak!"

The little beast disappeared behind the leaves.

Xie Juanhan knew it hadn't left, and he also knew that other little beasts were hiding behind the bushes.

They were watching in secret, perhaps even standing on their hind legs with their paws raised and their breath held.

Xie Juanhan narrowed his eyes at the bushes.

These little creatures were clearly intelligent.

Stranger still, they carried the local dragon's scent.

Xie Juanhan's keen nose could tell that the scent, identical to the local dragon's, wasn't something they had picked up elsewhere. It came from their own bodies.

They, too, smelled of warm hay made fragrant by the sun.

Were these little creatures related to the local dragon by blood?

==========Author's note:==========

So many new and old friends! Thank you all for reading. See you tomorrow!

Thanks to mgk993 for the rocket launcher; to Gulingjingguai Xiaoyatou (×2), Nanzhi, Wulala Nai, and Guiye Huangjingao for the grenades; and to De Fuyue, Qinghe, Nashihou Tian Zongshi Hen Lan, Gan Luo., Momo Guai Gougou, Ji, Yuyan Liushuang, Maoni Ya, Chensen, and Dandan for the landmines.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

The little creatures hidden in the bushes kept watching Xie Juanhan.

Xie Juanhan could see their chubby paws and round eyes. One little creature even had half its head pushed out of the bushes as it jostled with a companion.

Still, they insisted on hiding there.

Xie Juanhan found it funny.

He had a fairly good impression of the local dragon, especially since the dragon had given him several pieces of information for free.

These little creatures were connected to the dragon, and he couldn't be bothered to take action, so he simply let them watch.

The little creatures were quite patient.

Xie Juanhan was nearly full, but they were still hiding there.

Apparently, their legs didn't even get sore.

Looking at the grilled venison on the leaf, Xie Juanhan had an idea.

He picked up a piece of grilled venison and tossed it into the bushes.

The venison arced through the air toward the bushes.

Before it landed, a little beast jumped up on reflex and snatched the meat with an "Awoo!" before landing in the clearing.

It looked a little dazed, its eyes wide and its expression seeming to say, Where am I? What happened?

Xie Juanhan smiled.

Startled, the little beast ducked its head and hurried back into the bushes.

Immediately afterward,

"Squeak, squeak!"

"Awoo!"

The sounds of the little creatures fighting over the meat came from the bushes.

Amused by the sounds, Xie Juanhan picked up another piece of meat and tossed it over.

Several little creatures jumped up and snatched it in an instant.

Xie Juanhan kept feeding them until all the remaining venison was gone.

The little creatures, now full, sat or lay under the bushes in twos and threes, rolling together in a heap.

After eating their fill, they didn't leave. Instead, they came out and stayed openly nearby, some lying on their sides and others on their backs with their bellies exposed, their round eyes fixed on Xie Juanhan.

Xie Juanhan walked over and scooped one up.

The little creature was chubby, with a finger's thickness of soft flesh he could pinch up on its back and another finger's thickness on its belly.

Touching it felt like reaching into a kitten's primordial pouch.

The little creature beneath his hand not only had a soft belly, but also exceptionally smooth fur that smelled of warm hay.

Xie Juanhan sat down cross-legged, settled the little creature on his lap, and stroked it.

Seeing this, the others slowly gathered around and fell asleep against his legs.

Xie Juanhan stroked one, then another, feeling more relaxed than he had at any point since arriving in this spacetime.

What exactly were these little creatures?

If he settled down, could he consider raising a few?