Chapter 26

Xie Juanhan readily agreed. "What do we need to prepare? I'll help. Once we've milked the fish, if the milk's suitable, I'll make you some double-skin milk to try."

Double-skin milk?

Telingewei had never heard of the dish and gave Xie Juanhan a questioning look.

Xie Juanhan explained, "It's a dessert made with cow's milk in my hometown. It's smooth, tender, fragrant, and sweet. I wanted to make some for the little ones before, but I couldn't find suitable milk, so I had to put it off."

Telingewei said, "It sounds delicious."

"It is, very delicious," Xie Juanhan said. "I'll buy some beans and cook them into sweetened beans. It'll taste even better with those on top."

Xie Juanhan had already planned out the dessert he would make after milking the fish.

So Telingewei put a trip to milk the Tata Fish on the schedule.

He went out of his way to catch a particular kind of fish and prepared to soak the meat in liquor, so they could use it to lure Tata Fish when they went out to sea.

Only then did Xie Juanhan learn that they had to feed the Tata Fish a great deal of fish meat and wait until they passed out drunk before they could milk them.

"Will they eat it?" Xie Juanhan asked in surprise. "How did you find out about this method?"

"A few hundred years ago, Harvey fell ill once and didn't get better for a long time-" Telingewei added, "He's one of the little Companion Beasts."

Xie Juanhan nodded. "Is Tata Fish milk medicine?"

"More or less," Telingewei said. "I found a lot of doctors for him, and finally found a human priest. He told me I needed to feed Harvey Tata Fish milk to nourish his body before he could take other medicines. He also gave me a way to milk them. I've been milking Tata Fish ever since."

Xie Juanhan had noticed something. "The little ones don't seem to be in very good health?"

Telingewei nodded. "When I hatched, there were no other dragons around to guide the energy. I instinctively used up almost all of it, leaving very little for them, so they're weaker than ordinary Dragon Companion Beasts."

Xie Juanhan hadn't known there was more to it. He was speechless for a moment, then patted Telingewei on the shoulder. "It wasn't your fault."

"They were a little weaker when they were young. Now they only look weak. Their underlying health is actually quite good."

Telingewei looked at Xie Juanhan. "They're fire-attribute spirits. They only got diarrhea because they ate too much ice cream at once. They'll be fine once it's out of their systems. It's nothing serious."

Xie Juanhan said, "Why are you comforting me instead?"

Telingewei said, "Don't take it to heart. It really wasn't your fault."

"Got it," Xie Juanhan said. "Then shall I help you make the liquor-soaked fish? Soaking it at a low temperature should keep it fresher."

"That would be great," Telingewei said. "Whenever I've made it before, the liquor-soaked fish never stayed very fresh, and the Tata Fish didn't care much for it."

Xie Juanhan smiled. "There shouldn't be a problem this time."

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

See you tomorrow!

Thanks to Gulingjingguai Xiaoyatou (*3), Nanzhi (*2), Siyue Beiwang (*2), Zhouzhong Jimeng (*2), Yedaoke, Ji, Gulingjingguai Xiaoyatou, mgk993, Junzi Zaiye, and Kakamila for the landmines.

Chapter 26: Chapter 26 [VIP]

It had rained for the past two days.

The seashore was gloomy, and the boundary between the sky and the sea was indistinct.

Seabirds flew low over the water, calling, "Caw-caw-"

Though there were only a few of them, they made enough noise to make Xie Juanhan's ears hurt.

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei set basket after basket of liquor-soaked fish on the reef.

The Companion Beasts lined up, each carrying an enormous fishing rod crosswise in its mouth, and ran toward the two dragons.

One little fellow slipped and fell. Before it could let go of the rod, its companions dragged it along.

Its body went clunk, clunk against the reef. Its eyes were wide, and the fall had left it completely dazed.

Xie Juanhan was just about to speak when he turned and saw the scene. He couldn't help laughing.

The fallen little fellow was embarrassed by his laughter. It hurriedly let go, scrambled up, and ran to the front to help its companions carry the rod again.

The fishing rods and bait were in place.

The two dragons sat on the reef and cast the fish into the sea, quietly waiting for the school of Tata Fish to come.

Both the ocean and the sky were domains ruled by dragons like Xie Juanhan and the others.

He had rarely used such an inefficient method as fishing before. Whenever he wanted fish, he chose to dive straight into the water and beat them into submission.

After fishing for a while, he couldn't resist lifting his rod and asking doubtfully, "Can we really lure the Tata Fish over this way?"

"Yes," Telingewei explained. "Tata Fish have a very keen sense of smell. The smell of liquor spreads through the sea, and they'll come when they smell it."

Xie Juanhan had no choice but to rein in his impatience and continue fishing patiently. "I hope they come soon."

Telingewei said, "If you don't want to fish, you can just stick the rod here. I'll keep an eye on it."

They were only hanging the liquor-soaked fish on the hooks to make sure the smell of liquor spread through the sea and attracted the Tata Fish. They weren't actually trying to catch them.

Xie Juanhan left his rod alone. He sat cross-legged on the reef and beckoned the little ones over to play with him for a bit.

The little ones were happy to oblige, their claws pattering as they ran over. Some nuzzled against him, while others burrowed into his arms. "Chirp!"

Telingewei watched both rods and waited patiently.

Time passed little by little, and more and more fish gathered around the rods.

Whenever the fish below ate the liquor-soaked fish, Telingewei pulled up the rod and put another piece on the hook.

More and more fish gathered around them.

When Xie Juanhan spotted a tasty variety below, he promptly transformed back into a dragon, plunged into the water, and carried the fish up in his mouth.

"They're here," Telingewei suddenly said in a low voice.

Xie Juanhan followed his gaze.

At the far end of the horizon,

a school of fish was swimming toward them from afar.

They were swimming so fast, racing one another toward Xie Juanhan and the others.

In the blink of an eye, they had swum several hundred meters closer.

The Companion Beasts all perked up. Standing on all fours at the edge of the reef, they craned their necks and stared eagerly into the sea.

Closer, and closer.

The Tata Fish rode the waves toward them and soon approached the reef.

Then-

They rushed up beneath the reef and squirted water at the Companion Beasts.

Whoosh! An enormous jet of water shot twenty or thirty meters into the air, like a stream from a fire hose.

"Chirp!" The little ones ran as fast as their four legs could carry them.

Before they could escape to the other side of the reef, seawater splashed all over them.

The furious little ones cried out, "Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

The Tata Fish swam around beneath the reef, seemingly laughing at them. "Click, click, click."

Telingewei pulled Xie Juanhan into hiding on the other side of the reef. He avoided the torrent, though a few drops still splashed him.

After watching the Tata Fish swim around in the sea for a good while, Xie Juanhan turned to Telingewei. "Are Tata Fish always like this?"

Telingewei said, "They're Demonic Beasts with a certain degree of intelligence. They often play pranks in the sea."

"Then what happens?" Xie Juanhan looked at the Companion Beasts. "Will the little ones fight back?"

Telingewei answered, "They usually have a fight with the Tata Fish after we finish milking them."

A question mark appeared over Xie Juanhan's head.

Telingewei understood what he wanted to ask and said, "Whether they fight or not, the Tata Fish will play pranks whenever they get the chance, and they'll come to eat the liquor-soaked fish every time. So it doesn't matter if they fight."

The Companion Beasts loudly chimed in from the side. "Chirp, chirp!"

The Tata Fish were here.

Telingewei threw the liquor-soaked fish from the baskets into the water one piece at a time, watching them scramble for it.

If a Tata Fish couldn't get any, he would even throw some right in front of its mouth.

Xie Juanhan helped toss the fish in.

After throwing fish for a while, he looked down at the liquor-soaked fish in the basket.

The cost of milking them once really wasn't low.

That seemed to be why the Tata Fish were still happy to take the bait, even though they got beaten up every time.

The Tata Fish were already swimming around below, happily eating the fish.

One after another, they slapped their fins against the surface, sending water splashing everywhere.

As they ate, some of the Tata Fish grew pleasantly tipsy and began swimming on their sides instead of upright.

Gradually, all the Tata Fish went from swimming upright to lying on their sides.

"Now." Telingewei grabbed a waterskin from beside him and reminded Xie Juanhan, "Be quick. They'll wake up soon."

Xie Juanhan hurried to join him. "All right!"

Tata Fish were Demonic Beasts.

Xie Juanhan guessed they were a type of marine mammal.

Unlike cows on land, Tata Fish had nipples buried deep in the folds of their skin, making them difficult to milk.

Telingewei demonstrated for Xie Juanhan. "Poke their skin gently like this, and the milk will squirt out."

Xie Juanhan hurriedly copied him. "Like this?"

As soon as Xie Juanhan poked the skin near a nipple, the Tata Fish reflexively contracted its muscles.

A blob of white milk shot out.

Xie Juanhan fumbled to catch it in the waterskin, but some still spilled.

Fortunately, catching the milk wasn't particularly difficult.

After a little practice, Xie Juanhan's movements soon became coordinated, and the waterskin in his hand gradually grew heavy.

They had brought fifteen waterskins in all.

Telingewei worked swiftly, and together with Xie Juanhan, filled the fifteen waterskins.

By the time they were filling the thirteenth, the Tata Fish were waking up one after another.

The Companion Beasts threw stones at the Tata Fish from the shore.

The Tata Fish got fired up and immediately squirted water back at the shore.

The two sides fought back and forth.

As more and more Tata Fish woke up, they found a moment to spare and finally noticed Telingewei and Xie Juanhan.

Some Tata Fish turned around and squirted water at Telingewei and Xie Juanhan.