Chapter 128: Strange Occurrences at Guardian Peak
Chapter 128: Strange Occurrences at Guardian Peak
Chapter 128: Strange Occurrences at Guardian Peak
"Wahhhhh..."
"Stop crying."
"Wahhhhhh..."
"The Golden-Furred Hou is not bad. It is our best friend."
"Wahhhhhh..."
"If you stop crying, I'll take you to eat delicious food."
"Wahhhh...What are we going to eat?" Liu Xiaoyu'er looked up and immediately showed an expression of anticipation.
Well, this always seems to work the best...
When Chu Liang saw that she finally stopped crying, he heaved a sigh of relief.
When Di Nufeng and Chu Liang returned riding on the Golden-Furred Hou, they were immediately spotted by Liu Xiaoyu'er when they arrived.
Upon seeing this giant beast arriving at the Silver Sword Peak, the little girl was frightened, bursting into tears as a result.
When Di Nufeng saw this, she scratched her head and said, "Dealing with a crying woman is very challenging. Console her; I'll head back to rest."
Before the words had even settled, her figure transformed into a streak of fire, leaving behind a surprised Chu Liang and an innocent-looking Big Head.
"We'll have hot pot," Chu Liang casually replied. However, after leaving Mount Shu Sect for several days, the thought of not having a steaming hot and spicy hot pot was indeed tempting.
Liu Xiaoyu'er then stood up from the ground, pouting, "I don't like spicy food..."
"Half of the pot will be non-spicy!" Chu Liang hastily reassured.
The Golden-Furred Hou on the side also smiled, seemingly having understood that they would be eating something delicious. Its big head lifted with joy.
"Why are you happy? The hotpot is not for you," Chu Liang heartlessly said to the Golden-Furred Hou.
It wasn't that they mistreated the pet, but the Big Head's appetite was indeed enormous! When they spent a day in the First-Rate Sword Hut, even the disciples there were astonished.
They claimed to have fed it to a huge meat feast the size of a mountain before bedtime, but the next morning, they caught it sneaking into the storage room to eat iron...
Chu Liang had a feeling that the amount of money the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts had spent over the past decade feeding this beast probably exceeded the amount Xu Nanling had embezzled.
Chu Liang raised his hand, and the Golden-Furred Hou immediately lay down, offering its big head for him to pat while emitting a low, contented growl. Upon recognizing Di Nufeng, it quickly acknowledged Chu Liang as well, along with the newly acquainted Liu Xiaoyu'er.
The spirit beast, at least, was faring well in terms of intelligence.
Despite its silly appearance, Chu Liang always had the impression that this big head possessed a certain level of intelligence. If tested, its IQ might be even slightly higher than Di Nufeng's.
"Why don't you feed it?" Liu Xiaoyu'er asked.
She was initially frightened by the presence of this Big Head, but as she observed how gently this giant creature was behaving, her heart softened.
She reached out and cautiously touched the Golden-Furred Hou's drooping nose, which felt wet, soft, and warm.
The young girl and the Big Head exchanged a smile.
"Because it's a spirit beast," Chu Liang sighed helplessly.
Caring for spirit beasts was typically challenging due to their high demand for spiritual qi and energy, surpassing that of ordinary demonic beasts. The Hall of Alchemy provided specialized spirit beast feed, a mixture of spirit meat and spirit plants, with one pellet being enough for a demonic beast's daily needs. However, the daily consumption of this type of spirit beast might be ten times that amount.
How could they afford to raise such a creature?
"Do all spirit beasts eat a lot?" Liu Xiaoyu'er asked again.
"Yes," Chu Liang nodded. Then, a sudden realization flashed in his eyes. "Wait..."
Right. All spirit beasts have huge appetites.
He looked at Liu Xiaoyu'er and suddenly said, "Thank you, Xiaoyu'er! Golden-Furred Hou, follow me!"
"Huh?" Liu Xiaoyu'er was puzzled, "Thank me for what?"
Thank you for the casually spoken sentence that solved my dilemma.
...
At the Guardian Peak...
The green mountains stood tall with lush and vibrant vegetation.
The Guardian Peak was considered the most primitive and well-preserved peak on Mount Shu as it served as the residence of the guardian spirit beast, Baize.
The mature Baize had not been sighted for many years and no one knew where it went. Presently, only the Baize youngling resided on Guardian Peak.
Perhaps driven by loneliness, the Baize youngling would venture outside to seek companions for fun.
In the beginning, it only had one sweet-smelling friend, whom it would visit every month on Treasured Pagoda Peak. Later on, it crossed paths with another friend, whose aura felt oddly familiar, as if they had known each other since youth.
With these two companions, the Baize youngling was always happy. However, both of them were now in their teens and considered adults. They had many responsibilities to attend to, unlike itself, which was just a cub not even six hundred years old.
While the Baize youngling felt bored in the forest of its home on Guardian Peak, it suddenly detected a familiar scent, accompanied by a shout, "Dear little Baize, are you home?"
It's him!
The Baize youngling immediately recognized Chu Liang's voice, leaving behind a white afterimage as it appeared before Chu Liang in a flash.
Chu Liang stood in an open space on Guardian Peak, with the silly Big Head behind him.
The Baize youngling was about to pounce forward to lick Chu Liang when it noticed the Golden-Furred Hou behind Chu Liang. It paused, appearing somewhat wary, and cast a cautious glance at the Big Head.
Chu Liang quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't be afraid. I came today to introduce you to a new friend. Golden-Furred Hou, come, let's shake hands."
With this command, the Golden-Furred Hou immediately and obediently extended its thick right front paw.
It was behaving in such an obedient and gentle manner because Chu Liang had told it prior to coming here that its performance determined whether it would have a place to eat at Mount Shu.
Eating was a top priority.
Shaking hands proactively was not embarrassing at all.
The Golden-Furred Hou, after all, was a spirit beast, slightly lower in rank than Baize but not too lowly ranked. Witnessing the Golden-Furred Hou being so friendly and coupled with Chu Liang's presence, the Baize youngling no longer appeared weary as it happily nudged its head against the Golden-Furred Hou's front paw.
"Hehe, now that we've met, we're buddies," Chu Liang patted his chest and asked, "How about a meal together?"
The Golden-Furred Hou nodded repeatedly.
The Baize youngling also made approving sounds, spinning around Chu Liang with joy.
"This is your home, so you should treat us," Chu Liang patted its head, coaxing it persuasively.
"Hreeoohhh!" The Baize youngling swayed its head, seemingly conveying that this was of no issue. It then turned around and led them in another direction.
"Follow!" Chu Liang leaped onto the back of the Golden-Furred Hou, and the Golden-Furred Hou let out a joyful roar, "Roar..."
The path to the meal was filled with fragrance and even the wind carried a delightful scent.
No! The air was already smelling delicious!
Such a pleasant aroma!
The Baize youngling led them through a stretch of mountainous forest, arriving at a vast open-air building.
The building was quite simple, supported by four giant pillars holding up a ceiling, resembling a pavilion. It appeared to be constructed entirely of Han white jade, exceptionally pristine.
Beneath the pavilion lay a pile of jade-white medicinal pills, resembling a small hill. Not only did they look full of spiritual qi, but they also emitted a fragrant aroma, filling the air halfway up the mountain. Alongside what seemed to be staple food pills, there was also a large heap of spiritual plants and fruits, all appearing to be in better condition than the berries sold by Chu Liang.
The Golden-Furred Hou couldn't contain its excitement as it eagerly reached forward with its big head and frantically dug with its claws.
The food provided to the guardian beast of Mount Shu was undoubtedly the best in the mortal realm, with both the spiritual energy and taste being of the highest quality. The Golden-Furred Hou has probably never tasted such delicious food in its entire life.
Not to mention the Golden-Furred Hou, even Chu Liang felt tempted.
He looked at the Baize youngling and asked, "Can we start eating? After the meal, we can go out and play together."
"Hreoohhh!" The Baize youngling nonchalantly shook its head, signaling for its friends to enjoy freely.
Chu Liang, no longer holding back, gestured, "Golden-Furred Hou, dig in! Eat heartily! If you can't finish, just stuff some in your cheeks... It can be a midnight snack!"
...
The early next morning.
Two disciples from the Hall of Alchemy descended from the clouds and arrived next to the white pavilion on the Guardian Peak. Following the usual practice, one poured out a continuous stream of white medicinal pills from a gourd, while the other took out a large pile of spiritual fruits from an enchanted storage tool.
However, as they began their work, the two suddenly expressed a hint of confusion.
"Huh?" said the one on the left, "Normally, little Baize would eat at most half a pool of spirit pills in a day. Why is the entire pool empty today? Not a single pill left!"
"And these spiritual fruits too!" The one on the right added, "It has never liked to eat these fruits. The Alchemy Master[1] even mentioned its unhealthy eating habits. But today... not only had it finished them all, but it had also licked the tiles clean in the pool!"
The two disciples from the Hall of Alchemy were left with question marks above their heads. They were both puzzled.
"Truly a strange occurrence."
1. He’s in charge of the Hall of Alchemy as well as an elder of the sect. ?