Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Before Entering the Sea.

After a lively gathering, the Odd-Faced Tribe dispersed. Jié Jié, after feasting heartily, continued to flap his wings and swagger around, shaking his body.

He could feel the immense stamina being drained, which meant he had found a training regimen for the Flying Dragon kind.

Jié Jié puffed out his chest at the young dragons, signaling them to follow his lead.

The young dragons began mimicking Jié Jié’s movements, puffing their chests and flapping their wings as they stood on their hind legs and marched.

But they couldn’t hold the pose for more than a few seconds before toppling over in all directions, panting hot breaths on the ground.

Clearly, their physical resilience was no match for that fiery-skinned monster, but the heat produced did enhance their Breath Weapons.

In a sense, the Breath Weapon was also a Fire Dragon’s way of cooling down.

The Wooden Ladle and Basin quickly sought medicinal herbs after suffering from mouth ulcers and shared them with each other. Meanwhile, Iron Pot and Porcelain Bowl, resistant to oral issues, returned to gnawing on Water Dragon meat.

“Ho! Boom!”

A massive fireball exploded on the river surface, sending up steam, waves, and fish killed by the high temperature and impact.

Jié Jié used the recoil from this attack to soar high into the air, inhaling deeply once again.

“HooNnn~”

Only a small flicker of flame emerged from his mouth; no large fireball like before came out.

And the Flame Bag hurt—burning hot.

It wasn’t due to insufficient heat but rather because the Fire Dragon’s Flame Bag was overloaded.

His imitation of the Spiny Tea Dragon ended in total failure.

Jié Jié landed back on the ground, gasping for breath, dunking his entire head into the river while gulping water.

After cooling off, he resumed munching on two more bites of Water Dragon meat to replenish his strength.

There was a Dragon Gem inside this Water Dragon, but it wouldn’t provide any substantial enhancement for him anymore. So, under the wistful gazes of the young dragons, he handed it over to Iron Pot first.

He planned to distribute it in order and also comforted the remaining Fire Dragons, playing a rare round of feeding games with them.

Drinking until full, eating until satisfied, then sleeping.

The leftover Water Dragon meat would be just enough for them to finish tomorrow morning before continuing their journey.

As his mind sank deeper into the dreamspace, he paused briefly at the sight of the newly appeared dice.

The appearance of this dice seemed to have no discernible pattern except for the time intervals between appearances. He had previously obtained the forms of the Smoky Snow Weasel and Sky Dog Beast through the dice.

What would it be this time?

A fireball inexplicably shot out from his dream self, causing the dice to stop spinning.

And the monster Totem on the dice…was it an owl?

Fukumokuzumi?

No.

Jié Jié transformed into a large owl covered in blue feathers, with a chest adorned by fine golden short feathers.

Above his crimson eyes, long ear tufts stood upright, drooping backward like a jester’s hat.

Slightly spreading his wings revealed a perplexing bodily structure.

Feathers seemed merely decorative; what truly allowed flight was the wing membrane beneath them.

A Night Bird, an Avial monster capable of spreading scales that induce chaos among organisms, able to emit hypnotic soundwaves from its mouth.

Its combat prowess naturally couldn’t compare to the Black Wolf Bird’s, but when it came to tricks, the Black Wolf Bird could only look up in awe.

Hypnotize monsters, then put them to sleep.

With that thought, Jié Jié let his consciousness drift further into the dreamspace and fell asleep.

His sleep quality was improving significantly, having gone from four or five hours to now being able to sleep six or seven hours straight.

Wait.

The Male Fire Dragon abruptly raised his head, remembering that he must’ve been influenced by the Hypnotic Fluid last night after devouring the Water Dragon’s belly.

Meanwhile, the young dragons woke up early as usual, brimming with energy.

When he awoke, he saw Iron Pot and Wooden Ladle engaged in a tug-of-war using Water Dragon skin, while Basin drank water and Porcelain Bowl continued gnawing on Water Dragon meat.

After cleaning up the remnants of the Water Dragon, Jié Jié tied another bag to store the masks of the Odd-Faced Tribe and some interesting things collected later.

The Sky Dog Beast held up the mask for closer inspection.

The wooden mask was primarily painted with red plant pigments, with yellow stripes horizontally smeared across it, and cat-like ears protruding on both sides.

The openings for the mouth and eyes were polished very smoothly, showing the Odd-Faced Tribe’s love for making masks.

Ugly at first glance, but upon further observation, it looked rather cute.

Additionally, this mask was hung on a pillar by the Odd-Faced Tribe as a Totem, larger than those they wore daily.

Still, it was too small even for the Sky Dog Beast.

After admiring it, he stored it in the bag.

Then he transformed back into the Lamp Fish Dragon to act as a ship, hanging the Lamp Sphere as usual.

Jié Jié carried the young dragons downstream.

Compared to walking, traveling by water was much faster.

Three days passed, and the wide river ahead was split into two streams by a delta.

On the shore of the delta stood a tiny figure holding a rod, fishing.

It was an Ancient Dragon Person, clearly not the same one they encountered earlier based on the decorations on their body.

The Ancient Dragon Person looked up and spotted the Lamp Fish Dragon carrying four little Fire Dragons.

Without a sound, unable to see the expression under their leaf hat, Jié Jié was sure of their astonishment and confusion.

Swinging his tail, he approached the delta shore, curious if this counted as willingly offering himself as bait.

But the Ancient Dragon Person clearly didn’t want to reel him in, reeling their rod away from the shore.

Jié Jié landed, and the Fire Dragons hopped off one by one, curiously observing the Ancient Dragon Person.

Tapping the Lamp Sphere lightly, he signaled the Fire Dragons to restrain themselves, then spat out a few fish he had casually caught.

The Ancient Dragon Person remained silent, and Jié Jié felt they were shocked rather than confused.

After all, none of his actions aligned with what a Lamp Fish Dragon should do.

“…”

The Ancient Dragon Person emitted a familiar rustling sound, mixed with the whoosh of flowing water.

Jié Jié opened his big mouth, his tongue curling slightly, revealing a pleading gesture.

Though Lamp Fish Dragons were of the Sea Dragon kind—not the Dead-Eyed Fish Dragon kind—their eyes could still convey thoughts.

Using tongue techniques to hint wildly, he pointed at the live fish he had spat out.

The highly intelligent Ancient Dragon Person understood immediately, flipping through their confusion and shock to produce a jar, carefully placing it on the ground.

What followed left them speechless.

The Lamp Fish Dragon’s body contracted and inflated, transforming into a monster with nimble limbs, snatching the small bottle and giving a thumbs-up.

Having acquired a mysterious potion and leaving the Ancient Dragon Person stunned, Jié Jié transformed back into the Lamp Fish Dragon and departed with the young dragons.

—A Few Days Later—

A weary Ancient Dragon Person arrived at the delta, sharing the eggshells and secret medicine they had picked up.

The two Ancient Dragon People conversed amidst the rustling trees and babbling brooks, jointly marveling at their newfound experiences.

By this time, Jié Jié had already reached the end of the river with the young dragons.

The great river flows endlessly onward; here was the estuary.