Chapter 115: The Familiar Quilt

"..."

Xiao Lan was speechless. Since when did being a human's pet become so demanding? They even require teeth brushing now? Being a beast, Xiao Lan was utterly bewildered.

Yu Yan shook her head. "Tsk tsk, I really can't stand your scent. Keep your mouth away from me from now on." Despite her words, Yu Yan stuffed a pear-fruit into Xiao Lan's mouth. She couldn't bear to part with her Vermilion Fruits, but the wounds on Xiao Lan’s back were somewhat unsightly. While the spiritual energy in low-grade spirit fruits was minimal, they were at least gentle in nature, offering some small benefit for healing.

"…Are there more?" Xiao Lan swallowed the fruit whole without even chewing. After a moment, discovering the fruit's benefits, it looked at Yu Yan with eager, wide eyes.

Yu Yan sighed and tossed in two more. The two pear-fruits, each the size of a cantaloupe, disappeared into Xiao Lan's mouth as if falling into a bottomless pit, not even leaving a ripple. Seeing the creature staring at her again, Yu Yan went silent. Although she had plenty of pear-fruits, she wouldn't last long at this rate. Besides, the fruit was crisp and refreshing, and she enjoyed eating them herself—she couldn't let this glutton waste them all!

Yu Yan decided to negotiate. "Look, you’re inhaling them one by one without even tasting them. Even if these aren't top-tier spirit fruits, they’re still spiritual items, aren't they? Isn't it a bit of a waste?"

"It’s not that your master is stingy, but even a landlord has limited grain. How about this: I’ll give you ten fruits a day. Since you’re bare-skinned and have nowhere to store them, I’ll hold onto them for you. I’ll feed you three times a day—three in the morning, three at noon, and three at night. How does that sound?"

"…I have a place to store them," Xiao Lan grumbled. "I have a spatial pocket inside me. It’s small—not even a tenth of my cave—but it can hold a few spirit fruits."

Yu Yan fell silent once more. Was space travel becoming that common? Could any random seventh-rank peak dungeon monster have an internal dimension? She didn't know that this was a unique trait of the Blue Crystal Giant Lizard clan. As descendants of the once-mighty Frost Dragons, even if their bloodline was extremely diluted, it was not entirely gone. Every few decades, one or two Blue Crystal Giant Lizards would awaken a fragment of their dragon ancestor's talents.

Most of the time, this manifested as ice-based bloodline skills like Frost Breath. However, on very rare occasions, it would awaken the dragon clan’s treasure-hunting instinct. Dragons loved collecting treasures and possessed internal worlds to store their hoards. Thus, a lizard that awakened this instinct usually gained a small spatial pocket as well. Compared to their ancestors, these pockets were pitifully small—a true Frost Dragon’s world was boundless, easily holding the corpses of thousands of Blue Crystal Giant Lizards. Xiao Lan's pocket couldn't even fit its own body!

But having something was better than nothing. Most importantly, ignorance is bliss. Lacking the inherited memories of the Frost Dragons, Xiao Lan didn't know the true potential of its ancestors and was quite satisfied with its little space. It had used this pocket to secretly hoard treasures, spirit materials, and herbs right under its leader's nose; otherwise, it would have taken a hundred years to reach the seventh-rank peak.

Since Xiao Lan had space, Yu Yan had nothing more to say. To appear generous, she handed over a ten-day supply of pear-fruits at once. A hundred fruits packed the space completely, leaving no room for even one more. Consequently, Yu Yan’s own Phantom Lotus space now had a little extra room, which she could easily fill again once she left the "Firefly Soul-Devouring Sea" and visited the Spirit-Plant world.

After chatting and sorting through the fruits, Yu Yan tidied up her Phantom Lotus space, which had become a chaotic mess of spirit materials, beast corpses, ores, plants, fruits, eggs, and old household supplies from before the dungeon apocalypse. She discarded the useless items and categorized the rest.

Time flew as she worked. By the time she finished, drenched in sweat, the light in the forest had dimmed. After so many days, the villagers outside must have dispersed by now. She took one last look at the dungeon where she had stayed for several days. The scent of the Fire Rhinoceros dung had nearly faded after two days and nights. Not bothering to pack the cheap blankets and vines, she whispered, "Leave dungeon," and vanished, Xiao Lan in tow, reappearing in Fenghe Village.

Shortly after she left, a group of six disheveled men and women appeared nearby. The leader was covered in blood, his clothes ruined, yet a small patch of skin on his wrist remained clean, revealing a tan complexion. A deep blue smart bracelet clung to his wrist. He clearly cherished it—even though, since the dungeon’s arrival, the device had lost almost all its functions. It couldn't call, text, or browse the web; only the mechanical watch feature barely lingered, though it would soon become nothing more than a decoration—a two-thousand-dollar accessory encrusted with dark blue diamonds.

"Boss, I think we've lost the swarm of corpse-insects," Guo Wei said, his voice trembling as he supported the stumbling Li Miaozhu. For some reason, the insects seemed to scatter like mice encountering a natural predator whenever they neared this area. It wasn't a good sign, but it provided a moment of respite. They hadn't had a drop of water or a bite of food for twenty-four hours, trapped in a constant cycle of fighting and fleeing. Any more, and even an iron body would break.

Lin Zhe was about to respond when his eyes froze. What was this? In such a perilous place, there were three blankets draped over a hammock made of spirit vines. And why did they look so familiar? The minimalist, Morandi-toned bedding looked exactly like the set he and Yu Yan had picked out together. Lin Zhe felt a jolt of disbelief, followed by a surge of ecstasy. Forgetting the danger, he scrambled to every corner beneath the vine bed.