Chapter 547 - 260: What Human Can Compare to a Farmer?
On the southern foothills of the Qinling Mountains, the cold wind swept over the treetops, stirring up tiny ice crystals like salt scattered across the sky.
Winter in Qinling is desolate and bleak, the bare trees resembling Chen Wenhao, who lost his hair, standing upright in the snow. Occasionally, some bird-like Pet Beasts land on the branches, chirping non-stop.
Every now and then, a Pet Beast reaches out its paws, trying to dig into the thick snow to find food, but most of the time, these efforts are in vain.
"Ow ow ow!"
Suddenly,
The urgent barking of a dog breaks the silence of the woods. Birds flap their wings and soar into the snowy sky, while the Pet Beasts searching for food flee in panic, vanishing instantly, leaving only footprints scattered all over.
A particularly brave Flowing Cloud Sparrow is not frightened away. It stands quietly on a branch, its gaze lowering as a Gale Hunting Dog dashes into its view across the snowy ground.
Cola let the snowflakes dance around, but its speed didn’t slow down. Its paw prints burst into plum blossom shapes on the snow, while the long rope tied to it tightened like a bowstring, and the simple wooden sled transformed into a blade slicing through snow.
Unlike the relaxed and composed expression of Cola, Chen Yuan’s face looked stern. He tightly grasped the taut long rope with both hands, feet planted on the sled, center of gravity lowered, striving to maintain balance.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The snowflakes struck haphazardly but were blocked by his hat and goggles. The cold wind howled past, yet Chen Yuan remained unmoved.
They set off from the farm, with Cola galloping along the way, pulling the sled a considerable distance.
The long rope and sled withstand the test without damage, and Chen Yuan, now more physically fit than before, hasn’t fallen.
Fortunately, he’s a Beastmaster; otherwise, he might have been flung off by now.
"Cola, there’s a fallen tree ahead." The thought crossed his mind as Chen Yuan noticed the road condition ahead and quickly issued a warning.
Cola had already anticipated it, swiftly accelerating as they approached the tree, leaping into the air, the sled soaring half a meter high.
The subsequent sense of weightlessness made Chen Yuan’s expression change slightly. As they landed, the wooden board below creaked loudly, and for a moment, he almost thought it would break apart. However, seeing Cola’s ears perk up, intentionally bouncing up the slope, a triumphant, prank-like growl rolling out from its throat.
"Careful, Cola!" Chen Yuan tried to adopt a stern tone in reprimanding.
At the sharp turn ahead, Cola deliberately flicked its tail, maneuvering the long rope into arc motion, the sled drifting across the snow surface.
Chen Yuan exerted his arms with no movement from his body.
The time slowly passed, and Chen Yuan gradually found the knack.
He squatted slightly with bent knees, adjusting his center of gravity with the sled’s ups and downs, like taming a fierce horse.
But just when Cola sensed his relaxation, it increased its speed slightly, forcing Chen Yuan to remain fully focused.
After who knows how long, with a command from Chen Yuan, Cola stopped.
Chen Yuan lay exhausted on the sled, gasping for breath, fingers still tightly clutching the long rope. The strong wind yanked at his scarf, snowflakes hitting his face like needle stings.
Cola strolled back, its damp nose nudging his frostbitten cheeks, with a victorious call from its throat: "Ow ow ow!"
How was it, Master, thrilling, right?
Want to go again?
Chen Yuan remained silent.
"Ow ow!"
Seeing Chen Yuan’s response, Cola felt something was amiss.
Could the previous prank have angered the Master?
The thought crossed its mind, making Cola look worriedly anxious, quickly leaning its head forward, ready to humbly apologize.
Yet Chen Yuan suddenly grinned, pinning Cola’s head under his arm, while laughingly grabbing snow to hurl at its face: "That was fun, wasn’t it? Now it’s even more fun."
"Ow ow ow!"
Seeing that the Master wasn’t angry, Cola secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although it could easily escape Chen Yuan’s arm at a light movement, Cola didn’t budge. Instead, its eyes squinted into crescent moons, its fluffy large tail wagging nonstop, sweeping snow everywhere.
But as Chen Yuan voluntarily let it go, Cola swept its tail to scatter snow dust all over Chen Yuan.
"You rascal!"
Getting sneak-attacked, Chen Yuan fiercely glared at Cola but soon bent down to pick up a snowball to throw.
Though Cola could easily dodge, it restrained its body’s instinctual reactions, letting the snowball hit it.
Master, just indulging you for once.
Once the snowball fight began, it couldn’t stop, with Twin Flower Concubine poking her head from the chest pocket, eyes sparkling, waving her palms as she joined in.
"Chirp~"
Spark soared into the air, its golden-red eyes scanning the surroundings, alert for hidden dangers, not joining the game.
"Dian Dian~"
"Roar!"
Electric Flying Cat and Fallen Meteor Horned Beast tracked Cola’s footprints, arriving there, collectively joining the snowball fight.
"Gaa gaa..."
Run Run Duck sighed heavily, lifting its head, the footprints visibly trailing forward, yet seeing no sign of its companions, only faint laughter wafted to its ears.
How much farther, Duck?
I can hardly move anymore, Duck!
Duck’s on the way, while the little ones and Chen Yuan engage in a thrilling snowball fight on the snow.
In a daze, Chen Yuan recalled entering the Mysterious Forest some time ago and waking the next morning to find heavy snow, he and the Pet Beasts playing together in the snow.
Right now, as it was at that moment.
After a while,
Gently panting, Chen Yuan lay flat, facing the sky in the soft snow, the wind whistling, trying to lift his hat and scarf, slipping into his body.
"Chirp~"
Spark retracted its wings, descending, shrinking midway into a palm-sized Fire-breathing Bird landing on Chen Yuan’s chest.
Instantly, the cold wind subsided, the chill vanished.
That’s Spark, an infinitely sustainable heater, also equipped with multiple auxiliary functions, such as lighting, wind protection, and more.