"Yoyo~!"
"Whinny!"
"Hey!"
"Careful!"
A flurry of exclamations erupted.
Everyone watched as the little deer failed to attack Chang Kong and instead bounced backward, even flipping once in the air. Gasps rang out all around.
"Whinny~"
Chang Kong snorted, the corners of its mouth lifting as if mocking Ta Xue overestimating it's own abilities.
"Yoyo!"
Ta Xue scrambled upright, so furious that even its cry changed. Its little hooves kicked wildly against the ground, head lowered in a charging stance.
But the difference in size and strength between it and Chang Kong was far too great, charging forwards again would only repeat the same humiliation.
"Don't, don't, don't!" Qin Yiwei hurried forward to stop it. "Don't get worked up, I still have more here!"
Ke Minglu also smacked Chang Kong and scolded, "Chang Kong, how can you bully Ta Xue like that?"
"Whinny~"
But clearly, Chang Kong, just like Hu Niu, was shameless.
Bullying a cub didn't strike it as excessive in the slightest.
Ke Minglu was rendered speechless by its attitude, he could only push it aside and turn to comfort Ta Xue.
"Yoyo~"
Ta Xue was still very angry, hopping around in place and grumbling nonstop.
Qin Yiwei took out another steam bun, then suddenly turned around. Just as expected, Chang Kong was sneaking closer in a suspicious manner.
Qin Yiwei: "..."
Ke Minglu also saw Chang Kong's actions and his face flushed with embarrassment.
"Chang Kong!" His face darkened.
It's one thing for it to steal his tea.
But it absolutely couldn't behave like this in front of guests!
How humiliating!
After being scolded, Chang Kong immediately froze, its big head turning casually to look around as though nothing had happened.
If it knew how to whistle, it probably would've done so.
Ke Minglu's mouth twitched in irritation at its shamelessness.
—He had never realized before just how greedy Chang Kong was!
The atmosphere turned slightly awkward because of the two spirit beasts' scuffle.
Chu Jingzhuo also took out a steam bun and handed it to Ke Minglu. "Martial Uncle Ke, this one can be given to Chang Kong."
"Whinny~"
Hearing its name and seeing the familiar bun, Chang Kong immediately dashed over with impressive speed.
Ke Minglu's face turned green.
His spirit beast was far too embarrassing!
"Whinny~" Hurry up and give it to me!
Chang Kong clearly didn't care about his expression.
Embarrassing?
It's a beast.
—What did "losing face" have to do with a beast?
Sensing Chang Kong's attitude, Ke Minglu felt a dull ache in his chest from irritation.
"Here, have this." Wen Yan also felt a bit apologetic and hurriedly took out a few beast ration sticks. "Don't you like eating these?"
But to her surprise, Chang Kong pushed her hand away with its large mouth, showing no interest in the beast ration sticks at all.
Its gaze remained fixed on Ke Minglu's hand. More specifically, on the steam bun in that hand.
Ke Minglu rolled his eyes in frustration, clearly he was very reluctant to hand it over.
But to avoid even more embarrassment, he finally passed the bun to it.
"Whinny~"
Chang Kong cheered and immediately bit the bun.
"Yoyo~"
Ta Xue also quickly grabbed its bun and retreated to one side to eat cautiously, glancing over at Chang Kong from time to time in case it came to snatch it again.
"You, honestly!" Ke Minglu slapped Chang Kong lightly on the head.
But Chang Kong was thick-skinned and completely unbothered.
Even after being hit, it didn't loosen its grip. The bun inside its mouth remained perfectly secure.
It took quite a while to finish eating. As it chewed, it even hummed contentedly, clearly in a good mood.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Ke Minglu quickly said, "Come, come, let's go inside and have some tea."
"Alright."
They nodded and followed him in.
Chu Jingzhuo walked at the very edge. After only a few steps, he felt his clothes being tugged.
Turning around, he met Chang Kong's large eyes.
Chang Kong grinned broadly at him, "Whinny~"
"Chang Kong!"
Ke Minglu turned back just in time to see the scene and his face darkened again.
"Hiss~"
Xiao Qing slithered from Chu Jingzhuo's hand up to his shoulder, bravely facing Chang Kong head-on.
"Whinny~"
Only then did Chang Kong notice the small snake. It looked slightly surprised but didn't take the tiny creature seriously. Instead, it neighed a few times at Chu Jingzhuo.
Communication between spirit beasts was much simpler than between humans.
Even without fully understanding the exact words, they could grasp the general meaning.
Xiao Qing understood Chang Kong's intent and relayed it to Chu Jingzhuo.
Chu Jingzhuo burst into laughter, "The first bun was made by Eldest Senior Brother. The second bun was made by master."
It had to be said, Chang Kong was indeed discerning.
The buns looked almost identical, yet it could taste the difference.
Xin Jinrui, hearing the noise, also turned back, "What's going on?"
Chu Jingzhuo explained, "It wants the buns master made."
Xin Jinrui wasn't surprised.
He had previously learned how to make steam buns from master.
But just like tea roasting, no matter how carefully he followed the process, his finished steam buns always fell just a little short.
When Mu Shiyue made steam buns, it was all flowing movements and unexpected improvisation.
—Too much water? Add flour. Too much flour? Add water. Not baked enough? Bake it again....
The main point was essentially pure spontaneity. In any case, each production process was different from the previous one.
And yet, astonishingly, the final products always turned out nearly the same!
By contrast, Xin Jinrui's culinary skills were precise. The flour and water proportions were perfect from the start, there was no need for multiple rounds of baking.
But the food he made in this way was less popular than master's.
He had once given his own steam buns to the spirit beasts, and their feedback had been positive.
Yet in the end, they still chose master's buns.
Clearly, Chang Kong had made the same choice.
Xin Jinrui had long since moved past any sense of disappointment. Master's craftsmanship was genuinely beyond him.
"Chang Kong!"
Ke Minglu noticed they had stopped walking and hurried back, pushing Chang Kong's large head aside, "Ignore it, it's just fooling around."
"Whinny~"
Chang Kong tried to nudge his hand away, then suddenly stiffened.
Moments later, it drooped its head, its big eyes filled with reluctant grievance.
But however unwilling it felt, it didn't dare continue causing trouble.
Because Ke Minglu had just warned it that if it kept causing trouble, it wouldn't get any more steam buns afterward!
Ke Minglu still had a few steam buns personally made by Mu Shiyue.
Faced with that threat, Chang Kong hesitated for a long moment before finally making a painful decision.
—It chose the greater number of steam buns in the future!
Seeing it finally behave, Ke Minglu let out a long breath of relief.
He shot his wife a look.
Wen Yan immediately stepped forward, "Come, come, let's go inside."
Once everyone was seated and Chang Kong stopped acting up, the couple finally relaxed.
—How exhausting. This spirit beast was far too mischievous!
Ke Minglu personally brewed tea for them, the disciples felt flattered but gradually became more at ease.
After chatting for a while, Ke Chongzhen returned.
Before stepping through the gate, his expression had been dark and his gaze gloomy.
But when he saw everyone, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"The rooms have been prepared. Let's head over now."
"Alright."