One was unreachable while the other was within arm’s reach.
While he couldn’t give up on the unattainable, it didn’t get in the way of him going for the closer one first. Lin Jin decided his experience would be greatly enriched by sticking with Zuo Men and Huang Shi Sanren.
The two immortals were delighted to have him join their party.
They got along easily with Lin Jin, even though they had just met. It didn’t take long for the three to consider each other friends.
Since they were friends, there was no need to be too reserved in speech.
“A fight might break out when we reach the spirit pond later. Of course, it’d be best if we can avoid it, but just in case, we should be prepared,” said Huang Shi Sanren. Then, he turned to look at Zuo Men’s Dopey Bear.
“Zuo Men, your Dopey Bear is really strong. It’s perhaps the strongest among us all but its only shortcoming is gluttony. The last time we went to search for treasures in Sanmu Cave, we suffered a loss because of Dopey Bear’s greed for food. We can’t let that happen again this time.”
Zuo Men nodded. Then, he looked at Dopey Bear and then shook his head.
“I can’t make any promises. Forget me, even Dopey Bear can’t control itself. I’ve been trying hard to control its size but it keeps growing bigger every year. The amount of food it needs is multiplying too. We’re fortunate that food is everywhere in the woods so it won’t go hungry. It has to spend most of its day eating to maintain its size. If Dopey Bear is hungry, it can’t even utilize ten percent of its strength.”
Zuo Men sighed heavily.
Huang Shi Sanren shook his help helplessly as well. They had thought of solving this issue before, but they failed to come up with any solutions.
It sounded like such a trivial problem, and yet this problem was giving the immortals a hard time.
Lin Jin started pondering when he listened to their explanation.
Dopey Bear’s gluttonous nature was mentioned in the museum’s evaluation. In Lin Jin’s opinion, although the problem sounded like a mere eating disorder, the simpler the problem, the harder it was to solve.
This rare immortal beast loved eating, which was essential for it to maintain its body size. While Zuo Men’s explanation seemed absurd, it was a fact.
If the bear didn’t get filled up, its combat ability would be greatly reduced.
All bears of Dopey Bear’s breed shared the same habits. When these creatures were fully satiated, their battle strength would grow exponentially.
There were pros and cons to possessing such a unique constitution.
Everything depended on whether the creature’s voracious appetite could be satiated.
In Lin Jin’s opinion, it was very difficult to satisfy Dopey Bear’s appetite now. There wasn’t enough food in the area to fill up a creature of its size. Simply put, Dopey Bear had to put up with hunger most of the time.
However, Lin Jin had an idea.
He had a ‘Feed Mill’.
He hadn’t been using the museum’s Feed Mill ever since its opening. This was mainly because he didn’t have a use for it.
The opportunity of utilizing the Feed Mill had finally presented itself.
The Feed Mill could produce a unique type of kibble, labeled only as ‘Kibble’. Its usage was to satisfy the appetite of massive beasts. In other words, a relatively small amount of Kibble would fill them right up.
These kibbles weren’t worth much and the Feed Mill pumped them out constantly, so by now, Lin Jin had such a huge stockpile of Kibble.
Lin Jin flipped his hand over and a few kibble pills appeared in his palm.
Despite their name, these pills are the size of marbles. It was smooth, round, and inky all over. They weren’t particularly eye-catching, but if one were to take a whiff, they would smell a unique fragrance wafting from the pill.
This fragrance was faint to the noses of humans and immortals, but it was attractive to most beasts.
After all, the items in the Feed Mill were made specifically for beast consumption.
Sure enough, when Lin Jin took out three kibbles, Dopey Bear turned his way immediately.
Its dopey eyes were staring straight at the kibbles in Lin Jin’s hand.
The aroma from the pills made it hard for Dopey Bear to contain itself.
Craning its neck to stare at Lin Jin, Dopey Bear’s head was as tall as the man. Standing tall and mighty, the bear started drooling like a waterfall.
“Would you like to eat this?” asked Lin Jin as he waved the kibble in his hand. Dopey Bear seemed to understand him because it nodded.
As expected of immortal beasts. Even without a blood contract to bind it to humans, they possessed amazing comprehensive abilities.
Zuo Men and Huang Shi Sanren who were walking and chatting ahead paused after noticing this situation behind him. They were stunned.
“This is…”
“Shush. Look at Dopey Bear. Have you ever seen it act like this?”
“Taoist Lin, what do you have in your hand? Why is Dopey Bear staring at it like it’s… it’s…”
That was a difficult question to answer because both immortals wouldn’t know what Kibble was.
Upon hearing their question, Lin Jin replied, “This is a type of kibble I crafted myself. Despite its size, it can fill up a beast easily.”
Zuo Men was surprised to hear it. “Do such treasures even exist?”
“Is it true? Those little things look like they wouldn’t even suffice as snacks for Dopey Bear.” Huang Shi Sanren remained skeptical.
Lin Jin smiled. “If you don’t believe me, we’ll know when we try it out.”
“Surprise me then!” answered Zuo Men immediately.
Dopey Bear was always with him, and truth be told, Zuo Men was starting to grow anxious. Every day, he would have to spend so much time just to find food for his companion, which left him with barely enough time to cultivate and train.
But Zuo Men couldn’t help it. Now that there was a chance to satiate Dopey Bear, even if it was just a glimmer of hope, he was willing to try his luck.
In his words, Dopey Bear had been with him for over a hundred years now but it probably never experienced what being full was like.
How pitiful.
After obtaining Zuo Men’s permission, Lin Jin tossed the three kibbles in the air and Dopey Bear gobbled them up.
Your average beast would only need a single pill to keep it full for an entire day. Not only could the kibbles satisfy hunger, but they were also nutritiously balanced, which added to its value.
Since this thing came from the Museum of Deadly Beasts, it had to be good.
With Dopey Bear’s size, Lin Jin figured one wouldn’t be enough so he took out three just in case. Forget three, he could even fork out three hundred or three thousand.
However, the value of a commodity was maintained by its rarity. If they worked effectively, Lin Jin would never reveal his stash of pills.
‘Three should be enough,’ Lin Jin thought.
Dopey Bear chewed up the three kibbles and licked its lips seconds later. It reminded Lin Jin of Zhu Bajie[1], who was force-fed a bowl of fruits. He couldn’t seem to taste anything.
However, Dopey Bear’s expression soon changed.
[1] A character from the Chinese legend, “Journey to the West”. Famous for his voracious appetite, and pig-like appearance.
