Chapter 357 : Astonishing Appetite
The fluffy Little Swan Goose stood tall and proud, looking quite adorable with her smug expression, making it impossible for Jiang Mo to feel angry despite being pecked. Moreover, it was Jiang Mo who had mischievously provoked her in the first place; now that she'd been pecked, she became well-behaved.
After conjuring a stream of water to rinse the wound, Jiang Mo flicked her hand, and the injury on her finger quickly vanished.
The Little Swan Goose watched wide-eyed as the wound disappeared, seeming somewhat dumbfounded, then slightly angered. She called out several times in her tender voice, saying who-knows-what—Jiang Mo felt distressed that she couldn't understand, suddenly wishing she were a Golden Peng instead of a White Tiger, thinking that perhaps as fellow birds, she might understand what her Senior Sister was saying!
Seeing that Jiang Mo foolishly couldn't understand, the Little Swan Goose immediately flapped her wings unhappily, her Phoenix eyes revealing anger and dissatisfaction.
As their eyes met, Jiang Mo suddenly had a flash of inspiration and took out the sweet dew water the Golden Peng had given her. The Little Swan Goose's eyes indeed brightened at the sight of the jade bottle, her calls becoming increasingly urgent, looking utterly famished.
Jiang Mo was immediately filled with concern, but she had never fed a bird chick before. She instinctively reached out to grab the Little Swan Goose, but having already been annoyed by her earlier touching, the Little Swan Goose immediately backed away upon seeing her hand. Her small wings spread wide in a show of defiance, while her face remained vigilant, as if fearing falling into the other's clutches again.
Fine then, who told her to be so mischievous...
Jiang Mo could only laugh helplessly, not daring to anger the Little Swan Goose further. Fortunately, after this interruption, she finally remembered how birds drink water. She took out an exquisite jade dish, placed it before the Little Swan Goose, then removed the stopper and poured in the sweet dew water.
Sure enough, this jade bottle containing sweet dew water was also a magical device—though only palm-sized, the sweet dew water it poured seemed endless.
The jade dish was quickly filled, and faced with the attraction of abundant spiritual energy, the Little Swan Goose could no longer stay angry with Jiang Mo—she didn't even wait for Jiang Mo to finish filling the dish before rushing over and plunging her head into the sweet dew water.
Unlike Jiang Mo's memory of birds pecking at water and tilting their heads back to swallow, the Little Swan Goose didn't lift her head after diving into the sweet dew water. Jiang Mo was initially startled, fearing that though she hadn't been killed by heavenly lightning, she might accidentally drown in the jade dish. However, she soon noticed faint ripples appearing around the Little Swan Goose's head, and she was mindful of how much water she poured, clearly exceeding the expected amount when full.
After filling the jade dish, Jiang Mo hesitated but still put away the jade bottle first.
As expected, the water level in the jade dish dropped rapidly, and within a few breaths, the originally full dish had only a thin layer left at the bottom. The Little Swan Goose finally raised her head, looked at the shallow layer of water at the bottom of the dish, and realized it wouldn't be easy to drink it all.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo was about to help, but then she saw the Little Swan Goose tilt her head thoughtfully, then flap her wings and jump directly onto the edge of the jade dish.
The jade dish Jiang Mo had taken out was exquisite and beautiful, though not particularly large—she couldn't even remember when she had stored it in her space. With the dish not being large, its weight naturally wasn't significant either, and as soon as the Little Swan Goose stepped on the edge, the dish tilted up. The remaining sweet dew water gathered together, and the Little Swan Goose's eyes brightened as she lowered her head and drank it all up.
For a young cub, she was quite clever, and Jiang Mo's face immediately broke into a smile.
But the Little Swan Goose ignored her, looking down at the empty jade dish before flapping her tiny wings in front of her body—perhaps due to her small size, the Swan Goose's wings were indeed quite short, making her movements appear endearingly cute, enough to melt anyone's heart.
Jiang Mo immediately experienced the joy of raising a cub. Although this cub was her beloved Senior Sister, turning her into a pet wasn't a bad choice, was it?
She rested her chin on one hand, planning to see what else the little one would do, but the Little Swan Goose turned her head and called out to her again. Seeing no response, she jumped back onto the jade dish and stomped her feet several times, full of suggestive meaning.
Jiang Mo understood—she wasn't full and was asking for more food. This explained her earlier wing-flapping; she wasn't randomly moving to amuse people, but perhaps trying to pat her own belly? Even though she couldn't reach it, she still knew she wasn't satisfied, and her food supply wasn't exhausted but had been put away by Jiang Mo!
To withhold even a bird chick's food—was this something a person... no, a tiger should do?!
The Little Swan Goose angrily expressed her dissatisfaction to Jiang Mo, who, seeing her so full of life, was both delighted and relieved, yet also worried she might eat too much and be unable to digest it. But then she recalled the Golden Peng's words—he was a genuine divine beast and would know better than her how to raise cubs.
So Jiang Mo stopped overthinking, took out the jade bottle again, and poured more water into the jade dish. Rich spiritual energy immediately filled the room.
The Little Swan Goose finally showed a satisfied expression, jumped down from the dish, and continued to bury her head, gulping down the water...
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Although the Little Swan Goose who had undergone Phoenix Nirvana appeared to have become a cub, lively and no different from other young ones, she was actually like parched earth, requiring vast amounts of spiritual energy to quickly recover and grow.
The sweet dew water given by the Golden Peng was indeed precious, truly comparable to the Azure Essence Spirit Marrow that Divine Lord Zhiming had given years ago—that jade bottle of sweet dew water could have been used to refine who knows how many pills. Yet before the reborn Little Swan Goose, it seemed somewhat inadequate—Jiang Mo abandoned her concerns and poured generously, and the Little Swan Goose dared to plunge her head into the water and drink freely. The entire bottle of sweet dew water was emptied by her in less than half an hour.
Jiang Mo finally shook the jade bottle, letting the few remaining drops of sweet dew water fall into the jade dish.
After another two breaths, the sweet dew water in the jade dish was also consumed by the cub standing on its edge, and the Little Swan Goose finally lifted her head, still unsatisfied. Her glassy Phoenix eyes looked toward Jiang Mo, who turned the bottle upside down to show her: "It's really all gone."
The Golden Peng had been quite generous, and the jade bottle contained a substantial amount of sweet dew water. Based on what Jiang Mo had poured out, it amounted to at least a bucket. Yet the Little Swan Goose before her was still only fist-sized after drinking an entire bucket of sweet dew water—if this weren't the cultivation world, one would suspect her stomach was connected to another dimension.
That clearly wasn't the case, but Jiang Mo had no idea where the Little Swan Goose had put all that sweet dew water. After all, despite drinking so much, she remained just as small, and the spiritual energy emanating from her body hadn't increased at all.
Jiang Mo tentatively reached out, wanting to pick up the Little Swan Goose for examination.
But the Little Swan Goose was evidently quite grudge-holding and still disdained her, raising her plump little wing in refusal. While maintaining a serious demeanor, her bright Phoenix eyes remained fixed on the jade bottle nearby, clearly understanding it was empty but still not satisfied.
Jiang Mo had just been shocked by the Little Swan Goose's "appetite," but seeing her expectant gaze, she found it quite pitiful.
Recalling the Golden Peng's "let her eat as she pleases," she thought for a moment and took out a milk-scented fruit from her space, placing it before the Little Swan Goose—this spiritual fruit with its milky fragrance had excellent taste and texture, most beloved by young cubs. Even the little tiger, despite being a carnivore, was very fond of it, which was why she had stored quite a few in her space. Surely the Little Swan Goose would like it too?
Thinking thus, Jiang Mo indeed saw the Little Swan Goose's attention drawn to the milk-scented fruit as she actively stepped forward and circled around the fruit that was about her size. However, contrary to her expectations, after circling the milk-scented fruit once, the Little Swan Goose showed no particular fondness for it; instead, her small Phoenix eyes revealed a hint of disdain.
Such a delicious fruit actually being disdained? She hadn't even tasted it yet!
Jiang Mo was initially stunned but quickly realized—the milk-scented fruit was only a low-level spiritual fruit. Though its taste was certainly good, the spiritual energy it contained was thin. Especially after the Little Swan Goose had just drunk the spiritually-rich sweet dew water, it was no wonder she was disdainful.
But that was alright; even if she needed to absorb spiritual energy to grow, it didn't prevent oral satisfaction. Once she tasted it, she would surely like it!
Jiang Mo thought confidently, and indeed, despite her disdain, the Little Swan Goose had no intention of letting even this meager spiritual energy escape. She opened her beak and began to gnaw at the fruit, her speed not much slower than when she had been drinking the sweet dew water earlier. The spiritual fruit, about her size, quickly disappeared into her tiny bird mouth, not even leaving a drop of juice.
Unfortunately, the milk-scented fruit contained too little spiritual energy, and unlike Jiang Mo, the Little Swan Goose was a pragmatist. Therefore, after eating, she remained quite disdainful. She raised her head and called out to Jiang Mo several times, seemingly reminding her to bring out something good instead of this waste.
Jiang Mo was increasingly able to understand what the Little Swan Goose wanted to express, finding it both amusing and exasperating.
However, since it was her Senior Sister's request, Jiang Mo naturally wouldn't be stingy. She extended her arm with a sweep, and the previously empty table before her was suddenly filled with all sorts of items. There were spiritual herbs and fruits, spiritual pills and liquids, as well as various foods containing more or less spiritual energy, and even in the corner, two premium spirit stones had been carelessly tossed...
In just the blink of an eye, the Little Swan Goose found herself surrounded by various spiritually-rich items. She twisted her body to look left and right, her small Phoenix eyes filled with delight, not minding at all being crowded in.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo was also very pleased, and even felt a little proud because of the surprise the other showed.
However, her pride didn't last three seconds before she watched wide-eyed as the Little Swan Goose flapped her wings toward the corner of the table, then opened her tender beak and pecked off nearly half a premium spirit stone, swallowing it whole!