Strange Occurrences at Garrison Peak

"Waaaah..."
"Stop crying."
"Waaaah..."
"The Golden-Haired Hou isn't a bad creature; it's our best friend."
"Waaaah..."
"If you stop crying, I'll take you to eat something delicious."
"Waa... eat what?" Liu Xiaoyu looked up, her face instantly filled with anticipation.
Well, that was still the most effective method... Chu Liang breathed a sigh of relief as she finally stopped crying.
Just moments ago, the master and disciple had returned riding the Golden-Haired Hou. As soon as they landed, they ran into Liu Xiaoyu. Upon seeing this massive beast suddenly arrive at Silver Sword Peak, the little girl was terrified by its giant head and burst into tears.
Seeing this, Di Nüfeng rubbed her head and said, "Women are the most troublesome when they cry. You go coax her; I'm going back to get some rest."
Before the words had even faded, she had transformed into a streak of fire and slipped away, leaving behind a caught-off-guard Chu Liang and an innocent-looking Big Head.
"We're having hotpot," Chu Liang replied casually. Having been away from Mount Shu for several days, he was indeed craving a steaming, spicy pot.
Liu Xiaoyu then stood up from the ground and pouted, "I don't like spicy food..."
"Mandarin Duck pot, Mandarin Duck pot," Chu Liang said quickly.
Beside them, the Golden-Haired Hou also revealed a smile, seemingly understanding that delicious food was on the way. Its large head lifted up happily.
"What are you so happy about? There's none for you," Chu Liang said heartlessly.
It wasn't that they were abusing their pet, but Big Head's appetite was simply too enormous! They had kept it at the First-Grade Sword Hut for one day, and it had shocked all the disciples there.
They said they had left a small mountain of meat for it before going to sleep, but when they woke up the next morning, they found it in the storage room eating iron...
Chu Liang had reason to suspect that in the ten years it spent at the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall, it might have consumed more wealth than the amount Xu Nanling had embezzled.
Chu Liang raised his hand, and the Golden-Haired Hou lowered its massive head for him to pet, emitting low, whimpering sounds. After accepting Di Nüfeng, it had quickly accepted Chu Liang as well, including the newly met Liu Xiaoyu.
Spirit beasts, at least in terms of intelligence, didn't have major issues.
Although it looked a bit goofy, Chu Liang always felt that this big head had a spark of intelligence. If one were to test it, it might even have a higher IQ than Di Nüfeng...
"Why can't you feed it?" Liu Xiaoyu asked. Even though she had been scared by Big Head earlier, seeing how gentle the giant creature was now, the little girl's heart immediately softened.
She reached out and cautiously touched the drooping nose of the Golden-Haired Hou; it was wet, soft, and very warm.
The little girl and Big Head shared a smile.
"Because it's a spirit beast," Chu Liang sighed helplessly.
Raising such spirit beasts was a common challenge because their growth required far more spiritual energy and nutrients than ordinary demonic beasts. The Pill Cauldron Hall sold specialized spirit beast feed, made from a mixture of spirit meat and spirit plants; one pellet could sustain an ordinary demonic beast for a day. But for a spirit beast, it might need ten times that amount.
How could anyone afford to raise it?
"Do spirit beasts always eat that much?" Liu Xiaoyu asked again.

"That's right," Chu Liang nodded, then a spark of inspiration suddenly lit up in his eyes. "Wait..."
That's it.
Spirit beasts do eat a lot.
He looked at Liu Xiaoyu and suddenly said, "Thank you! Xiaoyu! Golden-Haired Hou, follow me!"
"Huh?" Liu Xiaoyu was confused. "Thank me for what?"
Thank you.
A careless remark had solved my confusion.
...
Guardian Peak.
Green mountains stood tall, with lush vegetation everywhere.
This was arguably the most pristine and well-maintained peak on Mount Shu, as it was the residence of the sect's guardian divine beast, the Bai Ze.
That adult Bai Ze had not appeared for many years, its whereabouts unknown. Now, the Guardian Peak was home to only a lonely "left-behind child."
Perhaps precisely because of its loneliness, the young Bai Ze would often go outside to find friends to play with.
Previously, it only had one fragrant friend, and the young Bai Ze would visit her at Pagoda Peak every month to play for a few days. Later, it met another friend with a very familiar aura, as if it had seen him in its childhood.
With the two of them keeping it company, it was always very happy. It was just that both of them were teenagers with many things to attend to... unlike itself, just a youngster not yet six hundred years old.
Just as the young Bai Ze was feeling bored in its own mountain forest on Guardian Peak, it suddenly smelled a familiar aura, and then it heard a call: "Dear little Bai Ze, are you home?"
It's him!
The young Bai Ze recognized Chu Liang's voice. With a "whoosh," its body transformed into a streak of white light, and in an instant, it appeared before him.
Chu Liang was standing in an open clearing on Guardian Peak, with the goofy Big Head behind him.
The young Bai Ze lunged over, about to lick him, when it suddenly noticed the Golden-Haired Hou behind him. Its figure froze, and it cast a wary glance at the big head.
Chu Liang waved his hands quickly. "Don't be afraid. I'm here today to introduce a new friend to you. Golden-Haired Hou, come and shake hands."
At his command, the Golden-Haired Hou obediently extended its thick right front paw.
The reason it was so obedient, besides its docility, was that Chu Liang had told it before coming... whether you have food to eat in Mount Shu from now on depends on your behavior in a moment.
Eating.
That is the top priority.
Shaking hands proactively is not shameful.
The Golden-Haired Hou was a spirit beast after all; while its rank was slightly lower than the Bai Ze's, it wasn't overly subservient. Seeing the other party being so friendly, and with Chu Liang present, the young Bai Ze no longer felt wary and happily touched its horns to the Golden-Haired Hou's front paw.
"Hehe, since we've met today, we're all brothers now," Chu Liang patted his chest. "Why don't we have a meal together?"
The Golden-Haired Hou nodded repeatedly.

The young Bai Ze also made "Huo-luo-luo" sounds of agreement, circling around Chu Liang, very happy.
"This is your home, so you have to be the host," Chu Liang said, stroking its head coaxingly.
"Huo-luo-luo!" The young Bai Ze tossed its head as if to say no problem, turned around, and led them running in another direction.
"Follow!" Chu Liang leaped onto the back of the Golden-Haired Hou, and the Golden-Haired Hou also let out a joyful cry: "Roar, roar, roar..."
On the way to grab a meal, even the wind felt fragrant.
No, it was already fragrant!
Such a fragrant scent.
The young Bai Ze led them around a mountain forest and arrived in front of a very expansive open-air structure.
This building was quite simple, consisting of four huge pillars supporting a ceiling, resembling a gazebo, built entirely of something like white marble, pure and white.
Under the gazebo was a small mountain of jade-white pills. Not only did they look spiritually fragrant, but they also smelled incredibly sweet, permeating half the mountainside. Besides the staple-like pills, there was also a large pile of spirit plants and spirit fruits, all of which looked of higher quality than the berries Chu Liang sold.
The Golden-Haired Hou couldn't help itself as soon as it saw them. Its big head stretched forward eagerly, and it was so anxious that its two front paws scratched the ground.
The food provided by Mount Shu for its guardian divine beast was naturally the best in the world; the spiritual energy and flavor were absolutely top-notch. The Golden-Haired Hou had probably never eaten such a delicious meal in its life.
Let alone the Golden-Haired Hou, even Chu Liang wanted to have a bite.
He looked at the young Bai Ze. "So, can we eat now? After we finish, we can go out and play together."
"Huo-luo-luo!" The young Bai Ze tossed its head dismissively, signaling for its friends to enjoy themselves to their hearts' content.
Chu Liang was no longer reserved. He waved his hand. "Golden-Haired Hou, go eat quickly! Eat like a beast! If you can't fit it all in, stuff some in your cheeks... bring it back for a midnight snack!"
...
The next morning.
Two disciples from the Pill Cauldron Hall lowered their clouds and arrived beside the white pavilion on Guardian Peak. As per routine, one poured a steady stream of white pills from a gourd, while the other took a large pile of spirit fruits from a storage artifact.
But as soon as they began their work, the two of them suddenly voiced their confusion.
"Eh?" the one on the left said. "In the past, the little Bai Ze would eat at most half a pool of spirit-feeding pills a day, but how is it that the pool is bottomed out today? Not a single pill left!"
"My spirit fruits too. It never liked eating them before, and the Elder of the Pill Cauldron even said its diet was unhealthy, so how... today not only did it eat them all, but it even licked the floor tiles of the pool clean!" the one on the right said as well.
Question marks appeared above the heads of the two Pill Cauldron Hall disciples, both of them feeling puzzled.
"Truly a strange affair."
Good morning.