Beastmaster: I'm really just a forest ranger

Chapter 261 What human being can be compared to a farmer?

On the southern slopes of the Qinling Mountains, a cold wind blows through the treetops, swirling up tiny ice crystals that scatter like salt across the sky.

The Qinling Mountains are desolate and bleak in winter. The bare trees stand tall in the snow, like Chen Wenhao who has lost his hair. Occasionally, birds and animals land on the branches and chirp incessantly.

Occasionally, the pets would stretch out their paws and dig in the ground, trying to find food in the thick snow, but most of the time it was in vain.

"Ouch!"

Suddenly,
The silence of the woods was broken by the urgent barking of dogs. Birds took flight and disappeared into the wind and snow. Pets searching for food fled in panic and vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving only footprints on the ground.

One particularly bold lark was not frightened away. It stood quietly on the branch, its gaze shifting downwards, where a Gale Hound running wildly across the snow gradually came into view.

Cola let the snowflakes dance around him without slowing down, his paw prints exploding into a string of plum blossoms on the snow, the long rope tied to his body taut like a bowstring, and the simple wooden sled transformed into a sharp blade for cutting through the snow.

Compared to the relaxed and composed Cola, Chen Yuan looked serious, gripping the taut rope tightly with both hands, his feet on the sled, his center of gravity lowered, and he tried his best to maintain his balance.

Wow!
Snowflakes swirled around him, but were blocked by his hat and goggles. The cold wind howled, but Chen Yuan remained unmoved.

Starting from the farm, Coca-Cola sped along, pulling the sled for a considerable distance.

The long rope and sled both withstood the test without being damaged, and Chen Yuan, whose physical condition was far superior to before, also did not fall.

Fortunately, he was a beast tamer; otherwise, he probably would have been thrown away long ago.

"Cola, there's a fallen tree ahead." A thought flashed through Chen Yuan's mind, and he noticed the road ahead, promptly offering a warning.

Cola was prepared and suddenly sped up. When it got close to the tree, it leaped into the air, and the sled took advantage of the momentum to rise half a meter into the air.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness made Chen Yuan's expression change slightly. Then, when he landed, the wooden plank beneath him cracked. For a moment, he almost thought he was going to fall apart, but then he saw Kele's ears twitch. He deliberately bounced up the slope, letting out a smug sound of a prankster.

"How dare you, Cola!" Chen Yuan deliberately scolded with a stern face.

When a sharp turn appeared ahead, Cola deliberately swung its tail, the long rope swinging in the air in an arc, and the sled drifted and cut through the snow.

Chen Yuan exerted force with both arms, but his body remained completely still.

As time passed, Chen Yuan gradually figured out the trick.

He crouched slightly, adjusting his center of gravity with the rise and fall of the sled, like taming a wild horse.

But when Cola sensed his relaxation, it increased its speed slightly, so Chen Yuan had no choice but to continue to concentrate.

After an unknown amount of time, Cola stopped walking at Chen Yuan's command.

Chen Yuan lay sprawled on the sled, panting heavily, his fingers still gripping the long rope tightly. The wind ripped his scarf, and snowflakes stung his face like needles.

Cola strolled back, rubbing her wet nose against his frostbitten cheek, and let out a triumphant cry: "Awooooo!"

How was it, Master? Was it exciting?
Should we continue?
Chen Yuan remained silent.

"Ow!"

Seeing Chen Yuan's reaction, Cola immediately sensed something was wrong.

Did the previous prank anger the owner?
The thought crossed his mind, and Cola looked anxious. He quickly leaned closer, ready to obediently admit his mistake and apologize.

But Chen Yuan suddenly smiled, grabbed Cola's head with his arm, and laughed as he grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at its face: "It's fun, isn't it? Now it's even more fun."

"Ouch!"

Seeing that its owner wasn't angry, Cola secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it could easily break free from Chen Yuan's arm with the slightest movement, it didn't move. Instead, its eyes narrowed into crescents, and its bushy tail wagged incessantly, scattering snow dust everywhere.

But when Chen Yuan let go of it, Cola used its tail to sweep up snow dust, which covered Chen Yuan.

"You guy!"

Chen Yuan, who had been ambushed, glared at Cola, but then quickly bent down, picked up a snowball, and threw it at her.

Although Cola could easily dodge it, it forcibly suppressed its subconscious reaction and let the snowball hit it.

Master, I'll spoil you this once.

Once the snowball fight started, it couldn't stop. The twin flower concubines poked their heads out of their breast pockets, their eyes sparkling, and joined in, waving their hands.

"Chirp~"

Sparks danced high in the air, golden-red eyes scanned the surroundings, wary of the danger lurking in the shadows, and did not join in.

"Electric~"

"Roar!"

Electric Flying Cat and Fallen Horned Beast chased after Cola's footprints, following them all the way until they finally arrived at this place and joined the snowball fight.

"quack."

Runrun Duck sighed heavily, raised its head, and saw clear footprints in the snow stretching forward, but it couldn't see its friends. Only the faint sounds of laughter reached its ears.

How much further?
I can't walk anymore!

The ducks are on their way, and the little guys are having a thrilling snowball fight with Chen Yuan on the snow.

In a daze, Chen Yuan recalled the scene when he entered the mysterious forest some time ago and woke up the next morning to find it snowing heavily, with everyone playing in the snow with their pets.

At this moment, just as at that moment.

after awhile,

Slightly out of breath, Chen Yuan lay on his back on the soft snow, the cold wind howling, trying to lift his hat and scarf and slip into his body.

"Chirp~"

Spark folded its wings and descended, shrinking as it landed. In just a moment, it had shrunk to the size of a palm and landed on Chen Yuan's chest.

In an instant, the cold wind dissipated and the chill vanished.

This is Spark, a hand warmer with unlimited battery life, and it also comes with a range of auxiliary functions, such as lighting and wind protection.

Where's the duck?

A clear, azure sky came into view, and a warm feeling spread throughout his body. Chen Yuan wanted to stay there forever, but then he suddenly remembered that Runrun Duck hadn't arrived yet.

"Ow~"

Cola, lying to Chen Yuan's left, shook his head.

It pulled the sled all the way, completely unaware of Runrun Duck.

"Electric~"

The electric flying cat, which was lying to Chen Yuan's right, shook its head.

It flew the whole way, and no one knows where the duck went.

"Roar"

The honest and simple-minded Fallen Horned Beast thought about it carefully, and finally shook its head.

Worried that Cola might cause an accident while carrying the farmer at high speed, such as throwing the farmer off or causing him to fall into a deep, unseen pit, it followed closely behind, ready to rescue the farmer at any moment, and thus did not notice Duck.

"Hooho~"

Should I go back and find Senior Duck?
Chen Yuan looked down at Huohua: "Go see where Yaya is."

Duck's strength is close to the third tier. Although it can't be said to be invincible in the Qinling Mountains, it can easily deal with most pet beasts and will not encounter any danger.

Given Ya Ya's personality, Chen Yuan was even more worried that it would find something interesting and become unable to walk, eventually losing its way.

"Chirp~"

Spark nodded, spread its wings and took flight, its sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.

"Ow!"

Cola, worried about its friend's safety, flicked its tail and flared its nostrils, trying to catch the duck's scent in the air.

The heavy snowfall masked all smells, and Cola sniffed around for a long time but couldn't detect any duck scent.

"Ow!"

Cola was concerned about Ya Ya's safety. She first glanced at Chen Yuan, and after seeing the latter nod, she darted forward and searched for Ya Ya's trail in the direction she had come from.

The Fallen Horned Beast and the Electric Flying Cat joined in, and the four little creatures searched together. Chen Yuan called out, "Duck!"

"Duck!"

The heavy snow drowned out Chen Yuan's voice and blurred Ya Ya's vision. It scratched its bottom and looked around in confusion: "Quack?"

Where did the farmers go?

Looking down, the snow was covered with messy and blurry footprints. Runrun wiped the water droplets from her head and stood there, stunned.

Which way should we go?
Should I take this opportunity to go back to the farm?
Random thoughts flashed through her mind, but Runrun Duck shook her head and said, "Quack."

Never mind, let's give the farmer some face.

Suddenly a gust of cold wind blew away the swirling snowflakes, and the view opened up. Runrun Duck looked ahead and saw two furtive figures lying together.

"Gah?"

With its round, duck-like eyes showing curiosity, it swaggered forward.

It turns out that this is a small frozen lake. The thick ice surface isolates the lake from the outside world, but when Runrun Duck looks down, it can see the underwater scene through the crystal-clear ice surface—fish swaying and swimming freely.

fish!
So many fish!
With saliva practically dripping down its face, Runrun Duck desperately wanted to dive underwater and catch all the fish, but the thick ice made it hesitate.

"嘤嘤嘤!"

Suddenly, two furtive figures darted into her peripheral vision. Runrun Duck turned her head and recognized them as two little foxes.

One Flame-Tailed Fox, one Ice-Freezing Fox.

The Flametail Fox, with its rear end sticking out and its bushy tail hanging down behind it, hissed and breathed fire at the ice surface, the orange-red flames causing the ice to sizzle and drip water.

"Hey~"

The Ice Fox beside it would sometimes wave its paws to cheer on the Flametail Fox, and sometimes touch the scorching ice surface with its paw.

Upon seeing this, the clever Runrun Duck seemed to be deep in thought and quietly stayed in place.

In a moment,

Under the continuous scorching heat of the flames, a large hole appeared in the thick ice. The Ice Fox was overjoyed at the sight and quickly reached out its paw to poke it, but then suddenly withdrew its paw and sneezed—it could spew out icy breath with a simple opening of its mouth, but it was afraid of the icy water in winter.

"Waaah!" Seeing the Ice Fox back down, the Flametail Fox puffed up its cheeks angrily, stretched out its paw and poked the Ice Fox's back, signaling it to hurry up and catch some fish.

I finally melted the ice, now it's your turn!

The Ice Fox touched the icy lake water again, and the chill instantly spread throughout its body. Its soft fur stood on end, and it withdrew its paws once more.

No!

It can't do it!

"嘤嘤嘤!"

The Flametail Fox was enraged, wildly waving its claws, its aura menacing.

The Ice Fox lowered its head, curled up its petite body, and became timid and submissive.

"Quack~"

Runrun Duck strode forward, separated the two little ones with its body, then patted its chest with a determined look in its eyes.

Let me, Duck, do it!
It's only natural for ducks to catch fish!
"Hey?"

Faced with the sudden appearance of Runrun Duck, the two little guys reacted in the same way, quickly leaning against each other and casting wary glances.

Runrun Duck didn't care. It puffed out its fluffy chest, flapped its wings, and plunged into the ice hole. The sudden action startled Flametail Fox, who spewed out flames. The surging firelight made the water ripples under the ice shimmer with gold.

"Hey!"

The Flame-Tailed Fox hurriedly swallowed the flames, but was choked by them, and black smoke billowed from its mouth.

When the black smoke dissipated, Flametail Fox coughed twice, then lowered its head with Icefox to watch the light blue figure gracefully flipping underwater, swimming with an elegant and composed posture.

In just a moment, Runrun Duck kicked off with its webbed feet, snatched a plump little fish, and leaped out of the water. Water droplets dripped down its upturned tail feathers and fell to the ground, splashing into small rainbows on the ice.

"嘤嘤嘤!"

In less than half a minute after entering the water, it had already caught a fish. Runrun Duck's super efficiency amazed the two little guys, who looked at it with admiration.

"quack!"

Runrun Duck adopted a nonchalant demeanor, casually tossing her hair before placing the helpless spirit fish on the ground and diving back into the water.

After three round trips, Runrun Duck returned home with a full load.

Three plump little fish were placed on the ice, making the two little guys swallow hard and rub their impatient paws against the ice.

But they forcibly suppressed their inner desires and turned to look at Runrun Duck.

The duck played a crucial role in catching the three spirit fish.

They didn't dare touch their chopsticks until the duck was served.

"Quack~"

Runrun ducks waved their wings generously, indicating that they could eat as much as they wanted.

It's not like the Electric Flying Cat, which sneaks away and hides away anything good it finds.

Good things should be shared!

"Hey!"

The Flame-Tailed Fox no longer held back, cheerfully using its tail to curl up the spirit fish. With a flick of its tail, a warm fire was ignited, and a makeshift barbecue was born.

At the same time, it opened its mouth and spewed flames, roasting the remaining two spirit fish.

In this way, the three spirit fish can be cooked at the same time.

Upon seeing this, Runrun Duck was filled with surprise. It stared at Flametail Fox for a long time, and a bold idea gradually emerged in its mind.

Then, Runrun Duck walked over to Flametail Fox and gently patted its shoulder: "Quack quack!"

Why don't you join our farm?

The farmer said that as long as you have a skill, you can get food and accommodation by joining the farm!

Runrun Duck knew in her heart that the farm was short of a barbecue chef, and it was impossible to let the eldest sister take on this position, right?
The Flametail Fox in front of me is a perfect match.

"Hey~"

But when faced with Runrun Duck's invitation, Flametail Fox shook its head.

Humans had invited it to farms before, but it refused without hesitation.

"Quack quack!" Runrun Duck suddenly became anxious.

What are you talking about, humans? Can they be compared to farmers?

Our farm is the best place in the whole world!

"Hey~"

Despite Runrun Duck's enthusiastic invitation, Flametail Fox still shook his head.

"ga"

Seeing that Flametail Fox was adamant, Runrun Duck shook its head helplessly.

Never mind, this little fox isn't lucky enough.

Fortunately, the aroma of the roasted spirit fish soon wafted over, pulling Runrun Duck away from her thoughts, and she turned to look longingly at the spirit fish.

Not long after,
Runrun Duck huddled together with the two little creatures they were meeting for the first time, chewing on the fragrant spirit fish. Flametail Fox's tail tip trailed behind it, silently continuing to scorch the ice surface, but the three little creatures, engrossed in their food, did not notice.

After a while, a spirit fish was swallowed. Runrun Duck rubbed its belly and grinned, "Quack quack!"

The farmer was right; we really do need to get out and about more.

Suddenly, Runrun Duck remembered something: it had been so long since it had kept up with the group, would the farmer scold it?

But the thought vanished in an instant, and Runrun Duck quickly shook its head: "Quack quack!"

Who cares? I'm full and satisfied, I'll take a nap first.

The thought arose, and Runrun Duck no longer hesitated. She lay down on her back, ready to comfortably settle down.

Boom!
But then, a hole appeared in the ice behind them, and Runrun duck tilted its head back and fell into the icy water.

In a flash, Runrun Duck instinctively stretched out its wings and grabbed the Flametail Fox beside it.

Flametail Fox was pulled down by Runrun Duck, and in its panic, it instinctively reached out its paw to grab Icefox.

thump!
The three little ones fell into the water one after another, and a chill crept over their bodies.

After a while,
Soaked to the bone, the Flametail Fox and the Ice Fox crawled out of the water. A gust of cold wind made them shiver uncontrollably, as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

Fortunately, the flame at the tip of the Flametail Fox's tail did not go out, and it slowly provided warmth, gradually helping it to recover.

"Quack~"

Runrun Duck casually shook its body, seemingly unaffected by the cold wind and icy water.

While it was falling into the water, it even managed to catch another fish.

"Chirp~"

Just then, a clear, melodious cry rang out overhead, and Runrun Duck suddenly looked up, its face instantly turning ugly.

Oh no, it's the boss!
After a while,
Chen Yuan stared at the three little ones in front of him with a strange expression: "You two became good friends just like that?"

"quack!"

Runrun Duck embraced Flametail Fox and Icefox, nodding emphatically.

Chen Yuan chuckled helplessly, looking at the two little foxes and said, "It seems you two are quite destined for each other. That's good, it saves me the trouble of looking for you."

Every time I go into the mountains, I naturally bring some snacks to visit the two little guys, and at the same time introduce them to the new friends they bring.

Unexpectedly, without Chen Yuan's introduction, Runrun Duck and the others had already gotten to know each other through a wonderful coincidence.

After a moment of thought, Chen Yuan looked at Runrun Duck again: "Alright, this time it's not your fault, we just forgot about you."

"Gah~"

Runrun put her hands on her hips and turned her head away.

You guys are deliberately trying to abandon me!

"Now you can sit on the Fallen Horned Beast," Chen Yuan said.

The unexpected incident delayed him, so he decided to go all out and try to reach the mysterious forest before nightfall.

"Quack~"

Upon hearing this, Runrun Duck was overjoyed and quickly ran towards the Fallen Horned Beast.

"Electricity!"

Upon seeing this, Electric Flying Cat immediately turned to look at Chen Yuan, its eyes brimming with longing.

Chen Yuan smiled slightly: "You can fly."

Electric Flying Cat looked dejected: "Electric..."

Damn it, why do I have to be able to fly!

"What about you? Would you like to come with us?" Chen Yuan squatted down, looked directly at the two little ones he hadn't seen in a long time, and extended an invitation with a smile.

The main purpose of this trip into the mountains was to escape the hustle and bustle of the outside world and to play with Qingpo.

In that case, the more little ones the better, and the more lively the atmosphere the better.

"Hey~"

The Flametail Fox first glanced at the supply packs on both sides of the Fallen Horned Beast's body. It could faintly smell the aroma of snacks, so it nodded emphatically.

It's going!
The slow-reacting Ice Fox nodded in agreement, its fluffy little head looking adorable.

Chen Yuan smiled and opened his arms, and the two little foxes jumped into his arms from either side, letting him stroke their soft bodies.

"Let's go."

Chen Yuan waved his hand and led the little ones on their way.

(End of this chapter)