Days passed, and Xia Huna and Mu Zhishui continued their steady march towards the coast. One day, they found themselves walking through a forest.
"Stop, why are we always in forests?"
"What can I do? You're the daughter of the Rainbow Star Group. Wherever there's a town, there's the Rainbow Star Group. Do you think the current all-out search allows us to relax in town?"
"Let's just go. It'll be better once we're back in Minglong Kingdom."
Xia Huna looked at the map in his hand. "Well, according to this map, we should reach the coast in at most one more day. Then I can fish for Groudon."
"What if they catch up to us at the coast?"
"Then we'll jump into the sea! What's there to consider?"
"..."
Watching the sun climb higher, Xia Huna sat down. "It's almost noon. Let's sit down and have lunch. When I restocked supplies, I chose rice instead of flour. Let's have beef stew over rice today."
"That sounds good. I'll leave it to you."
He released his Pokémon. Xia Huna announced to everyone that he was going to make beef stew over rice. The two Rockruffs' eyes lit up at the mention of beef stew, and they immediately pounced on Xia Huna, nuzzling him.
"Alright, alright, stop it. If you keep nuzzling me, there won't be any food."
Xia Huna took out various ingredients from his backpack and continued to teach his little chef, Diancie, how to make lunch. "Diancie, listen to me, beef stew is a dish where..."
Since Xia Huna was teaching Diancie how to cook, lunch was progressing quite slowly. Although the other Pokémon were patient, the two newly added Rockruffs were more energetic, drooling as they looked at the meat on Xia Huna's cutting board. Diancie, after slicing the meat, waved her hand at the two Rockruffs, indicating that they couldn't look at the meat like that, as it wasn't ready yet and they couldn't steal it.
The little princess's status in the family made the Rockruffs pause their attempts to get the meat. But what if the two Rockruffs were still hungry? They had to sniff around for something to fill their stomachs. Just then, Xia Huna took out a box of Shí Sān Xiāng.
Mu Zhishui looked at the Shí Sān Xiāng in Xia Huna's hand. "Hmm? Where did you get that? Do they even sell Shí Sān Xiāng in Manying?"
Xia Huna nodded. "Yes, I didn't expect it either, that Manying would have Shí Sān Xiāng from Minglong Kingdom."
As they were talking, two black shadows pounced and knocked Xia Huna over. Xia Huna's hand jerked, and the Shí Sān Xiāng scattered everywhere, landing directly on the two Rockruffs. It was the first time the two Rockruffs had encountered such an attack. One of them sneezed, startling Xia Huna.
Xia Huna picked up one Rockruff in each hand. "You two little guys are very mischievous. Tell me, how will you compensate for my Shí Sān Xiāng?"
Seeing Xia Huna looking fierce and potentially about to stew one of them, the two Rockruffs whimpered submissively. With Xia Huna playing the tough cop, it was time for Mu Zhishui to play the good cop. "Alright, don't be angry. Let them go wash up first. It's not good to have them like this here."
Xia Huna glanced at the two Rockruffs with Shí Sān Xiāng all over their heads and threatened them. "You two better clean yourselves up, or we'll be eating char-grilled Rockruff for lunch if you get too well-marinated."
As Xia Huna spoke, he licked his lips, looking as if he were ravenous. The two Rockruffs imagined Xia Huna gnawing on a hind leg and constantly exclaiming how delicious it was, which sent a shiver down their spines. They immediately ran to a nearby stream to wash themselves.
Mu Zhishui chuckled. "Why did you have to scare those two little ones?"
"Don't you think it's delicious? Marinating the meat with spices, then grilling it over a small fire, the sizzling sound as the oil drips and the meat cooks. Especially after the aroma comes out, fanning it gently with your hand, the scent entering your nostrils – do you know how wonderful that is?"
Hearing Xia Huna's enticing description, Mu Zhishui unconsciously wiped his mouth, as if to remove imaginary drool. Xia Huna raised the corner of his mouth and glanced at the two Rockruffs who were still in the water trying to clean themselves, as if to say, 'You'd better not get clean, I want to eat dog meat.'
The two little ones, feeling Xia Huna's menacing aura, dove back into the river to scrub themselves clean again. However, even after a thorough washing in the water, when they came ashore, they still felt a faint scent of spices lingering on each other. Truly, Shí Sān Xiāng was forever divine!
Unable to figure out why, the two Rockruffs decided to lick the Shí Sān Xiāng off each other's heads. Xia Huna watched them licking each other. "So this is the legendary 'licking dogs'?"
Mu Zhishui laughed. Xia Huna's summary was not wrong. Regardless of what "licking dogs" meant, it was certainly a very apt description.
After licking, the two Rockruffs genuinely felt that the other was marinated. They stuck out their tongues and then came to Xia Huna, looking at the remaining Shí Sān Xiāng. Xia Huna held the box a bit higher. "What are you two doing? Have you fallen in love with Shí Sān Xiāng?"
The two Rockruffs nodded. They did find the smell of Shí Sān Xiāng quite appealing. However, Xia Huna shook his head as he looked at them. "No, you can't have Shí Sān Xiāng. You stay far away."
The two Rockruffs dejectedly retreated to the side, while Xia Huna went over to Diancie. "How's the beef stew, little princess?"
Diancie pointed to the box in Xia Huna's hand. Did beef stew need Shí Sān Xiāng?
Xia Huna glanced at the Shí Sān Xiāng. "I don't know, but I think we can try it. Perhaps the effect will be good."
Xia Huna and Diancie continued to stew the meat. The two Rockruffs, without Shí Sān Xiāng, still felt hungry and sniffed around. They decided to sneak off and find something to eat.
Cottonee saw the two Rockruffs leaving the group and followed them. Xia Huna, catching sight of Cottonee also leaving, kept it in mind.
The two Rockruffs searched among the grass and soon found a clump of plants that looked different from the surrounding grass. The Rockruffs sniffed the air, then ran to the clump of grass, opened their mouths, took a bite, their eyes lit up, and they called their companion over.
The other Rockruff ran to the edge of the grass and looked at the clump curiously. Was it tasty?
The Rockruff shook its head. Although it smelled good, the taste in its mouth was a bit strange. But Mu Zhishui's Rockruff didn't believe it, took a bite, and then stuck out its tongue. You're right, it tastes terrible.
However, although the taste wasn't very pleasing to the two Rockruffs, it didn't mean humans wouldn't like it. The two Rockruffs immediately decided to take the grass back for Xia Huna to see.
Xia Huna's Rockruff's digging skill was too strong. Before the Cottonee, which had been following from afar, could react, the Rockruff had already dug up the grass and all the soil. But the problem was, how would these two little ones carry such a large clod of soil back?
The Rockruff compared its size to the large clod of soil and helplessly lowered its head. They could only push it with their heads if they wanted to move it. Fortunately, Cottonee appeared in time, picked up the clod of soil, and said to the two Rockruffs, "Let's go, it's almost time for dinner."
Hearing Cottonee call them for dinner, the two Rockruffs immediately thought of the beef stew. Thinking of how Shí Sān Xiāng would complement the beef stew, Xia Huna's Rockruff's four legs churned quickly, and it dashed towards Xia Huna, leaving a blur.
At that moment, Xia Huna had just finished cooking and was carrying a clay pot of beef stew to set the table. However, the Rockruff's pounce caused Xia Huna to stumble, and the clay pot flew out of his hand. Seeing the pot about to fall to the ground and all their efforts going to waste, Mu Zhishui quickly asked his Gardevoir for help. "Gardevoir, use Psychic!"
Invisible psychic energy spread out, enveloping the clay pot and placing it safely on the ground. Xia Huna thanked Gardevoir and then looked at the Rockruff that had just caused trouble. "Rockruff, you almost caused a disaster. What should happen?"
Rockruff pointed behind itself pitifully. Xia Huna asked, "Are you saying you found something precious and were very happy?"
Rockruff let out a cry. Xia Huna looked into the distance and saw Cottonee walking over with a clod of soil. Xia Huna asked Rotom, "Rotom, what is that?"
Rotom scanned it. "This isn't something you have in your Pokédex, but I found it in the common plant index. It's fennel. However, the index also says that Miracle Seed might exist near fennel."
Xia Huna didn't have much feeling for fennel, as it was a traditional Chinese medicine and occasionally used as a spice. However, Miracle Seed was another matter. This item was quite useful for quickly recovering Pokémon's combat strength. The only drawback was that it was too bitter, even for some Pokémon that preferred bitter tastes.
Xia Huna placed the clod of soil aside. "Alright, because you found fennel, I won't punish you. Eat obediently, and after dinner, we'll go see where you found the fennel."
Everyone sat down to eat lunch. Xia Huna watched the Rockruff, which wanted to approach the fennel but also wanted to stay far away. "What are you doing?"
"Aow!"
"I get it. You like its scent but don't like its scent, right? Then I'll make you a sachet. It'll be a bond like 'The Wolf and the Spice'."
Mu Zhishui put down his chopsticks. "Is that how this bond is formed? And Rockruff is just a dog, what does it have to do with wolves?"