Farming Games are All About Grinding

Han Qiwu carefully took out the dark, grainy meat from inside the starfish and mixed it together with the egg liquid.

Finding such a big starfish wasn't easy—it's clearly not something to waste!

After stirring it evenly, the steamer nearby was already ready, and after steaming it for a moment, a new delicacy was about to be born.

Once that was done, Han Qiwu also prepared a vitamin-rich fruit salad using strawberry, mulberry, raspberry, and egg yolk dressing.

After some thought, he added a side dish of pickled pepper bamboo shoots.

"Shame there's no rice wine left at home."

The pottery wine jars were nice but produced way too little.

The amount they yielded wasn't even enough for Han Qiwu to enjoy by himself—much less share for a toast.

It's definitely time to level up.

By the time he finished all of this, the aroma of the starfish egg custard had already begun to waft slowly from the steam vent on the lid of the pot, drifting straight into Han Qiwu's nose.

What a fresh scent.

Han Qiwu hurriedly put on his gloves and carefully took it out, placing it on the table.

The starfish's aroma, mellowed by the egg liquid, was uniquely delightful—it had not a hint of fishiness. He gently scooped up a spoonful and tasted it. The starfish meat, slightly granular amidst the soft and delicate texture of the custard, was absolutely top-notch!

After finishing his meal, Han Qiwu was planning to rest for a bit. But as soon as he looked up, he caught sight of Little Prince tiptoeing cautiously into the room carrying his little pink backpack.

On his head, Little Shui was adeptly lifting the outer edge of the wooden door.

Apparently, this reduced the noise when opening the door… When did Little Shui learn all this?

[Hunter Companion: Little Prince has returned from foraging. Satiety +99]

[Foraging harvest: Wood ×66, Osmanthus Wood ×8, Osmanthus Sapling ×5]

[Little Prince seems a bit anxious after finishing his foraging.]

[Fishing Companion: Little Shui has returned from fishing. Satiety +99]

[Foraging harvest: Crayfish ×5, Trout ×2]

[Little Shui seems a bit anxious after finishing his fishing.]

Seeing the system notifications, Han Qiwu couldn't help but laugh and cry all at once.

So these two had both stuffed themselves to the brim before returning?

Anxious? Really?

"Little Prince, Little Shui, where did you two run off to?" Han Qiwu walked out of the house with a smile, calling out to Little Prince, who had half-slipped into his burrow.

Little Prince froze instantly, turned to look at Han Qiwu, adjusted his posture, and pretended he was climbing out instead.

At the same time, Little Shui quickly climbed down from his perch, grabbed the backpack off Little Prince's back, and tossed it into the burrow before following suit with practiced precision.

Their movements were seamless.

With his usual silly grin, Little Prince, freshly emerged, dashed over next to Han Qiwu.

Han Qiwu: "…Little Shui has changed."

Oh well, young girls are said to change frequently—that's understandable.

"Little Prince, has logging work been particularly busy recently?" Han Qiwu asked while patting Little Prince on the head.

"Roar roar!" Little Prince nodded energetically, putting on a weary look and gesturing in the direction of the beehive for emphasis.

"There's definitely no honey left. You've been getting home so late lately, playing around too much." Han Qiwu shook his head as he replied.

At Han Qiwu's words, Little Prince let out a distressed howl, quickly shook his head, pulled Little Shui over, and pointed at Little Shui's paws while yelling.

Han Qiwu hurriedly looked over and noticed that Little Shui's two massive claws were seriously worn down—they were visibly shorter by half, and the tips even showed some signs of redness and swelling.

What happened?

Weren't you two out there stuffing yourselves silly before returning?

How did it escalate to eating your own claws bald?

"Roar roar."

"Whimper whimper."

Little Prince and Little Shui gestured at Han Qiwu frantically, but still failed to explain what had transpired.

Well, that was to be expected—Han Qiwu had never learned Beast Language skills.

After a while of vague gestures, Little Shui seemed to catch on. He scurried to the floor, tugged at Han Qiwu's pants, and started pulling him towards the door.

"Are you taking me to check out the situation?" Han Qiwu ventured.

Little Shui nodded eagerly.

"Let's go in a minute; I need to treat those claws first." Han Qiwu carried Little Shui into the house and began treating and bandaging the injured claws—a whole sequence of disinfecting, applying medicine, and wrapping them up. Once finished, Little Shui adopted a new look:

Collector's Edition: Giant Clawed Otter Mummy.

Staring at Little Shui's pouty, dissatisfied expression, Han Qiwu coughed twice awkwardly.

There was nothing he could do—he wasn't a professional. For the sake of safety, better to over-wrap than under-wrap.

"Little Prince, why is Little Shui injured this badly while you came back untouched?" Han Qiwu asked curiously.

Little Prince bent over dramatically, signaling that his was an internal injury.

"Alright, alright, no need to show off that bear-like waist. Let's get going." Han Qiwu glanced at the time, scooped up Little Shui, and followed Little Prince out the door.

Along the path behind the yard, flashlight in hand, Han Qiwu grew increasingly exasperated as they walked.

Turns out you two always pick the worst possible spots to explore?

This whole area was a muddy mess, making it incredibly hard to traverse.

Little Prince, however, seemed perfectly at ease. He hopped around joyfully in the mud as if he were deeply familiar with the terrain.

Han Qiwu, on the other hand, struggled to hold onto Little Shui in his arms, preventing him from jumping out to join in the mud-slinging fun.

After half an hour of trudging, the night had fully fallen.

Just as Han Qiwu began wondering where exactly they were headed, he suddenly felt a distinct sensation as if his skin had brushed against something.

"This feeling! Could it be—!" Han Qiwu's excitement was reflected in the system notification before him:

[You have discovered a Two-Star☆☆ Secret Realm: Wetland Garden]

[Available stay time today: 1 hour]

Another secret realm!

Little Prince and Little Shui truly brought luck!

Wetlands are often called the kidneys of the Earth.

Ahem, just considering the organ's functionality speaks to the importance of wetlands.

Upon entering the secret realm, Little Prince and Little Shui's forms became fully visible, and Han Qiwu began noticing unique creatures in his field of vision.

Illuminated by the torchlight, seven or eight elegant cranes with red crests flew gracefully from the wetlands, retreating into the distance. From the area they departed, a few fish-like creatures darted out with incredible speed, only to vanish again in a flash. Further away, massive animals coated in mud surfaced briefly to assess their surroundings before sinking back down—their molars incredibly large.

"Roar roar!"

Little Prince called out confidently, guiding Han Qiwu further until they arrived at a section of mud that had already been excavated to reveal a substantial area.

This particular mud was different from typical swamp sludge—it resembled dough in texture, and surrounding it were clear marks of excavation left by Little Shui's claws.

It had to be said, the claw marks were impressively tidy, resembling the handiwork of a small excavator.

"Is there something good down here?" Han Qiwu asked curiously while pulling out a hoe.

Little Shui nodded repeatedly, pointed at his massive claws, and let out a silly laugh.

"Whimper whimper!"

If nothing else, Han Qiwu couldn't ignore those three adorable whimpering sounds.

Today, Han Qiwu was determined to dig out the treasures buried here to reward Little Shui!