Chapter 14: Whale Jelly! It's Whale Jelly!

The night by the seaside had a special touch, with a sky adorned by numerous stars and a crescent moon. Tonight, however, seemed to carry a tinge of blood.

Moonlit Bay lit up with a series of bonfires as villagers danced around them, performing their unique dances.

One lively young lady pulled Cheng Xiao into the crowd. Initially, he felt a bit awkward, but soon he was infected by the joyful atmosphere. Hand in hand with the young ladies, he clumsily joined the dance.

However, Cheng Xiao found himself in a bit of a predicament. The young ladies seemed to enjoy touching him all over, leaving no part of his body untouched.

Cheng Xiao was not one to back down. In the midst of laughter and merriment, he endured the sisters' enthusiastic touches, tasting all the different cosmetics they wore.

After playing for a while, Cheng Xiao withdrew from the crowd and wandered around aimlessly. Spotting some people cutting up the bodies of the magical whales, he decided to watch.

The butchers displayed extraordinary knife skills, turning each cut into a work of art. Too deep seemed excessive, and too shallow seemed too little.

Surprisingly, Cheng Xiao found the scene quite stress-relieving, not much different from trimming a horse's hooves.

Magical whale meat was continuously sent into cauldrons over the bonfire, producing whale oil that emitted a fascinating fragrance, adding a delightful aroma to the bonfire feast.

Cheng Xiao was captivated, watching one magical whale carcass after another. He didn't find it nauseating at all.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Cheng Xiao suddenly saw one butcher open the head of a magical whale. This was not unusual, as it seemed to be a common practice.

However, the butcher's actions made Cheng Xiao's pupils contract. The butcher reached into the whale's head and pulled out a golden crystal, tossing it casually into a pile of debris.

Whale jelly! It was whale jelly!

"Wait, you're just throwing it away?" Cheng Xiao exclaimed in surprise.

"What's that thing?" The butcher glanced at the golden crystal he threw away. "That thing is a lump that grows in the head of a magical whale, useless, can't be cooked."

Cheng Xiao was momentarily stunned. A lump? Useless? That was whale jelly! Enough to increase the absorption time of a soul ring by one level!

And it was just thrown away?

But soon, Cheng Xiao realized that in the original work, whale jelly was mentioned as a substance discovered thousands of years later. In this era, almost everyone stubbornly believed that there was a maximum absorption time for soul rings. Only a small minority believed that the absorption time was related to the quality of the martial soul, physical strength, and soul power, but this perspective was not mainstream and not widely accepted.

In this cognitive environment, no one believed that there was an item that could increase the absorption time of soul rings.

"Could it be that whale jelly was discovered in the distant future? Or perhaps it was researched in the land of sun and moon, only to be known to people from Douluo Continent after the collision of the continents?"

Thinking of this, Cheng Xiao couldn't suppress his excitement.

This was whale jelly, an item that every soul master would desire thousands of years later.

Taking a deep breath, he pretended to be calm. Cheng Xiao pointed to the golden whale jelly and said, "Can I have it? I'm quite curious about this thing. I can buy it from you."

"Huh, give money? No need for that. If you want it, take it. This thing is garbage, can't be cooked anyway." The butcher waved his hand casually, showing no concern.

Today, only those who were on good terms with the village could attend the event. If people knew that he "sold" garbage to them, it would affect his reputation. He still had a promising future and didn't need to tarnish his name by associating with those who mingled in Whale Hunting City.

Holding the golden whale jelly in his hands, Cheng Xiao couldn't believe it. He obtained this item, enough to make soul masters from ten thousand years later drool, without spending a single coin.

"Hey? Why are you holding this thing?" Lü Han looked at the whale jelly in Cheng Xiao's hand with a disdainful expression.

"Hmm? What's this?" Cheng Yu, in a drunken haze, slurred his words.

"This thing grows in the brains of sick magical whales. It has a significant impact on the quality of whale oil. Before boiling it, it must be removed. Otherwise, it will ruin the entire pot of whale oil, and even the cauldron will have to be scrapped. Otherwise, this batch of whale oil will have to be discarded." Lü Han belched, explaining.

Hearing this, Cheng Xiao's heart stirred, and he asked, "Are there many of these things?"

"Not many, at most one or two in a batch. Sometimes there might not be any in a batch. But better safe than sorry. If this thing accidentally mixes into the whale oil, the resulting oil will stink and emit thick smoke, making it unsellable," Lü Han explained with a hiccup.

Calculating the time back and forth, Cheng Xiao realized that it meant a maximum of three batches in a year.

So, that meant, at most, six pieces of whale jelly in a year? Damn! This was the rhythm of getting rich!

"Hiss!"

A bit unbelievable.

But after a second thought, Moonlit Bay controlled half of the whale oil production in the entire Douluo Continent. At most, getting six pieces was not surprising, especially during unlucky years when not even one piece would come out continuously for several years.

Oh, no, wait. For the villagers, it should be considered good luck not to have spoiled whale oil.

Strange, was this poison for others but honey for oneself?

"What about the ones from before?" Cheng Xiao wanted to collect more.

"Either throw them back into the sea with the remains of the magical whales, or give them to the village kids to play with. Who knows?" Lü Han shrugged, indifferent.

Cheng Xiao's mouth twitched. What a waste.

"Lü Uncle, I like this thing. It's golden and pretty. You don't know, I love collecting strange and rare stones. This thing is as hard as a rock, and I want to keep it for fun."

"How about this, Uncle, every year, you help me keep an eye out. I want to collect it for my collection. Of course, I won't let you work for nothing. Uncle, what do you think?" Cheng Xiao nudged Cheng Yu's elbow.

Cheng Yu, who managed the family business efficiently, naturally had good social skills. He sensed that something was amiss from the beginning. His nephew liked collecting strange stones? Nonsense. How come he didn't know about it?

He made it sound so plausible. People who didn't know would really think he was a young master with special preferences.

His nephew even asked him to play along. This thing was definitely extraordinary!

Cheng Yu understood in an instant and immediately hugged Lü Han's neck. "Old Lü, this is going to be the person in charge of our Cheng family in the future. You must pay attention to him. Don't you like drinking? Every year when I come, I'll bring you a pot of imperial court jade liquor. Hic, it's so fragrant."

"Tomorrow, we two brothers will go to Whale Hunting City. I heard that a batch of good goods has arrived. Hehe, we've been stuck at sea for over twenty days..."

Hearing Cheng Yu's words, Lü Han's eyes immediately lit up, and he readily agreed, "Rest assured, tomorrow morning, I'll go and inquire. Let's see if this batch has come out this year."