What's Wrong with Being a Little Fat?

Yu Xian pulled out his phone. After granting external communication permissions through the grotto-heaven bubble, he thought for a moment and decided to contact Zhang Shou first. Just because he possessed an incredible healing factor did not mean everyone else did. Sparring inevitably involved mistakes, so having Zhang Shou present meant anyone who got hurt could receive immediate medical attention. Although Yu Xian also possessed healing blood magic, its restorative effects were miles behind Zhang Shou's... All right. Those were just excuses. Truthfully, Yu Xian simply wanted to see the dumbfounded look on his best friend's face. Super Brain made it abundantly clear: Yu Xian was behaving exactly like a child who had just gotten a treehouse, itching to show off his secret base to his buddy. Ten minutes later. Zhang Shou was teleported onto the beach through a spatial bubble. His eyes went wide as he stared at the ocean before him. With sheer excitement, he exclaimed, "Holy shit! Holy shit, holy shit! Salty Fish, you're telling me this is your grotto-heaven world? Holy shit, this is insane!" As he spoke, he hastily stripped off his shirt and sprinted straight into the sea. "I heard people in ancient times dared to swim in the ocean without fearing sea beast attacks at all! I've wanted to do this forever!" Zhang Shou swam a lap, floating on the surface as he shouted back to Yu Xian. Standing on the sand, Yu Xian gave a smug grin. "It wasn't that ancient people weren't afraid of sea beasts, but that sea beasts didn't even exist back then. Just like this ocean of mine—not a single sea beast in sight." "Woohoo!" Zhang Shou paddled around merrily, completing five full laps before finally wading ashore. He walked over near Yu Xian's beach chair, retrieved a lounger from his storage ring, and set up a small table beside it. After laying out drinks and fresh fruit, he changed into swim trunks without a shred of modesty, threw himself onto the lounger, and slipped on a pair of sunglasses, looking thoroughly content. "Now this is the life," he sighed toward Yu Xian. Yu Xian chuckled. "What kind of life is that? Ancient people could do this every single day, you know." "I really envy them. Living in such a peaceful era, hitting the beach without worrying about sea beasts, climbing mountains without dreading demon beasts." Zhang Shou nodded in wistful agreement. Yu Xian took out his phone and messaged Bat. A moment later, he summoned Xiong Da, who had been left in Bat's care. Earlier, Xiong Da had been brought to Qilin headquarters. Due to Edward's ascension to Dragon-rank and the flurry of chaos that followed, Yu Xian hadn't had the time to look after him, so he had asked the resurrected Bat to help watch over the bear. Now, he could finally bring Xiong Da back. To his surprise, when Xiong Da materialized on the beach, the entire expanse of sand shuddered. Xiong Da was now as fat as a small mountain. One paw clutched a jar of honey, while the other held a massive meat pie. A look of pure helplessness covered his pudgy face as he asked, "Proprietor, is something the matter? I still had plenty of your fans waiting for me back there." Originally, Xiong Da had been completely inconspicuous at Qilin headquarters. But once Yu Xian shot to fame, everything changed. At first, people only came to see Bat, whom Yu Xian had brought back from the dead. Unable to bear the endless disturbance, Bat had pushed Xiong Da into the spotlight, claiming the bear was Yu Xian's pet. The result was that the young ladies went wild, lavishing Xiong Da with treats. In just one short month, he had gained a whole ton. His already bulky frame now looked remarkably like Snorlax from Pokémon. If Xiong Da had previously possessed a hint of a bear's ferocity, getting fat had made him look utterly harmless. He had genuinely become the mascot of Qilin headquarters, greeted with snacks wherever he wandered. All in all, Xiong Da was having the time of his life, wishing he could spend the rest of his days as the mascot at Qilin headquarters. "You're Xiong Da? How did you turn into a pig?" Yu Xian sat up from his beach chair, staring in disbelief at the unrecognizable bear, his eyes practically popping out of his sockets. No wonder the teleportation had felt unusually heavy just now—he was far too fat. Calling him a pig wasn't out of disgust, either; when a bear gained enough weight, it truly did look like a pig. That went double for Xiong Da, whose pink snout made him look even more like a wild boar after packing on the pounds. Xiong Da, however, took offense. He swallowed the pie in a single bite and shot back, "Proprietor, you're the one who turned into a pig! I call this being plump and luscious! The pretty ladies all say I'm adorable!" "Salty Fish, is this pig monster your friend?" Zhang Shou stepped forward, eyeing the mountain of blubber seated on the sand, and whispered to Yu Xian. Knowing Xiong Da's hearing was sharp, Yu Xian simply looked at the bear's eyes—which were squeezed into slits by folds of fat—and gave a silent shrug. Words were unnecessary. "You're the pig! Proprietor, can I beat him up?" Xiong Da rose angrily, his beady, mung-bean-sized eyes glaring at Zhang Shou. If Zhang Shou still had his old build, Xiong Da could have mocked him for being fat. But after going on missions with Qingniao, Zhang Shou had not only slimmed down but also packed on solid muscle, now looking like a rather robust young man. Unable to counter on appearance, Xiong Da had no choice but to threaten brute force. "Talk after you can actually run," Zhang Shou scoffed with a cocky grin. Yet in the very next instant, as Xiong Da hauled himself fully upright, the beach shook violently. He shot toward Zhang Shou with startling speed, looming over him. "I can run!" "Holy shit, Salty Fish, today I finally understand what a boar rush really means," Zhang Shou said, visibly astonished as he looked up at the living mountain before him. Seeing that he hadn't intimidated Zhang Shou, Xiong Da grumbled helplessly, "Proprietor, isn't he afraid of dying?" "Probably... he really isn't," Yu Xian said, lying back down with a wry laugh. Xiong Da knew his limits and wouldn't actually hurt anyone, but the bigger issue was that Zhang Shou was practically used to dying; empty threats wouldn't shake him in the slightest. Besides, Zhang Shou wore a ring crafted by Zhenwo Changjing, so Xiong Da couldn't harm him even if he tried. "Bear brother, I really think you should drop some weight. Carrying that much fat honestly isn't good for your health," Zhang Shou said with a grin. Xiong Da looked down at him, curling his lip in disdain. "Believe it or not, there'll come a day when you wish you were as fat as me." "Not a chance! I went through hell to slim down; there's no way I'm ever gaining it back!" Zhang Shou declared resolutely. Xiong Da smirked smugly. "We'll just see about that." "..." Zhang Shou shot Yu Xian a questioning glance, wondering where Xiong Da got such confidence. Yu Xian had no idea either, merely offering another shrug. Two minutes later, however, both Yu Xian and Zhang Shou had their answer. Yu Xian contacted Gong Qian, and since both she and Qingniao happened to be free, the two were teleported over together. The moment they spotted Xiong Da, they dashed over to stroke and hug him, squealing over how cute he was. The sight left both Yu Xian and Zhang Shou utterly dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Xiong Da glanced over at Zhang Shou, a triumphant grin spreading across his chubby face. At Qilin headquarters, he was extraordinarily popular with the ladies, and everyone praised him for being adorable. What was wrong with being a little fat?