I Transmigrated Into A Fantasy World To Farm And Build Houses!-Chapter 123: Arriving at the Sea

"It’s lucky we found it. Otherwise, I’m afraid it would have been discovered and eaten by some magical beast before it could wake up on its own in spring."

Michael shook the small snake in his hand, his face showing clear disapproval of this child’s reckless mischief.

"So, what should we do now? Bring it with us or go find its tribe?"

Although Eric still felt a little apprehensive, he couldn’t hide his worry for this little creature and asked.

Michael also frowned, looking a bit troubled. Searching for the Red Fook Snake tribe would definitely take a lot of time, and moreover, in winter, the Snake tribe was probably hibernating in some secret place, which made the search even more difficult.

After thinking for a while and still not finding a perfect solution, he and Eric subconsciously looked towards Max.

Receiving their questioning gazes, Max pondered for a moment before speaking, making the final decision:

"Let’s just bring it with us for now. We’ll keep an eye out on the way to see if we meet its tribe members.

"If not, we’ll just bring it back to the tribe and let it find its own way home when the weather warms up."

Eric and Michael both nodded in agreement; this was indeed the most appropriate and reliable method at this time.

Even knowing it was a beastman, Eric could only try his best not to be too afraid, but being near a snake was still too much of a challenge for him.

Thus, the small snake was handed over to Michael to carry.

Knowing that snakes feared the cold, Eric even tremblingly took out a small animal hide and carefully wrapped it around its body for warmth.

The group returned to the spot where they were picking fruit. Max was responsible for carrying the luggage and Eric, while Michael carried the large, bulging bag of fruit and the small snake. The group set off once again.

Although they hadn’t intentionally stopped to sightsee, this trip had indeed broadened Eric’s horizons significantly.

He also got to eat many different strange fruits and magical beast meats. For him, this was an extremely interesting experience.

Of course, the biggest reason was that he didn’t have to expend any effort at all.

Apart from cooking, Eric just sat firmly on Max’s back, admiring the scenery. When tired, he would just lie back and sleep, always with fruits prepared for him by the other two at his side.

This feeling, it was no exaggeration to say, his happiness index was ten thousand times higher than those paid tours in his previous life.

After leaving the colossal mountain range where the Heaven-Swallowing Giant Serpent resided, the road became much flatter. The temperature also seemed to be a bit warmer, and the thickness of the snow had noticeably decreased.

Although they still occasionally encountered forests or mountains, they were no longer on the same grand and treacherous scale as before. Most of the places they passed through became more open and clear.

Finally, after several days of non-stop running, Eric, standing on the back of the giant Snow Wolf, could see the vast blue of the sea on the horizon. He could also faintly hear the rhythmic sound of waves crashing on the shore.

"We’ve reached the sea!"

Eric jumped up and cheered, his face beaming with undisguised joy. This journey was truly too long; they had finally reached their destination.

The characteristic salty scent of the sea drifted over with the wind, growing stronger as they got closer.

In his previous life, Eric lived inland. Although he had been to the sea a few times later on, he always held a special yearning for the vastness of the ocean.

This coastline was located in the intersecting area between two major powers. Due to the unclear division, neither side wanted to start a war, so the patrol forces were not too strict.

Human mercenaries crossing the border also often entered the Phantom Dream Continent from places like this. Their choice to refine salt here was also to avoid the attention of both sides.

Although the temperature here at the coast was not as cold as in the tribe’s lands, and there was no accumulated snow, the winter sea breeze still chilled to the bone, making it difficult for ordinary people to bear.

Eric’s group needed to stay here for a few days, so they naturally had to find a place sheltered from the wind.

They found a large rock on high ground and quickly set up a simple animal-skin tent behind it to block the wind.

Even so, the strong sea winds blew relentlessly, making the animal-skin tent flap and rattle.

Before leaving, Eric had brought a lot of coal, which he had been reluctant to use on the way.

He thought coal burned longer than firewood, and bringing it would save a lot of effort. This time, coming out to refine salt, they didn’t have time to dry the salt on the sand in the traditional way; they could only use the large iron wok to boil it continuously.

Both coal and dry firewood were essential supplies.

At this moment, Eric couldn’t help but be glad they had met Du’s tribe, which was how they obtained this iron wok to use.

Otherwise, using only pottery pots would not only be more time-consuming, but the pottery pots might even break before the salt was finished.

Eric lay sprawled on a reef, watching the white, churning waves crash onto the shore, a magnificent sight.

After watching for a while, he couldn’t help but feel a little dizzy. He really couldn’t imagine how the Merman tribe managed to live in the sea.

They felt cold on shore even wearing such thick clothes; it must be even colder underwater.

Perhaps this was the miracle of evolution?

Eric’s meager biology knowledge had long since been returned to his teachers. He thought uncertainly, a boundless reverence for creation rising in his heart.

He ran back to the tent. The little snake they picked up on the way had been carefully wrapped in animal skin by Michael and placed to one side.

Although that guy loved to tease Eric, he also knew Eric was afraid of snakes, so he had thoughtfully placed the little snake in the farthest corner of the tent.

Eric ran in happily, chirping, "Let’s go collect seashells! Oh, wait, we have to boil the seawater first."

First things first.

They used a pottery pot to scoop up seawater, let it sit for a while for the sediment to settle, then carefully poured the clear water from the top into the large iron wok, discarding the sediment at the bottom.

Boiling salt was a very time-consuming job. Max went to find some dry firewood, mixed it with coal, and started the fire, beginning the slow process of boiling the salt.

With the capacity of the large iron wok they brought, it would probably take several hours to boil dry. This time could be perfectly used to catch seafood on the tidal flats.

In his previous life, every time he traveled, the beaches were always packed with people. It was difficult to even find a small seashell, and he could only enviously watch locals catching seafood in online videos.

Now that he finally had the chance to experience it himself, Eric was so excited he dashed straight towards the sea.

It was a child’s nature to be playful. Max could only watch his retreating back helplessly, then slowly followed.

Michael, however, threw his hands in the air with a cheer and dashed off, running straight into the sea, not even afraid of his feet getting cold as he splashed around.

In his beast form, he looked just like a Husky let off its leash, seeing the sea for the first time.

Eric complained silently in his heart.

The seawater was freezing cold. It was fortunate that adult beastmen’s bodies were inherently strong; otherwise, soaking in this temperature would surely turn one purple from the cold.

Especially Michael; to avoid getting his boots wet, he even went barefoot to splash around.

This place was deserted, not a soul in sight. The beach was teeming with countless creatures. Even the reefs were covered in large shellfish.

Eric picked up a large, rough-surfaced shellfish, as big as a washbasin, to examine. The more he looked, the more it resembled an oyster. He used the sharp claw on his index finger to try and pry it open.

At first, he was worried that such a large oyster might have tough meat. As a result, as soon as he pried open the hard shell, the plump oyster meat inside almost popped out—creamy white, juicy, and plump, trembling slightly in his hand.

Although he had never liked eating raw food, not even the famous sashimi, at this moment, looking at the succulent oyster meat before him, Eric couldn’t help but gulp. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

This was also the first time he had seen an oyster this plump; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it fatty. And it was so big, too. It was truly a paradise for seafood lovers.

And oysters this big were all over the surrounding reefs. Eric quickly gathered an armful, placed the oysters next to the fire, and put a dozen of them in the large iron wok to steam.

Seafood doesn’t need to be steamed for long. But because these oysters were so large, Eric carefully steamed them for a little longer.

When the distinct, fresh, and delicious aroma wafted up, he really couldn’t hold back any longer and pried one open.

He first slurped a mouthful of the sweet juice inside. The pure, fresh taste of the sea spread throughout his mouth, so fresh that Eric felt like even his eyebrows were about to fall off.