"So heavy... How can this pheasant be so heavy!" Huangfu Ling tried to lift the wild pheasant she had downed, but despite using all her strength, she couldn't budge it.
"Come on, Ling'er, just a little more effort and you'll lift it!" Huangfu Xuan, who had already lifted his pheasant, cheered on his younger cousin, encouraging her.
Standing beside Huangfu Ling, Huangfu Jing and Huangfu Ying, who had just managed to lift their pheasants after much effort, also cheered for Huangfu Ling, urging her to put in more strength.
However, Huangfu Ling struggled for a while longer, sweat dripping from her brow, but still couldn't lift the pheasant.
The pheasant was too heavy for her, being so young.
"Ling'er, let me help you carry the pheasant. Don't overexert yourself."
Huangfu Yue, who had been watching with a smile all along, knew her little niece had reached her limit and it was time for her to step in. She walked forward, reached out to touch her little niece's head, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the sweat from the little girl's forehead.
"Thank you, Little Aunt," Huangfu Ling exclaimed happily, her face breaking into a wide smile.
Seeing Huangfu Yue lift Huangfu Ling's pheasant and then the pheasant disappear, the little radish heads were not surprised. They knew their Little Aunt must have put it into her Qiankun Bag.
In reality, Huangfu Yue had put the pheasant into her spatial dimension.
"You all hand over your pheasants to me as well. Let me help you store them, so you don't get tired carrying them." Huangfu Yue looked at Huangfu Xuan, Huangfu Jing, and Huangfu Ying, extending her hands to relieve them of their burdens.
"Thank you, Little Aunt," Huangfu Jing and Huangfu Ying immediately handed over their pheasants to Huangfu Yue.
Although the two girls had managed to lift the pheasants, they had done so with great difficulty and found them very heavy and strenuous. Now that Huangfu Yue offered to take them, they were overjoyed.
"Xuan'er, give me your pheasant too." After storing the pheasants of Huangfu Jing and Huangfu Ying, Huangfu Yue extended her hand to her little nephew.
Huangfu Xuan, unlike his sisters, shook his head and politely refused, "Thank you, Little Aunt, no need. I can carry it myself. I can lift it."
He was a little man, not like his delicate and weak younger sisters. He had strength and could lift a pheasant.
Huangfu Yue thought that he was clearly carrying the pheasant with more ease than the girls, and as a boy, he needed the exercise. Even if he struggled, he should still carry it. So, she nodded.
"Alright." Huangfu Yue looked up at Xiao Hei, who was flying above, and smiled gently, "Xiao Hei, hand over the pheasant you downed to me for safekeeping. It must be difficult for you to carry."
Xiao Hei did not refuse, nodded, and mentally said, "Thank you, Master."
It had no hands and found it difficult to carry the pheasant. Although it could grasp the pheasant with its claws and lift it, doing so would affect its flight. Its strength was not great, and carrying anything that exceeded its weight would impact its flight.
After Huangfu Yue put the pheasant downed by Xiao Hei into her spatial dimension, she waved to the little radish heads, "Let's go back. Let's see what everyone else has found."
They were still some distance from the mountain peak. They could continue "hunting" as they climbed the mountain later. There was no need to "hunt" enough here before returning.
The little radish heads nodded and followed Huangfu Yue back the way they came. Halfway back, they encountered Zheng Taifei and Yun Niang who were looking for them.
"Yue'er, it's good that I finally found you all." Zheng Taifei's eyes lit up with joy upon seeing her grandchildren.
"Grandmother, has something happened that you came to look for us?" Huangfu Yue quickly hurried to Zheng Taifei's side, asking with concern.
Zheng Taifei shook her head, "No, nothing has happened. Don't worry. I finished picking mulberries and when I saw you hadn't returned, I thought I'd come find you."
She waved to her great-grandchildren, who were walking towards her but not yet in front of her. "Come quickly and eat the mulberries your great-grandmother picked. I tasted some of them earlier; they are sweet and sour. You children should like them very much."
The little radish heads quickened their pace and ran towards Zheng Taifei. After thanking her, they reached out and grabbed mulberries from the basket she was holding.
"Yue'er, have some too." Zheng Taifei gestured for her granddaughter to eat the mulberries. "Oh, and feed some to your little crow," she added, looking at Xiao Hei, who was flying within her spatial dimension.
Xiao Hei was a little surprised that Zheng Taifei thought of feeding it. It cast a grateful look at Zheng Taifei. If it weren't for remembering that it shouldn't speak in front of outsiders, it would have thanked her profusely and said "Thank you."
Huangfu Yue grabbed a handful of mulberries and fed two to Xiao Hei before popping a few into her own mouth.
"Delicious! Just like Grandmother said, sweet and sour, very appetizing."
The little radish heads, chewing on the mulberries, all nodded. Their expressions clearly showed how much they liked the taste of the mulberries. Children all enjoyed sweet and sour flavors.
"Let's go back," Huangfu Yue said.
Everyone walked back along the path they had taken. Zheng Taifei glanced at the pheasants in her great-grandchildren's hands and asked, "You came all this way, and you only caught one wild pheasant?"
"No, all of us caught a pheasant," Huangfu Ling immediately replied in her milky voice, shaking her head.
"It's just that the pheasants caught by me, Sister Jing, Sister Ying, Xiao Hei, and Little Aunt were all put into the Qiankun Bag by Little Aunt because she was afraid we couldn't carry them.
Brother Xuan's pheasant was something he said he could carry himself, and he wanted to carry it," Huangfu Ling explained to Zheng Taifei.
"So that's how it is. You little radish heads are truly amazing, each of you managing to catch a pheasant." Zheng Taifei praised them with a smile, her gaze full of kindness.
"Little Aunt told us to catch pheasants," Huangfu Ying said.
"Little Aunt is so amazing. Under her guidance, we downed the pheasants with a single stone," Huangfu Jing said, looking at Huangfu Yue with admiration.
"Little Aunt, can you take us hunting more often in the future?" Huangfu Xuan looked at Huangfu Yue pleadingly.
Huangfu Yue nodded, "No problem. There's a stream on this mountain. When we get to where the stream is, I'll teach you how to catch fish. There are plenty of fish in the stream."
"Thank you, Little Aunt," the little radish heads exclaimed happily, their faces beaming with bright smiles.
Zheng Taifei looked at her granddaughter and great-grandchildren, her eyes filled with relief, her brows curved in a gentle smile.