Chapter 39

The orca listened to Su Jing's words, seemingly sizing him up for a moment, then let out a call. Anyone familiar with orcas could tell that the call lacked hostility and carried a tone of pleading.

Su Jing completely understood what the orca was saying: "Then help me get this thing off."

As Su Jing slowly approached, he said, "I'll help you get it off, just don't move."

Su Jing got close to the orca, which remained still. Su Jing grabbed the man-eating vine and pulled it off the orca. It was clear that his strength had increased significantly; he could probably drag a cat or dog directly to its roots without any resistance. Two of the vines took a while to pull out of the orca's blowhole, covered in strange mucus and blood. These two vines had definitely penetrated the orca's body and caused damage.

The man-eating vine, once pulled off, struggled fiercely, trying to wrap around Su Jing's body. Su Jing grabbed one of its vines, coiled it up, and tied it into a ball with a rope, then kicked it to the shore, telling the golden eagle to guard it.

"I'm going to push you back into the sea, you need to help me," Su Jing said as he approached the orca's head, using all his strength to lift the orca's head. His face quickly turned red. Su Jing was much stronger than an average person, having once lifted a thousand pounds, but this orca clearly weighed more than that.

"Help me, move a bit," Su Jing said, his face turning red.

The orca moved its tail, lifting its body. With Su Jing's help, it freed itself from the two rocks and fell into the sea. Su Jing, losing his balance, also fell into the water. The other two orcas swam over, and Su Jing was startled, quickly climbing back onto the rocks. However, his worry was unnecessary, as the injured orca blocked the other two, seemingly protecting Su Jing.

After stabilizing the two orcas, the injured orca called out to Su Jing again, "Thank you!"

Su Jing smiled, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction at being thanked by an orca. He said, "I see you're badly injured and weak. I'll get you something to eat, and you'll recover faster."

Su Jing fetched a piece of monster meat, about three pounds. The orca was so large that a small amount might not be enough, but the orca's appetite was also enormous, so Su Jing didn't expect to feed it enough to be satisfied.

The orca, smelling the monster meat, brightened up and opened its mouth, "Give it to me quickly."

Su Jing threw the meat into the orca's mouth, and it swallowed it in one bite, then called out, "I want more."

Su Jing was speechless. This was like Zhu Bajie eating the ginseng fruit. He waved his hand, "I don't have any more. Don't stay by the shore, or others might see you. Go back to the open sea."

The orca, like a spoiled child, opened its mouth and called out, "No, no, I want more, I want more."

Su Jing rolled his eyes but had an idea. This creature was so greedy and could communicate with him. With a little effort, it wouldn't be hard to keep it as a pet. He said, "Go back to the open sea to recover, and come back tomorrow, okay?"

After much persuasion, the orca finally left reluctantly with the other two orcas.

Su Jing, carrying the man-eating vine tied into a ball, returned to the backyard. He took out a kitchen knife and placed it nearby, then untied the rope. The man-eating vine, being soft and afraid of hard things, didn't dare to attack Su Jing. It used its roots as feet and ran to one side.

Su Jing, seeing the man-eating vine run for the first time, watched with interest. He noticed that it ran in a comical way, like a chubby child wearing a dress that was too long, unable to take proper steps. When it ran a bit faster, it even fell over. It ran to where it had sprouted and grown, burrowing into a basket, its roots back into the soil, and its vines retracting into the basket.

"Man-eating vines aren't animals; I wonder if the Beast Card will work," Su Jing thought, trying it out. To his surprise, the sap penetrated the Beast Card, and he heard a child's cry, "Wah, wah, wah."

"It seems it has some level of consciousness; I can't treat it like a plant," Su Jing thought, feeling happy. Being able to communicate with the man-eating vine would make taming it much easier.

"Come out," Su Jing shouted. The man-eating vine trembled, curling into a ball, and its cries became weaker, as if it wanted to cry but didn't dare.

"Good, you know to be afraid," Su Jing suddenly smiled, taking out a piece of monster meat. The man-eating vine, which had curled into a ball, immediately extended. Su Jing noticed that many pores on its leaves opened, seemingly used to detect scents. However, the golden eagle, dog, cat, and birds also gathered around.

"Go away, go away," Su Jing shooed the animals to one side, then approached the man-eating vine with the monster meat. The man-eating vine tentatively extended a vine to grab the meat, but just as it was about to, Su Jing moved it away, making the vine unable to reach. To get the meat, the man-eating vine pulled its roots out of the soil and followed Su Jing step by step, leaving its nest.

"Here, eat," Su Jing threw a small piece of monster meat, and the man-eating vine quickly used a vine to grab it and pull it back to its roots. The roots, which looked like fine hairs, wrapped around the meat.

"Do you want more?" Su Jing asked.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man-eating vine waved its vines, making a childish sound.

"Huh, you can't speak?" Su Jing was puzzled. The Beast Card should enable seamless communication, regardless of the language the man-eating vine used. However, upon reflection, Su Jing realized that while the man-eating vine might have some level of consciousness, its intelligence was far below that of animals. Even among man-eating vines, there was no communication, so it couldn't be converted into language.

"Even if you can't speak, it's fine as long as you understand me. If you behave, I'll let you eat well, okay?" Su Jing threw another small piece of monster meat, and the man-eating vine again pulled it into its roots.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man-eating vine's voice changed slightly, adding a tone of excitement and coquetry.

"Good, good," Su Jing approached the man-eating vine, which shrank back in fear. However, after Su Jing gave it a small piece of meat, it forgot its fear. Even when Su Jing grabbed one of its vines, it didn't resist, instead wrapping around Su Jing's hand.

"Let's give you a name. How about 'Teng Teng'?" Su Jing said.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man-eating vine seemed happy, though it wasn't clear if it understood.

"Teng Teng."

"Ah, ah, ah."

Su Jing called out a few times, realizing the man-eating vine understood and seemed to like the name. He then tried to teach it what it could and couldn't eat, starting with a dog. The man-eating vine quickly extended its vines, lightning-fast, and wrapped the puppy around its roots, secreting mucus that made the puppy bark in fear.

"Stop," Su Jing was speechless, quickly patting the man-eating vine.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man-eating vine's tone was puzzled.

"It's my pet and your friend; you can't eat it," Su Jing untangled the man-eating vine, which now cooperated, releasing the puppy easily. Su Jing also used the man-eating vine's vine to touch the dog.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man-eating vine seemed to understand, using its vine to touch the dog without attacking.

"Good job," Su Jing was delighted and rewarded the man-eating vine with a piece of monster meat.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man-eating vine suddenly started running, chasing other cats and dogs, quickly extending its vines to wrap around a cat, petting its head like an adult petting a child, then releasing it and moving on to the next. The entire backyard was in chaos, with birds flying and dogs jumping.

"..." Su Jing rubbed his forehead, realizing he had been too optimistic. Teaching this creature would be a long and arduous task.