The next day.
Ling Hong was all packed and ready to go. Before he left, An Jin offered a few perfunctory words of concern before getting to the point. "When will you be back?"
Being cared for by a "female" for the first ti in his beast life made Ling Hong’s heart grow warm. His cold voice softened slightly. "Seven days at the latest. If everything goes smoothly, I should be back the day after tomorrow in the evening."
As he spoke, he leaned down slightly to look directly at An Jin, his handso features turning serious and stern. "You’re to stay in my room for the next few days. It’s best if you don’t go out. There’s leftover food stored outside the house. If it’s not enough, go ask the Clan Leader for more."
"Rember, whatever you do, don’t just run out of the tribe. It’s dangerous outside. If you’re not careful, you could run into all sorts of trouble, and I won’t be able to co save you then..."
’Is this still the aloof Brother Wolf I know, nagging like an old mother hen? It’s over. His entire persona has crumbled.’
An Jin’s initial feeling of being touched gradually gave way to an urge to cover his ears and run. Seeing that Ling Hong was about to add more, he quickly cut him off and started pushing him outside. "The Hunting Team has already gathered in the tribe square. You should hurry up and go. Oh, right, while you’re out hunting this ti, could you bring sothing back for ?"
"What is it?" Ling Hong asked directly.
"Bring a few pheasants."
"Pheasants?"
"Uh... you know, that thing we ate the al before last..."
Ling Hong ca to his senses and chuckled. "You an the Wild Grass Birds?"
"Huh? I guess so, yes, that’s it! The Wild Grass Bird!"
"Okay, no problem." ’Just Wild Grass Birds. For him, that’s a piece of cake.’
An Jin quickly added, "I need them alive, don’t kill them! I have a use for them if they’re alive!"
Ling Hong stopped in his tracks, looking troubled.
Although Wild Grass Birds weren’t strong fliers like other birds, they were very active and aggressive. If you couldn’t kill them outright, they’d easily escape.
But he would definitely fulfill An Jin’s request.
In the end, Ling Hong agreed. "What do you want live Wild Grass Birds for?"
"I want to raise a few. The more, the better. But since it’s my first ti, I should probably keep the number under ten! If I can keep them alive, it could solve part of our food supply problem."
An Jin’s face lit up with excitent as he happily planned out his wonderful blueprint for the future. Ling Hong listened from the side, but his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
’Raising Wild Grass Birds... It seems like people in the tribe have tried it before, but there’s never been a single success story.’
Ling Hong had wanted to dissuade him, but seeing him so happily lost in his own wonderful fantasy, he couldn’t bear to disturb him.
’Forget it. I’ll just help him catch a few. The worst that can happen is they die, and he’ll learn his lesson and won’t have such a ridiculous idea again.’
...
As spring turned to sumr, the great rainy season drew ever closer, and the downpours grew more frequent.
Not long after Ling Hong left, dense black clouds gathered low in the sky. The rain fell harder and harder. Rivulets of rainwater stread over bent banana leaves, and water began to drip from the eaves.
The windows the Beastn built into their houses were purely for decoration. Rain kept splashing inside, so An Jin found a large animal hide to cover the opening, and the light inside the room instantly dimd.
The rain continued until noon before it showed signs of stopping.
The sun broke through the clouds after the rain. As soon as An Jin opened the door, blinding sunlight pierced through the cloud cover. He hadn’t forgotten his promise to Xi, so he tidied up a bit and headed for the river.
Although Ling Hong had warned him not to go out carelessly, the path An Jin took was very close to the tribe. He had traveled it back and forth many tis without any incident.
After the heavy rain, the damp earth had beco even more muddy and difficult to walk on. ’I definitely have to make myself so shoes in the next couple of days.’
Before he even reached the riverbank, he saw a graceful blue figure lying listlessly on the shore, flicking its fish tail out of boredom as it waited for the "little female."
Hearing footsteps, Xi’s heart leaped with joy. He quickly looked up, and the mont he saw An Jin, his blue eyes sparkled. "Ah Jin, I’ve been waiting for you for so long~"
His clear, lodious voice carried the unique, enchanting quality of the rmaid Clan. If one listened closely, they could even detect a faint, almost imperceptible hint of grievance.
An Jin had brought so stone bowls with him.
Xi, who had apparently never seen them before, began to study the stone bowls An Jin was holding with great interest.
When An Jin went to the river’s edge to wash his hands, Xi instantly snapped his gaze back and imdiately swam over to him.
The clear river water flowed gently between his fingers. Occasionally, a small fish would dart past his fingertips, brushing against his skin.
Xi swam back and forth around him, his joyful leaps making him seem more like an eager puppy trying to win affection.
His beautiful, azure fish tail would "accidentally" brush against An Jin’s skin. Acting as if he hadn’t noticed, he would turn, swim away, and then "accidentally" brush against him again...
Suddenly, Xi stopped swimming. He seed to have seen sothing detestable, and his previously bright and lively aura instantly turned gloomy and lancholic.
"Ah Jin, your inner arm... why is there a snake mark on it?!"
The rfolk’s exquisitely beautiful and gentle face instantly turned as cold as winter frost. An icy blue light, thick with hostility, flashed through his eyes.
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