Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"I'm full." Xue Tuan finished his dinner early, his mind already occupied with thoughts of how to catch fish.

Being small and lacking strength, he knew he would need his older brother's help as an extra pair of hands. So after eating, Xue Tuan didn’t leave but stood beside his brother, watching him eat his meat.

Bing Qiu noticed Xue Tuan staring intently at him and immediately understood—his little brother definitely wanted him to play along!

This put some pressure on Bing Qiu; his brother needed him so much, he couldn’t let him down!

"I’m done too!" Bing Qiu scarfed down his food like a whirlwind.

"Keep an eye on your brother," Feng Yan’s deep voice reminded Bing Qiu.

"Mhm, mhm." Bing Qiu, his mouth full of fresh roasted meat, mumbled in response, then puffed out his cheeks and followed Xue Tuan into the house.

Feng Yan and Rong Shan usually let the kids do their own thing during playtime, as long as they stayed safe.

"Brother, let’s go fishing tomorrow." Once inside, Xue Tuan looked around and began rummaging through their things.

Bing Qiu swallowed the food in his mouth and scratched his head. "Where are we going to fish?"

Back when they were still with the tribe, they usually fished either in Beast Form or with spears. But now the river was still frozen, which made fishing tricky.

But his little brother wanted fish, so they had to figure something out. Bing Qiu walked over and helped Xue Tuan pull out several rattan baskets that Dad (Rong Shan) had repaired the day before.

"Pick two lighter ones," Xue Tuan said. Their father had split the rattan into thick and thin strips; the thicker baskets were sturdier, but for putting in water, lighter ones were better.

Bing Qiu moved the contents of the lighter rattan baskets into a larger one. If their tidy-minded Dad found out, Bing Qiu had already decided to use Xue Tuan as an excuse.

Not only that, he saw that Xue Tuan was even eyeing the bone needles, which Dad (Rong Shan) treasured greatly.

To sew delicate fur clothing, finer bone needles were usually needed. Papa (Feng Yan) had spent a long time carefully crafting these few needles so that Dad (Rong Shan) could use the best ones.

Now, seeing his little brother’s small hands reaching for the bone needles, Bing Qiu knew they were in for a scolding. He rushed over to stop him. "Xue Tuan, be good, we shouldn’t touch these."

Xue Tuan had originally planned to tie some bone needles to the bottom of the rattan basket, but Bing Qiu quickly gathered them all up.

Looking at his empty hands, Xue Tuan decided to let it go—it wasn't essential anyway.

A fish trap usually has a small opening for fish to swim into and a closed round belly, so they needed to modify the rattan basket.

Xue Tuan picked out a few leftover rattan strips from Dad's (Rong Shan's) supplies and handed them to Bing Qiu. "Brother, weave these into the basket." Xue Tuan explained, gesturing as he spoke, showing Bing Qiu what to do.

The openings and gaps in the rattan basket were too wide, so they first needed to weave the rattan strips to make them smaller, to make it roughly the right shape. Luckily, Bing Qiu had learned some handiwork from growing up beside his Dad Rong Shan, and his weaving was actually quite good.

While Bing Qiu was busy modifying the fish trap, Xue Tuan went outside to collect some leftover Whitefeathered Beast bones to use as bait at the bottom.

The two of them worked away until their father urged them to get ready for bed.

Bing Qiu looked at the finished fish trap in his hand, a bit skeptical—would this really catch fish?

Feng Yan and Rong Shan were happy to let the two little ones find something to do the next day, pleased to see them occupied.

But after a night of crafting, Bing Qiu and Xue Tuan were worn out when they woke up the next morning.

The early morning mist hadn’t yet lifted. Feng Yan and Rong Shan had left early to hunt. Xue Tuan and Bing Qiu rolled around in bed for a while before finally getting up and preparing to set out.

Bing Qiu let out a big yawn, settled his still-sleepy brother into a rattan basket, and carried him on his back. He then picked up the modified fish traps and headed toward the riverbank.

Huihui, who had been resting on the roof, saw Xue Tuan and the others leaving and flew down to land on Xue Tuan’s shoulder. Xue Tuan struggled to keep his eyes open against sleepiness and absentmindedly patted Huihui’s little head.

Although they had told their fathers their whereabouts, and there were always adult beastmen patrolling around the tribe, Bing Qiu and Xue Tuan hadn’t revealed their real plans to their parents.

Mostly, they were afraid of being stopped. Being allowed to go out and play was already a big deal.

Xue Tuan sat dazedly in the rattan basket, not fully awake yet, feeling something digging into him inside.

"Good Tuan, I put some fruit in the basket. Did you see it?" Bing Qiu, munching on a fruit himself, noticed the movement in the basket and reminded Xue Tuan to eat something to fill his stomach.

"I see it—" Xue Tuan drawled in response. So it was the fruit digging into him. Xue Tuan crossed his legs, found a comfortable position in the basket, picked a fresh fruit, and began eating.

Xue Tuan glanced at the approaching ice surface, figuring out a good spot to break the ice. The good news was that it wasn’t the coldest time of year anymore, meaning the ice wouldn’t be too hard to break. And if the ice was about ten centimeters thick, it would be safe to walk on.

As Bing Qiu and Xue Tuan set out, they didn’t notice a dark figure following them.

It was the little black lion Zhong Yan.

Elder Mushi was always busy and rarely had time to spend with Zhong Yan. As for Zhong Yan himself, he had no friends at all. The cubs in the tribe saw him as a jinx and refused to play with him, but he didn’t mind.

However, since that day, the image of the little ball had lingered in his mind. For the first time, he felt the desire to make a friend.

Although Zhong Yan had no one to talk to, he had overheard plenty of gossip in the tribe. He knew that the little ball's family had been very busy lately. They were new to the area and didn’t have much stored food, so the adults were busy hunting and gathering.

The little black lion Zhong Yan quietly followed Xue Tuan and the others, thinking, *The adults are out hunting, so the little ball should probably stay home. What are those two planning to do?*

They seemed to be heading toward the river.

Zhong Yan grew worried. The ice was very slippery now—playing there was dangerous!

The little black lion continued to follow cautiously from behind. He saw the little ball's brother set down the rattan basket and lift the little ball out.

When Zhong Yan saw them about to step onto the ice, he couldn't hold back anymore.

Just as Bing Qiu and Xue Tuan were about to begin their "ice-breaking mission," they heard a sudden "Awoo!" from behind.

Then, as Xue Tuan lifted his short little leg, he immediately felt teeth clamp onto his collar, and his whole body was pulled backward.

Xue Tuan: ?

Bing Qiu, startled, didn’t immediately understand what was happening but instinctively turned around and reached out to pull Xue Tuan back.

Only then did he realize that the one holding Xue Tuan was a black lion cub. This cub moved so silently and swiftly that Bing Qiu hadn’t even noticed.

Bing Qiu immediately recalled the little black lion his father had mentioned and asked, "Tuan, is this your friend?"

Xue Tuan, now set down, turned and was quite happy to see the little black lion. He nodded obediently and replied, "Mhm."

Zhong Yan’s eyes lit up when he heard the little ball acknowledge him as a friend, a flicker of joy passing through them.

Bing Qiu and Xue Tuan both looked at the little black lion. Remembering his earlier actions, Xue Tuan asked:

"You don’t want us to go on the ice?" Xue Tuan guessed that the little black lion was concerned about them.

Zhong Yan, thinking of their risky behavior, looked at Xue Tuan with worry and nodded.

Xue Tuan gently patted the little black lion’s head. "Don’t worry, we won’t fall through." He and his brother had already tested it—the ice was just thick enough.

Little Black Lion looked back and forth between the two of them, understanding what Little Dumpling had meant. However, he had indeed heard before that tribe cubs had fallen through the ice into the river.

Seeing how confident the two of them were, Zhong Yan was starting to believe them, but he still didn’t want Little Dumpling to take the risk.

So Bing Qiu and Xue Tuan watched as the little black lion, who had been trying to stop them from stepping onto the ice, instead took the lead and stepped onto it first.

"Hey!" Bing Qiu called out.

Zhong Yan ignored Bing Qiu’s shout and ran back and forth on the ice a few times, realizing that the ice really seemed solid enough. Now he felt reassured.

"Don't go running around everywhere," Bing Qiu casually reminded the little black lion racing around on the ice.

In Bing Qiu’s mind, keeping an eye on Xue Tuan was his top priority, followed by... keeping an eye on Xue Tuan. The other cubs were an afterthought; besides, that little black lion was from the tribe and surely more familiar with the surroundings than they were.

Bing Qiu and Xue Tuan walked to a spot on the ice they had chosen earlier, planning to start breaking the ice.

The two crouched on the ice, and Bing Qiu pulled out a stone shovel he’d prepared earlier from his bag. Xue Tuan, holding a mini version, helped chip away at the ice alongside him.

*Thump, thump, thump—*

"..." The brothers exchanged a silent look. How long would this take? This was going to take forever... Bad call.

Zhong Yan watched Xue Tuan and the others for a moment, and realized they were trying to break through the ice.

So Zhong Yan walked to another spot some distance away from Xue Tuan and the others. He closed his eyes for a moment, as if gathering his focus. Then, his eyes snapped open, and he raised his front paws high before slamming them down heavily onto the ice.

*Bang—!* A loud crack echoed.

Xue Tuan and Bing Qiu, jumped at the distant noise, quickly turned to look in the direction of the sound.

After the strike, the ice only shook slightly, the thick ice still held firm.

Xue Tuan and Bing Qiu were stunned, forgetting what they were doing, and stared blankly at the little black lion.

Zhong Yan didn’t stop. His eyes were determined, his muscles tensed like a bow drawn taut, charged with power. He raised his explosive front paws once more and slammed them down with force onto the ice.

*Bang—!!*

This strike was even more ferocious than the last, as if intending to shatter the entire ice surface. The ice emitted a low *crack*, and tiny fissures rapidly spread out from under Zhong Yan’s paws.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhong Yan struck again with all his might. This time, he put his full strength into it, his paws crashing down with thunderous force.

*Crash—!*

The ice could no longer withstand the pressure and shattered completely along the cracks, emitting a loud breaking sound.

The ice surface instantly collapsed, breaking into pieces that fell into the river, sending up sprays of icy water.

Author's note:

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Wishing everyone a happy Lantern Festival~