At dawn, Xu Shuangci could no longer stay awake; he ate some fruit and went back to sleep. He never saw the cave’s owner.

This went on for several days.

As the sun rose and set, a tally mark was etched onto the wall. Five days had passed.

During those five days, Xu Shuangci was utterly exhausted. It was as if he had just recovered from a serious illness, and all his energy had been drained in an instant. Because of this, he did nothing but eat and sleep during those days.

Still, he managed to carefully slip past the big cat as it left the cave to relieve himself. Finally, after five days of stormy weather, sunlight appeared outside the cave.

Xu Shuangci sat at the cave entrance, hugging his knees and wrapped in an animal pelt, feeling the warmth wash over him.

Based on his observations over the past few days, it was autumn here, yet the temperature was comparable to winter back home. The days were also slightly longer here.

He ate only fruit and had to eat four or five meals a day.

It’s worth noting that the owner of this cave was none other than the big cat.

The wild fruits were gathered by the big cat, and the meat was divided up under his watch. The food stockpiled in the neighboring cave was all gathered by the big cat from the forest.

For the past five days, he has been leaving early and returning late, day after day.

The prey he brought back were all small herbivores, in varying quantities. The big cat was kind-hearted; occasionally, seeing that he had run out of fruit, it would bring him some. It was now afternoon.

After eating the fruit, Xu Shuangci sat at the cave entrance basking in the sun.

Before long, as the sun began to set, the big cat returned, carrying its prey. Qing emerged from the woods and spotted Xu Shuangci sitting at the cave entrance from a distance.

His footsteps faltered for a moment.

Then, regaining his composure, he climbed up to the cave.

His ice-blue eyes swept over Xu Shuangci. He saw the sub-beastman pull his fur pelt up to cover half his face, yet he still stared straight at him. Qing twitched his ears.

He remembered his father saying when he was little that before they die, beastmen can run and jump, regaining their vitality.

The sub-beastman had been lying there for so many days, and now, walking from the grass mat to the cave entrance with a rosy complexion, it was likely nearing the end. Qing’s tail swished twice, and he turned to go to the neighboring cave where food was stored.

He set the items down.

When he returned to the other side, the sub-beastman had already curled up back on the grass mat.

Qing placed the huge leaf he was carrying in his mouth beside the sub-beastman, then lay back down by the cave entrance.

The sub-beastman’s complexion wasn’t as pale, and his lips had a faint reddish tint, like the flesh of a red fruit. He was still cold, though, and had wrapped the animal hide tightly around himself. Qing closed his eyes, waiting silently.

Xu Shuangci looked at the leaf, which was as large as a banana leaf, picked it up, and placed it on his lap. He unwrapped the leaf to reveal the red fruit inside.

Xu Shuangci whispered, “Thank you.”

Qing kept his eyes half-open, watching him without moving. This fruit was exceptionally fine.

Large and red, as if plucked from the very top of the tree.

But after eating too much of this, Xu Shuangci had grown tired of it.

After spending several days together, Xu Shuangci had never sensed any aggression from the big cat; on the contrary, he had been cared for in every way. He had grown bolder.

It was now time for dinner, and he’d been eating the same fruit for five days straight—the mere sight of it made him lose his appetite. Fortunately, the big cat still gave him a piece of meat every day.

He hadn’t dared touch it before; if he left the meat untouched for a day, it would be gone the next. Most likely, the big cat had eaten it. But even so, the fresh meat had never failed to appear each day.

Today, having regained his strength, he decided to soothe his stomach, which had been fed nothing but fruit for five days. There was a mountain stream outside the cave entrance, so Xu Shuangci clutched the fruit and meat and made his way down the rocky slope past Qing. He wanted to get a closer look at the big cat.

Ice-blue eyes, round pink ears, and thick paw pads like oversized mangosteens. Xu Shuangci resisted the tickling sensation at the tip of his heart, turned his head away, and hurried down.

Qing tilted his head.

Though puzzled, he never took his eyes off him.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The stream flows down from the mountain where the cave entrance is located, heading south. The water is of excellent quality, crystal clear to the bottom.

Water plants swayed in the current, and beneath the rocks, one could spot familiar shrimp and crabs.

There were also plenty of finger-sized fish, swimming in schools and nibbling at the algae on the rocks. When Xu Shuangci arrived, he was asleep in bed and wasn’t wearing shoes.

A few days ago, he hadn’t had the energy to do anything else, but now that he was feeling better, he immediately sewed himself a pair of animal-skin socks.

Thanks to his time living in the mountains with his grandparents, he knew a little bit of everything; after sewing the animal-skin socks, he was able to weave himself a pair of straw sandals. Wearing the animal-skin socks and stuffing his feet into the straw sandals—which were a few sizes too big—the look was a bit odd, but it was better than going barefoot.

Crouching by the stream, stepping carefully over the loose rocks, Xu Shuangci first set down what he was holding.

After scanning the stream for a moment, he picked out a few flat stones.

The autumn stream water was already freezing to the touch; in just a moment, his fingers and wrists, still wet from the water, had turned red. Xu Shuangci shivered and took the fruit and meat out of the leaves.

First, he unfolded the leaf and washed it thoroughly in water.

The leaf was half a meter long and resembled a small boat when unfolded. It was thick and felt like a palm leaf to the touch.

These leaves are hard to tear. After Xu Shuangci washed them clean, he wove them together casually—they were perfect for holding things. He washed the fruit and meat one by one and put them back.

He grabbed a handful of dry grass from the stream bank and used it to scrub the largest slab of stone he’d found against the ground repeatedly. A cold wind blew in through his collar; Xu Shuangci sniffed, feeling the chill penetrate to his very bones.

Having been fortunate enough to survive, he cherished his life and couldn’t afford to catch a cold. Once he got back, he’d have to make a few sets of warm clothes. With everything packed up, he tugged on the leaf stem and carried the stone back.

Tiptoeing past the big cat, he set his things down.

There were signs of a fire in the cave, so he used the smooth stones he’d gathered, mixed with dirt, to build a makeshift hearth. He placed a stone slab on top and began rubbing sticks together to start a fire.

Qing was captivated by his strange movements, but then he remembered something and let out a heavy sigh through his nose.

A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes.

Why isn’t he dead yet?

Qing opened his eyes wide and stared intently at Xu Shuangci. The sub-beastman crouched there, his animal hide wrapped around him like a ball. His face was tense, and his complexion had grown a shade paler.

He gripped the wooden stick carved from a stone knife with both hands, rubbing it rapidly against a piece of dry wood. Qing tilted his head.

Is he playing?

He licked his dry nose with the tip of his tongue. After watching for a while, he really didn’t feel like waiting any longer, so he simply closed his eyes and fell asleep. When he suddenly smelled smoke, Qing snapped awake.

He instinctively stood up, only to see that the smoke was coming from exactly where the sub-beastman was pressing the stick. Dry grass and wood shavings had piled up there, and he was puffing out his cheeks, blowing nonstop.

His face was flushed red from the effort, as if he might pass out at any moment. Qing swished his tail.

How is he still alive?

He knew the sub-beastman wanted fire.

He crept up silently, then, as if growing impatient, opened his mouth and blew.

With a crackle, Xu Shuangci was startled by the flames and sat back. His back landed right against Qing’s front leg. His gaze was vacant.

Qing lowered his head, staring at the sub-beastman’s hairline: “Put… wood in.” Having been silent for so long, Qing spoke slowly.

The crisp voice reached Xu Shuangci’s ears as nothing more than a strange yet pleasant melody. Seeing the fire about to die out, he immediately tossed some dry grass onto it.

Qing watched as he moved away from his front legs, walked to the side, and lay down—not returning to his previous spot. Fire wasn’t something to be trifled with.

Xu Shuangci stoked the fire back to life and stole a glance at the large cat, now only two meters away. He shifted slightly, then gave Qing a faint smile.

“Thank you.”

At first, Qing didn’t understand what he meant by “thank you,” but after hearing it a few times, he began to get the gist of it.

This sub-beastman must have come from very far away; otherwise, why wouldn’t his speech sound anything like the languages of the Golden Continent? Qing stared motionlessly at the flames and at Xu Shuangci sitting by the fire.

The firelight illuminated the sub-beastman’s face.

His eyes were bright, and his movements were sharp. Aside from coughing a few times from the smoke, he didn’t look the least bit weak.

Even now, the sub-beastman didn’t look like he was about to die. In fact, he seemed more alert than when they first found him. Qing wasn’t stupid; he knew he was probably all better now.

Recovered…

Was he going to keep taking care of him indefinitely?

Xu Shuangci sensed his gaze and gave Qing a cautious smile.

He was naturally gentle and handsome, with no hint of aggression. His voice was soft and gentle; even though Qing had never interacted with other beastmen before, he subconsciously indulged him a little.

Qing’s tail tip brushed against the dry grass before curling back to rest at his side. We’ll see. He can’t eat much anyway.

Xu Shuangci turned back; the water on the stone slab had already evaporated. He sliced the meat with a stone knife.

The stone knife was sharp; he’d taken it from the cave.

Inside the cave were other simple tools made from stones and animal bones, somewhat resembling those from the early human era—who knows where the big cat had found them.

He placed the slices of meat directly on the stone slab.

As the fire seared them, the slices curled up, releasing their fat.

The aroma of the meat wafted through the air, but Qing merely glanced at the nearly dying flames. Only after Xu Shuangci added more firewood did he look away. When Xu Shuangci saw that the meat was nearly done, he sliced the fruit and placed it over the meat.

He sliced only half of the red fruit, squeezing the remaining juice over the meat. He didn’t waste the flesh either, popping it into his mouth and eating it. Once the meat was ready, Xu Shuangci used a leaf to lift the stone slab aside, then continued adding sticks to the fire.

There were no tables or chairs in the cave, so Xu Shuangci could only sit cross-legged on the dry grass. He took a bite with his homemade wooden chopsticks.

It was surprisingly delicious.

The meat was tender, without a hint of gamey odor, and seemed to carry a subtle natural sweetness. Combined with the half-cooked fruit, it had a sweet flavor—better than nothing, at any rate.

Xu Shuangci had been hungry for a while, so he ate two pieces in a row.

Once his stomach was somewhat filled, he noticed the large cat across from him still staring at the fire. He tried using a leaf to pick up another piece.

“Do… Do you want some?”

The big cat’s round eyes weren’t entirely filled with animal instinct. It seemed to understand his words and think like a human. He’d wondered if there was a fellow human hidden inside, but the cat just looked at him as if he were an idiot.

It wasn’t a human, but it possessed a certain intelligence.

That was why Xu Shuangci now dared to speak to it so boldly. Qing merely glanced at the meat in his hand before looking away.

But he hadn’t expected the sub-beastman to be so persistent—and, surprisingly, unafraid of him.

Xu Shuangci shakily pushed the leaf toward him, then quickly pulled it back.

“Try it. It’s pretty tasty.”

He hadn’t spoken to anyone in days; even if it was just a big cat, he wanted to chat. 

The sub-beastman’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Qing didn’t want to pay him any mind, but before he knew it, he’d popped the meat roll into his mouth. It wasn’t enough to fill a tooth gap, but the flavor was definitely unique.

“Tasty, isn’t it?”

Qing closed his eyes and rested his chin on one of his legs. It was just a tiny bit—he should let him eat it himself.

Xu Shuangci didn’t get an answer, but he wasn’t annoyed; instead, he eagerly finished his own dinner. After dinner, he washed the stone slab clean and rinsed his face briefly with stream water.

Back in the cave, the big cat hadn’t budged an inch.

Xu Shuangci looked at its belly—it was round and full. It must have eaten its fill outside. He added a few more logs to the fire, then crawled into his sleeping bag.

The spot where he was lying must have been where the big cat used to sleep, but as soon as he arrived, he’d claimed it for himself. The big cat was now a meter away from the bed, but Xu Shuangci wasn’t particularly afraid.

After spending five days together, he even felt a sense of security simply because he was there.

Xu Shuangci took off the animal-skin cloak he was wearing and wrapped the animal-skin blanket on the bed more tightly around himself. It had just grown dark, and since he’d only just eaten his fill, he wasn’t in a hurry to go to sleep.

Picking up the bone needles and animal sinew that were already there, he planned to sew some clothes.

The animal hide was stiff, and the bone needle was thick; he had to stab hard to pierce through it. At this rate, it would take him ten days or even half a month to make a full outfit. The night breeze made the flames flicker.

Xu Shuangci was wrapped in a fur blanket, his long eyelashes casting a shadow beneath his eyes.

He was so focused on his work that he didn’t even notice Qing had come by to add more firewood.

As drowsiness set in, Xu Shuangci set the hide aside.

He lay down, resting quietly against the pillow made of animal hide, watching the large cat by the bed as if it were keeping him company. The cat’s fur was bathed in a hazy glow from the flames, as if it were radiating warmth.

Xu Shuangci thought to himself: without the smell of blood, and now clean and fragrant with the scent of fresh grass, this fur must be wonderfully warm. Tucking his chin into the animal hide, he settled into that position and slowly drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, it felt as though he were reliving his past life all over again. He had grown up in a mountain village. Before he turned ten, his footsteps had roamed the mountains, forests, and streams, carefree and untroubled.

After turning ten, seeing his grandparents scrape together a pile of loose change to send him to school, he realized how hard it was for his family to support him. He began to take on more responsibility.

He helped with the farm work, hoping to lighten their burden.

He started school late, but his grades were good. Through elementary, middle, and high school… His teachers and family pinned their hopes on him to break out of their small town. So he threw himself even more into his studies.

Even in his spare time, he took on odd jobs to earn money. He was constantly busy, propelled forward step by step.

He lived up to everyone’s expectations and was admitted to what they considered a top university. In college, he remained busy with his studies, busy earning scholarships, and busy working part-time to pay for tuition…

The tragic news came during his sophomore year: his grandparents passed away one after the other.

For a while afterward, he drifted through life in a daze, like a kite whose string had snapped, with nothing left to hold him back. Later, time seemed to smooth everything over.

He continued on like any ordinary person, doing internships and finding a job. To earn more money and make a living, he worked from dawn till dusk, constantly putting in overtime. He made a decent income, but it wore his body down.

He had nothing to look forward to and nothing to hold onto. Whether life was good or bad, it really didn’t matter.

In his dream, he watched himself, hair still wet, wrapped up in the blankets; he watched himself in his sleep, clutching his heart, his face pale; he watched as lightning outside illuminated the room with blinding brightness…

Looking back on this fleeting life, he suddenly felt exhausted. Exhausted beyond measure.

He wandered the world alone, like a rootless duckweed, drifting without a home. Continuing to live like this seemed pointless.

But why does it hurt so much?

His heart felt like it was being wrenched, a lump in his throat, stuck halfway up and down. Qing sat by the fire and heard the sub-beastman’s mutterings in his sleep.

That sense of unease enveloped him, drawing him closer involuntarily.

The sub-beastman’s face turned deathly pale again; his brows were furrowed, and his eyelashes were damp with tears. His hands clutched the animal hide tightly as he muttered words Qing couldn’t understand.

Qing leaned in close, trying to wake him.

But his tail wouldn’t obey him, repeatedly brushing against the back of the sub-beastman’s hand, which lay exposed. Suddenly, it was grabbed—

Qing’s hackles rose; he yanked his tail free and backed up two meters in a single leap. Xu Shuangci gradually calmed down.

Qing lay down far away from him, ears pricked in alertness, shifting position every so often. The fire burned all night…

When he woke the next day, the big cat was gone.

Everything from the dream gradually faded, leaving only the memory of that all-consuming sense of hopelessness and loneliness. And… Xu Shuangci raised his hand.

Between his fingers were two slightly stiff hairs.

He pinched them between his fingers and examined them closely in the light streaming through the cave opening. White on the underside, gray on top.

It was a strand of Qing’s tail fur.

He knew it was just the right size to hold, and the texture was rough. Xu Shuangci’s lips curled upward in a faint smile.

He must have been scared last night.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

After washing up, he pan-fried some meat for a meal.

Xu Shuangci swallowed hard, craving a cup of hot water.

Outside the cave lay vast stretches of forest. Given the limited conditions, the only way to get hot water was to make a pot himself. Xu Shuangci rummaged through the pile of tools in the cave and found a striking tool made of hard stone. Still in the mountain stream, stones were scattered everywhere here.

Xu Shuangci searched half the stream bed, but found few suitable stones. Worried he might ruin one, he gathered several more and carried them into the cave. Qing was still in the woods when he heard the thudding sounds coming from the cave at a distance.

He swished his tail and quickened his pace to return.

After a few steps uphill, he saw the sub-beastman grinding the stone. He turned, released his prey, and returned to the cave. What was he up to now?

Xu Shuangci looked up at the large cat blocking the light at the cave entrance and smiled:

“You’re back.”

Qing’s gaze swept over the sub-beastman’s face, then he slipped through the cave entrance where he’d been lying earlier and settled down by the fire.

“I’m making a pot, but it’ll take a few more days.”

“Then we’ll be able to make soup.”

“But I haven’t tasted anything salty in ages. I want some salt…”

Qing’s ears twitched.

The sub-beastman chattered on, his light, airy voice making his ears itch. Qing looked at his mouth with a hint of discomfort. So much to say.