The days were long in this place. When the big cat wasn’t out hunting, it spent the rest of the time dozing in the cave. Having just filled his stomach, Xu Shuangci began to feel drowsy as well.

Listening to the big cat’s soft breathing, he closed his eyes. He caught a glimpse of the tip of the tail on his leg, swaying gently like bait. A thought struck Xu Shuangci, and he reached out quietly.

Smack—

Instantly, a red mark appeared on the back of his hand.

Qing’s tail bristled, and his ears flew back. Meeting Xu Shuangci’s reddened eyes, he seemed to regain his composure, slowly getting up and walking to the cave entrance to lie down. Xu Shuangci lowered his gaze.

That tail had come down like a whip, and the force was no light matter.

His entire hand went numb, burning with pain.

He stood there in a daze for a moment, watching the big cat at the cave entrance still have its backside turned to him.

Xu Shuangci rubbed the back of his hand, feeling inexplicably wronged, then grabbed the animal hide from the grass mat and wrapped himself in it. It was clearly the big cat who had teased him first.

After a while, Qing opened his eyes.

The sub-beastman stood with his back to the cave entrance, curled up like a cub.

Qing watched for a long while, then wrapped his paws around his head, his tail swaying wildly. If you looked closely, his ears—hidden beneath his fur—were bright red.

A beastman’s tail is only to be touched by a mate; for those who aren’t mates, touching a tail signifies a courtship request. A ripple stirred in Qing’s eyes.

He glanced at the sub-beastman with his back to him, then hesitated before rolling over to face the stone wall.

How was he supposed to tell this sub-beastman—who could crush him with a single swipe—that he had no intention of finding a mate just yet? Suddenly, he withdrew his claws.

He made up his mind.

He had to teach the sub-beastman to speak; otherwise, even if he spoke, the sub-beastman wouldn’t understand.

After a moment of silence, Xu Shuangci fell asleep slowly, clutching his hand. His brow was furrowed; he seemed to be sleeping restlessly. In the afternoon, when Xu Shuangci woke up, Qing was gone again.

Hugging the animal-skin blanket, he gazed at the empty cave, his eyes dull. After sitting for a while, the cold wind blew him awake.

Xu Shuangci gave a self-deprecating smile.

Autumn really is a lonely time—when did he become so sentimental?

Life must go on. He picked up the animal hide beside him and continued making clothes.

The fire was still burning; Qing seemed to have added more wood before leaving. Realizing this, the frown between Xu Shuangci’s brows smoothed out. He boiled two more pots of hot water and, while he was at it, washed the pajamas he’d worn over.

The wind was strong at the cave entrance, and the clothes, hung on a small branch protruding from the rock wall, dried in no time. Xu Shuangci sneezed as he went back inside; it wasn’t until he gulped down a few mouthfuls of hot water that his body finally warmed up.

The temperature was dropping day by day; he needed to stock up on food quickly.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Shuangci worked faster on sewing the animal-skin garments.

The cave was silent, and outside the entrance, several garments as blue as the sky fluttered in the breeze. They were saturated with the scent of the sub-beastmen.

Like a forest after the rain, carrying the cool, crisp scent of wood.

The afternoon’s haul wasn’t great; Qing had only bagged two burrowing long-eared beasts.

As he passed the cave entrance, he caught sight of the sub-beastman still wrestling with the hides and instinctively lightened his step. After several days of hunting, the game they’d brought back needed to be processed and air-dried.

Preparing the game was time-consuming, and since he didn’t catch much each time, he always processed several days’ worth at once. Besides, the weather was cold, so it could be left out.

Qing didn’t disturb the sub-beastman. Instead, he first tied the game with vines and carried it downstream along the mountain stream. The eastern side had plenty of water; downstream, several streams had already converged into a river.

Qing shifted into human form, wrapping an animal pelt around his waist.

He stood tall and slender, nearly six feet tall. His exposed muscles were sleek and defined, brimming with explosive power. Qing used strips of animal hide to hastily tie back his waist-length white hair, then crouched on a stone slab by the riverbank.

The stone slab was smooth, and the surrounding weeds had been cleared—it was a place he frequented.

Qing slit open the prey’s belly, sorting through the entrails and discarding what was inedible. He cut off the hide, tanning the usable portions with plant ash.

There weren’t many golden-eyed beast hides in his cave—only five.

Golden-eyed beasts are large, but they are difficult to catch, and their numbers are dwindling.

The hides of these beasts are soft and have long fur, making them the beastmen’s favorite material for blankets and fur skirts.

Of course, his beast form provided enough warmth, and in the past, he could get through the winter with just a few golden-eyed beast hides. But now there was a sub-beastman to consider.

In a large tribe, a sub-beastman’s living quarters would need to be completely lined with this kind of hide. Qing couldn’t afford that yet, but every extra hide for warmth was a blessing. He spent the entire afternoon by the river.

By evening, darkness fell suddenly.

Qing carried the animal hides and the meat tied with vines back to the cave. As he approached the cave entrance, he caught a faint glimpse of a figure. Qing’s tail twitched, then suddenly froze.

“You’re back!”

The sub-beastman smiled and took a few steps forward, but just as he was about to reach him, he suddenly stopped. Qing’s tail dropped quietly; he turned his head away, unable to bear the intensity in his eyes.

Seeing this, Xu Shuangci’s smile faded. He lowered his gaze and returned to the cave.

Qing took the prepared meat next door and hung it at the cave entrance, secured with vines. The remaining animal hides were spread out outside to dry; once dry, they would be ready for use. That evening, they had the same stewed soup as usual.

Xu Shuangci gave half to Qing. After eating and washing up, he returned to silently sewing the animal hides. The fire flickered on and off.

Qing had been lying by the cave entrance; he glanced at the roaring fire, then lay back down. The sub-beastman was not very talkative tonight.

Qing listened to the crackling of the wood burning in the flames, his eyes narrowed slightly, and the pads of his paws on the dry grass involuntarily tensed and relaxed. Although they hadn’t known each other long, after the first few days, the sub-beastman had been quite talkative.

With the sudden silence, Qing felt as if he were back to being all alone.

His furry head shifted from one paw to another every now and then, and his tail swept aside a patch of dry grass behind him. He kept moving about, yet the sub-beastman never looked over.

Qing sat up and glanced over in that direction, as if by accident. But he saw a raised bump on the back of that pale hand, red in an unnatural way. Qing’s tail snapped to attention instantly.

He lowered his tail, stood up, and walked straight out of the cave. The big cat was gone, and Xu Shuangci looked up.

Hearing that it had gone next door, he finally felt at ease.

He’d been working overtime, and the fur coat was only half-sewn.

Xu Shuangci took a deep breath, shook out his stiff, aching hands, and settled back into his work. The evening wind howled constantly; the night offered no peace.

There was a creaking sound from next door for a while, and then Qing returned.

The light in front of him was blocked. Xu Shuangci squinted and looked up, his nose brushing against fur that carried the scent of fresh grass. Qing placed the leaf he was holding in his mouth by his leg.

The tip of his tail twitched, brushing the back of his injured hand like a feather.

“Medicine. Rub it in.”

The fire glowed orange-yellow; the white cat stood before him like a small mountain. As its tail swished past his eyes, Xu Shuangci found himself drawn to it. Qing’s ears twitched; it tucked its tail back and quickly nudged something forward with its paw.

Xu Shuangci was puzzled for a moment, but when he saw the cat staring at the back of his hand, he understood. He unfolded the leaf to reveal a pile of dark green paste inside.

“Medicine?”

Qing repeated the question, then said it again in the language of the Golden Continent.

The two exchanged words back and forth until, finally, Xu Shuangci smiled and scooped up the paste to smear it on the back of his hand. Qing tore off a piece of animal hide.

Xu Shuangci took it without a word and wrapped it up. He pointed at the animal hide: “How do you say this?” Their eyes met, and both understood what the other meant.

For the rest of the time, Xu Shuangci pointed out everything in the cave, and Qing told him how to say each item. Xu Shuangci had a good memory; he only needed to repeat them a few times to remember.

Thanks to Qing’s medicine, their relationship began to thaw.

When Xu Shuangci struggled to sew the animal hide, Qing even reached out a paw to help him punch holes.

He didn’t know what those claws were made of, but the animal hide—which had been so difficult to work with—gave way like tofu under them, piercing easily. With Qing’s help, the animal hide garment was finished in just one night.

After a night’s rest, Xu Shuangci followed Qing out to forage again.

There didn’t seem to be many animals in the forest; not a single large herbivore like a deer could be found nearby. As usual, Qing led him to the spot where they had dug up the roots.

Although it was autumn, there were still plenty of evergreen plants in the forest.

Vines grew in the shade, winding up tree trunks like long snakes. They also connected one tree to another like a web.

This made the forest even darker.

In this environment, Xu Shuangci dug one hole after another. He was so absorbed in the task that he didn’t feel afraid.

The hand he’d treated with herbs last night had healed, but blisters had formed on his palms from digging. When he grew too tired and leaned against a tree trunk, he opened his palm. Looking at the blisters, he let out a soft sigh.

After resting for a while and eating some fruit to stave off hunger, he wrapped his hand in an animal hide and continued digging.

Qing came by at noon, as if to check that he was all right; he glanced at him and left. In the afternoon, Xu Shuangci continued digging until he had cleared every diggable spot in the area.

The soil looked as if it had been turned over, with only the young vines left standing. The pile of roots and stems in the clearing likely weighed a hundred pounds or so. These vines had a soft, chewy texture, were rich in starch, and were very filling.

Xu Shuangci was currently using them as his staple food.

It was hard to tell the time in the woods; Xu Shuangci only noticed that the light had dimmed slightly.

Suddenly, he sensed a gaze upon him. He turned and saw Qing charging toward him again. Xu Shuangci didn’t dodge or flinch; he leaned against a tree trunk.

Qing couldn’t stop in time, and his large head slammed into Xu Shuangci. Xu Shuangci let out a muffled groan.

He quickly wrapped both arms around the big cat’s head, nearly disgorging the fruit he’d just eaten. Qing’s body stiffened.

Its four legs scrambled backward, creating distance between them. Qing: “Why didn’t you dodge?”

Xu Shuangci: “Why do you always scare me?”

They spoke in unison, but neither could understand the other’s words. The animal hide in his hands was tugged by Qing.

Xu Shuangci’s hand trembled; he quickly covered the pelt and pulled it back.

“It hurts…” Tears welled up in his eyes from the pain.

His hand had gone numb from digging earlier, so when Qing tugged at it now, it felt as if the skin were being torn off, causing his heart to clench in pain. Qing swished his tail and stared intently at the gaunt sub-beastman cowering by the tree roots.

So weak.

He can even hurt himself.

Xu Shuangci hissed softly as he lifted the animal hide just a little to look.

The blood blister had burst; his palm was slightly damp, and the broken skin had already stuck to the animal hide. His heart gave a sharp jolt, and he immediately pulled the hide back over the wound. Seeing Qing still staring, he hurriedly pointed at the pile of items and said, “I’ll deal with it when we get back. There’s so much stuff to carry.”

Qing turned away, but his tail brushed against Xu Shuangci’s cheek.

He crouched down and weaved through the vines tangled on either side. When he stood up, two bundles of sweet roots were already strapped to either side of his back. Xu Shuangci touched his face.

Big Cat just can’t keep his tail in check.