The sunlight was just right, and the air still carried a bit of dampness. Yan Yu’an packed his things early and carefully followed along beside Xie Ji.
Xie Ji looked at how Yan Yu’an practically wanted to stick to his side and couldn’t help laughing. He said: “Hunting won’t take long. You don’t need to bring so much stuff.”
He looked at the bag Yan Yu’an carried, woven from tree bark and animal hide, and didn’t understand why he needed to bring so much.
Yan Yu’an only shook his head at this. He wanted to give Xie Ji a surprise when they got back, so he hadn’t told him about going to look for silkworms.
And Xie Ji simply assumed Yan Yu’an was treating this as an outing, which was why he’d brought so much.
He shook his head and took the bag from Yan Yu’an’s hands. “You brought quite a lot.” He gave a soft laugh and walked along beside Yan Yu’an.
There were about seven people on this hunt, and every one of them was among the strongest of the lion tribe.
One of the rugged men ran over to Xie Ji and said with a hearty laugh: “Chief, the spot Lu Xi picked out today is just ahead.”
Xie Ji nodded and turned to Yan Yu’an. “Do you want to come hunt with me, or stay here? I’ll have Lu Xi protect you.”
Lu Xi? Yan Yu’an looked in some confusion at the delicate-featured man standing at the very front.
He was different from the others in the lion tribe—a full head shorter than that rugged man, and his skin was impossibly white. Seeing Yan Yu’an looking at him, he gave a slight smile, revealing white teeth.
The rugged man immediately said: “That’s Lu Xi. He’s in charge of checking the environmental conditions and setting up the defensive line.” He paused, then continued, “As for me, I’m Lu Hai, Lu Xi’s older brother. I’m in charge of attacking prey together with the Chief.”
“Can I go look around by myself?” Yan Yu’an thought for a moment and said.
Xie Ji frowned slightly and looked at him with disapproval. The whole point of bringing Yan Yu’an to watch him hunt today was to let him witness his heroic bearing while hunting—who knew Yan Yu’an wouldn’t have that idea at all.
Seeing him like this, Yan Yu’an knew it was impossible. He’d thought their hunt would go to the depths of the forest, but he hadn’t expected they wouldn’t even get halfway in.
In the end, Yan Yu’an still chose to stay here—after all, going in himself would only hold them back.
Xie Ji nodded, a little relieved. He softened his voice: “You really won’t come watch me hunt?”
Yan Yu’an looked at Xie Ji and nodded slowly. After all, if he went, there was a good chance he’d cause them trouble. Better to stay here and not distract them.
At this, Xie Ji could only shrug, then had Lu Xi stay behind to protect Yan Yu’an.
“It’s fine. I can manage on my own.”
Yan Yu’an shook his head, just about to refuse Lu Xi’s protection, when he saw Lu Xi slowly walk over, his voice soft: “It’s fine. My task is more or less done anyway. I don’t usually take part in the hunting.”
His voice was as clear as spring water, and Yan Yu’an couldn’t help freezing.
Xie Ji looked at the stunned Yan Yu’an with some displeasure. He leaned in and squeezed between Yan Yu’an and Lu Xi, forcibly separating the two of them.
For a moment Yan Yu’an couldn’t figure out the situation, then he saw Xie Ji say to Lu Xi: “You two protect yourselves. If you run into any danger, call me anytime—I can hear you from over there.”
Yan Yu’an was slightly taken aback. There were quite a few lions who were into guys, and he immediately nodded in understanding, then glanced at Xie Ji.
His strange expression made Xie Ji frown. At this point Xie Ji still didn’t know what “shipping” was—he just felt Yan Yu’an’s expression was a little odd.
He turned his head and once again licked Yan Yu’an’s face, but this time Yan Yu’an dodged it.
Xie Ji: “…”
He frowned and gave Yan Yu’an a deep look. Seeing the look of complete disapproval on Yan Yu’an’s face, he lashed his tail hard and couldn’t help baring his teeth.
He opened his mouth, about to say something to Yan Yu’an, then glanced at the others. In the end, he unhappily led the other five people away, heading deeper inside.
Yan Yu’an shook his head, not quite understanding why Xie Ji had to lick him in front of Lu Xi. Was he trying to make Lu Xi jealous?
Yan Yu’an pouted, unable to figure out what Xie Ji was thinking.
“Are you that white fox cub?” Lu Xi pursed his lips and smiled shyly.
Though Yan Yu’an didn’t know why they’d defined him as a white fox cub, he still nodded along with his words. “My name is Yan Yu’an.”
Lu Xi nodded with a smile. He said softly: “They’ll be hunting a bit further in. My strength isn’t enough—I’m only in charge of the preparations before the hunt.” As he spoke, he smiled at Yan Yu’an. “But don’t worry, I’ll definitely do my utmost to protect you.”
Yan Yu’an looked at this boy who was even thinner and weaker than himself, and couldn’t help being startled inside.
In Lu Xi’s heart, Yan Yu’an was their lioness. Though the Chief hadn’t said so, the fact that he shared a room with the Chief, and the Chief licked his face from time to time… all the signs indicated that Yan Yu’an was their future lioness.
He nodded confidently, little knowing that Yan Yu’an had already paired him off with Xie Ji.
Yan Yu’an sighed. He’d wanted to use this opportunity to go into the forest and learn about the silkworms. He knew full well that if he told Xie Ji, he definitely wouldn’t bring him here—but now…
He crouched on a large rock, watching Lu Xi, who had shifted back into a lion, and sighed slightly.
Lu Xi’s lion form was more than a size smaller than Xie Ji’s. He was currently keeping a wary lookout, terrified that someone might snatch away their lioness.
Just then, a lion’s roar came from the forest not far away. Yan Yu’an froze, then shot up from the rock with a whoosh.
Lu Xi had clearly noticed it too. He immediately shifted back into human form. “That’s a cry for help! Something seems to have happened on the Chief’s side…”
“You go first. I’ll stay here.” As he spoke, he urgently rummaged through the bag for something, then took out herbs and handed them to Lu Xi. “Take these herbs with you. If anyone’s hurt, apply them to the wound.”
Yan Yu’an knew that if he went with Lu Xi, the other side would definitely target him—the one with the least strength. Better to stay here and wait for them to come back; it was safer.
Lu Xi quickly nodded, took the herbs, and hurried off toward Xie Ji’s direction.
Yan Yu’an frowned. He felt an inexplicable sense that something was wrong. Watching Lu Xi gradually disappear, his heart pounded fast.
On the other side, Xie Ji had his teeth sunk deep into a brown bear’s neck. The brown bear, gone mad, kept ramming into trees, trying to throw Xie Ji off, but the other lions swarmed up in a rush, biting down hard and not letting go.
Finally, the brown bear collapsed heavily to the ground, its eyes glazing over with a gray-white film.
Xie Ji licked the blood off his teeth and revealed a smile.
“Chief!” Suddenly, he heard Lu Xi’s voice.
He whirled around and looked around, but didn’t see Yan Yu’an. He said angrily: “Where’s Yan Yu’an?”
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