Yan Yu’an patted Xie Ji’s head and comforted him in a low voice: “It’s fine.”
Xie Ji ground his teeth. “This is my territory, and he actually dared come here to run wild? I’m going to his lair right now and drag that stinking snake out.”
Yan Yu’an hurriedly stopped the furious Xie Ji. He held him back and said: “He didn’t come. I just thought of something bad.”
“Did that snake bully you before?” Xie Ji asked again, as if the moment Yan Yu’an said yes, he would immediately rush to the python’s home and drag him out to use as the rope needed for drilling wood to make fire!
Yan Yu’an rubbed his forehead. He of course knew that Xie Ji and that python probably had a personal grudge—he was just short of an excuse to go slap him around.
“Let’s sleep first, okay? Tomorrow I’ll teach the others how to make fire.” He paused, then added, “I can also teach you a method to transport stones and wood quickly and conveniently.”
Xie Ji said nothing more and simply shifted back into a lion. Only then did Yan Yu’an relax.
Morning came quickly. It seemed a light rain had fallen during the night, and the forest was shrouded in a thin mist. Crystal-clear dewdrops still hung on the green leaves, and some birds stood on the treetops singing. The whole tribe woke from its dreams. Xie Ji shifted back into human form, tugged at Yan Yu’an, and said: “Today, Yan Yu’an has become our new tribesman. When the sky clears up a bit around noon, he will teach everyone how to make fire, and how to transport stones and wood more easily.”
After a brief second of silence, the crowd cheered again. They remembered the delicious brown bear meat from last night, and they all knew that this thing called fire had been created by the very Yan Yu’an standing before them.
“Chief! What race is Yan Yu’an from? He’s not an ape-man, is he?” A tall man stepped forward and said in a loud voice.
Xie Ji pressed his lips together, and the corner of his mouth curved into a smile. “Rest assured, he’s from the White Fox clan. If he were an ape-man, how could he still be standing here safe and sound?”
Discussion rose in the tribe—and no wonder. Their tribe was basically all lions; there had never been a creature of another race among them.
Xie Ji wasn’t flustered. He had approved of Yan Yu’an. If anyone dared defy him, Xie Ji could simply bite him to death in one bite or drive him out of the tribe.
Soon the tribespeople quieted down. It was the first time Yan Yu’an had encountered such a situation. Though he wasn’t socially anxious, he still felt a little embarrassed.
“Good, then it’s decided.” Xie Ji nodded in satisfaction. “We’ll begin once the weather clears up a bit. There’s plenty of rain today; this afternoon I’ll take a team to hunt an antelope, and tonight we’ll eat mutton.”
The crowd cheered. Many among them were lions who had once wandered and gone hungry. Ever since they’d followed Xie Ji, they no longer worried about food or clothing—though their clothes only covered their lower halves, they were no longer beastmen who wore the same single garment day in and day out.
Yan Yu’an looked at the group of men wearing only animal skins and the women covering only their key parts, and couldn’t help sighing. He thought: I must arrange to get them some new clothes.
He glanced at Xie Ji beside him. His muscles looked good—unlike himself, a scrawny, dried-up monkey.
As if noticing Yan Yu’an’s gaze, Xie Ji gave him a slight nod. He was very satisfied with this mutant. In his heart, he decided that even if Yan Yu’an never fully mastered his ability, he still wouldn’t treat him as food and eat him.
In the afternoon, the thin mist gradually dispersed, sunlight spilled down, and the forest gradually grew lively. The whole tribe—even the little lions who had just learned to hunt—came to learn Yan Yu’an’s method of making fire.
Yan Yu’an said: “It rained last night, so a lot of the wood is wet. We can only make fire with dry wood.” He picked through them and selected only a small portion of the wood. “So in normal times, we can store some wood in a dry place, and that way even when it rains we can still make fire.”
He explained the method of drilling wood to make fire in detail. The most important part—and the one that most tested one’s patience—was using a hard stone to grind a small hole into the round stone; the rest was much simpler.
When it came time to hunt, Xie Ji took a team to hunt, while Yan Yu’an led the rest to make wooden pushcarts.
“You’re amazing.” Jiang Rong scratched his head and walked over.
Yan Yu’an was startled, then put on a smile, the mole at the corner of his eye moving along with it. Jiang Rong’s gaze was drawn to that mole. He stared at Yan Yu’an and smiled shyly. “Actually, you could live with me. By rights, the Chief can only sleep with the Lioness.”
“Thank you for the kind offer, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” Yan Yu’an shook his head slightly.
Jiang Rong nodded, a little disappointed, then said: “You’re the prettiest white fox I’ve ever seen.” He pressed his lips together. “Actually, I don’t mind whether my partner is male or female. There are plenty of beastmen of different races who get together. I really like you.”
Though Jiang Rong wasn’t as handsome as Xie Ji, he was still a tall, handsome young male lion, naturally sought after by females.
Yan Yu’an only cared about his first sentence—the prettiest white fox… He thought, Xie Ji said he was pretty, and now Jiang Rong said he was pretty too. He felt a little confused. Could it be that he had switched bodies?
He declined Jiang Rong’s offer and walked off alone toward the lake.
There was a lake to the south of the tribe. Though it was occupied by the pride, many herbivores still came here to drink. He carried his original clothes and walked toward the lake. He lowered his head to look at his reflection in the water—and was slightly startled.
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