Chapter 19

A tremendous misunderstanding – Zhuo Yan had no clue what Xiao Xian was thinking all day long. He assumed that A-Yin, being young, wouldn’t understand, so he just brushed it off and acted as though nothing happened. Trying to change the topic, he went about tidying up the dishes and cookware.

“We’ve got five pieces of meat left in the cave and four fish.”

Zhuo Yan took stock of their supplies: they were low on potatoes and yams as well. Based on their current consumption of about two each per day, they could scrape by for a little over half a month. Despite the dwindling supplies, Zhuo Yan remained optimistic. They had survived the harshest part of winter; once the weather warmed a bit, the ice on the riverbed would thin, allowing him to fish again.

From Xiao Xian’s comments on the fish, Zhuo Yan gathered that the people in the tribe weren’t very skilled at preparing it before. It was to his advantage now, though, as the river was abundant with fish, and their home was close to the riverside. So, they didn’t have to worry too much about food.

Once winter passed, they’d have wild vegetables and duduguo berries to tide them over as well.

After tidying up, Zhuo Yan noticed A-Yin following him around everywhere he went. When Zhuo Yan heated water for washing, A-Yin obediently trotted to the stone bed, positioning his large, furry body with all four limbs hanging off the edge, curled into a C-shape. He looked both well-behaved and adorable, bringing a smile to Zhuo Yan’s face. After washing up, Zhuo Yan emptied the water, closed the door, and got ready for sleep.

“Is A-Yin feeling a bit down today?” Zhuo Yan asked from under the covers.

A-Yin wrapped his tail around Zhuo Yan’s feet, and Zhuo Yan began playfully nudging at it with his toes. A-Yin’s eyes sparkled in response, and he continued to loop his soft, furry tail around Zhuo Yan’s feet. It felt a bit ticklish but also comforting, like they were playing a cozy game together.

“Do you not like Xiao Xian, my friend?”

A-Yin’s tail paused. He nudged his head against Zhuo Yan’s and even stretched out his tongue to lick his brother’s hair. A shiver ran down Zhuo Yan’s scalp—not out of fear, but from the unexpected sensation. He quickly shifted his position to face A-Yin directly.

“Xiao Xian is my friend. He misunderstood things about us.” Zhuo Yan stumbled a bit over his words, thinking it best to keep Xiao Xian’s “misunderstanding” vague, since A-Yin was still young. He couldn’t exactly spell it out—that Xiao Xian thought A-Yin was a beast with a…well, big anatomy and that them having kids would be dangerous.

Oh—just the thought made it impossible to get the words out.

“His older brother already has a ya-shou partner he likes, and I haven’t thought about pairing up with a shou-beast myself. We’re both still too young, not even adults yet. Living together like this is perfect for now.”

A-Yin’s bright blue eyes were full of happiness, and he stuck out his tongue playfully, like a little puppy.

“Stop licking, stop licking!”

A-Yin gave him a sad, pitiful look, as if wondering whether his big brother didn’t like him. Zhuo Yan hesitated.

“It’s not that I don’t like you. It’s just… we just finished washing, and your tongue has barbs,” Zhuo Yan explained. But A-Yin, with his puppy-like, wet eyes, stuck his tongue out further and tilted his head to try and see the barbs his brother mentioned.

Zhuo Yan felt his heart softening completely.

“All right… but be gentle.”

“Awoo~ awooo~” A-Yin responded, carefully giving his brother a gentle lick on the cheek, watching closely to see if it hurt him.

Zhuo Yan laughed, ruffling A-Yin’s fluffy head. “It doesn’t hurt. Go to sleep, go to sleep.” Kids are so easy to cheer up.

As usual, A-Yin stretched out and wrapped his brother in his embrace, nuzzling him happily. Only his brother cared about his happiness, only his brother wouldn’t choose a shou-beast as a mate. His brother had said they’d live together, even let him lick him—his brother really was the best.

A few days later, the snowstorm finally began to ease, and Zhuo Yan took A-Yin on daily strolls by the riverside near the reed beds. They even played on the ice—though Zhuo Yan’s original plan had been to cut through the ice to fish. After two months of freezing, however, the ice had become so thick that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break through.

Frustrated, Zhuo Yan ended up ice-skating with A-Yin instead.

Around the reed beds, there were no signs of any animals, and he’d forgotten the exact spot where he’d buried the fish guts earlier; after searching the area, he found no animal tracks either.

This continued for about ten days.

The tribe seemed to be waking up as well. When Zhuo Yan took A-Yin outside, he occasionally saw other beastmen in their animal forms carrying their ya-shou partners out and about. People would glance at him and A-Yin, then quickly keep their distance.

Zhuo Yan didn’t pay much attention to the others; he simply patted A-Yin on the head and led him back home for dinner.

…It seemed that winter was finally coming to an end.

That night, while holding A-Yin close, Zhuo Yan began talking dreamily about the promise of spring. “I spotted some wild greens growing upstream along the river before. I don’t know if they’re edible, but once the snow melts, I’ll try to find a chicken or rabbit and let it sample the greens first. If they’re safe to eat, we can enjoy wild greens. And if we could get some flour, even better—I’d make wild green pancakes for you.”

A-Yin didn’t quite understand. What was flour? He tilted his head up to look at his brother in confusion.

“Flour is made from wheat,” Zhuo Yan explained. “It takes a lot of work to grind and prepare, but if we could find some wheat or rice, we wouldn’t have to eat potatoes and yams every day through winter.” Feeling warm and cozy under the covers, Zhuo Yan didn’t feel like getting up to draw A-Yin a picture to explain.

He wasn’t even sure if wheat or rice existed in this world—was he destined to live off potatoes forever?

Zhuo Yan’s voice grew softer as drowsiness overcame him, and soon he drifted off to sleep. A-Yin, meanwhile, gave his brother’s hair another sneaky, gentle lick and wrapped his arms around him protectively. As he lay there, he couldn’t stop wondering about the “flour” his brother had mentioned.

In the middle of the night, Zhuo Yan suddenly jolted awake. In the darkness, he saw a pair of blue eyes staring back at him. The initial shock eased slightly as he recognized the familiar blue gaze. “A-Yin? You’re awake too?”

A-Yin let out a soft “awoo” and reached out a paw to gently touch his brother.

“What’s going on outside? It sounds noisy.” Zhuo Yan turned over to look toward the cave entrance. From where his bed was positioned, he couldn’t actually see it, so he sat up to get a better look.

A-Yin rose alongside him.

Zhuo Yan pulled on his fur cloak as he got out of bed, immediately noticing the chill in the air. The temperature inside the cave had dropped significantly, and the door creaked noisily, rattling in the wind. There was a continuous thudding sound, not from someone knocking, but from the strong wind battering the door.

A-Yin walked ahead of his brother as Zhuo Yan wrapped himself in his fur cloak. He first lit the fire, and a flickering light emerged, swaying in the breeze that blew through the entrance. The largest fur coat, which he had not hung behind the door due to the recent rise in temperature and the absence of heavy snowstorms, lay in a heap nearby.

At that moment, he realized that the weather outside had changed.

“A-Yin, give me the fur,” Zhuo Yan called out as he made his way to the door. A-Yin dutifully picked up the large fur and brought it to his brother. Zhuo Yan hung the fur up, using a wooden plank to brace the door closed. Once everything was secured, the once-trembling light from the fire finally began to blaze brightly.

Could it really be another snowstorm?

Unable to fall back asleep, Zhuo Yan sat in front of the fire, boiling some water. He took a sip and poured some into A-Yin’s bowl, then turned his gaze to the door. “No wonder winter is so tormenting. If the weather keeps changing like this, I think spring is finally here, only to find it’s getting cold again. It’s truly a struggle.”

A-Yin looked at his brother with concern, forgetting to drink the water altogether.

Zhuo Yan chuckled softly. “But with A-Yin by my side, I won’t go crazy.” It was the truth.

“Let’s go to sleep. We’ll open the door and tidy up when the sun comes up.”

A-Yin, with his slightly gaunt, fluffy face and tongue hanging out in a smile, eagerly followed his brother to bed. With the temperature dropping again, he nestled close to Zhuo Yan, wrapping his arms around him protectively. Quietly, he draped the fur over Zhuo Yan’s body, ensuring he was warm.

“You should cover up too.” Zhuo Yan noticed A-Yin’s little gesture.

A-Yin’s furry paw froze for a moment before he sheepishly pulled a corner of the fur over himself.

Zhuo Yan thought to himself: …Well, that’s good enough. He rolled into A-Yin’s embrace, realizing that this way, they could share the warmth together.

After another round of sleep, Zhuo Yan woke up to the light filtering into the cave. It was daytime. As he opened the door, he realized that it hadn’t been snowing last night; instead, it had been hail, with ice pellets the size of fists accumulating at the entrance.

Quickly, he began to shovel the hail to the side when a thought struck him. “A-Yin! The rattan basket! The wooden bucket! Never mind this for now—let’s head to the river!”

With such large hail, the speed of free fall must have been intense; it could definitely cause serious injury. The thick layer of ice on the river’s surface could be just as dangerous. Inside the cave, their food supplies were running low. They had some Dudu fruit, but that wasn’t usable at the moment. There were a few potatoes and yams left, and over the past few days, the two of them had been making do with one meal a day, drinking hot water when they felt hungry.

Zhuo Yan was uncertain when winter would truly end, so he didn’t dare to overindulge, wanting to conserve some food.

A-Yin didn’t quite grasp what his brother was planning, but he ran swiftly, following Zhuo Yan’s commands. He grabbed the rattan basket in his mouth and rushed to get the wooden bucket. Zhuo Yan placed the wooden shovel inside the cave and took the bucket from A-Yin without saying much more. They dashed out of the cave and headed toward the river!

From a distance, they could already see that the river’s surface was covered with a thick layer of hail.

At this moment, there wasn’t a soul outside. Early in the morning after last night’s hail, the other members of the tribe were reluctant to venture out. Zhuo Yan and A-Yin ran quickly to the riverbank, traversing a stretch of ice where some areas remained completely intact. They continued downstream in search of a better spot, and soon enough, they spotted a place where the ice had cracked.

“A-Yin, stay on the riverbank and wait for me. I’m going in,” Zhuo Yan instructed.

“Ah-woo, ah-woo!” A-Yin responded anxiously.

“You have to listen. If I fall in, you’ll be able to pull me out,” Zhuo Yan reassured him.

A-Yin’s tail whipped back and forth in worry, but he obeyed, squatting down by the riverbank. His bright blue eyes were fixed on Zhuo Yan, ready to rush over at the slightest sign of trouble. Honestly, A-Yin’s watchful demeanor gave Zhuo Yan a greater sense of security this time as they attempted to break the ice for fishing.

With his previous experience, Zhuo Yan carefully approached the cracked area along the intact section of ice. He had a basket on his back containing a wooden stick and a stone knife. He first used the wooden stick to tap the ice, then switched to the stone knife to chip away at it. As he worked, he realized that the ice layer was at least three to four decimeters thick. If it hadn’t been for last night’s hail, finding thinner spots would have been quite a challenge.

The ice upstream was undoubtedly thicker, given the conditions.

Suddenly, a loud crack echoed as the ice began to fracture.

Zhuo Yan had yet to say anything when a white blur dashed toward him like lightning, clamping down on his leather skirt with its teeth. Zhuo Yan was taken aback: …

Although he was sweating profusely from the shock moments ago, A-Yin, could you please hold your tongue? You’re about to tear off your brother’s leather skirt!

It was truly a chilling experience, especially with the wind blowing against him.

“A-Yin, I’m fine. Just be careful and step back,” Zhuo Yan warned, noting how the ice beneath him was cracking like a spider web. His voice involuntarily dropped to a whisper, as if he were afraid of startling the ice.

A-Yin didn’t release his grip, pulling back on Zhuo Yan’s leather garment as they retreated.

Step by step, even though Zhuo Yan moved slowly and lightly, the crack quickly spread beneath his feet. Fortunately, it didn’t shatter, and they managed to retreat safely onto more stable ice.

“Okay, you can let go now, A-Yin. Go help me gather some hail,” Zhuo Yan instructed, hoping to redirect A-Yin’s attention.

A-Yin released his hold and immediately set off to find some hailstones.

“Make sure to get the big ones!” Zhuo Yan called after him.

A-Yin focused on locating the largest hailstones he could find, his little paws scurrying eagerly across the ice.

Zhuo Yan adjusted his leather skirt, realizing he would need to sew on some ties when he had a spare moment. Alternatively, he could weave a sturdy belt from the resilient grass in the nearby meadow. While he was lost in these thoughts, A-Yin trotted over with a large chunk of hail in his mouth. Zhuo Yan accepted it, then hurled it with all his strength right at the densest part of the spiderweb-like cracked ice.

With a sharp crack, crackle, and then a crash—

The weakest section of the ice finally gave way under the hail’s assault. The surface shattered and broke apart, splintering into pieces that fell into the rushing river below. However—

“Fish!”

There were so many fish!

These fish, seemingly lifeless, floated beneath the ice, belly-up. Schools of them swam aimlessly, with more sliding down from upstream, creating an almost endless stream of fish. As Zhuo Yan took in the scene, he pondered how he could safely cross over. The ice near the edge of the opening was riddled with cracks, and one misstep could send him plummeting into the icy water below.

Should he use the wicker basket to scoop them out?

Zhuo Yan decided to endure the cold a little longer—the icy temperature, even with his half-beastman blood running through him, felt like it would freeze him into a chronic leg condition.

Seeing that his brother was not moving, A-Yin felt the need to remind him that there were plenty of fish in the water, and he could go after them.

“Come back!” Zhuo Yan called out to A-Yin.

A-Yin skidded to a halt and obediently trotted back to his brother, wagging his tail in confusion at why Zhuo Yan had stopped him. Nevertheless, he always listened to his brother’s commands.

While Zhuo Yan was talking to A-Yin, he was also contemplating how to catch the fish. To his surprise, the fish that had been floating on the surface, belly-up and seemingly lifeless, were starting to wake up. It was as if they had been injected with some kind of stimulant; they began flipping and flopping, splashing against the ice layer on the river’s surface. The sudden activity created a chaotic scene as schools of fish jumped in excitement, a stark contrast to their previous state of inertia.

One fish leaped with such force that it crashed down right at Zhuo Yan’s feet.

Zhuo Yan looked down and locked eyes with the fish that was flopping around on the ice: ???

Could it be that he and A-Yin were truly favored by the heavens?

Whatever the case, he thought, time to collect some fish!

Zhuo Yan plastered a golden grin on his face, practically beaming with joy. “Let’s start with the ones closest to us; no need to rush towards the ice hole. We can come back later when it’s frozen solid. I still need to tell Sister Qiao about this. I wonder if there’s any food left at the Stone family’s place. Xiao Xian loves eating fish like this…”

The families of Stone and Aman were both in relatively short supply of food.

Over here, however, the fish were plentiful.