Chapter 2: A Da

Xin’er held the wooden stick and launched into a fierce attack like a raging tiger. She gave the three men a thorough beating until their faces were swollen and bruised, rolling on the ground, howling in pain.

They couldn’t dodge her stick no matter how hard they tried. As she beat them, she said cheerfully, “This is fun, right? Uncles, isn’t this fun?”
She didn’t even give them a chance to answer before raining down more blows.

Then, Xin’er moved to the roadside and picked up a large rock. Under the terrified eyes of the three men, the small girl easily lifted the massive stone.

Bang! She slammed it down in front of them, stirring up a cloud of dust that made them cough uncontrollably.

She dusted off the rock and sat cross-legged on it.

When the dust finally settled, Xin’er clapped her hands joyfully at the sight of the men writhing on the ground.

“Uncles, do you still want to play?”

The three huddled together, eyes wide with fear. This wasn’t some cute little girl—this was a little demoness. They were truly unlucky to have run into someone like her today.

The pockmarked man said, “Little sister, we were wrong. We won’t play anymore. Please let us go.”

The other two nodded desperately, trembling from the pain.

Xin’er looked at them. “No way! You get to play when you want to, but when I want to play, it’s not allowed?”

She jumped down from the rock, stood before them, and glared angrily.

The three of them clutched their heads and begged, “Please, little ancestor, please let us go! We won’t dare ever again!”

No matter how much they begged…

Xin’er didn’t let them off. She grabbed her whip and gave them another round of beating. No one knows how long it lasted, but eventually, the men stopped making any noise—they’d all passed out.

Xin’er gave the pockmarked man a kick. “So weak! Fainted after just a little beating.”

With a snort, she walked away and pulled out a meat bun, munching on it.

While eating, she muttered, “It’s all your fault. Made me late getting home. Now I’m thirsty from all that beating.”

When Xin’er returned to the village, not a single child was playing outside that day.

Happily, she went home. But after sitting around for a while, she got bored and went up the mountain to find her wolf brother.

Her wolf brother was one of Wolf Mama’s children. When she was little, he would often bring her prey to keep her from starving.

Even now, he still brought her food. If you asked who Xin’er was closest to in the world, it was her wolf brother.

Xin’er carried her basket and ran up the mountain, calling out as she climbed,
“A Da, are you here?”

“I came to see you! I even bought big meat buns from the county town! They smell sooo good!”

She shouted as she walked, but there was no response. A Da was probably out hunting.

With the drought going on, prey had become scarce on the mountain. Seeing he hadn’t returned, Xin’er headed toward the cave where A Da lived.

Inside was a stone bed for sleeping. Xin’er would sometimes stay there.

She placed her things on the stone bed and began cleaning the cave. After finishing up, she stood at the entrance and looked out toward the mountains.

She stared for a while, wondering why A Da still hadn’t come back. Hopefully, nothing had happened to him.

With no other choice, she lay down on the stone bed to wait—and soon fell asleep. The bed even had blankets.

A Da never used her bed. He had his own bedding and place to sleep.

While she was sleeping soundly, she suddenly felt something soft and furry brushing against her face, making her nose itch.

Xin’er opened her eyes and saw A Da standing in front of her bed, nuzzling her face with his head.

Delighted, Xin’er sat up and hugged A Da’s head.
“A Da, you’re back! Why are you back so late today?”

They played for a while, and then A Da led her to the prey he had caught—a mountain goat.

Looking at the goat, Xin’er said, “You’re amazing, A Da! I brought you some tasty meat buns!”

She pulled out steaming buns from her storage space.

A Da’s tail started wagging as soon as he saw them. He happily circled around Xin’er.

She fed him one directly into his mouth. A Da squinted his eyes in delight.

He looked so pleased, squinting contentedly. After eating ten buns, he finally felt full and satisfied.

The girl and the wolf played together for a while longer before each went to sleep in their own places.