The three of them arrived under the big tree. Ah Tang and Ah Ning’s mates trailed behind, each carrying a basket filled with wild fruits and dried meat.
“Stop talking and hurry up—let’s get Ah Heng out. He’s been lying there all day; he’s probably about to go stir-crazy.”
Ah Tang, impatient as ever, grabbed Ming Zhu and Sui Yan and headed straight for Li Heng’s cave.
Li Zhu quickly followed.
As expected, Li Heng was awake, leaning against a pile of furs, fiddling with the cracked Earth-Bear crystal. Seeing them enter, he hadn’t even said a word before being lifted up.
“Ah Heng, let’s go! We’re playing mahjong!”
If anyone in the tribe loved mahjong the most, it was Ah Tang.
Hearing this, Li Heng immediately brightened.
“I’ve been wanting to stretch my limbs for ages—lying down so long I’m about to mold.”
Laughing and chatting, they arrived under the big tree.
Ming Yuan had already set the wooden mahjong set on the large wooden platform. The tiles were drawn with charcoal, their edges smoothed from frequent use.
Nearby, wooden bowls held bright red sweet berries, glossy dried meat, and some honey water Ah Ning had brought along.
“Quick, quick! Everything’s ready! Today, I’m going to crush you all!”
Ah Tang was the first to sit on a stool.
“Sui Yan, bring a low stool for Ah Heng to sit on.”
“Losers today have to eat sour berries as punishment!”
“Who’s afraid of who.”
Li Heng adjusted into a comfortable position, cracking his knuckles.
“With my luck, I guarantee you’ll all lose spectacularly. Sure, I’m the only male, but at the mahjong table, I won’t go easy on you.”
Everyone silently rolled their eyes at him.
Who would win or lose wasn’t certain yet!
Li Zhu sat opposite him, smiling as she shuffled the tiles.
“Don’t boast—who was it last time that lost so badly they had to mortgage their dried meat?”
As the game began, a small crowd of tribe members gathered around.
Rabbits loved lively scenes, especially leisurely ones like this. Even the beast people usually busy tanning hides came over with stools to watch. Ming Yuan sat front and center, rolling a piece of hide in her hands, but her eyes stayed glued to the table, occasionally offering advice.
“Ah Zhu, that tile was wrong!”
“Ah Ning is about to win, isn’t she? Her eyes lit up when she drew that tile!”
“Still, Ah Heng’s amazing—he can win even lying down!”
Hearing his mother praise him, a smile spread across Li Heng’s face.
He was usually busy—either hunting with the tribe or learning from his father how to be a good mate.
Now, thanks to his injury, he finally got a chance to play mahjong.
Usually, it was the tribe’s females who gathered here to play.
He planned that once he found a mate, he would teach her; when they had children, he would teach them too.
Laughter and the crisp clatter of tiles blended together like a string of musical notes, drifting on the breeze.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling across the table and warming everyone’s faces.
Li Zhu handled her tiles, occasionally glancing at Ah Tang laughing so hard she almost fell back, Ah Ning still excited despite poor luck, and Ah Heng, who, though sitting on a wooden plank, radiated energy.
She thought to herself—this must be the happiness she had always wanted.
Family, lover, friends…
Clear skies, bright sun…
Only occasionally, when she touched the surface of a tile, did her fingers unconsciously think of Ze Yu.
If he were here, would he be quietly watching like Ah Mu, ready to eat sour berries if she lost?
No—Ah Ze was too clever. He’d be amazing at mahjong too! Tomorrow, when he returned, she would teach him to play!
“Daydreaming? It’s your turn to draw a tile!”
Ah Tang nudged her with his elbow.
Li Zhu snapped out of her daze and quickly drew her tiles.
Game after game passed, and the sun gradually began to lean westward.
The shadows of the trees stretched long across the ground. The bowls of berries and dried meat on the table were empty, the honey water gone, and a few little beast children had dozed off on nearby piles of grass, softly snoring.
“I can’t… I can’t go on—my legs are asleep!”
Ah Ning was the first to give in, rubbing her waist as she stood up.
“Ah Zhu, you’ve got little ones in your belly—you should rest too.”
Li Heng nodded in agreement.
“Let’s call it a day. Once I’m fully healed, we’ll have another three hundred rounds.”
Everyone laughed as they packed up the tiles. Ming Zhu and Sui Yan carefully carried Li Heng back to his cave.
Ming Yuan patted Li Zhu on the shoulder.
“Tired, huh? Your mate is already cooking meat—go back and eat.”
Dinner was abundant. Besides the beef from Ze Yu’s space stash, Li Cheng had cooked a pot of mushroom soup, spiced with chili peppers Li Zhu had grown. The aroma filled the entire cave.
But Li Zhu poked at the meat in her bowl without much appetite.
Outside, the sky gradually darkened, and the glowgrass began to flicker softly in the cracks of the rocks. Ze Yu still hadn’t returned.
“Could something have happened to Ah Ze? Why isn’t he back yet?” she asked, unable to hide the worry in her voice.
“Don’t worry. Little Ze is that strong—no beast in the Black Forest can hurt him,” Li Cheng said, setting down his bowl with certainty. “Maybe he just wants to hunt more, so he can have more time with you.”
Ming Yuan chimed in.
“Exactly. Look at all the meat he brought back last time—he never returns empty-handed. Maybe he’s bringing something nice for you too.”
Li Zhu nodded, trying to suppress her unease, but no matter how she tried, her chopsticks couldn’t pick up the meat.
After dinner, she sat on the stone bench at the cave entrance, gazing toward the Black Forest in the east.
Night spread like thick ink, blurring the outlines of the trees. Even the wind rustling the leaves sounded unusually quiet.
The barrier by the altar still glowed faintly gold. No warnings had triggered—there was no danger approaching the tribe—but it also meant Ze Yu had not returned.
Another hour passed. Even the patrolling beast people had rotated, but the mountain path remained empty.
Ming Yuan came over and gently draped an arm around her shoulders.
“Ah Zhu, don’t wait anymore—it’s too late.”
“But…”
“Listen to your mother,” Ming Yuan interrupted, her gaze soft but firm.
“You’re not alone now. You’ve got two little ones in your belly—you can’t overwork yourself. Your old den is still here. From now on, when little Ze goes hunting, you stay here and rest.”
She knew Li Zhu worried about Ze Yu, but a pregnant female living alone in the cave was too much to leave to chance. Any accident could have dire consequences.
Li Zhu placed a hand on her belly, biting her lip, and finally nodded.
“Alright.”
Back in her familiar little den, the scent of dried grass greeted her. Without Ze Yu’s warmth beside her, it felt empty.
Ming Yuan tucked the furs around her, lit a stone lamp at the entrance, and quietly left.
Li Zhu lay there, staring at the cave ceiling.
Her mind flickered between Ze Yu’s gentle eyes as he had left and the ferocious beasts of the Black Forest. Her heart felt clutched in an invisible hand, impossible to release.
The cave was empty except for her own breathing, and the occasional insect chirping from outside.
Half asleep, half alert, she kept thinking she heard Ze Yu’s footsteps. But whenever she strained to listen, there was only the wind.
This repeated several times, until eventually, utterly exhausted, she finally fell into a deep sleep. Yet her brow remained tightly furrowed, and even in dreams, she whispered that name.
“Ah Ze…”