“Woo, woo.” The little black lion whimpered softly with its eyes lowered, its mood becoming dejected.
When he was five, he contracted a strange illness, losing both his human form and his ability to communicate. He became mute.
Originally, he didn’t like to talk to others, and being mute didn’t bother him much. Now, he desperately wanted to get better, and talk to the little ball of fur.
Only beastmen who could normally transform between human and beast forms could communicate with others regardless of their forms.
Thus, Hu Li, who was also unable to transform, could only watch as the little black lion kept its head down, unable to transform into human form.
Hu Li had no choice but to place the water cup directly on the ground in front of the little black lion.
The little black lion glanced gratefully at the ball of fur, then lowered its head to drink, licking the water from the cup.
Seeing the little black lion’s fluffy head buried in the water, Hu Li couldn’t resist the urge to touch it. He reached out to stroke the little black lion’s head.
The moment his hand touched it, the little black lion paused for a moment, but immediately resumed drinking water as if nothing had happened, seemingly unfazed by Hu Li’s touch. Hu Li then boldly continued stroking its fur, his heart pounding with joy.
“Darling—”
Hearing his mother call him, Hu Li withdrew his hand and walked towards the thatched hut.
The little black lion looked up, silently watching the little dumpling’s departing figure.
Hu Li toddled into the hut, and found the interior almost finished. He was just waiting for his father and brother to return and replace the broken wood.
Seeing Xue Tuan come in with an empty cup, Rong Shan took it from his hand.
“Did you have fun playing with your new friend?” Rong Shan asked.
“Yes.” Xue Tuan nodded vigorously. Of course I’m happy to pet the little black lion’s fur!
Seeing Xue Tuan’s high spirits, Rong Shan smiled. Making friends so soon in this new place—his Xue Tuan is amazing.
When Xue Tuan came out of the hut again, the little black lion was gone from the clearing in front of the tree, leaving only an empty cup.
“Hm, he left without even saying goodbye.” Xue Tuan was a little disappointed, he wanted to continue petting him.
The little black lion didn’t transform into human form either, so he didn’t know what to call him.
Fortunately, not long after, Hu Li saw his father and brother return.
Feng Yan’s strong arms were carrying four bundles of already felled timber which astonished the other passing beastmen.
Beside him, Bing Qiu carried a large bundle on his back and a small bundle in his hand, also looking like he was returning with a full load.
Bing Qiu brought back some red and green berries. He trotted to the front door and held one of the green berries to his younger brother Xue Tuan’s mouth.
Hu Li hadn’t realized his brother’s “malicious intentions.” His brother offered him a bite, and he snatched it into his mouth.
Then Hu Li took a bite, and instantly his face contorted in a grimace.
So sour!!
Seeing his eldest son being naughty, Rong Shan slapped Bing Qiu on the head: “Don’t bully your little brother.”
Even though it was incredibly sour, Hu Li decided to finish the fruit to avoid wasting it.
However, while eating the fruit, he also accidentally ate half of the leaves next to it. Xue Tuan chewed slowly and laboriously, why did the leaves taste so sour too?
Perhaps to preserve the fruit longer, Bing Qiu had broken off the branches and leaves along with the fruit when picking it. Xue Tuan plucked a leaf from a green fruit and tasted it, only to be overwhelmed by the sourness again.
He then plucked a leaf from a red fruit and put it in his mouth, it was surprisingly sweet.
How amazing! So Xue Tuan took a few branches of fruit and went inside.
“See, Xue Tuan clearly likes it,” Bing Qiu said stubbornly while rubbing the back of his head.
But he was also a little curious about what his younger brother was going to do since those green fruits were clearly terribly sour. If it weren’t for his father saying that no matter how sour, it was good enough to have picked fruit at all and they couldn’t give it up, he wouldn’t have wanted to eat it.
Bing Qiu followed behind his younger brother, Xue Tuan, who arrived at the stone mortar and pestle. Xue Tuan put two different kinds of leaves into the mortar and pestle, preparing to pound them.
Xue Tuan thought that the leaves his brother Bing Qiu had brought back, although the taste was a bit extreme, could be neutralized. Using fruit might be more effective, but that was a bit of a luxury at the moment.
Seeing his brother struggling, Bing Qiu offered to help: “Sweetie, let your brother do it. What are you doing with this?”
“It’s useful,” Xue Tuan replied succinctly as always.
Hearing his brother’s answer, Bing Qiu didn’t argue, even if it was just for fun. Although he didn’t really think this bowl of leaves would be of any use, he believed his brother was right and would do as his brother said.
In a short while, the two of them produced a small bowl of greenish liquid, and the adventurous Bing Qiu tasted it first.
“I must say, it tastes pretty good.” Bing Qiu smacked her lips, full of curiosity about the new flavor.
Hu Li walked over and glanced at the small bowl of sweet and sour sauce, its appearance resembling a “culinary disaster,” thinking, “I’ll just have to eat it.”
As dusk settled, Feng Yan hurried to the center of the tribe to borrow fire. While he could start a fire himself, borrowing was much faster.
At the central open-air altar, there was a “messenger” specifically tasked with guarding the fire—a young adult beastman. The young beastmen of the tribe considered it an honor to be chosen as the “fire-guardian,” and their voices carried more weight than others.
Outside the thatched hut, Rong Shan had already dug a pit nearby and enclosed it with stones to create a hearth.
Once Feng Yan borrowed the fire, he lit the dry branches and weeds in the hearth, and they could begin cooking soup and roasting meat.
The dried meat could last a few more days, but the fresh meat was only for this one meal. They had just arrived today and didn’t need to hand over any food yet. They would fulfill their promise after going hunting tomorrow.
When Bing Qiu and Xue Tuan came out with the bowl of sauce, Feng Yan and Rong Shan were almost done grilling the meat.
Xue Tuan noticed that when the meat rendered its fat, his father Rong Shan would catch it in a seashell bowl, and the fat would solidify quickly.
Under Xue Tuan’s “picky” supervision, Feng Yan’s grilling skills had improved significantly, and he no longer grilled the meat unevenly as before.
“Darling, here you go.” Feng Yan handed a mini meat skewer to Xue Tuan and continued grilling the rest.
The meat had already been salted. Xue Tuan took the skewer and drizzled some sweet and sour sauce over it. Then he took a big, exaggerated bite.
Everyone’s eyes were immediately on Xue Tuan.
Xue Tuan’s cheeks were bulging. He was eating with great relish, and the meat seemed even more delicious than usual.
The savory saltiness of the grilled meat combined with this touch of sweet and sour made the flavor much richer than usual. Indeed, the world can’t exist without seasonings!
So this is how you use the sweet and sour sauce? Seeing Xue Tuan enjoying it so much, Bing Qiu who had been watching closely couldn’t wait for his father to grill the meat skewers. He took a piece from his stockpile of dried meat and, imitating Xue Tuan, poured the sweet and sour sauce over it.
The dried meat, which originally only had a slight saltiness, now had a subtle sweet and sour flavor, instantly giving the dry meat a unique taste.
It was surprisingly delicious, and Bing Qiu chewed with increasing gusto.
Usually, they only added a little salt and nothing else. They never expected to eat it this way.
“Father, Mother, try this! Our Xue Tuan discovered a new way to eat!” Bing Qiu quickly shared this delicious recipe with his two fathers.
The two adults looked at the bowl of green sauce in Bing Qiu’s hand, their expressions hesitant. But seeing how much the two kids were enjoying their food…
Feng Yan took the small bowl from Bing Qiu, poured some for Rong Shan, and then drizzled some over his own jerky.
Rong Shan tentatively took a bite of the jerky in his hand before his eyes immediately lit up: “Feng Yan, it tastes really good!”
Bing Qiu chewed on the jerky, proudly telling his father and mother how Xue Tuan made the sweet and sour sauce.
Rong Shan turned to look at Xue Tuan after hearing this: “Our little darling is so amazing!” He then gently patted Xue Tuan’s head.
Hearing his mother’s coaxing tone, Hu Li felt goosebumps rising on his skin.
However, he couldn’t suppress a small surge of joy inside.
“It really is good.” Feng Yan hadn’t expected that just adding a little more sauce would give the ordinary jerky such a different flavor.
Feng Yan, who never cared much about food, finished the jerky in no time. Seeing his children eating so intently, Feng Yan thought he could gather more red and green berries next time.
“The dried meat tastes so good with this sauce, imagine how delicious it would be if it were freshly roasted!” Bing Qiu thought, his mouth watering as he watched his father grilling the meat skewers.
As dusk fell, fires were lit in front of each family’s thatched hut, their flickering flames illuminating the small tribe.
The Snow Fox family had all eaten their fill and were preparing to finish repairs on their hut before resting.
In this beast world without electricity, nighttime activities were limited. Even with torches for light, they dared not do so for long as a fire could easily break out.
Bing Qiu carefully held the torch while Rong Shan and Feng Yan used the remaining light to quickly finish up the thatched hut.
Xue Tuan, meanwhile, warmed himself by the fire outside, and chose not to cause any trouble.
However, his current body was extremely sleep-deprived. Sitting there, he would unconsciously close his eyes, his head drooping little by little.
“Darling, let’s go inside to sleep, don’t catch a cold.”
“Okay.”
Finally, they were almost done tidying up. Rong Shan carried Xue Tuan into the house to put him on the “bed.”
The hay was thick, and the animal hide had a furry side, so lying on it wasn’t uncomfortable. The bed was about two meters by two meters, a bit cramped for a family of four.
But…
His family could transform into snow foxes! Sleeping with fluffy things in winter sounded wonderful. Xue Tuan was so engrossed in the thought that he forgot to let go of his father’s neck.
Rong Shan smiled helplessly. He knew that his little dumpling liked to sleep cuddling their animal forms at night, so he obediently transformed into a large snow fox.
Then Rong Shan immediately felt himself being hugged even tighter, so he turned around and hugged the tiny Xue Tuan in return. At first glance, Xue Tuan looked like it was nestled in a giant, white blanket.
Soon, it felt itself being embraced from behind by another, even larger snow fox. Meanwhile, the little white fox Bing Qiu snuggled up to its brother on the other side and fell peacefully asleep.
The cold wind whistled, and inside, the snow fox family huddled together, feeling wonderfully warm.