Sunlight spilled over the raw wilderness, where a multitude of birds unaware of the rigors of the cold season perched on branches, singing melodious and tender songs.
Every so often, a couple of rabbits that looked overfed would appear from the grass, chewing away at the fresh tender grass with their constant nibbling.
Ji Nuan rubbed his slightly sour eyes as he raised himself from his stone bed, dazed for a moment before waking up amidst the lively atmosphere of the morning.
The little lion cub in the bed was still sound asleep, his chubby belly rising and falling with his sweet slumber.
After wiping the drool that had soaked the fur at the corner of the little one’s mouth with beast skin and wrapping his own foot in the same material, Ji Nuan lifted the beast skin curtain and headed towards the food storage cave.
After starting a fire and placing a few giggle beasts, which had been prepared the day before, in a stone pot to stew, Ji Nuan carefully retrieved a small beast skin package from his basket, which contained sharp tooth grass he had gathered in a small forest the day before.
He placed the sharp tooth grass on a slightly concave stone, and cut the two sticks he had prepared earlier for Xiu Yan’s bone-setting into six pieces.
As he originally intended to use them for Xiu Yan, they were quite long, so after cutting them into six pieces, a long portion still remained. The thought of Xiu Yan caused a pang of pain in Ji Nuan’s heart...
"Arr arr~~" Faint cries of the lion cub could be heard from inside the cave. Ji Nuan snapped back to reality and went inside.
The little one looked a bit awkward. Seeing Ji Nuan coming in, he grumbled quietly, shifting his chubby Little Pipi from left to right.
Xiu Yan was awakened by a pressing need to pee. Animals also had urgent needs. He looked at the little female cub, her fuzzy face flushed with embarrassment.
Ji Nuan glanced at Little Pipi who couldn’t sit still, and immediately understood what was needed. She walked over, picked up the cub and headed to a nearby area of the cave. There she used a stick to dig a small pit in the ground.
Only then, under the cub’s embarrassed gaze, did she separate his four short legs and position him over the hole. "Alright, littlie, hurry up and do your thing!"
Xiu Yan, with his round eyes, stared at her, "Arr arr~" you go away, I can do it myself.
Ji Nuan didn’t understand the cub’s cries, but his meaning was clear in his eyes after some careful thought, "Your little claws are injured, if I let go of you, you’ll fall into the pit."
Xiu Yan: ...
As a mighty Silver Wolf Beast, he refused to soil himself with his own urine.
With his round furry face puffed out, cub Xiu Yan finished his business with Ji Nuan’s assistance.
Only once she’d wiped Little Pipi clean did Ji Nuan place the tense little creature back in his nest.
Once back in the cave, the cub immediately buried his round little head in the soft beast skin, ignoring Ji Nuan no matter how many times she called him.
Ji Nuan laughed and patted his chubby Little Pipi, "You little one, how come you’re so easily embarrassed? The cubs in the tribe have much thicker skins than you. I’ll go check on the food, and then we’ll have a delicious giggle beast to eat."
The cub’s soft ears flicked, but he didn’t turn around to look at her. Ji Nuan didn’t tease him anymore and pulled back the curtain to leave the cave.
Ji Nuan fiddled with a small striped snake skin in her hands. She’d traded for it with a giggle beast from Shaman Ama. The snakeskin was light, airy, and ideal for bandaging wounds. However, the orcs’ regeneration abilities were strong, so it was hardly needed.
It would be perfectly suited to stabilize the wooden panels after the cub’s bone-setting.