She ran back to the cave, panting heavily, and went straight to the place where they made clay pottery.
The fire had died down, apparently no more wood had been fed into it.
"Brother Xiu Yan, is it ready yet?" Ji Nuan asked, her hands on her knees, and her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the clayware in the fire, which had now taken shape.
Xiu Yan nodded: "It should be done. The color is now the same as the clay we brought back from Red Ama."
While Ji Nuan waited impatiently, the fire finally went out.
She grabbed a stick, which she had prepared earlier, to push away the smoldering pieces of wood, revealing six pieces of glossy green kitchenware.
The clay after all was exceptional. Despite the crude baking conditions, none of the pieces had cracked and they all had smooth, beautiful surfaces.
Xiu Yan aimed to restrain the taut small claw of the restless creature beside him, "Let’s go rest first. We can check them in the morning. They remain hot for quite a while after baking and can cause burns."
Despite the disappointment and with a pout, Ji Nuan nodded, her fluffy ears and tail drooping as she walked back into the cave.
Watching the little girl disappear into the cave, Xiu Yan shifted his gaze back, covering the clayware with more wood, and then he stood up. He wrinkled his nose as he sniffed a lock of hair from beside his ear, he grimaced in disgust.
The smell of burning wood was all over him, it was unbearable!
In a blink, the orc shifted into a chubby silver wolf cub under the moonlight. The plump cub clumsily scampered back into the cave.
The chubby cub sat beside the stone bed, which it could usually easily leap onto, its round eyes gleaming.
After a while, it appeared pitiful. Lifting its round head, it howled non-stop at the stone bed. Its small sweet voice woke Ji Nuan from her daze.
She got up and followed the sound, only to find a silver bundle squatting pitifully under the stone bed, howling.
From time to time, it would stretch out a chubby claw to scratch the wall of the bed. At other times, it would lift its front paws and frantically waggle its chubby back legs. Yet, despite all these attempts, it could not climb onto the bed.
Its tail was downcast and it looked utterly dejected.
Ji Nuan couldn’t help but laugh.
Upon hearing her laughter, the chubby wolf cub looked towards her.
"Howl!"
Its tiny voice was filled with annoyance and a hint of grudge, which was impossible to disguise.
This made Ji Nuan feel somewhat guilty for laughing at it.
She reached out to lift the chubby cub, just as she was about to put it into its nest, the cub drew back and clung to Ji Nuan’s Beast Skin, refusing to let go.
Ji Nuan was puzzled, "What’s wrong? Why won’t you go to sleep?"
The chubby cub extended one claw towards her. Ji Nuan was slightly confused. Did it want a hug?
It couldn’t be. Even as a wolf cub, Brother Xiu Yan would still maintain his dignity, right?
Seeing that she had not understood, the cub withdrew its outstretched paw and rubbed it against its own small nosetip to the side, then it grimaced in distaste - it was all so unbearable.
Ji Nuan felt her stomach twitching with laughter at how smart the cub was acting.
She held the cub in front of her and sniffed its stubby paw. An intense aroma of burning wood smoke assaulted her nose.
Then, Ji Nuan finally realized what the little one meant – he was regarding her with distaste.
"Well, I’ll scoop some water into the tub, and you can take a wash yourself?" Ji Nuan lifted the little one off the bed, wrapped her feet in Beast Skin and stood up.
She went to the food storage cave, lit the small earth stove, poured some water into the stone pot, waited for the water temperature to moderate, and then filled a wooden tub with it.
The chubby silver wolf cub obediently sat at a corner watching Ji Nuan, as she heated the water. Its fluffy tail swung back and forth in delight.
"There you go, have a wash quickly, the water’s just right." Ji Nuan squatted down and said to the obedient silver wolf cub.
"Howl, Howl~" The chubby cub waddled its chubby butt to the wooden tub, kicked back its back legs and...
Xiu Yan: "···"
Ji Nuan: "···"
What should you do if you can’t help laughing? Will you get hit?
The little silver wolf noticed Ji Nuan’s stifled laughter. He retracted his chubby paws that had been resting on the edge of the tub.
While in his cub form, he wasn’t taller than the tub, not that he would admit he’s too short, it’s this tub that’s too tall! He decided to ask Ji Nuan who made this tub the next day.
Sharpening his claws···
"Cough, cough~" Ji Nuan swallowed her laughter and picked up the chubby cub, placing it into the wooden tub. To keep him from sinking, she used one hand to support his chubby bottom.
IXiu Yan, the Pure Silver Wolf: "···"
Perhaps he could still make it to the river in his adult form?