Outside the cave, the night was dark and the moonlight thin.
An autumn wind howled over the treetops and took with it, several withered leaves.
The owls in the tress stared into the entrance's dim lighting.
Inside the cave, the flames leaped wildly reflecting on two dim figures.
"Hey, Ryan. My hand hurts. . ." Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu finally couldn't withstand it and turned to escape his kiss, her soft voice dragging out in a spoiled wind.
The bed was built of stone and the surface was rough. There was no soft mattress, only the rattan mat covered with rough skins and her swollen wrists were becoming intolerable.
Ryan grasped her two hands in one and he rubbed his thumb lightly against her wrists. Feeling her trembling, he pulled over her quilt and placed it under her. Simultaneously, he bent close to her cheek and stuck out his tongue to lick her.
There was no telling when the quilt had been last sun-dried. While it didn't accumulate dust, the moisture from the surface made Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu frown, "Don't. . ."
What a nuisance.
Ryan simply took off his jacket and wrapped her wrists in it, throwing aside the quilt.
The leather cloth was suede and had a layer of soft fur on it, and with the layer of fabric, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu finally didn't resist.
However, she would have had no room to revolt.
. . .
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu buried her whole face in the quilt. This time she gave up on it being so dirty, how long had it been unwashed. But tears constantly overflowed from her eyes and she bite at the edge with her teeth, shaking as she sobbed.
Ryan feared she would suffocate so he slowed down slightly on the offensive and stuck his index finger in her mouth, separating her tightly shut teeth. He reminded her with a scalding, muted voice, "Exhale."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu took advantage to bite his fingers and continued to cry, even though she had heard what he said.
——She was almost dying.
Ryan probably realized she didn't like the position because he turned her around and embraced her again.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's breathing was still stifled and she almost didn't breathe. Lifting her arms to clasp tightly around his neck, she opened her mouth and bite down on his shoulder.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but outside the cave it was silent, only the occasional owl cooing.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu fell unconscious and when she woke, she was tightly held in Ryan's arms. His strong arms were wrapped around her sore waist.
She wasn't used to such close and seamless contact so she shifted and tried to separate from him a little. Unexpectedly, he woke up. In the darkness, Ryan looked at her with the eyes of an eagle seeking prey. They were precise and mysterious. She didn't want to face him but he rushed at her again.
. . .
The night was so long it seemed endless.
The next morning, dawn flooded the valley and dazzling sunlight poured into the cave.
The girl on the bed was curled in on herself and the slender neck exposed from the quilt was covered in red marks. She had wet tears on her eyelashes and her eyes were red and swollen. At a glance, it was obvious she had been bullied last night.
She was the only one in the cave. She opened her eyes to look in a circle and couldn't find any traces of Ryan. She was relieved.
Aching all over, she felt as if she was being torn apart and put back together. Every part of her body complained with discomfort.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu felt her legs were even more uncomfortable. She moved and tried to get up from the bed. When she looked up, she saw Ryan's tall figure coming in from outside. Immediately, she withdrew her newly-outstretched feet and returned them to the quilt.
This quilt wasn't the one from last night. It was the fur of some animal and rough.
Ryan carried in two lively squid and he placed them on the table. His blue eyes looked inside.
The bed had a bulging bump, and the little girl had covered herself up tightly like a small turtle.
Ryan's eyes drifted a bit and she soon hid. He took back his gaze and walked to the stove, cleaning the spiderwebs and dust on it to begin cooking.
There was no problem with him not eating for a day but Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu couldn't.
Late last night, she had buried her face in his neck and cried, "I don't want to. I have no strength."
Ryan thought that if he fed her enough, she would have the strength. She was so delicate that a touch could break her.
Not long after, Ryan had made fish soup and put a bowl in front of her.
Ryan wrapped her up in a fur blanket and put her on his lap, exposing her white, delicate face, he scooped up a spoonful of the soup and fed it to her, "Drink the soup."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was a little hungry, and she wasn't polite, opening her mouth to drink it.
After a moment, she wrinkled her eyebrows and pursed her mouth into a flat line, "It's not good to drink. . ." There was no taste at all.
Ryan himself drank a sip and couldn't taste anything. He could eat raw meat. If not for her, he wouldn't even deliberately boil this soup.
"If you don't want to drink, we'll continue," Ryan touched her lip that was glossy.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu stared at him with round eyes and was frightened.
Still wanted to continue?
Ryan didn't agree or deny and put the soup on the table. If she didn't drink the soup, he looked like he would just continue.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu quickly reached out her small hand and grabbed his arm, giving in, "I, I'll drink. . ."
So Ryan picked up the bowl and fed it to her by the spoonful. She slowly drank it.
He didn't know if human beings were so, but they ate things too slow and could only drink a small bit at a time. In normal times, Ryan would have been impatient for a long time, but Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu slowly drank her soup. With every sip, she blew it to cool it down then drank it and her eyelashes fluttered. Inexplicably, it tickled his heart.
In a certain place, it visibly grew until it became increasingly uncontrollable, blotting out the sky.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu had just finished the bowl of fish soup and hadn't had time to speak when Ryan threw aside the bowl in her hand and took her back to bed.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu: ". . ."
*
For five whole days, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu passed them in the darkness and never once stepped out of the cave.
Ryan hugged her day and night and as long as she was awake, he would never let her go. Of couse, she fell asleep.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was simply afraid of him. Once Ryan started this kind of thing, it was like a dark, black hole, bottomless and never ending.
One time, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was in a hurry at night and too embarrassed to solve it in the cave. She broke free of Ryan's arms and walked outside the cave.
When she came back, she saw Ryan staring at the entrance of the cave with red eyes.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was covered again by him that night. A full toss for a day and night, afterwards, she didn't even have the strength to speak, leaving her only sobbing uncontrollable tears.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu regretted coming back a bit. Who knew that this was such a terrible torture to herself?
So when Winter and another tribesman came to find them, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu actually had an illusion of being back out in the sunlight.
. . .
Winter and another leopard beastman stood at the entrance of the cave and took a look inside at such a strong smell.
As soon as he thought of the chief staying with his little female here for five days, he quickly guessed what was going on.
The cave had been made especially for the little female because she didn't like his race.
Ryan had plans for it early on, in case a new leader banned him, he would take Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu to this place.
The tables and chairs were all made by him.
Winter wanted to help at the time, but he was only driven out by Ryan.
However, before the cave was completely built, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu had took everything she had and fled. She never left a thought for Ryan.
After all, three years ago on that night, Ryan had asked her if she would come back and she had expressed her refusal with clear silence.
Ryan didn't come back to this place and the mountains stones that fell to block the entrance were like his mood, always in the dark.
Nowadays, it was clear that after the rain, the clouds had cleared. Winter and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the chief had finally recovered his little female.
"What are you doing here?" Ryan put on his coat and his trousers hung low on his waist, his face not pleased at being disturbed.
Fearing his wrath, Winter and the other man hastened to explain, "Chief, our people have reached the Wilnor Valley, but without your guidance Laurence and Dole have some differences. Now the two won't agree. . . and I hope you'll preside over it."
Speaking the last sentence, Winter was obviously very cautious.
Sure enough, Ryan's face looked worse and he bared his teeth, "What about the rest of the tribe?"
Winter told the truth, "The others aren't their opponents. . ."
Seeing Ryan's expressionless face, he added, "First I can send your female back to the race, Camuda Valley isn't that far from here and it won't take long."
Ryan's eyebrows twisted and the air pressure lowered. He was obviously dissatisfied with the proposal. After a long time he said, "No, she goes with me."
*
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu hadn't even had a good rest when Ryan wrapped her up in the blanket and went outside.
She hadn't seen the sun for several days and the light stabbed into her eyes. She buried her face in Ryan's chest and said in a voice thick with sleep, "Ryan. . . where are we going?"
The sounds was crisp and soft, but slightly husky. It drilled through the ears and straight into the bone.
Looking at the exposed side of her face, it was white and clear with a trace of red. Then looking further down, nothing else could be seen, but Winter and the other quickly removed their gazes.
Ryan lifted his eyes and gave them a deep look. Then he lifted the animal skin blanket and covered Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's head, "Hunting."
". . ." Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu took a while to react. Taking her hunting? She tried to get out of the blanket and shouted, "I don't want to go. . ."
She just wanted to take a good night's sleep and rest for a few days.
Ryan briefly stated, "Prey doesn't get the right to refuse."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu: ". . ."
Winter and the other, who were warned by Ryan, had already obediently put away their gazes and set off in advance.
Holding Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's legs in one hand and her head in the other, Ryan soon jumped into a tree and followed them.
The Wilnor Valley was thousands of miles from here and even for Ryan, it took a day and night.
The route they took was through the jungle and with all the jumping up and down, it was bumpy. But Ryan held her stable and from beginning to end, she didn't move.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was held in Ryan's arms and settled down to sleep all the way.
At the entrance of Wilnor Valley, the other male leopards were resting.
Far off, they saw their leopard's vigorous and flexible figure driving through the jungle and in his strong arms, he held a petite female who was fast asleep.