"Big brother, I missed you!"
Golden Hou paid no attention to Di Yi's daze and made to pounce on him for kisses, hugs, and a lift into the air.
"Why does your voice sound... like that?" Di Yi did not reject Golden Hou's enthusiasm. Although it had grown considerably larger than before, he could lift even the stars of all the heavens before him; this little bit of weight was nothing.
What concerned him most was the tone of Golden Hou's voice.
How should he put it? It was far too rough, like wind howling across a wilderness, or a torrent rushing down a mountain. Its voice was extraordinarily gruff.
Of the people and beasts he had seen or encountered, even if their voices were not all as gentle as a spring breeze, they came close. None of them spoke in a tone like this.
Had it been a ferocious-looking giant beast, that would have been one thing, but Golden Hou looked endearingly guileless, adorably muddleheaded. The moment it opened its mouth, that image was utterly ruined.
The contrast was too great.
"What's wrong, big brother?" Golden Hou tilted its head. It had only just learned to speak human words and was not quite used to it yet. It did not fully understand what many words meant when put together.
For instance, it only understood "flavor" in terms of smells, tastes, and the like, so it could not understand what he meant by its voice having "that flavor."
Could its words be carrying some sort of smell?
It instinctively sniffed, but found nothing unusual. It smelled the same as always.
"Nothing." Di Yi smoothed Golden Hou's fur, then lowered the front paws it had rested on his shoulders and let it stand on the ground. "Now that you can speak,