Flying-Winged Beast

Jian Mo had spent all of last night having jumbled dreams filled with agonized groans.

His head still ached faintly.

Dreams reflected what one thought about during the day. He felt that there really might be something in the river valley.

Seeing him insist, Wu Jiong pondered for a moment before saying, "We'll go take a look later."

Jian Mo said, "Weren't you going to lead a hunting party?"

Wu Jiong didn't mind. "Someone else can lead it."

After breakfast, Wu Jiong went to arrange for another beastman to lead the hunting party, just as he'd said.

Jian Mo also let the sub-beastmen know.

The sub-beastmen were a little surprised, but they readily said they understood.

Qing Kuo nodded. "Sometimes I go out alone with my mate too."

Zhou Fu blinked, cheeks slightly flushed, and said from beside them, "Sometimes you can gather something special when you go out with your mate, and it helps you bond too. The chief has us take turns going out with our mates."

Ye Luo added from nearby, "Not just with mates, either. Sometimes we go out with beastmen or sub-beastmen we're close to. Going out with the whole group every day gets pretty annoying."

Jian Mo nodded repeatedly to show he understood.

Qing Kuo glanced a short distance away and said to Jian Mo, "The chief is waiting for you over there. Hurry over."

Jian Mo followed Qing Kuo's gaze and saw that Wu Jiong had already walked beyond the crowd.

Wu Jiong turned his back and tugged at his animal-hide skirt. Before anyone could get a clear look, he transformed into a giant wolf.

The giant wolf caught the falling animal-hide skirt in his jaws, tossed it onto his back, and looked up at Jian Mo.

This wasn't the first time Jian Mo had seen Wu Jiong's beast form, but he had never examined it closely before.

This time, he looked at the giant wolf—those thick, fluffy ears, sturdy muzzle, and somewhat long, narrow eyes made it impossible for Jian Mo to look away.

So handsome!

As a veterinarian, he had encountered countless dogs, but this was the first time he had ever seen such a handsome canine.

He stood there looking at the giant wolf, his palms itching.

Seeing that Jian Mo wasn't moving, the giant wolf called to him, "Come over."

In beast form, his voice was much deeper, with a different kind of sexiness.

Jian Mo walked over and stood in front of the giant wolf, looking up at him.

The giant wolf instructed him, "Climb up from my front paw."

Jian Mo's eyes lit up as he walked to the giant wolf's right front paw and clambered onto him using both hands and feet. Guided by the wolf, he sat down at his shoulder blades, pressing the animal-hide skirt beneath him.

The giant wolf said, "You can hold on to my fur. Grab a good handful; it won't hurt."

Jian Mo said, "Mm-hmm, okay!"

Once Jian Mo was settled, the giant wolf stood up and trotted along the river.

The giant wolf was so tall at the shoulder that Jian Mo guessed he was nearly three meters high. Sitting on his back gave him a completely different view.

Jian Mo looked from side to side in wonder and excitement. He could see the river, the mountain forest, and the snowcapped mountains in the distance with perfect clarity.

The giant wolf ran steadily, and there was little sound of wind.

Jian Mo focused on the sounds around him—the chirping of insects, birdsong, the roars of beasts, running water... but none of them was the sound he had faintly heard yesterday.

They ran a very long way down the river without hearing anything strange.

The giant wolf said, "We're already very far from the tribe. That unusual sound is unlikely to have come from farther downstream."

Jian Mo turned to look around. "I don't know what's going on either."

The giant wolf said, "It's all right. Noticing something out of the ordinary is a very good habit."

Hearing that, Jian Mo thought for a moment. "Should we go back over the mountain? We might be able to see more from higher up."

The giant wolf said, "Then I'll follow the ridge."

The giant wolf's strides were enormous, each one covering six or seven meters. Even the towering mountain forest seemed like nothing beneath his feet.

Jian Mo looked around, hoping to find the source of that unusual sound.

They didn't find it along the way, but he did spot quite a few fruits and roots they could gather.

The wolf and the man gathered as they went, and Jian Mo's basket soon filled up.

That put him somewhat at ease. They had gathered so much food that even if they found nothing unusual today, the trip wouldn't have been for nothing.

Just as Jian Mo was concentrating on the sounds around them, the giant wolf suddenly spoke. "I know where that strange sound came from."

Jian Mo perked up. "Where?"

The giant wolf said, "Look at the mountaintop ahead."

Jian Mo looked ahead and soon did notice something. "Is it where those trees are broken?"

The giant wolf said, "Mm."

With that, the giant wolf carried Jian Mo forward at a run.

Before long, they reached the mountaintop they were headed for.

Jian Mo could clearly see that several trees on the summit had been broken. The breaks were yellowish, and it looked as though the trees had been smashed apart in the past couple of days.

But-

He didn't see any injured animals.

The giant wolf said, "Look at the ground."

Jian Mo came back to himself and looked down. A few seconds later, he suddenly noticed something. "There's a big hole in the ground."

The giant wolf said, "Something might have fallen, smashed through the mountaintop, and dropped into the cave below."

Jian Mo was surprised. "There's a cave underneath?"

The giant wolf carried Jian Mo toward the hole. "There are caves all beneath this mountain."

When they reached the edge, Jian Mo slid down the giant wolf's leg, held on to it with one hand, and peered into the hole.

It was an irregular opening in the soil. The earth was still damp and looked very fresh.

But it was a little dim inside. He looked for a long time without seeing anything.

The giant wolf stared into it for a moment. "There seems to be a flying-winged beast inside."

Jian Mo thought for a while, but he couldn't remember what a flying-winged beast was. He asked, "Shall we go down and have a look?"

The giant wolf said, "We can't get down from here. Let's go to the foot of the mountain and enter the cave from there."

The giant wolf lay down, allowing Jian Mo to climb back onto his back, then carried him down the mountain at a run.