Jiujiu

Biodata

Background / History

Rescue and Life with the Tribe

Jiujiu was originally a wild Flying-Winged Beast. Jian Mo and Wu Jiong found him thin and injured after he had fallen into a cave and become unable to forage. Jian Mo later suspected that Jiujiu’s poor food-finding skills had left him hungry even before the accident 297 450.

While feeding him fish scraps, Jian Mo named him Jiujiu after his calls. By the following chapter, his wound had shed its scab, new fur was growing, and his wing moved without obvious pain. Wu Jiong judged him ready to begin training to carry riders 24 25.

Jiujiu was initially tethered. Jian Mo argued that he was gentle, intelligent, and treated them as companions, making permanent restraint unnecessarily cruel. The tribe allowed him to remain loose near their home, with patrols authorized to tie him up again if he wandered beyond the permitted area 71.

His upkeep became a shared responsibility: the tribe supplied half his food, generally grass, vegetables, and tubers, while Jian Mo and Wu Jiong supplemented it with more desirable meals. Under their care, he became sturdy and glossy-coated—roughly twice the size of the Tianning Tribe’s Flying-Winged Beast 207 211.

Appearance

Jiujiu is an enormous, plump, fur-covered Flying-Winged Beast with a large head, round expressive eyes, and a particularly fluffy chest 207 257 345.

• Build: Heavy and stocky; too large to squeeze into the household kitchen 225 418.
• Features: Large wings, claws, movable ears, and a tail 257 298 306 482.
• Coat: Sleek and glossy when well cared for, though it readily collects twigs, leaves, and mud during outings 207 481.
• Expressions: Droops his ears when dejected, puffs out his chest when praised, and raises his fur when frightened or defensive 299 306 338.

Personality

Jiujiu is affectionate, mild-tempered, and unusually welcoming toward people. He offers his head to strangers who want to pet him and readily nuzzles Jian Mo for attention. He also notices others’ feelings: when Jian Mo is distressed, Jiujiu rubs against him and invites him onto his back 312 440.

Food is his strongest motivation. He especially loves cooked meals, candy, and cake, and quickly befriends people who feed him. His understanding is noticeably sharper when food is involved; he can also use pleading eyes, clothing tugs, and soft calls to persuade people to accompany him gathering 178 207 257 418 502.

Although timid, Jiujiu is loyal. When an unfamiliar Flying-Winged Beast threatens Jian Mo and Wu Jiong, he shields them despite being visibly frightened. His attachment can also become jealousy: after catching Jian Mo kissing a young Flying-Winged Beast, he refuses both apologies and cake 299 511.

His mind remains comparable to that of a six- or seven-year-old cub. He genuinely loves children’s games and does not outgrow them as his playmates do 514.

Abilities & Skills

Flight and Carrying

Jiujiu serves as a riding and cargo-carrying Flying-Winged Beast.

• Carries Jian Mo and Wu Jiong between tribes, including the entire urgent journey to the Qin Sea Tribe when they had expected to change mounts halfway 254.
• Recognizes the bridle as a sign of a long outing and becomes excited when Jian Mo brings it out 292.
• Transports injured people to Jian Mo, including an unconscious beastman in an enormous brown-bear form 375 376.
• Limits: Exceptional loads leave him exhausted and flying unsteadily. The fat chirps assist him by flying in formation and fanning the air 376 377.

Swimming and Diving

Jiujiu swims effectively using his wings and claws, and is comfortable being bathed in rivers and lakes 257 481.

• Carries cubs around in the water and dives to gather shellfish 398 400.
• Floats at sea like a boat, letting Jian Mo and Wu Jiong rest on his back 450.
• Limits: He is not an aquatic creature and cannot support an unlimited number of passengers. His own weight also overwhelms the cubs when he tries riding on their backs 398 450.

Finding Food and Herbs

Despite his initially poor foraging record, Jiujiu has a notable nose for food and remembers productive gathering sites 296 297.

• Leads Jian Mo and Wu Jiong to a hidden alpine patch of white parasol mushrooms 206.
• Locates grass ginseng beneath vegetation, surprising onlookers with his sense of smell 296.
• Collects medicinal herbs and attempts to conceal the disturbed patches afterward 298.
• Finds successive patches of Throat Eyeballs during an outing that yields fifty-three fruits; Ying’ao finds none 479.
• Recruits Jian Mo’s students to pick ruby berries that his large body and clumsy claws make difficult to harvest himself 502.
• Limits: Locating food does not always translate into skillful collection; he struggles to match Shi Wen’s dogs at picking mushrooms 529.

Communication and Social Understanding

Jiujiu communicates through calls, posture, nudging, and taking people’s clothing in his mouth.

• Tugs at collars or sleeves to ask people to follow him or climb onto his back 206 450.
• Understands a request to fetch cubs to play with visiting children 514.
• Reads whether people like him and quickly builds relationships with receptive strangers 501.
• Limits: His comprehension is inconsistent; he sometimes stares blankly at explanations or responds with chirps without clearly understanding 71 480.

Hunting and Defense

Jiujiu is not a strong fighter, but his size can deter ordinary animals 214 257.

• Helps chase birds and catch insects around the vegetable fields 298.
• Successfully catches a long-tailed bird and joins Ying’ao in catching more 338.
• Helps Wu Jiong catch large fish by luring them over and pushing the dead fish toward shore 489.
• Limits: He is clumsy and has a weak bite; even a fish driven directly to his feet escapes his mouth 269.
• Can carry Jian Mo away from danger even when unable to fight the threat himself 257.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Seeking Help After Being Hurt

Jiujiu arrives at the fields crying, with bleeding scratches beneath his fur, and insists on taking Jian Mo and Wu Jiong to the culprit. The confrontation ends with Mu Chu, a white bear from the Ice River Tribe, apologizing and promising candy as compensation. Although the scratches are minor after disinfection, Jiujiu remains distressed enough that Jian Mo makes him a cake 178 180.

Adventures with the Cubs

Jiujiu joins the cubs in secretly crossing the river and catching small animals. He accepts their prey and presents it at home, leading Jian Mo and Wu Jiong to believe he caught it himself. After receiving a celebratory pot of braised meat, he carries it away to share with the cubs 211 212 213.

Jian Mo stops the attempted meal, lectures Jiujiu, and restricts him to grass and tubers for two days. He nevertheless allows Jiujiu to continue playing with the cubs and asks him to help watch for danger 213 214.

Later, Jiujiu accompanies the children while they search unsuccessfully for the missing Bai Lu. When the adults find them, Jiujiu is frightened and dejected; Ying’ao comforts him by licking his head 305 306.

Secret Visits to Another Flying-Winged Beast

Unexplained food scraps lead Jian Mo and Wu Jiong to follow Jiujiu. They discover him secretly gathering herbs and visiting a cave occupied by another Flying-Winged Beast, where he eats the available food 297 298.

When that beast reacts defensively to the humans, Jiujiu places himself between them and spreads his wings to protect his family, despite his fear 299.

Emergency Rescue Flights

During the Summer Harvest Festival period, Jiujiu and the fat chirps bring a choking visitor to Jian Mo. He subsequently carries an unconscious brown-bear beastman injured while hunting. Even after that exhausting flight, he demonstrates that he can still fly because he wants to continue helping 375 376 377.

The Supposed Pet

Jian Mo discovers Jiujiu feeding and licking a young River Fluff Beast and assumes he has adopted a pet. He and Wu Jiong decide not to interfere. Jiujiu later hands the creature over like prey, revealing that he was keeping it as food rather than as a companion 385 386.

Companion to Generations of Cubs

In the extras, Jiujiu remains a constant playmate as successive groups of children grow up. He plays with them when they are small and carries them hunting and gathering when they become adolescents, becoming an indispensable part of the tribe’s childhood memories 513 514.

Relationships

• Jian Mo — Caregiver and family member who names, feeds, treats, and advocates for him. Jiujiu seeks his affection, comforts him, and occasionally becomes jealous of other animals receiving his attention 24 71 440 511.
• Wu Jiong — Co-caregiver and rider. Jiujiu initially fears him during examinations, but later protects him alongside Jian Mo 25 299.
• Ying’ao — Close Flying-Winged Beast companion. Ying’ao feeds him, comforts him when distressed, shares mushrooms, and intervenes during his quarrel with a white tiger 306 372 528 529.
• Riverside Tribe’s cubs — His favorite playmates and frequent partners in games, outings, and food-sharing 211 245 513 514.
• Jian Mo’s students — Affectionate gathering companions whom he persuades to collect food with him; their outings are enjoyable for the students as well 501 502.
• Cypress Branch Tribe’s fat chirps — Friends who praise his hunting and work alongside him to transport injured people 338 375 376 377.
• Shi Wen’s white tiger — Competitive acquaintance whose taunts provoke arguments, mushroom theft, and a chase through the forest 528 529.

Notable Quotes

“Jiujiu really is an ambulance chirp.”
— Jian Mo, after Jiujiu transports injured beastmen 377

“Maybe food is the only thing it cares about, and it can't be bothered with anything else. That would make it seem ordinary.”
— Yi Sen, discussing Jiujiu’s intelligence 480