During their journey, Song Xu had talked with Wumu about the sea many times, but she didn’t know exactly which direction the sea was in either. She could only describe the vastness and beauty of the sea to Wumu again and again, successfully making Wumu look forward to it as well.
At this moment, the shimmering ocean was right not far away, and Song Xu didn’t know for a moment whether she should look at the big tiger or look at the sea first. She turned her head, grabbed Wumu’s arm, pointed at the sea that stretched beyond sight, and said to him, “Look, that’s the sea!”
Her voice became a bit loud because of her excitement, drawing the big tiger’s attention. The instant she turned her head, Wumu also forgot about the sea and immediately took Song Xu and ran.
This was all experience from being chased out by the big tiger before. If they didn’t run at this moment, they would definitely be caught.
They were like acting out cat and mouse on this continent where primitive beasts lived—often one side fleeing and the other chasing, the chaser unable to catch up, the one fleeing unable to get far, maintaining a subtle stalemate.
The big tiger chased them several times. Probably because she had become familiar with them, later when she drove them away she became more and more perfunctory—chasing five hundred meters and then turning back, symbolically roaring a couple of times, her voice full of the annoyance of dealing with naughty children.
Wumu was also facing a problem. He had to eat. Before, Song Xu had also thought that she couldn’t just let him starve to death. When there was no other choice, she might really have to let him eat primitive beasts. But now that she saw the sea, Song Xu felt that a new idea had appeared before her eyes.
“How about we go into the sea to catch fish to eat?” Song Xu suggested.
They went around the reef area where the big tiger often stayed and headed toward another stretch of beach. The big snake swam over the damp sand, sliding out one enchanting curve after another.
Facing the sea of another world, Song Xu felt endless emotion. With her hands on her hips, just as she was about to say something, she saw that the snake beside her might be hungry—he plunged his head into the water and took two big gulps.
Song Xu reached out but didn’t manage to stop him in time. “Hey, don’t drink…!”
The big snake lifted his soaking-wet head and spat out the water he had just drunk.
Song Xu: “Didn’t I tell you that seawater is salty and bitter and even has a fishy smell, and it’s not good to drink?”
Obviously, she hadn’t said that. She had only talked about how many delicious things were in the sea.
“No time to lose, let’s go into the water and catch fish to eat first! Look how hungry the kid is, his eyes look dead.” Song Xu pushed Wumu as they waded into the water.
Their swimming skills had long been trained. Back in the Wumu Forest, in summer Song Xu almost went swimming every day. At first she still had to hold onto the snake’s shoulder, but later she swam with great enthusiasm herself. Because her body was small and she had lots of fur, she could also float on the water surface in beast form.
Now that they entered the sea, Wumu felt a bit unaccustomed as soon as he got into the water, but he quickly became familiar with the buoyancy in the water. They didn’t go too far or too deep, only swimming near the shore.
In the shallow water they hardly saw any big fish. One small school of fish, upon seeing such a huge snake like Wumu, was so frightened that it immediately scattered and fled.
Wumu swung his tail in the water. Song Xu followed behind, seizing the chance to press down on fish that had been stirred dizzy or accidentally smashed unconscious, lifting them one in each hand as they floated up from the water.
When hunting and eating, Wumu still transformed into beast form, opening his mouth and swallowing the two arm-length fish. Song Xu stroked his snout, smearing fishy smell all over his mouth. “At least you can eat. Come on, let’s go catch some more. If we catch more, you’ll definitely be full.”
After the little squirrel’s fur got wet, she became thin and tiny, pitifully small. The big snake didn’t even dare to place his heavy head on her anymore, only rubbing against her.
Song Xu: “Baby, I believe you’re not doing this to smear the fishy smell from your mouth onto me as revenge.”
Staying in the water for a long time was still hard to bear. Seeing that the snake had already grown into a mature snake that could catch fish and eat by himself, and having no chance to show her usefulness, Song Xu scratched the itchy spots on her body and surfaced from the water, returning to the shore first.
Her paws were full of sand. She shook off the water droplets on her body, then lowered her head and shook the sand off her legs.
While she was cleaning herself, a big tiger suddenly jumped out from behind a reef. The big tiger descended from above and stood in front of her without making a sound. Song Xu almost walked right up to her before realizing something was wrong. She looked up, screamed in fright, and scrambled toward the sea.
Behind her came the whooshing sound of wind. The big tiger pounced.
She came with the posture of attacking an enemy, her teeth already poised. Song Xu didn’t run more than two steps before she was easily pressed down by a huge tiger paw. Watching that big mouth bite down, cold sweat poured out.
This little life of hers was going to be handed over here today. Maybe in a moment Wumu would hear the commotion and come up, and he wouldn’t be able to escape either. What kind of human-ethics tragedy was this!
The hot breath from the tiger’s mouth brushed across her face. Song Xu saw that the expression on the tiger’s big face became puzzled. How did she see puzzlement on a tiger’s face? Because the way the tiger tilted her head and looked at her was really obvious.
Not only that—she also sniffed at her waist. Song Xu realized that the big tiger was sniffing the tiger-tooth necklace tied around her waist.
Since it was her own item, carrying her scent, it probably made her feel somewhat familiar. The pressure on Song Xu’s paw also loosened. Seeing that she was no longer baring her teeth, Song Xu relaxed as well, though she still didn’t dare move recklessly.
However, at this moment, she couldn’t help thinking that Heisen’s neck had become so thick and sturdy—no wonder the necklace couldn’t be worn anymore and had fallen off. Even if it were worn as a bracelet, that paw was far too thick; it could snap the necklace directly.
The big tiger indeed felt that this fluffy little creature in front of her carried a trace of a familiar aura. She had originally wanted to kill the annoying thing that had been peeking from afar, but now that she was close and had smelled this scent, her killing intent gradually calmed.
Her mind not very clear, living by instinct, the big tiger twitched her ears and soon completely released her paw, then bit down on Song Xu, preparing to take her away.
Song Xu was held in the tiger’s mouth, perfectly lodged between the teeth. The big tiger used a posture that held her firmly in place without injuring her.
Worthy of being a tiger that had once been a mother—this motion of biting and lifting a cub was quite practiced.
At this moment, the snake who had heard the squirrel’s cry hurriedly surfaced from the seawater, just in time to see Heisen biting Song Xu and preparing to leave. Song Xu’s head stuck out from the tiger’s mouth, looking at him with an excited and innocent expression, while the big tiger was thinking about whether to first put down the thing in her mouth and fight with him, or to leave first.
In the end, the big tiger decided to ignore that little snake and directly walk away with elegant cat steps.
Wumu: ?
The snake instantly swam up from the sea and chased after Heisen and Song Xu.
Hearing the movement, the big tiger turned her head and looked. Well, kid, I’m already not holding it against you and pretending I didn’t see you, and you still dare come up to provoke me. Could she swallow this grievance? She immediately opened her mouth and roared in anger.
Once she opened her mouth, Song Xu fell out.
The big tiger leapt over Song Xu’s head and pounced toward Wumu. That ferocious posture of wanting to bite him to death made Song Xu tense just watching. Even if Wumu could bite the tiger and poison her to death, he couldn’t really do that. He could only, like before, be chased into fleeing. This time it was too sudden, he didn’t even have time to take Song Xu with him.
In the blink of an eye, the mother and son ran into the forest by the seaside. Song Xu rubbed her head and climbed up from the sand, staring blankly at their departing backs.
Not far away, a little dinosaur walked out from the forest, seeming to want to approach. Song Xu was on the verge of tears as she shouted and chased after the big tiger and the snake, “Don’t leave me here alone!”
The tiger came back first, bit Song Xu, and carried her toward another direction in the forest. Song Xu kept looking back, afraid that the snake had already been beaten to death. Only when she saw a snake tail sliding along a tree in the distance did she finally relax.
Looks like this time she still didn’t catch the snake. Worthy of being snake—slick enough.
It’s just… the snake escapes so skillfully. Was he chased like this many times when he was little?
The big tiger brought Song Xu to the seaside reef where she often squatted, placed Song Xu beside her paw, and after she lay down, her head happened to rest on Song Xu.
Song Xu: So the snake liking to rest his chin on people when sleeping is hereditary!
Song Xu was instantly buried in fluff. The thick fur under the big tiger’s chin was simply like a heavy blanket, and she directly became a little bug that had fallen into a blanket. Almost unable to breathe, Song Xu stretched out her hands and struggled to push and pull, carving out a gap in the fur where she could breathe.
The big tiger lay lazily, ignoring her small movements, squinting her eyes and enjoying a sunbath.
Occasionally, she would also lift her head and look toward that faint little island in the sea, briefly revealing a thoughtful and puzzled expression, but she quickly gave up thinking and continued sleeping.
Wumu watched from afar, his snake tail anxiously slapping the ground. Faced with this situation, he truly didn’t know what to do anymore, his body all tangled up as he curled into a ball.
And in the distance, a hand stretched out from beneath the tiger’s chin and waved toward him, then a head also popped out. Song Xu did not look afraid or nervous. Under his gaze, she touched the fur beside the big tiger’s mouth, then touched those exposed big teeth. Then, as if she felt that the fur was really nice to touch, she began stroking it nonstop, even revealing a dreamy smile on her face.
Wumu: ?
The big tiger, whose mouth felt itchy, casually moved her head. Song Xu felt herself get brushed by a big patch of fur. Not only that—after resting on her for a while, the big tiger seemed to recall something else, feeling that another scent on the fluffy little body was also somewhat familiar. She suddenly stuck out her tongue and, like licking a cub, gave her a lick.
Song Xu wasn’t even enough for one lick. All the fur on her body was like being combed once by a steel brush, flying backward along the direction of the tiger’s tongue.
The little squirrel hurriedly smoothed her fur back down, thinking, if she licks a few more times, in less than two days the kid will be bald.
Seeing this harmonious scene, the big snake became even more anxious.
He couldn’t hold back and tried to approach again.
Sure enough, the easily angered mama tiger stood up and roared at him, rushing over to beat him up. As expected, the two of them ran off one in front and one behind again.
This time, the big tiger chased the snake especially far, and it seemed like they really did fight. When the big tiger came back, her fur was, for once, a bit messy. She was also in a bad mood, standing on the beach rocks and howling nonstop. The tone was so varied, she was definitely cursing.
Song Xu looked toward the forest for a long time before finally seeing Wumu appear.
He stayed far away, looking at the big tiger roaring at him, then looking at the little squirrel happily waving both hands at him, looking a bit pitiful.
