Halfway there, Jela suddenly felt the fur on the back of his neck tighten, and then found himself "flying". Its feet were still moving forward, but its body had already left the ground.
"Huh? What's wrong with me?" Jela wiped his eyes vigorously, looking confused and innocent: "Why hasn't the hallucination disappeared yet?"
At this time, it heard a long-lost voice coming from above its head: "After being apart for so many days, you don't even know to come over to say hello when you see daddy? You are such a bad boy, Jera!" It seemed to hear the sound of grinding its teeth. Voice: "You have been taught bad things by Claire and the others!"
Jela slowly raised his head and tilted his head to look at the source of the sound. Due to the stimulation of the sun, it blinked, and it took a long time to adapt. Then, in the backlight, it saw the face that was very familiar to it again: "Pascal?"
Oh, no, how could it see Pascal? You know, every time it has a nightmare, it dreams about Pascal eating it. Now it sees Pascal in the hallucination. Is it going to have another nightmare tonight
… Jela should be lucky that Pascal couldn’t hear what it was thinking, otherwise he would have given it a nightmare—a live version of it. However, its current attitude of being confused and not daring to confirm has already made Pascal very unhappy.
"We haven't seen each other for just a few days. Don't you even know my father? Do you need me to help you confirm my identity?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jela felt a wet, barbed tongue licking his body, combing the hair on his ears to remove parasites, and then licking his cheek, spreading it all over his face. saliva. Jela stiffened up and didn't dare to move. Under extreme mental stress, it turned back into a little lion with a drooped head and a depressed look! If this change had happened a few days ago, it would have been very happy, but now, it couldn't be happier - it was just one step away from Pascal's sharp teeth.
This licking and grooming may be a comfortable bath for the lions, but for Jela, it is a nightmare. On the tip of Pascal's tongue, it was always on tenterhooks, worried that it would be rolled up by Pascal's big tongue and swallowed into his mouth. Although it's natural for big cats not to have their fur get wet, Jela went to take a wet bath and didn't want to be cleaned up by other lions in this way.
Jela was not even sure whether Pascal was simply cleaning it or evaluating whether it was delicious as food. He licked it so carefully that it was almost as if he was tasting its taste. Although Pascal had not had time to teach Jela a lesson, he had already unconsciously given Jela the harshest punishment.
"What's your expression?" Pascal looked at Jela's pale little face and said dissatisfied: "I haven't punished you for denying your father yet! You have been wronged first!" Which lion cub is not there? Did you grow up through beatings and training? Is it really okay to raise this delicate one in his family
"When did you get here?" After a while, Jela recovered from the rigid state.
"I have been looking for the entrance that Jem, the panther you brought here, talked about since yesterday. It was not until this morning that I successfully entered the tribe. Do you see the prey there? ? I also participated in the tribe’s hunting today... Hey, what’s your expression?”
"No, I'm just a little... surprised." Jela silently swallowed the word "horror". It would be better not to let Pascal hear some words. This male lion can be too much to bear when he is angry.
"Surprised? You mean, you didn't expect to see me here at all?"
"You know, your appearance is too sudden for us..."
"I thought you knew I would come to you. Have you never thought about this? You don't believe that I will come to you?" Pascal's expression suddenly became dangerous.
Jela instinctively curled up, not knowing how to answer without offending Pascal. It doesn't think that its food reserve is very important to Pascal. It prefers to believe that Pascal found this place to bring back his subordinate Claire.
"Okay, I have completely understood what you are thinking. What you are thinking has been honestly written on your face. Even though I don't understand how you think at all? Isn't your brain circuitry different from mine? ?" He looked a little manic.
Jera was silent for a moment: "I thought you were here to find Claire."
"Claire? Of course I'm here to find Claire! But I'm also here to find you! What do you think the relationship is between you and me? I'm your adoptive father! I've gone through so much trouble because I'm worried about your safety. I came here in pain, but you still question my purpose of coming here, you are so heartless!"
"..." Jira felt that no matter how he answered, it would look strange. Why does it feel like he is the scumbag in a sad drama, while Pascal is the wife/girlfriend who has been silently dedicated but not rewarded? It shook its head, throwing the thought out of its mind. It's so cold, it must be an illusion.
By the way, is it that familiar to Pascal? Is the relationship that good? So good that Pascal knew that Jem had laid a trap waiting for him ahead, but still chose to catch up, just to make sure they were alive and well? It is certain that even its father Garner in this life will abandon it without hesitation when its own safety is endangered. What does Pascal have to do with it? They have no blood ties, and it doesn't have any obvious use for Pascal like Claire or the others.
After thinking about it, the only connection between it and Pascal was the time it offended him, right? For this reason, when it was in Pascal's pride, Pascal did not retaliate (bully) or repay (fail) it.
"You said that you are my adoptive father and I am your adopted son. But I have never understood why you chose me as your adopted son at that time?"
Pascal wanted to impatiently say, "I'll adopt a homeless kid like you, so I'll adopt you. There's so much nonsense." But when he met Jela's serious eyes, the words came to his lips and turned into "I still remember, when we first met, you dug a trap for me to jump."
Jela: "... You have a really good memory." The feeling that was about to emerge just now was pinched away. This guy actually remembered the feud between them so clearly, and he was really here to avenge it.
"I have always had a good memory, especially when someone embarrasses me, the memory in my mind becomes particularly profound."
"Now, I fully understand this."
"Understood? You little bastard, do you know now why I want to adopt you?"
Jera nodded glumly. Pascal was satisfied. Although Jela's mood was obviously not high, Pascal only thought that it was tired after a day of classes and did not notice the abnormality of its mood at all. As a result, this embarrassing misunderstanding deepened.
As one of the hunters, Pascal naturally participated in the distribution of prey. The prey he and Claire shared was enough to keep them full. With these prey, they can even stop hunting for the next few days without worrying about starvation.
"Master Pascal, call Jela, let's take these meats back and skewer them and grill them! I just changed some seasonings yesterday, and the spices sprinkled on the meat are so fragrant!" Claire said happily. explain. Then, she saw the lion cub that was holding its body in Pascal's arms: "Oh, has Jela finally changed back? In recent days, it has been unable to return to the form of a lion cub, and we have been worried about this. This can It’s great that Jera will no longer be considered a sub-beast.”
When the little lion heard Claire's voice, he weakly raised his head and glanced at her, then lowered his head. A female man has no way of understanding the sadness flowing in his heart.
"Huh? Is Jela sick?"
Pascal was afraid that Claire would compete with him for the right to raise the cub because he didn't know how to take care of the cub, so he hurriedly said: "It's just a little tired."
Claire didn't feel anything was wrong with Jela, so she believed Pascal's words.
At this time, the patriarch who had been paying attention to them came over: "I need to arrange a place for our new residents to live. Although you and Claire are familiar with each other, since you are a male and she is a female... female , then you are not suitable for living together... Oh, what is this? "
Soon, he was also attracted by the little lion in Pascal's arms.
Jela greeted the clan leader with a slumped head: "Hello, clan leader."
The patriarch looked at the golden ball of fluff in front of his eyes in disbelief: "Are you...Jera?"
Before Jela could reply, Claire said, "We just told you that Jela is a male, not some sub-beast. Do you believe it now?"
She has always felt that the clan leader has not truly accepted the differences between outsiders like them and the people in the clan. Now, with the living example of Little Jera in front of him, he can no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb, right
"Oh, Jera is a male, a... male with spiritual power." The patriarch's eyebrows are tightly knitted - his expression has been like this all year round, and it is difficult for others to observe whether he is happy or unhappy from the lines of his facial muscles. Happy.
"Yes, as you can see."
"Okay, okay." The patriarch forced himself to digest this fact: "Then it can no longer enjoy the preferential treatment given to the beasts in our tribe, and its food can only be obtained from its parents. Of course, it still has to go Learn the spiritual power course of Ya Beast, this is what we agreed on before."
"Of course." Claire agreed without hesitation.
In fact, after knowing that the extra fruits and vegetables that Jela received were actually from sub-beasts, Claire and Jela returned those things intact every day. It’s not like she can’t afford to raise a child, so she can’t take advantage of others.
As for Jela, he was relieved to learn that he no longer had that "preferential treatment". Finally no one will force it to eat vegetables!
"Let's go back to the original topic." The chief said to Pascal: "You can't live with Claire. The elders in the tribe arranged for you to live in the cave to the east. Considering that Jela is your adopted son, I I have to ask, will it live with you or continue to live with Claire?”
"Of course you'll live with me!" Pascal said.
"With all due respect, will you take care of the cub, Master Pascal?" Claire did not give in at all: "Jera has become accustomed to my company. If it is for your own good, it is best for him to stay with me. ."
"Follow you and let you raise it like a female? Before I came here, I always trusted you, but I have to say that you really disappointed me, Claire." Pascal moved out When Jera was misunderstood as a sub-beast, Claire suddenly became mute. She already felt guilty about this matter and had no way to refute Pascal.
"That's it. It's been decided, Jela will live with me from now on." After finally winning the "custody rights" of Jela, Pascal was in a good mood. He said very "magnanimously": "You will miss Jela from now on." , you can also come and see it at any time. Of course, I hope you can control the time to prevent my son from learning bad things from you. "
Claire nodded and selectively ignored Pascal's last sentence: "Yes, I want to supervise you to prevent you from raising cubs in inappropriate ways. Then, little Jera, you will follow Master Pascal, please live well. If he bullies you, come to me." Claire didn't notice that her tone was like a mother instructing her daughter who was about to get married. Her nerves were never delicate enough, and she also failed to notice Jela's little eyes asking for help.
SOS distress signal transmission failed. It's not that we don't work hard enough, it's that the response of the signal receiving end is too slow.
Jela could only hang his head and accept the fact that he was about to receive Pascal's education in iron and blood.
In a blink of an eye, it’s time to worship the gods again. The thick snow cannot resist the devotion of the tribesmen to their gods.
The orc tribe believed in the beast god. Jela noticed that on this day, the orcs did not go hunting. Instead, they cleared the snow in front of their house early and hung the totem in front of their house. The totem is a strange-looking animal, which is said to be the mount of the beast god.
The orc tribe is located in a remote corner and has very limited supplies. The scale of their sacrifices cannot be compared with the scale of sacrifices in the three major cities. But when the totems were hung on the top of the poles, fluttering in the wind, and people hummed ancient songs with unknown meanings, the outsiders easily became immersed in the atmosphere they had woven.
Everyone carried the sacrifices and spontaneously gathered towards the altar in the center of the tribe. Jela and the others also followed the large group and witnessed the whole process with their own eyes.
"This is my first time to participate in such a sacrificial event." Jela whispered to Claire. There were too many people here, and Jela was at a low altitude. For the sake of convenience, Claire lifted Jela onto her shoulders and let her sit. As for Pascal, who was exuding low pressure, he was ignored by the two of them tacitly.
"Me too. Although people in the city used to worship God Bramandeni every year when I was in Florville City, when I was old enough and qualified to worship God Bramandeni, I had already followed Master Pascal left Flowell. When I was young, I once thought about being a sacrifice to the God of Bura... "Unlike the atheist Jela, Claire is a loyal believer in the God of Bura. She looked very regretful that she could not sacrifice to the gods she believed in.
"I will have the opportunity to worship that god in the future." Comforting people has never been a job that Jera is good at, but it doesn't want to see Claire, who is very kind to him, sad.
"I know." Claire looked at Jela comforting her like a little adult, her heart warmed, and soon showed her signature hearty smile: "Although I regret that I haven't been able to pay homage to Bra so far. God, but I don’t regret leaving Frowell City at all. The Lord of Selant City is so bad, someone has to deal with him! One day, we will return like heroes, Lord Pascal promised I, when the time comes, will make me a sacrifice to the god Bura. Wow! That sounds great, doesn't it?"
Jera looked at Claire, who quickly got out of her depressed mood, and felt that she didn't need to comfort the girl at all. Her self-regulation ability is so strong that it puts her to shame. However, it was still very happy to see Claire's smile without a hint of gloom on her face. It then showed a smile, and slowly, its face wrinkled again.
Somehow, it always felt like someone was watching it from behind, and there were more than one pair. This makes it feel weird. It is not the only little beast that is being pushed up by its parents. Logically speaking, no one should pay special attention to it! Jela was confused. Unfortunately, its current posture prevents it from turning its head to find out.
Pascal, who had been forgotten by the two of them, looked at the two people's "loving mother and filial son" appearance, and his resentment was so strong that it almost became substantial. He should obviously be one of the protagonists, okay? Claire is such a heartless guy, he must teach her what it means to respect your superiors one day! And that little brat Jera! He has spent so many days failing to make it learn to respect and rely on its father. It seems that the methods he used are still too gentle. Let's wait and see how he can train this naughty little cub when he returns to the nest!
On the other side, the patriarch also stared at Jera on Claire's shoulder. He didn't understand why Claire was so kind to this little cub, since it was obviously not her cub. The patriarch discovered that he didn't like Claire getting close to others at all, even if the other person was just a cub, it would make him uncomfortable.
Covering his heart that was beating too fast, the patriarch thought dullly, is he sick
He withdrew his gaze, not daring to look in Claire's direction again, and accidentally met Pascal's gaze in mid-air. Both of them made a "hum" sound from their noses and quickly looked away.