| GB | Don't Hesitate | 13
The weather was getting colder, and a thick layer of autumn frost had formed around the tribe.
Yu Bai had caught a chill early in the morning. He sat on the bed wrapped in several layers of animal hides, blowing his nose, his expression listless and lacking energy.
The door creaked open, Huo Duo'er had returned from the river with water, heated it up, and brought it into the house.
Yu Bai drank two bowls of hot water in a row, his nose rubbed red.
"Thank you..."
Huo Duo'er said, "It'll take a while to warm up. You should stay inside and rest."
The wall had been half-built yesterday, and it would be finished by midday today.
Yu Bai rubbed his face and picked up his little toothbrush. "Then I'll go prepare breakfast and warm myself by the fire."
He stepped into his straw sandals, and the soles of his feet felt cold.
Noticing Yu Bai stomping his feet in place, Huo Duo'er said, "Bai, wait a moment."
Yu Bai stood at the door. "Yeah?"
Huo Duo'er picked up the animal hide from the stone bed and tore off two pieces with his bare hands.
He came over and knelt in front of Yu Bai, gently lifting one of his slender ankles.
Yu Bai was stunned. "You..."
He instinctively curled his toes. Huo Duo'er wrapped the torn pelt around his foot and tied a knot at the back of his ankle.
Yu Bai’s soft, thick hair was tied back at the moment, revealing a small face that flushed red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He wobbled a little, feeling the warmth of the gianr’s palm on his ankle, his foot going slightly limp. Helplessly, he reached out and rested his hand lightly on Huo Duo'er's shoulder for support.
In a small voice, he said, "You didn’t have to do this..."
Huo Duo'er replied, "The sun won’t come out until noon. You can take it off when it gets warmer."
Yu Bai lowered his head, his long soft hair brushing his ears. The tips of his exposed ears were burning, and he felt a little flustered inside.
Still, he accepted the kind gesture.
The hide that Huo Duo'er used had been passed down from an old orc years ago. It had been used for many seasons, and the fur was already worn thin.
But once Yu Bai's feet were wrapped in those animal hides, they were indeed warmer than going barefoot.
He quietly glanced at Huo Duo'er's back as he worked on the wall, steadied himself, then walked to the corner to squat down and brush his teeth. After that, he ran to the stone stove to boil water and started preparing breakfast.
By midday, the autumn sun hung high in the sky. Huo Duo'er had finished repairing the collapsed half of the stone wall.
Seeing the bronze tone of his shoulders and back slick with sweat, Yu Bai suggested, “Go cool off at the river.”
Huo Duo'er: “Mm.”
Glancing down at his dusty, sweat-streaked hands and body, he threw on a pair of linen shorts and headed over.
Yu Bai stayed in the courtyard, sweeping up bits of limestone scattered around. Before long, he spotted Huo Duo'er returning.
The giant was covered in a fresh layer of cool river mist, water droplets clinging to his arms. His damp, shoulder-length hair was pushed straight back, revealing a strong and sharp-edged face.
Yu Bai looked up, his gaze trailing him for a few moments. He wanted to go inside and grab a clean piece of linen cloth to wipe him down.
Just as he reached the door, he caught sight of Huo Duo'er weighing the hilt of the knife Yu Bai had made the day before, then fastening it at his waist.
Yu Bai paused. “Are you heading out?”
Or… leaving?
Huo Duo'er came up to him, knelt down on one knee, resting an elbow on his thigh as he looked at Yu Bai intently.
“I’m going out to hunt. I’ll bring back some more hides.”
Winter was approaching, and the nights were getting colder.
Orcs had long lived in such harsh environments, their bodies resistant to cold and wind. Most of them could survive it—but even now, Yu Bai was already struggling.
Before the depths of winter fully arrived, during this final stretch of late autumn when wild beasts were still roaming, Huo Duo'er planned to venture deeper and further into the mountains to hunt.
Yu Bai asked, “Can I come with you?”
Huo Duo'er wanted to make it back quickly, and he would be moving fast. With Yu Bai’s stamina, he wouldn’t be able to keep up.
So he shook his head slightly.
Yu Bai’s voice softened a little. “...Please?”
Huo Duo'er hesitated for a moment—then gave a small nod.
In the next instant, Yu Bai was lifted clean off the ground, buttocks pressed against Huo Duo'er’s firm, warm muscles.
He let out a startled “Ah!” and looked a bit dazed, instinctively wrapping his arms around the giant’s neck.
Huo Duo'er held him up with his strong, tattooed arm, giving him a little bounce.
“My pace is fast. I’ll carry you like this.”
Yu Bai immediately turned bright red, the tips of his ears, peeking out from under tousled hair, glowing a rosy hue under the sunlight.
He stammered, “Do we really… really have to do it this way?”
At Huo Duo'er’s speed, he truly wouldn’t be able to keep up.
The giant nodded. “This is the only way.”
Yu Bai: “……”
His initial eagerness started to waver. He looked down at the ground hanging below him and felt a wave of dizziness.
“Just put me down. I’ll wait for you at home.”
Once he was set back on solid ground, Yu Bai pressed a hand against his wildly thumping heart and whispered, “Wait, just a second.”
He ran back into the house and, before long, came dashing out again.
Yu Bai handed a linen pouch tied with a hemp string to Huo Duo'er.
The bag wasn’t large, but inside were four flatbreads, three pieces of sliced smoked meat, a leftover boiled egg from breakfast, and a few ripe fruits.
Meeting the giant ’s gaze, Yu Bai fidgeted with the string and softly reminded him, “It’s easy to carry—either hold it or hang it at your waist. Just in case you don’t make it back in time, you’ll have something to eat on the road.”
Huo Duo'er remained silent.
Yu Bai’s outstretched hand slowly lowered. “If… if it’s too much trouble…”
The weight in his hand suddenly lightened—the small linen pouch had been taken by Huo Duo'er.
“Bai, thank you.”
Yu Bai gave a shy smile. “It’s nothing, really. I don’t know how to hunt and I can’t help much, so the least I can do is prepare some food for you.”
He took a few steps toward the courtyard gate. “It’s getting late. You should go and come back soon.”
Then, stammering a bit, he added, “Huo Duo'er… I’ll be waiting for you.”
Huo Duo'er looked at him deeply. “Mm.”
—
After watching Huo Duo'er leave, Yu Bai didn’t idle around.
He sat in the shade under the eaves, twisting hemp into rope from the afternoon onward.
This kind of work, twisting hemp string, was something many people in the countryside could do. Yu Bai used to do it alongside his grandfather.
Before evening fell, he gathered up the half-finished bundle of rope he’d made and set it aside. The cords were thin and could be tied to bird-leg bone needles for sewing animal hides.
Huo Duo'er’s old hide blanket was too worn and thin. No matter how strong his physique, Yu Bai still worried he’d get cold.
He planned to sew the two hides gifted by the Wu Yan family into a new blanket, just the right size for Huo Duo'er. The old hide, once cleaned, would be repurposed into a robe.
Orc’s robes were simple in design, just a loose cut tied at the waist with a piece of hemp rope.
Right now, Huo Duo'er was still wearing linen clothes. Linen robes didn’t hold warmth well. He’d definitely need another animal hide robe layered on top to get through the season.
As soon as night fell, Yu Bai shut the door and curled up on the wooden bed to continue sewing the new blanket.
The firelight flickered softly, while the wind howled outside the house.
His eyes instinctively swept across the empty stone bed nearby. After stitching for a while, he glanced past the door to check the courtyard.
The courtyard was silent, and the night had grown deep.
Under the flickering firelight, Yu Bai had just about finished stitching the two animal hides together. He rubbed his sore eyes, drank the herbal broth that had been warming in the pot, then turned over and curled up under the hide blanket to sleep.
Huo Duo'er didn’t return that night.
The next morning, Yu Bai got up early.
Forcing himself to stay alert, he prepared breakfast, then went down to the river to wash the rabbit fur pelt again, for the second time.
A’Li and the Tata brothers were there, too.
A few young orcs were walking along the riverside with wooden forks, searching for fish where the water still flowed. A’Li grinned and asked, “Bai, want to come with us? Once it gets colder, the fish won’t come out anymore. My mother told me to bring back as many as I can.”
Yu Bai quickly nodded. “Sure.”
The orcs in the tribe knew which streams and ponds were good for catching fish and shrimp. Yu Bai picked up a wooden fork and basket left behind by an old grey orc and followed behind A’Li and the Tata brothers toward a nearby pond.
Late autumn had stripped the landscape bare. The river’s surface was littered with fallen leaves.
The Tata brothers picked a good spot and waited. Holding their wooden forks ready, they moved fast and clean the moment a fish appeared.
Except for Taku, the other two brothers each managed to spear a fish.
A’Li shouted, “Nice!”
He rubbed his hands together and said, “Bai, come with me.”
Yu Bai lifted the hem of his linen robe and tied it around his waist, which drew several curious glances from A’Li.
Yu Bai asked, “What is it?”
A Li replied, “Bai, your legs are so clean and white. Look at mine.”
Yu Bai glanced over. A’Li’s legs were covered in old, healed scars, deeply tanned, and with quite a bit of leg hair.
After thinking for a moment, Yu Bai said, “Everyone has a different constitution.”
As long as the body’s healthy, that’s what matters most.
A’Li smiled and looked dazed.
By the time the sun rose above the treetops, the river water had grown warm.
The Tata brothers and A’Li all had fish in their baskets, Yu Bai’s basket, however, was still empty.
He gripped the wooden fork and returned to the riverbank, his face downcast.
Catching fish required skill, strength, and plenty of practice, none of which he seemed to have.
His face was sunburned, and a few small, transparent drops of sweat clung to the tip of his nose.
A'Li weighed the fish in his basket and caught up with him. When he saw Yu Bai brushing his hair back from his face, he stammered, “Bai, I’ll give you half.”
Yu Bai shook his head.
A'Li had at least six or seven fish in his basket—sharing half wouldn’t be enough for the other orcs at home.
A'Li became anxious. “But I brought you here…”
Seeing the beads of sweat forming on A'Li’s forehead, Yu Bai relented. “Then… I’ll take one. I’ll treat you to something else next time.”
A'Li smiled broadly and nodded, taking a fish from his basket and placing it in Yu Bai’s. Then he grabbed another one.
Yu Bai widened his eyes. “Hey! I said one…”
A'Li chuckled and said, “Just two.”
A'Li asked again, “What about the giant? Did he leave?”
Yu Bai replied, “That giant? His name is Huo Duo'er, he went out hunting.”
A'Li mumbled.
“Bai, that giant is really strong. Are you going to be with him?”
Yu Bai: “…”
He looked around, feeling a sudden, unexplainable sense of unease.
“Why are you asking that? We’re just friends.”
He added, “As long as he hasn’t left, if he wants to stay, he can stay.”
Besides, the stone house belonged to the old orc. In the end, both he and Huo Duo'er were living in someone else's place, he had no right to force anyone out.
Until evening, there was no movement outside.
Yu Bai walked around the area a few times. The wind had picked up, and the temperature dropped quickly. The sky darkened, heavy and foreboding, as if rain was coming.
He hurriedly packed up his things and stayed inside the house to avoid the wind, not going anywhere.
That night, a strong wind began to howl, and Yu Bai couldn’t sleep well. He kept hearing the creaking of tree branches swaying.
Then, the sound of rain hitting the roof woke him up completely.
The sudden autumn rain came down in heavy, bean-sized drops, making the leaves on the eaves rustle loudly.
Yu Bai crawled out from under the hide blanket, startled and restless.
Bang—
Amidst the chaotic wind and rain, he thought he heard something odd outside the courtyard.
In an instant, Yu Bai felt a chill run through him.
But he quickly made a decision, grabbing a burning piece of wood and leaning it against the door. He shouted at the top of his lungs, “Who’s there?!”
A low, familiar voice responded faintly, “Bai, it’s me.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Yu Bai sighed in relief, and without thinking, he rushed outside, holding the torch to greet the person.
He rushed into the thick mist of rain, and the light of the torch illuminated the giant outside before it flickered out.
The rain poured down heavily, and Huo Duo'er was drenched, water dripping from every inch of his body.
He carried a heavy load of furs on his shoulder, and blood flowed down his arm, dripping steadily.
Yu Bai was stunned, feeling a mix of emotions.
He worried that Huo Duo'er had picked up new injuries and shouted loudly, “The rain’s too heavy, come inside!”
He immediately grabbed Huo Duo'er’s cold hand, shivering as he did.
Huo Duo'er had initially intended to pull away, but Yu Bai suddenly turned around, holding up the now extinguished torch and shaking it at him, giving a weak, ineffective threat: “Stop stalling. Move again, and see what happens.”
Huo Duo'er: “…”
Unfazed, the sharp features of the giant seemed to soften with a hint of a smile.
With a slight bend of his body, he cooperated, allowing the small, delicate sub- female to pull him inside the house.
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