| GB | Sleep First | 39
If Yu Bai remembered correctly, it had already been fourteen days since Huo Duo'er left for the winter hunt.
These days had been particularly difficult for him. Although he had a shelter to protect him from the wind and snow, enough food to fill his stomach, and warm animal hides and bedding, none of these brought him true peace.
Perhaps it was because he was worried about Huo Duo'er's safety that he remained on edge. Every night, the slightest sound from the surroundings would wake him up.
On this day, he groggily opened his eyes. The light filtering through the bark curtain suggested that it was already quite late.
In this otherworldly place, apart from the priests or the more experienced beastmen who kept track of days and even hours, most orcs, like him, had a vague sense of time. They only knew that when the snow melted and the leaves turned green, it was spring; when the trees grew dense, it was summer; and when the fruits ripened and the grass turned yellow, it was autumn.
In fact, Yu Bai had once tried to keep track of time, but back then, he often fell ill and would remain unconscious for long periods. Gradually, his calculations no longer matched the actual days, so he gave up on the practice.
After getting up, Yu Bai simply ate a bowl of steamed eggs. There wasn’t much to do in winter, so he took a short walk in the yard. The snow crunched under his feet, and out of boredom, he even built a small snowman.
When A'Chang came to bring him water, he saw the snowman and found it delicate and adorable.
The tall and burly orc almost lay on the ground, curiously examining it: "Bai, what is this?"
Since settling in the tribe's main city, the phrase Yu Bai heard the most was, "What is this?"
He patiently explained, "A snowman."
A'Chang poked it with his finger, leaving a dent in the snowman's face.
"...It doesn’t seem edible."
Yu Bai smiled faintly, "It’s just for decoration in the yard."
Since Huo Duo'er left for the winter hunt, he had been building one every day, and now there were more than a dozen.
A'Chang let out an "Oh."
Yu Bai asked, "How many more days until the orcs return from the winter hunt?"
A'Chang wasn’t sure.
In the past two expeditions, the brave warriors had taken about a month to return, and they often came back empty-handed, covered in wounds, with some even dying in the freezing wilderness, killed by wild beasts.
But he didn’t tell Yu Bai this. The sub-female looked too frail, and with his weak constitution, hearing such news might be too much for him to bear.
After seeing A'Chang off, Yu Bai returned to the house. He warmed himself by the fire and took out a few sharp bone spikes from a small stone jar, slowly carving small holes into them to make needles.
On the seventeenth day since Huo Duo'er left, Yu Bai faintly sensed another presence in the wind, giving him a premonition that spring was approaching.
The sky darkened early, and the yard was pitch black before evening.
Yu Bai lit a fire inside the house. He slept restlessly at night, often dozing off for the entire afternoon. He had just woken up not long ago, his mind still heavy.
Suddenly, he heard commotion outside, an orc shouted, "They’re back!"
His heart leaped, and he hurriedly opened the door and ran out.
The snow was too deep, and it was pitch dark. Yu Bai stumbled and fell in the snow, only to be helped up by a running orc.
"Whose cub fell? Didn’t you keep an eye on your own child?"
Yu Bai brushed the snow off his knees and face. The orc , who couldn’t see clearly in the dark, took a closer look: "Oh, it’s not a cub, it’s you, the sub-female."
Yu Bai smiled good-naturedly, brushed himself clean, and, suppressing his quickened heartbeat, asked, "What happened?"
The orc replied, "The warriors who went out hunting have returned. They’ve brought back prey, and everyone’s gone to see it."
Yu Bai’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t stand still any longer. He started running again.
Clumsily bundled up, he struggled to run, while the orc easily kept pace beside him, sighing, "Do you want me to take you there?"
Before long, Yu Bai was panting heavily. He shook his head, adjusted his hood, and spat out the fluff in his mouth.
"I’m… I’m fine."
By the time they arrived, the orc had gathered in the central square-like area of the main city, waiting for the returning warriors. The chief hurried over as well.
The towering orcs blocked Yu Bai’s view. Frustrated, he turned in circles, then pushed the snow at his feet into a pile, climbed onto it, and stood up slowly.
By the light of the burning bonfire, Yu Bai saw a group of orc come into view.
First, several strong and sturdy orcs carried in the slain prey—wild sheep, yaks, boars—and they didn’t stop until the seventh one was brought in.
A hunting party of twenty orcs had managed to bring down seven adult beasts in one go—something unheard of in the tribe.
The onlookers gasped in awe, and the chief laughed heartily.
At the end of the procession, the tallest figure stood out among all the orcs.
Huo Duo'er dragged a net woven from vines, inside which lay A'Sen, immobilized by his worsening injuries.
"A'Sen’s hurt!"
"Such severe injuries… is he going to die?"
Hearing this, A'Lin shouted gruffly, "You’re the one who’s going to die! My brother’s a warrior who fought a bear!"
The orc murmured, "Fought a bear? And he survived… the gods must be watching over him…"
A'Lin added, "It’s not the gods—it’s Huo Dou'er who saved my brother. Without him, my brother would’ve fallen off the cliff."
The returning warriors were all injured to some extent, but A'Sen’s wounds were the most serious.
The chief stepped forward to inspect him and quickly ordered the orcs to carry him to the high priest for treatment.
Then, with a hearty laugh, he addressed the returning warriors, "Well done! You are all brave warriors of the tribe. Tonight, the tribe will light a bonfire in your honor, and everyone will feast together!"
The crowd erupted in cheers. Yu Bai’s gaze was fixed on Huo Duo'er, who seemed to sense it and turned to look at him.
Yu Bai raised his arm and waved, thinking he might look a bit silly, but the dim light probably hid it.
Huo Duo'er walked out of the circle of orcs and gradually made his way toward him.
"Bai…"
Yu Bai said, "You’re back."
He slowly slid down from the snow pile and was steadied by Huo Duo'er.
Yu Bai murmured, "When I heard you were back, I came out with everyone to welcome you."
He tilted his head up, straining to see clearly in the darkness.
The night wind picked up, growing stronger, and Huo Duo'er quickened his pace.
Yu Bai wanted to tell him to slow down, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the wind choked him. Before he could cough, he felt himself lifted into the air.
He wrapped his arms around Huo Duo'er’s neck and leaned in, sniffing lightly.
A scent of icy wind and snow, mixed with a faint trace of blood.
His heart tightened. "Are you hurt?"
Huo Duo'er didn’t wait for an answer and hurried back to the courtyard as fast as he could.
Upon entering the main room, as soon as the door closed, Yu Bai felt a warmth spread through his body, followed by a slight pain.
Huo Duo'er hooked Yu Bai's legs behind his waist and stood still, holding him tightly.
Yu Bai could even feel the rapid heartbeat in the other's chest.
He quieted down, his arms wrapped around the giant's neck without a word, enduring the pain of the embrace without complaint.
After a long while, Huo Duo'er gently sniffed his neck, his hand weighing the two soft pieces wrapped in the animal robe.
"You've lost weight."
Yu Bai's face warmed slightly: "No, these days I've been eating and sleeping, my face has gotten rounder."
With that, he pushed against the giant's shoulder: "Go sit down, let me see if you're injured."
Huo Duo'er: "Just some minor injuries, they'll heal quickly."
Yu Bai insisted: "Let me check first."
Huo Duo'er then sat down with his legs spread wide, placing Yu Bai on one of his thighs.
Yu Bai: "..."
How could he check like this?
Huo Duo'er let go, his beastly eyes filled with reluctance.
Yu Bai carefully examined him, just as Huo Duo'er had said, apart from a few superficial wounds, there were no serious injuries.
He blew on a scabbed wound: "Does it still hurt? Let me get some medicinal powder for you."
Huo Duo'er's arm muscles tensed at the blowing, his palm resting on his mate's waist, instinctively massaging, wanting to pull him closer for another embrace.
Yu Bai, being treated this way by him, didn't resist, just stammered, his eyelashes half-lowered, not saying a word.
Huo Duo'er let go, and Yu Bai looked up, somewhat puzzled, mixed with disappointment and relief, and hurried to the wooden shelf to search for the medicinal powder.
Huo Duo'er sniffed himself, he originally wanting to hold his mate longer, but he was dirty and smelled of blood, so he reluctantly let go.
He stood up, walking as he put down the sack, unwrapping the animal robe piece by piece.
He walked to the stove, filled a stone bowl with warm water from the pot, and poured it onto a cloth to wipe himself.
Yu Bai, holding the medicine jar, turned around and caught a clear glimpse of the giant boldly washing himself by the firelight.
He quickly averted his gaze, and Huo Duo'er hastily finished washing, picked up the fallen beast robe, and found a clean one to change into.
Most of the Huo Duo'er's robes were simple in style, a piece of cloth with holes on both shoulders for the arms to pass through, the robe crossed and gathered in front, tied at the waist with a hemp rope.
When walking with wide strides or squatting, it was easy to expose the dark, bushy areas.
Yu Bai softly reminded: "There are two pairs of shorts I sewed for you at the foot of the bed."
Huo Duo'er nodded but didn't put them on immediately, continuing to sit with his legs spread, his gaze burning as he stared at Yu Bai's face.
Yu Bai's face half-lowered, he picked up the Huo Duo'er's injured arm and applied the medicinal powder.
"Don't get it wet these two days, once it scabs, it'll heal quickly."
He shyly curved the corners of his mouth: "If you had come back two days later, I probably wouldn't have needed to look at this injury."
Huo Duo'er's Adam's apple bobbed, his large hand enveloping Yu Bai's.
The firelight crackled and danced, Yu Bai was almost overwhelmed by the other's unabashed gaze.
His ears were warm, his eyes trembling as they turned away, suddenly he made a sound of surprise.
"Why is there something moving in the sack?"
Huo Duo'er came back to his senses, his large hand rubbing Yu Bai's, then letting go to pick up the sack, pulling out something the size of a palm.
Yu Bai was astonished: "Is this... a puppy?"
Upon closer inspection, it didn't seem to be a dog.
Huo Duo'er: "A yak-wolf cub."
Yu Bai: "Ah... a wolf?"
Huo Duo'er: "We encountered a pack of wolves fighting with wild beasts in the snow-capped mountains. We took a detour and found a den of wolf cubs in a cave. The other cubs had frozen to death, so we brought this one back with us."
Yu Bai: "Are we going to raise it?"
Huo Duo'er: "Yes."
If it grows up well, it will stay by Yu Bai's side. Even if he leaves, the yak wolf can still protect him. If it doesn't grow up well and becomes disobedient, then it will be killed.
"Bai, this wolf cub is for you."
Yu Bai hesitated, wanting to say more, but he saw the other man toss the cub into a pile of dry hay and throw it two pieces of meat.
Huo Duo'er washed his hands and then scooped up Yu Bai, who was examining the cub, into a horizontal carry.
Yu Bai: "Ah..."
He watched helplessly as his thick animal robe was undone piece by piece.
Huo Duo'er placed him on the bed, crossing his arms to trap him against his chest.
"Sleep first."
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