Chapter 67
Chapter 67
[Bonus Chapter from Nutrient Solution]
【Sea Turtle: This orca is as mischievous as your great-grandfather.】
Su Yuxing shrank his neck as he noticed the prairie wolf's unfriendly gaze. Animals could sense changes in their companions' emotions.
Following the wolf king’s gaze were the stares of the other prairie wolves as well.
Su Yuxing: “……”
“A-actually… what the experts say isn’t necessarily always true. Everyone has different opinions on different things, especially when they’re just assumptions. If you ask me, some human behaviors might affect the prairie wolf king’s status within the pack. Even if the expert stood right here, they couldn’t produce evidence to prove it. No need to believe such rumors.”
Su Yuxing stammered and rambled, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Being openly stared at by a wolf pack made the director's heart pound uncontrollably.
Lin Qianyu, holding the little wolf, nodded thoughtfully, “Makes sense.”
It wasn’t the first time she had held the little wolf in front of the pack, and they’d never reacted.
Maybe the expert’s words were valid, but not necessarily applicable to every wolf pack.
She sat back down by the yard, still holding the prairie wolf.
This was when the advantage of digging a shallow pit came in handy—no need for extra chairs, she could sit right on the edge. The whole circle was full of seating spots.
Su Yuxing had also seen the thylacine, though only from afar, but technically still face-to-face. “I’ll head back now. The car’s still waiting over there.”
Worried that too big a commotion would scare the animals near Lin Qianyu, Su Yuxing had the car park far away and walked the rest of the way on foot.
Lin Qianyu waved the little wolf’s paw, “Alright.”
The prairie wolf’s gaze remained fixed on Su Yuxing. Lin Qianyu noticed and turned her head slightly, placing herself between them. “Little wolf? What are you looking at?”
Catching a glimpse of the nearby person, the prairie wolf withdrew its gaze, lowered its head, and its damp nose unintentionally brushed the tip of Lin Qianyu’s nose.
Lin Qianyu smiled with her eyes, ruffled the little wolf’s head, and began typing on her watch, contacting Bai Zhao to ask what time to bring the thylacine over today.
The prairie wolf also lowered its head, watching the moving images on the watch, tilting its head curiously.
【? Is the little wolf looking at me!】
【Awoo! Baby is obviously looking at me!】
【Charging my membership overnight just to make my bullet comments look colorful! Aww… the little wolf’s head looks even rounder when it lowers it… I want to bite! Chomp! Just one bite!】
The prairie wolf only glanced once before looking away.
Lin Qianyu finished a brief conversation with Bai Zhao and set the watch down, glancing around the sanctuary. Many of the prairie wolves, who hunted at night, were already asleep, resting up for the evening’s activity.
Lin Qianyu stroked the little wolf’s ear and said, “We’re almost out of aloe at home. I’ll see if there are any soapberry trees nearby.”
Also, there wasn’t much wild aloe to begin with—it would be better saved for medicinal use.
Having made up her mind, Lin Qianyu bent down and picked up the wolf pup lying at her feet. The warm sunshine had lulled several of the pups to nap quietly.
Placing the pup in the pile, the drowsy little one saw its companions snuggled up together and wriggled its way into the pile.
Inside the house, the thylacine was already awake. The yellow one was grooming the sick one, and upon hearing the door open, turned to look.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Lin Qianyu squatted down in front of them and reached out to touch the sick thylacine. Due to illness, its gray fur lacked the sleek shine of a healthy animal and appeared dull and dusty. But its spirit looked much better than yesterday.Yesterday there was no need to take its temperature—when Lin Qianyu held it, it was like hugging a heated stove.
“Woo…” The gray thylacine moved slightly. Though the fever had broken, it was still weak and feeble, and even lifting a paw seemed like a tremendous effort.
Seeing this, Lin Qianyu reached out with her palm up, gently catching and holding the gray thylacine’s paw. She squeezed its paw pad and said, “Get some good rest. I’ll take you to the rescue station again tonight.”
As she spoke, she tucked the gray thylacine’s paw back in place and patted its head.
Next to them, the yellow thylacine instinctively backed away at Lin Qianyu’s motion, but froze up right after avoiding her.
It seemed to feel very guilty for instinctively retreating. Its tail swished in irritation and slapped the ground behind it.
Lin Qianyu reached out and gave it a good head rub. “Alright, it’s okay.”
She knew the thylacine trusted her—it had just grown used to avoiding humans all this time.
Lin Qianyu softened her voice and said, “It’s boring to stay inside all the time. You can go outside for a bit—everyone’s friendly.”
“Woo!”
When leaving, Lin Qianyu only brought a backpack. She left the door slightly ajar, so the thylacines could come out anytime they wanted.
Not sure where to go, Lin Qianyu casually picked a direction she hadn’t explored before.
The prairie wolf leapt up the slope, glanced around, then turned its head, waiting for Lin Qianyu to catch up.
“Little wolf, don’t run so fast.” Lin Qianyu adjusted the straw hat on her head. “Slow down, there’s no rush.”
She still held a half-finished woven straw hat. Now almost complete, she added the final touches and smoothed the edges.
“All done.” She held the hat out a bit to admire it. It looked quite nice. “Little wolf, come here.”
Standing on the slope, the prairie wolf was just about to jump down when Lin Qianyu used the moment it lowered its head to place the hat on it.
The prairie wolf’s leap paused—the weight on its head made its ears twitch instinctively. It looked up, but could only see the brim of the straw hat.
“Looks good, right?” Lin Qianyu hugged the prairie wolf’s neck, cheek pressed close to its face. Her left hand made a peace sign, resting under its chin.
【Ahhh it looks so good! So cute!】
【Pretty people really can make anything look good. Lin-jie even makes this scrappy grass hat look high-end.】
【Little wolf looks even cooler now!!! This must be the aura of a wolf king.】
The prairie wolf licked its nose, still trying hard to look up at the hat.
Lin Qianyu paused the livestream frame to capture a screenshot, but as she turned her head, she saw the little wolf tilting its head all the way back—the hat was on the verge of falling off.
If it weren’t for her arm around the prairie wolf’s neck holding the edge of the hat in place, it would’ve already dropped to the ground.
Precisely because the hat hadn’t fallen, the prairie wolf kept trying harder to look up.
“Haha.” Lin Qianyu rubbed the back of the little wolf’s neck with her palm and helped remove the hat. “This is what it looks like.”
She held the little wolf’s hat and compared it to her own. “They’re the same.”
“Woo!”
The same!Lin Qianyu put the straw hat back on it. “Alright, let’s keep going.”
“Awoo!”
The prairie wolf took a few steps back and returned to the slope.
Lin Qianyu used both hands to support herself and jumped up. There were plenty of trees around here, but none of them were the soapberry tree she was looking for.
Thud Thud—the sound of something heavy striking echoed nearby. Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow. “Did you hear that? That sound…”
It sounded a bit like someone knocking on a wall during renovations.
But for such a sound to appear in the middle of the wilderness was rather strange.
Lin Qianyu patted the little wolf’s tail. “Shall we go take a look?”
The prairie wolf responded by walking ahead.
Since she didn’t know what it was, Lin Qianyu didn’t approach recklessly.
Instead, as the sound grew closer, she crouched behind a bush, one arm holding the little wolf, and carefully parted the foliage to peek through a gap.
Through that gap, Lin Qianyu saw an animal in the distance using a stone to hammer at a coconut.
—A monkey?
Lin Qianyu opened her mouth slightly, then adjusted her livestream setup to lower its visibility.
Monkeys were highly intelligent—if they noticed the equipment, they might trace it back to her.
She whispered, “Looks like it’s trying to open the coconut?”
The monkey raised the stone high and slammed it down with force. Its two hind legs pinned the coconut in place as it repeated the motion over and over.
No one knew how long it had been at it, but the ground around was littered with brown coconut shell fragments.
Finally, it managed to crack open a small opening. The monkey tried to pry the coconut open along the crack.
But with only a monkey’s strength, it clearly wasn’t enough.
After several attempts, its fingers nearly got stuck inside.
The monkey licked the coconut water from its fingers and lifted the coconut, tilting it to gulp down a few mouthfuls.
Another monkey nearby noticed and pretended to casually pass by—then suddenly darted over to snatch it.
The monkey that had cracked the coconut was clearly caught off guard, losing the coconut halfway through drinking. The water spilled uncontrollably, and it looked dazed as it splashed on its face.
It quickly recovered and chased after the thief, yelling loudly as it ran: “Ah! Ah!”
The coconut thief kept running while pouring the coconut water into its mouth, swinging across branches with one hand, gulping from the coconut with its head tilted back, and climbing up with all four limbs.
The monkey behind was furious and leapt up to yank its tail.
Amid the scuffle and tossing, the coconut fell from above and slammed hard onto a rock.
Crack! The coconut shattered, a large piece breaking off. The remaining coconut water spilled all over the ground, and the curved half that hit the ground wobbled unsteadily.
The monkeys seemed startled by the sudden noise and all scrambled up the trees in a few quick bounds, staring down with wide eyes, still shaken.The monkey that opened the coconut jumped down, picked up the coconut from the ground, and started eating the white flesh inside.
【Setting aside how annoying they can be, monkeys are actually pretty smart.】
【Good thing I evolved early—otherwise I’d be the one smashing coconuts over there.】
【Honestly, the environment over on the island lord’s side is way better than where I live. Fresh green plants, no gutter oil, no car exhaust.】
……
After watching for a while, Lin Qianyu quietly tapped the prairie wolf beside her and softly said, “Little wolf, let’s go.”
The little wolf blinked and responded just as softly, “Woo…”
They slowly backed away without making a single sound the entire time. Over there, the monkeys were still gathered around the remaining coconut, seemingly holding an internal meeting about how to eat the rest of it.
She didn’t keep watching.
Lin Qianyu led the little wolf on a detour to avoid the monkeys’ territory.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t win a fight—it just wasn’t necessary. Those monkeys didn’t even have enough meat on them to bother picking the bones.
She hadn’t planned on dealing with monkeys, but taking the detour led her to an unexpected discovery: several thick, sturdy trees.
“Baobab trees?” Lin Qianyu knocked on the trunk of one. “Let’s see if there’s any fruit.”
As she spoke, she started climbing the tree.
Having no trouble with coconut trees, this was even easier—hugging the trunk from behind and scaling it naturally.
The prairie wolf couldn’t climb trees, so it stayed below, standing guard and watching the surroundings.
“The baobab tree is native to tropical Africa. It’s also called the ‘tree of life,’” Lin Qianyu said as she sat on a forked branch, steadying herself. “Most of the time, the ones people see are dry and bare. But during the rainy season, they absorb and store large amounts of water in the trunk.”
“They’ve provided water for many adventurers traveling across the African savanna.”
She paused, then added, “But I’m not short on water right now, and I didn’t bring any containers, so I won’t show you what the stored water inside looks like.”
“If you’re short on water in the wild and come across a baobab tree, you can use a knife or other sharp object that can cut the bark and make a small slit to collect water.”
Lin Qianyu opened her backpack, pressed her belongings toward the edges, and reached out to pick baobab fruits.
“In some regions, people even live inside baobab trees.”
A tree that can feed, hydrate, and house an entire family—the baobab tree.
This tree got its name because monkeys are attracted to its ripened fruit and often come to pick them.
“The dried baobab fruit has a texture kind of like bread, but the fresh pulp is juicy and contains amino acids and gel-like substances. It has many uses and can also be pressed for oil.”
Lin Qianyu split one open and took a bite. “It’s a bit sour. But I’ve heard in some places they crush the fruit and mix it with honey to make a drink. It should taste good with something sweet.”
As she spoke, Lin Qianyu had already gathered quite a few fruits.
Baobab fruit could be brought back and used as a staple food. After days of eating roasted meat, Lin Qianyu unintentionally ended up filling her backpack.
Fresh fruit could be eaten fresh; dried, it could be eaten like bread. Though it didn’t taste like bread, the texture was similar.
After finishing the harvest, Lin Qianyu pushed up the brim of her hat with her fingertip and looked into the distance. The farther out it got, the fewer trees there were. Even shrubs were rare. There probably wouldn’t be any soapberry trees around.She had spent too much time picking fruit. Thinking that she still needed to take the thylacine to the hospital later, Lin Qianyu decided not to go any farther.
She took a bite of the fruit and handed the other half to the prairie wolf. “Want a bite?”
The prairie wolf only sniffed it, then immediately shrank its neck back and even furrowed its brow.
Seeing its expression, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Alright, no eating it then. Look at you—so disgusted.”
Lin Qianyu took two more bites herself. It was sour at first, but after a few more bites, it wasn’t too bad.
Baobab fruit was quite large, and half of one was enough to fill her up. The remaining half, she forced herself to finish. “So full…”
If the leftover half hadn’t been so awkward to carry, and if she hadn’t hated wasting food, she wouldn’t have eaten to this point.
【Who else gets it, folks—most people starve for three days in the wild, and here she is too full!】
【It gets even better: Hang Sisi grilled a few grasshoppers to eat and is now watching Lin-jie’s livestream over her meal. They’re already planning to go look for baobab trees too.】
【Even though Lin-jie said it was sour and the little wolf was disgusted, why does it still look so tasty to me? There’s no saving me.】
……
After eating the baobab fruit, Lin Qianyu gently nudged the little wolf and headed back.
Her backpack was full—no room for anything new she might find. It was better to return, unload, and head back out later if needed.
Though the sun had shifted its position in the sky, the lingering heat in the air hadn’t gone away.
When they got back, the wolf pack was nowhere to be seen. Only one prairie wolf was left to look after the pups. The cheetah that had been sunbathing on the rock earlier was gone too.
The two cheetah cubs, tired from playing, were curled up in a corner of the courtyard.
The door to the house was wide open. The thylacines lay near the doorway, sun only reaching their upper bodies, but they didn’t seem to mind the details. The gray thylacine was lying on its back, belly up.
It looked incredibly comfortable.
Knowing how cautious they were, and that suddenly walking up and speaking might startle them, Lin Qianyu called out from a distance, “We’re back!”
At the sound of her voice, the thylacines’ ears twitched.
The cheetah cubs responded before they did—one of them groggily opened its eyes. “Awoo!” Still not fully awake, it stumbled to its feet and let out a soft babyish call in her direction.
Lin Qianyu scooped it up with one hand. “Where’s your mama?”
The cub nuzzled against her in response. “Aaa-woo—” It sounded more like a yawn. Lin Qianyu couldn’t make out any real meaning.
Maybe they didn’t know where Dou Dou had gone either.
While she was petting the cheetah cub, the thylacines slowly stirred awake.
Lin Qianyu asked, “Want to eat something?”
Today she didn’t have to carry them over herself like yesterday—they just had to wait for the rescue center’s vehicle to come pick them up.
Unlike the rainforest, which had rough terrain and thick trees that made many places inaccessible by car, the prairie was open and flat. No need for specially designed jungle vehicles—off-road cars and ambulances could drive straight in.
They just needed to go slowly.So as not to damage the ground.
The thylacine, clearly still full from earlier, only gave a low response when she asked.
Lin Qianyu took out the baobab fruits and placed them on the table. Not having a basket to hold food was really inconvenient.
For now, she just set them aside and turned to look for a suitable large tree nearby.
No willow trees—so she couldn’t weave a willow basket.
Lin Qianyu pinched open the edge of a tree branch with her fingertips, thinking over whether this one could be used.
Her hands were full, so she placed the two cubs, one on each shoulder. “Sit steady, don’t move around, be careful not to fall.”
The little cheetah could barely walk in a straight line yet, so standing steady on Lin Qianyu’s shoulders was even harder—it didn’t know where to place its paws.
Cheetah cubs weren’t exactly light, but Lin Qianyu was already used to red-tailed hawks landing on her shoulder. Compared to a young hawk, a cheetah cub about the size of a forearm was nothing weight-wise.
The little cheetahs each fumbled for a good spot—one facing her, one with its back to her—then flopped down.
“These trees don’t seem usable,” Lin Qianyu thought. In her memory, maybe there was something usable along the path from here to the beach.
But trees were already scarce on the prairie, and due to environmental reasons, usable ones were even rarer.
After circling the area, she still didn’t find a suitable tree. Lin Qianyu turned her gaze toward some palm leaves.
Might as well twist them into ropes and roll them up to make a basket.
With that thought, Lin Qianyu rolled up her sleeves and started working.
The two cheetah cubs lying on her shoulders seemed like they had only just fully woken up from their groggy nap.
Gazing at the tail right in front of it, the cub on the left was the first to raise a paw and give it a tap, then hooked it with its claws and opened its mouth—“Awoo!”
But it bit down on empty air. The cub on the right instantly reacted, whoosh—pulled its tail back, whipped around, and delivered a solid combo punch to its sibling’s head.
Pap pap pap pap!—a muffled flurry of hits. The cub on the left squinted its eyes as it was pummeled, one paw raised in midair, stunned and not reacting for a while.
Fur even flew off from the hits.
【Hahahahaha help, this cheetah cub—did you train in martial arts or something?】
【I’m dying. I know it got beat up badly, but seriously… I laughed so hard I cried. I’m sorry, I’m guilty.】
【What are you staring for? Start chanting sutras!】
Lin Qianyu turned her head. “What’s that sound?”
The little cheetah instantly withdrew its paws and sat upright on her shoulder, nonchalantly licking its paw pad.
The beaten cub still had its eyes squinted, the fur on its head messed up and sticking out in all directions, looking like a bristling little hedgehog.
“Awoo…” Seeing Lin Qianyu turn her head, the cub shook its head, wobbling a bit. Lin Qianyu had to raise a hand to steady it so it wouldn’t fall off.
The little cheetah rubbed its face against the side of Lin Qianyu’s cheek, sweetly mewing, “Meow-awoo.”
Lin Qianyu tapped its fuzzy head with her index finger to smooth down its fur. “Were you two fighting?” At the same time, she turned her head to look at the cub on the other shoulder.
Both little cheetahs blinked up at her in unison, faces full of innocent confusion.Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow. “Careful—falling off would really hurt.”
“Awoo-woo!”
The moment Lin Qianyu turned her head away, the cheetah cub that had been hit slapped the other cub right in the face. Taking advantage of its sibling’s unguarded state, it followed up with a flurry—both paws joined in.
It even closed its eyes as it blindly swung away.
Thump thump thump thump. Lin Qianyu turned her head just as the little cheetah abruptly froze mid-swing. One paw suspended midair opened and closed casually, like it was kneading, but only made the motion in the air before slowly retracting beside itself. It lowered its head and avoided Lin Qianyu’s gaze, licking its paw extra intently.
After licking for a while, perhaps thinking Lin Qianyu wasn’t looking anymore, it cautiously shifted its gaze—just a tiny sidelong glance.
But it didn’t escape Lin Qianyu’s notice.
The cub’s eyes locked with hers in that moment. “!!!”
Lin Qianyu curled her lips into a smile and tapped both of their little heads. “Keep messing around and you’ll fall. Let’s see what you do then.”
She didn’t scold them much. They still had a sense of their limits. And after all, these were still teething cubs—biting for a while might not even draw blood, only a bit of scraped skin from the tiny fangs rubbing.
So she let them keep playing.
And then…
Their brawling got even more intense.
It turned into a back-and-forth rhythm—one attack, one counter, turn by turn.
【Okay, so we’re doing turn-based now.】
【This is way too cute. How is this any different from kittens play-fighting? I could watch this all day.】
【Alright! As the official judge of this Cheetah Cub Boxing Match, I hereby declare the winner to be—Little Cheetah!】
【I’m dying laughing. No bias from you, I can tell. Totally honest verdict.】
……
“Awooo!”
In the chaos, no one knew who hit who, but the cub on Lin Qianyu’s right shoulder lost its balance and toppled sideways with a yelp.
As a feline, it instinctively twisted midair to land on its front paws and pads to cushion the fall.
But just as it turned, Lin Qianyu’s hand was already there, catching it mid-fall.
Before the little cheetah could even process what happened, it was already held in her arms. The cub on her other shoulder was scooped up as well. “See? What did I just say?”
Having gathered enough palm leaves, Lin Qianyu carried the bundle and the two cubs back.
The two cubs nestled close together in her arms. No idea which one started it, but a paw reached out—then the other responded—and they started batting each other again, back and forth.
Lin Qianyu raised her arm and gently pressed both little furballs down flat. “Take a break, you’ve been fighting forever.”
But… they’d also slept forever before fighting.
Now fully awake, the cheetah cubs were brimming with energy and ready for battle.
Lin Qianyu sighed helplessly and sat down by a rock to sort through the palm leaves, letting the two of them down to burn off some steam.If the cubs didn’t burn off their energy, they’d end up running wild in the middle of the night.
With Dou Dou at home, these two little ones had been quiet at night so far.
Lin Qianyu shook the palm leaves. “Next up—how to weave a basket with rope.”
Rope was softer and harder to shape.
Lin Qianyu first made the rope, then divided it into six sections and braided them like plaits, overlapping and interweaving the strands.
Once finished, it formed a large flat sheet, which could then be wrapped around and given a bottom to form the basket.
Shaping it into a basket was simple, but it deformed easily under pressure. Once picked up and shifted, it was hard to return to its original shape.
So while wrapping, Lin Qianyu shaved a few wooden sticks and wove them into the rope at regular intervals.
With a frame inside for structure, the basket would be more durable.
She measured and asked, “Is this a bit too tall?”
The sides came out quite high. A basket too deep wasn’t necessary—she was planning to use it for wild fruits. If filled to the top, the bottom layer might get crushed.
And leaving that much space unused would be a waste.
So Lin Qianyu pulled the wooden sticks upward until they reached the top. The leftover portion without structural support was folded inward to form the base, and a few more sticks were woven through for reinforcement.
This way, the base and the basket were integrated—no extra crafting needed.
Lin Qianyu clapped her hands. “Done.”
The rope-woven basket didn’t look as neat or smooth as one made from willow or bamboo. The edges were frayed, which was unavoidable.
“Not bad at all. Just missing a handle,” Lin Qianyu said, lifting the basket. The whole thing wasn’t as sturdy as a willow basket, and adding a handle might risk pulling out the bottom. To be safe, she decided to use it as-is for now.
With a lot of palm leaves left, Lin Qianyu followed the same method and made several more.
Different heights, a range of sizes.
Before she knew it, the pile of leftover scraps at her feet had grown quite large.
Using those scraps, she picked up two pieces of bark and used dry grass to start a friction fire atop some wood. She pressed the bark over the small flame. Since it would take a while to catch, she brought over a basket and carefully singed the rough edges along the rim with the fire.
The frayed bits immediately curled up when exposed to the flame.
She quickly pulled the basket away, blowing out embers and pinching any glowing strands with her fingers.
She repeated this step for all the baskets.
It wasn’t a necessary step—just aesthetic.
Lin Qianyu held up a basket after burning the edges. “See, doesn’t this look better than before?”
At least it didn’t look so messy.
She was pretty satisfied with the result.
She stacked the baskets from largest to smallest, planning to carry them all back in one go.
But when she tried lifting the largest one, she found—unexpectedly—it was a bit too heavy.Lin Qianyu looked down and saw the two cheetah cubs lying inside the basket, both looking up at her in unison.
【Aaaaah! Too cute I’m gonna die!】
【Felines can’t resist cardboard boxes, and the same goes for woven baskets!】
【So... does this tutorial mean I can make a handmade cat bed for my own cat?】
【Learned something new! I’m going to buy palm leaves right now.】
【Wait, sis—! Just buy rope directly. Making rope from palm leaves isn’t something you can just do because you watched a tutorial, okay?!】
...
The two fluffy cubs snuggled up to each other as if hugging, completely different from how fiercely they had been fighting moments ago.
Lin Qianyu reached in and gave them a good rub, “Do you like this?”
The cheetah cubs’ heads wobbled under her fingertips, still dazed and uncomprehending. “Awo... awo... awo...”
Even their little cries trembled along with their heads.
Lin Qianyu smiled with her eyes, then spread her arms and picked up the basket. “Alright, then this one’s yours.”
She didn’t really need that many baskets anyway.
She had just made them to use up the leftover palm leaves, which weren’t good for anything else.
Carrying the cheetah cubs back, Lin Qianyu set the whole basket down and went to distribute a few more to the wolf pups.
There were too many wolf cubs to all squeeze into one basket to sleep, so she left most of the smaller baskets and one large one for them and gave the rest away.
The coconuts that had been piled in the corner had somehow gotten nudged out and were now rolling near the wooden planks.
“Come on, all of you get inside. I’ll clean this up.” Lin Qianyu quickly filled three baskets and squatted down to straighten the fur-padded mats on the floor.
The cubs were taken out for walks at regular times, so they didn’t pee or poop randomly. The courtyard stayed clean.
But many of the edges of the mats had curled up, so Lin Qianyu had to smooth them out again.
The cubs in the baskets craned their necks to look her way. Those not tall enough to see would step on their companions to lift themselves up.
“Awooo!” Pushing and crowding together, they piled up at the basket’s edge.
Then the already unstable basket tipped right over.
The wolf cubs inside were momentarily stunned. After rolling on the ground, they quickly got up and ran to the edge, wagging their tails. “Awo, awo awo!”
The little furballs crowded along the courtyard’s edge, crouching low as if about to jump off—but none dared.
They kept repeating the motion of crouching and standing, tails sticking straight up.
Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but laugh as she reached out. “You’re wolves, babies. Your tails should be down.”
【Hahahaha, this reminds me of what elders used to say—if the tail hangs down, it’s a wolf; if it sticks up, it’s a dog.】
【She’s raising a whole pack of little prairie dogs. But they’re the future of the wolf pack, and someday Lin-jie will be the Wolf Queen.】
【Little Wolf listens to Lin-jie so well. Little Wolf is the wolf king. Therefore: Little Wolf really likes Lin-jie.】【? You f***ing— You really have both logic and brains, huh.】
...
The little wolf cub was just happily wagging its tail like a helicopter rotor.
Lin Qianyu held it down and gave it a few pats. “Don’t jump down, okay? I’m almost done. You guys play on your own for a bit.”
She might as well not have said anything at all—because the moment the words left her mouth, the wolf cubs that had been hesitating at the edge gritted their teeth, stomped their paws, paused for just a second, then jumped down one after another.
Once one jumped, the rest followed like dumplings dropping into soup. Lin Qianyu only managed to catch two of them—the rest, she just didn’t have enough hands for.
Luckily, the ground was covered with soft mats, and it wasn’t that high. Even landing face-first wouldn’t hurt.
Bullet comments: 【!?】
【What Lin-jie said: Don’t jump. Play on your own.
What the wolf cubs heard: Jump! Play!
Wolf cubs: Charge!】
Seeing that comment, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help smiling with her eyes. Honestly, it did feel like that.
At this age, who knew how much the cubs could really understand—maybe they only picked out the parts they wanted to understand.
Fortunately, Lin Qianyu had almost finished tidying up. She gave the fur mats a few more tugs for good measure.
A wolf cub standing on a mat wobbled along with it, took one step, slipped, and plopped down again.
Lin Qianyu temporarily settled them in a corner and went to gather up the coconuts.
After thinking about it, she left one coconut behind for the cubs to roll around and play with.
There weren’t many toys at home anyway, so a coconut could work just fine as a toy.
Meanwhile, the cheetah cubs were still lying peacefully in their basket, clearly enjoying themselves. They were lazily grooming each other, already looking drowsy.
Lin Qianyu brought the basket of coconuts into the house, then packed up the baobab fruits too, lining them up against the wall in neat order.
Only two baskets were full; the rest were still empty.
Looking at the supplies, Lin Qianyu rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe I should build a kitchen?”
But... she didn’t have a pot.
Even if she made a stove, it wouldn’t be much use without a pot.
Lin Qianyu pressed her lips together, head aching over how to make a pot.
Building a house with available materials was easy. But making a pot... she thought, maybe she could try firing some porcelain. A few soup jars would do.
“Awoo!”
“Awo awo! Awo!”
“Aaawo!”
...
Just as she was pondering, the cries of wolf cubs and cheetah cubs rang out from outside, echoing one after another, loud and nonstop.Lin Qianyu thought they were just calling out through the wooden fence again—this kind of noisy play wasn’t new.
"Roar—" It was Little Wolf’s voice.
Lin Qianyu’s fingertips paused. Little Wolf wouldn’t normally get involved in the cubs’ roughhousing.
She quickly put down what she was holding and walked out. “What’s wrong?”
Little Wolf and the grassland wolf that had stayed behind to watch the cubs were standing one in front of the other, blocking the yard entrance, both growling in the same direction.
When it heard Lin Qianyu’s voice, Little Wolf turned its head and glanced at her, then turned back to keep its eyes fixed forward.
Lin Qianyu instinctively patted the cubs nearby to calm them, thinking some predator must be approaching—that would explain the alarm.
But when she looked carefully, there was no predator, only a slowly approaching turtle.
...A turtle?
No, that wasn’t right. Why would such a big turtle be on land?
The moment she saw that green turtle, Lin Qianyu thought she was seeing things.
She rubbed her brow and took another look. It seemed familiar—was it a sea turtle?
The sea turtle continued its unhurried pace toward them, slow and steady like an old man with a cane going for a walk downstairs.
It didn’t stop or hesitate because of the grassland wolves. It just kept crawling forward.
The grassland wolf crouched low, baring its teeth in warning. “Grrr!”
“Wait, Little Wolf.” Lin Qianyu quickly stepped out of the yard, placed a hand on Little Wolf’s scruff, gave it a couple of soothing rubs, and subtly smoothed down the fur of the other grassland wolf too.
She explained, “It’s probably here to see me.”
Turns out, the cubs’ earlier cries of surprise weren’t fear of a predator—they were just land-dwelling fluffballs who’d never seen a sea creature. They were more curious than afraid.
By now, the sea turtle had slowly arrived. It was holding a white soft-bodied creature with black markings in its mouth.
It was hard to make out from afar, but as the turtle came closer, Lin Qianyu got a good look at what it was holding in its mouth. “A squid? Or an octopus?”
Part of it was clamped in the turtle’s jaws, only a few tentacles dangling outside.
The sea turtle ambled up, lowered its head to place the thing on the ground, opened and closed its mouth, raised its head and lowered it again. Its face showed no expression, but it looked like it was smiling—a kind and gentle smile.
“How long did it take you to bring this here?” Lin Qianyu looked at the turtle’s shell, which was already dry. At the turtle’s pace, how had it carried the squid all the way from the shore?
Her shelter was located near the center of the island—not particularly close to any beach.
Chances were, the sea turtle had come ashore from the same place they’d met earlier and slowly made its way here, step by step, just to bring her this squid.
Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but feel touched. “Thank you.”
The sea turtle tilted its head slightly. After setting down the squid, it didn’t linger—it turned and continued on its way.
Lin Qianyu quickly reached out to stop it. “Wait. Don’t be in such a rush to leave—won’t you stay and eat something?”
The turtle paused mid-step, stretched its neck to glance back, but didn’t accept Lin Qianyu’s offer. It gave no reply, only a silent gesture, and resumed its slow journey.
Seeing this, Lin Qianyu said, “Then let me walk you back. I was just about to head to the beach anyway—wait for me!”As she spoke, Lin Qianyu casually wrapped the squid in some leaves and placed it under the shade of a tree for now, then dragged out the zebra she had prepared for the orca.
Back inside, she shook out her backpack, dumping all its contents onto the table in a messy pile.
She moved quickly, finishing everything in no time.
Lin Qianyu then ran outside, opened the backpack, and placed it on the ground in front of the sea turtle. “Come on, get in here. I’ll take you back.”
The sea turtle poked its head in for a look.
“Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to see outside from inside the bag,” Lin Qianyu said. “Look, your shell’s already dry. The way back is long and dangerous. If you get in, I can take you back to the beach.”
She only had fresh water on hand, and she couldn’t use that to moisten the sea turtle’s shell.
A sea turtle can survive on land for ten days. It wasn’t in danger yet, but the long walk back would be exhausting—at its pace, it might not make it until the next morning.
Under Lin Qianyu’s coaxing, the sea turtle slowly climbed into the hiking pack, even turning around inside to face upward.
“Chasing Wind!” Lin Qianyu called out, and the zebra, which had been grazing, instantly raised its head and galloped over to her.
After mounting the zebra, Lin Qianyu paused and looked toward the skinned and cleaned zebra carcass.
Little Wolf stepped forward, grabbed the zebra by the neck, and let out a muffled growl, “Mrr!”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Zebras have a tendency to drown their own kind for no reason, sometimes even while drinking water, so the other zebra hadn’t paid any attention to the dead one. Listening to Lin Qianyu’s cue, it galloped off without hesitation.
Riding a horse—or rather, a zebra—was a fresh experience for the sea turtle. Its head poked in and out of the bag with each bounce, and maybe it found the ride fun, because its hind legs dangled out the sides, flopping lazily as they swung.
The turtle kept that posture until the zebra stepped on something and stumbled slightly.
The sea turtle’s extended limbs slowly withdrew back into the shell.
The zebra sprinted at full speed, and Lin Qianyu felt the trees on either side rushing past her in a blur.
When they reached the beach, the zebra trotted to a stop near the surf, “Whinny—!”
Having been watching the sea turtle’s condition the whole ride, Lin Qianyu now felt a little dizzy from the motion.
She shook her head, dismounted, and opened the pack. “We’re here.”
The sea turtle had already sensed the familiar scent of the sea. It slowly crawled out of the backpack, just as a wave rolled in and washed over it.
Lin Qianyu waved. “See you next time.”
As her words fell, the sea turtle’s figure was swept into the ocean by the tide.
The next moment, the orca surfaced and rolled in the water, sending up a larger wave.
Splash—
The sea turtle that had just entered the sea was carried back ashore by the crashing wave.
Curled tightly in its shell, the sea turtle spun in place.Lin Qianyu looked down at the sea turtle by her feet, then at the orca joyfully rolling around in the sea.
“???”
Barrage comments:
【……】
【Pfft—! Hahahahaha】
【Sea turtle: This orca is as mischievous as your great-grandpa.】
Author’s note: 【All content regarding the baobab tree is sourced from the internet】 (Just got back, furiously smashing the keyboard. One chapter for now, more updates coming today—total update not less than 20,000 characters. Rest early, come read during the day~)
Good night, sleep early, love you all.