Regarding the fact that Gu Mengmeng kept calling him little shit—his earlier resistance had melted into a niggling irritation, which had now further faded into something he was already used. A person capability for acceptance was truly limitless.
Sometimes, Wabei even felt that when Gu Mengmeng called him by his real name, he would feel a bizarre sense of anxiety and guilt, as if he was caught doing something bad.
He wrapped his snake tail around the huge tree and followed Gu Mengmeng back home, dragging it with him. Wabei was a fifth-level snake beast and a highly-revered figure anywhere he went—but he had been relegated to being a transport worker for this little girl. Nevertheless, he felt more comfortable being ordered around by Gu Mengmeng than being worshiped by others. Tsk, a natural-born slave.
Wabei kept grumbling to himself as he dragged that tree back for Gu Mengmeng.
Gu Mengmeng indicated the rough dimensions she had in mind, before having the tree cut up into the required blocks. Each block was then carved up by Lea to make a wooden barrel and an accompanying lid. The lids were then wrapped in animal skin to create a sealing effect.
But the newly-made wooden barrels could not be used immediately as the wood smell was too strong. Hence, she had Barete and Auretin bring them over to the little stream to let Fei Rui wash them out, before laying them out at a shady spot to dry.
To avoid wastage, Lea used the leftover wood pieces to make all sorts of cutlery.
Although the Beast World had many trees, Gu Mengmeng always stressed the importance of conservation. They could only fell trees when entirely necessary and must try their best not to cut down too many. They must also make use of as much of the materials as possible, to avoid wastage.
So even the wood scraps left over from the carving of the cutlery were set aside to be used as firewood during the winter.
By the time everything was settled, the sky had already started to darken.
Auretin would never miss mealtime and had already carried over some hunted game a long while ago. He sat there staring at Lea—if not for the fact that Gu Mengmeng could see the word “food” written all over his face, she might have thought Auretin were having some nefarious intentions towards Lea.
Barete seemed to have moved into a location near the cave. Not within Elvis’ territory but close by. So he came along when Auretin arrived.
Ian and Fei Rui came late. Both of them looked as if they had something preying on their minds. Gu Mengmeng ignored Ian, but expressed concern for Fei Rui.
“What happened? Is there something you wish to tell me?”
Fei Rui’s large eyes were bright and clear. Every time she met his eyes, it was as if she was immersed in the Milky Way. Dazzling and pure.
Fei Rui bit his lips and nodded. “Great Messenger, I want to return to the ocean.”
This was good news. After all, Lea had just mentioned earlier today that if Fei Rui didn’t leave soon, he would make him into sautéed sliced fish. It might have been a joke but Gu Mengmeng knew that the nonsense she had spouted in Zacharias had raised Elvis’ and Lea’s guard against Fei Rui. She was still thinking of how to broach this issue without hurting this kid’s feelings. So it was a good thing that he was now suggesting to head back himself.
Fei Rui explained, “The surface of the water will freeze over in the winter and I won’t be able to come out. There won’t be a lack of food but I will feel very lonely. So I want to return to the ocean to visit my sister before winter comes. I will come back during next year’s monsoon season. Will that be alright?”
Gu Mengmeng chuckled. “Of course. You are the Prince of Bridges and returning to your own tribe is a matter of course.”
