Time rewound to just over ten minutes ago.
Inside the wooden shed at the edge of the camp,
Mino skillfully skinned all the small lizards and three rats, removed their entrails, then tied them up with strings and hung them over the fire pit to smoke.
The girl rubbed her palms together with sand to wipe away the bloodstains in her hands.
With no water to wash, she had no choice but to use sand to clean the dirt.
"Why is Mu Liang gone so long? What is he doing?" Mino's blue eyes stared blankly at the door.
"It's been ages…what if something happened?"
It had taken over an hour to process the catch. Now idle, she hadn't seen Mu Liang in so long—loneliness gnawed at her sense of safety.
"Ah! Mu Liang is so capable—he'll be fine." She shook her head, tried to banish her anxiety, and refocused on salvaging their belongings.
"This pillow must come—along with the wild rabbit-skin blanket."
"Also the bed frame—otherwise no bed to sleep in."
"And wooden bowls, and this bucket for water."
She scavenged each item the sisters had painstakingly collected over time, unwilling to leave anything behind—perhaps even the door itself.
Scratch scratch…
Suddenly the door scraped open and a blurred figure slipped inside.
"Who is it?" Mino froze and reflexively drew her bone dagger. She retreated to the edge of the shack.
Hiss hiss…
The Three-Colored Lizard hissed and flickered into view from its Camouflage Invisibility.
"Y—you're Three-Colored?" Mino gasped at its unfamiliar appearance. She hesitated, then said, "If it's you, nod."
Hiss hiss… The lizard ignored her and scratched at the ropes binding its load.
"Oh, silly me—only Mu Liang could command a lizard to haul things." Mino felt foolish. She sheathed her dagger and approached, helping to untie the five bolts of fabric, the wolf pelt, and the bundle of weapons.
The lizard turned and left the shack to deliver its goods to its inconsiderate master.
"Hey—Mu Liang?" Mino called after it, but it was already gone. Even evolved beasts with basic intelligence could not comprehend her words.
"Looks like it truly doesn't understand me." Mino sighed and examined the rescued items.
"Mmm—the fabric is so soft…must be woven from premium beast hair." Her blue eyes gleamed as she stroked it.
"But where did Mu Liang get five bolts? Enough for dozens of outfits."
She hugged the fabric reluctantly before shaking open the wolf pelt—longer than her own height.
"Definitely Beast-grade hide." Mino nuzzled it excitedly, then frowned. "But if Mu Liang took these from the leader—?"
Her theory unraveled: would he have earned them as a reward for warning the leader? Unlikely.
"Mu Liang must have stolen these." Mino quickly re-bundled the jerky into a sack and stashed it under the bed.
"I just need to hide them for tonight…then at first light, we vanish."
"Really, Mu Liang—if we're leaving anyway, why steal so much?"
"Maybe I should move everything onto Little Xuanwu's back tonight?"
She paced the shack, plotting storage strategies. Return them? No—Mu Liang had risked everything to procure these items; she never intended to give them back.
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