Chapter 5: Departure

After imagining, Ba Ke Er spread the wings he had always kept hidden beneath his thick fur, and reminded Zhang Fan to hold tightly onto his fur. Once Zhang Fan gripped on, Ba Ke Er began to run forward, not forgetting to flap his wings as he ran. Soon, Ba Ke Er flew into the sky carrying Zhang Fan. Zhang Fan excitedly looked at everything before him, thinking:

"Heaven Lion indeed! I didn't expect it could actually fly! When I didn't see the wings, I thought! 'Heaven Lion' was just a title, I never imagined the wings were hidden under the fur, what a strange creature! I just don't know why they hide the wings." He had doubts but didn't dare ask, fearing his question would distract Ba Ke Er while flying.

So he had no choice but to focus his attention on the scenery before him. In the sky, Zhang Fan could see far into the distance; although distance made it less detailed, it was still the best viewpoint for sightseeing.

Ba Ke Er had been observing Zhang Fan's every expression and movement. Noticing that Zhang Fan seemed interested in the scenery, he slowed his flight speed so Zhang Fan could see more clearly, and enthusiastically began to introduce the scenery along the way.

"Fan Fan, do you see that mountain over there? That mountain is called Sunrise Mountain, because behind it is where the sun rises. Moreover, the scenery there is beautiful; would you like to go see it? If you want to go, I'll immediately fly you there to take a look."

"No need, we should keep moving for now! We can go later—by the way, which direction is our tribe?"

"Our tribe is just south of Sunrise Mountain; our tribe's scenery is also beautiful, and the people in the tribe are all very friendly. Near our tribe there is also a saltwater lake; after crossing that lake and flying south for a day, you can reach the sea. The salt we and the nearby small tribes consume is refined from the water of these two places." Having answered Zhang Fan's question, Ba Ke Er began to slowly savor what Zhang Fan had just said.

"Fan Fan said 'our tribe' and 'we can go later'—these two sentences. Ba Ke Er was delighted, because Fan Fan finally regarded the Heaven Lion Tribe as his home, and even mentioned going to Sunrise Mountain together with him in the future."

Did this mean Fan Fan was already trying to accept himself?! Did it mean he could soon succeed in having Fan Fan become his companion? Thinking of this, Ba Ke Er felt both happy and grateful to have met Fan Fan!

Moreover, Fan Fan is such a beautiful and gentle female; after all, beautiful and gentle females are truly rare on the planet, because females are scarce in the tribe, making females a synonym for preciousness in the tribe. All the males in the tribe are taught from childhood by their fathers to respect females and not refuse their demands, unless the demand is truly excessive, otherwise they cannot refuse!

If a male refuses a simple request from a female, he will be despised by other males! That is why most females in the tribe are spoiled and savage.

So, Ba Ke Er now feels more and more like he has picked up a treasure! He also feels a growing sense of crisis! Because Fan Fan is so outstanding, this makes him even more determined to follow Fan Fan for life!

Zhang Fan keenly sensed Ba Ke Er's oddness:

"Ba te er, what's wrong with you? Are you tired? If so, let's rest first!" Ba Ke Er quickly composed his emotions: "I'm fine, by the way, Fan Fan, let me tell you what our tribe is like!"

"Great! Hurry up and tell me! I still don't know what our tribe is like!"

"Our tribe on the Beastmen Planet is one of the four great tribes, alongside the Western Heaven Tiger Tribe, Eastern Flying Leopard Tribe, and Northern Flying Wolf Tribe! Of course, there are many smaller tribes on the planet—for example, east of our Heaven Lion Tribe is the Silver Fox Tribe, west is the Black Bear Tribe, and north is the Snake Tribe……"

"Oh! I see! So our tribe is actually that strong, surely there are many people! Are there any like me who cannot transform into beast form?"

"Of course there are! A tribe without females is not blessed by the Beast God! If a tribe loses its females, it cannot continue and will soon perish! Females and offspring are extremely important existences in every tribe!"

"What? What did you say? Females? Do they have two lumps of flesh on their chests?"

"Two lumps of flesh on the chest? Impossible! How could females be like that? Females are just like you! On the planet, only males who can transform into beast form and females who cannot transform into beast form exist! No female's chest would ever grow two lumps of flesh!"

"So the ones responsible for giving birth on the planet are females? Like me, females who cannot transform into beast form?"

"Exactly!"

At this moment, hearing that answer, Zhang Fan's feelings became indescribably complex; in this male-male beastman world, being unable to bear children and unable to transform into beast form, he remained merely an oddity.

Ba Ke Er turned his head to look at the silent Zhang Fan, his heart also tangled; where exactly did Fan Fan come from? How could he not know these basic common senses? Ah, forget it, let's wait; someday Fan Fan will tell me! He himself didn't know why he felt so confident, but he just felt Zhang Fan would tell him his story.

Soon, five days passed.

During these five days, Ba Ke Er took care of Zhang Fan meticulously and tirelessly, yet he himself felt quite pleased. He completely missed Zhang Fan's turmoil—indeed, Zhang Fan was torn!

Because he knew Ba Ke Er's hundredfold flattery and tireless attentiveness were merely due to his 'female' identity. Zhang Fan truly did not want to be treated as a female, yet he couldn't help but grow fond of this flattery and preferential treatment. This made him several times almost blurt out that he was not the female Ba Ke Er thought he was, and that he could never bear children. Yet…… he just couldn't bring himself to speak……

That night, Ba Ke Er told Zhang Fan they could reach the tribe by noon, which made Zhang Fan happy for a long time! Finally arriving! The place where he would live from now on! His new home! His home in another world!