Chapter 6: Arrival

A night passed quickly, and at six o'clock the next morning Zhang Fan woke up, so excited that he awoke almost at dawn. After eating the breakfast Ba Ke Er had prepared for him, they set off again on the road back to the tribe.

Finally, at 11 a. m., Ba Ke Er and Zhang Fan had already flown above the tribe; soon lion's roars echoed from within the tribe, and Ba Ke Er also let out a deafening roar in the air.

Then the tribe erupted in excitement! Their tribe had gained another young warrior—wasn't that something to be happy about? Zhang Fan, however, completely failed to understand the meaning of the lion's roar; he merely covered his ears in bewilderment, but the roar was still too loud, nearly deafening him.

Ba Ke Er noticed Zhang Fan's action of covering his ears and his bewildered reaction to the lion's roar, so while flying toward his own home he explained to Zhang Fan:

"Fan Fan, I just roared too loudly—did I scare you? Don't be afraid; just now the tribe's people were congratulating me on my safe return, saying I was the first to come back and would surely achieve good results, becoming this year's most outstanding tribal warrior."

"Wow! So we're actually the first to return?! As the first one back, will the tribe hold a welcoming ceremony for me?"

"Well... how to put it? In the tribe, the welcoming ceremony for warriors who have completed the coming-of-age trial is usually held on the tenth day after the first warrior returns, because we need to wait for all warriors to come back before we can hold it. However, on the very day we return we must go to the chief's place to have the chief and elders verify whether we have completed the tasks assigned by the chief during these past three months, and also show the chief and elders what game we captured while out there. Know that these game animals can also earn us extra points when selecting the tribe's most outstanding warrior."

"Is that so? So we need to go to the chief's place now?"

"Of course not; the place we're going to is……"

"Where is it? \" Upon hearing Zhang Fan's question, Ba Ke Er suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, because although he was already an adult, he still didn't have a house of his own and was still living in his parents' home; even though his father and mother had gone out traveling and there was no one left at home, ……"

"Um…… well…… Fan Fan, let's first go home, then I'll go out hunting, have lunch, rest a bit, and in the evening we'll go to the chief's place."

"Great! Who all lives in your house? I haven't heard you talk about it yet—tell me!"

"My house only has me and my parents, but they're both out traveling now, so no one's living there. However, once I go back I'll be able to tidy it up quickly! Fan Fan, don't worry." Saying this, Ba Ke Er began to descend slowly.

Ba Ke Er shifted back to human form, unloaded everything he was carrying, and brought Zhang Fan to the front gate of his home. Ba Ke Er stretched out a hand to push the door open, then had Zhang Fan wait outside while he went inside to begin cleaning thoroughly.

Although there was no obvious dirt inside, after three months of being unoccupied there was still a lot of dust and such. Soon Ba Ke Er had the place spotless, then he came out, picked up his luggage, and brought Zhang Fan inside.

"Fan Fan, rest at home for a while; I'm going out to hunt now. By the way, Fan Fan, what would you like to eat today?"

"Whatever! You decide!"

"All right then, Fan Fan, rest first—I'll be back soon." After saying that, Ba Ke Er left the house. But just as he closed the door and turned to head toward the tribe's rear mountains, he heard a familiar voice—it was his good friend Mo De's voice.

"Hey! Ba Ke Er, you're back so fast! I dare say this year's top warrior award is definitely yours! It's already noon—you must not have eaten yet! Come on, let's go to my place to eat; I and Fei Er have everything ready, just waiting for you." Having said that, the hot-tempered Mo De walked over, grabbed Ba Ke Er's hand, and pulled him toward his own home.

"Wait a minute, Mo De! Let me wait a moment" After saying that, Ba Ke Er broke free of Mo De's hand and rushed inside. He saw Zhang Fan sitting on a stool, still holding a small square box, engrossed in it, with a faint smile on his face.

"Fan Fan." After Ba Ke Er called out, he felt a bit regretful, because Fan Fan had immediately panicked upon hearing his voice; however, Fan Fan soon returned to normal, except his face was a little red, making Fan Fan look even more beautiful—but Ba Ke Er still regretted it, feeling he had frightened Fan Fan.

"What's up?"

"Fan Fan, my friend said he'd treat us to a meal; he's waiting outside right now, so we'd better hurry!"

"Mm! Okay, let's go quickly—we can't keep them waiting long!"

Outside the door, Mo De had been waiting somewhat impatiently, about to go in to see what was happening, when the door opened. Soon Ba Ke Er appeared before Mo De's eyes, holding Zhang Fan's hand.

Upon seeing Ba Ke Er holding Zhang Fan's hand, Mo De's heart, which had been irritated from Ba Ke Er making him wait so long, instantly boiled over!

Because on his way to Ba Ke Er's house, he had heard someone say that Ba Ke Er had brought back a beautiful female; at the time he didn't believe it, thinking the person was joking. He never expected that Ba Ke Er really had brought back a beautiful female. "That guy Ba te er is really lucky!" Mo De thought to himself. He didn't forget to walk over and give Ba te er a shove, also throwing him a look that said, "Kid! You've got it!" Ba Ke Er immediately replied with a look that said, "That's a must!" Zhang Fan felt completely bewildered—could it be that the two of them have something going on?

Poor Ba Ke Er was still basking in his good friend's praise, completely unaware that his eye contact with Mo De, in Zhang Fan's eyes, had turned into the two of them exchanging glances, making him feel that the two of them had something going on……