I woke up to find myself transmigrated into a disabled child.

Chapter 22 Next Stop: Home

"Take it, they fed it to you, don't be shy." Le Chu handed the white juice fruit in her hand to Le Zhi, gesturing for him to accept it.

"Ah, but this..."

Before she could finish speaking, Le Chu stopped her. Looking into Le Zhi's eyes, Le Chu said earnestly, "Le Zhi, you are a cub of the Spirit Feather Clan. It is only right for the clan to support you. This has always been our tradition, so you don't need to feel embarrassed. Besides, the cub stage is very short. You will soon enter the pre-adolescent stage, and then the adolescent stage. At that time, you will also be a member of the clan and continue to support the next generation of cubs. So for now, you just need to accept it calmly."

Staring intently into Le Chu's eyes, Le Chu saw her own reflection in them again. Lowering her eyelids, Le Zhi finally accepted the fact that she was a cub of the Spirit Feather Clan.

"Ah."

After nodding emphatically, Lezhi blinked away the sudden heat in her eyes and looked up at Lechu with a bright smile.

Noticing the relaxed feeling in Lezhi's smile, Lechu couldn't help but smile back, and the atmosphere among the tribespeople around her became even more harmonious.

Just then, a familiar "Hey!" came from afar. Lezhi recognized it as Maoqiu's voice, immediately stood up, and turned to look in the direction from which the sound came.

Before long, the enormous figure of the furball appeared in everyone's sight. It flapped its wings, slowed down, flew to the lakeside, and landed slowly after confirming its position. The airflow from its huge wings rippled across the calm lake surface.

With a "bang," the furry ball aimed carefully, dropped the prey it was holding in its paws, and then landed smoothly.

"Hey, isn't that a black beetle?"

"Yeah, wow, that bug is hard to catch."

"They're hard to catch, but they taste good. By the way, how come there are black beetles around here? Haven't we seen them in ages?"

"It was probably caught from somewhere else! Wow, if that's true, it flies incredibly fast..."

Lezhi and the others had been focused on Maoqiu and hadn't noticed that it was still holding its prey in its claws. Now, seeing the prey still twitching by the lake, the tribespeople started discussing it amongst themselves, while Lezhi, who had no idea what a black beetle was, quickly ran over, more concerned about Maoqiu's condition.

Seeing Lezhi coming towards them, Maoqiu quickly changed its shape and moved its body to rush straight into Lezhi's arms.

"Furry, you're back! Wow, this is the prey you caught! You're amazing!"

"Chirp chirp~ Chirp~"

Hearing Lezhi's praise, Maoqiu was extremely proud and rubbed its head against Lezhi's chin as a greeting.

Seeing this, the other tribesmen, though curious, wisely refrained from approaching. After all, this was prey hunted by Maoqiu alone, and if they rashly stepped forward, they might be mistaken by the temperamental birds and beasts as trying to steal the prey, leading to unnecessary conflict.

Therefore, only Le Chu followed behind Le Zhi. He came along to protect the cub's safety. Without Mao Qiu's permission, Le Chu would not easily touch its prey.

After the affectionate moments, it was time to enjoy the meal. Maoqiu used to eat raw food, of course, but after being fed by Lezhi last time, and with the lingering aroma of roasted meat in the air near the camp, Maoqiu could no longer satisfy its stomach with raw meat. It spread its wings and flew to the dark body of its prey, its black bean eyes aiming at the prey's vital spot, and pecked hard. The insect twitched a couple of times and then stopped moving.

The sharp beak tore open the insect's softest abdomen, revealing tender, white flesh, like crab meat, before Lezhi's eyes. The meat was right there, but the furball didn't immediately start eating. Instead, it stared at Lezhi with longing eyes, its starry gaze almost blinding him. Coupled with the furball's deliberately soft "cheep cheep" sounds, Lezhi almost immediately surrendered.

"Okay, okay, I know what you mean, barbecue, right?"

"Chirp chirp~"

Hearing Maoqiu's sudden excited barking, Lezhi smiled helplessly and stepped forward, taking out the stone slab to dissect the insect meat as before.

"Lezhi, if it's convenient, let me help you. I have some tools here." Seeing the stone shard in Lezhi's hand, a gentle look flashed in Lechu's eyes. This child was indeed clever, knowing how to make the most of what she had. However, since she had better tools, there was no need for Lezhi to continue making do.

"Oh, right, you have a knife. Okay, thank you for your help."

Seeing the dagger that Le Chu already held in her hand, Le Zhi realized that this was a better choice. He moved aside to make room for Le Chu, and also picked up the fur ball in his arms to prevent it from causing trouble.

Watching Le Chu deftly remove the insect's belly meat, which was about the size of two millstones, Le Man and the others came forward to help. They used large leaves to carry the insect meat to the lakeside to wash it, and then used the leftover scallion leaves to rub and marinate it.

Confined in Lezhi's arms, the furry ball stared intently at the actions of the two-legged creatures with its beady eyes. If Lezhi hadn't been there, it probably would have already attacked those trying to snatch meat from its mouth. But with Lezhi present, the furry ball was only slightly displeased, its fur standing on end uncontrollably, and it occasionally let out an uncontrollable low growl, but it gradually calmed down under Lezhi's gentle pats.

Seeing that Maoqiu was completely under Lezhi's control, the tribesmen who were initially a little scared became bolder and kept glancing over with curious eyes, but Maoqiu ignored them all.

After the tribespeople processed the insect meat, only the final roasting step remained. Instead of troubling the tribespeople, Lezhi roasted it himself. Maoqiu stayed close to Lezhi, just as before, quietly waiting for Lezhi to finish roasting so he could feed it.

"Hmm, looking at it this way, the furry ball is really well-behaved."

Le Man whispered to Le Yun beside him. He had the idea of ​​taming a bird or beast companion, so he naturally paid more attention to Mao Qiu.

"Yes, at least it listens to Lezhi." Le Yun nodded upon hearing this, glancing at the furry ball nestled close to Lezhi before looking away, a hint of interest piqued in Le Man's earlier suggestion. If he could also have such a kindred spirit as a bird or beast companion, it seemed like a wonderful thing.

Leshan, with his sharp eyes, saw all the young people in the tribe secretly making their plans. He shook his head inwardly, knowing that these little guys must have fallen for the bird and beast companions. It seemed he would have to make a proper plan when they got back, otherwise, if he let these guys mess around, something bad was bound to happen.

Amidst everyone's own thoughts, Maoqiu was exceptionally satisfied with the delicious food Lezhi had prepared. The insect meat was also incredibly tasty; after it was grilled, Lezhi couldn't resist taking a bite. The meat was not only tender and springy but also had a hint of crab flavor. No wonder Maoqiu chose to hunt this kind of insect.

Conquered by the taste of the insect meat, Maoqiu devoured half of it on its own. Although this appetite was somewhat alarming for its current unchanging size, considering its original form, everyone watching said there was nothing to be surprised about.

Once he was sure the furball was full, Lezhi put away the remaining insect meat. His space was already completely filled with the food supplies that the furball had brought back, and there was no room left for the berries that his tribesmen had given him.

"Lezhi, what's wrong?"

Le Chu, who had been paying close attention to Le Zhi's emotions, noticed that Le Zhi was looking at the food brought over by the tribesmen with a bitter and resentful expression, and asked him about it.

When Lezhi said that his space was already full, a slight surprise flashed in Lechu's eyes. She looked at Lezhi with a complicated expression, hesitated for a moment, and then chose to put it aside for the time being and deal with the problem at hand.

Regarding Lezhi's talent, they currently have no better solution. Even if he were to tell Lezhi now that his space is much smaller than that of ordinary tree spirits, it wouldn't help the situation at all, and would only affect Lezhi's mood.

After helping Lezhi gather the extra berries, they would begin their journey after a short rest.

"Lezhi, tell Maoqiu that we may have to travel through the night. If all goes well, we can get back to our territory before dawn. Let it work hard, and you hang in there too. We'll be home soon."

"Mmm." Touched by Le Chu's word "home," Le Zhi responded in a daze. Home...