Jing Qi smiled and nodded emphatically. "Definitely, so you have to listen to Nanny Qiu. Don’t pay attention to what other people say. It does nothing but make you sad and us worried...

If they’re really mean, you just cry and make a fuss. Bring up Father’s name. So what if they call you a jinx? Father truly sacrificed himself for the tribe!"

Jing Lin hummed in agreement, but his gaze shifted down to the new silver-white metal ring around his brother’s neck. "Is this from that Traveling Merchant Team, for you, brother?"

Jing Qi’s body stiffened. He forced a smile. "Yeah. They said it’s carved with our local Water Monster and can keep me safe."

Afraid he would start crying, he hurriedly poured his brother a cup of water. "I... the uncles in the Traveling Merchant Team are waiting for me. They have everything there. Little Lin, once I leave, I don’t know when we’ll see each other again.

You have to remember, I’ll be back. You absolutely have to wait for me!"

"I know, brother. You have to take care of yourself out there, too. Don’t worry about me." Jing Lin nodded obediently.

Jing Qi didn’t dare to look back. He turned and walked away quickly. But before leaving the tribe, he thought for a moment and went to the Clan Leader’s cave.

"Clan Leader, sir, are you in?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly. The Winged Lion Tribe had a strict hierarchy. Males were classified by their combat strength into First level Warriors, Second level Warriors, and so on, while females were classified by their fertility into Female Saints, Level 1 Females, Second level Females, and so on. Even cubs over five years old were classified based on their talent and the awakening of their superpowers.

He was already five years old, but with no Father to look out for him, no one in the tribe had thought about him reaching the age to start training. This was the first time he had sought help from the tribe since his Mother left.

A sturdy, muscular man walked out. Seeing the thin, grimy Jing Qi, he frowned and asked, "Oh, it’s Little Qi. What is it?"

Jing Qi bowed deeply to him and repeated the words he had told Little Lin. "Clan Leader, sir, my brother is too weak to endure a long journey. I will work hard to strengthen myself outside and not bring shame to our Winged Lion Tribe!"

The Clan Leader didn’t care who he was leaving with. He just grunted in acknowledgment and offered a few perfunctory words. "An opportunity like this is rare. It’s good to go out and see the world."

"Then I’ll have to entrust my brother, Little Lin, to the tribe. I hope that one day he can become a Warrior of the tribe like my Father and protect our Winged Lion Tribe."

Sweet Ring blinked. ’Tsk, kids without parents to protect them really are shrewd,’ she thought. ’Jing Qi’s words are all meant to back his brother up, telling the tribe not to treat Jing Lin too harshly. With an older brother of uncertain potential leaving with a trader, and a heroic Father in their legacy, the tribe would have to look after Jing Lin at least a little.’

"Ooh, ooh, ooh, the little jinx is leaving!" a small head poked out from a nearby cave, clapping happily.

Jing Qi clenched his fists. He wasn’t old and didn’t know much; aside from his inherited knowledge, everything he’d learned came from listening and watching. Everyone said he and his brother were jinxes. After Jing Lin had been weak and sickly for so long, they’d started calling just *him* a jinx, saying he’d cursed his parents and was now cursing his brother. He’d heard it so often that he was starting to believe it himself.

"Little Hui, stop fooling around!" the Clan Leader chided, though not very sternly. He was just going through the motions, putting on a show for Jing Qi. "Little Qi, don’t worry. You are all cubs of our Winged Lion Tribe. You’ll become Level 1 and Level 2 Warriors in the future. We will definitely take good care of Little Lin."

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Jing Qi smiled, dropped to his knees with a THUD, and kowtowed three times, his forehead hitting the ground with a loud THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

Sweet Ring was getting dizzy from being shaken around.

Jing Qi said a few words to Nanny Qiu, then cast a longing glance at his own cave. Sure enough, he saw his brother, Little Lin, clinging to the entrance and watching him.

Holding back tears, he stood on his tiptoes and waved forcefully. Then, steeling his heart, he turned away, his mouth stretched in a silent, tearful grimace as he left.

His heartbreaking sobs made Sweet Ring suddenly feel that she’d taken her joke too far. She couldn’t help but climb onto his shoulder and whisper, her lips pursed, "Hiss hiss, don’t cry. I... worst comes to worst, I just won’t eat you!"

Jing Qi heard the voice and turned his head to see Sweet Ring tilting her head and looking at him.

"But I did save your life, didn’t I?" Sweet Ring asked, tilting her chin up slightly.

"Water Monster Lord? You’re really not going to eat me?" Jing Qi asked, tears still falling from his eyes, his voice filled with hopeful disbelief.

"Of course not. I only eat the fish and shrimp in the lake, or Wild Beasts, birds, and rats. I don’t eat Beastman meat," Sweet Ring huffed. "You’re the one who thought I was going to eat you. Do I look that scary?"

Jing Qi asked dazedly, "Then, does this mean I don’t have to jump into the river to feed you? Can I... can I stay in the tribe with my little brother?"

"Of course... not!" Sweet Ring said fiercely, despite her babyish voice, just as a happy expression began to spread across his face. "Where I’m from, we have a saying: ’Repay a life-saving grace with your life.’ I saved you, so you belong to me now! From now on, you go where I go."

Jing Qi smiled and nodded vigorously. As long as he didn’t have to die, he could work to become stronger, protect his brother, and eventually rescue his Mother. "Okay, Water Monster Lord, I’ll listen to you!"

Sweet Ring hadn’t expected him to agree so readily. She huffed, "Don’t worry. Since you’re my person now, I definitely won’t let you be wronged. Let’s go, let’s go see your brother! Do you guys eat fish and shrimp? I caught a lot. They’re super fresh and sweet, really delicious."

Jing Qi couldn’t help but swallow. "Can my brother eat it? Tomorrow, I’ll go to the stream and catch more fish and shrimp for you, Water Monster Lord."

"Of course he can," Sweet Ring nodded.

Jing Qi happily started walking back. "Water Monster Lord..."

"Don’t call me Water Monster Lord. That’s my big brother’s title. My name is Ji Nuan, and my nickname is Sweet Ring."

"My name is Jing Qi, and my brother’s name is Jing Lin. Our Father and Mother hoped we would be like the Qilin Divine Beast, and become the mightiest Warriors in the tribe!" Jing Qi’s smile was so brilliant it could outshine the last rays of the sunset.

Back at the cave, Sweet Ring jumped off him and shrank to the thickness of a finger. She started pulling things out of the Storage Ring coiled around her tail. "Let’s have something simple tonight, how about some seafood congee... This water is from Luoyue Lake, and here are the shrimp, clams, and crabs... This is rice, glutinous rice... oil, salt, wild ginger, wild onions..."

When they traveled, they always carried a set of cookware and seasonings; no matter how tough things got, they couldn’t neglect their stomachs. "First, you process these shrimp... Sauté the onions and ginger in oil until fragrant, then add the shrimp heads and fry them to release their oil. Add water, bring it to a boil, and then discard the shrimp heads..."

Sweet Ring was in charge of giving orders, bossing Jing Qi around until he was spinning in circles. Their cave was downwind, in a spot where the wind blew into it, and was also slightly remote. So, no matter how fragrant their food was, the other Beastmen couldn’t really smell it. Even if they caught a whiff, they wouldn’t think it was coming from them.

As the sky grew dark, the seafood congee was finally ready. Sweet Ring transformed into a two-year-old toddler, hugged a wooden bowl to her chest, and began to drink with her head buried in it...