We and Ali secretly returned to the village. The village was still peaceful, and we figured the mountain god was too busy fighting to bother with us.
However, to our surprise, the two robbers followed us. Just as we suspected, they were likely after the village, not intending to abduct狸猫.
As we were wondering, we saw the village chief leading the 狸猫 to block the two men.
Dao Lang stepped forward, showing no fear, and asked, "Hey, old 狸猫, have you seen a 狸猫 like you, and a girl who is different from you?"
The old man seemed displeased with his address and showed slight anger, saying, "Who are you calling an old 狸猫? Show some respect and call me Village Chief."
Fei Xiong looked down and saw the old man, who was not even as tall as his knee, and burst into unrestrained laughter, taunting, "Hahaha, with your small frame, you're not even enough for me to eat in one bite. Your village chief selection is too hasty."
This ruthless mockery ignited the village chief's anger. He cursed, "Ignorant wretches! How dare you slander our 狸猫 clan with your lewd words? Watch as I break your dog legs!" With that, the village chief assumed a stance, and the 狸猫 behind him were also ready for battle, clearly preparing for a big fight.
Seeing that the other side was numerous, Dao Lang knew they wouldn't gain any advantage if a fight broke out. He also remembered their objective and that there was no need for complications. Thus, he quickly softened his tone and said, "Don't be angry, don't be angry. My brother speaks his mind too directly. Please forgive him if he has offended you, Village Chief. We have no intention of opposing your village, we just want to inquire about the whereabouts of that young lady. That young lady is our distant cousin. She ran away from home a few days ago after an argument with her family. Her parents found us and asked us brothers to help find her. A few days ago, we heard she came this way, so we came to check. If you, Village Chief, and everyone else see her, please let us know, so we brothers can take her home."
As expected of a wolf, clever and cunning, he found a plausible excuse for himself in a few words.
The village chief grunted. Although somewhat displeased, it was not the time for fighting, so he could only offer a way out. He also knew that the two men in front of him were not good people, so he said, "What young lady? We haven't seen anyone. However, don't say I didn't warn you. Don't have any ideas about our tribesmen, or don't blame us for ganging up on you."
Seeing the village chief's firm attitude, Dao Lang knew that force wouldn't work, so he and Fei Xiong could only leave dejectedly.
Fei Xiong was very dissatisfied and didn't understand his brother's actions. "Second brother, why are you afraid of those stinky 狸猫? His small frame can't withstand a few of my punches. They obviously aren't telling the truth."
"Bang!" Dao Lang hit Fei Xiong on the head with a dull club, teaching him with disappointment, "You only know how to fight, fight, fight. What is our objective?"
"To capture people and sell them for money."
"So, if we use force, that old 狸猫 will definitely not tell the truth. That 狸猫 and that girl we saw must be hidden in the village. As long as we secretly ambush nearby, when they appear, we can catch them and put them in a sack, right?"
As he spoke, he acted as if he had already succeeded, hands on his hips, laughing heartily, "Hahaha."
Hearing this, Fei Xiong was overjoyed. "As expected, second brother is smart."
"You're so stupid, hurry back."
"Yes, yes, yes."
After seeing those two fools leave, Ali and I secretly went to hide in the cellar of an old house.
Ali cautiously poked his head out to observe the surroundings. Finding everything safe, he said to me with relief, "Let's hide in the cellar for now. Not many people come here, so we won't be discovered."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
With that, he closed the cellar door, plunging the cellar into darkness. He took out a fire starter and lit a hanging lamp, instantly illuminating the entire cellar.
The items stored in the cellar were also revealed: piles of sweet potatoes, woven bamboo baskets stacked in the corner, and some hoes and farming tools neatly hung on the round logs on the cellar ceiling.
I looked around but couldn't find a place to sit.
Ali walked over, pushed aside some sweet potatoes, leveled the ground, and sat on them, finding them sturdy and comfortable. He then invited me, "Come over, sit here."
I walked over cautiously and sat on the sweet potatoes. Although it was a bit uncomfortable, at least I had a place to sit.
I said happily, "Not bad, very practical."
Then I sat down a few times with force. With a "swish," before I could react, I rolled to the ground with the sweet potatoes. Ali, seeing me upside down, couldn't help but laugh heartily, "Hahaha, see, this is what happens when you show off."
As soon as he finished speaking, with a "swish," the part he was sitting on also slid down, and he sat on the ground in a daze.
Seeing him like this, I quickly got up and mocked him, "See, see, you laughed at me, now you're unlucky."
Ali, unconvinced, slowly got up and accidentally stepped on a rolling sweet potato. He lost his balance and fell forward. I cried out in alarm and was pinned to the ground by him. Our soft lips met, and our eyes locked. Instantly, an inexplicable shyness surged from the soles of my feet, my heart pounded, my breathing quickened, and my face turned as red as a teapot.
Ali quickly got up, his head buzzing, savoring the feeling. However, as a pure and innocent boy, how could he understand? He only felt his mind in a daze and blurted out incoherently, "Ah, Mu, Mu Ye, I, that, no, I."
I bashfully turned my head away, secretly rejoicing, "Oh my god, oh my god, is this the legendary kiss? That sweet, heart-pounding feeling, could it be love? No, no, this is love."
Seeing my silence, Ali thought I was angry. He slowly moved closer and comforted me, "Mu Ye, I, I, I didn't mean to."
With a dazed expression, I turned back to look at him. My smiling lips showed extreme happiness. I should have said something to break the tension, but I shyly lowered my head again.
After a long while, I slowly looked up and excitedly hugged him.
Ali looked surprised and gently touched me, "Mu, Mu Ye, what's wrong with you?"
I grinned broadly and chuckled, "I'm fine, I'm happy."
"Happy?"
Seeing that I was a bit unreserved, I changed my words, "No, no, it's, it's nothing."
Ali finally relaxed and blamed the mountain god, "It's all that mountain god's fault. Otherwise, who would want to hide in this cellar?"
Hearing his words was like a wake-up call. I slowly let go of him, my mind constantly pondering. The mountain god's oppression was a torment for the 狸猫 here. Just as where there is oppression, there is resistance, how could we overthrow him to resist the mountain god?
I looked up at Ali and told him my thoughts, "Ali, let's overthrow the mountain god and rule ourselves. We shouldn't let such a villain enslave this race."
He looked at me with surprise, but my words were also his inner thoughts.
He thought for a moment and said, "Actually, it's not that I haven't thought about it. In this different world, there are only two ways to survive: obedience and resistance. However, our 狸猫 clan is too weak. Once we lose the mountain god's protection, we will immediately be attacked by several factions. To fight for territory, we will also engage in constant warfare."
Hearing him say this, a brilliant plan immediately formed in my mind. "I've considered what you've said. Now I have some ideas I can share with you. I think we can do this. First, we need to spread rumors, falsely claiming that the mountain god was seriously injured in the last battle. Second, we should induce the mountain god's nemesis, the Golden Roc, to attack. Then, when they are both weakened, we can take advantage of the situation and capture him. This is the strategy of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
Ali didn't react immediately but thought it was a good idea. So he said, "This suggestion is good. Let's do as you say. But the current problem is, how can we take action?"
I asked him, "Then what do you think is the first thing we need to do to implement this plan?"
Ali replied without hesitation, "More manpower."
"Yes, exactly. The first person we need to persuade is the village chief."
Our ideas were the same, and we hit it off immediately.
At this moment, we suddenly heard the sound of 狸猫 walking on the cellar roof. We heard them sigh, "Alas, when will this kind of life end?"
"Let's just get by. It's not like you haven't lived like this before."
"Who doesn't want to live a free and unrestrained life?"
"Let's go, let's go, we have other things to do."
"Got it."
As they spoke, we heard their footsteps gradually fading away. I didn't expect so many people to have the same thoughts as me. It seemed everyone was already dissatisfied with the mountain god's rule. In this case, resistance would be easy.
Ali walked to the cellar entrance, slowly opened the cellar lid, and looked outside. He found that people had already left. He then turned and beckoned to me, "Do you want to come out for some fresh air?"
"Will we be discovered?"
"Probably not."
Based on Ali's experience, we shouldn't be discovered, so I walked over, climbed the stairs, sat beside him, and poked my head outside. Indeed, there was no one around, but we could hear noises.
Ali suddenly felt his back get wet. He looked back and saw a small 狸猫 urinating on the back of his head. He was slightly stunned. The small 狸猫 giggled, "Brother Ali, I need to pee again."
Ali's face immediately turned ashen. He forcefully suppressed his anger until his face contorted, then raised his fist and roared, "Where else could you pee but on my head, ah!!!"
Anger distorted his face, and shame made him feel awkward. In a fit of rage, he swung his fist, but it landed in the air above the small 狸猫's head, only slowly falling onto his head after a while.
The small 狸猫, frightened, closed its eyes tightly, but after the soft thud, it slowly opened its eyes and looked at him curiously.
Ali helplessly drove him away, "Go, go, go, if you need to pee, go somewhere else. If you pee on me again, I'll beat you."
The small 狸猫 chuckled and ran away happily. I covered my nose with a look of disgust and said, "Can you turn your head away? The smell of urine is so strong."
Ali turned his head, his face blushing, and complained, "This little 狸猫 is too ignorant. I'll definitely beat him next time."
"Alright, alright, hurry up and wash, or it'll soak in."
Ali got up resentfully and walked out of the cellar. I followed him to a small ditch behind the village and watched him put his head in the water to wash. I murmured to myself, "Washing like this won't get it clean. It would be great if we had shampoo."
He raised his head in confusion and asked, "What is shampoo?"
"It's used to wash people's hair. That strong smell on your head probably needs shampoo."
"We don't have shampoo here, but we have soap pods."
"That will do."
As he spoke, he reached out and conjured a large sweet potato, tossing it into the air. At that moment, a white bird suddenly flew out of the woods, grabbed the sweet potato in its beak.
I looked closely and realized it was Little White Dove. Little White Dove put the sweet potato on the ground and asked, "Ali, what do you need me for?"
Ali chuckled and pleaded, "I want you to help me pick a soap pod to wash my hair."
"No problem."
With that, Little White Dove, holding the sweet potato, flew into the woods. After a short while, it returned with a soap pod and presented it to Ali.
Ali took the soap pod, peeled off the shell, and rubbed the fruit in his palm, creating some foam, which he then applied to his head.
Little White Dove sniffed him carefully and was shocked, retreating to the side with disgust, "Such a strong smell of urine."
Seeing his disgusted look, I couldn't help but laugh heartily and told him the story, "The little 狸猫 was ignorant and used his head as a urinal, peeing on his head."
"Ah!" Little White Dove looked at him incredulously, then retreated further, moving closer to me, and complained, "You really picked the spot. Do they often pee on your head?"
Ali pouted, "No, just this once."
"That's good." Little White Dove breathed a sigh of relief, knowing how pungent that smell was.
As we were talking, a few more small 狸猫 ran over from a distance, shouting, "Brother Ali, Brother Ali."
Little White Dove shivered in fright, quickly flew up, and landed on my head. Ali saw another group coming and quickly stopped them, shouting, "Stop! Don't come over! What do you want! Whoever pees on my head, I'll spank their butt until it's red and sore."
Seeing Ali's fierce expression, the group of small 狸猫 was also startled and froze in place.
I advised him, "How can you scare children?" Then I turned to comfort the small 狸猫, "Alright, alright, don't be afraid, he's just kidding."
The small 狸猫 were still stunned by Ali's scare. After a while, a brave little female 狸猫 stepped forward and asked Ali, "Little Ye told us that Brother Ali would take the little 狸猫 to pee, so we came to find Brother Ali."
Hearing this, Ali looked utterly dejected, staggering as if he would fall into the water. He explained with great grievance, "Don't listen to Little Ye. He peed on my head, and I don't know what he ate to make it so smelly." As he spoke, Ali made a disgusted face, making the small 狸猫 laugh heartily.
Then he looked at the gray little 狸猫 in the group of small 狸猫 and beckoned, "Little Ye, come out for a moment."
Little Ye was very apprehensive, afraid that Ali would punish him.
Ali wiped his hair and rubbed his head, then slowly walked up to Little Ye and gently said to him, "Little Ye, you are a good child. Good children should not lie to others. You must not lie to others anymore, okay?"
Little Ye pouted and argued, "I didn't lie. I saw that Brother Ali didn't hit me, so I concluded that you would take us to pee."
Ali was speechless and explained to him, "That was just a misunderstanding. I won't take anyone to pee. You are grown up now and should learn to pee by yourselves."
Although Ali said so, Little Ye still insisted on his viewpoint.
I walked up to them and said, "I heard that brave children are sent by heaven to save the world, so brave children can also pee by themselves. Guess who is the great hero who will save the world?"
Hearing this, the small 狸猫 all raised their hands and declared, "I can pee by myself, I will definitely be a great hero."
"I can also pee by myself, and I will definitely save the world in the future."
"I can also pee by myself."
Hearing the small 狸猫's declarations, it seemed they wouldn't pee randomly anymore. Then I sent them off, "Since you are so great, then go and play."
The small 狸猫 then happily left.
Little White Dove didn't expect this woman to be quite skilled and praised her generously, "You're really good at coaxing children."
I chuckled and replied, "Children are actually very reasonable. It just depends on whether you have the patience and are willing to coax them."
"Oh, I learned something." Little White Dove thought that if he got married and had children in the future, he could use this trick.
Ali rubbed his head. Seeing that it was almost time, he finally buried his head in the water to wash. After washing, he asked, "Does it still smell on me?"
Little White Dove looked disgusted and waved his hand, "No, no, I won't smell it."
I stepped forward and smelled it, saying, "It's gone, you're fine."
Ali complained to Little White Dove, "Despite our years of friendship, you're not even willing to smell it. I made a mistake in befriending you."
Little White Dove waved his hand indifferently, "It's not about friendship or not. It's just that the smell is really bad, and I don't want to smell it."
Although still somewhat resentful, Ali himself didn't want to smell it either. Let alone Little White Dove, and he did have a point. So he said, "What you said seems reasonable. Then I forgive you."
Little White Dove flapped his wings and said, "Alright, since there's nothing else, I'll return to the mountain."
"Go, go."
With that, Little White Dove flapped his wings and flew back into the mountain.
After Little White Dove left, I asked Ali, "Should we go back to the cellar?"
"Let's go back. It'll be troublesome if someone sees us later."
"Okay."
With that, he and I returned to the cellar.