Meat

When Zhu Jin returned to the cave with a dead wild boar body, Bai Shuixian's eyes shined brightly. With excitement, she stood up and ran over to the white tiger, her eyes not once leaving the boar's body. She could not help but to sigh at how exquisite the boar looked.

Maybe other people would find a boar repulsive, especially girls, but she was too happy at the sight of the boar that was extremely beefy. She wondered, 'How much meat will this last me?"

She did not even consider or think about Zhu Jin. Zhu Jin understood that young kids were much more single minded than adults, so when he saw that she did not stare at him, the hard worker, he did not feel mad or angry. He even thought that she needed more meat on her body.

"Zhu Jin, where are we going to cook this boar?" Bai Shuixian asked, with eyes that showed she was ready to dissect the boar.

Zhu Jin laughed at her body that could not sit still and answered, "I carried some rocks, sticks, and branches. I don't know how to start a fire though."

"Huh? How can you not know? Haven't you lived here for a long time?" Bai Shuixian remarked. "Besides, fire is the basis for life. How could you not know to start a fire?"

"Little girl, you're forgetting that I'm a tiger," Zhu Jin coughed. "Tigers don't need to cook their meat and we hunt better at night."

At his statement, Bai Shuixian stopped her grumbling. She then proceeded to smack her head while scolding herself. How could she forget that he was not a human, but a tiger?

Staring down in embarrassment, Bai Shuixian apologized, "Sorry. I can start the fire then."

Bai Shuixian then got up and grabbed the materials Zhu Jin brought, prepared to build a fire. With skilled hands, she organized the sticks and branches in a bonfire and surrounded them with large stones. She left a few sticks and stones to the side, intending to use them to cook the boar meat and ignite the fire.

First though, she needed to clean the boar and divide it. She knew that tigers did not need to eat cooked meat, so she wanted to cut portions for her and Zhu Jin. Only, she did not know if there was a sharp tool nearby.

"Zhu Jin, how sharp are your claws?" Bai Shuixian asked while staring at the boar.

"They're the sharpest you can find anywhere," Zhu Jin proudly stated.

"Hm… Then… Are they sharper than knives?" Bai Shuixian continued asking.

"That… They can cut through anything, but definitely not straight like a knife," Zhu Jin told her. "If you want to cut up the meat, I advise you to not use my claws."

Nodding, she agreed, "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to try and see how it would end up."

Thinking for a while, Zhu Jin said, "If you want a sharp tool to cut the meat in evenly, you can try to shape the obsidian."

A little intrigued, she asked, "Shape the obsidian?"

"Yes," Zhu Jin nodded while affirming her. "There's an obsidian mine at the back of the cave. There's a few fallen pieces that should be big enough for you to shape into a sharp enough knife."

Touching her chin, Bai Shuixian asked, "Isn't obsidian tough though? What am I supposed to use to chip the obsidian?"

"Uh… Does flint work?" Zhu Jin asked back while scratching his head.

Giving a shrug, Bai Shuixian answered, "I don't know. Let's try. Who knows."

Seeing that she was going to try cutting obsidian with flint, Zhu Jin shook his head. He did not know if it would work or not, but since she wanted to give it a try, why not? It was not like they had any other choice.

At the same time, he felt a bit guilty that he could not do much other than the physical for he would love it if he could help with his brain power. He was not able to help her start a fire and he was also unable to help her get a sharp tool. He felt like one of those brainless musclemen.

(A/N: This is not an insult to muscled people. I love people with muscles. This is just a stereotype and idiom I used because I found it fitting with Zhu Jin's thought process.)

Reaching the end of the cave, Bai Shuixian looked around in confusion. Though she knew their names, she did not know how to identify them. In all honesty, how are people able to define rocks and stones and differentiate them?

"Zhu Jin, which one's the obsidian and which one's the flint?" Bai Shuixian asked.

"Those rocks right that have a purplish hue is the obsidian. The one on the left there that looks almost like coal is the flint," Zhu Jin answered.

"Okay," she replied as she got up closer to grab the pieces on the floor for both.

As she did, she realized that there was a problem. The obsidian was too big and the flint was too small. She wanted it to be the opposite.

Sighing, Bai Shuixian asked, "Zhu Jin, can't we use your claws to shape the obsidian?"

"What? My claws will break!" Zhu Jin exclaimed, retrieving his claws as though to demonstrate his fear that she would steal them.

"Zhu Jin, these pieces of flint will absolutely not work in shaping the obsidian. Can't you see how small they are? Even if they aren't big, they are too soft to be able to chip obsidian," Bai Shuixian explained. "Can't you let me borrow your claws this once?"

"No," Zhu Jin immediately rejected.

His claws were too precious to be used for such a thing. Even if he did not care for reputation, he still cared for the beauty of his claws. How could he let her use his claws for something so menial and dirty?

Wanting to try once more, Bai Shuxian made a puppy face and begged, "Zhu Jin, can't you make this like paying back debts? Didn't you hurt me with your claws? Even right now, I can still feel the pain from your scratch."

Once Zhu Jin saw that face, his persistence started wavering. Should he let her use his claws? But he really did not want to damage his claws.

His claws were really important to him. They were equal to his life. Without them, he could not hunt anymore and he would not be able to show them off to the other animals.

As if to strike him again, Bai Shuixian went to him and cutely shook his shoulder.

With a soft and cute tone, Bai Shuixian pleaded, "Please? Just this once?"

As the saying goes, 'Third times the charm'. Zhu Jin's defenses broke down and even if he was reluctant, he agreed to it. However, there was another problem now.

He has never tried to beautifully shape a piece of rock, how was he supposed to use his claws to make a knife out of a stone?

As though she had figured out his difficulties, Bai Shuixian said, "Don't worry about the shaping, I can help you. You just need to apply the strength and pressure. Of course, also listen to my words."

Sighing in defeat, Zhu Jin replied, "Okay. I understand. Just tell me which piece of obsidian is best."

Excitedly nodding her head, she examined all the pieces of obsidian on the floor and tried to find the one that looked most to the shape she had in mind. She wanted one that was long in length but small in width. After searching for about a minute, she found one that was close enough to what she wanted though not exactly.

"I tried my best to find the piece closest to the shape of a knife," Bai Shuixian told him. "This should make it easier on you."

Seeing her proud and happy face, Zhu Jin did not feel like telling her about his reluctance, nor complain about the tiny bits of pain he felt for his claws. For some reason, he had a feeling that his sharp claws were going to be broken from the obsidian in front of him. He really wanted to speak out the honest truths in him, but he held it in.

He did not want to break the poor girl's heart. Though he knew that he has seen her happy face for the majority of the time they were together, he was sure that she was a pitiful person. After all, in this inaccessible forest, only the unknowing would enter.

If it was not because she had her own difficulties in her family, why would she come here? Not only that, he still remembered her talking about her mother. Truly, he was disappointed again by the greed of humans.

Whether it was from his own personal experience, or hers, he hated the selfishness of the human heart. It was as though they had no compassion in them. In his heart, there were a thousand words he wanted to say to vent out his feelings, but in the end, he held them down.

What use was complaining when it had no effect at all?