Chapter 6 - Truth (1/2)

The distance from the lake to their den wasn't so far away, so it didn't take them long to get home, considering they were going at a brisk pace.

All the way, Bao Bei didn't say a single word to Hei, Xing, and Ye, and they were too scared and nervous to say something.

They didn't know precisely why their mother was behaving this way, but they instinctively sensed that it was better not to ask questions for the moment.

Once at the den, Bao Bei positioned herself in the center, and she momentarily closed her eight eyes. With her eyes closed, she said to her children, 'Come here near me.' Then, seeing that they hadn't moved yet, she added, 'Be at ease, as I told you before, I just want to talk to you. There are important things I want to talk about, and you have to listen carefully, okay?'

Noting that she was back to normal, Hei and his two sisters were delighted and prepared themselves to do as their mother had said. Since they still had some fear and remorse, Xing positioned herself on Hei's head while Ye rolled up around his neck instead.

This was an arrangement they had invented to move around together while hunting. After all, it wasn't always better to split up to reach a goal as they could be in danger alone, and since Xing and Ye weren't very large, they could be easily hidden and not to be noticed in that way.

Seeing the little spider and the little snake climbing Hei's body with agility, Bao Bei couldn't help but smile inside herself.

Even if she was angry about what they had done this time, she couldn't deny that she was happy that the three of them were becoming more and more inseparable, and she hoped that they could remain united forever as they were today.

'Well, then. I will begin by reiterating, first of all, that what you did was stupid and reckless. If I gave you rules, it's because there is a reason behind these rules. But, since you've already apologized, I'll let you go this time. But just for this occasion, try not to forget, okay?'

Feeling that they had been officially forgiven, the three of them could loosen their tension while they became curious about what their mother could want to talk so seriously if it wasn't because of what they had done.

'The thing I want to talk to you about is the creature that you, Hei, saw in the forest. The one similar to you.' At this point, Bao Bei paused to think carefully about how to chose her words.

There were things she wanted to say, but at the same time, she didn't want to do it, and things that shouldn't have been spoken about yet for the moment.

Meanwhile, Hei became full of excitement because he knew his mother was going to answer the question he had asked himself for so long.

'What you saw was a human being. Or to be precise, a female specimen called woman while you are a male specimen called man.'

'Human being?' Hei echoed perplexed.

Although he had knowledge of the concept of male and female and therefore immediately understood what the words man and woman meant, he couldn't well grasp the meaning of the words 'human being'.

'Yes, human being. As I told you long ago, there are so many existing species. For example, Xing is a spider, while Ye is a snake. The totality of all animal type species is called spirit beasts. Human beings are a collection of specimens different from spirit beasts and, although they are very similar to each other, they are at the same time different from one another. Besides them, there is a third group called demons. They are similar to humans, but they have horns of various sizes and differ, like humans, from one another.'

Human beings, spirit beasts, demons.

These were new terms that, for the young minds of Hei, Xing, and Ye, were difficult to understand. Fortunately, Bao Bei was talking to them mentally, projecting various images into their heads to make the explanation more understandable.

'As I told you before, the one you met is a female human being. Depending on age, humans can be divided further, as well as by gender. As you described her to me, she seemed to be a young girl. You instead, since you are still small, you are called a child.'

Hei, listening to all this new information, couldn't help but become absorbed in his mother's explanation. At last, his curiosity was being filled, but at the same time, this was getting bigger and bigger.

'And why I haven't seen a human being until today? Here it is full of creatures, though.'

'It is because human beings and spirit beasts tend to live usually in different places, far from each other. Furthermore, human beings are individuals who prefer to live together with their kind rather than live with other species.'

To this, Hei suddenly became sad. Humans lived with their fellows, and there were no traces of them here. According to this reasoning, Hei shouldn't live here but with other humans, away from his mother and his two little sisters.

Ye and Xing, taking the meaning of this phrase, jumped from fright, and they clung even closer to Hei saying in a chorus, 'No, Hei will remain here! He's our big brother, and his place is with us!'