There was only one choice, so Shi Jinzhe didn't think twice. He turned his aching shoulders and, without hesitation, picked up Shekh and carried him upstairs.

His long tail dragged on the ground, leaving long trails. He had to look back every few steps to see if Shekh's tail had scratched any branches.

He returned to the tree where Shekh often coiled herself, carried her on his back, and hung her up in the tree. As he came down, he muttered to himself, "Like drying ribbonfish..."

Seeing that Sheh was still unconscious, Shi Jinzhe rolled up his sleeves and began to clean her tail. Only when his hands were immersed in the stream did he belatedly realize that his nails were bleeding.

After washing himself clean with water, Shi Jin returned to the tree and sat down next to Shekh.

Her hair was still covered in mud, causing many strands to clump together. Shi Jin folded it and gently rubbed it apart for her, repeatedly smoothing out her hair.

"To you, I'm just a babysitter."

He muttered to himself, and finally used the thick leaves to hold water and wash Shekh's face.

After cleaning everything up, Shi Jin bent down, but the kiss that was about to land on her forehead suddenly stopped. His slow reflexes sent a warning signal to his brain.

No, we can't kiss.

He felt guilty because she was too young to kiss him.

Shi Jinzhe placed his hand on her forehead, comforting himself that this was alright.

He took out a small black idol from his pocket and stared at it in a daze.

With long, curly hair and an indistinct face, the statue's features resemble many people's faces. Holding a bow and arrow, it stands in the posture of a human female, possessing both strength and beauty.

The first person to carve the statue had a vague understanding of Shekh's appearance, and must have only vaguely seen him once.

His thumb rubbed against the lower half of the statue, where the draped skirt covered the legs and connected directly to the base. The folds of the skirt were not cut too close to the body, so it was not easy to tell whether the lower part was legs or a snake's tail.

"I guess they didn't see Shekh's lower body, they only saw her drawing her bow and shooting an arrow."

It would be great if we could know exactly what the statue of the god of prayer looks like.

The footprints near the trap varied in size, indicating the involvement of not only the hunter but also others. Logically, most people would be afraid of a half-snake, half-human creature, so anyone who dared to attack it must have had a strong will supporting them.

Interests and emotions are the biggest driving forces. Emotions are mainly hatred and disgust, while interests are the reward offered or the money and power given.

Therefore, there must be an enemy of Shekh outside the forest.

The woods were silent. Shi Jinzhe rubbed his dry eyes. He would wait for her to wake up before heading out again.

Using the moonlight, Shi Jinzhe gazed at Shehe for a long time before finally leaning against the trunk of the ancient tree and falling asleep.

Time flies. He felt like he hadn't slept for long when he was slapped across the face and almost fell down.

Opening his eyes, he saw Shekh gripping the top of a trembling branch with both hands, warily wriggling its tail, preparing to lash him a second time.

Time is running out: ...

I woke up and didn't recognize him anymore.

"You really don't remember me?"

Upon hearing this question, Sheikh felt that he seemed even more like a bad guy.

She stretched out a finger, pointing outwards, and then tucked her tail away.

...

Shi Jinzhe understood and sent him away.

He came down with a sigh, walked a little further away, and saw Shekh take the willow branch out from among the branches.

"The willow branches haven't withered after all this time; there must be a life force inside them."

Bai Weishuang must have found this useful; the power of life has many uses, the most obvious being growth.

Thinking about it this way, Shi Jinzhe remembered that he had speculated a long time ago that Sher had stopped growing for a period of time before meeting his mother.

So now that she has willow branches, she should be a few years away from growing up.

Shi Jinzhe hadn't really gone far; he just stood by the water's edge, his probing gaze like a thorn in his back. He took a wooden stick and tapped and thrashed the water's surface until he finally stunned a river fish.

He had done grilling fish on a stone slab several times and was very skilled at it, so the aroma of the grilling quickly wafted into Shekh's nose.

Shi Jin listened for a while, but there was no response.

He moved away from the riverbank and found an inconspicuous place to stay.

After most of the day had passed, and the fish was almost charcoal-burnt, Sheikh finally glanced in his direction.

She carefully swam over and poked at the grilled fish.

Crispy, with a little bit of black ash from the charcoal still on her fingertips, she quickly flicked her forked tongue against her fingertips, and a moment later, she poked them again.

It tastes unfamiliar; the outside is a bit bitter.

She poked it harder, revealing the soft fish meat. She took a sip, then another bite a while later.

Shi Jinzhe finally showed his first smile since entering this place.

Even if he doesn't recognize him for a while, Shekh will still trust him.

They don't need to go through the familiar process again.

Shehe ate all the fish, so Shi Jinzhe waited by the river until the afternoon and got her another one.

He spoke to Shekh from a great distance, "I'm heading out. Do you know which direction I can find humans?"

Shekh willow branches were flicked eastward to guide him.

Shi Jin turned his back, took off his dusty clothes, and threw them into the water. "I probably won't be back tonight. Don't go over there whenever you smell something delicious, okay?"

He didn't hear any sound behind him, so he turned around to ask again, only to see Sheikh staring at him without moving his head.

“…turn your head back.”

Shekh shook his head.

He pinched the collar of the tattered clothes with two fingers, looked down at himself, and stared at himself quite intently.

Shi Jinzhe took a deep breath.

Thank goodness he received a moral education and could distinguish between perversion and crime.

Shekh looked at the clothes in the water, then at Shi Jinzhe, and raised his hand to pull the clothes down.

"stop!"

Shi Jinzhe picked up the clothes, wrung them out a couple of times, and put them back on. "Anyway, you've been wearing them for so long, so don't take them off. If you want to wash them, I'll wash them for you when I get back. You should go up the tree and go to sleep."

"where did you go?"

Upon hearing Shekh speak, he was stunned. "Do you remember me now or not?"

"I don't understand." She asked again, "Where are you going?"

Shi Jin turned back to her, saying, "I'm going to look for clues. Only after I find them can I figure out a way to leave this place."

“I don’t want you to leave.” Shekh moved closer to him. “I smell like you. I feel like I know you.”

As time goes by, it's hard not to get to know someone who sleeps with them every day.

“I’m going to a place where there are humans. Don’t you dislike humans? I’ll go by myself. You wait for me here. I’ll find a way to leave this place.”

Are you leaving?

"I'll take you with me."

Shekh picked up some small pebbles from the riverbank with the tip of his tail, threw several in succession, and then said, "I'll go too."

She couldn't figure out why, but she always felt that the human in front of her would be very vulnerable without her, and that she had to stay with him.