The next three days in the Golden Mane Tribe encampment felt like three entire lifetimes.
Xin Yi stood in the center of the dusty, sun-baked clearing, completely covered in sweat, dirt, and exhaustion. She was holding a stick.
She was using that stick to point at a freshly slaughtered, incredibly bloody antelope lying in the dirt.
Around her, fifty massive, heavily muscled, mostly naked lions were sitting cross-legged on the ground, staring at her like she was speaking an alien language.
"For the last time," Xin Yi shouted, her voice hoarse. "You cannot just eat it off the ground! You have to cook it! Fire! Meat! Heat! Does anyone understand?!"
Jin Xuan, who was sitting in the very front row with his loose linen cloth practically falling off his waist, raised his massive hand like an eager school child.
"Yes, tiny female!" Jin Xuan grinned, his golden eyes sparkling. "We put the meat on the hot red flower, and then it turns black and tastes like ash!"
