Soon, the sky began to turn dark, and they walked through the river to get to the other side before ascending up the mountain. Jing Chu initially thought that they would be heading to a cave. To her surprise, they stopped in front of a pile of stakes on which there was a male marsupial lion. It was much more massive than the other members of the herd.
Jing Chu would have burst into laughter if not for the austerity of the atmosphere.
She said politely, "Hello."
The leader stood out amongst the other marsupial lions of the herd. Thrilled to hear Jing Chu's response, he said, "I'm sorry to have scared you guys. I really can't believe that there are humans who can communicate with us. My dearest friends, how did you guys enter this place? There haven't been any humans here in years."
Jing Chu answered, "We had no choice but to enter. We wanted to see if this place is suitable for habitation."
"Does that mean you're planning to stay?"
