Chapter 1: Amnesia

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Qi Yue awoke gently, bewildered to find herself floating in a pool inside a mountain cave. The water was milky white, reminiscent of fresh cream—not particularly warm, yet not cold either. Raising her hand, she saw that her arm was as smooth and flawless as jade, soft as an infant’s. Was this really her own skin?

Startled, Qi Yue sat up. The pool was shallow—sitting on the bottom, the water barely reached her collarbones. As she moved, strands of blue floated on the surface. Was that her hair? Blue hair?

The surface of the water glowed softly, illuminating the cave and preventing darkness from settling in. She gazed around: the cave was bare, with nothing inside except the pool. It wasn’t very high—perhaps three or four meters—and about forty square meters in size. Across from her was a small opening, likely the exit. It wasn’t deep; daylight could be seen streaming in.

Qi Yue was utterly at a loss as to why she was here. She looked down at her reflection in the water. Though the image was blurred, she could make out the contours of her face, but it felt unfamiliar. Where was this place? Who was she? Her mind was sluggish and blank, her body weak and aching.

Just then, footsteps echoed at the cave entrance. Qi Yue looked up to see a young girl entering, dressed in a fur bandeau and short skirt, her long gray hair cascading down her back.

“You’re awake! That’s wonderful, I must go inform—” The fur-clad girl turned to leave as she spoke.

“Wait, don’t go yet,” Qi Yue quickly called out.

The girl turned back, noticing the anxiety in Qi Yue’s eyes, and approached her. “Don’t worry. I just want to tell my teacher you’ve awakened, so she can check on you.”

Qi Yue still felt uneasy despite the girl’s soothing words. “Can you tell me where this is? Who am I? Why am I here?”

“Oh! Sister Yue, you’ve lost your memory?” The girl’s gray eyes shimmered with sympathy as she saw the confusion in Qi Yue’s gaze.

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“What’s your name? Please, tell me about myself—and why I’m here.”

“Sister Yue, I’m Wolf Ling’er, apprentice to Deer Li, the shaman of the Lu Yu tribe. Your name is Qi Yue. You’ve been here for three years. I visit you every three days, but in all that time, you never woke up.” Ling’er saw the bewilderment remained in Qi Yue’s eyes. “I heard from the tribe that three years ago, you disappeared on the night of your bonding ceremony with Shide. Everyone searched for three days but couldn’t find you. A month later, some tribe members found you unconscious in a cave three thousand miles away and brought you back.”

“Do you know why I was unconscious? Was there anything else wrong with me?” Qi Yue asked.

“You remained in a coma after you returned. My teacher couldn’t find the cause, so she placed you in this sacred pool to sustain your bodily functions. A year later, you laid an egg. The egg hasn’t hatched, but it hasn’t spoiled either, so my teacher tried incubating it for two months. When that failed, she left it here with you.” Ling’er pointed to a red object floating not far away.

Qi Yue glanced at it. Why hadn’t she noticed it before? Now, it seemed the egg was drifting toward her.

“You mean I laid an egg?” Qi Yue’s voice was tinged with disbelief and rejection.

“Yes, is there anything strange about that? Most infants in the tribe are born live, but bird-type beastfolk lay eggs. My teacher said your mother’s father was a bird-type beastfolk. Perhaps the father of this egg is also a bird-type,” Ling’er offered her reasoning without hesitation.

“Female? Beastfolk? Can you tell me about this tribe, and some basics? My mind is empty right now.” As she spoke, the red egg drifted to her side. Though she was uneasy about having laid an egg, Qi Yue felt a strange intimacy toward it, and gently cradled it in her arms.

Over the next hour, Ling’er explained: This world was one of beastfolk. Males could transform and were responsible for providing for their families; females could not transform and were tasked with bearing children. The tribe they lived in was the Lu Yu tribe, a mixed community of various land beastfolk—mostly lions, tigers, leopards, and bears, though other beastfolk had joined as well. It was one of the strongest tribes nearby, with five hundred households and over fifteen hundred members, the ratio of males to females about one to four.

“Tell me about myself, and about Shide.” Qi Yue recalled the name Ling’er had mentioned earlier. “Shide”—what an unfortunate name.

“Five years ago, Sister Yue, your parents died during the winter beast tide. The tribe raised you from then on. You were the most beautiful female in the tribe, and Shide was one of the strongest males. Three years ago, Shide won first place in the tribal competition and gave you the champion’s badge, proposing to you. You agreed to hold the bonding ceremony with him when you came of age—there was only a month to go at the time,” Ling’er summarized what she knew.

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“What about him now? Did he marry someone else?” Qi Yue wondered if perhaps she had been forgotten. She had been unconscious since soon after her disappearance, and hadn’t seen this beastfolk since waking. Was it because males weren’t allowed in the sacred pool? Or had he already moved on?

“That…” Ling’er’s expression faltered. She glanced at Qi Yue before answering, “Shide visited you every month for the first year you were unconscious. After you laid the egg, he stopped coming. He’s now been living with Hu Li’er for two years—she’s the chieftain’s daughter. They’re waiting for you to wake up and dissolve the bond, or for you to pass away, before holding a new bonding ceremony. No one can remove the guardian stone from your chest unless you do it willingly.”

“Do they have children?” Qi Yue thought to herself that she must have chosen poorly. She felt no attachment and asked indifferently.

“No, not yet. In the world of beastfolk, it’s very difficult for females to conceive. Some couples never have children their entire lives.” Ling’er seemed to think this was quite normal.

Just then, the egg in Qi Yue’s arms suddenly shifted, its surface growing hot and emitting a red glow. She had to place it on the edge of the pool.

“What’s happening? I’ll go get my teacher.” With that, Ling’er dashed toward the cave entrance.

After Ling’er left, Qi Yue gazed at the glowing red egg. According to Ling’er, this was her child. Though she remembered nothing of her past, she understood that this was her only blood relative in the world.

The red egg rocked from side to side but didn’t move away. Soon, a crack appeared on the shell, followed by more and more, the gaps widening. The red light shining from within grew brighter and brighter, flooding the cave with its radiance.