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 exactly 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, allright?'

Noting that she was back to normal, Hei and his two sisters were delighted and prepare 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.

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 absolutely 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 had 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 species of animal type are called spirit beasts. Human beings are a collection of specimens different from the 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 totally 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 those of their species rather than live with those of 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 chorus, 'No, Hei stays here! He's our big brother, his place is with us!'

'Of course it stays here. It's natural. I said before, in fact, "usually", but Hei is a special case. Moreover, even if he is human, it doesn't mean that something has to change. Hei is and always will be a member of this family in the same way you are. Do you understand?'

The three of them, heartened by the words of Bao Bei, exulted in happiness. For a moment, they had feared that being different could separate them.

The concept of diversity, although it was a present and undeniable thing, was something that was up to individuals to decide whether to let this affect their relations.h.i.+ps with others.

'As for communicating, humans use what is called language, which is composed of words. To give you an example, they are similar to the sounds I taught you to communicate, and each of these words has a meaning of its own. If you don't know their language, it becomes difficult to communicate with them. That's why, when you talked to that girl, she couldn't understand you.'

'So, if I learned this so-called language, would I be able to communicate with them, right, mother?'

'We spiritual beasts cannot speak using our voices like humans, but it is possible to converse using their language through the mind. But, since you are a human, it is not necessary for you to resort to this expedient. Not to mention that, at the moment, you three are able to talk to each other with your minds, besides the sounds produced with you bodies, only because I act as an intermediary. To do it yourselves, you need what is called spirit power, but for you it is still too early to talk about it in detail.'

Although Bao Bei had decided to tell the truth about the outside world and the creatures that lived there, she thought it was not necessary to say everything in this moment. Indeed, she could produced a negative result by mentioning everything right now.

Spirit power was a power that had to be handled carefully, otherwise the risk of internal injuries was possible. Considering their curiosity, Hei, Ye and Xing could seriously injured themselves without realizing the danger of their actions while trying to stimulate their spirit power that hadn't still formed.

The fact of today had also reinforced this conviction. Although they looked mature for their age, they were still cubs for their ages and it was better that they proceeded cautiously.

At this point, Bao Bei asked Hei the question that she had held all this time. The question she most feared to ask.

'Hei, listen to me and tell me the truth. Now that you know about humans, do you want to meet them again?'

This question made Xing and Ye stunned and they hastened to look at Hei. He also was surprised by his mother's question, but seeing the serious eyes of Bao Bei, Hei finally answered.

'I want to stay with you, Xing and Ye. I don't want to go and live away from you with other humans. But I want to know how these humans are and what they have special about. Maybe I can learn something useful in order to protect you later.' Hei confessed with a smile.

He actually wanted to get to know humans and learn more about them, but it was only out of curiosity. As interesting and attractive as they could be, they weren't in the least able to make him dissuade from being with his family.

When Bao Bei listened to this, she could finally put her heart at rest and replied, 'All right. Since you want to know more, I will give you permission to visit them. However, you will go with Xing and Ye each time and you will be able to stay there for a limited period of time and you won't have to reveal anything about our house and that you live in the forest, okay?'

Hei, who thought his mother would never consent to his request, looked at Bao Bei in amazement before answering, 'Sure mother. I'll always take Xing and Ye with me and I'll do as you ask. We will no longer disobey your rules, thank you so much mother. '

He ran to hug his mother in excitement. He had obtained in the end the permission to visit the place where the humans lived and to learn about them. Although it was only for a short time during the day, it was still sufficient for Hei since he considered his home being in the forest.

Ye and Xing were also very excited and worried at the same time. They were happy for their brother and they were curious about these human beings with an external appearance like Hei. But, at the same time, they were worried about having to go to an unknown place full of creatures they didn't know.

The reason why Bao Bei had chosen to send them together, instead of just sending Hei alone, was because, in her heart, she knew that Hei's response of this time was due to the fact that he didn't know and hadn't really interacted with humans.

Sending him along with his two little sisters was her way of always reminding him that he had a family near him waiting for him.

It was also a good thing that Xing and Ye could learn about human society. Moreover, if they wanted to remain with Hei, it was inevitable that they had to learn how to behave with humans in the same way Hei had learned to live with spirit beasts.

'I know you're excited and all, but it's still too early to send you to talk to humans. First, I have to do a reconnaissance to find out if they are dangerous or not for you, then you have to learn to speak the language of the humans that I will teach you. The only problem is that the human language can differ from area to area and from era to era. I'm not sure if this is the same one used by these humans near the forest but we can give it a try, and eventually think about a solution if they are different.'

With this, a new session was started in Hei, Xing and Ye's daily training. In fact, in addition to the cla.s.sic training of hunting and physical strengthening, Bao Bei would teach them various aspects of the human culture she had learned during her life, hoping that these customs were still valid, since she didn't know which area she was in or how long had pa.s.sed.