The beaver also seemed to sense something, immediately lifting its head and letting out a series of squeaks. And truth be told, a beaver’s cry was quite pleasant. Hearing this one, Shen Yibin felt there was some truth to the saying that chubby creatures have cute voices. Jiha’Er, Egg, and this beaver, for example, all had very nice-sounding voices.
Shen Yibin immediately stopped in his tracks and signaled for Xiaoliu to halt as well. The sound of footsteps vanished. The beaver poked its head out and looked around for a moment. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, it went back to work on the large tree with its big front teeth. Shen Yibin waited a little longer, then continued to flank it with Xiaoliu.
"SQUEAK!" When Shen Yibin was only three or four meters away, the beaver finally spotted him. It quickly turned to flee, but Xiaoliu was already prepared. With a gentle flick of the branch in his hand, he tripped the beaver, sending it sprawling on its back. Before it could flip over, Xiaoliu used the stick to pin down its round, bulging belly.
The beaver struggled frantically, its wide tail slapping hard against the ground. But Xiaoliu had pinned it with the stick in a very clever spot. No matter how hard it thrashed, it couldn’t get back up.
’Better give it the medicine before Sylvie and the others get here, or I’ll have to explain everything.’ Thinking this, Shen Yibin quickly reached into his pocket, pulled out the pill, and crouched in front of the beaver, holding it to its mouth.
The pill was truly magical. Just a moment ago, the beaver had been struggling desperately, but as soon as it caught the pill’s scent, it instantly calmed down. It sniffed eagerly, opened its mouth wide, and stretched out its tongue, trying to reach the pill. Shen Yibin relaxed his grip, and the pill dropped into the beaver’s mouth. Watching it swallow the pill, Shen Yibin finally breathed a sigh of relief. ’That takes care of that.’
"Bin, what’s wrong with it? Did you kill it?" The sound of footsteps approached from behind. Sylvie appeared behind Shen Yibin with the Royal Guard and Hah’Er. Just then, the beaver’s eyes had closed.
"No, it just fell asleep. It’ll wake up in a bit," Shen Yibin quickly explained. The beaver was on the 2008 Red List of Threatened Species from the World Conservation Union, so it couldn’t just be killed. The thought made Shen Yibin feel relieved all over again. Beavers did exist back in his country, with a population living in the Buergen River Basin in the Northwest. But that group was incredibly small, making them even rarer than giant pandas. ’If this genetically mutated beaver had appeared there,’ he thought, ’it would have been a real pain to get it out.’
’Even asking Professor Wu Gui for help would have been difficult. After all, the Northwest is a long way from Sichuan; it wouldn’t have been as straightforward as Xiaoliu’s case. Thankfully, this one appeared in Sokovia. With Sylvie’s help, these things shouldn’t be a problem.’
"This seems just like that mongoose we ran into in the Congo, doesn’t it?" Sylvie was reminded of the scene when Shen Yibin first caught Shi Gaofei. Fortunately, she didn’t press the issue. "Alright then, let’s grab a bite and wait for it to wake up. Do we need to find a cage for it?"
"No need." ’A cage isn’t necessary after it’s taken the medicine.’ Shen Yibin had complete confidence in the products from the Future Pet Shop. They then sat on the log the beaver had felled, eating their rations while waiting for it to wake up. Meanwhile, a curious Maphario hopped out of Hah’Er’s pocket, climbed onto the beaver’s belly, and craned his neck to get a good look at the creature. ’Huh, why does this big guy look so much like me? He’s just a lot fatter!’
"Maphario, you can’t let yourself get as fat as this one! If you do, Hah’Er won’t be able to carry you anymore!" Shen Yibin joked, while wondering to himself, ’Should I leave some food for this beaver?’
About an hour later, the beaver finally opened its eyes. It slowly picked itself up off the ground and curiously sized up Shen Yibin and the others.
"CHIRP CHIRP!" Just as it was about to crawl toward Shen Yibin, Xiaoliu started messing with it again. He poked the beaver’s belly with the stick, which infuriated it. The beaver grabbed the stick with its two front paws and chomped down hard with its big incisors. Wood chips flew everywhere, and in a moment, Xiaoliu’s stick had been snapped into several pieces, making everyone roar with laughter.
Shen Yibin had already asked one of the Royal Guards about a beaver’s diet. He’d learned they liked to eat the tender twigs, bark, and roots of various plants, in addition to aquatic vegetation. Poplar and willow were particular favorites. During the summer, they would also forage on the riverbanks for herbaceous plants like calamus, bur-reeds, and various grasses. In the fall, they are most active at dawn and dusk, when they gnaw branches into roughly meter-long sections to store in the deep water near their lodge, saving them as food for the winter.
So, Shen Yibin had specifically gathered a good number of tender willow branches and leaves from nearby and set them aside. Now was the perfect time to use them. He picked up a leafy branch and waved it at the beaver. The beaver dropped the broken stick and scurried over to Shen Yibin.
"Slow down, I have plenty more. No need to rush!" Shen Yibin said soothingly, stroking its head as he fed it. ’It looks so cute when it eats.’
"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" Not only was the beaver cute when it ate, but its voice was even cuter. As Shen Yibin fed it, he started to wonder, ’How can I improve its diet? I’ll feel bad just feeding it these branches once we get back to the shop. Maybe I should try making it some dishes with Toona sprouts and wild vegetables? See if it likes that?’
After eating for a while, the beaver seemed to be full. It put down the leafy branch, rubbed its belly, and tilted its head up to look at Shen Yibin curiously. Shen Yibin crouched down and looked into its eyes. "How about you come back with me?"
"Squeak?" The beaver seemed to understand him. It pondered for a moment, then... it turned and leaped into the Sokovia River, leaving Shen Yibin standing there dumbfounded.
’No way! This has never happened before. Shi Gaofei, Maphario, Xiaoliu... they all became totally obedient after taking the pill. So why did this one just run off?’ Shen Yibin was baffled and couldn’t figure out what was going on.
"Bin, what now? If that little guy hides in its lodge, we don’t have many options for getting it out," Sylvie asked.
"I don’t know. Let’s just wait and see." Shen Yibin, also clueless, could only sit back down on the log, staring expectantly at the spot where the beaver had disappeared.
About ten minutes later, a few ripples appeared on the river’s surface. The beaver’s head popped out, and it began to swim toward Shen Yibin.
’I knew you’d come back!’ Shen Yibin was so excited he immediately stood up and walked to the riverbank, intending to pull it ashore. ’Huh? Wait a second... why is there another beaver following behind it? Is this a buy-one-get-one-free deal?’