Chapter 10
Bath Time
“You two are so well-behaved. I’ll give you a present,” Li Qingqing said, squatting down so she was eye level with them.
“I don’t want it!” Ling Xiaotuan huffed, standing up angrily. He had been waiting here for so long already.
Ling Xiaoyu, on the other hand, looked very curious, her round eyes wide with anticipation.
“What kind of present, sister-in-law?”
Her soft, sweet voice melted Li Qingqing’s heart. She couldn’t resist cupping the little girl’s face and giving her a quick kiss.
Ling Xiaoyu blushed and lowered her head shyly, while Ling Xiaotuan immediately exploded.
“Who said you could kiss my sister!”
Li Qingqing looked at him and said teasingly, “Oh? Do you want a kiss too? Then bring your face over.”
“I—I don’t want one!”
“Hahaha…” Li Qingqing burst out laughing. Truly, beast cubs were the cutest.
“Alright, now both of you close your eyes.”
Although Ling Xiaotuan was reluctant, he was still curious about the “present.” So, obediently, he closed his eyes together with Xiaoyu.
Once Li Qingqing confirmed that both had their eyes closed, she entered her spatial ability and pulled out a bag. Seeing the bottle of shower gel nearby, she thought for a moment — it was about time to bathe tonight anyway — and grabbed that too.
“Ta-da!” She placed an orange-yellow bag before the two.
Ling Xiaotuan opened his eyes and looked at it, puzzled.
“What’s this? Is this another one of your pranks?”
Li Qingqing slung the bag onto Ling Xiaoyu’s back.
“Who’s pranking you? This can hold a lot of things.”
She had the little girl twirl around. “Not bad, right? It’s adorable.”
Then she added mysteriously, “There’s only one of these in the whole world. It was a gift from the Beast God.”
The two little ones’ eyes went wide — they worshiped the Beast God the most. Ling Mo always told them bedtime stories about Him.
Ling Xiaotuan’s attitude instantly changed. He stared at the bag on his sister’s back, pleading, “Sister, let me wear it too!”
Ling Xiaoyu pouted. “You can wear it for a bit, then it’s my turn again!”
While the two cubs played with the bag, Li Qingqing decided to build another clay stove.
She fetched some yellow earth and used her water-type ability to mix in water, kneading it into mud.
Hearing her movements, the two cubs came over, only to find her… playing in the mud!
Ling Xiaotuan gaped in disbelief.
“Didn’t you say you hate people playing in the mud? Why are you doing it now?”
Li Qingqing grinned, raising her muddy hand and smearing whiskers on their faces.
“Haha! Fierce tigers turned into big kittens!”
The two cubs weren’t about to lose — they grabbed handfuls of mud and smeared her back.
What started as a clay stove project ended with three people rolling around in the mud, laughing.
By the time they were done, the moon was already out.
Li Qingqing looked at the two filthy little ones and suddenly worried that Ling Mo would appear any second and accuse her of child abuse.
“No way. I need to get you two washed before your brother scolds me.”
Ling Xiaotuan had gotten completely carried away.
“Why are you scared of him? You’re the wife-lord! Be proud! If he scolds you, scold him right back!”
Li Qingqing picked up both of them and headed to the river.
“Easy for you to say! Why don’t you scold him for me next time?”
Thinking of his cold-faced brother, Ling Xiaotuan shuddered.
“Forget it… I don’t want to get yelled at too.”
Since neither of the cubs could swim, Li Qingqing found a shallow part of the river to avoid any accidents.
She pumped some shower gel into her hand and started rubbing it on their heads and bodies. There wasn’t any shampoo, so she’d just make do for herself too.
“So fragrant, sister-in-law! What is this? It smells like flowers!”
“It’s for bathing — to make you smell nice and clean.” She squeezed more onto herself.
“Like this, rub it until you make bubbles.”
“Wow! There really are bubbles!” Ling Xiaotuan cried, excited as bubbles floated down his arms.
“Now, sit in the water and rinse the bubbles off — then you’ll be clean!”
“Li Qingqing! Why are you here again?”
Xiao Ziye had just come to the river to bathe when he heard the sound of laughter.
He thought it was some female beast with her cubs, but the voices sounded too familiar. When he came closer, he realized it was Li Qingqing.
Just as he was about to speak, he noticed — Li Qingqing wasn’t wearing any beast fur. She was soaking in the water, her upper body completely exposed.
Moonlight traced every graceful curve of her figure.
He instantly turned his head away in panic.
“Brother Ziye, it’s not like this river belongs to you… I almost thought you were following me!” Li Qingqing hurriedly pulled her fur over herself.
Ling Xiaotuan backed her up immediately. “Yeah! What she said!”
Xiao Ziye looked at the two cubs who had already bonded with her and thought to himself: these little ones are too easily fooled — Li Qingqing plays a bit nice and they completely forget who she is.
“You two, get back now. Or Ling Mo will come collect you himself!”
And speak of the devil—
“Ling Xiaotuan, Ling Xiaoyu! What are you doing?”
The cubs froze instantly at their brother’s voice.
Ling Mo’s cold gaze swept over the three of them in the river, then at Xiao Ziye nearby. His brow furrowed.
“So many people here tonight?”
“Indeed,” came another voice — Chi Lin’s, from somewhere above.
As he jumped down from the tree, his bright red hair added a splash of color to the night. Only then did everyone realize he had been sitting up there the whole time.
“Old fox,” Xiao Ziye mocked, “you love trees so much — don’t fall and die one day.”
“‘Old’? Says the one who’s actually the oldest among us,” Chi Lin retorted with a smirk.
From the shadows of another tree, Feng Hao stepped out.
“Chi Lin, that’s not fair. Ziye doesn’t even know when he was born, remember? Should we count from the day he was picked up? Who knows how old he really is?”
That jab hit Ziye right where it hurt. He conjured a water sword with his ability and swung it at the two.
Chi Lin was of the fire type — if that water hit him, it would be fatal.
Instinctively, Li Qingqing released her wood-type ability. A woven net of vines appeared, absorbing the water sword completely.
“Li Qingqing, when did you learn wood powers?”
Feng Hao and Ling Mo were both seeing her use abilities for the first time.
Even Bai Yuan, who had been watching the scene quietly from afar, widened his eyes in shock at the sight of her wood-type ability.
“Beast God must’ve taught her in a dream,” Xiao Ziye said before she could answer, his tone dripping with mockery.
Feng Hao burst out laughing.
“What did you say? The Beast God taught you in your dream? Hahahahahaha—!”
Li Qingqing: “…”
Please don’t laugh yourself to death.
“You still believe that nonsense? You’re not a kid anymore. The Beast God’s just a myth!”
The two little ones still splashing in the river instantly puffed up, outraged.
“That’s not true! Our brother said the Beast God is the most powerful of all!”
Ling Mo: “…”
“Brother, is the Beast God real?” Ling Xiaotuan ran up the bank and tugged at his brother’s clothes, staring up with wide eyes.
Ling Mo didn’t want to shatter their beautiful belief — but also didn’t want to lose face in front of the others.
So, for a long while, he stayed silent.
