Chapter 193: Breaking the Shell

A Li, is that right?

Yun Li, who was called out, glanced at Leng Xiao, "What do you mean 'right'? After they finish fighting, when it's time to apologize to someone else, you go apologize?"

You only teach them how to win a fight, but you don't teach them how to strike with any sense of restraint.

Hearing that, Leng Xiao didn't take the blame, "Who says I didn't teach them that? Didn't the fourth do it well?"

But the fourth, Yun Xi, simply doesn't like fighting with the other cubs, okay? Every time the four cubs go out to fight, he's the only one who comes back spotless. Later, Yun Li herself went to check and found that this guy always hides behind his older brothers and sisters during fights.

She didn't know whether he was avoiding work or fearing injury.

"Among the four cubs at home, only the fourth is a bit smarter."

When Leng Xiu said that, he sighed inwardly; among the four cubs, at least one is clever.

Otherwise, every time they go out, he'd have a headache figuring out how to clean up after them.

"The second isn't bad either; don't always only praise the other three."

Yun Li said, rubbing the second Yun Ya, who came forward to hand her water, "Every time we come home we can see our Ya'er helping the adults."

Praised by mother, Yun Ya felt a bit shy and scratched his head, not mentioning that every time he's forced by his younger brother to do things.

Otherwise, they'd rather hide in a corner and sleep than move at all.

Thinking of the younger brother, Yun Ya felt a bit scared, and followed mother step by step.

Just now mother touched his face; he didn't know if the younger brother saw it. In case he later wants to make him do something, he decided to stay by mother's side all day.

Where mother goes, he goes too.

Soon after praising the second, Yun Li went into the house to check on Mu Qing, who was still incubating eggs.

"Haven't they cracked the shells yet?"

"Hmm."

Mu Qing hasn't fully returned to his beast form; his beast body is too large, so even when he comes in to incubate, he can only be in Half-Beast Transformation.

"It's been over half a month; they should be hatching by now, right?"

Yun Li said, half‑squatting down.

Seeing that, Mu Qing moved aside and showed her the eggs.

Among the five eggs, only one was an eagle egg. At first Yun Li worried that snake eggs and eagle eggs were different and might need separate incubation, but later learned that eggs from the same clutch, regardless of type, are best incubated together.

Because these eggs, while in the mother's womb, have already become accustomed to each other's presence; if one egg is missing, even if the others hatch, the resulting cubs won't be as healthy.

"I also don't know when you all will emerge."

Yun Li felt each egg, especially the largest snake egg. She and Mu Qing had guessed that this might be the snake egg of hers and A Qing, since only a snake cub inheriting Mu Qing's beast body would have an egg that looks larger than the others.

"It should be soon; I feel it's about to come out."

Seeing her hand stay on the central snake egg, Mu Qing's gaze softened, and he also placed his hand on it.

"When it hatches, you can come see it again. You've just recently broken through the Green Rank, so you still need to solidify your strength."

Yun Li gave a light "Hmm", and honestly, her breakthrough to Green Rank wasn't a normal one.

It was after Ke Si learned she was pregnant, and somehow obtained Spirit Medicine, that after eating it she quickly broke through from Yellow Rank to Green Rank.

Mu Qing also knew this, so his resentment toward Ke Si wasn't as strong as Leng Xiao's.

"Think carefully about Ke Si entering the gate; I have no issue, and Ji Xuan's side is the same."

The feud between the Silver Eagle Tribe and the Youbuluo isn't something that can be erased quickly, but because the cooperation brings benefits, both sides want to promote intermarriage among the tribes' beast‑people.

If Yun Li were to form a Mate Bond with Ke Si, given their statuses in their respective tribes, their union would strongly advance the cooperation between the two tribes.

"But A Xiao really dislikes Ke Si, and although A Xiu doesn't say it outright, he probably feels the same as A Xiao."

Yun Li is very mindful of these two brothers' opinions; otherwise, once Ke Si enters, with their abilities they'd definitely clash with Ke Si fiercely.

She doesn't want to spend a day laboring outside only to come back and watch them fight endlessly.

Mu Qing lowered his head, thought, and said, "When the cubs hatch, I'll go talk to them."

Yun Li shook her head, "If you go talk, it would help; Ke Si wouldn't even be able to get through the gate now."

Speaking of that, three of the snake eggs might be his. Logically, as the biological father of those snake eggs, he should contribute, but during these days of incubation, aside from delivering food each night when it's quiet, Ke Si has only appeared before Yun Li and Ji Xuan at other times.

"Later I'll talk to Ke Si properly, let him figure out how to lessen A Xiao's and A Xiu's ostracism; otherwise, even if we form a Mate Bond, he'll still have to live outside."

After speaking, the two adults seemed to recall something and both looked at Yun Ya.

Yun Ya, being stared at, couldn't help but look puzzled; why are mother and father watching them like that?

"The words just now…" Don't tell your father and uncle.

But before those words could be spoken, a strange sound suddenly came from inside the house.

The sound was clearly faint, yet impossible to ignore, because it came from beneath Mu Qing's snake tail.

"A Qing~"

Yun Li's voice involuntarily softened, but before she could speak, Mu Qing had already moved his snake tail away.

Then the two adults and the child saw the central, largest egg develop a dent; suddenly, something seemed to try to burst out from inside, pushing the dented spot back up.

Yun Li and Mu Qing watched, not daring to breathe loudly; Yun Ya, who had been about to lean in to watch, was interrupted—just as he moved, mother raised her hand and patted his head, and then a snake tail slid next to him, blocking his attempt to get closer.

Thus Yun Ya had to stay with mother, watching from a distance until a snake cub roughly the thickness of an adult beastman's thumb emerged from the egg.

Yun Ya then got a close look at how the snake cub slowly slithered out of the egg and landed in mother's hand.

"So small!"

Yun Ya thought this snake cub, whether brother or sister, was truly tiny; if he were taken around daily, probably no one would notice.

"It is small, but the cubs grow quickly; when you, your older brother and sister, and your younger brother were born, you were only the size of mother's hand."

Yun Li, while speaking, asked Mu Qing to fetch a soft beast hide to wipe the cub's lower body, and after the other snake cubs hatch, give them all a bath together.

Yun Ya was left bewildered by mother's remark, "Ah, so he used to be this small?"

Before he could stay confused, he saw movement in the other eggs as well.

Mu Qing patted Yun Ya's shoulder and let him go out to call someone.

"Go tell your father and uncle, just say that the younger brother and sister have broken out of their shells, and have them make preparations."