Chapter 194: The Promise

"Oh~"

Yun Ya ran out looking obedient. By the time Leng Xiu, Leng Xiao, and the others walked in carrying warm water and minced meat prepared for the cubs, another eagle cub and two snake cubs had hatched.

"Quick, quick! A Qing, grab a beast hide, dip it in some water, and wipe down Number Six."

Yun Li held the wet eagle cub in her hands. Because the cub looked far too fragile, she worried she wouldn't be able to hold it steady with one hand, so she simply held Number Six herself and called A Qing over to help clean the residue off the cub's body.

"Okay!"

Snake cubs generally didn't require as much attention after hatching, so their focus still had to be on the eagle cub.

By the time Mu Qing had carefully cleaned the residue off the eagle cub's body, the last snake cub had finally broken out of its shell as well.

"Tsk! Three of them are actually his cubs."

Leng Xiao, standing to the side, saw that three of the five eggs were snake cubs just like Ke Si's beast form, and an extremely displeased expression immediately appeared on his face.

Leng Xiu looked at those three cubs, his eyes darkening slightly too. But fortunately, he still remembered that these three were not only Ke Si's cubs but also his female's cubs.

Some dark thoughts had barely surfaced in his mind before he quickly suppressed them.

He said to Yun Li and Mu Qing, "I've already sent Xiao Ao to notify Ji Xuan. Ke Si should also receive the news today."

However, he didn't tell A Li that he hadn't actually notified Ke Si about this. Either way, once Ji Xuan's side found out, the news that the eggs at home had hatched would soon spread throughout the entire Tribe. Ke Si would naturally hear it from other beastfolk.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ji Xuan also rushed back from outside as soon as he heard about the cubs hatching.

"Axuan?"

When Ji Xuan got home, Yun Li and the others were watching four snake cubs fighting each other for food. Seeing him return, Yun Li immediately pointed at the basket on the table. "Number Six is here."

Ji Xuan walked over to look at the eagle cub struggling in the basket. It was truly tiny, its body bright red, and it didn't look good at all—yet it was the cub his female had gone through so much trouble to bear for him.

A faint smile appeared on the face of the male who never showed his emotions. His fingers gently stroked the cub's delicate body, his voice warm. "When you grow up, your name will be Li Xuan."

"Li Xuan?"

Yun Li caught on immediately. "Is it a combination of my name and yours?"

Ji Xuan smiled. "Yes!"

Yun Li's eyes curved at once. "Actually, calling him Li Xuan works too."

"Then Number Five could also be called Qing Li."

Leng Xiu had walked over to their side at some point, and suddenly said this.

"Leng Xiu!"

But Mu Qing frowned when he heard this, his tone instantly turning stern.

He could be jealous all he wanted, but what did he think he was doing using his and A Li's cub like that? How could he just casually name the cub whatever he pleased?

"Qing Li seems to work too, but what about Mu Yun?"

Yun Li could also tell that Leng Xiu was jealous, but she didn't call him out on it. If she pointed it out now, given Leng Xiu's personality, he'd probably seize the opportunity to deliver a passionate confession and play the victim.

She didn't want things to turn into another bloodbath in a moment.

Only, some things weren't so easily stopped just because she wanted to stop them.

"Mu Yun? A Li really does like Mu Qing, huh?"

Leng Xiao stepped forward with a sour tone. "If I'd known, my brother and I would've just named Number Two and Number Four Xiu Yun and Xiao Yun."

Yun Li's mouth twitched violently. With names like that, were they afraid others wouldn't be able to tell how they'd been chosen?

"That's enough from you. What's wrong with the names Xi Yun and Yun Ya? When I first gave them those names, none of you objected. Now you're suddenly dissatisfied.

Are you trying to rebel?!"

After saying that, she pushed Leng Xiao away in annoyance, wanting to put some distance between them. Otherwise, once he got clingy, Leng Xiao was absolutely capable of turning the scene into a bloodbath on the spot.

"Why would A Li say that? My brother and I clearly just care about you too much, which is why we reacted so strongly when we heard Ji Xuan name your cub Li Xuan."

After being pushed away by the female, Leng Xiao directly gave Yun Li a bear hug, an incredibly wronged expression on his face. "A Li saying this—does it mean you're already getting tired of my brother and me?

Just because of the Ke Si matter—we didn't want to let him in, so you've started to hate us?"

Yun Li: …Those are two completely different things, okay?

And for such a tall, strong male, could he please not put on this disappointed-puppy expression? It really made a person want to knead him.

"I never meant to force you to accept the Ke Si matter."

Her face full of helplessness, she said, "If you don't want to let him in right now, then I'll postpone the Mate Bond with him.

When you've accepted him, he and I will hold the Pairing Ceremony."

"What if we never accept him?"

Leng Xiu looked at Yun Li and asked, "Will you still Mate Bond with him?"

Yun Li fell silent for a long while upon hearing this. In the end, she didn't want to lie to them. "I will. But if you never accept him, then he won't have to live with us in the future."

This was the only compromise she could think of.

A trace of surprise flashed across Leng Xiu's face, but what he wanted wasn't just this. Ke Si was far too arrogant. He'd dared to provoke them like that before even entering the household—who knew what he'd do once he was through the door.

And compared to what Leng Xiu was worrying about, Leng Xiao was thinking about how Ke Si had managed to lure A Li to his side again and again before even entering the household—once he was in, it would be even worse.

He simply wanted to compete for favor and didn't want a male who weighed more heavily in A Li's heart than he did.

"Does A Li like him that much? Can't you, for our sake, just tell him to go back to wherever he came from?

We'll raise the cubs as our own. Whether that birth father of theirs is around or not makes no difference."

Yun Li knew Leng Xiao had always been petty about matters concerning her, but she hadn't expected his possessiveness to have grown this strong. A faint pang of guilt flashed through her heart.

A Xiao cared about her this much, yet she couldn't give him her wholehearted devotion in return.

"If Ke Si heard you say that, he'd probably charge straight over to kill you."

Because of how much Leng Xiao cared about her, Yun Li did have a fleeting moment where she thought about listening to him and just not Mate Bonding with Ke Si.

But the moment she recalled what kind of temperament Ke Si had, she felt that if she actually said those words to his face, he would forcibly abduct her the very next second and take her back to Youbuluo to imprison her for life.

"Hmph! If he dares come, do you think I'd be afraid of him?"

When Leng Xiao said this, his grip holding Yun Li tightened by a few degrees.

"My brother and I will break through to the Blue Rank sooner or later. When that happens, A Li, don't even think about taking any other Beast Husband."

He lowered his voice for that last remark, so only Yun Li, who was closest to him, heard it clearly.

She understood perfectly well in her heart—A Xiao was not joking with these words.

But Yun Li fell silent for a moment, then reached out and hugged him back, solemnly giving him a promise: "Alright. As long as you and A Xiu break through to the Blue Rank, no matter who it is from now on, I won't let him through the door again."