Chapter 240: The Careless Younglings

Goo goo.

The young Xuan Li still doesn't know that, because of his parents' meddling, his future destiny will later be tied to another beastman's life; he doesn't know whether to be angry or uneasy, and keeps crying nonstop at home.

A few snake hatchlings each crawled to spots they deemed safe, quickly spitting venom and staring at this brother who looks different from them; perhaps their raw beast nature, before they have learned to shapeshift, still prevails, so the house often witnesses snake hatchlings facing off against eagle hatchlings.

Lengao and the others even treat the younger brothers and sisters' scuffles as a good show; they know clearly the kids can't actually fight, yet they like to stand aside and watch at this moment.

Fight! Fight!

Lengao silently cheered on the younger brothers and sisters from the side, while not far away, Lengshuang glanced at the father and grandfather who were speaking at the doorway and lowered his voice: "They can't fight; father and grandfather are here."

The adults at home don't mind the snake hatchlings fighting, but when snake hatchlings and eagle hatchlings are about to clash, mother and the others always anxiously try to stop the snakes from attacking the eagles.

The older ones who don't know the truth think the parents always favor the eagle hatchlings; is it because he grows up differently from the other younger siblings that the snake hatchlings can't fight him?

Lengao cast a sly glance toward the doorway, then looked toward his younger brother Yun Ya; Yun Ya silently walked to the doorway, and under Lengao's expectant gaze, Yun Ya began his little report.

"Grandfather, uncle, the older brother wants the younger brothers and sisters to fight."

Lengao, Lengshuang: …

Lengshuang quickly moved a bit farther from her brother, but when she stepped back to Xi Yun's side, he frowned disdainfully and patted the spot she had accidentally brushed.

Lengshuang's fist instantly hardened; she really wanted to beat this younger brother up.

If brother Lengao were to bluntly say that she, a female hatchling, got hurt mixing with their male hatchlings, they'd be exhausted and get scolded by grandfather and father; but once he says it, he doesn't hesitate to keep playing with her, and even when younger brother Yun Ya tries to distance himself, he subconsciously draws close to her when feeling wronged.

Xi Yun, this younger brother, has an extremely annoying attitude and behavior: when he needs you, he'll lower his eyes and act obedient, calling you sister; when he doesn't need you, like now, he shows his disdain for you without any concealment.

Lengshuang initially thought his resentment and dissatisfaction toward her older sister stemmed from the family's favoritism, but now she feels this younger brother simply hates her.

He just hates her, that's all; why does he still act like he listens to her in everyday life, making her feel that even if she wants to beat him up, she's being unreasonable.

So angry!

However, Xi Yun is unaware of his sister's such inner thoughts; he is simply irritated that this female hatchling insists on playing with the several male hatchlings all day; if not for her, he might have been able to coax Lengao and the others into doing more of what he wants to know.

But because this female hatchling always sticks by his side, even if he brings those matters up with Lengao, he won't get his agreement.

Thus, already resentful that Lengshuang, being a female hatchling, receives better treatment at home, Xi Yun, every time he sees his sister, nearly says outright how annoying she is; despite not being very smart—always lagging behind her when learning to read and write from mother—she constantly receives endless praise from the parents.

Xi Yun and Lengshuang, the two siblings, each harbored thoughts while standing in a corner; on the other side, Lengao was called over by Mu Qing and Leng Xiu. When facing his grandfather, even if he truly committed a mistake, he could still grin and act coquettishly toward him, but when facing his paternal uncle—who shares the same father and mother—he never understood why he always feels uneasy around him.

Perhaps it's because he is too strict with him.

Just like now, when Leng Xiu learned he had those bad thoughts, his first move wasn't to ask why he wanted the younger brothers and sisters to fight, but to rebuke him:

"Do you know you're the older brother?"

"Hmm."

Lengao lowered his head and muttered a reply.

In his mind, however, he thought being an older brother wasn't all good; he has to look after both younger brothers and sisters, and rush to the front in everything.

Mother is better; when she teaches him to make mistakes together, she decisively drags the younger siblings into the mix, since it's everyone's fun, they must also share the hardships.

Anyway, Yun Li doesn't like her own hatchlings becoming selflessly devoted good hatchlings, because such hatchlings are easily exploited and bullied; even if it's the family that exploits and bullies them, it's still very painful.

"Since you know you're the older brother, you must act like one; they're still young, and when they fight they have no sense of restraint. If something really happens, your mother will be sad."

"Oh."

Listening to his uncle's admonition, Lengao perfunctorily replied, and then, recalling that when the snake hatchlings fought, the grandfather and uncle hadn't really intervened, he felt a surge of resentment and asked:

"When the snake hatchlings fight, you saw it and said nothing? Are you just being biased…"

The hatchling whispered those three words very softly, but the two beastmen standing before him, even the weakest being Qing Rank Beastmen, could hear exactly what he said.

Seeing that the usually optimistic and cheerful eldest could even utter the words "biased eye", Mu Qing and Leng Xiu immediately thought of a beastman—Yun Li.

They wondered whether their female counterpart was secretly teaching the hatchlings something else.

Although Yun Li thinks she's having heart‑to‑heart talks with the hatchlings, observing their mental health, because she has a certain cognitive gap with the beastmen, Mu Qing and the others always notice that after the hatchlings talk with their mother, many little thoughts surface.

This leads Mu Qing and the others to repeatedly hit a wall when applying the usual beastman method of educating hatchlings, because their hatchlings, unlike those from other families, don't become obedient after adult training; they may appear obedient outwardly, but secretly act according to their own mischievous ways.

Thus Mu Qing and the others have to invest more effort in the hatchlings, rather than, as other families do, simply feed them, teach them to hunt, and protect them to grow up safely.

"Is this something you heard from mother?"

Leng Xiu frowned, not knowing what to say; the beastmen had never known the term "bias" or "favoring females over males" before—these words only entered their vocabulary after Yun Li, after giving birth to hatchlings, muttered a few lines at home.

Now, seeing the hatchlings also memorize these words, Leng Xiu feels his head starting to throb again.

Lengao wore a face that said "Uncle, what are you talking about? I don't understand," as he looked at Leng Xiu. Mu Qing, usually tolerant of the hatchlings, also furrowed his brows this time and said to Lengao:

"Don't just listen to your mother; if there's anything you don't understand, ask us yourself."

Lengao replied swiftly, "Then why do you favor the eagle hatchling younger brother?"

Leng Xiu tightened his brows, "Don't you know that Old Seven, Old Eight, and Old Nine are all poisonous snake beastmen? Even if they're young, a bite from them isn't a trivial matter; they'd have to go to a Witch Doctor."

"Eh?"

Although the Silver Eagle Tribe now has snake beastmen living within it, the snake hatchlings have still not been seen moving about the tribe, so Lengao and the others have no idea that snake beastmen are divided into non‑poisonous and poisonous types.

More importantly, Lengao recalled that a few days ago he took his younger brother to scare someone, but the brother got startled and ended up biting the person.

After hearing that, Leng Xiu and Mu Qing fell silent: …Which family has such careless hatchlings?