Chapter 45 - 44: For Bad Kids, We Must...

"But you need to be mentally prepared. The pain you’ll endure will be several times worse than mine."

"Huh?"

"You haven’t learned the mental method yet, so the medicinal power will run wild inside your body. You’ll have to rely on your own strength to withstand it."

Seeing her apparent hesitation, Chu Liangyu thought she was going to give up. Unexpectedly, she agreed.

"It’s okay, Sister Liangyu. I can handle it."

Seeing this, Chu Liangyu didn’t try to persuade her any further.

Next was preparing a tub for boiling the herbs, one that could hopefully withstand being heated by fire.

After thinking for a long time, Chu Liangyu decided to find a large boulder and hollow it out.

But it couldn’t be too thick; it would have to be polished thin enough to be heated.

It would take a lot of effort for the two of them to do it alone, so they needed to find some help.

"Yu He, come here."

He hadn’t even had a chance to say a few words to his cub when he heard her voice. A vein throbbed on Yu He’s temple, and he felt a surge of irritation.

"What is it?"

Chu Liangyu, of course, noticed his impatience. She narrowed her eyes, her own tone equally sharp. "What’s wrong? Unhappy?"

"No."

Only he knew how much he was lying through his teeth with that single word.

"I think I’ve been merciful enough with you. I suggest you learn your place."

Chu Liangyu felt that people like him wouldn’t learn to obey without being taught a lesson.

"This is the last time. If I ever see you with this attitude again, I have plenty of ways to bring you to your senses."

Chu Liangyu’s words were harsh, and she said them in front of so many people, not sparing him an ounce of dignity.

"Exactly! If you act like this again, I’d be happy to teach you a lesson for the Female Master." Feng Qiwu’s eyes lit up as he jumped in at the opportune moment.

"Shut up," Yu He shot him a glare, wishing he could punch the guy. But now was clearly not the time.

Chu Liangyu was right. He really had no right to be dissatisfied right now.

He took a deep breath, the impatient expression fading from his face. He turned to Chu Liangyu and said, "I understand."

Chu Liangyu was in no mood to slowly chip away at a tough nut like him.

Making use of Yu He like this was, naturally, the best-case scenario.

"Why are you being mean to my Beast Father?"

"You’re a bad Beast Mother! I hate you!"

The sharp, childish voice rang out. For a moment, Chu Liangyu’s ears stung as if pricked by a needle.

She quickly recovered, frowning as she looked toward the source of the sound.

It was Yu He’s last remaining cub, and a female at that.

Females were rare in the Beast World, so most female cubs were doted on, often making them spoiled and headstrong.

’If I’m not mistaken,’ she thought, ’that little brat was just playing a prank.’

It wasn’t a huge deal, but it showed what a nasty little mind she had.

Chu Liangyu had no gentle feelings for this kind of brat.

She walked to the riverbank, grabbed the cub by her tail, and lifted her up.

"Come on, say what you just said again."

Startled by the sudden movement, the little cub began to struggle nonstop.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she shrieked, "It’ll be the same if I say it again! I hate you!"

"Heh. To think I’d be the mother of a little thing like you."

Chu Liangyu believed that some things had to be said, even to a child. So, she slowly began, "Do you know why I treat your Beast Father this way?"

"It’s because your Beast Father tried to kill me. He failed and was overpowered by me instead."

"To save his own life, he gave me his Life Scale. But then he tried to take it back, using his song to control me while I was severely injured."

The struggling little Mermaid stopped moving, looking utterly disbelieving.

’In her eyes, her Beast Father was the most powerful being in the world. How could he possibly lose?’

’And lose to this Beast Mother, who’s only good for birthing cubs? She didn’t believe it!’

"No, that’s impossible!"

Chu Liangyu, still holding the cub, walked over to Yu He. "What do you say?"

Yu He’s face was grim. Everything was fine, and now this little one had to stir up trouble.

’Great,’ he thought. ’What little dignity I had left has been dragged through the mud all over again.’

He couldn’t even say anything to save face, because his Life Scale was in Chu Liangyu’s hands!

"What she said is true."

With that one sentence, the hope in the little cub’s eyes vanished into thin air, and she stopped making a fuss.

Arguing with this little brat was a complete waste of time. ’What was I thinking?’ Chu Liangyu chided herself.

She casually tossed the cub back into the river. "Yu He, go do what I told you. It’s getting dark. The rest of you, hurry up and go hunt."

"Understood, Female Master."

"Alright."

"Yes, Female Master. Be careful not to overexert yourself."

The group dispersed, leaving only Chu Liangyu, Xiong Jiaojiao, and a group of cubs.

After telling them not to wander off, Chu Liangyu got busy with her own tasks.

Cubs in the Beast World were easily attacked, and they knew this themselves. That’s why they wouldn’t dare leave the tribe on their own, and it was also why Chu Liangyu felt at ease leaving them.

The others were all quite strong, so hunting was an incredibly easy task for them.

However, that didn’t seem to include Chi Yizhong.

This was his first time on land, and he wasn’t very familiar with the prey here.

He didn’t know what kind of prey he should hunt for food. Fortunately, he was powerful enough that nothing could really threaten him.

Behind him, Feng Qiwu and Hu Qiumu watched quietly.

Chi Yizhong naturally noticed them, but he didn’t care, remaining immersed in his hunt.

"Hey, you can’t eat that one. It’s too prickly."

"See that cave over there? The thing inside is edible."

Chi Yizhong, who had been about to catch a porcupine, paused. He gave up on it and glanced at the cave Feng Qiwu had pointed out.

It was pitch-black, making it impossible to see what was inside.

Chi Yizhong was used to being alone and wasn’t good at communicating, but that didn’t mean he was stupid.

"Oh. Then you go."

He swept his gaze over the two of them and prepared to look for something to eat elsewhere.

"I’m not lying to you! Are you really not going?"

’How boring,’ Feng Qiwu thought. ’Hasn’t he seen how dangerous the Beast World can be? Why isn’t this guy falling for it?’

"The way you do it, anyone who isn’t a complete idiot won’t fall for your trick."

The corner of Hu Qiumu’s mouth curled into a mocking smile. ’So empty-headed, yet he still tries to scheme against others.’

Feng Qiwu was quite annoyed by his look. "You think you can do better? Then you do it!"

"Fine. Watch and learn."

Feng Qiwu crossed his arms, leaned his back against a tree, and watched him lazily.

’This guy has always been insidious,’ Feng Qiwu mused. ’And from his confident look, he probably really does have a plan.’

But what did he see?

Hu Qiumu actually went into the cave himself. This move completely dumbfounded Feng Qiwu.

"Wait, what are you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Hu Qiumu came back out, followed by a giant green python.

The distance between them was so small that the python could have easily swallowed Hu Qiumu with a single bite.

But the giant snake made no move. At this point, Feng Qiwu finally understood what was going on.

"You call that a plan?"

"If the Female Master finds out, how are you going to explain yourself?"

Hu Qiumu nodded. "True. It would be difficult for me to explain if she found out."

"Then why did you..."

"But don’t forget, those I control are indistinguishable from ordinary people."

’Right, he had actually forgotten about that.’

Shrugging, Feng Qiwu didn’t say anything more.

Clearly, Hu Qiumu had given it some kind of command.

The green python nodded, then headed off in a certain direction.