The man’s rugged, deep-set features creased into a slight frown.
A pair of fierce green eyes showed a hint of suspicion.
"Is this little thing really my cub?"
The subordinate beside him was horrified, but his face remained stern and professional.
"Great General, there’s no mistake. He is of your direct bloodline."
Members of the Black Panther Clan’s bloodline shared a unique spiritual power bond, and he had just seen the Great General test it himself. There was no doubt.
The expression on Mu Silin’s hard, handsome face began to crack.
He looked down at Shen Yue’s dark, ugly, pockmarked face, and his vision went black. He nearly fell.
His subordinate caught him.
"Great General, be careful!"
Mu Silin couldn’t bear to open his eyes.
’It really is this ugly female!!’
’That explains it. A few months ago in Beastification City, he may have lost his senses during his mating heat, but when he woke up, his body was covered in rows of small, sharp teeth marks, and there was a scratch on his ass.’
’The claw marks weren’t too deep or too shallow, clearly a sign left after mating. When he returned to Muxue City, he felt something was off, as if he’d lost something important.’
’Now he knew what it was. He’d lost the chastity he had guarded for so many years!!’
At the time, he had searched for ages but couldn’t find which female had been in Beastification City that day. Then, news spread that the Duchess had caused a scene in Beastification City, had relations with an unknown male in heat, and was stripped of her noble title and exiled to the Wilderness.
Soon after, he received a letter from the Duke Mansion voluntarily breaking off the engagement. The entire clan was overjoyed at finally being free from the marriage alliance with that ugly female.
But he was the only one whose heart was in turmoil. How could it be such a coincidence?
Shen Yue had relations with an unknown male in Beastification City, while he seemed to have mated with an unknown female in Beastification City at the exact same time. So, he had been cautious and hadn’t gone through with breaking the engagement.
He had brought only one subordinate and secretly followed her all the way here.
He never expected that he would actually find her!
The female really was Shen Yue, and she had even given birth to his cub!!
Mu Silin felt his vision darken again.
The subordinate beside him knew his general was reeling from the blow and couldn’t help but try to console him.
"Great General, just bear with it. This is fate. Perhaps this is the Beast God’s will!"
Then, the subordinate added,
"After all, Miss Shen Yue has even borne you a child. Please just accept this inconvenience!"
’For the continuation of the Black Panther Royal Family, and for that noble bloodline!’
’It’s just that now that Shen Yue has been stripped of her noble title, she is indeed unworthy of the Great General’s status. But, at least this ugly female has a high fertility value!’
’Look across the entire Beast World Continent—who else can have seven cubs in one litter?’
’It’s a bit incredible, and the species in the litter are all different, but the rumors were ultimately false. Shen Yue’s fertility must be an unprecedented SSS+ grade.’
’Isn’t this like they’ve struck gold?!’
Mu Silin felt he couldn’t endure this injustice one bit.
His jawline tightened. He really wanted to turn around and leave, to pretend he hadn’t seen anything, to pretend he didn’t know.
Just then, down below, Shen Yue cuddled the Little Black Panther in her arms and walked affectionately toward the cave.
"Er Bao, your female mother is here. I won’t let bad people take you away ever again! Your female mother will protect you."
The little one replied in a cute, milky voice from her arms,
"Er Bao will protect my female mother too, brave like Big Brother!"
Hearing this, Shen Yue knew the little guy was very perceptive. Even though he hadn’t hatched from his eggshell before, he had heard and sensed everything that happened outside.
Her heart warmed, and she couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
"You can’t be like Dabao. That was very dangerous. From now on, none of you are to put yourselves in harm’s way for me, understand?"
Er Bao: "What does ’put yourselves in harm’s way’ mean?"
Shen Yue gently explained, "It means using your own body to shield your female mother from danger. I don’t need you to do that, okay?"
The little one listened, blinking his eyes.
"But Er Bao wants to protect my female mother, too!"
Shen Yue stroked his head.
"That’s why you just need to grow up healthy. When you’re big, then you can protect me!"
Shen Yue held him as she was about to enter the cave.
"Oh, right. Since you’re so dark and inky, how about I name you Xuan Mo? We can call you Mo Mo."
Up in the tree, Mu Silin was speechless. "..."
’What does she mean, "dark and inky"?’
’That’s the pure and superior bloodline of our Black Panther Royal Family, thank you very much!’
Er Bao was ecstatic.
"Mo Mo, it sounds nice! Er Bao will be Mo Mo! Thank you, Female Mother! Er Bao likes it!!"
Si Muye escorted Shen Yue and Er Bao back into the cave.
Mu Silin watched this heartwarming scene, his eyelid twitching uncontrollably.
’Shen Yue might be ugly, but I never thought she had such a loving side.’
’Could the previous rumors have all been false?’
The rumors claimed that Miss Shen Yue of the Duke Mansion was hideously ugly with a ferocious expression, had a fiery, arrogant, and domineering personality, couldn’t tell right from wrong, and most importantly, was infertile.
’Looking at her now, "ferocious" isn’t quite right, but "hideously ugly" is definitely true.’
’As for being fiery and unable to tell right from wrong, I haven’t seen any evidence of that either.’
’And as for being infertile, that’s complete nonsense!’
The subordinate watched him and chose the right moment to speak.
"Great General, I don’t think Miss Shen Yue is as bad as the rumors say. Why don’t we... bring her back to Muxue City?"
Mu Silin’s brow furrowed. "Bring her back? We’ll observe first and decide later!"
...
Inside the cave, Shen Yue placed Er Bao on her lap, stroking him lovingly.
"Are you hungry, Er Bao? How about I make you something yummy?"
Er Bao snuggled contentedly in her arms.
"Okay! When I was in my eggshell, I could smell the yummy food my female mother was making. I want to eat!"
Shen Yue’s heart warmed at his words, and she dotingly placed him on a straw mat.
"Okay, I’ll go make it for you. You be a good boy and sleep for a little while. I’ll wake you when it’s ready."
Er Bao obediently lay down next to Dabao.
"Er Bao be good. Er Bao sleep with Big Brother."
With that, the little one snuggled up to Dabao and closed his eyes.
Shen Yue looked at the Little Golden Lion next to him, who was several centimeters larger, and worriedly stroked Dabao’s head.
’Why hasn’t Dabao woken up yet? He’s getting bigger and growing every day, but he just won’t wake up. What’s going on?’
「Meanwhile」
Far away on Golden West Mountain, within Sunshine West Mountain.
A grand hall shone with splendor, and on the throne at its head, a man with curly golden hair and a crown propped his head on one hand, sleeping soundly with his eyes half-closed.
He seemed to be dreaming of something amusing, as a slight, smiling curve appeared on his usually stern and unsmiling face.
Down below in the hall, his ministers were still chattering endlessly.
"Your Majesty, now that the engagement with that ugly female has been successfully broken, why not just form a marriage alliance with the young lady of the Marquis Mansion!"
"Exactly! The young lady from the Marquis Mansion isn’t just beautiful, her fertility value has been tested as A-grade. She might have three cubs in one litter, or at least two. She can continue the bloodline of our Golden Lion Royal Family. A Female Master like her is a suitable match for you, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, the young lady of the Marquis Mansion has always been very fond of you. She has said many times that she hopes you will be her Beast Husband. Now that the engagement with the ugly female is off, you should really consider it!"
"Yes, Your Majesty! If you don’t make a decision soon, once the young lady of the Marquis Mansion is no longer willing to wait for you and fills up her marriage slots with other males from the royal family, there will be no spot left for you!"
Just as they were speaking, the golden-haired man on the throne snapped his eyes open.
With golden hair, green eyes, and unparalleled beauty, he was like a Sun God stepping out of Ancient Greek mythology.
The corner of his lip curled up, and he exuded a kingly aura as he swept his gaze over the ministers below.
"Waste no more effort. I just had a dream through a spiritual bond. In it, I saw a Little Golden Lion, and he was chasing after me, calling me ’Father’!"