Chapter 397: Auspicious Sign

Chapter 397: Chapter 397: Auspicious Sign

Shi Lan and her Beast Husbands had intentionally created an opportunity for the three children to be alone together. In reality, the adults were all secretly watching from a corner. Seeing this, they found the scene both funny and exasperating.

Still, this kind of opportunity was very much needed. They had noticed San San’s particular personality traits and worried the three children would fight in private. After a few of these trial runs, San San finally stopped bullying her two older brothers.

She even started to feel they were too easy to bully, and would often say in a childish, mature-sounding voice, "I’ll protect you guys from now on, and Mom too. Dad doesn’t need my protection. He’s so fierce, he would have already scared all the bad guys away."

Ye Ming, having been suddenly mentioned, rubbed his nose. There was nothing for it. San San was going to be a Monarch one day, so his lessons were inevitably a bit strict. Now, he truly and completely understood how his own mother must have felt back then.

Shi Lan hooked her finger around his and said softly, "It’s been hard on you."

When it came to San San’s education, Shi Lan, as someone not from this world, was still rather lacking in local knowledge. Moreover, since San San was destined to become a Monarch, it was better to let her father, with his experience as a Monarch, be her teacher.

As for Shi Lan, she usually focused on teaching the children small life lessons. This plan to have the three little ones spend time alone was her idea, too.

Seeing that the three little ones were finally getting along peacefully and not fighting, the adults breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Sometimes, having many children was lively and blissful, but when they started fighting, the adults felt a bit helpless. After all, they were all their own kids, and it wasn’t right to take sides.

Most of the time, however, it was Yi Yi and San San who argued. Er Er had an exceptionally good temper; he always did whatever his older brother and younger sister said, never fighting, snatching, arguing, or causing a fuss.

This led Shi Lan to often worry that this child would be bullied by others when he grew up.

But He Hanshi told her, "Wife, don’t underestimate Er Er. Er Er just doesn’t like to squabble with his brother and sister. He’s very smart and knows exactly what’s going on. He won’t be bullied."

Hearing this, Shi Lan felt a little more at ease.

To avoid raising suspicion from the outside world, Er Er and San San were only brought out of the house when they were about a year old. The birth dates on their identity chips were also set five months later than their actual ones, making them exactly one year younger than Yi Yi.

In the Beastman World, a child’s beast form changed practically day by day, while their human form didn’t seem to change much overall.

When Yi Yi was one and a half, he grew another tail.

His little body now had two tails, and the hard-won balance he had learned for walking was disrupted once again.

Yi Yi would always sigh in frustration, find Shi Lan and Yan Huoshui, and say, "Mom, Dad, why do I have so many tails? They’re so heavy."

Shi Lan gently stroked his fluffy little tail. "Sweetie, did you know? In ancient mythology, there’s a magical creature called the Nine-tailed Fox. Legend has it that the Nine-tailed Fox only appears when the world is at peace and the people are living happily, so it’s a symbol of good fortune."

"Sweetie, your dad is an auspicious Nine-tailed Fox, and so are you. In the future, you’ll have nine tails and be a super-duper-gorgeous cub, just like your dad."

’Auspicious?’

At his side, Yan Huoshui stared blankly at Shi Lan, his eyes beginning to sting.

Everyone used to say that his Fox Clan was skilled at seducing and serving their wives, that they were philanderers and fickle—a menace. Even the Star Thief Captain who first found him had named him Yan Huoshui.

Perhaps to prove that the Fox Clan was, in fact, devoted and disdained such acts of seducing females, he hadn’t gotten close to a single female all these years, keeping himself pure.

Except for Lanlan.

And only in Lanlan’s heart was he an auspicious being.

When Yi Yi heard Shi Lan’s words, he was instantly enlightened. He thought about his father’s beast form and nodded in agreement. "It’s true! Dad’s beast form is so majestic. I want to be as magnificent as Dad when I grow up."

"You will be."

Shi Lan ruffled the cub’s long, red ears.

Yan Huoshui didn’t hear anything that was said after that. His mind was completely filled with the word his wife had said: ’auspicious.’ His voice was a little raw as he pursed his dry lips. He lifted the cub and set him on the floor. "Yi Yi, go outside and keep practicing your walking and balance. Dad needs to talk to Mom about something."

Yi Yi blinked his big eyes, playfully raising a paw. "Dad, can’t I listen in?"

Yan Huoshui snorted and flicked him lightly on the forehead. "This is a little secret for grown-ups. You’re still a kid, you can’t listen."

"Okay, okay."

Yi Yi raised his two big, fluffy tails, turned, and waddled away unsteadily.

With the child gone, Yan Huoshui finally pulled Shi Lan into his arms without restraint. He rested his chin on the top of her head. His throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton. After a long moment, he let out a sigh of profound thankfulness. "Lanlan, I’m so lucky I met you."

Shi Lan hugged him back and asked softly, "Why the sudden sentiment?"

Yan Huoshui chuckled softly. "It’s nothing. It’s just that I think this every day, and now just happens to be a good time to say it out loud."

Shi Lan couldn’t help herself. Her hand slid down, paused for a moment on his waist, and gave his side a pinch. "Liar. Did you think I couldn’t tell there was something off with your voice?"

"Hss."

"Lanlan, you’re murdering your own husband!"

Yan Huoshui groaned, but his red eyes narrowed in pleasure.

Shi Lan actually had a rough idea of what was going on. Ever since she had mentioned the Nine-tailed Fox, Yan Huoshui had been unusually quiet. She didn’t know what he had been through in the past, but as someone who grew up an orphan, his life surely hadn’t been smooth sailing.

With a soft sigh, she relaxed her grip and patted his shoulder lightly. "It’s okay. It’s all in the past now. In my eyes, you will always be an auspicious being."

"Mhm, okay."

Yan Huoshui’s laughter became clearer and brighter. He laughed so hard his chest trembled, and it took him a moment to blink away the moisture gathering in his eyes.

***

When Er Er and San San were almost two years old, Shi Lan finally began planning to have her next child.

The reason for such a long gap was twofold. First, she had been giving birth so frequently that it was attracting too much attention, so her Beast Husbands had deliberately used contraception to space out her pregnancies. Second, her Beast Husbands had discussed holding a wedding, but Shi Lan was against it. Her reason was that she wanted all her little cubs to be flower children at the ceremony, and she felt the family was still missing a little leopard, a little Pallas’s cat, and a little Bird of Paradise. She was determined to have all the children first, with the mindset of a stamp collector.

Shi Lan wanted to get pregnant with triplets all at once, getting the little leopard, the little Pallas’s cat, and the little Bird of Paradise in one go. She had even consulted the Director about how high the probability was.

The Director gave her a complicated and envious look. After a long moment, she sighed. "For anyone else, it’s impossible. But for you... I’m not so sure. You can give it a try."

She had never seen a female who got pregnant so easily.

However, Shi Lan hadn’t been pregnant for almost two years now. The Director didn’t know if it would still be as easy for her, but so many miracles had happened with Shi Lan that she couldn’t bring herself to say it was impossible.

Although Shi Lan also felt it would be very difficult, she had at least succeeded with twins before.

Therefore, during this period, He Hanshi and Yan Huoshui used contraception, while the other three did not.