The little one pouted, unwilling to give up, and asked one last time, “Really can’t?”
This time, the master nodded.
Seeing the master shake his head and then nod, the little one sulkily walked away with his hands behind his back.
Dun Dun and Yan Yan saw him looking downcast and walked over to him. Dun Dun patted his shoulder in solidarity and sighed, “Little Seven, I understand how you feel right now. We were kind of embarrassed this time, but don’t worry, I believe we’ll make a comeback next time.”
The little one wasn’t comforted.
They continued walking, but they didn’t enter Guan Shan Residence through the main gate.
The master took them through another route, directly leading them inside.
Once they were inside, the little one quickly sensed that something felt different compared to when they had left.
Uncle Zhang San, who usually loved slacking off, wasn’t lazing around at the office.
Instead, Uncle Zhang San had come to greet them!
The little one ran ahead and asked, “Uncle, what happened? Did something happen here? You’re being so diligent today!”
Zhang San: “…”
Zhang San pinched his chubby cheeks and said, “What do you mean I’m diligent today? I’m diligent every day!”
The little one struggled to free himself from the pinch and then stopped getting too close to Zhang San.
Zhang San didn’t chase after him to pinch him again.
“All the students are here?” Zhang San walked over to the master and asked.
Master Jue nodded.
Zhang San smiled, “Good, that’s everyone. Well, you’ve all had a tiring time out there, let the kids go and rest now. Are you going to rest or hold a meeting?”
“No rest, let’s hold the meeting. The big boss is back as well.”
“Alright.”
While the adults talked, the children stood by quietly, but they were all eavesdropping with perked-up ears.
Zhang San and the master knew the kids were listening.
They didn’t say much, only that they were going to hold a meeting.
The children were taken back inside, where they could rest or move around freely, but they were not allowed to leave Guan Shan Residence, not even with permission.
The masters left.
Seeing them go, Dun Dun wasn’t curious. He only asked the little one, “Little Seven, what are you going to do now? Want to play?”
“No.”
In the past, the little one would’ve gone to play.
But now he wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t want to play.
Dun Dun looked disappointed, “Alright then, if you’re not playing, I won’t play either. I’m going to sleep. I haven’t had a good sleep in days.”
The little one waved goodbye.
As they walked back to their rooms, Zhai Bai walked alongside the little one. Turning his head, he asked, “Want to have some hotpot?”
“No, I’ll wait for Ah Wu to come back.”
“Why are you so clingy to him?”
With Ah Wu not around, Zhai Bai finally asked the question that had been on his mind. He was confused, “Is it because he’s nice to you? Do you cling to everyone who’s nice to you?”
The little one was taken aback by what was said to him.
After a long pause, he finally spoke: “Ah Wu is the person who treats me the best in the whole world. I like sticking to Ah Wu, and Ah Wu likes me sticking to him too.”
There were other people who treated him well, but he didn’t cling to them the way he did with Ah Wu.
Zhai Bai was skeptical about this “best in the world” statement. “There’s still a long way to go. Maybe someone will treat you even better than Ah Wu in the future.”
“No, they won’t.”
The little one slowly shook his head. “There won’t be anyone.”
Zhai Bai insisted, “There will be. I say there will be.”
It wasn’t clear whether Zhai Bai was motivated by a desire to compete with Ah Wu or if he just felt uneasy about the way the little one clung to him. Gently patting the little one on the head, he said in a coaxing tone, as if speaking to a child, “Little Seven, I treat you well too. How about you stick to me like you stick to Ah Wu?”
The little one: “…”
His gaze became complicated as he looked at Zhai Bai. “Why do you have to compare yourself with Ah Wu? You’re great, Little Bai.”
Zhai Bai fell silent.
The little one stood on his tiptoes, trying to pat Little Bai’s head.
He couldn’t quite reach, so he patted his arm instead. “Little Bai, don’t compare yourself with others. Just be Little Bai.”
The little one didn’t know if Little Bai understood what he was saying.
After speaking, he pulled out some leftover candy from his pocket and gave a handful to Little Bai.
“Don’t be upset. You’re always upset.”
He shoved the candy into Little Bai’s hands, trying to cheer him up. “Candy is sweet. Eat some and you’ll feel better.”
Zhai Bai looked at the candy, thinking about how much the little one loved sweets. He accepted the candy and reminded him, “Don’t eat too much. It’ll give you a toothache.”
Upon hearing this, the little one opened his mouth wide to show his teeth. “My teeth don’t hurt. I eat lots of candy, and they still don’t hurt.”
The little one had a bit of a sweet tooth, but in the palace, Noble Consort Yi kept an eye on his diet. Even though the palace snacks were sweet, they used special sugar that wouldn’t harm his teeth.
Noble Consort Yi also made sure he didn’t eat too many snacks.
With adults watching over him, the little one had no idea that eating too much candy could cause tooth problems.
Even after Little Bai told him, he still didn’t take the candy away.
This particular candy could only be found at Guan Shan Residence, nowhere else.
“Little Bai, I have to go back. When Ah Wu returns, we’ll eat hotpot together.”
The little one had things to do, so he didn’t talk to Zhai Bai for long.
Zhai Bai responded with an “mm” and watched him leave.
Once back in his room, the little one locked the door. After securing the lock, he quickly transformed back into his small animal form.
He let out a couple of chirps.
Sitting on the floor, he started grooming his fur. After grooming, he checked his little paw pads. The pads were a bit scratched, and one of his claws had a tiny chip in it.
Aside from the pads and claws, the fur on his body looked either flattened or slightly thinning.
He lowered his head and inspected himself for a while before rolling over to a mirror.
The mirror reflected a small fluffy creature.
The little one looked into the mirror, then, feeling down, used his paws to cover his head as if he didn’t want to face reality.
He laid on the floor with his head covered.
Footsteps could be heard outside.
The little one, lying on the ground, didn’t notice at first until the footsteps approached the door.
The paws that were covering his head immediately dropped, and the little creature turned around, eyes fixed on the door.
The door was pushed but didn’t open.
“Zai Zai, open the door.”
Ah Wu stood outside, calling his name.
The little one hadn’t finished tidying himself up and was panicking, not wanting to open the door.
But Ah Wu kept calling for him, “Zai Zai, open the door.”
After hearing his name several times, the little one realized he couldn’t avoid it. He padded to the door, jumped up, and unlocked it by hanging onto the door handle.
With a creak, the door opened.
Ah Wu walked in, closed the door behind him, and upon seeing the little creature, asked, “Why did you change back?”
“I want to sleep. It’s more comfortable sleeping like this.”
After opening the door for Ah Wu, the little one headed for the bed. His plan was simple: once he was in bed, Ah Wu wouldn’t be able to see him anymore.
He felt today’s adventure hadn’t gone well, so he didn’t want Ah Wu to know.
“Ah Wu, are you going to sleep?”
“No.”
Ah Wu followed the little one closely, his eyes never leaving him.
The little one didn’t look back.
After climbing onto the bed, the little one, who usually sprawled out while sleeping, extended a paw, trying to cover himself with a blanket.
Ah Wu, noticing the little one’s unusual behavior, also transformed back into his animal form and joined him on the bed.
“Zai Zai, are you very tired?”
The little one, now under the blanket, tightly shut his eyes, responding with a muffled “mm-mm.”
He kept his eyes closed, pretending to sleep.
But Ah Wu looked down at him and said calmly, “Zai Zai, since I came back, you haven’t looked at me once.”
Whenever Ah Wu went out to hunt, if the little one had done something naughty, he’d always have this guilty expression, avoiding eye contact.
The little one thought he was doing a good job hiding his guilt, not realizing Ah Wu could always see through him instantly.
“I’ll look at you after I wake up.”
The little one kept his eyes shut, thinking that if he didn’t open them, Ah Wu wouldn’t notice anything wrong.
It was just like when he played hide-and-seek—covering his head but not his body.
Ah Wu stared at him for a few seconds, then pulled off the blanket.
The little one: “!”
He stretched out a paw, firmly pressing the blanket back down over himself.
Ah Wu: “…”
Ah Wu extended his paw, equally determined to take away the blanket covering the little one.
One was holding onto the blanket, the other trying to remove it—both equally resolute.
But, no matter how determined, someone had to win.
In the end, it was Ah Wu who pulled the blanket aside. He opened his mouth, gently biting the little one and lifting him up.
The little one kicked his paws in protest.
“Be good.”
Ah Wu, now several times bigger than the little one, spit him out and placed him on his belly.
He softly told the little one to behave, then began checking him over.
His paw pads, claws, fur, and the plump body beneath the fur.
After finishing his inspection, Ah Wu’s expression darkened.
“Zai Zai, you’re hurt.”
Ah Wu gently nudged the little one, preventing him from seeing his expression. His voice didn’t give away how upset he was.
But the little one wasn’t fooled by his tone.
“Ah Wu, but I won.”
Now that he had been found out, the little one stopped pretending.
He moved closer, cupping Ah Wu’s head with his little paws and rubbing his face against him.
“I’m just not that skilled at fighting yet, so I got hurt.”
“Next time, I won’t. Next time, I’ll definitely be fierce.”
The little one had already figured out why he got hurt—he wasn’t fierce enough.
If it had been Ah Wu today, he definitely wouldn’t have gotten hurt at all.
“Ah Wu, don’t be mad.”
The little one tried to act cute, promising he’d be super fierce next time, hoping to cheer Ah Wu up.
But Ah Wu’s mood didn’t improve.
After the little one tried comforting him for a while, Ah Wu seemed to calm down as he looked at the little one.
He avoided touching the injured parts, gently smoothing the fur that was sticking up on the little one’s head.
“Stay here, Zai Zai. I’ll go get some medicine.”
“Okay.”
There was medicine in their room. The little one had come well-prepared, bringing everything he might need.
The medicine had been prepared by Shui Shui.
Ah Wu went to fetch the medicine and carefully applied it to the little one’s paws. He applied it very gently.
“You’ll heal quickly.”
“Okay.”
The little one knew he’d heal fast since it was just a small surface injury.
After Ah Wu finished applying the medicine to his paws and body, he finally let the little one sleep.
The little one slept for a while.
Before he closed his eyes, Ah Wu wrapped him in his arms, staying by his side.
The little one closed his eyes, and as soon as he fell asleep, Ah Wu left.
He covered the little one with a blanket and quietly left the room.
The little one slept soundly, unaware of anything.
Ah Wu, however, had a clear goal in mind as he left.
He didn’t return to his human form, staying in his beast form as he ran quickly.
Fierce beasts were large.
Ah Wu, in his current form, was as big as a fully grown tiger or leopard, perhaps even larger.
He ran all the way to the outskirts of Guan Shan Residence.
The masters at Guan Shan Residence were in a meeting.
Just outside, there were indeed people—people who looked normal but appeared hideous in Ah Wu’s eyes.
He let out a terrifying roar, then attacked, biting several of them in quick succession.
After finishing them off, Ah Wu retreated unscathed.
He didn’t head straight back to the room. Instead, he went to the river, washed off all the blood, and only returned once he was clean.
When the little one opened his eyes, Ah Wu was already back by his side.
“Zai Zai.”
Ah Wu licked the little one’s fur and softly asked, “Do you want to practice attacking prey again?”
The little one, still groggy from sleep, nodded.
Seeing him nod, Ah Wu picked him up by the back of his neck and carried him outside.
The little one, dangling in Ah Wu’s mouth: “…”
He could walk on his own!
Ah Wu moved quickly, and even with the little one in his mouth, his speed wasn’t affected.
It didn’t take long before they stopped.
Ah Wu placed the little one down, and they both hid in the shadows, observing the people outside Guan Shan Residence.
The little one’s paws had already healed.
Ah Wu crouched next to him, whispering instructions on how to extend his claws.
After explaining, Ah Wu even demonstrated.
The little one tensed up, his paws ready, itching to give it a try.
“Roar—”
Go, Zai Zai.
Ah Wu’s lesson began right after the little one’s first solo fight, which hadn’t gone too well.
Ah Wu couldn’t bear the thought that Zai Zai might not be able to handle a crisis on his own.
The little one listened obediently, mimicking Ah Wu’s attacking moves and showing off his own little claws fiercely.
The lesson was in full swing.
With Ah Wu’s personal guidance, the little one made great progress.
After injuring another bad guy, the little one proudly lifted his head and mimicked Ah Wu’s roar: “Awoo! Aw! Awooo!”
Ah Wu: “…”
Ah Wu made similar sounds, but his roar was enough to strike fear into anyone, making their legs go weak.
The little one’s “awoo” was soft and cute, lacking any real intimidation.
Ah Wu hesitated but decided not to say anything.
Maybe when Zai Zai grew up a bit more, he’d have a more impressive “awoo.”
The little one continued “awoo”-ing for a while, then strutted over to Ah Wu, as proud as a little rooster.
“Ah Wu, stop watching me.”
The little one didn’t want Ah Wu to follow him and wanted to attack a bad guy on his own.
Ah Wu hummed in response, pretending to let the little one go on his own.
The little dumpling shook his fur and wiggled his small body before turning around and running off.
As he ran, he unexpectedly spotted the chief examiner.
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