But his words didn’t make Taotie stop.
It was as if Taotie hadn’t heard him, and he continued to toy with the sobbing cub.
The human cub was soft and looked delicious.
Just as Taotie opened his mouth wide, the little white creature screeched again.
“He’s my and Ah Wu’s child! If you dare eat him, Ah Wu will devour you!”
Taotie knew Ah Wu’s fierce reputation.
The little white creature was trying to scare him off.
But Taotie snorted with amusement and said carelessly, “Everyone knows Ah Wu is gone. So what if I eat his child?”
“Ah Wu isn’t dead!”
As the little white creature said this, his gaze suddenly shifted in a particular direction. A second later, his expression turned to shock. “Ah Wu, you—you’re back!”
Taotie: “?”
Taotie was startled.
Almost instinctively, he released his paw and looked in the direction where the little white beast was staring.
However, after staring for a while, he still couldn’t spot Ah Wu.
“There’s no one—”
Taotie impatiently withdrew his gaze, but the little white beast was also gone.
Not only was the white beast missing, but the little cub he was about to eat had also disappeared.
Taotie: “?”
Looking around, Taotie spotted the white beast running at full speed with the cub on his back.
The little white beast was running so fast that his paws seemed to leave afterimages!
“You dare to trick me!”
Taotie let out a low growl and charged forward, determined to catch the pair.
The little white beast ran with all his strength, zigzagging to throw off Taotie.
Though Taotie was strong, he wasn’t as nimble as the little white beast.
After running for what felt like ages, Taotie was completely disoriented and lost track of the little white beast.
Frustrated, he let out a furious roar, demanding that the white beast come out on his own.
Instead of the white beast, it was a spirit deer that appeared.
The spirit deer was foraging for his favorite lingzhi mushrooms and had no intention of paying attention to Taotie’s outburst.
But Taotie was making too much noise.
Annoyed by the racket, the spirit deer glanced over and spoke, “Why do you insist on going after the auspicious beast’s cub? If Ah Wu ever comes back, you’ll be in trouble.”
“Ah Wu isn’t coming back. Didn’t you hear? He’s stuck in the mortal realm and can’t return!”
Taotie was so sure of himself, believing that the fierce beast Ah Wu would never return.
In the past, when Ah Wu was around, Taotie’s reputation for ferocity had been completely overshadowed. Everyone said that Ah Wu, a naturally fierce beast, was the most terrifying of all.
They used to say that when Ah Wu grew up, he would become the leader of all fierce beasts!
Hearing this over and over had long made Taotie bitter.
“Taotie, it’s wise to leave some room for retreat.”
The spirit deer, known as one of the most peaceful creatures in the world of Mountain and Sea, always stayed out of trouble. He rarely involved himself in disputes and usually kept to himself.
His advice to Taotie wasn’t just to keep things quiet but also to remind him not to push his luck too far. He didn’t want Taotie to truly offend Ah Wu by harming the little one.
Nothing in this world is absolute.
Since no one had seen Ah Wu’s body, no one could say for sure that he wouldn’t return.
The spirit deer’s words were clear, but Taotie wasn’t listening at all.
He angrily clawed at the ground, venting his frustration.
Seeing that Taotie wasn’t going to calm down, the spirit deer decided to look for his lingzhi elsewhere.
Just as the spirit deer was about to leave, he spotted a familiar figure.
The figure was much larger than before, but with its red fur, it was unmistakable.
“Ah Wu.”
The spirit deer was startled. “You’re back.”
Taotie had heard these words just moments ago, so he assumed he was being tricked again.
Without even looking in the direction the spirit deer was staring at, he growled, “So what if that fierce beast really came back?! Even if he did, I’ll still eat the auspicious beast!”
“Not just the auspicious beast, but also the child the auspicious beast said he had with that fierce one!”
Taotie’s violent outburst was filled with malice, causing the spirit deer to silently step back two paces.
“Taotie, mind your words.”
The spirit deer gave Taotie one last warning, and after that, he continued to retreat, not caring whether Taotie took his advice or not.
Taotie noticed the spirit deer stepping back further and paused his angry growls in confusion.
“Spirit deer, why are you backing away?”
As he asked, he finally looked in the direction the spirit deer had been staring.
The moment he did, a massive figure lunged at him.
A growl, far more terrifying than his own roars, erupted in front of him.
Taotie’s pupils contracted sharply, his fur bristling in alarm. Even the skin beneath his fur trembled.
Danger!
Relying on his years of survival instincts, Taotie dodged the deadly claws in a flash.
“Ah Wu!”
He exclaimed, “You’re not dead!”
The auspicious beast hadn’t lied; Ah Wu was truly alive!
“What did you do to my Zai Zai?”
Ah Wu’s cold, vertical pupils locked onto Taotie.
His emotionless interrogation made Taotie’s heart race.
“I didn’t eat him.”
Taotie wasn’t the type to back down easily, but facing Ah Wu, he quickly assessed his chances in a fight—and decided to surrender.
“He left with your child. They’re both alive.”
Even though Taotie kept insisting the auspicious beast was safe, Ah Wu narrowed his eyes and continued to approach him slowly.
Before long, Taotie’s screams echoed through the air, fur flying everywhere, some of it stained with blood. The sight was oddly beautiful in its chaos.
While Taotie was barely surviving, on the other side, the little white beast had collapsed from exhaustion.
He had run far enough that he couldn’t hear Taotie’s roars anymore.
Once he was sure Taotie wasn’t chasing them, the little white beast finally turned his attention to Pingping on his back. Pingping had also collapsed to the ground.
“Chirp?”
Pingping, are you hurt anywhere?
The little white beast squeaked and chirped, but after a while, he realized Pingping couldn’t understand him.
He tried to transform back into human form but failed.
“Squeak, squeak, chirp.”
Thinking quickly, the little white beast used his paw to write on the ground.
“I am your little uncle.”
He scratched the words into the dirt for a long time, but when he was done, he realized that Pingping couldn’t read yet.
The little white beast: “……”
“Let it all end, I’m so exhausted.”
The little white beast, after scratching at the ground for a long time, took a moment to gather his emotions and then resumed drawing.
He drew a little figure and pointed to himself.
With his combined drawing and gestures, Pingping finally understood what he was trying to say.
“You… you’re my little uncle?”
The little white beast nodded decisively.
Baby Pingping was stunned, staring in disbelief at the transformed little uncle.
Maybe it was the adaptability of children, but soon enough, baby Pingping flung himself at the white beast with tears in his eyes. “Little Uncle! Pingping missed you so much!”
“Squeak.”
Uncle missed you too.
The little white beast also gave his baby Pingping a little kiss.
The two of them hugged tightly, calming down only after a while.
Although the little white beast couldn’t return to his human form, his current beast form made survival easier in the world of Mountain and Sea.
He didn’t return to their previous home but instead built a new one.
“Chirp.”
Stay here and be good.
He told Pingping to stay in place, then darted off as fast as he could to pick some fruits.
Pingping waited eagerly, never taking his eyes off the direction the white beast had gone.
The little white beast returned with only a few fruits, giving them all to Pingping.
He patted his own belly, signaling that he had already eaten earlier.
When they were hungry, they ate fruit; when thirsty, they drank from the spring. The uncle and nephew hid cautiously, avoiding any encounters with other beasts.
Their hiding was so successful that even Ah Wu, in his desperate search, couldn’t find them, no matter how madly he searched.
“If I can’t find my Zai Zai, none of you will live.”
Ah Wu had gone far too long without seeing his Zai Zai, and his sanity had long since unraveled. His menacing presence struck fear into the hearts of all the beasts in the world of Mountain and Sea.
To prevent Ah Wu from truly unleashing a massacre, the remaining beasts began searching for the auspicious beast and his child on their own accord.
Their massive search effort ended up startling the little white beast.
The little white beast, leading baby Pingping, started moving from place to place, constantly on the run.
After days of fleeing, both the little white beast and Pingping were completely drained.
“If Ah Wu doesn’t come back soon, I’m finished,” the little white beast muttered weakly, lying on the grass. He felt that if this chase continued, he wouldn’t survive to see Ah Wu’s return.
As the little white beast continued hiding, Ah Wu began to sense that something was wrong.
He stopped ordering the other beasts to search for his cub and instead spread the news that he had returned.
This time, the news finally brought a response.
As night fell, while waiting at the home he shared with Ling Rui, Ah Wu finally spotted the familiar figure of the little white beast running toward him.
“Ah Wu!”
At the sight of Ah Wu, the little cub’s eyes reddened, his nose flushed, and he looked so pitiful that it tugged at Ah Wu’s heart.
After a long separation, nothing was more important than embracing each other.
The two uncles hugged, while baby Pingping, holding his chubby little face, blinked his eyes as he watched intently.
But before long, the other beasts gently led Pingping away to play.
The beasts bore no ill intentions—in fact, they didn’t dare.
They were trying to please Ah Wu, ensuring that he and the auspicious beast wouldn’t be disturbed. So, they patiently entertained baby Pingping.
For once, little Pingping, who had been timid and hiding in the world of Mountain and Sea, finally began to thrive and have fun.
Soon, he was laughing happily.
Ling Rui, hearing Pingping’s laughter from a distance, smiled as he leaned against Ah Wu’s chest.
“Why did you bring Pingping here?”
“He snuck over on his own.”
“How are my brothers?”
“They’re all doing well, but they miss you a lot.”
The two stayed close, holding each other, chatting about ordinary things.
From Ah Wu’s words, Ling Rui learned that the great Wei Kingdom, along with other nations, had completely fallen to the Qi and Qing dynasties. Now, only the two dynasties of Qi and Qing ruled the world.
Besides matters of state, there were also family affairs.
“Your mother said that as soon as you return, we’ll have our wedding.”
“Zai Zai, I’ve waited a long time for our wedding.”
Hearing Ah Wu’s words, Ling Rui blushed and rubbed his round head shyly against Ah Wu.
“Ah Wu…”
Looking embarrassed, Ling Rui made a bold suggestion in a soft voice after finishing his snuggling, “Since we can’t have the wedding here… why don’t we… at least consummate it now?”
Ah Wu: “…”
Without hesitation, Ah Wu lowered his head and pushed the shy little white beast deep into their den.
As the night darkened, everything began to fall into place.
A few days later.
After spending their days freely in the world of Mountain and Sea, the family of three vanished, leaving the other beasts confused.
“Ah Wu and the little one left again?”
“They must have. I’ve checked their den seven times, and it’s really empty!”
“Phew, it’s good that they’re gone! Now I can finally breathe easy again!”
“D*mn it, why did Ah Wu torment us so much? And besides, isn’t a fierce beast like him supposed to meet a tragic end? Yet here he is, living happily!”
“Tsk, a fierce beast like him shouldn’t have a good ending, but I bet it’s because the little auspicious beast used all of his merits to save him.”
The group of beasts continued to gossip, and by the end of their conversation, their jealousy nearly blinded them.
“Whatever, let’s not talk about them anymore. Let’s just live our own lives.”
The beasts dispersed, leaving behind a once-occupied den.
While the den lost its residents, far away in the royal palace, long-lost owners had finally returned.
“Little Seven, you’re finally back.”
First of all, isn’t Ah Wu WAY bigger than Zai Zai in their beast form ?
Second of all, this feels like the end, is it the end ? Did we avoid the bad ending ?
Thank you so much for all your hard and the updates ❤️