The delicate voice blossomed in Si Yan’s heart, like a crisp spring day, like cool streams trickling down mountains—it nourished her soul.
Hearing a call, Si Yan lowered her head slightly, looking into Nan Mo’s eyes, as beautiful as black gemstones.
How could it be? she wondered. That cry of ’Mother’ in my heart just now... was it sent by Nan Mo?
A glimmer of expectation rose in Si Yan’s heart, yet she feared hurting Nan Mo.
She tentatively asked, "Mo Mo, was that you speaking to me just now?"
Nan Mo nodded quickly, his eyes shining with anticipation. It was me.
It was his first time conversing with his mother through Telepathy, and Nan Mo felt a little embarrassed, his cheeks turning slightly red.
The tender, blushing cub, shy yet daring, was making his first effort to communicate with his mother.
Looking at that tender little face, Si Yan was both surprised and delighted. She was happy for Nan Mo. "You can talk? That’s wonderful, you can talk! Are you using Telepathy?"
The second cub nodded.
Si Yan’s spirits soared.
Telepathy and verbal communication are just tools for interaction, she thought. In my eyes, there’s no difference.
The realization that Nan Mo had accepted her and could now communicate intertwined in Si Yan’s heart.
She was deeply moved.
"Little Mo Mo, Little Chi Chi."
Si Yan lifted the two little cubs into her arms.
Mo Mo, the little cub, was especially well-behaved; he didn’t resist no matter how she held him.
Dongchi struggled a bit, his face growing awkwardly red, and he turned his head aside, avoiding her gaze.
When I first transmigrated, I didn’t consider myself their birth mother. Although I intended to take responsibility, I hadn’t invested much emotion, Si Yan recalled. Now it’s different. I almost feel as if they’re my own flesh and blood.
After experiencing that dream with the Great Demon King, she felt even more strongly that as a mother, she should offer her cubs tolerance, companionship, and love.
She didn’t wish for her cubs to become the next Great Demon King.
Nan Mo’s heart thumped rapidly.
I never knew, he thought, that being embraced by Mother, being loved by her, could be such a blissful thing. So blissful it seems almost unreal. So blissful that I have to keep secretly checking that this world is real, that it’s beautiful.
She Wang returned to the cave. Seeing Si Yan hugging Dongchi and Nan Mo with a smile, he frowned.
How could a female be so intimate with two adopted snake Beastman cubs?
Si Yan noticed the Great Demon King had returned and gently put Dongchi and Nan Mo down.
The gecko said, "Granddaughter, give some more thought to the matter I discussed with you before."
"Are you talking about ’conquering’ him?" Si Yan asked.
The term ’conquer’ was familiar to Si Yan; she had read plenty of novels that used it in her previous life. It meant to make the other person fall in love with oneself, regardless of one’s own feelings for them. She didn’t like the word.
The gecko said, "This Beastman before you is the future archvillain in the Heavenly Book. He will become a thorough villain. Right now, you are the only untainted place in his heart."
The gecko continued, "Granddaughter, haven’t you read the Heavenly Book? Having read it, you ought to know that from birth, this false heaven decreed you a fate of being harmed by your closest kin. Do you want your destiny to continue the tragedy foretold in the Heavenly Book?"
Si Yan echoed in confusion, "??? Heavenly Book?"
The gecko gave her a knowing look. "In the Heavenly Book, you die at the hands of your own sons."
Could the Heavenly Book he mentioned be the novel I read in my previous life? Si Yan wondered. What exactly is this gecko? What does it know?
Si Yan was shocked. "I won’t die at my sons’ hands! I’ve already set them on the right path."
"Set them right?" The gecko glanced at the sky, then suddenly said, "The Heavenly Book you read is the keystone of this false heaven’s destiny. Do you really think this false heaven, in order to preserve its own destiny, will let you live?
"You’re welcome to try, even if your cubs do everything they can to defy the heavens. How will this false heaven fix this ’bug’? If your four cubs don’t take your life, who will? Could it be this great serpent villain?"
The gecko added, "After all, he’s wicked and dark. If the false heaven plants a seed of malice in him, he could easily take your life."
"So, according to you, my death is certain?" Si Yan fumed.
The gecko chuckled. "Grandpa wouldn’t harm you. Such is the destiny woven by this false heaven.
"You must die, they must become villains, the Silver Wolf Beastmen must perish, and the fated heroine must possess countless males and bear hundreds of offspring."
"..." Si Yan was on the verge of cursing.
Suddenly, the gecko said cheerily, "So, what do you say? Want to join your Grandpa? We, grandpa and granddaughter, can tear apart this false heaven together!"
The gecko said, "Granddaughter, if you still don’t trust Grandpa, let’s try one thing first."
Si Yan asked cautiously, "What’s the first thing?"
The gecko answered, "Let’s present a grand gift to the false heaven. We’ll save the Silver Wolf Tribe!"
The gecko rolled around in Si Yan’s space, lazily licking its paws and saying, "According to the Heavenly Book, the entire Silver Wolf Tribe perishes. We’ll simply prevent that from happening. How about it?"
Si Yan considered this. She had already planned to rescue the Silver Wolf Tribe, and what the gecko proposed seemed worth the risk. So, she didn’t refuse.
"Alright. Let’s cooperate this one time."
The gecko beamed again. "Granddaughter, let Grandpa discuss another matter with you."
The gecko said, "Your space is too small. Find a way to enlarge it, then Grandpa can roll around more."
A chill ran down Si Yan’s spine.
Si Yan said, "Don’t be anxious. I’ll find a way to expand the space for my own sake."
The size of the space was crucial to her. Even if only for hoarding supplies, she would find a way to expand it.
Si Yan looked at She Wang’s hand, considering whether to try and take it, but an instinctive resistance held her back.
Strategies, cultivation...
Closing her eyes, Si Yan pondered for a long time.
She then took the purple scale from her waist.
Si Yan opened her eyes, stood up, and walked towards She Wang, scale in hand.
As the dark purple scale neared its owner, it seemed to grow brighter and sharper.
Si Yan handed over the scale. "This is yours. I’m returning it to you now."
The moment Si Yan mentioned returning the Heart-Connected Scale, She Wang’s aura turned icy cold. He looked up at her, his eyes glinting as if he were contemplating how to kill her.