The warriors, who had been discussing serious tribe matters, couldn’t help but stop and stare. "Are those... clothes? On cubs?" one of them asked, completely baffled.
Su Qinglan ignored the stares and headed toward the houses of Bai Ling and Lin Muyu.
She wanted her friends to join her in visiting her father because Bai Ling also had cubs. Along the way, the show-off cubs gathered a small parade of curious onlookers.
Even the tiny Xiao San in her pocket couldn’t resist the excitement; he kept stretching his neck out to see the world, his little hooded sweater making him look like a very fashionable green bean.
Su Qinglan arrived at Bai Ling’s house just as the afternoon sun was hitting the clearing. It was a peaceful scene.
Bai Ling was lounging on a large, flat, sun-warmed stone, looking like a lazy cat. Around her, her three little red fox cubs were a blur of fur, tumbling over each other and yapping in high-pitched voices.
The moment Xiao Er and Xiao Yi saw the other cubs, they didn’t wait for an invitation.
With their little tails wagging like propellers, they dashed forward. Their bright orange jumpsuits stood out sharply against the green grass. They dove headfirst into the pile of red fur, and soon it was impossible to tell where one cub ended and the other began.
Bai Ling sat up abruptly, her jaw nearly hitting her chest as she stared at the two wiggling tiger cubs.
"Qinglan-jie! What in the name of the Beast God is that?" She reached out, her fingers trembling slightly as she touched the soft, high-quality fabric of Xiao Yi’s sleeve.
"Are those... clothes? On Cubs? It’s so beautiful! How did you make this? I’ve never seen anything so soft!"
Su Qinglan laughed, enjoying her friend’s shocked expression. She sat down on the stone beside her, feeling the warmth of the sun on her back.
"Xuan Long and I worked on them together. The fabric is special. I have the designs in my head, and I can teach you if you want to make some for your little foxes."
Bai Ling’s eyes lit up with excitement for a split second before she let out a long, dramatic sigh and slumped her shoulders.
"Oh, don’t bother teaching me, Qinglan. You know me. I’m useless with my hands. I’d probably sew my own fingers to the cloth and end up as a permanent decoration in the house."
She didn’t hesitate, however. She turned around and cupped her hands to her mouth, shouting toward her hut.
"Husband! Get out here! Put down that meat! Qinglan is going to teach you how to make cub clothes since your female is a disaster at it!"
Her fox husband poked his head out of the doorway, looking a bit startled by her loud voice. He wiped his hands on his hide and walked over, nodding respectfully to Su Qinglan.
He knew his female was better at eating and napping than any craft, so he sat down obediently to listen, his ears twitching as he examined the structure of the tiny jumpsuit.
Suddenly, a high-pitched, playful voice echoed from the path leading into the clearing. "Are you all gathering for a secret party without me? How heartless! My heart is truly broken!"
They all turned to see Lin Muyu walking toward them. She was prancing along with a mischievous glint in her eyes, her hands on her hips.
She bent down to tickle one of the fox cubs that ran past her, but then her gaze landed on Su Qinglan’s pocket.
She froze mid-tickle. Her breath caught in her throat. "Is that..." she whispered, leaning in so close her nose almost touched Su Qinglan’s hip. "A snake cub? It is him?"
Su Qinglan gave her a mysterious, beautiful smile but remained silent. She simply reached down and gently patted the tiny green head of Xiao San, who poked his tongue out at Lin Muyu.
Lin Muyu’s eyes went wide, and she quickly clamped her hand over her mouth. She knew Xuan Long had swallowed the egg, but now seeing the healthy hatchling, suddenly she felt the weight from her heart being lifted.
"Alright, alright," Lin Muyu said, suddenly straightening her back. Her usual playful mask slipped, and a rare, serious expression took over her face. "Enough about the cub’s clothes. I have news. Big news. The kind of news that will make your ears fall off."
Su Qinglan and Bai Ling both leaned in, sensing the shift in her energy. Even Bai Ling’s husband stopped looking at the cloth to listen.
"What is it, Muyu? Stop being so dramatic and just tell us," Bai Ling urged.
"I’m pregnant," Lin Muyu announced.
The clearing went dead silent. The only sound was the cubs yapping in the distance. Su Qinglan and Bai Ling were both stunned, their eyes wide like saucers.
"Pregnant?" Bai Ling finally shouted, standing up from the stone.
"But... but you don’t even have a beast husband! You’ve rejected every male in the tribe for the last years! Some of them were the strongest warriors, and you told them they weren’t even fit to carry your water!"
Lin Muyu’s face, which was usually full of bold, sharp confidence, suddenly began to change color.
A deep, bright red blush crept up from her neck and flooded her cheeks. She looked down at her feet, her toes digging into the dirt, and started fiddling with a stray lock of hair.
"I... I already mated," she stammered, her voice barely a whisper.
It was a total shock. It was the first time they had ever seen the legendary, sharp-tongued Lin Muyu look so embarrassed and shy. She looked like a young cub who had been caught stealing honey.
"Who?" both Su Qinglan and Bai Ling demanded at the same time, their voices filled with disbelief. "Who is the father? Which man finally managed to catch the ’Wild Cat’ of the tribe?"
Lin Muyu opened her mouth to answer, but only a small voice came out. She looked like she wanted to melt into the ground and disappear.