Seven Cubs, Seven Fathers, Zero Days Off

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Someone Is Really Watching Her and the Children from the Shadows

With that, he ripped open Shen Yue’s bloody sleeve, and his breath hitched.

There, her slender limb was as white as jade, as fine and smooth as white porcelain. He could even see the dark bluish veins beneath her skin. It looked so delicate it might shatter at the slightest touch.

Even though the wound was stained with blood, it did nothing to diminish its sublime beauty.

Si Muye’s breathing slowed, and slowed again.

Shen Yue didn’t notice Si Muye’s expression.

”Poisonous? That’s just because you don’t know how to prepare them! These wild mushrooms are a mountain delicacy, even more delicious than chicken, duck, or fish. And they’re incredibly nutritious—you couldn’t buy them even if you wanted to! I’m so furious!”

”I was planning to make you all chicken and mushroom stew and a nice mushroom soup. Now we can’t eat any of that! We can only eat stewed mutton and roasted wild boar!”

Mu Silin: ”...”

’He was suddenly starting to wonder, was making this woman eat roasted wild boar and stewed mutton some kind of hardship for her?’

’Would she rather eat wild mushrooms?’

’Since when were wild mushrooms more precious than meat?’

’And her calling them a nutritious delicacy... what nonsense, right?’

Hearing this, the subordinate beside him began to wonder if he’d made a mistake.

”Uh, General, I didn’t actually throw those wild mushrooms very far... Should I...”

’Go get them?’

Mu Silin shot him a glare.

”You believe her? Do you have any idea how many beasts have died from eating wild mushrooms? They’re listed as one of the ten great poisons of the Beast World!”

The subordinate listened, thought for a moment, and nodded.

’Yeah, that’s true.’

’They’re one of the ten great poisons.’

’What if Miss Shen Yue is wrong and we get poisoned from eating them? Better not risk it. I won’t go get them!’

On the other side, Huang Ziyue raised an eyebrow. ’Wild mushrooms are edible if prepared properly?’

This was the first he’d ever heard of such a thing.

’Could it be this woman actually knows about these things?’

His eyes fixed on the slender, jade-like arm that Si Muye had exposed by tearing her sleeve, and his pupils constricted.

He watched as that bear stared at her arm, his breathing clearly becoming ragged, yet the woman herself was completely oblivious.

His expression deepened. ’Is her relationship with that bear so close that she feels no need for caution? Does she not care about appearances at all?’

He narrowed his eyes.

After Shen Yue finished complaining about the mushroom thief, she finally realized Si Muye hadn’t moved.

She glanced down and saw Si Muye staring at her arm, his breathing heavy. She paused. ’Is he getting starstruck again?’

She prompted him,

”Um, why don’t you just give me the water? I’ll clean it myself!”

Si Muye immediately snapped out of it, his cheeks flushing as he composed himself.

”I’m sorry, A Yue. I’ll clean it for you right now.”

With that, he raised his hand to take her arm, but just as he was about to make contact, his fingers trembled. It felt as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest, and he hesitated, as if he didn’t dare to touch her.

Shen Yue watched him and sighed inwardly.

’Si Muye is a great guy, but he’s just too innocent and shy.’

’If he were the one pursuing a girl, she could drop hints until she was blue in the face, and he still wouldn’t dare make a move.’

’She suddenly felt this big bear’s tall stature was a complete waste.’

’She preferred men who were a bit more assertive. This bear was amusing, but his shyness was exhausting. He needs some training!’

She spoke up, ”Never mind, don’t force yourself. It’s just a small scratch; there’s no need to be so tense. Have you forgotten I’m a doctor?”

As she said this, she took the water from his hand without waiting for him to react and stood up.

Si Muye froze, then realized just how useless he had been.

He was about to say something, but Shen Yue had already poured the water over her arm and deftly washed it clean.

She turned to him. ”You’ve worked hard today, too. I saw you cut down all that bamboo. Go rest for a while. I’ll start making dinner soon.”

Shen Yue went back into the cave and took a short nap.

The little cubs were also napping obediently before her.

Thinking about what had just happened, which was a mirror image of her dream from last night, she couldn’t help but become lost in thought.

’Can I really foresee the dangers my children will face in my dreams?’

’Or is it that the original owner of this body shares a blood bond with the children, allowing her to dream of the danger ahead of time as a warning to their mother?’

’In any case, whether it’s me having prophetic dreams or some innate ability of this body, it’s a good thing. If it weren’t for that dream, I probably would have really lost my two children.’

Even now, her heart still pounded with lingering fear. After all, the terror of that massive boulder crashing down had been real and had scared her witless.

’But there was still something she couldn’t figure out: who exactly saved her?’

’And who swapped her basket of mushrooms for a wild boar?’

She looked at the wild boar lying not far away. It had obviously been killed recently. She had even tested it with a silver needle—it wasn’t poisoned. This meant the person who took her mushrooms wasn’t trying to harm her.

’On the contrary, they likely swapped them because they knew the mushrooms were poisonous.’

As this thought occurred to Shen Yue, her gaze darkened.

Ever since the day Er Bao was carried out of the cave, she had felt as if a pair of eyes was watching her from the shadows.

’Her intuition had always been sharp, and today’s events had all but confirmed it.’

’It seemed someone really was in the shadows, constantly watching her and the children.’

’But who would spend so much time watching over her, not to harm her, but without revealing themselves?’

’She mulled it over. Could it be that the original owner’s family had sent someone to protect her in secret?’

’No, that’s not right. The original owner’s reputation was terrible. The Duke Mansion couldn’t stand the sight of her and wished she would die somewhere far, far away.’

’Besides, even if it was someone from the Duke Mansion, why didn’t they step in to help when the original owner was driven out of Barbaric City, bullied by other beastmen, and left to starve on the road?’

’So, that doesn’t make sense.’

’What’s more, she knew this person in the shadows was no ordinary individual. After all, even Si Muye hadn’t sensed their presence, which meant they had to be incredibly strong.’

’So, even though she now knew someone was out there, she couldn’t let it show.’

’They were in the shadows while she was in the open, and their identity was a mystery. She had to be cautious and consider her next steps carefully.’

Shen Yue dozed for a while longer, then opened her Spiritual Spring and took out a drop of Vitality Water. She dripped it onto the wound on her arm. Once her skin had completely absorbed it, she got up to cook.

Meanwhile, Si Muye, furious at his own uselessness, had run off to furiously chop down bamboo, as if trying to work himself to death.

Shen Yue couldn’t help but smile as she watched him storm off angrily into the bamboo forest.

’This innocent bear, getting mad even at himself.’

’Is he mad at himself for being such a disappointment?’

Just as the roasting wild boar was sizzling and dripping with fat, Si Muye returned with his head down, carrying a load of bamboo on his shoulder.

He was also carrying three plump bamboo rats in his other hand.

Each one weighed nearly three kilograms. Shen Yue had never seen bamboo rats so large.

”Where did you catch them?”

Si Muye lifted his handsome face, setting down the bamboo from his shoulder, but he didn’t dare to meet her eyes.

”In the bamboo forest.”

”Oh, these are fantastic! They’re very nourishing!”

Si Muye froze, clearly not expecting that reaction. ”You want to... eat them?”

He’d caught them to be her pets. Many of the young ladies in the Royal City loved to keep pet bamboo rats; they were cute, well-behaved, gentle, and didn’t bite.

The only problem was that bamboo rats were rare and difficult to catch.

He had just spent a great deal of time and effort catching these three.

Shen Yue nodded.

”Yes, of course. Why else catch them? The meat is incredibly tender. Especially when you skin them, chop them into pieces, flash-fry them, and then braise them... the texture is absolutely divine!”

Si Muye: ”...”

Mu Silin: ”...”

Huang Ziyue: ”...”

’Skinned, chopped into pieces, fried, braised...’

’So... so cruel!!’

’How could she even say such things about a precious bamboo rat!’