Seven Cubs, Seven Fathers, Zero Days Off

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: If It Really Comes to It, You Pick One.

Huang Ziyue took a deep breath, his heart filling with regret and remorse.

’If only I hadn’t gone off by myself to sulk. If I’d come back sooner, would this still have happened to her?’

Earlier that morning, in front of the courtyard, he had revealed himself, and Shen Yue had hit and cursed him. He’d been absolutely furious.

So in a flash, he’d disappeared, reappearing on another mountain peak where he sat in a tree to calm down and process his emotions alone.

But by the time he returned, he saw Shen Yue fall into the fissure while trying to save a few of the cubs.

The fissure had sealed shut just as he charged over, too late for him to jump in after her.

At this thought, he clenched his fists tightly, looked down at Sanbao on the ground, and said gravely,

”Chi Yan, Father will bring your female mother back. I promise you.”

With that, Huang Ziyue vanished in a flash.

Ye Lüqi and Lan Cangyue watched Huang Ziyue disappear, their expressions tightening.

Just then, the men Ye Lüqi had sent out returned.

”My lord, we have searched the entire mountain and the area at its base. There is no trace of Miss Shen Yue’s presence!”

Lan Cangyue, listening from the side, froze as he held Qibao.

Qibao instantly burst into tears.

”Xi Xi wants Female Mother! Xi Xi wants Female Mother!”

Tears streamed down the little girl’s face like pearls from a broken string. Her soft, tender face was flushed from crying, a truly pitiful sight.

Like a little girl who had suddenly lost her mother.

Lan Cangyue instantly panicked.

”Qibao, be good. Father is here, okay?”

”I don’t want Father! I want Female Mother! I don’t want Female Mother to leave me!”

”Father, can you take me to find Female Mother? I want Female Mother...”

The little girl’s words were broken by hiccuping sobs.

Lan Cangyue’s heart ached for her.

He glanced at Ye Lüqi and the other cubs beside him, hesitating for a moment.

Then he coaxed gently,

”Okay, how about Father takes you to find Female Mother? We’ll go look for her together.”

He had originally intended to leave Qibao in the care of Ye Lüqi and his men.

’But on second thought,’ he decided, ’it’s better if I watch over my own daughter myself. With Shen Yue gone, I have to keep my daughter by my side at all times. I can’t trust anyone else with her.’

Lan Cangyue held Qibao and looked at Ye Lüqi, who was just as anxious to find Shen Yue.

”My Mermaid Clan’s perception of water is far beyond that of ordinary people. We can track targets across vast distances. Water seeps everywhere on and around this mountain, even deep in the soil. I will follow the moisture in the air to track Shen Yue’s presence. I’ll leave the others here in your care.”

Ye Lüqi heard Lan Cangyue’s words and knew this was no time for rivalry.

”I don’t need you to tell me what to do. I will certainly take good care of these cubs. But you had better bring her back.”

”And another thing—don’t even think about trying to take Qibao away.”

After all, he had heard with his own ears today about that Flood Dragon’s past transgressions.

’He was worried this fish would also try to take advantage of Shen Yue’s accident and sneak away with Qibao.’

A frown creased Lan Cangyue’s dangerously handsome face.

”I’m not like that Flood Dragon! Don’t compare me to him.”

With that, he and Qibao vanished in a flash.

One of Huang Ziyue’s subordinates, standing beside Sanbao, heard Lan Cangyue’s parting words, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

’Their Great Emperor Master’s image is completely ruined!’

’He’s become the perfect cautionary tale.’

’I just hope Miss Shen Yue returns safely this time. It’s not just the seven children who need her—our Great Emperor Master needs her even more.’

’He has to find a way to redeem himself and restore his image!’

’Otherwise, he’ll be labeled a child-snatcher for the rest of his life.’

Huang Ziyue now hovered high above the mountain peak, surveying the terrain below.

From the moment the ground had split open and sealed itself shut again, he’d felt that something was strange about the whole affair.

He carefully observed the mountain’s features and topography, using his spiritual power to probe for any anomalies or presences for miles around.

After a few moments, his gaze darkened.

In a flash, he appeared on a cliff face below the summit.

The cliff was nestled among a cluster of peaks, making it very difficult to spot.

He had an instinct that something was strange about this cliff and wanted to descend to investigate.

So he leaped off the edge.

He plummeted downward.

The further down he went, the thicker the miasma became, and the air grew cold, damp, and gloomy.

Huang Ziyue used his spiritual power to steady his descent, passing through the steepest section and the thickest of the miasma.

He finally landed at the very bottom of the cliff.

Looking up at the sheer cliff face towering above him, he sent out his spiritual power to survey the area.

Dense vegetation grew everywhere, the ground was covered in thorns, and a thick miasma made it difficult for any light to penetrate. Visibility was extremely low.

An eerie silence pervaded the air, unsettling to the core.

As he probed the area with his spiritual power, he suddenly detected a draft of wind coming from a fissure at his feet.

He immediately crouched down, reaching out a hand to feel it.

The draft was bone-chillingly cold, like a frosty air rising from deep within the earth.

’But why would frosty air be coming from underground?’

’Could there be an ice cave down there?’

「Meanwhile.」

Shen Yue, Mu Silin, and Bai Chaosi, who were in the Mist Cave, had been walking for a long time. After rounding several bends, they felt it getting colder and colder, as if they were approaching a glacier.

Then, the three of them suddenly saw a light ahead in the tunnel.

Mu Silin’s face lit up.

”Look, there’s a light! Is that the exit?”

The worried frown on Bai Chaosi’s face eased.

”Let’s go take a look.”

The three of them quickened their pace in excitement, but as they drew closer...

Shen Yue froze.

’An ice wall?’

The path ahead was completely sealed by a wall of solid ice.

No wonder it had been getting colder and colder, and no wonder they’d seen a light from so far away.

It was the light refracting off the ice wall.

Shen Yue stood before the bone-chillingly cold ice wall and tried to shine her flashlight into it, hoping to see what was on the other side.

But the light couldn’t penetrate the thick layer of ice at all.

She couldn’t see a thing.

’Could it be? Was my judgment really wrong?’

’Is there really no exit this way?’

Seeing Shen Yue’s face turn slightly pale, Mu Silin tried to cheer her up.

”It’s okay, we can just go back.”

’Worst case, we just turn around and take the right-hand path we saw earlier.’

’It’ll just be a waste of a little time.’

Bai Chaosi also looked at her and said comfortingly,

”Let’s go back.”

’There’s obviously no way out here.’

”If you’re tired, I can carry you.”

’After all, we’ve been walking for a very long time.’

’The two of them were males and didn’t feel it much, but he was afraid a weak female like Shen Yue wouldn’t be able to handle walking all the way back.’

’The entire way, she had been desperate to find an exit. Although she hadn’t said anything, he could tell she was worried about the cubs.’

’She was anxious to see them.’

Shen Yue stood before the ice wall in a daze, not saying a word.

’She felt a wave of disappointment. Her intuition was usually so accurate. So why had the path suddenly been cut off by an ice wall, leaving her with nowhere to go?’

’If this tunnel was a dead end, then why, when she tested the airflow with a strand of hair, did the draft here feel like it was coming from a natural opening?’

’The draft from the path on the right had been an eddy, meaning that path just connected to other forks, which connected to more forks, creating a circulating airflow.’

’If they had actually taken that path, they would have just been walking in circles, never to get out.’

’That means this path had to be the direct route. As long as they kept going, they should have reached an exit.’

’But now, this ice wall had proven her brutally wrong.’

Listening to the two men, she turned around and began to walk back, resigned to her fate.

”It’s fine, I can walk.”

’She had discovered that her physical constitution and stamina were far beyond that of an ordinary person during her last encounter with the pursuing Ancient Bear Clan.’

’So even after walking for so long, she didn’t feel tired in the slightest.’

Mu Silin looked at her.

”How about I carry you? We’ve been walking for so long without a break. If I carry you, you can get some rest.”

Then he added,

”If you’re not comfortable with that, you can pick one of us. Either of us can carry you. We won’t argue about it.”

’He truly felt for her.’