Seven Cubs, Seven Fathers, Zero Days Off

Chapter 253: Chapter 251: Forced Growth

’But I clearly killed that man in black at the bottom of the cliff more than ten days ago.’

’How could he have possibly met with Hu Tu the day before we entered the City Lord Mansion?’

Shen Yue and Huang Ziyue exchanged a look.

’What on earth is going on?’

’That man in black was in contact with Hu Tu two years ago and even gave him the Destructive Flower Seed. Does that mean the man in black had the Devouring God Flower back then?’

’And has Hu Tu been the man in black’s pawn all along?’

’Does this mean that since we arrived in Li City, everything has been under the man in black’s control?’

’Was everything that happened in Li City just him pulling the strings from behind the scenes?’

A torrent of questions raced through Shen Yue’s mind. It seemed the only way to figure out who the man in black truly was and get to the bottom of all this was to keep pressing Hu Tu.

She took a deep breath and immediately turned to Ge Miao.

”You said just now that the man in black could help Hu Tu achieve immortality?”

Ge Miao nodded. ”That’s right. I heard it with my own ears. The man in black said that as long as I could successfully give birth to a Nine-tailed Cat for Hu Tu, he would allow Hu Tu to obtain immortality.”

Shen Yue’s eyes narrowed as she listened.

’So, Hu Tu forced Ge Miao to keep having children just so he could obtain immortality, and he wouldn’t stop until she gave birth to a Nine-tailed Cat?’

’And those nine children died simply because they weren’t Nine-tailed Cats?’

’How cruel. How innocent they were.’

The gazes of Huang Ziyue and Bai Chaosi darkened in unison. Immortality?

That Hu Tu was truly insatiable!

Wu Huo listened, filled with immediate contempt.

”I’ve seen Nine-tailed Foxes, but this is the first I’ve ever heard of a Nine-tailed Cat!”

”I think that Hu Tu must be dreaming!”

The members of the Mystic Mechanism Building were also extremely shocked.

Indeed, they had never heard of Nine-tailed Cats existing in the Beast World.

How could a non-existent species possibly be born?

Besides, he himself was just an ordinary member of the Cat Clan. How could his Female Master possibly give birth to a Nine-tailed Cat for him?

Shen Yue’s brow furrowed slightly. She looked at Ge Miao and asked her question.

”Why was Hu Tu so certain you could give birth to a Nine-tailed Cat?”

No matter how blinded he was by desire, he couldn’t be stupid enough to believe in something that was completely impossible!

’Even a genetic mutation couldn’t possibly allow an ordinary, single-tailed Pallas’s cat to produce a nine-tailed offspring, could it?’

Unexpectedly, upon hearing her question, Ge Miao gave her a direct answer.

”Because Hu Tu himself is a Nine-tailed Cat!”

As soon as she said this, the expressions of Shen Yue, Huang Ziyue, and Bai Chaosi all changed in an instant.

Shen Yue’s gaze sharpened.

”You’re saying Hu Tu is a Nine-tailed Cat?”

’How is that possible?’

’We clearly saw his beast form with our own eyes. He only had one tail!’

’How could he possibly be a Nine-tailed Cat?’

Only then did Ge Miao continue with her story. It turned out that before the pregnancy with Le’er and Qi’er, Ge Miao had conceived a single child.

After that child was born, Hu Tu doted on him, treating him like a priceless treasure.

He was like a completely different person, smiling joyfully all day long.

Ge Miao was extremely puzzled by this uncharacteristic behavior, so she started keeping a close eye on Hu Tu’s whereabouts. That was when she discovered a book hidden in a secret chamber, a book that detailed Hu Tu’s origins.

The book detailed the existence of a branch of the Nine-tailed Cat Clan. Their bloodline was exceedingly rare and secretive, and they relied on their offspring to extend their lives and preserve their power.

In their entire lifetime, they could only ever produce a single Nine-tailed Cat capable of continuing their life. This child was usually a single birth, and at the age of seven, their tail would awaken a powerful force and split into nine.

The awakening of those nine tails not only represented having nine lives but also the eternal continuation of that Nine-tailed Cat’s life.

As for any other children who failed to awaken nine tails by the age of seven, they had to become sacrifices—nourishment for the true Nine-tailed Cat’s awakening.

At first, Ge Miao didn’t connect the Nine-tailed Cats to Hu Tu. But when she read that, she remembered her own children who had died.

All of them had died around the age of seven!

She also saw that the book mentioned a method to determine if a newborn was a Nine-tailed Cat: use a growth-accelerating technique to force their bones to grow.

The book also recorded the effects of using this technique. For a true Nine-tailed Cat, it was harmless. But for any other child, it was a method of brutally stripping away their lifespan.

Her heart trembled. She finally understood the real reason her children had died.

And she finally believed that what the old man had told her was true. Her children grew so quickly not because they were special, but because their own father was using a growth-accelerating technique on them.

Later, after she accidentally overheard a conversation between Hu Tu and the man in black, she became even more certain that Hu Tu was a Nine-tailed Cat.

And she finally understood why he had doted on that single child so much!

He thought that child was the one, the Nine-tailed Cat. But to his dismay, that child wasn’t it either...

And she was nothing more than Hu Tu’s tool for childbirth.

After listening to her story, the faces of Shen Yue, Huang Ziyue, and the others turned frighteningly cold.

’So that’s how it was!’

So that was the reason the nine children aged seven years in a single year.

Hu Tu had actually used a growth-accelerating technique on them. To think that such a Magic even existed in the Beast World!

A murderous glint appeared in Huang Ziyue’s eyes. The growth-accelerating technique was the most forbidden of all Forbidden Techniques.

He never thought that Hu Tu would be so audacious as to use it.

Shen Yue noticed that Huang Ziyue’s expression was off.

”You know about this Forbidden Technique?”

But it was Bai Chaosi who spoke first.

”Legend says this Forbidden Technique was created a thousand years ago, during an age of famine and cannibalism. Rumors spread that eating people could increase one’s spiritual power. For their own selfish desires, and simply to have enough to eat, someone created this Forbidden Technique to accelerate the growth of cubs they had captured.”

”A cub’s flesh was too little to be divided among many, so accelerating their growth could turn them into an adult in a very short time, providing more food. However, this Forbidden Technique only works on children and causes them immense harm. Once the technique is used, a child’s bones will slowly stiffen until they can no longer walk, leaving them crippled.”

Shen Yue hadn’t expected the Magic to have such a dark origin. No wonder it was considered the most forbidden of all.

Once used, this Magic was undoubtedly a nightmare for any child.

After all, this Forbidden Technique could only be used on children.

Shen Yue felt that the book Ge Miao had mentioned must hold more secrets, so she asked directly:

”Where is that book now? Can you take me to see it?”

She wanted to see what else was written in it.

Ge Miao replied at once, ”Okay. It’s in the secret chamber behind Hu Tu’s study.”

Shen Yue immediately led Huang Ziyue and Bai Chaosi to Hu Tu’s study.

Meanwhile, Hu Tu led the funeral procession from the City Lord Mansion all the way to the outskirts of Li City.

After two hours, they finally arrived at a hillside, and the procession came to a halt.

The attendants carried the two large coffins to the top of the slope and then discreetly withdrew.

The entire hillside was silent. The moonlight had just vanished behind the clouds. Hu Tu stood before the two enormous coffins, listening to the wind.

”Come out.”

His calm voice broke the whistling of the wind.

In an instant, a figure flickered into view and stood before him.