Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Can Picking Up Children Be Hereditary?

Ao Si was more familiar with the way home than Yu An.

While Yu An was still on the road, he had already brought the two Zaizai home.

"Da Hu, Xiao Hu, don’t be afraid," he said softly. "Come home with big brother first. I’ll have my clan members help you look for your Female Mother and Beast Father."

The two little ones still couldn’t recall any information about their Female Mother or Beast Father. He had asked around the whole way, but he truly couldn’t find any city named "Imperial City."

Da Hu nodded. "Thank you, big brother."

Xiao Hu immediately followed with a thank you of his own.

"You’re welcome," Ao Si said, ruffling their little heads. "My, I wonder what kind of female could give birth to two such cute Zaizai like you. You’re so endearing!"

He didn’t usually like cubs, finding them annoying and childish. But after spending time with Da Hu and Xiao Hu, Ao Si thought that cubs were actually quite cute.

The Dragon Clan used to live on the Suspended Island. Later, the Clan Leader felt that living in mid-air all year round was inconvenient for interacting with other clans, so he moved the entire clan down.

Slowly, with the Dragon Clan’s residence at its center, it developed into a prosperous city—Dragon City.

As the son of the Dragon Clan’s Clan Leader, Ao Si could get into the city just by showing his face, no need to queue. With a young cub held in each hand, he instantly attracted a lot of attention.

"Are those the Fourth Young Master’s Zaizai? I haven’t heard that he has a Female Master."

"Wow! Those two Zaizai are so cute. They look identical, are they twins?"

"To think he could have two Zaizai in one birth... SOB SOB SOB... I’m so jealous the Fourth Young Master has such a good Female Master..."

Ao Si led Da Hu and Xiao Hu through unimpeded, only stopping when they reached the central area where the Dragon Clan resided.

He first spoke to the clan members guarding the gate. Soon, someone led the three of them to a room where three bowls of light green water sat.

Ao Si drank his in one gulp. "Don’t worry, this isn’t poison. It’s just to check if we have, uh, a certain kind of little bug inside our bodies."

That Old Thief Yin was like a madman, sending people to assassinate the Beast Father every so often. The Beast Father was endlessly annoyed by it.

That in itself would have been one thing, just a bit of a hassle. But Old Thief Yin had also kidnapped a Dragon Clan Beastman and had the Poisonous Insect Granny by his side, an expert at raising Gu, place a Gu on the clan member. Once controlled, that clan member would try to assassinate the Beast Father at the cost of their own life the moment they got a chance.

That’s why the Beast Father had clan members who traveled far drink a bowl of herbal soup before returning home, which could kill any Gu Worms inside their bodies.

Xiao Hu glanced at Da Hu. Seeing his brother pick up the bowl, he picked his up and started drinking too.

The medicinal soup wasn’t bitter; on the contrary, it was a little sweet and refreshing.

After waiting a short while, Ao Si led them into the clan’s territory.

The rumors from the city gate had already spread within the Dragon Clan. The moment they stepped inside, Ao Si and the two Zaizai were blocked by a large crowd.

"Fourth Young Master, are these the two little young masters? Oh my, they’re so cute!"

"Fourth Young Master, where’s your Female Master? It’s rare for our clan to have such a happy occasion. We must celebrate it properly."

"What do you mean ’rare’? Weren’t there already two happy occasions recently?"

"Agh, my bad, my tongue slipped. This is what you call three blessings at the door! Joy upon joy upon joy!"

The chattering crowd gave Ao Si a headache. He scooped up the two little ones and beat a hasty retreat, not stopping until he reached a deserted spot.

"Phew, we finally got out!"

Ao Si let out a sigh of relief. He led them toward his courtyard, complaining to them as they walked, "They pester me every day to find a Female Master and have Zaizai. Don’t they know a Female Master isn’t someone I can find just because I want to?"

"Hey," he said, his eyes darting slyly. "Da Hu, Xiao Hu, how about you accept me as your Beast Father? Big brother is the Fourth Young Master of the Dragon Clan. From now on, you’ll be the little young masters of the Dragon Clan."

"No," Da Hu refused flatly. "Big brother, we have a Beast Father."

"Xiao Hu doesn’t want to either. Xiao Hu has a Beast Father too."

Ao Si had only said it casually, not expecting them to refuse so seriously.

He gave a helpless smile. "Alright, alright, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. But I have to say, you two looked so dazed before, but you’re pretty quick when it comes to rejecting your big brother."

"It seems your Beast Father treats you extremely well. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be defending him so fiercely even without your memories."

The two little ones looked at each other, and both saw the confusion in the other’s eyes.

’Beast Father... Who is he? And where is he?’

They would occasionally see a few blurry figures in their dreams, and there was a female who would always kiss their foreheads, coax them to sleep, and gently call their names.

’Could that female be our Female Mother?’

Ao Si’s courtyard was very large. He had someone clean out the room next to his for the two little ones to live in.

It wasn’t that his courtyard didn’t have enough rooms, but that the two Zaizai were unwilling to be separated and wanted to do everything together.

As noon approached, Ao Si had a sumptuous lunch prepared. Just as he was about to call the Zaizai to eat, his Beast Father—who was old in age, but not in heart, body, or especially appearance—arrived.

"My boy! I heard you brought two Zaizai back! You’ve finally come to your senses, my child. Your father is so relieved..."

Ao Si didn’t even have a chance to explain. When his Beast Father, Ao Jin, started talking, he couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

"Beast Father..."

"Yes, yes, your Beast Father is happy! Out of you five brothers, you’re the first to have Zaizai! You’re much better than your older and younger brothers. Your Beast Father has decided to let you inherit the Dragon Clan!"

"That’s not..."

"Not what? If your Beast Father says it is, then it is! Oh, right, the clan members said you only brought the Zaizai back. Where’s your Female Master?"

Seeing his Beast Father was about to go and welcome his non-existent Female Master, Ao Si blurted out in one breath, "They’renotmyZaizaiIfoundthemonthesideoftheroadIdon’thaveaFemaleMasterandIdon’twanttobetheClanLeader!"

The string of words, all said in one breath, contained a massive amount of information. Ao Jin was stunned.

"F-found them?"

’No way, no way. Can the habit of picking up children be hereditary?’

He had found Ao Si and his four brothers. And now Ao Si was starting to find children too?

"Beast Father, listen to me..."

Seeing his father had calmed down, Ao Si explained the whole story in one go.

Although he was disappointed that he didn’t have actual grandchildren, he still supported his son’s heroic act.

"It’s just a matter of two more pairs of chopsticks. If their family can’t be found, we’ll just raise them in the clan."

Ao Jin waved his hand. "Since you’re back, stay in the clan for a while. Your father has something to do and needs to go out."

Ao Si asked curiously, "What is it, Beast Father?"

"Your Female Mother has appeared," Ao Jin said, a smile appearing on his face. "She’s supposedly in Tianyang City. Your Beast Father is going to find her!"

Ao Si: "..."

’I knew it!’

"Go on, go on," Ao Si said, turning to order someone to fetch some medicine. "You should take plenty of medicine with you. In case your Female Mother beats you half to death again, you can at least rely on it to keep you breathing."

Ao Jin gave him a knock on the head and said irritably, "What are you talking about? That’s just your Female Mother’s way of showing her love for me! Go on, get out of here. Single males without a Female Master shouldn’t talk such nonsense!"

"Yes, yes, of course."

Ao Si was completely helpless. His Female Mother clearly had amnesia and only saw his Beast Father as an enemy. Yet, his Beast Father insisted on shamelessly sidling up to her every time, calling her his Female Master. This always provoked his Female Mother into ’stretching her muscles,’ adding a few more wounds to his Beast Father’s body.

Oh, but his Beast Father called that "proof of her love."

’Scary. Married males are truly terrifying!’