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Chapter 48 The Lion King
“Uh-huh~”
Su Miantang had the foresight to hold her bowl and chopsticks steady.
“Beauty always comes at a price.”
Did it hurt?
She had only added a tiny bit of something to it, and it hurt this much?
Back then, when Fred and Enzo were induced into a forced rut by her Xinxisu in broad daylight, that feeling was thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of times more painful than this.
“Ah—”
Catherine continued to lose her mind. After flipping the dining table, she smashed the vases, tore down the curtains, kicked her male consorts a few times, and finally grabbed Su Miantang by the collar.
“Don’t let me find out that you’re playing tricks!”
“If this face of mine is ruined, I will wipe out your Manmen and exterminate your Jiuzu!”
“Oh,” Su Miantang replied indifferently.
She actually wanted to say that her entire family and nine generations consisted solely of herself.
Catherine’s face felt as if it were being gnawed by ants. The pain was so unbearable she couldn’t sit still for even a moment, and she soon screamed and ran out.
Seeing the situation, Su Miantang also put down her rice bowl and went to find Hua Rong.
She took a lap around the imperial palace but didn’t find any trace of him. She headed toward the bamboo peak on the back mountain, and sure enough, she spotted him.
Deep in the bamboo forest, he sat cross-legged, appearing to be cultivating.
“Hua Rong!”
She called out to him from afar.
The latter didn’t react, but after a moment, his body suddenly convulsed, and he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
Su Miantang hurriedly ran over, only to see… he was coughing up blood!
“Hua Rong, what’s wrong? Why are you coughing up blood?”
Hua Rong looked delighted to see her.
—It’s nothing, just cultivating. It’s very normal.
—Zhangjie, she didn’t make things difficult for you, did she? It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have gone to find you…
She had no time to discuss this with him. Frowning, she used a handkerchief to gently wipe away the bloodstains at the corners of his mouth.
“How is this normal?”
Did he take her for a fool? Normal cultivation would only make the body stronger and healthier; how could it cause one to cough up blood?
“It looks to me like you’ve experienced Zouhuo Rumo, right?”
“Why are you cultivating so desperately?”
As far as she knew, the grades of females and males on Zhongyangxing were destined from birth. Except for a small fraction who would undergo a secondary differentiation between the ages of 18 and 22, or those exceptionally gifted like Admiral Yaslandi who might trigger a miracle, there would be no changes. Even with further cultivation, it was merely to strengthen the body.
—Because…
Because he was scolded by Catherine just now, felt he was too weak, and therefore suffered from Jixue Gongxin?
“Hua Rong, some people’s hatred toward you is completely baseless. You don’t need to care about them, because there are people far more worth caring about.”
—People far more worth caring about?
“The people who like you, and the people you like!”
People he likes?
Hua Rong’s gaze suddenly became evasive. Flustered and not knowing where to look, a slight flush crept onto his face.
—But if I don’t cultivate and grow stronger, there is no way I can protect the person I like.
“The prerequisite to protecting others is protecting yourself first.” Su Miantang sat down beside him. “Moreover, the people who like you won’t change just because you’re strong or weak; they will always simply like you.”
She fumbled around her clothes and finally pulled out a piece of candy.
“Here, for you. You’re not allowed to be sad after eating this.”
—This is?
“Cotton candy. I made it myself.”
—There’s only… one piece?
“Ah?”
Su Miantang initially thought he felt it was too little. Only after a moment of realization did she understand his meaning: there was only one piece, so if he ate it, she wouldn’t have any.
Who wouldn’t like such a pure, kind-hearted giant panda who always thought of others? Only a spoiled princess like Catherine—though she wasn’t having a good time of it right now, either.
“I’ve already eaten a lot. This one is for you to try.”
Hua Rong peeled off the candy wrapper and popped it into his mouth. As he tasted its flavor, his pupils first froze in surprise, and then a faint mist gathered within them.
From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever been willing to speak so many words to him, comfort him, encourage him, tell him to protect himself well, tell him he didn’t need to become so strong, and even save the last piece of candy for him.
The person he likes…
He didn’t understand what liking meant before, but now he seemed to understand. His chest felt full, completely overflowing with Tangtang. Yet it wasn’t uncomfortable; it was as sweet and wonderful as the candy in his mouth.
He liked Tangtang.
“What’s wrong? Does it taste bad?” Su Miantang asked in confusion.
She had given them to many people, and everyone’s feedback had been fantastic. But looking at his expression, it seemed like he was about to cry.
Hua Rong didn’t say a word and directly transformed into his beast form.
When a male beastman took the initiative to reveal his beast form in front of a female, it meant expressing affection, courting, and even acknowledging her as the only one in his life.
His world could no longer hold anyone else.
Seeing him suddenly turn into a giant panda again, Su Miantang’s eyes lit up. By conditioned reflex, she wanted to reach out and rua his fur, but she pulled her hand back… He was grieving right now; she had to restrain herself, restrain herself!
But Hua Rong proactively nudged closer to her.
What did he mean? Letting her play with him?
The young girl was overjoyed.
That night, after petting the national treasure all day and feeling incredibly satisfied, Su Miantang gave Lu Sili a call on the light brain to report her progress, then prepared for bed.
Unexpectedly, a sudden rustling sound came from outside the gauze curtains.
What was that noise?
She cautiously pricked up her ears.
Could it be some kind of wild beast? Was the imperial palace’s security really this poor?
Just as she was thinking this, with a tearing sound, the gauze curtain was ripped apart. Through the bright moonlight, she could see a woman holding a wine bottle, her face entirely black and her clothes in disarray.
She seemed drunk, her footsteps staggering.
“Su Miantang, you piece of trash…”
“Actually, you look down on me quite a bit, don’t you?”
“To think that I, the dignified Zhanggongzhu, get bullied by the Eldest Miss of the Yue clan—fine! But even the Twin Stars dare to dislike me and rebel against me. And now, even Lu Sili dares to warn me!”
“They’re just bullying my imperial family for declining and having no successors!”
“Before, we still had Admiral Yaslandi, the Zhanshen, to rely on, and no one dared to be insolent. But now that he has fallen, there’s only the Empress Mother left, along with a few royal brothers who are merely kings in name.”
“Although the Empress Mother is SS-grade and the supreme sovereign of the world, as a female, she has no combat power. No matter how strong she is, she cannot fight against the enemies’ cruel mecha cannons.”
“…”
Here she goes acting crazy again.
Plus, she was a princess. Might as well call her a royal madwoman.
Su Miantang sat quietly on the bed, waiting for her to finish her fit of madness.
She really didn’t understand. Her face hurt this much, yet she still wasn’t behaving. It seemed the dosage was too small. However, knowing to use alcohol to numb the pain meant she was a little smart, though not by much.
“But things shouldn’t be like this, they shouldn’t be!”
“The imperial family should prosper for generations and enjoy supreme glory!”
“From ancient times to the present, the Zhongyangxing System has always belonged to our lion clan. With the Beast God’s mercy, a wise and mighty Lion King descends every few hundred years to command the masses.
More than twenty years ago, an SS-grade combat male lion with innate Chongtong was born in an unprecedented event. He is my eldest royal brother—Jun Chengyin.
He was the Empress Mother’s first child, and her most beloved, proudest child. As soon as he was born, he was designated as the Crown Prince, the only royal heir of the planet. Admired by the people and celebrated globally, he was supposed to become an illustrious Zhanshen, just like Admiral Yaslandi.
But because his genetics were too outstanding, he was snatched away by the enemy at the mere age of six and sent into a laboratory for research and genetic modification!
My royal brother suffered endlessly in there day and night, enduring inhumane torture before he finally managed to escape. By the time he returned to the palace, his genes had mutated, his mind had collapsed, and he had devolved into a wild beast.
His only remaining shred of reason was his final dignity as an SS-grade male beastman.”
Translator’s Note / Glossary:
- Xinxisu: Pheromones. A biological substance used by beastmen in this universe to soothe, attract, or induce physiological responses in the opposite sex.
- Manmen / Jiuzu: Entire household / Nine generations of kinship. Reference to an ancient punishment where an offender’s entire extended family would be executed.
- Zhangjie: Eldest Sister. An honorific used by Hua Rong to respectfully refer to the Princess.
- Zouhuo Rumo: Cultivation deviation or Qi deviation. A highly dangerous state where something goes wrong during cultivation, causing internal damage or madness.
- Zhongyangxing: Central Star. The main planet or center of the empire.
- Jixue Gongxin: Blood rushing to the heart. A condition brought on by extreme anger or emotional distress that causes physical harm, like coughing up blood.
- Rua: Internet slang meaning to aggressively and affectionately pet a fluffy animal.
- Zhanggongzhu: Eldest Princess. An honorific title denoting her high royal status.
- Zhanshen: God of War. A supreme title given to the strongest military figure.
- Chongtong: Double pupils. A rare condition of having two pupils in one eye, historically mythologized as a sign of a destined emperor or supreme being.
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