216: Details of the Dream

"I'm having Children..."

Kong Jiamu's eyes glazed over. Tu Nan's belly was so large; how long had it been?

Huh?

Heavens!

Excitement swelled within him—who could be happier than him?

He rushed to the door, twisted the handle, and ran out, grabbing everyone he encountered.

"Do you have Children?"

Grinning foolishly, he frantically shook everyone he saw.

"Oh, you don't. How pitiful~"

"Wow, you don't either."

"How about you?"

The soldiers were shaken dizzy; seeing him acting like a madman from a distance, they all scrambled to avoid him.

When he reached the corner of the corridor, he happened to grab Li, who had just returned from a mission.

"Children?"

Li's forward progress was interrupted by him.

The hulking man froze in place, then suddenly a soft smile appeared on his face, contrasting with his rugged appearance.

"I do," he replied. "And I have two."

Kong Jiamu's soaring desire to show off was cut short.

He felt a bit annoyed, yet also somewhat curious.

"Oh?"

He couldn't tell; with Li's level of intensity, he had thought he didn't have Children.

As it turned out, the Immortal Master could not be judged by appearances; despite being so young, he already had Two Children?

Kong Jiamu felt a subtle sense of displeasure.

He forgot how much he had previously resisted passing on his Bloodline; whenever he heard the Kong Family urge him to marry and have Children, he would always turn and walk away.

Kong Jiamu's hand had been resting on Li's shoulder, but now he shifted to draping his arm around Li's neck.

"I couldn't tell you were so capable. Come on! Lunch is on me; tell me all about it."

Yes! He had to find a way to learn from him—learn how to raise Children properly.

The Kong Family's experiences were definitely unusable.

***

"Good grief, I've never heard you mention it before."

Kong Jiamu didn't take Li to the small canteen for general-rank officers; instead, he ordered two deluxe, extra-large lunches at the main canteen.

The two of them found an empty seat in a corner of the canteen and began to eat.

"Yeah, nothing much to say."

Li ate very quickly; in just a few bites, the mountain-like pile in his lunch box was half gone.

He was surprised to see that Kong Jiamu's eating speed was no less than his own.

"What, surprised?"

Kong Jiamu curled his lip.

"If you don't fill your stomach, no one can hold out. Once the war starts, it won't wait for anyone."

Li nodded.

"True."

The two of them tacitly prioritized finishing their lunch.

After being transferred under Kong Jiamu's command, Li finally understood why Major General Kong's reputation among the lower ranks was so good.

He was a good general and a good soldier.

He hadn't asked Kong Jiamu, but he had already found out that his Two Children were able to appear behind the Emperor because...

They were the Emperor's students?

What kind of honor was that... After calming down, Li actually didn't dare to inquire further.

Tu Nan must be with the Children. In what capacity was she in the Capital City?

Was she a Foster Mother? Or had she thought of some other way and fabricated a noble identity?

If he asked recklessly, would it put Tu Nan in danger?

Just like... before.

To find her, he had searched all over Sand City, shouting her identity for everyone to hear.

His former neighbors were all astonished; they didn't believe any of it and told him not to talk nonsense like a madman.

That was an opportunity, and he hadn't seized it.

Gaia had stopped him, saying that Tu Nan didn't like the identity of a Foster Mother, telling him to calm down and go plead with Karl.

That was the second opportunity, and he had ignored it.

It wasn't until he received that ruby, until he fully understood, how firmly Tu Nan had chosen to give up on him.

He didn't believe Tu Nan could be so cruel.

But Karl woke him up.

Lisa, who brought the ruby, also shook her head, understanding everything.

"What is there to say?" Lisa thought about how happy this family of four once was and felt quite moved.

"I don't know what to say either. It's not wrong for you to want to find your Foster Mother."

"But you must realize that everything from before was just a dream maintained by Tu Nan. Once broken, it's gone."

"A dream..."

Li had been thinking about it ever since.

In Tu Nan's dream, what was life supposed to be like?

And what did she want?

Bit by bit, he thought about it every day.

In his dreams, he had many times become Tu Nan.

He had stepped into Tu Nan's shoes and returned to the auction house where they first met.

He didn't even wait for himself to appear.

Because while being surrounded by a crowd bidding on him, he grabbed a guard's knife and fought his way out, only for countless people and hands to chase him down and hack him to pieces.

He was unwilling to be bought and sold at will, but he couldn't escape fate.

In the dream, he was that Tu Nan.

Hating everyone, and having killed many.

Killing her own Children, killing him, and killing herself... blood, the blood constantly dripping from his hands. And the infant's tragic, abruptly silenced cry.

He kept waking up from such nightmares, feeling a deep sense of despair every time.

But the Tu Nan in reality was always smiling.

She smiled as she bore everything.

She ran out of the River Valley, survived in the desert, waited for him, smiled as she picked up the Children... and had once smiled while holding him.

Tu Nan

So she was that kind of Female Beast.

Li felt despair in countless dark nights; the deeper he dreamed, the less he knew how to face everything.

Should he run away? Should he just disappear in the flames of war and never appear before Tu Nan again?

But he was just that base; he couldn't do it.

Even now, he still wanted to see her.

beast god, please give him such an opportunity.

He only prayed for a chance to see her from afar and confirm that she was doing well.

As long as this tiny wish could be fulfilled, he was willing to pay any price.

"Alright!"

Kong Jiamu tossed aside his utensils.

He had finally calmed down a bit, but he was still full of enthusiasm.

"What needs to be prepared for pregnancy? Do you have any idea? I'll make a list and ask someone to buy things."

Li was stunned for a moment.

"Ours was a Border Star with crude conditions. Your wife should be able to give birth in a hospital, right?"

"Ah... she's at the Royal Medical Institute; the Chief Medical Officer is her colleague. There's indeed no need to worry about that."

Li nodded; he guessed Kong Jiamu's wife wouldn't need a neighbor's help with delivery like Tu Nan did.

"Oh, I see she's not worried at all!"

"She's careless just because she's had Children before! This Female Beast is too much!"

Kong Jiamu felt that Li, who had Two Children, could understand his anxiety.

"I had no idea she was pregnant before I left! Otherwise..."

He trailed off, not entirely sure if he wouldn't have shown up here if he had known.

But at least he could have complained more to His Majesty the Emperor so that Your Majesty would pay more attention to Tu Nan.

After all, Your Majesty has experience raising Children.

"I... I didn't know at the time either."

Li felt closer to Kong Jiamu.

"It was an accident, well..." Li suddenly thought of something and said unhappily to Kong Jiamu, "You were still putting out a warrant for me back then."

"Huh?" Kong Jiamu didn't remember this at all, but Sand City... he had indeed signed many warrants.

"Hahahaha, really?"

He pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth and hide his embarrassment.

"Oh, an accident. No harm done, right?"

Li glanced at him, shook his head, and remained silent.

He decided not to mention the fact that he was nearly beaten to death by Major General Kong's friend, Lord Hain.

"These damn bugs! Now I can only put in more effort to clean them up quickly. Once the front line is stable, I'll apply to go back and visit my family!"

Kong Jiamu squeezed his fingers, his Aura aggressive.

"When the time comes, if anyone dares to stop me from going back to see Tu Nan and the Children, I'll show them what's what."

The name engraved in his heart suddenly appeared.

The metal spoon in Li's hand fell onto the tray with a clang.

"...Tu... Nan?"

He suspected something had gone wrong with his ears before, leaving behind some lingering effect.

"Yeah, it's a pretty uncommon name, isn't it?"

"She said it was taken from some ancient book, Xiao Yao You... tsk, she knows everything and just bullies me for being uncultured."

Everything Kong Jiamu said was filled with longing and... love.

The Female Beast he mentioned, Tu Nan?

That was a surname he had never heard again; it was very rare.

And she had given birth before?

Li's breath felt as if it were being choked off; his throat was so dry he could barely make a sound.

Finally, as if in a trance, he asked with a trembling voice.

"What... what kind of Beastman is she?"