The Singing Snake Clan has always maintained an image of being extremely powerful and brave warriors in the outside world.
When Lu Qi's parents were alive, they sacrificed their flesh and blood and abilities to bring peace to Kashida, and the beastmen respected and loved them for it.
Lu Qi had set high standards for himself since childhood. After experiencing countless battles and brushes with death on the battlefield, he became a general of Kashida. He also worked hard to maintain the image of the clan, wondering if he had become the person his parents had hoped for.
Although he was often tormented by mental power disorders to the point of wanting to die on the spot, and there was nothing on the Lingyi Continent worth his attachment, this was the beastmen nation that his parents had fought with all their might to protect, and he wanted to guard it well too.
This was his responsibility. The responsibility of a soldier.
But sometimes, he couldn't help but be struck by something that made him question whether everything he had been persevering for had any meaning.
Lu Qi rarely spoke to other beastmen about his inner thoughts and longing for his parents.
Even when he was talkative in daily life, he never mentioned these things to those around him.
Perhaps it was because Yun Manman had seen too many of his embarrassing moments, and he no longer cared, or perhaps it was the gloomy atmosphere of the rainy day that made the snake feel depressed and inexplicably want to talk to someone.
After speaking, the Singing Snake turned his head away: "...You should go out now, let's do the counseling tomorrow."
Lu Qi belatedly felt regretful and ashamed in his heart.
At this moment, a warm, furry paw touched the Singing Snake's big head, and while he was still in a daze, the entire cat tried hard to open its four limbs and hugged his head into its arms.
Yun Manman looked at the family photo hanging on the wall, where Lu Qi was still a little tot, with a smile on his face far more frequent than now.
The cat released its mental power to envelop the Singing Snake, gently swaying its tail behind.
Her voice was soft: "No one will forget the contributions your parents made to Kashida."
"Does Qiqi miss mom and dad?"
That's why the room was full of traces left by his parents.
Even the most mature adult is still the child most loved by their parents.
"Qiqi's mom and dad probably never thought about making you stand out or bringing them face. They just wanted you to grow up happily."
"In their hearts, you have always been the best."
The warm smile of the woman on the wall and the old toys in the cabinet were enough to prove that Lu Qi had once lived in a family full of love.
Yun Manman felt a bit envious.
In a trance, the cat's voice overlapped with the memory of his mother's words: "We want our Qiqi to grow up healthy and happy! Without worries!"
Lu Qi smelled the unique sweet fragrance of the cat, felt the soft and smooth furry sensation on her body, and his mental barrier involuntarily opened up to Yun Manman's mental power.
The dark clouds in the mental sea dispersed in that instant, and the sunlight spread brilliantly on the sea surface. Even the waves were leaping and surging, as if welcoming the arrival of Yun Manman's mental power.
Lu Qi felt his dead and desolate heart beating rapidly at this moment, like an injection of adrenaline when encountering danger and near death on the battlefield.
Unlike before when he couldn't find the reason for the discomfort in his chest.
This time, Lu Qi clearly knew for whom his heart was beating at this moment.
At the Yunzheng Mansion.
"Is that so? Is that so?"
"Let me see quickly!"
Yan Ye tried to peek his head out from between his parents to see the genetic test report in their hands.
When he saw Yun Manman's beast form a few days ago, Yan Ye felt it was extremely familiar.
Thinking back later, wasn't this just the beast form of their Yunzheng Clan cubs?
It's just that there haven't been any Yun Zheng cubs born in recent years, and almost all the Yun Zheng beastmen he had seen had strong mental power and mature beast forms, to the extent that he had forgotten what Yun Zheng cubs looked like.
Although the number of Yun Zheng beastmen was much better than the Singing Snakes, it was still not as numerous as other ordinary beastmen.
Even counting those with Yun Zheng bloodline, there were only about twenty beastmen, and only a dozen or so big cats living in the mansion.
The Yun Zheng bloodline was special, with the size of the beast form linked to the strength of mental power. The stronger the mental power, the larger and more fierce the beast form would be.
Unlike other beastmen whose mental power strength was predetermined at birth and whose beast form was fixed in size at the age of eighteen when they came of age.
People always said that the Yunzheng Clan had strong mental power and fierce beast forms, born for the battlefield.
But they didn't know that every Yun Zheng beastman had to go through a thousand hardships during their cub stage.
The Yunzheng Clan had a special mental power strength training method. Every Yun Zheng cub had to go through training and nurturing before they could become brave soldiers who fought fearlessly on the battlefield.
That day at the hospital, Yan Ye had obtained Yun Manman's blood sample through his connections, and secretly asked his mother to get his aunt Yan Xi's hair, secretly running off to do an identification.
When Yan Ye was very young, his aunt had a daughter, but later somehow lost her, and his uncle also disappeared.
The family searched for a long time but couldn't find them. After the uncle came back, he passed away not long after due to illness.
Yan Ye only remembered that the sister was incredibly cute and would chase his tail to play, but couldn't recall other details.
The Yunzheng Clan leader and Yan Ye's father, Yun Rong, stroked the beard on his chin and squinted at the report: "Isn't this our cub..."
Yan Ye's mother, Yan Shuang, looked at the sneaky photo of Yun Manman's beast form on Yan Ye's communicator, her lips trembling slightly: "Her beast form is exactly the same as your aunt's when she was young, but her eyes are like your uncle's, equally emerald and flawless..."
"Poor child, how come her beast form is still so thin and small after coming of age, what if she gets accidentally sat on and killed one day..."
Yan Shuang wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and suddenly stood up: "Where is she? I'll bring her back right now! Poor cub..."
Yun Rong hurriedly stood up to comfort her and sat her down: "Don't rush."
"If we're going to bring her back, we should let Yan Xi go first, she's the cub's mother after all."
"And what if the cub still remembers what happened when she was little and resents us for abandoning her? We should first probe her attitude..."
Yan Ye's mind flashed with those pure and innocent emerald cat eyes, and he rubbed his head.
He thought that the little cat probably didn't remember anything.
Yan Shuang slapped the table: "Even if she resents us, we still have to bring her back! We must make it up to her properly! It's heartbreaking to think she's been fending for herself out there all these years..."
"Yan Ye, quickly tell us about your sister's situation, what's her name now..."
The next day, right after breakfast, Shou Ren came in and asked: "Miss Yun, General Yan Ye and an elf lady named Alice would like to invite you to the Yunzheng Mansion. They're waiting outside now."
An elf lady and a big cat!
Yun Manman's eyes lit up: "Sure, sure."
Qiqi had gone somewhere early in the morning, and she was very bored in the mansion, just wanting to find something to do.
The Yunzheng Mansion! Would there be many big cats like Yan Ye?
Just as Yun Manman was about to leave, Shou Ren handed her a packed lunchbox.
"Miss Yun, please take this with you. These are snacks that the Yunzheng Clan likes."
"Okay." Yun Manman felt a bit embarrassed. How could she not bring a gift on her first visit to someone's home? Uncle Shou Ren was indeed thoughtful.
However, the lunchbox was light, and she didn't know what was inside.
Yan Ye and Alice were already waiting for her in the hover car.
As soon as Yun Manman got in the car, Alice flew over, flapping her wings, her violet eyes blinking with joy.
"Long time no see, Manman. How's your paw now?"
The cat moved her injured paw: "It's much better now. I feel like it will be almost healed after applying medicine for a few more days."
Alice nodded with a smile: "That's great."
"I'll be returning to Lanqi Country tomorrow, so I wanted to meet up with you today."
Alice's flower ceremony would be in a while, and she needed to go back early to prepare.
"Plus, the Yunzheng Clan beastmen are quite eager to meet you, so we took this opportunity to invite you over."
They want to meet her?
Yun Manman looked puzzled towards Yan Ye, who was sitting with his arms crossed.
Yan Ye met her emerald cat eyes and felt they looked even more familiar.
He coughed lightly, his gaze falling vaguely on the driver's seat in front: "It's nothing, just come over and have fun."
"They're curious about the cat that Lu Qi is raising."
That's a reason too, I suppose.
After all, Lu Qi used to strongly dislike cats, especially the feline beastmen of the Yunzheng Clan.
Yun Manman followed his gaze and only then noticed that a feline beastman was sitting in the driver's seat.
This was a middle-aged male beastman with a gentle and refined demeanor, wearing glasses and sporting a smile at the corners of his mouth.
Sensing Yun Manman's gaze, his eyes lit up, as if he wanted to say something but restrained himself, simply smiling at her and saying, "Hello, Miss Manman."
"My name is Yun Rong. I am the leader of the Yunzheng Clan."