Chapter 94: Chapter Ninety-Four: A talk with the cubs
The quiet warmth of the dining hall felt incredibly heavy the moment the double doors clicked shut behind Long Zhan and Qin Mo.
Lin Wan remained seated at the long, polished wooden table, her fingers still loosely wrapping around her teacup as she stared at the flickering light of the floating spiritual crystals above.
Across from her, Lanying sat perfectly still, her striking, beautiful blue eyes shimmering with a deep, solemn gravity that immediately made the air in the room feel thick and tense.
The playful atmosphere from dinner had completely evaporated, leaving behind a sudden, heavy silence that made Lin Wan’s heart skip a beat.
Lanying leaned across the table, her long, elegant fingers reaching out to gently but firmly wrap around Lin Wan’s hands, her touch warm but laced with an undeniable urgency.
"Forgive me, sweet Wanwan, I should have told you this much sooner, but it completely slipped my mind until I saw them splashing in the spring today. You see, beast cubs of their rare talent, exceptional bloodline, and profound sea beast heritage are supposed to speak from the very moment of their birth."
Lin Wan froze, her eyes widening slightly as she looked directly into Lanying’s beautiful blue eyes, her mind struggling to process the sudden revelation.
"They can speak? But Lanying, they only make tiny yips, soft purrs, and little animal noises when they want food or attention. Why on earth would they choose to stay completely silent if they are capable of talking?"
Lanying let out a soft, heavy sigh, her expression filled with a mixture of deep worry and maternal apology as she tightened her grip on Lin Wan’s fingers.
"That is precisely what worries me so deeply, sweet girl, because whether they are doing it intentionally or unintentionally, suppressing their true voice means they are actively holding back their innate spiritual powers. For beast cubs of their immense caliber, bottling up that raw ancestral energy inside their tiny bodies is incredibly bad for their physical health and will eventually damage their growing beast cores."
Lin Wan felt a sharp, sudden pang of anxiety slice through her chest, her fingers turning slightly cold under Lanying’s warm touch as she leaned forward.
"If it’s dangerous for them, then why are they doing it? What could possibly possess three tiny, innocent cubs to deliberately lock away their own voices and hold back their cultivation?"
Lanying shook her head slowly, her blue eyes filled with a gentle, encouraging light as she slowly released Lin Wan’s hands and gestured toward the back hallway.
"I do not know the exact reason, Wanwan, but cubs are incredibly perceptive creatures, especially ones born from a unique divine lineage like yours. You must go into the bedroom right now, talk to them gently, and find a way to get them to speak to you before this suppression causes them real, physical harm."
Lin Wan didn’t waste another second; she rose from the table with a stiff nod, her long skirts rustling softly against the polished floorboards as she walked out of the dining hall and headed straight for the master bedroom.
The grand hallway of her mansion was completely quiet, but her mind was a chaotic whirlwind of racing thoughts and mounting fear as she pushed open the heavy wooden bedroom doors.
The room was bathed in a soft, dim spiritual glow, completely peaceful and isolated from the rest of the world, with the thick scent of calming herbs lingering in the air.
She walked slowly toward the massive, plush bed in the center of the room, her footsteps entirely silent as her eyes locked onto the large pile of thick fur blankets.
There, curled tightly together in a messy, intertwined ball of white fluff, were her three chubby silver leopard cubs, snoring softly in perfect, synchronized rhythm. Xiao Jue’s front paws were draped over Xiao Rui’s back, while the youngest, Xiao Chen, had his round, soft belly exposed to the ceiling, his tiny tail twitching occasionally in his sleep.
Looking down at the three adorable, chubby snowballs, a sudden, overwhelming wave of sharp heartache struck Lin Wan’s chest, making it incredibly difficult for her to breathe.
She slowly dropped to her knees by the edge of the mattress, her eyes stinging with a fierce, burning mixture of intense self-blame and maternal guilt as she stared at her sleeping children.
How could she have been so daft and blind? How could she have missed something so profoundly important to their health and development?
"I am so incredibly foolish," Lin Wan whispered to herself, her voice a trembling, ragged breath in the quiet room as she carefully reached out a hand, her fingers hovering just an inch above Xiao Jue’s soft, white fur.
"Back in my old world, back on the Blue Star planet, leopards and wild beasts never talk, and babies take an entire year just to babble a few simple words. Because of that, I just assumed you were completely normal... I thought you just needed to grow older, or that you had to learn how to talk like human infants do."
She let out a shaky breath, her heart twisting painfully as she realized that her own background had created a massive, dangerous blind spot in how she raised her sons.
"I didn’t know... I had no idea you were actively hurting yourselves and suppressing your own bloodline just to stay quiet for me. What are you so afraid of, my sweet boys? Why are you hiding your beautiful voices from your own mother?"
Unable to bring herself to wake them up from their deep exhaustion, Lin Wan simply crawled onto the massive bed, lying down on her side right next to the warm, purring pile of white fluff.
She rested her chin on her hand, her cool eyes filled with an intense, unyielding protective warmth as she simply watched over them, completely losing track of how much time was passing in the timeless serenity of The space.
The quiet humming of the spiritual barriers outside the mansion was the only sound accompanying her heavy thoughts as she waited for her children to wake.
After what felt like hours, the thick pile of white fur finally began to shift and wiggle, the deep, synchronized snoring breaking apart into soft, groaning purrs.
Xiao Chen was the first to stir, his tiny silver-striped legs extending straight into the air as he arched his chubby back in a long, lazy leopard stretch that made his round belly look even softer.
A second later, Xiao Jue and Xiao Rui blinked their big, bright eyes open, letting out tiny, high-pitched yawns that exposed their small, translucent baby fangs.
The moment the three little cuties realized their mother was lying right beside them, their ears instantly perked up, and their large, innocent eyes lit up with pure, unadulterated joy.
Without a single moment of hesitation, the three chubby snowballs immediately began a frantic, incredibly adorable scramble across the soft blankets, their tiny paws clawing at the sheets as they fought to reach Lin Wan first.
Xiao Rui tried to use Long Zhan’s strategy of raw speed, treading over his brother’s head, while Xiao Chen simply rolled his chubby body forward like a furry wheel.
Lin Wan immediately opened her arms, letting out a soft, gentle breath as the three heavy, warm puffballs crashed directly into her chest, purring like tiny, high-powered engines.
Xiao Jue immediately buried his wet nose right under her chin, while Xiao Chen and Xiao Rui scrambled up her silk robes, their small paws scratching softly as they vied for the absolute closest spot near her heart.
"Look at the three of you, barely awake for two seconds and already turning the bed into a chaotic wrestling match. Slow down, Xiao Chen, you’re going to step on your brother’s tail."
The cubs let out their usual, incredibly cute yips and soft, rumbling mews, rubbing their soft faces against her cheeks and licking her chin with their tiny, rough tongues to show their boundless affection.
But this time, Lin Wan didn’t just smile and pet them blindly; her hands gently but firmly wrapped around their chubby middles, holding them steady so she could look directly into their big, blinking eyes.
Her expression turned serious, her cold eyes carrying a profound, piercing gaze that instantly caused the three little cuties to freeze in her lap.
"No more hiding, and no more playing dumb with mummy, little ones," Lin Wan said, her voice dropping into a firm, clear whisper that echoed with absolute authority through the quiet bedroom.
"Your Grandmother already told me everything, and I know exactly what you’ve been doing behind my back. Your mother knows your secret now, so I want you to stop suppressing your powers, stop locking away your cores, and talk to me right now."
The three chubby silver leopard cubs instantly stiffened, their fluffy ears flattening against their round heads as they looked at each other with wide, panicked eyes.
