Gu Mengmeng continued to be in a very depressed state after returning to the stone castle.
Elvis told Lea what happened with Cole and Chixuan. Actually, all children should be independent after coming of age. If not for Gu Mengmeng’s insistence, those other three sons should have already headed out on their own.
From the day they evolved, they already had not much ties with the original family.
But because Gu Mengmeng clung onto the notion of family, Lea and Elvis made an exception. Giving the excuse that those three young ones had yet to fully evolve, they allowed them to remain by their side.
Lea’s heart ached as he looked at Gu Mengmeng’s despondent state.
Sighing, Lea waved his tail and sat beside Gu Mengmeng. He held her gently by the shoulders and placed her head on his chest.
“Children will always want their own life after growing up. You cannot force them to remain by your side, right?” Lea kissed the top of Gu Mengmeng’s head. “Anyway, you still have Elvis and I, don’t you? The two of us will never leave you.”
Children would always want to leave after growing up.
Gu Mengmeng understood this logic, but that didn’t mean she would be any less upset.
Fortunately, Chixuan would come over through the secret tunnel now and then to visit Gu Mengmeng. With that, her mood gradually became better.
However, the fact that Chixuan was the last to evolve but the first to become a first-level beast incited the rest of his brothers, especially Kanwu.
Thereafter, in order to advance their own abilities, the three young ones embarked on a vigorous attrition-warfare-style of training.
At the start, the three of them fought against each other. Thereafter, they sought out Lea to train with them. When Lea had to prepare Gu Mengmeng’s meal, they went to get Elvis…
Elvis felt very unhappy at the thought that those three young ones, who he had personally trained, were trailing behind Cole’s Chixuan. Hence, he was rather heavy-handed when training with them…
But those three youngsters had become increasingly brave, and were not scared off by Elvis’ viciousness. Instead, they entered into an excited frenzy.
Time flowed on as this “passionate” father-and-son interaction progressed. All the way until a crack appeared on the snow at the entrance of the cave, and a gentle breeze blew through. Gu Mengmeng knew this meant the new year had begun.
According to custom, Elvis and Lea would lead the first hunt in their respective roles as tribe leader and witch doctor. After being couped up in the stone house for an entire winter, Gu Mengmeng rather looked forward to the first hunt of this rainy season.
After prepping himself and the three young ones, Elvis drew Gu Mengmeng into his embrace and with a big wave of his hand, smashed the snow that was sealed up against the cave entrance.
Cool air rushed and Gu Mengmeng took a deep breath before exhaling in satisfaction.
The weather was still rather cool and Elvis was worried that Gu Mengmeng would catch a chill. He wrapped a large piece of skinned fur around her securely.
Gu Mengmeng didn’t resist and let Elvis bundle her up.
All ceremonies in Sauder were carried out at the altar. It was here when Cole had secretly signaled her with the code “Hoeing millet in mid-day heat” to confirm Gu Mengmeng’s identity as the Messenger of the Beast Deity.
But Gu Mengmeng and company arrived at the altar only to discover that a large number of Snow fox tribesmen had already assembled there. And it appeared that the ceremony had already started and was well underway.
And the person officiating the ceremony was…
Oakley?
Gu Mengmeng frowned. She didn’t ascend the stage but just watched quietly from the side.
Oakley had also clearly seen Gu Mengmeng but he maintained a calm expression. He carried on the ceremony systematically until the very last step, before stating. “Next, would the venerable Messenger of the Beast Deity come on stage to announce the first hunt of the year.”
