Xu Chi laid out the whole story.

The males were so furious they had to laugh. ’Is that Miao Juan even human?’ Going after their girl with her claws, time and time again. Did she really think they were pushovers, and that Si Shuo was still that helpless little thing with no one to back her up?

Xiao Cheng cracked his knuckles. "Sister, this is a job for me. They dared to target Brother Ji Liang, so they’ll have to face the consequences of my rebound!"

Si Shuo blinked, and suddenly Xiao Cheng had transformed into Ji Liang’s likeness. He leaned in close and... HISS...

Her expression darkened instantly. She reached out and pinched the tongue darting toward her face, making Xiao Cheng hiss and gasp in pain. Using Ji Liang’s voice, he mumbled for mercy, "Shishter, I wash wong, let go..."

Ji Liang’s lip curled into a sneer. He held out a hand, his nails elongating. Gesturing in the air, he said, "Tsk. I wonder, if I cut off your tongue, could you still change back? Or would you transform back, only to find your tongue is gone for good?"

Xiao Cheng’s face fell. He looked at Si Shuo with a wounded expression. "Sister, I was just trying to help."

Si Shuo let go and wiped her hand on his clothes in disgust. "That doesn’t give you the right to shove your tongue in my face!"

Still, as she looked back and forth between the two Ji Liangs, she thought, ’This is actually kind of fun.’

Getting back to business, Xiao Cheng dropped his playful expression. "Sister, since they’re targeting Brother Ji Liang, I’ll just turn into him whenever we go out and keep my rebound superpower active!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"And take a Substitute Pearl," Si Shuo added. "Xiao Cheng, even though you have a rebound superpower, you can’t be careless. We need to have multiple backup plans for everything.

I want our whole family to stay safe and together."

Xiao Cheng smiled, nodding again and again. "Don’t worry, Sister, I’ll be perfectly fine. You know I like to joke around, but I’m smart, not an idiot. Have I ever failed to complete a mission flawlessly?"

Ji Liang let out a low hiss. ’Who does he think he’s shading?!’

Knowing Miao Juan and Ying Lan were working together and just waiting for the right moment to strike, Si Shuo’s family stuck to their daily routine. They acted as if they knew nothing, even secretly creating opportunities for their enemies to make a move.

After sleeping in, Si Shuo woke up naturally. She turned her head to look at the sunlight outside. ’I love life more and more each day.’

After breakfast, she rode atop the great black snake, with the other males and the cubs of the family trailing behind. Xiao Cheng was playful and loved a lively atmosphere, so he often messed around and played with the cubs.

Knowing that the current Father Ji Liang was actually someone else, the cubs didn’t hold back. They swarmed onto the great black snake, treating him like a living slide.

Xiao Cheng happily played along. Heeding the cubs’ gestures, he even gave them a taste of a double-loop rollercoaster! To be precise, there was no car and no seatbelts; they just clung to Xiao Cheng’s snake body, screaming "AAAH!" in a mix of excitement and terror as he spun them around.

Si Shuo felt her skin crawl just watching them. ’If that were me, even my healthy heart would probably stop on the spot!’

When they reached the square, the cubs went with their respective Fathers. A large crowd had gathered to watch the events, and the family was quickly separated.

"Ji Liang" carried Si Shuo alone, weaving through the various arenas. He was a moving target, waiting for the enemy to take the bait. However, his opponents were also cautious. For two or three days, there was absolutely no sign of them. ’If I hadn’t overheard their plotting,’ Si Shuo thought, ’I’d have assumed they’d given up.’

’It seems we’re not doing a good enough job of baiting them, they’re still too wary. We’ll have to turn up the heat.’

As it happened, Ji Liang located the females whose life force had been stolen by Miao Juan. This time, they didn’t reveal themselves, simply having Ali return the stolen vitality to its original owners.

’Tsk. It seems whenever Miao Juan saw a feature she liked on another female, she just had to take it—a tiny waist, a shapely rear, a full bust, a thick head of hair, you name it.’

Si Shuo felt as if Miao Juan had been using a camera filter, and now, all those effects were being switched off, one by one.

Clearly sensing the changes in her own body, Miao Juan was livid. Her patience was gone. She had already figured out the routine of Si Shuo’s household anyway. After a quick word with Ying Lan, the two of them set their plan in motion.

To create her puppets, Ying Lan first needed to acquire things like hair or fingernails from her target. But Xiao Cheng remained in his Beast Form, and his scales rarely shed, leaving them no opportunity.

That day, Xiao Cheng was still taking Si Shuo wandering around. The real Ji Liang gave off an air of casual indifference; unless he needed to travel quickly, his pace was always steady. Xiao Cheng, on the other hand, would dart over here and leap over there. His bouncy energy made Si Shuo feel like she was riding a giant rabbit. ’It’s always so much fun with him,’ she thought. ’Even though I’m supposed to be scorning his antics, I can’t help but join in the foolishness.’

"Ji Liang?" A Beastman smiled as he looked up and called out the name.

Xiao Cheng let out a hiss and abruptly shifted into his human form. He caught Si Shuo as she fell into his arms, landing steadily on the ground. On his face was Ji Liang’s signature expression of lofty indifference as he toyed with a strand of Si Shuo’s hair.

Si Shuo could see the confusion in his eyes. ’Who is this guy, just walking up and starting a conversation?’

Meanwhile, the real Ji Liang stood nearby, invisible and scowling. ’I seriously suspect this fox is just using his rebound superpower and my appearance as an excuse to monopolize all my time with my little female.’

’Some "Couple Brothers" we are.’ His own little female was beautiful, vivacious, and exceptional, so naturally, her males were all formidable in their own right. It was enough to catch even Ji Liang, who prided himself on his cleverness, off guard at times.

He quickly scribbled a note and slipped it into his spatial storage, briefly explaining who the man was. He was a male from the old merchant team who had kept a low profile. But among a Traveling Merchant Team, anyone who managed to stay alive was no ordinary male. It wasn’t just about strength, but more about mentality and cunning.

Not long after Ji Liang had handed over the Dark Crow Trading Team, this man had also left, supposedly after finding a female to settle down with.

"Lord Ji Liang, it’s really you!" the male said, smiling with excitement. His voice was filled with sincerity and admiration. "Everyone was saying you’d returned from the Central Continent with a female. It’s so wonderful to see you again."

Xiao Cheng, in his role as Ji Liang, curved his lips into a smile. "Mm, Lu Ya. Long time no see. I heard you partnered with a female and left the Traveling Merchant Team?"

Lu Ya’s face flushed slightly. He scratched his head and smiled. "I felt I’d gotten enough experience from my time in the Traveling Merchant Team, and I’d saved up plenty of Crystal Stones, enough to provide a female with good protection.

Besides, with Lord Ji Liang gone, the team suddenly lost its backbone. Everyone wasn’t as united as before.

I ran into a few of the old brothers yesterday, actually. We were all saying we should get together for a reunion. You should come too! Everyone really misses you."

Xiao Cheng, as Ji Liang, raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Sure. I’m not too busy these days. You all figure out a time and place, then send word."

Lu Ya smiled. "Lord Ji Liang, no time like the present, right? How about tonight? You could even bring your lady along..."