Chapter 100: Chapter 100: The Older Brother is Shrewd, the Younger Brother... is Pure and Foolish

Inside the room, Feng Xuan stood anxiously by the bed, waiting for Yu An to treat the unconscious Feng Yue.

"There," Yu An said after a long moment, withdrawing her hand. "His injuries aren’t too severe. It’s mainly blood loss. He just needs to rest and recover properly."

"An’an, thank you."

Feng Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that Yu An’s hands were stained with blood, he quickly fetched a damp handkerchief to wipe them clean.

"We’re family. There’s no need for thanks," Yu An said, patting his arm. "You stay and watch over him. I’m going to step out."

The Zaizai had been playing in the courtyard and were frightened by the sight of the bloody, mangled Feng Yue. It took Mo Yan and the others quite a while to finally calm them down.

When Yu An came out, she didn’t see the Zaizai. Only Ao Wu was waiting for her outside the door.

He walked over to Yu An. "They’ve lulled the Zaizai to sleep," he said. "An’an, who’s that tiger? Feng Xuan seems so anxious."

"That’s Feng Xuan’s younger brother," Yu An explained. "He was coming to deliver the Golden Jade Pendant to Feng Xuan. We don’t know what happened on the road, but he was injured."

Feng Yue’s injuries hadn’t been severe, but he hadn’t treated them or stopped the bleeding in time. The wounds couldn’t heal, and he had fainted from excessive blood loss.

He had nearly bled out. If he weren’t so robust, with such a strong constitution, he probably wouldn’t have survived long enough to find them.

After they’d had dinner, Feng Yue slowly began to stir. The moment he saw Feng Xuan, he burst into a snotty, tearful mess.

"WAAAH, big brother... It hurts so bad, big brother... You have to get revenge for me, big brother..."

Watching from the side, Yu An felt the corner of her mouth twitch.

’This kid’s using "big brother" as a punctuation mark!’

"Alright, alright," Feng Xuan said, patting his shoulder. "You’re a grown man. Stop crying. Now, tell me what happened."

"Oh, right. Let me introduce you. This is my Female Master, Yu An. Call her Sister-in-law."

Feng Yue wiped his tears and greeted her obediently.

Yu An smiled in response. "You should eat something first."

"Thank you, Sister-in-law! I haven’t eaten in three days, I’m starving!"

Feng Yue thanked her sweetly, but when he saw the congee Feng Xuan handed him, he was at a loss.

’What is this?’

As the own brother of the Tiger Clan’s Clan Leader, Feng Yue had eaten plenty of cooked meals prepared by chefs, but he had never seen food like this before.

Feng Xuan gave him a simple explanation, though one wasn’t really necessary. Feng Yue trusted that his own brother and sister-in-law would never harm him.

He scooped up a spoonful to taste it and immediately felt the trip had been worth it!

’No wonder the clan elders always said I was smart. If I hadn’t insisted on being the one to make this delivery for my brother, I never would’ve gotten to eat something so delicious!’

’Wait, no. I almost forgot what I’m here for.’

Feng Yue finished the congee in a few gulps and said urgently, "Big brother, there’s trouble in the clan!"

"That bastard Feng Hui saw you weren’t coming back and plotted with some others to usurp your position..."

According to Feng Yue, after he’d secured the task of making the delivery to Feng Xuan, he had packed his bags and set off. Along the way, he remembered he’d forgotten the gift for his little nephew, so he immediately turned back to get it.

Unexpectedly, he stumbled upon Feng Hui and his men plotting in secret. Feng Yue tried to return to the clan to warn Feng Xuan’s loyalists, but Feng Hui discovered him.

"I was afraid that going back to warn everyone would make Feng Hui do something desperate, so I had my carrier pigeon take a message back while I lured them away myself."

Feng Yue rubbed his arm and said resentfully, "That bastard is ruthless. I was already seriously injured and had lost so much blood, but he still wasn’t satisfied. He sent a whole group of people after me, forcing me to take a risky, long detour."

The corner of Feng Xuan’s mouth twitched. "So you deliberately let your wounds bleed to create the illusion that you’d lost too much blood and wouldn’t live long?"

Feng Yue gave a silly grin. "Exactly! You get me, big brother."

Seeing the expectant look on his face, practically begging for praise, Feng Xuan and Yu An exchanged a glance. They could both see the exasperation in each other’s eyes.

’Feng Xuan was a pretty sharp guy, so how was his brother so... blockheaded? No, more like... adorably dumb?’

The "stupid tiger" in question was completely oblivious. "Big brother, we have to hurry back to the clan! I’m worried Feng Hui will move against your people."

Feng Xuan instinctively glanced at Yu An. Just as he was about to speak, she tugged on his hand. "It’s getting late. Let Feng Yue rest first. Even if you have to go back, you should leave tomorrow."

"Alright," Feng Xuan nodded. "Feng Yue, get some rest. Your Sister-in-law and I will go now."

Feng Yue nodded, then added with belated indignation, "Oh yeah, big brother, where’s my little nephew? It’s all Feng Hui’s fault! He made me lose my gift for my nephew!"

Instead of answering, Feng Xuan asked, "How many gifts did you prepare?"

Feng Yue scratched his head. "One, of course. How many would I need?"

"Good thing you lost it," Feng Xuan said bluntly. "Otherwise, if they started fighting over it, I’d like to see how you’d pacify them."

"Huh?"

Feng Yue scratched his head. "Big brother, what do you mean? I don’t get it."

Yu An chuckled. "He means you have two biological nephews, one named Da Hu and the other Xiao Hu. And there’s also a Merfolk Zaizai named Xiao Yu."

Feng Yue was completely dumbfounded. He stared at Yu An, speechless.

’Good heavens! He’d actually met a female who could give birth to three cubs at once!’

’As far as I know, the one with the highest Fertility is Princess Yu Yun from the Imperial City. I never thought I’d meet someone with even higher Fertility, let alone for it to be the Imperial City’s famously ’useless female,’ Princess Yu An!’

Feng Xuan patted his shoulder. "Get some rest. Next time, remember to prepare three gifts... no, wait, four. Your Sister-in-law has another one on the way."

Then, paying no mind to the shock his brother was processing, he led Yu An back to their room.

Feng Xuan hadn’t expected to face such a dilemma so soon. He wanted to stay by Yu An’s side, but his clan needed him, too.

But if he returned to the clan, he would worry about Yu An and the Zaizai...

"You should go back," Yu An said, propping her chin on her hand as she looked at him. "It’s not like I can’t protect myself. Besides, Mo Yan and the others are here to protect me and the Zaizai. The sooner you go, the sooner you can come back. Get it dealt with and return."

"But..."

"No buts," Yu An said, poking him. "That Feng Hui doesn’t sound like a good person. What if he’s ruthless enough to kill off all your loyalists after he takes over?"

Feng Xuan gave a helpless smile. "That won’t happen. The Tiger Clan has an ancestral law that forbids clansmen from killing one another. Back when Feng Hui was competing for the position of Clan Leader, he resorted to dirty tricks against the others. When he failed, that ancestral law was the only thing that saved his life."

"Besides, my people are the clan’s elite. The elders won’t let him do as he pleases."

"You can’t be sure about that."

Yu An pouted. "That ancestral law of yours sounds like it’s meant to restrain gentlemen, not villains. If Feng Hui dared to use dirty tricks to seize power, what’s to stop him from going after your people?"

Feng Xuan realized she had a point. "An’an, you’re right. I’ll leave quickly and come back quickly. I can use this opportunity to sort out the clan’s affairs for good."

Since it was best to return as soon as possible, they decided he would leave the next day. Feng Xuan was reluctant to go and treasured their last night together, clinging to Yu An, unwilling to sleep.

"You have a long journey tomorrow. You need to get some rest."

Yu An soothed him as if he were one of the Zaizai. For once, Feng Xuan acted spoiled, asking Yu An to sing him a lullaby.

"How old are you, really?" Yu An said, exasperated but unable to refuse him. "Alright, alright. Just once, okay?"

Having secured a little perk that the other four hadn’t gotten, Feng Xuan closed his eyes in satisfaction. Just as he was drifting off, something suddenly kicked him, jolting him wide awake!