The partners’ marriage
For various reasons, Mingtian’s and Xue Hua’s wedding was postponed.
There were three, to be exact:
The first one was that Xie Yi’s and Shi Yue’s wedding ended up being highly official sect business, so having two beasts marry at the same time would confuse everyone even further than they already were.
The second one was that they wanted Nie to participate, and having a deity stand in the middle of the sect during a wedding would be a terrible – but indeed quite funny – mess.
The third reason was Su Liang.
This was a reason that Xue Hua wasn’t aware of at all, because the brat was a great actor. But Mingtian knew it, and he thought it was important to not have Su Liang run in the sect during their wedding.
Squatting in front of his toddler, Mingtian tried to look very serious. The little child just blinked his huge eyes at him.
“Okay. Xiao Liang, you’re not allowed to lie to Papa. Tell me, did you sneak out again while I was napping?”
Su Liang shook his head earnestly.
“…You’re absolutely sure?”
A serious nod.
“Xiao Yi”, Mingtian called into the other room with a sigh. The cultivator stuck his head into the room, humming questioningly. “Where was Xiao Liang half an hour ago?”
“Stealing Xu Yan’s notebook”, Xie Yi dryly said. “Again.”
“I didn’t”, Su Liang protested in his soft, high voice. His eyes watered up a bit. “Papa, I didn’t!”
“Sweetie”, Xie Yi said while raising an eyebrow, “we ran into each other. You looked at me and climbed out of the window.”
“No”, Su Liang insisted, expression not changing at all. “That wasn’t me.”
“Right, it was one of the other two dozens white-haired, chubby little kids running around in the sect”, Mingtian sighed. He lightly hit his knuckles on his son’s head. “You’re determined not to tell me the truth?”
Su Liang blew up his cheeks.
“Alright. Fine then.”
Mingtian picked up his son with a sigh and walked towards the door to the cellar. Su Liang froze up and squeaked in fearful protest, but was carried down anyway.
“Nie”, Mingtian greeted softly. He never got around to calling the deity Father, but like this was good too.
Nie had heard the whole conversation already. He simply looked at Su Liang, who shrunk in his father’s arms. Nie never had to say a word – just being looked at like this would give anyone a bad conscience.
“He’s growing more and more mischievous with each day”, Mingtian complained. “He’s too strong for us to ignore it. We can’t let him wreak havoc in the sect.”
The deity reached out to pick up the chubby kid. Su Liang lowered his head, allowing himself to be taken into his grandfather’s arms. Nie spoke in a soothing tone, rubbing Su Liang’s head. “What are you so unhappy about, child?”
The child managed to stay quiet for another couple of seconds before bursting into tears. Throwing a tantrum, he tugged at Nie’s clothes. “Big brother and big sister are allowed to go out, but I’m not! They’re always moving around without me!”
Nie rubbed his head. He didn’t turn to Mingtian, but the beast knew he was being addressed anyway. “You should give them more time together.”
“I would, but I’m worried about him causing more chaos. The kids can’t control him.” Mingtian messed up his hair.
This matter was what was pushing back his marriage with his mate, and that was starting to seriously get on his nerves!
When Xue Hua stepped down into the basement, Su Liang quickly turned back to the little angel he always appeared to be. The deity and mixed blood raised their eyebrows, but didn’t call him out on it.
Xua Hu went to Mingtian, putting his head on the tall man’s shoulder. “What’s the matter?”
“We’re trying to think of a way to somehow calm down Xiao Liang… and get our marriage on the way.”
The bird beast bit his lip, a bit shy. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “Maybe… Maybe we could take a little trip? To somewhere quiet enough that Nie can come along and that Su Liang can move around freely.”
“That would be a good idea. If there was a space where I can move more freely, I can train him to control himself better”, Nie agreed in his calm voice.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Su Liang’s eyes grew bright and sparkling. He nodded several times, perfectly displaying his excitement at the thought of getting to play with his friends.
“I love that idea!” Mingtian kissed Xue Hua with a loud smooch. “Now we just have to convince Xie Yi and Shi Yue to come along. It will be a family vacation-”
Somewhere upstairs tumbling steps approached hurriedly.
Xie Yi stuck his head through the opening in the ceiling, looking at everyone upside down. If he had a tail, it would probably be wagging.
“Did someone say vacation?!”
A couple of steps away, Shi Yue sighed and rubbed his forehead.
Fine.
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The children’s relationships
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With his snowy white hair that only had a soft shade of gold around his fringe and stark blue eyes, the youth was incredibly adorable. Often he’d not hide his full beast features, walking around with his long feathery tail or the cute ears.
Xiao Zai shot him a look and continued to chew on her bun.
Su Liang was scary.
Su Liang was the worst schemer she knew – he had learned everything bad from her dad and uncle, but he was perfectly obedient and sweet in front of everyone else. A true wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Maybe it was good that he had such a huge weak point.
Qiang Ren was her dad’s disciple. Not officially, but unofficially. He was straightforward and stern, a very serious person with the clear goal of serving her fathers.
Xiao Zai knew that her dad Xie Yi had bought Qiang Ren originally as a slave. He was supposed to be her and Su Liang’s playmate, so they grew up together. He thought of them as little siblings; Xiao Zai was petite and cute, while Su Liang was younger than them and had an absolutely harmless appearance.
Su Liang didn’t quite think the same. He had always been attached to Qiang Ren, but it had developed into a fullblown crush over the years.
Not one that Qiang Ren noticed, mind you. He didn’t have a head for love.
“Don’t let your father notice that you’re skipping your lessons to stare at him”, she reminded Su Liang quietly.
It was a bit complicated; both of them had two fathers.
Xiao Zai called Xie Yi her dad and Shi Yue her father, since Xie Yi was looser with formalities. Likewise, Su Liang’s Dad was Mingtian and his father (or mother, sometimes) Xue Hua.
The family line was a bit messy – Mingtian was like her dad’s brother, so he was her uncle, but Xue Hua was her father’s partner.
Ultimately, they decided that there would be two dads and two uncles for each of them, and the two of them could be cousins.
“He won’t”, Su Liang sighed, still staring at Qiang Ren’s muscular arms. The other was just too handsome!
In fact, Xiao Zai didn’t think it was bad if Su Liang liked Qiang Ren. Their family was such a mess, it was better if Su Liang liked someone trustworthy.
Xiao Zai sighed.
Dad was a demonic cultivator. She didn’t question it, because she was partially one, too. Father was the leader of a huge spiritual sect. Uncle Xue Hua was a high-level spiritual beast and Uncle Mingtian had spiritual, demonic and divine blood.
Su Liang ended up being more a divine beast than anything else thanks to his grandfather, her parents were slowly ascending into being Immortals, and Mingtian’s bloodline was strengthening into possibly becoming a divine beast one day, too.
Their family was completely overpowered.
…But she felt safe here.
Qiang Ren finally stopped his training and lifted up his shirt to wipe his sweat before walking over to the two young people standing behind the low wall.
“What are you two doing here? No lessons?”, he asked in his sensual husky voice that had Su Liang flushing a bit.
Xiao Zai shook her head first. “I’m on break this week. Dad says I can’t train right now or I’ll get sick again.”
Her body was still weak and she was suffering the aftereffects of what she had consumed in her past. Often she would fall ill. This was the price she had to pay to slowly convert the tainted energy inside her body back into pure one.
“I-I just wanted to say hi”, Su Liang stuttered and looked up at Qiang Ren. The watery, upturned eyes were irresistible and the worst was, he wasn’t even acting. Su Liang was completely useless the moment Qiang Ren talked to him.
Qiang Ren was weak against this type of look. Despite his stoic face, he liked cute things. (A lot of girls liked him for that; he would often walk around holding kittens or rabbits.)
“As long as you’re not skipping any lessons.” He always took his lessons seriously.
For Qiang Ren, learning was vital. The reason why he adored his master so much was because he could tell they were similar in many aspects, and because Xie Yi fully supported him in his desire to grow stronger.
Qiang Ren would never become a full-fledged cultivator. His body was too broken. Still, he could become an ideal secret guard, so that became his dream.
In fact, he planned to become Xiao Zai’s guard. Su Liang… Su Liang looked weak, but he knew that the other was a strong divine beast that needed no support.
Xiao Zai watched the two of them and could only hold back a sigh. One of these days, Su Liang was going to snap and confess, and she hoped it’d work out well. They were all really close and she hated the thought of things breaking apart.
It was sometime when they were young teenagers that she found Su Liang standing in front of Qiang Ren, both in a quiet corner. She quickly went into hiding in the bushes, observing quietly and eavesdropping. Apparently, she came perfectly in time.
Su Liang breathed in deeply. His fingers were curled around his tail, holding it tightly. “Qiang Ren, I… I like you!”
The tall man looked down at him, eyes wide. Then they softened. He raised his hand and gently patted Su Liang’s head. “I know.”
…Something was wrong about the tone, though.
“N-No, I mean, I don’t just want to be your friend”, Su Liang tried to make himself clearer, but Qiang Ren only nodded seriously.
“Of course you aren’t. Don’t worry, you’re closer to me than anyone else.”
“…I’m not your little brother!”
“I am aware?”
Looking at Qiang Ren’s oblivious expression, Su Liang felt tears well up. Before he could hold them back, they spilled over and the dam broke.
First he sniffled, then whimpered, and finally he ended up sobbing while reaching out to hold a completely stunned Qiang Ren’s sleeve.
“Idiot!” He wailed, feeling heartbroken. Qiang Ren didn’t even consider the possibility. Did that mean he was stuck as family forever? “You- You-… Idiot!”
“H-Huh? What’s the matter? What’s wrong? Don’t cry…” Flustered, Qiang Ren lowered his head and tried to wipe away the tears running down the beast’s face. It was a terrible sight; the trembling lips and reddened eyes, as if someone had just done him the greatest injustice.
“I don’t wanna”, Su Liang cried, throwing his arms around Qiang Ren’s neck and hugging him tightly. “Don’t wanna, don’t wanna…”
In the bushes, Xiao Zai massaged her temples. She had feared it would end like this, and it did. However, she had grown up with the two as well, and the sight of Su Liang looking so devastated was hurting her, too. She knew from Nie that deities would get incredibly attached to those they liked, which meant that Su Liang’s feelings were running deep even if he was young.
Biting on her lip, she walked out of the shrub and approached Qiang Ren, whose face lit up at the unexpected help.
“Older Brother, you made him cry”, she said in an accusatory tone, although “crying” was too light of a word for the heartbreaking weeping. “How can you make your fiance cry like that?”
Well, that was a white lie. If she asked her dad, he wouldn’t say no, though, and Mingtian would agree as long as Xie Yi agreed.
“Fiance?”, Qiang Ren asked in a surprised tone and even Su Liang’s crying slowly toned down.
His bright blue eyes turned to look at Xiao Zai, although he kept close to Qiang Ren. His ears twitched up a bit to listen.
“Has Dad not told you?”, Xiao Zai lied. “Uncle Mingtian and Uncle Xue Hua were worried about who Su Liang would marry when he grows up, so Dad took you in as his fiance. He just called you his playmate until you got older. But if they hear you made him cry, they will be incredibly mad!”
She looked at Su Liang and stared him down. A bit confused, he raised a single ear.
“They told Su Liang already. Otherwise, why do you think he sticks so much to you? You’re his fiance and he’s treating you like it, but you’re acting like he’s your not blood-related brother.”
Qiang Ren looked down at Su Liang, then back at Xiao Zai. You could see the wheels in his head turning.
Xiao Zai herself had not understood it, but Xu Yan had told her in a quiet minute.
Qiang Ren did love Su Liang. He loved him a lot, even, certainly as much as Su Liang loved him.
But just like Xie Yi had been, Qiang Ren was very careful in handling his relationships. He wasn’t willing to try and change the status of anything, which was why he never made friends.
When he was little, Xie Yi had given him Su Liang and Xiao Zai under the status of “playmates” and “siblings” and Qiang Ren followed the words exactly.
He would never do anything that would cross this exact boundary, nor would he interpret any sort of behavior out of it. If Xie Yi or Shi Yue told him that someone was a friend, he would treat him as a friend even when the other held a knife against his neck.
As such, no matter what Su Liang did or said, Qiang Ren would never interpret it as romantic. That went against his one-track mind.
Now, however, Xiao Zai had given two important points: The status wasn’t “playmate” but “fiance” according to Xie Yi, and Su Liang had “accepted” this change.
Which meant that, in Qiang Ren’s mind, he was officially allowed to treat Su Liang according to his actual feelings.
“I didn’t know that”, Qiang Ren hurried to explain while wiping Su Liang’s tears away again. This time, however, he was gently cupping Su Liang’s cheek and his expression was a display of loving helplessness. “I’m sorry for treating you like a sibling.”
Su Liang had no idea about what was happening, but he truly didn’t care. He tugged at Qiang Ren’s sleeve and pulled up his nose. “Qiang Ren, I like you!”
“Mnn”, Qiang Ren hummed, placing their foreheads together. “I like you, too.”
Xiao Zai felt someone surround her waist and pick her up. She made a small sound, then recognized the black hair of her dad fall over her shoulder and allowed herself to be carried away.
“Are you old enough to play matchmaker? I’ll allow that lie, since they’re happy about it. Leave Xue Hua to MingMing, he’ll take care of that”, Xie Yi said lovingly and set his daughter down.
His expression was playful and not at all angry, so Xiao Zai relaxed. She allowed him to pick out a leaf from her hair. “Dad, you aren’t mad?”
“I had intended for Su Liang to become your partner, but it’s fine if it’s Qiang Ren, too. That way they can be mates and partners.” He snickered. “This did make our family line more complicated, though.”
He stared into the direction of the two teenagers.
“I don’t think I can allow them to have a child, though. At least not unless Nie agrees… It would be quite messy.”
Xiao Zai looked up at her father. “…Dad, what were you like when you were young? Were you like Qiang Ren?”
Xie Yi pulled a face. He hadn’t really told her about his past that much. “…I was more like Su Liang, I guess. At least for the first few years. I stopped trying to act all nice and obedient later, though. Especially after I married Shi Yue.”
“Did Father confess first?”
“Are you curious?”
Xiao Zai nodded. She had never asked before, but… In truth, she was quite curious. Her family was so special, it was hard not to be.
“I confessed to him in front of the whole sect. It took quite a while before he responded though, and I hadn’t planned for that to happen at all.” Xie Yi scratched his cheek, over his scar. “You see, I didn’t really think he would take an interest in me.”
Xiao Zai raised an eyebrow.
Her dad, who was as beautiful as a fairy, strong like an Immortal, had the instincts of a beast and the brain of a scholar, who was gentle to his loved ones and ferocious to his enemies…
…Why would her father not like him?
Xiao-idolizes-her-dad-Zai couldn’t understand. Her father was pretty stupid to not accept her dad immediately! (Shi Yue would have nodded at hearing that thought.)
Xie Yi could read it on her face and laughed. He kissed her head and gave her a hug. “Don’t look like that. You know he treats me exceptionally well!”
“Well, I hope I can find a good husband like that”, Xiao Zai mumbled quietly. She hadn’t taken an interest in anyone yet.
“Spouse”, Xie Yi corrected her. “I can accept man, woman, genderless and whatever you bring home as long as it’s a good one who treats you well. Ideally, bring someone home who is weaker than me so I can beat them up if they don’t treat you right.”
Xiao Zai giggled a bit and nodded.
…Anyway, many years later she would end up meeting the half-siren son of a Transcendent, who ended up being so head over heels for her that she thought his brain was a bit slow.
When he did manage to get his wits together, he courted her like a noble lord, singing her songs in his enchanting voice – and successfully confusing her, who was wondering if maybe she had met the little idiot’s twin, because her little idiot was not that charming and intelligent.
Watching all that, Shi Yue could only turn his head away and awkwardly mumble that it seemed to be a habit of their family to turn into absolute morons around their loved ones.
Three beasts and one young warrior could only cough in return.
Xie Yi, meanwhile, completely didn’t understand what his husband was talking about.
That will only mean Qiang Ren as a normal one in their family. Wait, if QR can’t be a full-time cultivator that means he’ll age normally?
Yep.
Although, if your grandfather-in-law and your hubby are both deities, there’s…. some stuff that can be cheated.
Nice~~~