"Shuke, keep an eye on your two sisters!" Shu Yue instructed as usual.
"Got it, Mother." Only his voice could be heard, as he had already disappeared.
Shu Yue shook her head. The older the three children got, the more wild they became. In the blink of an eye, they were eleven-year-old kids, climbing trees and playing in the mud every day. Thinking back to her own childhood, spent constantly with books and various musical instruments… tsk tsk, she envied her children!
In Warrior City, there was a secret base exclusively for the cubs to play in, but not all cubs could enter. This was for the little overlords.
It was a sandy area about four to five hundred meters long, with half-height sandcastles on each side. Behind the sandcastles were well-equipped slingshots and mud balls.
Several half-grown boys began an attack-and-defense battle. The goal was simple: defeat the opponent and capture the females in their territory.
Long Yang, Rete's son; Long Rui, Aman's son; the four sons of Shui's family; one each from Ya Ya and Guo Guo's families; and a little black snake named Si, along with Shuke, made up ten people, divided into two opposing teams.
Shuke, Long Yang, Si, and Shui's two younger sons, Cheng and Nuo, were on one team.
Their territory's females included Shubei, Shuan, and a paternal aunt, Hu Shui'er.
The opposing team's main general was Long Rui, Shui's two elder sons, and the little sprouts from Ya Ya and Guo Guo's families. Guo Guo's youngest was only four and couldn't shapeshift yet, but they had more females to protect, a total of four!
Long Rui voiced his dissatisfaction, "Your side all has older cubs, and you only protect three females. Isn't that unfair?"
Shuke immediately retorted, "Then let Long Ruannuan come over, and you can protect one less."
Long Rui rolled his eyes. Of course, he had to protect his own sister!
Seeing his displeasure, Shuke proposed, "Then let's switch a team member. Cheng goes to your side, and Little Tiger comes to ours." Little Tiger was Guo Guo's tiger cub who couldn't shapeshift yet.
Long Rui thought this was more reasonable, "Okay."
However, Little Tiger was reluctant. He wanted to protect his two elder sisters!
But his voice was too weak, and his protest was invalid. He was forcibly switched.
With both teams in position, the attack-and-defense battle began. As per tradition, harsh words were exchanged before the fight. Long Rui provocatively shouted, "Shuke, hand over your sister Shubei, and I might consider sparing your life!"
Shubei rolled her eyes from the back. Stop using her as an excuse!
Shuke sneered, "Stop dreaming, brother-in-law. Long Ruannuan is mine!"
Long Rui: "..." You're the brother-in-law!
The two generals, each with their own schemes, fired the first slingshots. It started with projectile attacks, mud balls flying everywhere. The girls in the back hid far away, playing house amongst themselves.
Shuan sat quietly on the sand, paying no attention to the commotion in front, diligently using miniature cooking utensils to "cook" on the sand.
Shubei was having a great time playing with Aunt Shui'er. She glanced at the males in front and then at her sister behind, sighing like a little adult. Taking advantage of the ongoing battle, she infiltrated the enemy camp to instigate a defection.
"Ruannuan, Duoduo, hurry and come with me!"
Long Ruannuan had long wanted to go play with Shuan and Shui'er, but her brother wouldn't let her move, which had been stifling. Now, with Sister Shubei's summons, she immediately trotted over.
Duoduo, being a little older, knew she shouldn't go. She said earnestly, "If we go, Long Rui and the brothers will lose."
Shubei smiled slyly, "Long Rui can't beat my brother, so your side will definitely lose. It's better to come with me to avoid being snatched back and forth."
Among the girls, besides Shubei, Duoduo was the oldest. Like Shubei, she hated being grabbed by the little males. It wasn't necessarily about being taken advantage of, but they would definitely get dirty. It was best to avoid contact!
Thus, Shubei's instigation was successful, while Long Rui and the others were still locked in a fierce battle, completely unaware that their rear had become empty.
Si was pinned to the ground by Cheng and his brother. By chance, he saw that the opposing territory was completely empty and shouted excitedly, "We won!"
Everyone turned to look at him. Si pushed away the two fleshy balls on top of him and pointed proudly behind Long Rui, "Your females are gone. They're all with us!"
Everyone looked back, and indeed, it was true!
Long Rui's face turned green with anger, then red. "Cheating! You cheated! When did you sneak the females away?"
Shubei called out with a smile, "You wouldn't understand this. I brought the females over. This is called a honey trap. We won!"
Upon seeing Shubei, Long Rui forgot what he was going to say and stared at her intently. He thought, shouldn't the honey trap his father taught him be about seducing males? Why was she seducing him? What was the point of seducing his sister!
Seeing him staring at Shubei, Si felt a little uncomfortable and stood in front of Shubei, blocking his view.
Long Rui's gaze was forced to shift to a male. He instinctively narrowed his eyes. Did this snake want to snatch Shubei from him?
Shuke ignored their undercurrents and finished his battle, running to the back and scooping Long Ruannuan into his arms. "Ruannuan, do you want to play 'getting married'? I'll be your partner."
Hearing these shameless words, Shuan looked up at his own brother and cooperated, "Playing 'getting married' sounds good. I want to play too!"
Duoduo twitched her mouth. The three Shu siblings were too cunning!
Long Ruannuan, though as strong as her mother at such a young age, was completely opposite in personality to Ya. She disliked fighting and preferred things little girls liked, such as cooking or finding a playmate to play house with.
Long Ruannuan liked Shuke and agreed without much thought, "Okay, Brother Shuke, you be my partner, and we'll raise a little cub too."
Shuke nodded with a smile, "I like Ruannuan and our cub."
Shuan couldn't listen anymore and hit him, "Brother, Sister Ruannuan is only five years old. Watch what you say!"
Shuke: "..." He was truly in pain and pleasure at the same time. His helpers were his two sisters, and his obstacles were also his two sisters!
"Got it, got it..." Shuke said with some helplessness. He was only eleven years old, what could he do!
At most, he could learn from Uncle Aman and tease verbally!
If Aman knew that the sweet nothings he usually said to his mate were being learned by this kid to coax his precious daughter, would he be so angry that he'd slap himself…
Long Rui finally noticed the situation, his face dark as he stopped her, "Ruannuan, come to me."
Long Ruannuan shook her head and said crisply, "No, I want to get married and raise a cub with Brother Shuke!"
Long Rui: "..." He looked like an old father worried sick, his own sister turning her back on him and eagerly letting someone take advantage!
No, he had to take advantage too. He walked towards Shubei with a smile, "Sister Bei~"
Before he could get close, he was blocked by the flower-protecting envoy, Si, "Long Rui, stay away from Shubei!"