Favorite of the Beast-world: I Got Rich Through Farming

Chapter 406 - 278: Anger and Lost and Found

The three of them felt an inexplicable affinity for the little white fox on the bed.

Perhaps it was a somewhat familiar scent that subconsciously drew them closer.

"Could this be what Father calls... liking someone?" the eldest blurted out, stunned. He then muttered, "No wonder all the younger guys like to hang around the females. So this is what it feels like."

The second and third also nodded in a daze, their small hands gripping the edge of the bed as their big, fluffy tails wagged earnestly.

Chi Li walked over and gave each of them a rap on the head. "Your instinct is to get close to her because she’s your mother." ’What on earth do these little cubs think about all day long?’ he wondered.

The second son angrily rubbed his head. He looked up with glistening beast eyes and said indignantly, "Uncle Fox, you! How could you make a joke like that?! We’re not little cubs anymore! Besides, even little cubs wouldn’t believe something like that!"

Their mother had long since...

At this thought, the three little ones all hung their heads, their expressions full of sorrow.

"As for the exact reason... I’d like to know that myself," Chi Li sighed. For once, he didn’t correct the second son’s form of address, his expression growing serious. "Go get your father. He... should be the first to know about this."

The three little ones had never seen Chi Li look so stern and imposing. A sliver of fear rose in their hearts, and their initial disbelief slowly turned to doubt. They instinctively glanced at the unconscious little white fox on the bed.

The third son’s beautiful purple eyes misted over. "Is she really our mother?" His previously skeptical voice was now laced with a trembling certainty.

He had once been confused about his own beast form and had researched it extensively, discovering that he was neither a wolf nor an ordinary white fox. Yet the "little white fox" before him was surprisingly similar to his own beast form.

Moreover, her scent stirred in him an instinctive sense of reliance and a yearning for closeness.

Chi Li nodded and hummed in confirmation. "Though none of us know what happened to your mother, she has indeed returned. Your father needs to be notified."

The trio’s brief infatuation instantly transformed into immense joy. They just knew their mother would never abandon them.

"I’ll go, I’m the fastest!" the eldest instantly shifted into his beast form—a majestic, nearly two-meter-long, silvery-white snow wolf. He gave a sharp snort. "You guys stay here and take care of Mother. I’ll go get Father!"

THUD! In his excitement, he slammed his head right into the stone door. "AWOO—" The eldest spun around dizzily, then quickly pawed the door open and dashed out.

...

The paperwork was all handled, the sun had set, and the day was drawing to a close.

Ling Hong leaned back in his stone chair and rubbed his aching eyes. He let out a soft sigh. ’I’m really not suited for such tedious work,’ he thought.

’If Jin’er were still here, she would have handled all of this perfectly.’

A look of fond remembrance crossed the man’s face, only to be instantly eclipsed by sorrow.

He had been dreaming of her lately. After the first two years since her departure, during which he dreamt of her every night, visions of her had become rare.

Perhaps his grief had intentionally buried his memories of her, or perhaps time itself was deliberately blurring her image.

And yet, he could always recall every single detail of their time together with perfect clarity.

—The time she rescued him when they first met; the way she meticulously cared for him when he was injured; how she stood firmly by his side when he was betrayed and doubted by all; the tears she shed for him when he had been on the verge of death...

’There were too many memories, far too many.’

Ling Hong closed his eyes, his hand covering half his face. It felt as if every breath was a stab of pain. Only by deliberately blurring those memories could he feign ignorance of his sorrow and live a normal life.

But recently, he kept feeling as if she were still by his side.

Over the past ten years, it wasn’t the first time he’d had this delusion. But he understood with painful clarity—it was nothing more than a phantom conjured by his intense longing.

’To think I’d still be making this kind of mistake after all this time.’

After composing himself, Ling Hong turned to look out the window at the darkening sky. His brows knitted together, and his expression suddenly turned cold.

’Why aren’t those three cubs back yet? They must have run off to play somewhere again. They’re always so disobedient.’

"Father, Father! Mother’s back, you have to come with me!" the eldest burst into the room, tugging insistently at Ling Hong’s arm to pull him outside.

"Nonsense! Who taught you to joke about your mother? Is it because I haven’t disciplined you in too long?!" For once, the perpetually stern and cold Ling Hong’s face was flush with anger.

He had become far more composed and calm than he was ten years ago, and such emotional outbursts were rare. He had always doted on the three cubs she had given her all to bear, and he seldom scolded or punished them.

But at this moment, he could barely restrain himself from giving the eldest a beating.

The eldest quickly leaped out the door and yelped twice. "Mother really is back, she’s really back! I’m not lying, Father! She’s at Uncle Fox’s place! If you don’t believe me, come and see for yourself!"

Ling Hong lowered the large brush in his hand, his chest heaving violently. For a rare moment, he stood completely stunned.

The anger in his heart slowly gave way to doubt, and then to a sliver of hope.

After a long moment.

He didn’t even know what he was feeling as his feet began to move.

At the Witch Doctor Castle, the three little ones were waiting anxiously by the door. The moment a dazed-looking Ling Hong came into view, they sprinted over, grabbed his arm in their mouths, and pulled him inside the room.

In truth, he had already caught the familiar scent on the air as he drew near.

Sorrow and joy warred in his heart, but they were overwhelmed by a rising sense of panic and confusion.

An inexplicable fear forced him to a halt. His palm rested on the cold, hard stone door—he didn’t even dare to step inside.

’What was he afraid of? Of this being a cruel, empty joy, perhaps.’

’Perhaps it’s just a similar scent. What if I mistake someone else for her? If Jin’er knew I’d mistaken another for her, she would be so unhappy.’

’But if she really is alive... then why has there been no word for ten years? Why didn’t she leave a single trace? Why didn’t she come back for me?’

’Where has she been for these ten years? Was she... with another mate?’

’...Perhaps she never really loved me that much after all.’

The light in Ling Hong’s eyes dimmed. His throat tightened, and he finally pushed the door open.

He walked straight to the bed.

The little white fox on the bed was still unconscious. Its body was curled up slightly, as if in pain, and its ears drooped limply. It looked to be on the verge of death.

Ling Hong stared at it blankly, his pupils dilating. He bent down, wrapped his arms around the small form, and held it to his chest. "...Jin’er?"

But the creature was so weak it couldn’t even open its eyes. How could it possibly have the strength to answer him?

The joy of finding her again was eclipsed by an even deeper worry.

"What happened?" Ling Hong’s fists clenched, his voice turning icy.

Chi Li shook his head and recounted everything that had happened in detail. The little white fox they had rescued from the wilderness was, in fact, Jin’er. However, her body was missing the Soul and Soul blood that every Beastman should possess.