Chapter 44
Chapter 44: Moving House
Zulu turned to Agma. “If there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving.”
Agma’s gaze settled on Su Yan’s belly. Something tight flickered across his face. “I was wrong before.” The words clearly cost him. “You can stay in the mouse clan as long as you wish. And in the future, if you need something I can provide, I will not refuse.”
For a clan chief like Agma to apologize was rare. For him to make a promise on top of it was rarer still.
Whatever the mouse clan’s position in the West District, they held their place in large part because Agma was capable.
Perhaps he’d poured too much of himself into the tribe. Perhaps that was why he had so few offspring.
By the time he truly wanted more, it had become difficult.
That was why he’d doted on Rona so fiercely.
Keeping Jia Lian had been part of that too—love for his daughter twisted into misplaced affection.
Now the truth had ripped it open.
“Thank you, Clan Chief,” Zulu said politely. “But the rabbit clan has already prepared. We’ll move tomorrow.”
Agma didn’t argue. He only nodded stiffly. “The two clans aren’t far. You can return anytime. You will always be welcome.”
“Good,” Zulu said.
He glanced at Lin Lang. “Help tomorrow?”
“No problem,” Lin Lang answered at once.
Su Yan hugged Ashley tightly. “Come tomorrow too, if you have time. Everything in my house—I’ll leave it to you.”
Ashley nodded, eyes damp. “I’ll be there.”
Then she touched Su Yan’s belly, curiosity pushing through the sadness. “How many this time?”
“Feels like one,” Su Yan said with a smile. “It always moves in the same spot.” Her smile turned fond. “And it’s a little lazy.”
Zulu blinked at her belly. “Only one? Last time there were three.”
“One is easier to deliver,” Grom said firmly. “And an only one tends to grow stronger.”
Su Yan shot Zulu a sideways look. “Good. One is already plenty for you to raise.”
Zulu didn’t deny it. Lately he’d been living in the Beast Forest for this cub.
Su Yan found herself oddly curious too—wondering what talent it would inherit, and how many points it would bring her.
…
The next day, Ashley and Lin Lang came to help Su Yan move.
Ashley’s face was tight, her voice low when she spoke. “Jia Lian never made it out of Penal Cave. Someone threw her out in the middle of the night. No mat, no covering—just buried her.”
Whatever she’d confessed, only Agma knew. All anyone else saw was his face—dark enough to swallow light.
Four ox carts carried the Mi Lu Te family toward the rabbit clan. The wheels groaned over the uneven road, and dust lifted in pale veils behind them.
A surprising number of mouse clan members came to see them off.
Ashley wiped at her eyes again and again. “Once you’re settled, send word.”
“It’s not far,” Su Yan said, smiling gently as she dabbed Ashley’s cheeks dry. “Come visit when you’re free.”
Then Su Yan handed her a fur pouch she’d prepared in advance. “Here. A little something from Little Li.”
Ashley tried to push it back. “You already gave me so much furniture. Don’t give me more.”
Su Yan lifted her brows. “You sure you don’t want it?”
Ashley hesitated, then opened the pouch.
A soft, intoxicating fragrance spilled out, sweet and warm, clinging to the air like a secret.
“This is…?”
“Perfume,” Su Yan said with a grin. “A little on the skin, and it makes things… more interesting.”
Ashley’s face turned red immediately. “Don’t say things like that.”
But she tucked it away without another protest.
“I’m going now,” Su Yan said. “When I give birth, I’ll treat you to wine and a feast.”
“You better,” Ashley sniffed.
“Of course.” Su Yan winked. “I’m expecting gifts.”
She climbed onto the cart.
Ashley watched the line of ox carts roll away, growing smaller on the road, and let out a quiet sigh.
Lin Lang stepped beside her and took her hand.
Ashley looked down, startled, then up at him—then, after a moment, she smiled bright enough to break through tears. “Mm. Let’s go home.”
Lin Lang’s gaze softened. “We can’t lose to Zulu. We should hurry and have another baby too.”
Ashley’s cheeks went pink. “Mm. Whatever you say.”
…
On the cart, Su Yan ate a sweet-and-sour fruit and let the scenery slide past—fields, hills, the dark line of the Beast Forest in the distance, looming like a sleeping beast.
“Once we leave,” she asked Oro, “we probably won’t come back to the mouse clan again, will we?”
“As long as you, Little Luo, and my grandsons are well,” Oro said calmly, “I’m the same anywhere.”
Su Yan laughed. “Come on. I think you were the first one who wanted to move here with Emma.”
Emma had said the rabbit clan was more comfortable. Oro had taken that to heart.
So when Su Yan suggested moving, he agreed without hesitation.
Oro looked toward the other cart, where Emma was feeding meat mash to the three Little Furball. His voice turned blunt. “I won’t hide it anymore. Little Luo approves of me and Emma. Do you?”
Su Yan’s smile widened. “You haven’t been hiding it. Anyone with eyes could see.” She nodded. “I approve.”
A group of mounted beastmen rode toward them, hooves thudding in a steady rhythm.
Zulu, up ahead, called back, “It’s Second Brother and the others. They’re here to meet us.”
Su Yan quickly straightened her clothes, had the cart stop, and climbed down.
The mounted group reached them in moments. Jun Sen looked her over, eyes catching on her rounded belly, and his smile grew. “Third sister-in-law. Was the road hard on you?”
“Not at all,” Su Yan said, amused. “The cart’s so slow and steady it nearly put me to sleep.”
Zulu stepped closer and wiped a speck of fruit from the corner of her mouth with a tenderness that made the gesture feel strangely intimate. “The ox cart is safer.”
“It is,” Su Yan agreed, trying not to blush.
Jun Sen turned to Zulu. “Oh—Fox clan’s Lai Yin is going to marry the female from Third Aunt’s family. It should be settled in the next few days.”
“Good,” Zulu said. “Lin Lang told me that kid’s decent.”
Jun Sen’s smile faded. “One more thing. Three rabbit clan members have gone missing these past two days. It might be devil beasts. Help us look into it.”
Zulu let out a short breath. “Second Brother, I’m not even back yet and you’re already assigning work.”
“The capable do more,” Jun Sen said, unrepentant.
They rode together as the carts rolled onward, laughter and conversation easing the road.
Before long, rabbit clan village came into view.
The Old Clan Leader stood at the entrance like he’d been carved there, waiting—shoulders squared, gaze fixed on the road, as if staring hard enough could pull the future closer.
When Su Yan saw him, something tightened in her throat.
Her mother… had she once waited like this too, day after day, eyes on the road?
Su Yan’s eyes stung. “We should’ve come back sooner.”
Zulu took her hand and squeezed gently. “It’s not too late now.”
Su Yan nodded hard. “I’ll take good care of myself. I’ll give birth safely.”
She was saying it to him.
She was also saying it to herself.
…
The house the Old Clan Leader prepared for them was more than twice the size of the one they’d had in the mouse clan. The space felt wide and new, like a fresh page ready for ink.
Little Luo’s factory already had a rough structure waiting, like the first outline of a future he could actually build.
When the Old Clan Leader learned about Emma and Oro, he simply waved a hand and let Emma stay with Oro. No more returning to serve at the Beast God Temple.
It was approval, clean and unmistakable.
And Su Yan arriving with a belly full of cub did something else too—it gave Zulu face.
He’d been the one marrying in. Some in the rabbit clan had resented it.
But now they saw him return with both the woman and the cub—and realization dawned.
Zulu hadn’t been “married in.”
He’d pulled the rug out from under everyone and brought the whole nest back with him—woman, cubs, and all.
Brains and bravery.
In the end, it still had to be their rabbit clan’s Zulu.