Today was Ming Huang’s coming-of-age ceremony, but her entire family of long-since-adult partners, including Xu Ye, could only watch worriedly as the little black bird in their midst happily pecked at melon seeds.
More than a decade had passed. After growing to the size of a seven-year-old, the little female had only filled out a bit sideways, never growing any taller!
"Should we still take our little bride to the coming-of-age ceremony?" Xu Ye asked his brothers, pressing his lips together.
Ever since Yanyi became the Beast King, their Mother and Fathers had been traveling the world, saying they were fulfilling their divine duties to see which Beastmen needed help.
The other young females of the family were also often away from Pingjing City, leaving the eight of them to meticulously care for their little bride.
"Hsss... we should go, right? Maybe if our bride receives the Beast God’s Blessing, she’ll finally grow up?" Ji Wen said hesitantly.
Tuanzi Weichang shelled melon seeds, popping one in his mouth and giving the next to the little female. "Our bride isn’t like others. She’s a Phoenix reborn from flames. Perhaps she doesn’t have enough energy, and that’s why she isn’t growing.
After all, in Mother’s inherited stories, wasn’t there a figure named Nezha who stayed in his mother’s womb for three years?"
"Little bride, do you want to go?" Xiao Tu leaned in and asked.
Ming Huang cocked her head. She was capable of Transformation, but she much preferred her avian beast form. She could hop around, flap her wings when she was tired, and if she didn’t feel like flying, she could just land on the shoulder of one of her dear older brothers.
Her human form, a seven-year-old child with short arms and legs, was just too inconvenient for getting around!
’I’m actually quite frustrated, too,’ she thought. ’I’ve been trying so hard to eat, so why can’t I become fair and pretty, slender and tall, like the other older sisters in the family?’
’If they hadn’t sworn an oath to the Beast God so long ago to be together for a lifetime, I couldn’t bear to let my dear brothers waste the rest of their lives on me.’
Sensing her low spirits, Zhi Rui smiled and scooped her up. "Little bride, in my Mother’s homeland, there’s a saying: ’Good things take time.’ You have the bloodline of an Ancient Divine Beast, so it’s perfectly normal for your body to be unique. Perhaps all you need is the right catalyst.
But don’t you worry. No matter what you look like, all eight of us brothers will always be here to protect you."
The other males all nodded, comforting her as well. ’If we can’t become proper mates, then we’ll just dote on her like our own daughter,’ they thought. ’The physical side of a relationship is just one small part of it. We’ve had our hearts set on her since we were young, and we’ll never be with any other females.’
Ming Huang smiled and nodded. With a soft POOF, she transformed into an adorable, doll-like little girl and wrapped her arms around Zhi Rui’s neck. "Brothers, let’s hurry! If we miss the ceremony, we’ll have to wait another year."
The family followed the flow of the crowd to the main square, where the females participating in the coming-of-age ceremony were lining up to walk onto a high platform.
Ming Huang patted Zhi Rui’s shoulder, hopped down to the ground, and went to join the other females.
"Whose little female cub is that? She’s quite pretty, but why is she joining in on the ceremony?" some of the uninformed Beastmen in the crowd asked.
"You know Main God Si Shuo, right? Those males are all her sons, and that little female cub is their future partner."
The crowd couldn’t help but press for more details, so the person shared everything they knew. "I heard they learned it from their Mother and made an oath early on to avoid having their Beast Marks repeatedly transferred.
But who would have thought the little female cub would just... never grow up..."
The crowd burst into an uproar. "Oh my, we’ve heard similar stories! They say a high fever can damage the brain, making a person less intelligent and stunting their growth. Others say hitting your head can stop you from growing taller.
This little female cub looks perfectly clever, though. Why is she so short?"
Ming Huang could only see the crowd pointing and gesturing at her, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. She knew one of her dear brothers must have used a Spiritual Power shield to block out their malicious gossip.
She pressed her lips into a small smile, standing quietly to the side as she gazed openly at her males. In her heart, she, too, felt a glimmer of anticipation.
Ming Huang received the Beast God’s Blessing and was even chosen as the Female Saint, but her small stature remained completely unchanged. There was no effect at all!
After the crowd dispersed, Ming Huang looked to the High Priest and couldn’t help but ask in a small voice, "Grandpa Xuyu, why haven’t I developed now that I’ve come of age? Was I always meant to be this small, or is there something wrong with my body?"
Just then, Xu Ye and his brothers also leaped onto the high platform, gathering by Ming Huang’s side.
Xuyu was a Horned Deer Beastman. He had been chosen by the Beast God to be a Priest at birth. He also firmly believed in the adage that the safest place is often the most dangerous.
He sighed softly. "I have performed divinations for you many times, but I have never been able to see your path forward clearly. Just now, after little Ming Huang was chosen as the Female Saint, I couldn’t resist trying one more time.
The signs revealed that little Ming Huang’s soul is incomplete. Only when her lost soul-fragment returns through a twist of fate will she be able to live the normal life of a beast."
The males exchanged a look. Ming Huang had been reborn from flames; her previous incarnation was a peacock female named Nong Mu.
Nong Mu had suffered so much that she had forgotten everything about her past life upon being reborn. ’Perhaps she didn’t forget,’ they realized. ’Perhaps she lost a piece of her soul?’
If that were the case, it would explain why little Ming Huang gave off an air of being endearingly naive. She was innocent and well-behaved, and aside from her love of food, she never gave them anything to worry about.
Back at home, Yin Xiao quietly approached Ming Huang and said in a low, earnest voice, "By the Beast God above, I willingly offer my Beast Mark to my female, Ming Huang. For the rest of my life, I will follow and protect only her..."
Ming Huang’s mouth fell slightly agape as she felt a faint warmth on her back—the sensation of a Beast Mark forming. She could feel a natural intimacy and trust between them that was now even stronger than before!
She wrapped her arms around Yin Xiao’s neck and chuckled. "Silly Brother Kun, are you sure you don’t want to leave yourself any way out?"
"My heart is set on you," Yin Xiao replied. As a Hunting Falcon, he was a creature of singular focus, and this applied to his choice of female as well.
Just as Yin Xiao left, Ji Wen slipped in. Fearing the little female would overthink things, he, too, directly pledged his Beast Mark to her.
Ming Huang’s heart burned with warmth. ’With such wonderful males by my side,’ she wondered, ’why does my soul have to be incomplete?’
As expected of brothers born of the same Mother, they all secretly found Ming Huang one by one to contribute their Beast Marks.
After receiving all eight Beast Marks, Ming Huang secretly made an oath of her own. Just like her Mother Si Shuo, she swore that she would only have these eight males in her life.
Perhaps it was because she so desperately wanted to give them a complete version of herself, but as soon as the oath was sworn, she fainted...
Ming Huang fell into a long, deep dream. She dreamt she had once been an arrogant and domineering Princess. Relying on her imperial father’s favor, she had raised hell wherever she went. She even took a liking to a top scholar who had just passed the imperial examinations and, goaded on by her sisters, attempted to "snatch a groom from the rankings."
The top scholar had worked hard to finally earn a position as a court official and was unwilling to see his future capped at being a mere Prince Consort. So he played some tricks to further tarnish the Princess’s reputation, forcing the emperor’s hand. The emperor had no choice but to send the Princess away to the northwest for a political marriage.
Later, she died on the road to her political marriage. She became an A Piao—a wandering spirit—and returned to the Capital City, only to find that the very noblewoman who had goaded her on had married the top scholar instead.
It turned out that she had been the target of someone’s jealousy, and all those terrible rumors had been spread by this same noblewoman, twisted to sound plausible...