Everyone was stunned. The little female had some nerve, actually pulling something like this. They all turned in unison to look at the three Zhi brothers.

Zhi Le coughed softly and rubbed his nose. "Kitty told us all to store our superpowers. You all did, so I couldn’t be an exception, could I?"

His intentions were good. Normally, no one really had much use for his superpower. Who would’ve thought the little female would need it right at this moment?

One became nine. Incredible!

But they weren’t about to indulge her. They simply picked up one each and carried them back to their rooms.

Si Shuo was already a sensitive person. Now, being lavished with affection by nine Beast Husbands at once, she completely freaked out, howling and trying to escape.

Affection from one person was warm and pleasant. Two was exciting. Three was an intense battle. Four...

"Zhi Le! Ji Liang! Xu Chi! ... I was wrong..." It wasn’t just the overlapping sensations. She was one person playing nine parts, like a beginner pianist trying to use both hands at once. Her brain couldn’t keep up, her words got jumbled, and she started shouting names randomly.

Being called the wrong name at a moment like this, the males were naturally none too pleased. Si Shuo was tormented for a good while longer.

Hearing the same shouts coming from every room, Zhi Li, Xia Ming, and the cubs looked at each other speechlessly. Some jokes really were best left unmade.

Fortunately, the males doted on her, so after teasing her for a while, they let her go. They didn’t say or do anything else, simply cherishing the moment as they held her affectionately.

Si Shuo whimpered softly, but the eight clones consumed too much Spiritual Power. After about fifteen minutes, they dissipated one by one, leaving only her real body in Zhi Qi’s arms.

Zhi Qi raised an eyebrow smugly. "See? All that time I spent doting on Xue Bao paid off."

Si Shuo looked at him, puzzled. ’What does Xue Bao have to do with anything?’ Now that her clones were gone, she couldn’t understand the others’ dejection at having the little female in their arms simply vanish.

Zhi Qi, however, got to enjoy a double portion. "Kitty, have you forgotten? Xue Bao can see through any illusion constructed from Spiritual Power. In other words, he can tell which one is your real body."

Si Shuo’s eyes widened in realization. No wonder! When one of her clones had pounced toward Zhi Qi, he had sidestepped it and intercepted her real body, which had been heading for Gong You.

She smiled, her lips pressed together, and took another bite of a talisman. She split into two and they both hugged him. "So, should I give you a reward?"

In the adjacent rooms, Zhi Zhan and Zhi Le sucked in a sharp breath. ’Our little female is way too good at torture! Now that she’s unlocked her Clone Ability, the brothers are probably going to be living in hell for a while...’

Among the three brothers, Zhi Zhan was the most skilled fighter. He and Zhi Li were in the courtyard, sparring back and forth.

Zhi Li’s strength was built on experience from daily hunts and friendly spars. Zhi Le and his brothers, on the other hand, had been through much more—they had even journeyed across the Central Continent. Real combat, sparring sessions, and exchanging knowledge had allowed them to improve by leaps and bounds. Now, Zhi Zhan was unreservedly teaching all his insights and techniques to his Father. In the future, they would be traveling far and wide with their little female and wouldn’t always be by their Father’s side to fulfill their duties as sons.

An increase in their Father’s strength would give them more peace of mind while they were away.

Si Shuo and Xia Ming sat under the eaves with the female cubs, snacking on meat jerky and dried fruit. They watched the males, young and old, deftly sewing Beast Skin Bags and branding them with Beast Text on the back.

Xiao Cheng was particularly skilled in this area. Whether cutting or sewing the Beast Skins, he just had to wave his hand, and the metal knives and needles would move on their own. He alone worked as fast as five or six people combined!

As the afternoon sun began to sink in the west, the Beastmen returned from their hunts, and the males who had fought all day in the arena started to rest. In contrast, the streets of Golden Lion City were just beginning to bustle with evening activity, becoming the liveliest they’d be all day.

Zhi Le and the others set up their stall right outside the courtyard on the street. A "Big-Faced Flower," which they had been nurturing with Spiritual Power, had progressed from only being able to shriek to imitating human speech like a parrot. It could even manage simple conversations.

It was now serving as a living recorder, repeating Xiao Cheng’s sales pitch in a voice that was both lifelike and mechanical: "Step right up, ladies and gents, don’t miss out! It’s the Meat Jerky and Dried Fruit Match-Up! Fun, delicious, and a bargain... You can’t lose, you can’t be cheated... Three Second-rank Crystal Stones lets you open two bags, five stones gets you four! Each jerky bag has five slices, each fruit bag has eight strips... Match the Beast Text on the back of two bags, win a free bag... Get three in a row on the nine-square grid, win two free bags... And there are even hidden prizes like life-saving Invisibility Talismans, Speed Talismans, and Immobilization Talismans..."

Xiao Cheng was a natural at working a crowd; the same words from his mouth just sounded different. After he drilled the script into it over and over, the Big-Faced Flower couldn’t stop spouting the lines every time it opened its mouth!

Before long, nearby Beastmen were drawn over. Members of the Luoni Tribe came first to get the ball rolling and help the crowd understand the rules.

Si Shuo’s group had also prepared plenty of small pieces of meat and fruit for everyone to sample. The meat jerky, which came in both savory and numbingly spicy flavors, was incredibly addictive. The fruit pieces were deliciously sweet and sour, retaining the full fragrance of the original fruit, and were chewy without being cloying. Once you started, you just couldn’t stop.

The samples alone were enough to make everyone want to dive in. Although the prices were a little steep, each tier came with a guaranteed minimum number of bags. And with people having good luck, the effective price ended up being well within an acceptable range for the crowd!

The males all doted on the females and cubs in their families, so they naturally weren’t stingy. Most of them bought at least the smallest package to take home as a treat.

Si Shuo, Xia Ming, and the cubs sat on the roof, peering down to watch the excitement. Xu Chi and Zhi Zhan stood guard on either side of them, while the other males were all down below helping with the stall.

The Meat Jerky and Dried Fruit Match-Up was thrilling to watch, even for those not playing! Whenever someone’s bags revealed matching numbers or formed a line, or if they uncovered a hidden prize, the crowd would cheer even louder than the winner themselves.

After watching for a while, who could resist spending a few Crystal Stones to try their luck for a round or two?

The hidden prizes, in particular, made everyone’s eyes sparkle. Talismans were things that only powerful and influential Beastmen could obtain, and even they only had a few. Although their effects were temporary, in a moment of crisis, a talisman could definitely save your life!

Even if it was just for the talismans, they had to take a shot...

Watching the Crystal Stones come pouring in, Xia Ming stared in a daze. ’When did earning money become this easy?’

Si Shuo smiled and began to impart her business wisdom. "Mother, we know how to make all sorts of food. You and Father should use this time to learn Beast Text from us. That way, we can leave you with plenty of our secret recipes."

"Things like making sugar, brewing wine, creating seasonings, tanghulu, all sorts of noodle and meat dishes... I guarantee that by the time other people figure out how to make them, we’ll have already earned a fortune and moved on to selling the next new thing..."

Xia Ming nodded vigorously. "I’ll definitely study hard!"

Si Shuo then grinned and gave her a gentle nudge with her shoulder. "But before all that, Mother, you should find yourself a few more capable, upstanding, and doting Beast Husbands. When everyone works hard together, life just keeps getting better and better."

Xia Ming’s cheeks flushed, but she nodded all the same. "I will!"