In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 163: The Ruthless Marshal Father (6)

After a month of cultivation, Qi Sheng had indeed grown stronger. Now that the training method had been finalized, he planned to set aside some time to teach it to the three little cubs once the celebration banquet ended.

Meanwhile, at the banquet, the two little ones looked at how their father had subdued the crowd with just a few simple words, and once again, stars lit up in their eyes.

Little White Tiger: “I want to be as powerful as Father when I grow up! Just one sentence, and no one dares to mess with me!”

Little White Fox: “It’s such a shame Big Brother didn’t come this time. If he saw how Father protected us, he wouldn’t keep worrying about bringing shame to the family.”

As the banquet drew to a close, Bu Qiongyu waited in the lounge with the two cubs, as they were all going home with Qi Sheng. Sitting on the sofa, she smiled warmly at the two fluffy little ones clinging to her. After so many years of marriage, it was in this short month that she realized just how charming her husband truly was.

The little white tiger was still bursting with excitement. In her mother’s arms, she couldn’t help but bounce and wave her little paws around playfully, making Bu Qiongyu chuckle and scratch her under the chin.

The little tiger loved being doted on by her parents. Seeing this, the little white fox leaned in to nuzzle against Bu Qiongyu’s neck. The two little ones were so well-behaved and affectionate that Bu Qiongyu, once again promoted to the role of furball masseuse, found her smile growing bigger and brighter.

By the time the family of four returned home, the eldest cub had already eaten and gone to rest.

Bu Qiongyu saw that her eldest son had eaten on time and, though a bit downcast, didn’t seem too affected. Only then did she feel reassured.

Qi Sheng had originally planned to take the little tiger to the banquet, but for the first time, the usually obedient cub had refused. Qi Sheng had noticed and understood. Even though the little one had adjusted his mindset quite well, facing the public’s judgmental gazes was still too much for a ten-year-old to bear.

However, this time, Qi Sheng had slightly misunderstood. The real reason the little tiger didn’t attend was because he knew it was a celebration in honor of his father. His father should be the center of everyone’s attention, and he didn’t want to become a topic of gossip that would steal the spotlight from him.

Both father and son had been thinking of each other. After Qi Sheng returned home and sent the younger two off to wash up, he gently pushed open the little tiger’s bedroom door under his wife’s equally concerned gaze.

The room was spacious, with a thick cushion in the center—every cub’s favorite resting spot.

Qi Sheng saw his son curled up alone on the cushion, pretending to be asleep. He quietly walked over and scooped him into his arms.

Without saying a word, Qi Sheng pressed his palm gently against the cub’s belly and gave it a few slow rubs. Feeling the warmth, Qi Sheng smiled and couldn’t help but lightly stroke the soft fur on the cub’s chest.

The little guy in his arms continued pretending to sleep. Qi Sheng remained silent and kept on “harassing” him—smoothing fur, patting paws—and when the little tiger didn’t react, he mischievously lifted one of his hind legs and looked between them, then nodded seriously: “Hmm, you’ve grown a bit.”

“F-Father!” The little tiger, who had been pretending to sleep, immediately exploded like a puffball.

If tigers didn’t have fur all over, Qi Sheng would probably be looking at a completely pink cub right now.

All of the little tiger’s previous emotions vanished in an instant. Now he just looked at Qi Sheng with a mix of accusation and near tears, as if saying: How could his own shameless father embarrass him like this?

Qi Sheng quickly tried to calm him down, smoothing his fur. “Xiao Ye, you’re awake? Good boy, go back to sleep. Daddy just wanted to stay with you for a bit.”

But the little tiger wasn’t so easy to appease now. Still sulking, he turned his back on Qi Sheng in protest, clearly upset.

Qi Sheng chuckled. Seeing the fluffy tail right in front of him, he couldn’t help but reach out and give it a stroke.

The tail was a very sensitive spot for the little tiger. If anyone else had touched it, Qi Junye would have immediately pulled it away. But because it was his most beloved father behind him, he could only pitifully flick his tail and try to avoid the hand.

Qi Sheng looked down at the soft, fluffy little tiger in his arms—clearly wanting to bristle but obediently staying still—and finally felt all the weariness from dealing with the banquet guests melt away.

As expected, nothing healed him like his little cub.

He forcefully pulled the little tiger onto his lap, pinched his furry ears, and whispered, “Starting tomorrow, Daddy will teach you how to cultivate in your beast form.”

Upon hearing this, the little tiger stopped avoiding him. His large, deep-blue tiger eyes were full of confusion—cultivation? Isn’t it supposed to be training?

Qi Sheng saw the little tiger getting interested and originally wanted to tease him a bit longer. But since the little guy was sitting right on his lap now, chatting a bit more meant he could enjoy the cuddles a while longer.

So, Qi Sheng casually kneaded the chubby little paw in his hand and said with a serious face, “I’ve been investigating the secrets of beast-form cultivation lately, and now I finally have some progress.”

Qi Sheng spun a half-truth tale about acquiring a secret manual for beast-form cultivation. When the little tiger’s face filled with shock and excitement, he asked, “Do you remember the Black Domain Forest on Central Star?”

The little tiger straightened up and nodded obediently. He remembered sneaking into the Black Domain Forest—he didn’t achieve mutation and ended up making the Qi family a laughingstock again. He thought his father would punish him upon returning, and had mentally prepared for it. But until now, this was the first time he heard those four words again from his father’s mouth.

Still, the little tiger could sense that his father didn’t intend to scold him. That puzzled him—why suddenly bring up the Black Domain Forest?

“I went to the Black Domain Forest some time ago, and by chance, I discovered that there’s a powerful expert living in seclusion deep in the forest…”

“An expert? Even more powerful than you, Father?”

“Mhm, far beyond me.”

The little tiger’s expression turned dreamy but also somewhat disbelieving. His father was already one of the top experts in the Federation—was there really someone even stronger than him? And hiding in the heart of the forest? Could it be a beastman who failed to fully mutate but was still incredibly strong?

In that moment, the little tiger saw hope again. He even felt a surge of impulsive desire to go investigate for himself.

Qi Sheng instantly saw through his son’s thoughts. He pinched the tiger ears and said sternly, “You are not to act on your own. Wait until you’ve cultivated properly—then it won’t be too late to investigate.”

Since Qi Sheng’s return, the little tiger had rarely seen him with such a stern and cold expression. Suddenly being warned so seriously made him quickly rein in his wandering thoughts. Afraid his father wouldn’t believe him, he even nuzzled his father’s palm in a fawning manner.

As expected, Qi Sheng wasn’t very stern by nature. With that little act of affection from the little tiger, his serious expression quickly relaxed.

The father and son chatted for a while longer. Once Qi Sheng was sure the little guy had no lingering negative emotions, he patted his son’s little butt and said, “Rest early. We’ll start cultivating tomorrow.”

The next morning

The little tiger was still deep in sleep when two young cubs suddenly burst into his room and pounced on him, waking him up. The two fluffy furballs had no sense of their own weight—especially the little white tiger, who loved to cling to her big brother and act cute.

Forced to bear a weight no ten-year-old should have to deal with, the little tiger deeply felt that his body needed some urgent strengthening!

“Brother, Brother! You don’t know how amazing Father was yesterday!”

The little white fox echoed enthusiastically, and the two of them began excitedly chattering, each trying to outdo the other in describing how domineering Qi Sheng had been.

“Father just gave the crowd a cold glance, and no one dared make a sound!”

“Father even challenged that stinky leopard’s dad to a duel—haha! That little leopard got beaten so badly by us, and now the big leopard’s going to get beaten up by Father in a few days!”

…

“I even clawed out several patches of that little leopard’s fur…”

Originally, the little white tiger had been recounting her father’s heroic deeds, but her storytelling quickly went off the rails.

Not to be outdone, the little white fox added, “I secretly scratched him too, and stomped on him a few times. He’s going to need a long recovery!”

Listening to his family speak up in his defense warmed the little tiger’s heart. Looking down at the two furballs lying on him, he couldn’t bring himself to push them off. So the little white tiger, completely unaware of her weight, finished bragging and then started rolling around on her brother’s body…

The little white fox’s skill at acting cute was even better than the little white tiger’s. He came up to the little tiger, gave his fur a lick, and then lay on his back in front of his brother, begging for a belly rub.

And so, the poor little tiger resigned himself to being both a tiger-shaped cushion and a tiger-paw masseur, obediently massaging his younger brother’s belly.

The three little cubs played and goofed around together for quite a while before the little tiger was finally able to get up and wash.

After breakfast, Qi Sheng called the three little ones and his wife into the study. Seeing the confusion on their faces, he repeated what he had told the little tiger the night before.

The two younger cubs were both confused yet completely trusting. Though they didn’t quite understand what their father was talking about, they firmly believed—Father can’t be wrong!

But Bu Qiongyu couldn’t help frowning. She found it hard to believe it was all true.

Qi Sheng naturally understood that claiming to have uncovered a secret hidden for a thousand years in such a short time didn’t sound credible. But sometimes, fate worked in mysterious ways. So even though Bu Qiongyu was skeptical, she kept her doubts to herself.

After briefly explaining the origin of the cultivation manual, Qi Sheng reminded the two younger cubs not to leak the information. Seeing their little heads nodding like garlic bulbs, he finally began teaching them the first chapter of the incantation.

Since cultivation was a completely unfamiliar concept to all of them, Qi Sheng patiently explained the specific methods and insights he had figured out over the past few days.

The three little cubs and Bu Qiongyu listened to his teachings, half-understanding, and slowly started trying to follow his instructions and comprehend the method.

Qi Sheng himself had taken several days just to get the hang of it, so he wasn’t surprised when none of them made any progress on the first day. Especially the two younger cubs and Bu Qiongyu, who after a while of trying, started wondering if their father/husband was actually teaching them a new way to fall asleep faster.

Bu Qiongyu, being an adult, had better willpower. The two younger cubs, however, were always lively and full of energy—how could they possibly stay quiet and focused in deep meditation?

So, while Qi Sheng wasn’t looking, the two little ones sneakily opened one eye, glanced at each other, and then quickly closed them again.

Of course, Qi Sheng noticed their little antics. But he also knew this cultivation method was rather difficult for them, so he decided to turn a blind eye and ignored their mischief.

The two little ones, having found a new game, began silently syncing their movements—opening and closing their eyes at the same time, first the left eye, then the right…

Qi Sheng was nearly amused to laughter by their cheeky behavior. But when he glanced over at the eldest cub, he suddenly realized that his son’s focused posture actually looked pretty legit.

Qi Sheng was even feeling a bit proud of his eldest son’s effort, when in the next moment, he sensed something unusual from the little tiger.

The energy-guiding technique that had taken him three full days to grasp—his son seemed to have already achieved it?!

Qi Sheng could hardly believe it. But this was a critical moment for the little tiger, so he didn’t dare interrupt. Instead, he gave the other two a stern look, signaling them to stay quiet.

And so, Qi Sheng watched with his own eyes as his little tiger—just like a protagonist in a cultivation novel—completed the first step of the entry-level cultivation in just an hour.

The little tiger also felt the changes within his body. When the transformation stabilized, he excitedly opened his eyes and shouted, “Father, it really works! I can feel it!”

Bu Qiongyu, who had almost dozed off, and the two younger cubs who had just been forced into behaving:

“…?”

They stared at the little tiger in utter confusion. What was their son/brother even talking about?

Qi Sheng glanced at the two utterly unproductive slackers beside him, then back at his exceptionally gifted eldest son. His own expression was also bewildered. So… this time, he was the unfortunate side character on the genius’s cultivation path?!