“What good thing?”

The cubs’ eyes lit up in unison, turning to Hu Jiao Jiao. Only Long Yao looked uninterested, lying on Long Zhong’s head and lazily swishing his tail.

For him, if it wasn’t food, it didn’t matter.

Hu Jiao Jiao teased them with a smile, “First, dry yourselves off and put on clean clothes, and then I’ll tell you.”

At her words, the cubs sprang into action, drying off quickly and putting on the clean clothes Hu Jiao Jiao handed them.

Meanwhile, she heated some water, diluted it to a warm temperature, and pulled the muddy Long Yao into the basin to wash up.

After a good scrubbing, the clear water turned to mud.

Hu Jiao Jiao looked at him in exasperation, wondering how he managed to get so filthy while his siblings only got wet.

It reminded her of the first time she’d met the little guy, when he’d looked exactly the same—mud-covered and scruffy. Back then, she had pitied him. Now she knew better: his messiness had nothing to do with whether he had a mother’s care.

It took three rounds of fresh water to finally get Long Yao clean.

The little dragon, thrilled, splashed around as if it were a game, diving his head underwater and stirring up little whirlpools with his tail.

For him, bath time was pure fun.

Hu Jiao Jiao was left sweating from the effort and realized how hard it really was to care for cubs.

If she had to vote for the greatest person in the world, she’d pick “Mom” without hesitation!

After a good bath, Hu Jiao Jiao dumped the dirty water and told the cubs to wait in the courtyard, then went into the house alone.

The cubs looked at her eagerly. Soon, she came out, holding five peculiar-looking wooden sticks with forks at the ends.

Curious, Long Yao flew over and sniffed one.

“Awwooo.” Disappointed, he flew away; it didn’t smell like food and couldn’t be eaten.

“Mother, what is that?” Long Ling’er asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“They’re just sticks. Are you pulling our tails?” Long Zhong grumbled, unimpressed.

Long Xiu, unable to see, stood quietly, listening to their descriptions. Anyway… it wasn’t like he’d be able to use one. Blind as he was, he was the most useless of the brothers, just like the other cubs said. His life was just a burden on the family.

Long Yu, though, remained attentive, patiently waiting for Hu Jiao Jiao’s explanation.

“These are called slingshots,” Hu Jiao Jiao explained with a grin, holding one up for the cubs to see. “They’ll help you deal with those cubs who bullied you.”

In truth, she wasn’t skilled enough to make slingshots; she’d taken them from her space.

The cubs had tried to hide that they’d been bullied to avoid worrying her, so she decided to give them a way to defend themselves.

She didn’t believe that roughhousing between cubs was just harmless fun, especially if it involved bullying. If Lu Li hadn’t learned his lesson after the first time she confronted him, then he’d never stop.

Since the cubs were still small and undernourished, and she couldn’t watch over them constantly, she wanted to teach them how to protect themselves.

“Slingshots?” Long Ling’er blinked, staring at it with interest.

“Just a piece of wood with a string. How’s this supposed to help us?” Long Zhong complained.

Hu Jiao Jiao only smiled, picked up a small stone from the ground, loaded the slingshot, and aimed at a bird perched on a nearby tree branch.

“Pop!”

She released the stone, which shot through the air and struck the bird squarely on the head. With a flutter, the bird tumbled from the tree and lay still on the ground.

The cubs gaped, wide-eyed with shock. She’d taken down the bird just like that?

Birds were quick and nimble; even Long Yao struggled to catch one in beast form. Yet she’d felled it with a piece of wood and a small stone!

Amused by their astonished faces, Jiao Jiao explained, “Slingshots aren’t very powerful, but a bird’s head is it’s weak spot. Mother hit its head, so it died.”

Remembering how ruthless they’d become as young villains in the original story, Jiao Jiao added, “Now, you should only use these for self-defense. It’s okay to teach a lesson to bullies, but don’t use it to actually harm others, alright?”

The five cubs nodded, taking her words to heart, though they were thinking, If we aim at weak spots, they’ll go down faster!

Seeing her take down the bird, they suddenly saw their mother in a new light. Beastmen were naturally drawn to strength, and watching her in action inspired awe in them.

In their eyes, this was like a female hunting—a feat few other females could accomplish.

Noticing how suddenly obedient they were, Hu Jiao Jiao felt a bit puzzled but pleased. Her patience in teaching them had been worth it.

What she didn’t know was that, years later, as they grew into feared and respected figures, the cubs would remember her advice that day vividly.

Handing each of them a slingshot, Hu Jiao Jiao started teaching them how to use them.

Growing up, she had been sent to live with her grandparents in the countryside after her parents had a son. Small and weak, she was often bullied, so her grandfather had taught her to use a slingshot.

With practice, her aim had become excellent.

The cubs, however, were just starting out, and their first few shots missed, leaving them discouraged.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it with practice,” Hu Jiao Jiao reassured them, patting each cub on the head.

Encouraged by her words, they dove back into practicing, enthusiastically searching for birds to aim at.

“I don’t need this thing,” a small voice mumbled beside her. She looked down to see Long Xiu holding out his slingshot, offering it back.

It suddenly dawned on her—Long Xiu couldn’t see and wouldn’t be able to use it.

Her heart softened as she gently took his hand, pressing the slingshot back into his palm.

“Xiu, you’ll need this someday. When I find a healer for your eyes, you’ll be able to use it.”

“Besides, I’ve known other orcs like you who couldn’t see. But even though they were blind, they learned to hit targets by listening carefully. I believe you can learn to do that, too!”