Chapter 74: Silly Girl Feels Guilty
Naming someone!
Di Baijun’s interest was piqued, though she nevertheless snorted lightly on the surface and scoffed, “What does your younger brother have anything to do with me? Think of one yourself.”
“Isn’t it because I come up with horrid names? So I’ll let you make the decision instead,” replied w.a.n.g Hu with a smile.
Old Third had already developed human intelligence so he naturally needed an official name. Old Second, as well as all the other tigers that attain the Transformation Realm and develop human intelligence, would also need one in the future.
Di Baijun hesitated reluctantly for a moment on the surface before she said in a somewhat seemingly impatient manner, “What’s his surname?”
“w.a.n.g,” replied w.a.n.g Hu without a second thought.
The reason for this was very simple: his surname had been w.a.n.g in his past life, and it was still w.a.n.g even up to this point in his current lifetime.
Although he had already made up his mind to use that other name when he became qualified enough in the future, his current surname was still w.a.n.g.
Besides, to the tigers, the w.a.n.g surname was already good enough for his younger brothers.
As for the surname Di, he felt that he’d better not let Old Second and Old Third use it because it didn’t seem like a good idea to him.
Di Baijun cast a puzzled glance at the shameless jerk. She clearly remembered that the jerk had wanted to take the surname Di back then, and yet he was giving his younger brothers the surname w.a.n.g now.
It was just as well that he made such a decision, though. Everything was fine as long as they didn’t take the surname Di. She would definitely put a stop to it if they did.
Among the tigers, the surname Di wasn’t a name that just anyone could take on.
The surname w.a.n.g, however, wasn’t a bad choice.
w.a.n.g what, though?
Her thoughts began to spread further and further as she tried to think of a suitable name.
w.a.n.g Tian?
w.a.n.g Di?
Or w.a.n.g Hu?
…
Fairly interested in the topic, she blinked every once in a while as she mused over it.
When w.a.n.g Hu saw that Silly Girl had indeed taken an interest like what he’d expected, he couldn’t help but secretly sigh emotionally. True enough, the more someone sucked at naming things, the more they would be interested in naming things.
The only exception to this rule was himself. He was well aware of the fact that he was in no way adept at naming things. Thus, he had straight-up used it as an excuse to converse with Silly Girl instead.
However, the person in question was, after all, still his biological younger brother. It would also embarra.s.s him if the name were to suck too much. Thus, he was also secretly thinking of a suitable name. He couldn’t really let Silly Girl name Old Third something that sounded too awful.
A few seconds later, a contemplative Di Baijun suggested, “How about w.a.n.g Hu?”
A startled w.a.n.g Hu immediately shook his head and replied seriously, “That’s not a good idea. I’m the Tiger King now. If Old Third uses the name w.a.n.g Hu… ‘Tiger King’, ‘King Tiger’—this evidently isn’t a good idea.”
Di Baijun wrinkled her nose in a slight show of dissatisfaction, but she didn’t rebut him. She continued to ponder about the issue.
“How about w.a.n.g Shan? It’s a h.o.m.onym for ‘three[1]’,” w.a.n.g Hu said slowly, “I also have a second younger brother. When he’s here, he can take the name w.a.n.g Liang, which is a h.o.m.onym for ‘two[2]. What do you think?”
Not quite satisfied, Di Baijun frowned deeply and asked, “Aren’t you being a little too careless in naming them?”
“They are grown men. It’ll do as long as they have names. w.a.n.g Liang and w.a.n.g Shan are simple and easy to remember. Moreover, these names hold very significant meanings. I think they are great names,” replied w.a.n.g Hu definitively.
Di Baijun kept quiet. She simply didn’t feel quite satisfied, and yet she couldn’t come up with better names so she could only reluctantly choose to keep quiet.
w.a.n.g Hu blinked. Now that they were done with these external affairs, it was time to discuss proper business.
He paused for a moment before he said gravely, “Baijun, I’d like to ask a favor of you.”
Di Baijun was still feeling rather dissatisfied when she heard what he said. A foreboding feeling immediately came over her, and she watched the shameless jerk warily.
“What is it?”
w.a.n.g Hu sighed softly and said somewhat sorrowfully, “You don’t know this, Baijun, but my mother had three children when we were young. I’m the eldest and physically the strongest among the three, whereas Old Third was the thinnest and frailest. Thus, Mother had liked Old Third the least.
“Old Second was the naughtiest and had even frequently bullied Old Third. Although I’m their eldest brother, I couldn’t stop this from happening. After all, they were both my younger brothers so I couldn’t show either party too much bias. Surely, I couldn’t beat up Old Second just because of this, right?
“Thus, Old Third had suffered quite a bit when we were young. One can tell from how he was the first to reach the Transformation Realm that he must also have suffered a lot after he grew up. Now that he’s here with us—as his eldest brother, I have to take good care of him. Don’t you agree?”
The sincerity in his voice lessened Di Baijun’s wariness a little. She asked in a m.u.f.fled voice, “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Baijun, Old Third had suffered a lot since he was young. Now that he’s here with us, I’d like to give him a better life. He really sees you as his sister-in-law so I hope that you can be nicer to him and see him as family. Is that okay?” w.a.n.g Hu sincerely requested with some hints of beseeching in his voice.
Di Baijun’s breathing turned heavy right away.
Sister-in-law!
These three words…
Yet when she saw the beseeching look on the jerk’s face, she couldn’t vent any of her frustrations at all.
Maybe that shameless jerk isn’t doing this on purpose.
She mentally consoled herself. Then, she raised her chin and snorted coldly, showing no intention of answering him whatsoever.
At the sight, w.a.n.g Hu sighed and said with disappointment, “Sorry, I’ve asked too much of you.”
Then, he turned around dejectedly and left.
Di Baijun’s gaze flickered a little, and she began to feel somewhat guilty. He was just doing it for the sake of his family!
Then, she became rather angry. To think that shameless jerk had given up so quickly!
I-it’s not like I had rejected your request, isn’t it?
Her brows drew together, and ire arose within her.
Doesn’t that shameless jerk know how to persist a little more?
The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. She wasn’t even in the mood to cultivate anymore.
Nearby, w.a.n.g Hu maintained the dejected look on his face on the surface while he secretly observed Silly Girl’s reaction as though nothing had happened.
He found the sight of her not being in the mood to cultivate anymore and looking rather irritated both heartwarming and comical.
That silly little thing was probably feeling guilty.
She was so easy to trick and deceive. What was she to do without him by her side?
Also, how was he supposed to resist tricking her?
Sigh!
Amid the peace and quiet, the one cultivating continued to do so with peace of mind; the one trying hard to think of ideas continued to rack their brains; and the guilty one occasionally peeked at the one who was cultivating with peace of mind.
This continued until the evening when Su Ling came over with her proposal.
The moment w.a.n.g Hu took a look, he felt as if his eyes had been dazzled. As expected, he had a sharp and discerning eye and had chosen the right person.
The proposal had sorted out everything that he had mentioned. The core concept was summed up in only two lines: ‘Pledge your life and swear loyalty and devotion to His Majesty, the Tiger King. Pledge your life and swear to contribute everything you have to the tigers.’
These two lines were exactly what he wanted.
A fair number of concrete education methods had been listed. For example, they must shout the two lines ‘Pledge your life and swear loyalty and devotion to His Majesty, the Tiger King. Pledge your life and swear to contribute everything you have to the tigers.’ ten times each in the morning, afternoon, and evening every day.
On top of that, they must shout the lines together. Those that didn’t shout it loudly enough or determinedly enough would have to undergo a series of penalties.
There was also a whole article dedicated to swearing fealty to the Tiger King and contributing to the tigers. Every tiger was to memorize it, and all sorts of random checks would be conducted.
Other ideas were also listed in the proposal. Although they might seem rather simple and crude at the moment, the fact that an utterly inexperienced fox could come up with them in such a short time was already something very admirable.
“Yeah, you did pretty well. As expected, I didn’t misjudge you. You’re a fox that can undertake great responsibilities and is a good housekeeper of mine.” w.a.n.g Hu wasn’t stingy with the compliments. This was exactly when he should build Su Ling’s confidence. Otherwise, when the time came for her to face a bunch of savage, ferocious tigers; wouldn’t she be unable to even stand steadily on her legs?
Su Ling, who had been rather nervous, immediately relaxed a little when she heard what he said. She couldn’t help but smile.
She felt rather happy.
The lord had already referred to her as his housekeeper twice today!
The position of housekeeper was way better than that of a servant.
Housekeepers were a lot more important than servants in many Chinese television dramas that she had watched. On top of that, they could even manage all the servants.
When the lord took in more servants in the future, all of them would be under her supervision.
“Thank you for the compliments, my lord.”
w.a.n.g Hu instructed, “You can start educating my third younger brother first tomorrow.”
“Huh?!” The look of joy on Su Ling’s face froze at once. She might already have known about it beforehand, but she still felt her legs going limp when it was really about to begin.
That was a tiger. Could she really keep him in check?
Definitely not.
She answered herself right away. Yet, she didn’t dare to resist and could only ask carefully, “Is this a little too early, my lord?”
“Time is life itself. One must act quickly in everything one does. It’s just as well that you practice a little in advance, too,” replied w.a.n.g Hu definitively.
Su Ling knew right away that there was no room for discussion. Her eyes looked around, and she said cautiously, “He’s your third younger brother, my lord. I… I’m afraid he won’t listen to me.”
“Hah.” w.a.n.g Hu chuckled and said unusually confidently, “Don’t worry, he will. I told you, I’m backing you up. You don’t need to fear anyone so just go ahead and do it. If you do well, I definitely won’t be stingy with your rewards.”
Su Ling still felt rather nervous and uneasy, but she nodded with a slightly gloomy look on her face. She squeezed out a smile and replied, “Yes.”
The night pa.s.sed peacefully.
Early in the morning the next day, after Su Ling set off to hunt, w.a.n.g Hu summoned the nearby Old Third and told him his new name right away.
Old Third naturally didn’t raise any objections and obediently accepted the name. From this point on, he would be known as w.a.n.g Shan.
w.a.n.g Hu got him to head off to the dinosaur world and hunt by himself, reminding him to bring one back with him along the way.
Everything went smoothly. After they ate, w.a.n.g Hu brought Su Ling and Old Third to a spot over a kilometer away.
He didn’t stand on ceremony and spoke directly.
Roar~!
“Old Third, Big Brother here has found you a teacher. She’s Su Ling. From now on, she’ll teach you some things. You are to do everything she says. I’ll be watching you guys from over there. Understand?”
Surprised, w.a.n.g Shan glanced at Su Ling who stood at only a shoulder height of approximately three meters tall and who looked like a delicious meal no matter how he looked at her. Reluctance instinctively came over him.
Roar~!
“Big Brother, I—”
Before he could even finish speaking, he noticed his eldest brother’s eyes narrowing, and he immediately stopped. Then, he lowered his head somewhat dejectedly and let out a soft aggrieved roar.
Roar~!
“Yes, Big Brother.”
Roar~!
“Remember this, Old Third. Disobedient younger brothers aren’t good younger brothers,” w.a.n.g Hu added meaningfully before he left.
Fear welled up in w.a.n.g Shan, and he didn’t even dare to raise his head.
Cough, cough!
A few seconds later, Su Ling mustered up her courage and coughed lightly a couple of times. Then, she spoke softly via telepathy.
Yelp!
“Um, Third Master, shall we begin?”
w.a.n.g Shan looked over, immediately scaring Su Ling into taking a couple of steps back.
Despite how she had broken through to the Transformation Realm first, she admitted defeat in both her guts and combat strength.
If not for the lord watching at the other side, she would have already made a run for it.
w.a.n.g Shan grunted contemptuously.
Su Ling lowered her head and began to speak.
Yelp!
“Please repeat everything I say, Third Master. Let’s begin now. From this point on, I, w.a.n.g Shan, pledge my life and swear loyalty and devotion to His Majesty, the Tiger King.”
w.a.n.g Shan was rather impatient but nevertheless repeated after Su Ling obediently.
Roar~!
“From this point on, I, w.a.n.g Shan, pledge my life and swear loyalty and devotion to His Majesty, the Tiger King.”
Yelp!
“I pledge my life and swear to contribute everything I have to the tigers.”
…
Yelp!
“I pledge my life and swear that my actions will center on His Majesty, the Tiger King’s will. His Majesty, the Tiger King’s orders are absolute.”
[1] The Chinese character for ‘three’ is read as ‘san’.
[2] One of the Chinese characters for ‘two’ is read as ‘liang’.