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--Was it the mutated monsters that were wrong?

Tao Qiu retorted, "We eat other mutated monsters every day. Are we bad guys? Are we wrong?"

The Eldest Cub remained silent, Second Cub and Third Cub exchanged glances but did not utter a sound.

Tao Qiu continued, "Actually, a very, very long time ago, humans were the most powerful creatures on earth. They possessed intelligent minds and were able to develop various tools and weapons for self-defense and attack. Just like how mutated monsters eat people now, humans used to eat weaker mutated monsters. Even now, human bases still raise poultry and hunt mutated monsters for food. Are humans wrong?"

The Third Cub chirped softly.

--They're both wrong, and neither is he right.

Tao Qiu smiled and said, "What Third Cub said is both right and wrong, because right and wrong here are judged from each person's own perspective, not by absolute fairness."

"So you don't need to care about what's said in the article, and you don't need to feel guilty or remorseful, or hate humanity." Tao Qiu stroked Eldest Cub's head, gently comforting him about his little worries.

Eldest Cub understood Tao Qiu's meaning and put his burden down.

"Chirp chirp."

Thank you, Dad.

Because they like human-made objects, and after listening to Tao Qiu read the articles, the children naturally developed a certain psychological bias towards humans.

Discovering that you like someone but they dislike you—these kids are still young, so naturally they'll experience some trouble.

The Second Cub chirped, "Chirp, chirp, chirp."

--Human things are good, I want to exchange them for lots and lots of them back, so I will never eat people again.

The Third Cub said, "Chirp chirp."

Even if it smells delicious to humans, I won't eat it.

Eldest Cub: "Chirp, chirp."

--If we eat all the humans, there won't be so many good things left.

Hearing her children's words, Tao Qiu couldn't help but laugh, "Okay, our family doesn't eat humans."

The next morning, before dawn, Tao Qiu was awakened by the urge to urinate because he had drunk too much hot water the night before. He transformed back into human form, put the cubs into their nest, and hurriedly ran out of the cave.

As autumn deepened and the dew grew heavy, Tao Qiu returned from her outing with all the warmth gone.

He lay back down in his nest, ready to go back to sleep.

Still sleepy and a little dizzy, he accidentally touched the Second Cub's paw when he reached out to hug the cubs.

Perhaps his hands were still a little cold, because Second Cub woke up from the cold. Seeing her half-open eyes, Tao Qiu subconsciously moved closer and gently coaxed her.

"Honey, are you alright? Continue..."

"Chirp!!!"

Tao Qiu's words were interrupted by a sharp bird cry. Second Cub broke free from Tao Qiu's hand and shrank back as if he were going crazy.

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"

--A ghost is here! A ghost is here! Daddy, help!

The Eldest Cub and Third Cub were woken up by the noise. When they opened their eyes, they saw the Second Cub crying loudly and their shocked and helpless father.

They rushed to comfort Second Cub, while simultaneously asking Tao Qiu what had happened.

Tao Qiu wanted to hug Second Cub but was afraid of scaring her, so she withdrew her outstretched hand and scratched her face. "Xuexue seems to think I'm a ghost. I should have known better than to tell you so many ghost stories last night."

The ghost stories mentioned here are not the serialized story "Ghost Friend" in the magazine, but rather a few other short stories that Tao Qiu tells the children before bedtime.

The kids didn't know what ghosts were originally, but after hearing the story in the book, they were a little confused as to why the protagonist was afraid of ghosts.

Then, Tao Qiu's wicked little scheme immediately came to mind, and she told the children many strange stories she had heard in her previous life.

The kids didn't react much at the time, and Tao Qiu thought they were just young and fearless. She was even a little disappointed that she hadn't scared them enough, but now this had happened.

With the encouragement of the Eldest Cub and Third Cub, the Second Cub gradually stopped crying and calmed down.

She sobbed, "Chirp, chirp."

--Something cold and icy touched my foot, just like in the story?

Tao Qiu chuckled awkwardly and raised her hand, "Dad just went to the bathroom, and his hands were a little cold. He accidentally bumped them when he hugged you."

Second Cub: "Chirp, chirp."

--A ghost breathed into my ear and spoke to me.

Tao Qiu: "... I just saw you were awake and wanted to coax you back to sleep."

Second Cub: "..."

The Eldest Cub and Third Cub both turned their faces away, seemingly wanting to laugh, but fearing that the Second Cub would be upset, they could only hold it back.

Tao Qiu picked up Second Cub and kissed him several times, apologizing, "I'm so sorry, it's all Daddy's fault, I scared you, baby. Please forgive me, baby?"

"Chirp chirp." The Second Cub hugged his father's face, a little embarrassed, and chirped.

--It's not Dad's fault, I misunderstood you.

Tao Qiu gently patted Second Cub's back and whispered, "Xuexue is home, Xuexue is home, Daddy's here."

When he was little, if he was frightened, his grandmother would comfort him like this, saying that it was because the child's soul was unstable and easily lost when startled, which would make him stupid. Therefore, the adults in the family had to call back the child's soul.

The kids were also curious about why he was reciting those words, so Tao Qiu explained it to them.

The Third Cub looked at the Second Cub, who was being held and cuddled in his father's arms, and said shyly, "Chirp, chirp?"

--I was a little scared just now too, Dad, can you help me call back my soul?

"Of course you can." The Eldest Cub and Third Cub were awakened by the Second Cub's crying and were quite frightened.

Tao Qiu wiped away Second Cub's tears, put her in her arms, and then repeated the previous steps, also calling back Third Cub's soul.

Of course, the Eldest Cub wasn't spared either.

Rather than calling back the soul, it's more like a close interaction between the father and his children. All three children loved this "little game" and thought they could play it with their dad again in the future.

Because of this little incident, all four members of the family slept in during the day.

But it's cold, so they don't need to do anything early in the morning; it's fine for them to sleep in a little longer.

In the afternoon, there was no wind or rain outside; although the sky was overcast, it wasn't too cold.

Tao Qiu carried the cubs to the bottom of the valley to play. The tall pear trees, with most of their leaves gone, were a perfect place for the cubs to practice flying.

The chicks stood on the branches, spreading their wings and flying forward without fear, because their father was right below them. Even if they failed to take off or fell halfway down, their father would catch them safely.

All three chicks can now fly short distances at low altitudes, showing significant progress. Tao Qiu is proud of them, praising them every time they fly. This motivates the chicks to work even harder, creating a positive cycle.

After practicing for two hours, Tao Qiu, worried that the children might be tired, brought them some meat strips and fruit so they could eat something and rest for a while.

Not long after they started eating, Tao Qiu smelled a familiar aroma.

The Green Python brought more prey.

Tao Qiu spoke to the children and asked them, "Do you want to go with Daddy to take a look?"

The kids, recalling the terrifying image of the Green Python sticking its tongue out at them, shook their heads in unison while chewing on their fruit.

Tao Qiu chuckled softly, not forcing them, and went to the valley entrance to meet the Green Python herself.

The Green Python brought more prey this time than last time, enough to pay for that basket of tomatoes.

Her wounds had mostly healed, though the fallen scales hadn't fully grown back, making her look a little strange, but it didn't diminish her majesty.

The Green Python had prey in its mouth, and a basket of tomatoes hung from the prey's horn; inside, there was only a small Little Snake coiled up in a ball.

Tao Qiu took half of the prey to lighten the weight of the Green Python, and then leaned over to look at the Little Snake. The Little Snake glanced at him and then buried its head.

"Chirp?" Tao Qiu asked, puzzled.

--uncomfortable?

The Green Python was a little embarrassed. "Hiss... hiss..."

I said, "I brought her to play with the birds," and she became a little shy.

Tao Qiu: "..."

It's not shyness, it's more like unwillingness.

Tao Qiu mischievously teased the Little Snake, "Chirp, chirp chirp."

--Little guy, are you afraid of me?

Upon hearing this, the Little Snake suddenly raised its upper body and hissed aggressively.

--You big bad guy! I'm not afraid of you!

Tao Qiu had bullied the Green Python quite a bit before, almost killing it half its life, and the Little Snake was still holding a grudge.

Even though the Green Python had explained to her that they were now friends with the Snow Bird family, she still disliked Tao Qiu.

Today, the Green Python is bringing her over to play with the Xiao Xue snowbirds. She said the Snow Bird invited her last time.

The Little Snake didn't really want to come, but the Green Python said that if it could get along well with the Snow Bird family, it would be easier to exchange fruits in the future.

The Green Python started to cry as she spoke, telling me how much she loved the Little Snake and how afraid she was of losing her. She said that if the little snake died, she wouldn't want to live either.

The Little Snake understood that her mother was doing all this for her, and out of a moment of tenderness, she agreed to come over.

"Hiss..."

"Little Snake, don't do that."

The Green Python was afraid that Tao Qiu would be angry, but it couldn't bear to blame the child, so it could only comfort the Little Snake and apologize to Tao Qiu.

--I'm sorry, the Little Snake didn't mean it; she just wanted to protect me.

Tao Qiu didn't mind.

--I understand, my kids are very protective of me, so there's no need to apologize.

After saying that, he added, "Chirp, chirp chirp."

--Let's go, kids? They're inside.

The Green Python nodded, its face calm, but its heart was pounding with excitement.

The place she couldn't get into through force was now openly accessible, and she was invited there.

The Green Python dragged its prey behind Tao Qiu, listening to him describe the scenery they had seen along the way.

When the Green Python saw the neat vegetable plots and the two striking pear trees, and thought about how the strange fruits growing there could save her Little Snake, her heart raced uncontrollably.