V2: Chapter 7: Should I Breastfeed the Little One?

Liang Lin rubbed her eyes.

Am I seeing things?

She felt a momentary daze, but the little tentacle's skin seemed to have become white and tender, just like a normal baby's.

When Liang Lin finished rubbing her eyes and removed her hand, opening her eyes again, she found the little tentacle had returned to normal, no longer wriggling. The little creature was staring at her curiously with its big, watery eyes.

"Lord Marquis!"

"My Lord Marquis!"

"Boss!"

"Miss Liang Lin!"

"Miss!"

Hearing the increasingly loud and closer calls from around her, Liang Lin was anxious and helpless, unsure where to put the little tentacle.

No, she had to get out of there quickly.

Regardless of whether the little creature in her arms could understand her, Liang Lin pointed at its head and said in a fierce tone, "I'm putting you in my arms, so you can't make a sound! If you make a sound, I'll... I'll...!"

Liang Lin scratched her head in frustration, unable to think of a threat.

"I'll... I'll chop you up! Make you into octopus balls!" Liang Lin glared.

The little tentacle didn't understand Liang Lin's words either, and instead started giggling.

Liang Lin covered her face, then quickly lifted her clothes and placed the little tentacle on her stomach. The tentacle had suction cups on it, which firmly attached to her stomach, then extended and wrapped around her waist.

Okay, that's about it. Hopefully, nothing unexpected will happen.

Liang Lin was actually starting to feel a little relieved. This little thing wasn't a baby. If it were, its loud cries would definitely attract attention. Thankfully, this little tentacle didn't seem to cry; it only made some "gibberish" sounds, which sounded rather cute.

Liang Lin patted her face, adjusted her facial expression, and then emerged from behind a tree.

"Cough cough, I'm here!"

Liang Lin raised her arm and waved vigorously.

"Ah... Boss's over there! Boss's over there!"

The soldiers excitedly ran over, circling Liang Lin several times. When they saw the blood-like substance on Liang Lin's pants, their faces turned pale.

"Oh my god!"

"My god, boss, did someone stab you in the stomach?"

Liang Lin: "..."

"I'm fine, just a minor injury."

Blaze looked flustered. "Quick, quick, let's check the wound for the boss."

Liang Lin: "..."

Smack!

A large slap landed on Blaze's forehead. Liang Lin said irritably, "Do you guys think I'm a man? My wound is on my leg, are you going to pull down my pants? What were you thinking, saying something so stupid?"

She then kicked Blaze's butt hard.

"Quick, quick, let's go, the priest and the red-haired girl are still there, right?"

"They are." Hazel replied to Liang Lin from the back of the group.

Liang Lin nodded.

“Take me there, I have questions for them.”

“Boss, what about your wound…”

“Tsk,” Liang Lin clicked her tongue impatiently, “I already said, it’s just a minor injury, nothing serious. Why are you being so fussy, you grown man?”

Blaze obediently shut his mouth, muttering softly, “Because you’re a young lady now… unlike us men, who are tough and resilient, a little injury is nothing to us. You have delicate skin now.”

Liang Lin understood the soldiers’ good intentions, of course. She sighed, trying her best to remain patient.

“I’m really fine, don’t worry, it’s just a small wound. I’m not lying. I’ll take care of it myself when we get back. Now let’s go together and settle this, okay?”

“Okay.”

When they arrived in front of the red-haired girl, they found that the child was already awake. Two other children, who looked only five or six years old, were nestled beside her, looking slightly bewildered and panicked as they looked at Liang Lin and her group.

Liang Lin tried to soften her tone, making herself appear less fierce. A stiff smile appeared on her lips as she bent down. "Little ones, you..."

"Waah~"

The five or six-year-old girl burst into tears, wailing loudly, leaving Liang Lin bewildered.

"No, no, we were just saying..." Liang Lin straightened her posture, turning back to her subordinates with a confused look. "No, why are they crying? I think I'm quite friendly..."

Subordinates: "..."

No.

Boss, so you...have absolutely no self-awareness.

Looking at Liang Lin's fierce, upturned eyes and that eerie smile, the soldiers tried hard to suppress their laughter, echoing her words.

"Yeah, yeah, boss, you're so kind...we don't know why."

Liang Lin: ...?

Why do I always feel like I've been tricked?

"Never mind."

"Hazel, come here and ask those two little brats. I have a real headache when it comes to kids."

Hazel came to the front and patted the little girl's head.

Hazel was also extremely beautiful. Although her short hair made her look more like a young boy, her androgynous beauty was captivating—a beauty that appealed to both men and women.

"Little friends, what's your relationship with this red-haired sister?" Hazel asked.

Under her soothing words, the little girl stopped crying, but she remained silent, only sniffling. The little boy beside her glanced at the red-haired girl and shook her arm.

“They… are my younger brother and sister.”

The red-haired girl spoke.

“As you can see, I am truly different from ordinary people, so I am probably the witch that the priest spoke of.” The red-haired girl spoke calmly, as if stating a fact. “It doesn’t matter, I can die, but my younger brother and sister cannot.”

She raised her chin, her eyes resolute, not looking at Hazel, but at Liang Lin behind Hazel.

She knew that the girl was the “leader” of this group.

“Then kill me, but my younger brother and sister must be sent to a good family. This is my last wish. If my death can bring peace to this city, and the peace of my younger brother and sister, then I am willing.”

The red-haired girl stared at Liang Lin, and Liang Lin stared back intently.

Liang Lin’s eyes held admiration.

She saw herself in this girl; the girl's personality was so similar to hers. Both possessed a strong sense of justice, both were willing to sacrifice themselves for others—what beautiful qualities!

What a kind child…

“Hey, I didn’t say I was going to kill you.”

Liang Lin approached the red-haired girl and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Athena.”

“Hmm, Athena, you told me to kill you. Give me a reason.”

Athena was taken aback. She looked at the trembling priest beside her. “Because… Father said I’m a witch, that if I’m here, the whole city will…”

“Don’t say so much. I’ll just ask you, have you ever hurt any ordinary people?”

Athena shook her head firmly. “I’ve never hurt anyone. I’ve always taken care of my younger siblings, and I don’t want to hurt anyone. If I hurt them, their families would be sad, just like I would be sad if my younger siblings were hurt.”

“Good!” Liang Lin smiled. This time, her smile wasn’t stiff. She clapped her hands. “You’re a good child. Come on, come with us. I know a place that’s more suitable for you.”

“A place that… is more suitable for me?”

Because there were too many people around, Liang Lin didn’t say the words “Magic Tower.”

 "You'll find out when the time comes. Just tell us if you'd like to come with us," Liang Lin said, extending her hand.

Athena hesitated. She looked at Liang Lin's face, which resembled that of a villainous supporting character. Despite its fierce appearance, Liang Lin gave Athena a kind and gentle feeling, perhaps because genuine goodwill couldn't be hidden.

Athena thought about the years she and her younger siblings had endured, constantly hungry and frequently beaten and scolded by their employers—a life of unbearable suffering. In comparison, joining this group that seemed to have a strong sense of justice might offer a much better life.

But…  She glanced at her younger siblings, who were clinging tightly to her arms.

"Then...Miss, could you take my siblings with you? We...we don't eat much!"

"Of course! Let's go." Liang Lin waved her hand. "Sylvia, cut the ropes binding this child. The three of them will come with us to the border."

Liang Lin planned to write to her older sister after they reached the border and finished their business, asking her and Octaville to take the three children to the Magic Tower.

She had forgotten about the magic crystal ball, and Octaville and Hilary hadn't had much time to look after her and Liang Di lately. Something had happened inside the Magic Tower; a traitor had emerged and hadn't been found yet. This traitor had been sending messages to Queen Doris for a year.

As for how the two older sisters knew about this, it was because they also had spies within the palace. These two older sisters were busy catching the traitor and could only occasionally glance at the magic crystal ball.

They had completely missed Liang Lin's childbirth.

Back to Liang Lin's side, they had completely forgotten about the priest and were all preparing to leave when the priest, behind them, cried out in despair, "Wait! Everyone! You can't take her away! You saw it too, didn't you? Her hair, her hair is on fire! That's a witch! That's a witch! She'll definitely bring disaster to this city!"

"Ha~"

Liang Lin turned around and rolled her eyes.

"You, a priest who burned so many people alive, are saying that a little girl who has never harmed anyone could endanger this city? Aren't you a bit shameless?"

She scoffed.

"Fine? If you hadn't said that, I would have completely forgotten about you." Liang Lin pointed at the priest and gestured to her subordinates, "Go, take him with you, carry him back to the inn, and tomorrow take him to the Knights. Tell them he was going to burn people alive, and let the Knights handle it."

"Yes, Miss."

The poor priest, his mouth gagged, was carried back to the inn like a struggling pig, hoisted onto the shoulders of the soldiers.

While talking for so long, Liang Lin had been clutching her stomach, afraid that the little tentacles on her belly might accidentally fall off. Of course, her concern was unnecessary; the suckers of the little tentacles were attached to her body, how could they possibly fall off so easily?

Upon arriving at the inn, Liang Lin immediately opened her room door and slipped inside.

“Take those children to wash up, then get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll go to the Knights, and then we’ll head straight to the border.”

“Boss, are you feeling unwell?”

Outside the door, the soldiers lingered, reluctant to leave.

“Ah, I’m fine, I’m fine. You all go now, I need to rest. Don’t disturb me, I’m really sleepy.”

Hearing that they were still there, Liang Lin didn’t dare to rashly pull out the small tentacle on her stomach. She shooed her subordinates away, “You all better leave quickly, it’s so noisy, I can’t even get a peaceful night’s sleep.”

Hearing this familiar tone and feeling the familiar scolding, the soldiers finally felt that their leader had returned to normal.

"Phew~"

"That's the tone I wanted! It's so comforting!"

"Let's go, let's disperse, let's not disturb the Marquis's rest."

The soldiers finally left.

Liang Lin breathed a sigh of relief, lifted her clothes, and carefully pulled out the little tentacle, gently placing it on her pillow. Then, Liang Lin began to undress, taking off her clothes and pants. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, and her pants were covered in large patches of red, sticky fluid, which felt extremely uncomfortable against her skin.

Finally, I could take them off.

Thinking that the pants were probably unusable, Liang Lin threw them on the ground and kicked them aside. Then she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed.

Liang Lin couldn't sleep either; there was a little one beside her.

Reflecting on the events of that night, it was truly surreal. First, she rescued a girl with similar abnormalities, and then she gave birth to a baby… well, gave birth to a little tentacle baby.

Sigh, how did she become a mother at such a young age? Sigh, this child is so pitiful. Born with only a mother, no father... well, you could say she only has two mother.

Liang Lin's eyes filled with heartache as she glanced at the little tentacle beside her.

The little tentacle lay on her pillow, no longer chirping, just listlessly slumped there.

Huh?

Why does this little guy look so listless?

Liang Lin sensed something was wrong.

Just a moment ago, this little guy was jumping around so energetically. Why isn't it chirping anymore, or waving its little tentacles? Are you unhappy and squinting? Did it catch a chill outside? Is it a cold? Has it developed a fever?

Liang Lin reached out and hugged the little guy.

The little guy was soft and warm, but she couldn't tell if it had a fever or was sick.

This isn't human, you know. She doesn't even know if it's sick or not. It's really too much for her.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Liang Lin reached out and poked the little creature's head.

The little tentacle's eyes were half-open, and it let out a weak cry.

Liang Lin frowned.

She couldn't understand it either. How could she determine what the little thing was saying?

"Ah... being a mother is really difficult!"

Liang Lin sighed helplessly. Taking care of a child was something she'd never done before. This was much harder than going to war.

Just as she was at a loss, she suddenly felt a throbbing pain in the fat on her chest.

"..."

A perfectly reasonable thought surfaced in her mind.

The little creature was listless because it was hungry and wanted milk. So, where would the milk it wanted come from? Of course, it came from...

Liang Lin lifted the blanket, looked down at her not-too-large, not-too-small fat, and fell into silence.

"Really?"

Liang Lin blushed, stammering as she asked the little tentacle for its opinion. Asking was pointless; the little tentacle couldn't understand, but it heard Liang Lin speak and weakly squeaked.

After all, it was a piece of her own flesh and blood. Although it wasn't a human child, seeing the little creature so weak broke Liang Lin's heart.

"So, so you're hungry, right? You want milk?"

"Then... then... do I really have to breastfeed you like this? Like this, like this, like this!"

Liang Lin's face flushed crimson. She lifted her nightgown and saw the already swollen fat, falling into a deep silence once more, struggling internally, trying desperately to shake off her shame.

"Hoo~"

She tried to comfort herself, catching her breath, muttering to herself.

"What's so shameful about it? Which mother doesn't breastfeed her child like this? I'm a woman now, a mother, so of course I have to breastfeed! What's so shameful about it... it's just closing your eyes, holding the baby to your chest, and then, and then feeding her..."

After muttering to herself for a while, seeing that the little tentacle was almost curled up in a ball from hunger, Liang Lin finally made up her mind and held the little tentacle to her chest.

"Uh, uh, how should I feed her? Is it...? Like this?"

Liang Lin scratched her cheek, unsure how to begin.

She sat up hesitantly, clutching her clothes with one hand and the little tentacle with the other. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, she put the tentacle down again, took off her pajamas, and tossed them onto the bedside.

"Now... I can breastfeed, right?"

Liang Lin picked up the little tentacle again, preparing to breastfeed.

When the little tentacle touched the area around Liang Lin's fat, she shuddered violently, goosebumps rising all over her body. Her already rosy face turned even redder, as red as a boiled shrimp.

No, no, this feeling is so itchy!