Transmigrated to Raise Panther Cubs novel Chapter 124

He brushed the sand from his palm, then, i thing.

Finished

a spirit of great generosity, let Jaden experience the same

Jaden went down without any warning, then got up with perfect composure and dusted himself off.

Taylor waited expectantly. “Well?”

“Didn’t hurt.” Jaden said.

The shoreline was busy with people, and the arriving trade group drew little attention. The baskets and carriers were another matter entirely, drawing curious eyes the moment anyone noticed them.

Zachary’s attention had been fully claimed by the ocean. He scanned the water intently, searching for any sign of the merfolk.

Then an extraordinarily beautiful face broke the surface, and a heartbeat later, a massive red tail arced high above the water and came crashing back down, sending a spray of white foam across the blue surface.

The merfolk’s skin was a near–translucent snow–white, and his auburn hair lay along his shoulders in dark, wet strands. Droplets of water clung to the defined lines of his torso, and his features carried a striking. almost unearthly quality that made it genuinely difficult to look away.

His tail stayed hidden beneath the water, only the red tail fin surfacing intermittently, and his dark eyes carried a faint reddish light as he looked straight across the golden sand directly at Zachary.

Zachary was so completely overwhelmed by the sheer, astonishing reality of a merfolk that he stopped walking entirely without meaning to.

Matthew followed his gaze, and in the next instant, he put his hand over Zachary’s eyes.

He sen

the red–tailed merfolk a cold, pointed look.

The red–tailed merfolk let the corner of his lips curve upward and made a deliberate, taunting gesture back at Matthew.

Zachary wrapped his fingers around Matthew’s wrist. “What’s happening?”

“He’s not a trustworthy fish,” Matthew said flatly.

Zachary looked at him with curiosity. “You know him?”

“Of course.” Yael jumped in before Matthew could answer. “The first time Matthew and Red ever crossed paths, they immediately got into a fight.”

Yael could barely suppress his amusement just thinking about it.

He and Matthew had both been cubs back then, tagging along with the adults on the trip to trade with the merfolk tribe.

Matthew had found a turtle beast at the shoreline and prodded at it curiously with his paw, then leaned in to sniff it. The turtle beast bit him square on the nose in response, and Matthew had pulled back yelping and

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Chapter 124 The Beach

pressing both paws to his face.

Red had been nearby and laughed, calling

Matthew had already been furious abouthew a black furball.

around and came after Red instead.

the turtle beast and couldn’t get through its shell. He turned

On land, a merfolk wasn’t in the best position to fight. Red had tried to drag Matthew toward the water and in the middle of all of it, a large predatory creature with a mouthful of enormous teeth had come up from the deep. Both of them had swum for the shore as fast as possible.

Neither of them had liked each other since.

Naturally, Yael couldn’t share any of this with Zachary Matthew’s pride was such that he’d actually take Yael apart if he did.

By the time Zachary looked back, the red–tailed merfolk had already vanished beneath the surface.

The group pressed further in, and more merfolk appeared along the coast. Some played in the waves, others sat on the rocks with their tails trailing in the water, tails of every color catching the light.

Zachary felt as though he’d stepped into the middle of a legend. It was almost too extraordinary to process.

Taylor and Jaden were completely transfixed, both staring with eyes as wide as they would go.

A small group of merfolk cubs drifted over and peered up at Taylor and Jaden with open curiosity. “Can you two turn into something fluffy?”

Taylor drew himself up with great dignity. “Obviously.”

The merfolk cubs‘ eyes shone with pure delight. “Can we see?”

Taylor was equally interested in what they were hiding. “I want to see your tails first.”

“Yes, yes,

deal.”

A moment later, two small black panthers stood on the sand, ringed by a growing cluster of merfolk cubs.

The little ones crouched down with their hips in the air, tiny hands hovering with barely restrained eagerness. “Can I touch your head?”

In exchange for getting to touch the merfolk tails later, Taylor offered his head up willingly.

Jaden hadn’t intended to agree, but looking at the row of small, pale, round little faces staring up at him with such hopeful eyes, he couldn’t quite hold out.

He lowered his head.

Several small, soft hands reached up at once, every touch light and careful.

Exclamations rose from the group

in

a

bright little wave.

“They’re so soft.”

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Chapter 124 The Beach

“You feel so nice.”

The little merfolk cubs were also incredibly thoughtful. Deciding that their own tails were too small to be satisfying, they ran off and fetched their older siblings, who obligingly brought their tails out of the water for Taylor and Jaden to feel.

The older ones, somewhere around eleven or twelve, were at exactly the age where everything was an adventure. They took one look at Taylor and Jaden and immediately swept their new companions off to chase crabs, collect shells, and pick fruit from the coastal growth.

Zachary watched them disappear with a small flicker of worry, but both Yael and Matthew were completely unbothered. They told him the cubs were fine and let them run.

The moment the traded goods were set down, a crowd formed. Every eye went straight to the woven carriers, beautiful in their craftsmanship and varied in their shapes.

Kyle and Daniel immediately moved into action, pressing baskets into people’s hands with enthusiastic energy. “These are exceptional. They hold a great deal, and water drains right through them.”

“Pick one up. Feel how light it is.”

“Think about foraging trips, hauling fish out of the water. It makes everything easier.

“And left in the sun, they dry out in no time.”

The two of them worked together like a perfectly rehearsed duo, and the merfolk tribe’s interest turned to outright eagerness within moments. People pressed forward to make their selections, each one wanting to get the pick of the lot.

Zachary hadn’t anticipated that Kyle and Daniel had that kind of gift for it. He was absolutely bringing these two on every trading trip from now on.

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