I Abandoned My Beast Cubs for the Protagonist... Oops?-Chapter 22: Riddles in the Morning

The clearing was so silent you could hear the crackle of a single spark in the fire.

Cāng Jì’s golden eyes narrowed into thin, reptilian slits, and the air around him began to shimmer with a dry, scorching heat.

"A cub?" the Dragon Prince repeated, his voice dropping. "You compare the architect of the Northern Peaks to a......a whelp? I shall punish you for that insolence, star-thief. Perhaps I’ll turn your vocal cords into a string."

Zhāo Yàn stepped in front of Bai Yue instantly, his tails flaring like a crimson fan. "You will do no such thing, lizard. Touch her, and First Generation or not, I will tear those silks right off your back."

"Stay away from Mama!" Yòu Lín shouted, throwing a small, half-eaten star-fruit at Cāng Jì’s pristine boots. Thud. The sticky juice splattered against the bronze fabric.

Cāng Jì froze. He looked at the fruit. He looked at the tiny, defiant fox kit. He looked back at his ruined boot. A vein throbbed in his temple.

"It.....it touched me," the Dragon whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and trauma. "The miniature predator attacked me with.....fruit."

"He is merely five, Cāng Jì. Calm down, please," Bai Yue said, pulling Yòu Lín behind her. She looked at the Dragon’s horrified expression and couldn’t help a small, nervous smirk. "Unless you are afraid of a toddler?"

Cāng Jì let out a long, suffering hiss. The fire in his eyes died down, replaced by a look of profound exhaustion. "Ugh. Whatever. I cannot deal with this level of peasant-anarchy on an empty stomach. Hide your offspring, female. If another fruit touches me, I shall be forced to declare war."

The tension broke, but the night remained heavy.

Bai Yue felt Han Shān’s gaze from the darkness, still very cold. She swallowed hard, realizing that even with a Dragon in town, her biggest challenge was still the silver-haired man who refused to believe she had a heart.

~

The next morning, the sun had barely crested the hills when the familiar, annoying ting echoed in Bai Yue’s skull.

[DING! ☆]

[Morning, Sunshine! It’s Day 4 of your ’Redemption or Ruin’ Tour!]

"Oh, shut up," Bai Yue groaned, pulling a fur blanket over her head.

"How rude! And after I spent all night worrying about your survival!" The voice of Tiān-Mìng, the Goddess, sounded much too bubbly for how early it was. "You abandoned me for that sparkly lizard, Bai Yue! I thought we were besties!"

"Are you out of your mind? I didn’t abandon you, YOU abandoned me! And I was busy not being incinerated," Bai Yue hissed into her pillow. "Where is the stone, Tiān-Mìng? Did you take it? Is this another one of your ’funny’ tests? Help me out!"

"Me? Steal a mere Dragon’s pulse-stabilizer? Please. I have higher standards," the Goddess mocked. "Besides, you’re doing so well! But don’t get too comfortable. Remember, you have just 11 days left to make Ruì Xuě give you a genuine, soul-level smile. If you fail.....well, I hear the afterlife has a great view of the void."

"Arghhhh! Let’s leave that first, I still have some time. Give me a hint, you annoying goddess! Where is the stone? My life is a literal circus!"

There was a long pause, filled with the sound of phantom tea being sipped.

"Fine, fine. Since I like your ’hedgehog’ hair today, I’ll give you a hint," Tiān-Mìng chirped. "Listen closely: The ones who mimic the most are the ones who have the least. In the canopy where the shadows swing, a golden prize is a heavy thing."

"What? Shadows swinging? Mimicking?" Bai Yue sat up, her hair a wild nest. "What does that mean? Hmm....mimic the most. What animal....wait.....Is it the Monkey Tribe? Are they thieves?"

"Good luck, Bai Yue! Don’t let the bedbugs—or the Alphas—bite! Toodles!"

Ting. The connection snapped shut.

"Wait! Come back! You cryptic brat!" Bai Yue yelled at the empty air, throwing her pillow at the wall.

"Why are you screaming? And who, exactly, were you talking to?"

Bai Yue yelped, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat. She spun around to find Han Shān standing in the doorway of her hut. The Snow Leopard Alpha was shirtless, his muscular chest scarred from years of battle, his white hair messy from sleep. He looked incredibly irritated.

"I... I was just... yelling at a spider!" Bai Yue lied, her voice an octave too high. "A very arrogant, goddess-like spider!"

Han Shān stepped into the hut, his eyes scanning the room.

"My son seems to have warmed up to you," he said, his voice a low growl. "He spent all morning asking when the ’Mama’ would wake up."

Bai Yue flinched. "Mama?"

"Don’t get used to it," Han Shān scoffed, crossing his arms. "Zhāo Yàn may be blinded by your ’change,’ but I am not an unreasonable man. I see what you are doing. You brought a Dragon into our village to create chaos, didn’t you?"

"I didn’t bring him! He followed me!"

"Hmm." Han Shān rubbed his temples. "Whatever your game is, cursed female, if you harm my son... if you use him as a shield against that lizard..." He didn’t finish the threat, but the air in the hut turned frosty. "The Dragon is searching for you. He’s currently at the river demanding someone ’buff his scales.’ Go. Deal with your mess."

Bai Yue groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Drama. I just want to make a snow leopard smile and find a blue rock. Is that too much to ask?"

"Move," Han Shān commanded, stepping aside. "Before he decides to burn the village down because the river water isn’t ’filtered’ enough."

Bai Yue stomped out of the hut, but as she passed Han Shān, her foot caught on a stray vine. She stumbled, and for a split second, the Snow Leopard Alpha reached out, his hand catching her arm with lightning-fast reflexes to steady her.

Their eyes met, violet meeting startled blue. For a heartbeat, the hostility vanished, replaced by a strange, sparking silence.

Then, Han Shān shoved her away as if she had burned him. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Go!" he barked, his face a mask of stone.

Bai Yue didn’t look back. She sprinted toward the river, but her mind was racing. Shadows swinging? Mimicking? She looked up at the high canopy of the jungle trees and saw a flash of golden fur moving between the branches.

Not a dragon. Something much smaller.

And it was holding something that glowed blue.