I Abandoned My Beast Cubs for the Protagonist... Oops?-Chapter 72: So Long, Sparkly Dragons

The next morning, Han Shān was leaning against a moss-covered trunk, his face no longer greyish-green but still looking weary.

Beside him, Yàn Shū was carefully tending to a small fire, his hands trembling slightly as he brewed a soothing herbal tea, probably something with ginger and mountain mint to settle everyone’s scorched insides.

Hóng Yè sat nearby, sharpening a bone dagger with focus, though his eyes frequently darted toward his father.

Bai Yue sat on a fallen log, her hair a bird’s nest of tangles, watching Yòu Lín and Ruì Xuě try to "hunt" a particularly large butterfly.

"No!"

The sound came from Cāng Yáo. The Dragon Princess, usually the epitome of arrogance and lazy grace, was standing near a shimmering patch of air.

A golden sigil, glowing with the intensity of a miniature sun and humming like a disturbed beehive, pulsed in front of her.

It was a Dragon Messenger, a high-level spell used only by the Royal Lineage.

"Sister?" Cāng Jì asked, stepping toward her, his brow furrowed. "What is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."

Cāng Yáo’s hand went to her throat as she stared at the glowing script. "Father. The message is.....it’s a direct Summons of the Blood. My attention is needed back home. Immediately."

"You are leaving?" Bai Yue asked, standing up.

"I have to," Cāng Yáo snapped, though her voice lacked its usual bite.

She looked around the camp, at the messy fire, the half-eaten remains of the spicy soup, and the primitive beauty of the forest, with a look of genuine distress.

"I tried to refuse. I sent a mental backlash, told him I was in the middle of.....of an important cultural exchange! But he didn’t listen. He never does. The sigil is binding. If I don’t return to the Golden Peaks by sunset, he’ll send the Elder Guard to drag me back by my horns."

She turned her gaze toward Cāng Jì. "You should come with me too, brother. You know how he gets when he’s in a state. If I go back alone, I’ll be the only one catching the heat for our.... ’unauthorized’ excursion. You are his favorite, your presence will keep him from leveling a mountain range in a tantrum."

Cāng Jì froze.

He looked at Cāng Yáo, then his gaze drifted slowly, almost painfully, toward the center of the camp.

He scanned them one by one, his heart tugging.

"I don’t..." Cāng Jì started, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "I don’t think I’m ready to go back to the clouds just yet."

"Jì," Cāng Yáo urged, her voice low. "The Old Man is worried. And you know the marriage alliances he’s been trying to broker. If you aren’t there to defend your seat, he might promise you to that horrific Kraken Princess from the Southern Depths just to spite you."

Cāng Jì shuddered at the thought. He looked back at Bai Yue, a bittersweet smile curving his lips.

He realized that as much as he enjoyed the chaos of this primitive life, his family’s shadow was too long to outrun.

"I’ll go," he said. "I’ll go back. I’m sure Father would be worried, and I need to ensure he doesn’t do anything drastic.....like sending a fleet of dragons to scorch this forest just to find us."

The siblings walked toward the rest of the group.

"We are leaving," Cāng Yáo announced.

Bai Yue felt a jolt of genuine shock. "What? Already? That’s so sudden! I thought you were going to wait for at least another week? You haven’t even tried the stir-fry I planned for tonight! I was going to use those wild scallions!"

Cāng Yáo let out a groan that sounded like a physical ache. "Don’t remind me! My stomach is weeping already. My soul is staying here with that soup pot, even if my body is dragged back to the Golden Peaks."

The Dragon Princess stepped closer to Bai Yue, and leaned in, trailing a sharp, gold-painted nail along the line of Bai Yue’s jaw.

"I’m especially coming back for more of that soup," she whispered, her eyes dancing with a mix of hunger and masochism. "And perhaps for the chef. You’re far too interesting to leave in the hands of these.....dusty Alphas. You have a dragon’s appetite for chaos, little female."

"Stop flirting with her!" Zhāo Yàn snapped, stepping between them and shielding Bai Yue with his body. "She is a mother! Have some shame, you overgrown lizard!"

Cāng Yáo laughed. "I flirt with anything and everything, dear fox. It’s a dragon’s prerogative. Besides, she likes the attention." She stepped back, her expression turning serious as she looked at her brother. "Time to go. The sigil is fading."

The cubs suddenly rushed forward. Yòu Lín and Ruì Xuě threw themselves at Cāng Jì’s legs. Even though he was a terrifying dragon, he had spent the last few days letting them climb on him.

"Sparkly dragon leaving?" Yòu Lín whimpered, his fox ears drooping.

Cāng Jì knelt, patting their heads with surprising tenderness. "Only for a little while. Grow big and strong. Don’t let the monkeys steal your snacks while I’m not here to scare them off."

He stood up and looked at Bai Yue, who was pouting. This was all so sudden! She thought they would spend some more time with them! Sigh.

Before she could overthink it, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a brief hug.

Cāng Jì held the hug longer than necessary, his arms locking around her waist. He leaned down, his lips brushing the sensitive skin of her neck, his breath hot against her ear.

"I will come back again, star thief," he whispered.

Bai Yue pulled back, her cheeks flushing a brilliant scarlet. She let out a small chuckle, trying to regain her composure. "That name....you’re still sticking with that?"

"Always," he said.

Cāng Yáo let out a loud sigh. "If we don’t leave now, I am going to vomit from the sentimentality. Jì, shift!"

With a roar of wind that flattened the tall grass and sent the fire’s embers flying like angry fireflies, two colossal dragons emerged from where the siblings had once stood.

With a powerful beat of wings that created a localized gale, knocking over the empty soup pot with a hollow clang, they soared upward.

Bai Yue shielded her eyes against the dust, watching as the two golden specks grew smaller and smaller against the vast blue of the sky until they disappeared behind the mountain peaks.

The silence that followed was deafening.

The forest, which had felt so crowded and chaotic just moments ago, suddenly felt vast and empty.

Bai Yue looked at the spot where they had stood. The absence of the dragons’ loud, arrogant energy left a vacuum in her chest she hadn’t expected.

She looked around at her family. Han Shān was still leaning against his tree, looking stoic but deeply relieved. Yàn Shū was clutching his tea bowl like a lifeline. Hóng Yè was looking at the sky with an almost sad expression.

Then it hit her.

With the dragons gone, the buffer was gone. The "guests" were out of the house, and now she was just.....here. Stuck.

She was stuck with a grumpy leopard, a traumatized red panda, a possessive fox lord, and three kits who called her "Mama" every five minutes. There was no more "Dragon Trial" to distract her from the fact that this was her life now.

Zhāo Yàn was the first to break the silence. He was grinning, his eyes gleaming as he watched the sky.

"Good," he said, clapping his hands together. "The dragons are finally gone!"

He turned his gaze to the cubs, then to Bai Yue.

"Now that we have some peace and quiet... and since we all smell like spicy soup and dragon sweat... who wants to go to the hidden spring and bathe?"

"I DO!!!!!" Yòu Lín and Ruì Xuě screamed in unison, their sadness forgotten the moment the word ’water’ was mentioned.

They began jumping up and down.

Hóng Yè rolled his eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he looked at his father, Yàn Shū, who seemed to brighten at the idea of being clean again. "I suppose I could use a wash. I still have dragon scales stuck to my vest."

Zhāo Yàn looked at Bai Yue, his tail twitching suggestively. "And you, Bai Yue? You look like you need to scrub off some of that dragon scent. I’ll even help you with your back."

Bai Yue sighed. The dragons were gone, but the madness was just getting started.

"Fine," she muttered, picking up a bundle of clothes.