THE REAL PROTEGE-Chapter 529: A PROMISE MADE AT THREE YEARS OLD

Ling Li watched the entire scene with composed amusement.

The prophecy lingered, a shadow behind each smile. It warned joy flickers briefly before destiny collects its price, and that even the purest love may one day tilt the fate of heaven.

Otako’s silence lingered in memory, not just as absence, but as a thread tugging the prophecy—destiny pausing whenever Otako’s name went unspoken.

But for this moment, the world paused in gentle suspension, letting warmth and laughter coexist with destiny’s shadow.

There was warmth. There was absurdity.

There was childish boldness.

And perhaps, if only for a blink,

only perhaps,

That fragile joy was the very thing the prophecy had spoken against.

For power that dares to rewrite heaven itself, it is born from love such as this.

And heaven, ever watchful, never underestimates the power of love twice.

The tension of prophecy drifted delicately through the garden air, yet children, as ever, would not let fate’s burdens rest long on their small shoulders. A nervous glance from Kim Kim toward the grown-ups seemed almost to invite laughter rather than thunder, while Chin Chin squared her shoulders defiantly. Xiao Chi’s excitement, clear and bright, grew with the mention of destiny, their feelings shimmering between fear, challenge, and the persistent hope that laughter would chase away any shadow.

It was Xiao Chi who broke the lingering solemnity.

She moved ahead, crimson hair swaying lightly at every step, phoenix eyes luminous and curious.

"Little sisters," she said cheerfully, clasping her hands behind her back, "please play with me!"

Her voice emitted warmth, unfiltered and clear, pure as sunlight on water.

Kim Kim tilted her head and scratched her chin contemplatively, mimicking the exact gesture she had seen adults use during negotiations.

"If I’m not wrong," she said with exaggerated seriousness, "you should be calling us big sister."

A quiver of suppressed laughter spread out through the hall.

Xiao Chi blinked.

"How can that be? I’m bigger than you!"

She gestured proudly at her own height, which was nearly twice that of the twins.

Chin Chin crossed her arms, chin lifting.

"But we are older than you."

The courtyard fell into delighted silence as the three girls stared at one another.

Size against age.

Authority against height.

Red covered her mouth, amused.

The Azure Dragon giggled deeply.

"Xiao Chi," he uttered softly, voice composed but affectionate, "among us, respect follows seniority of birth — not physical stature."

He refined the point with a slight, knowing smile.

In dragon and phoenix clans, we honor age, not size. The eldest leads the Renewal Banquet, dressed in ceremonial robes to mark the new year. On auspicious days, elders recount ancestral stories, and even the youngest wait for the senior’s first toast. Respect comes from seasons lived—tradition roots legacy.

Xiao Chi’s brows drew together in confusion, her look almost comically earnest.

She considered this carefully. Then her eyes grew wider in realization.

"I see!"

She whirled toward the twins.

"Two big sisters, let’s go and have fun!"

Everyone in the courtyard glanced at the twins, who stood barely half her height.

The words’ big sisters’ sounded deeply out of place.

“......”

Zhu tried not to laugh.

Fatty openly failed.

Four Eyes rubbed his forehead.

The Invitation

Xiao Chi bounced excitedly.

"Let my brothers carry you and fly with us to my playground area!"

Four Eyes immediately opened his mouth to object,

"No—"

But the Azure Dragon beat him to it.

"Go, go and have fun," he said warmly, waving a hand.

"Huang. Zhu. Take care of your little guests and your sister."

Huang and Zhu gave a glance.

The look said everything:

’Can we say no? Is this politically safe?

Why are we involved in toddler-level diplomacy?’

But neither dared object.

They bowed slightly.

Chin Chin’s eyes sparkled dangerously.

"Then I want to ride, Brother Huang!" she announced triumphantly.

"...."

Silence.

Collective silence.

That, somehow, sounded even worse.

Red coughed delicately.

Ling Li’s lips twitched.

Zhu choked outright.

Four Eyes’ eye fluttered violently.

Huang froze for half a second.

Then, with the dignity expected of a three-hundred-year-old dragon, he bowed slightly.

"As you wish... little sister."

He placed particular emphasis on the word ’sister’.

Very careful indeed.

Transformation

The courtyard air gleamed.

Huang and Zhu moved back into the open space.

Golden light spiraled around Huang, fluid and radiant. His human form stretched and unfolded into a magnificent yellow dragon, scales gleaming like polished amber in sunlight.

Zhu transformed beside him in a burst of scarlet flame, smaller but no less majestic, his red scales faintly edged with embers.

The land shuddered lightly under their full forms.

Kim Kim and Chin Chin gasped in delight.

Even after witnessing His Majesty earlier, this appeared different.

These dragons were younger. Closer, and somehow more accessible.

Shi Min narrowed his eyes slightly.

He did not entirely trust this situation.

But before he could say a word,

The twins were now climbing.

Zhu lowered his neck obediently for Kim Kim.

Huang lowered his foreleg and neck with meticulous accuracy, inviting Chin Chin to climb.

Chin Chin beamed.

"Brother Huang is so gentle!"

Four Eyes felt his heart skip a beat.

He did not like that sentence.

Not in the slightest.

Ling Li stood calmly beside him.

But she, too, was watching closely.

Both husband and wife knew well.

Their twins were capable of diplomatic disaster at any moment.

Shi Min came forward.

"Maybe I must follow them," he muttered quietly.

"Otherwise, it will be too late when they create trouble."

Ling Li did not hesitate.

"Go," she said calmly. "Watch over those two brats."

Shi Min summoned his sword with a snap of his wrist. The blade emerged beneath his feet, steady and sharp.

He launched upward after the dragons.

The sky seemed to engulf them, marked with gold and red.

The Playground of Clouds

Xiao Chi’s playground was not what mortals imagined.

It was a natural floating platform, stabilized by dragon qi currents. The air hovered cool and crisp, edged with the sweet scent of blooming star-lilies. Soft, luminous, and buoyant, it felt like walking on wind-spun silk. The hush of distant water resounded from cloud to cloud, deepening the wonder.

The dragons descended softly.

The twins slid off, laughing.

Shi Min arrived moments later, hovering at a distance but within reach.

Zhu quickly returned to human form, arms crossed as he scanned the area, the image of an older brother reluctantly assigned to babysit.

Huang remained in dragon form for a moment longer, allowing Chin Chin to slide carefully down his scaled neck.

When he reached the cloud floor, he shifted back to human form with adept grace.

He now stood just a little taller than her.

She looked up at him, open admiration in her eyes.

Huang & Chin Chin — The Mini-Arc

While Kim Kim and Xiao Chi darted off toward a glowing pool of phoenix-flame mist, anxious to invent a new game of tag, Chin Chin stayed behind.

Huang noticed her hesitation.

He crouched down to meet her stare.

"Are you disappointed?" he inquired softly.

"About what?" Chin Chin blinked.

"My age."

Chin Chin mused over his words.

She tapped her chin, thinking. "Hmm..."

"You are very old," she announced at last.

Zhu snorted from a distance.

"But," she continued thoughtfully, "you don’t feel old."

Huang’s amber eyes mellowed. "And what does old feel like?"

She paused to think.

"Much like Grandpa Xu," she expressed confidently.

Shi Min coughed discreetly into his fist.

Huang laughed softly.

"A dragon’s age progresses differently from a human’s."

He indicated toward the vast sky.

"We measure time not by years alone... but by seasons of growth."

Chin Chin blinked.

"Seasons?"

"Yes."

"When a dragon is young, we grow in size.

When we mature, we grow in wisdom.

When we age further, we grow in responsibility."

His tone stayed calm and firm, like the mountain air.

"There are stages of becoming."