I Abandoned My Beast Cubs for the Protagonist... Oops?-Chapter 68: Tiān-Mìng Pops In to Drop the Horniest Quest Log of All Time
The night air was cool against Han Shān’s skin, but his blood felt like it was boiling.
He walked quickly, his long strides eating up the distance between the central fire and the tree line, forcing Bai Yue to jog to keep up.
He didn’t look back. He couldn’t. If he looked at her now, after what he had said in front of the elders, he might do something irreversible.
He stopped finally at the edge of the clearing, where the shadows of the ancient trees swallowed the light from the village fires. He turned then, his back to the safety of the dark forest, facing her.
Bai Yue stood there, chest heaving slightly from the brisk walk, her eyes wide and violet in the moonlight. She looked small. Fragile.
Yet she was the center of the storm that had nearly destroyed the tribe’s sanity today.
Han Shān groaned to himself. He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to scrub away the heat he could feel rising in his cheeks. He hated this. He hated not knowing what to say. He was a warrior. He knew how to kill vultures. He knew how to survive blizzards.
He did not know how to talk to a female who had somehow rewritten the laws of his universe without even trying.
"So," Han Shān started, his voice rough. He cleared his throat, looking at a point somewhere over her left shoulder. "I know that you made Ruì Xuě smile."
Bai Yue blinked, her hands clasping tightly in front of her. "Oh...how?"
"The cubs talk," he said. He looked at her, and then turned his face away, unable to hold the intensity of her gaze. "It was... acceptable."
Acceptable? His internal voice screamed. It was a miracle, you idiot!
He admitted that he.... He struggled with the words. They felt like stones in his throat. "I watched you," he said finally, the words tumbling out before he could stop them. "When the mice came. When the dragon screamed. You did not run."
Bai Yue’s heart raced. He could hear it. His beast senses picked up the rapid thump-thump-thump of her pulse, a rhythm that matched the chaos in his own head. "You what?" she whispered.
Han Shān came closer to her. He hadn’t meant to. His feet moved on their own, drawn by a gravity he didn’t understand. He stopped only when he was close enough to smell the scents of food that still clung to her skin.
"What happened to you?" he asked, his voice dropping to a murmur. "Why are you now like this?"
He went closer, invading her personal space, his height looming over her. "Why does your pulse tremble?" He reached out, his hand hovering near her wrist. "Why do you care for these cubs now? Why do you..." He trailed off. Why do you make me feel like I am melting?
Bai Yue looked up at him, her lips parted slightly, confusion and hope warring in her eyes.
Han Shān stepped back abruptly, putting distance between them as if burned. He groaned, running both hands through his white hair. "They wanted you banished," he blurted out.
Bai Yue froze. "Uh???????? But why!"
"Because you are chaos," Han Shān said flatly, though there was no bite in it. "You have caused a lot of trouble. The monkeys. The dragons. The mice. The elders... they are old. They are tired." He looked at her, his blue eyes fierce. "I told them no."
He took a breath, forcing himself to regain his composure. "We will go just for seven days. We’ll go somewhere else. Me, you, Zhāo Yàn, Yan Shu, and all your children. The two dragons will have to follow us too."
Bai Yue stared at him. "Oh.... I see." It was a mating retreat. A forced vacation. With all her husbands. And the dragons. It sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.
Han Shān turned back to her. The moonlight caught the sharp line of his jaw, the tension in his shoulders. "You are so.... warm," he said softly.
He looked away, blushing. The crimson tint was faint against his pale skin, but it was there. Undeniable.
Bai Yue was very shocked. Her breath caught in her throat. Han Shān? Blushing? Over her? Was the world coming to an end?
He came closer again, drawn back like a moth to a flame. He was looking at her lips. He grunted, a sound of pure frustration, his hands clenching into fists at his sides as if fighting the urge to grab her.
Then, he abruptly walked away. He turned on his heel and strode back toward the village without another word, leaving her standing alone in the shadows.
Bai Yue stood there for a long moment, her hand unconsciously rising to touch her lips. Her mind was a whirlwind. Warm? He thinks I’m warm?
"Well, that was excruciating to watch."
Uh?
The voice didn’t come from the system interface. It didn’t chime with a [DING!]. It didn’t float in her head like a digital notification.
It came from behind her.
Bai Yue spun around, her heart leaping into her throat.
Sitting on a low branch of the iron-wood tree, swinging her legs casually, was a woman. She wore robes that seemed to be woven from starlight and nebulae, shifting colors with every breath she took. Her eyes were not human, they were pools of swirling galaxy dust, infinite and deep.
"Tiān-Mìng?" Bai Yue breathed.
The Goddess hopped down from the branch, landing silently on the grass. She was taller than Bai Yue, radiating a power that made the air hum. She wasn’t a hologram. She was here. Physically here.
"Yep!" the Goddess said, tilting her head. She walked around Bai Yue, inspecting her like a tailor checking a fit. "That’s me! You have a lot of nerve, you know that?"
Bai Yue blinked. "I... I do?"
"Making a Snow Leopard Alpha stutter? Making him blush like a maiden?" Tiān-Mìng chuckled. "I told my brothers you would be entertaining. They didn’t believe me. They said a human soul would crumble under the karma debt."
"I almost did," Bai Yue admitted, her voice shaking slightly. "Several times."
"But you didn’t," Tiān-Mìng said softly.
"Wait," Bai Yue said, stepping forward. "If you’re here.....what was all that stuff? The system? The boxes? The [DING] sounds?"
Tiān-Mìng waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, that. Think of it as a stand-in. A little automated assistant. I am very busy, you know. Weaving fates, managing universes, arguing with my siblings about who gets to control the weather in the Southern Hemisphere. I cannot be popping into every single transmigrator’s head every five minutes to give them a pep talk. Sometimes, you need a little digital nudge. Sometimes," she grinned, "you need a personal visit."
"So the system is just.....your voicemail?" Bai Yue asked, incredulous.
"Essentially," Tiān-Mìng laughed. "But do not worry. The interface is still active for tracking purposes. I just wanted to see the look on your face when Han Shān walked away. Priceless."
Bai Yue groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Please don’t remind me. My heart is still trying to escape my ribcage."
"Good," Tiān-Mìng said, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Keep it there. You will need it beating fast for what comes next."
Bai Yue lowered her hands, suspicion narrowing her eyes. "What comes next? I thought the debt was paid."
"The karma debt is paid," Tiān-Mìng corrected. "But the family debt... that is ongoing. You have reunited the pieces, Bai Yue. Yan Shu is here. Han Shān is here. Zhāo Yàn is here. The cubs are happy. But a family is not just about living in the same village. It is about.....connection."
"Connection?" Bai Yue repeated slowly.
"Intimacy," Tiān-Mìng clarified. You are going on a vacation. A mating retreat. The elders demanded it. The husbands agreed. The dragons are tagging along. It is the perfect opportunity."
Bai Yue felt a cold sweat break out on her neck. "Opportunity for what?"
Tiān-Mìng leaned in close, her galaxy eyes swirling with amusement. "Your next quest is simple. Reunite the family properly. Bond with them. Deeply." She paused for dramatic effect. "Mate with all of them during your vacation."
Bai Yue’s brain short-circuited.
"M-M-Mate?" she stammered, her face exploding into a shade of red that rivaled Zhāo Yàn’s hair. "With all of them? At once? Or... separately? What does that even mean? I... I...!"
"However you see fit," Tiān-Mìng said breezily, stepping back. "Polyamory is quite common in this world, you know. Especially for Rare Females. You have three husbands. And two very interested dragons. Do the math."
"But I..." Bai Yue sputtered, her hands flailing uselessly at her sides. "I just got them to stop trying to kill me! Now you want me to... to... mate with them?!"
"It is the natural progression of your redemption arc," Tiān-Mìng said wisely. "Besides, did you not see how Han Shān looked at your lips? Did you not feel how Zhāo Yàn holds you? And Yan Shu... well, he is a scholar. I am sure he has many theories on the subject he would be eager to test."
"I am going to die," Bai Yue whispered, her knees shaking. "Not from soul rejection. From embarrassment."
"Nonsense," Tiān-Mìng said. "You are resilient. You fought a Hydra. You cooked for a Dragon. You can handle a few handsome beastmen."
"That is not the same thing!" Bai Yue cried out.
Tiān-Mìng began to fade, her form turning into mist and light once more. "I have faith in you, little raccoon. Do not make me come back here to check on your progress. I have a very busy schedule."
"Wait!" Bai Yue lunged forward, but her hand passed through the Goddess’s fading shoulder. "How do I even start?! What if they say no?! What if I say no?! What if—"
"Good luck!" Tiān-Mìng’s voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere.
