Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
Qinglong (Azure Dragron)
…
Bai Buer disagreed.
"What if Baobao is inside? We're going to study in Heilong City!"
The others quickly chimed in excitedly.
The elder kept his head down, eating pineapple at the front, ignoring the rowdy teens behind him.
After finishing the pineapple, everyone got back into the car. The driver who came to pick them up showed no reaction at all.
The boys chattered noisily about wanting to attend school in Heilong City. The elder simply crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and held his breath—pretending not to hear a thing.
Bai Yan looked at the tall buildings ahead. Soon, he would see the young master again. He wondered if the young master was still afraid of the dark if he had been eating well.
There were no cubs in Heilong City competing with the young master for food, so surely he'd be eating well, right?
Baobao was currently playing a game in the study with his daddy.
The little dragon was sprawled across the desk, his tail dangling and occasionally swaying.
To Baobao, that tail was like a toy, and he pounced back and forth along with his father's movements.
Initially, the little dragon had no interest in Baobao. But seeing how adorably dumb he looked—and remembering the grievances he'd suffered—he started to tease Baobao on purpose, flicking his tail just enough to give the illusion that Baobao could catch it if he just pounced one more time.
Yin Jixue occasionally stole a glance at them. This is just too cute!
If the Black Dragon Mouth Amusement Park had opened already and she could harvest some belief energy, she would've switched to a device that could take pictures.
The Image Stone was too conspicuous. The moment she took it out, Lou Zhao would get embarrassed and angry.
From outside the study came the sound of car brakes—it must be Baobao's clansmen arriving.
Sure enough, a guard came to report.
"Your subordinates have brought the guests to the front hall."
The front hall used to be Lou Zhao's Foreign Affairs Office. If not for the maids occasionally cleaning it, it would have collected layers of dust by now.
Yin Jixue stood and adjusted her clothes.
"Baobao's clan is here. I'll bring him to meet them. Are you coming?"
Lou Zhao considered it. He was currently wearing a fluffy white outfit—could he maybe become Yin Jixue's scarf?
Yin Jixue rejected the idea.
"The sun's nice today, I don't need a scarf."
Lou Zhao shrank himself down again and turned into a bracelet for her wrist.
In truth, the weather wasn't the main reason. Just the thought of Lou Zhao breathing near her neck made her feel ticklish.
Holding Baobao with one arm, Yin Jixue got into the car and soon arrived at the front hall.
Bai Yan was the first to spot Yin Jixue getting out of the car. He stood up immediately.
The elder followed suit, and the teens fell silent. The table was now covered in fruit peels.
"It's Little Brother! He's in the Demon Queen's arms!"
Bai Buer rushed forward.
"Baobao, do you still remember me? I'm your big brother!"
Yin Jixue had expected to see a group of furry creatures, but instead, it was a bunch of not-yet-adult boys.
Baobao turned his back on Bai Buer, facing him with his little butt.
Bai Buer got excited: "Baobao understands me!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Elder! Baobao can understand me!"
The elder wasn't hopeful. In their tribe, Baobao had always been more of a mascot.
He'd never really responded when people spoke to him. If he hadn't perked up at the sound of mealtime, they might've thought he was deaf.
Later, they discovered he was born with some deficiencies—he wasn't ignoring them on purpose; he just didn't understand what was being said.
After long training, he finally learned basic commands, like how to sit and stay still.
If Yin Jixue knew how they trained Baobao, she'd have something to say.
The elder walked up to Baobao. His fur looked noticeably smoother now.
In the Winged Tiger Tribe, Baobao had a coarse, dull coat from a life of eat-sleep-repeat. Even when his brothers took turns grooming him, it didn't help.
But now, not long after arriving in Heilong City, Baobao's coat looked like it had been nourished with high-quality food every day.
The elder was deeply grateful.
"Thank you, Demon Queen, for taking care of the White Tiger bloodline of our Winged Tiger Clan—our little prince, Baobao."
Yin Jixue hadn't expected the little tiger's name to be this cute.
She tapped his head. "So he's called Baobao? No wonder he's such a foodie."
The little tiger let out a soft, babyish roar as if protesting the accusation.
Bai Buer was amazed: "Wow! Little Brother can roar now!"
The elder was equally surprised.
"Little Prince! Little Prince!"
Baobao turned his head to look at the elder with a puzzled expression.
Though the scent of these people felt warm and familiar, he still preferred the comfort of his mommy's arms.
The elder looked at Yin Jixue. "Can he understand what we're saying?"
Yin Jixue found the question strange.
"Isn't he your little prince? Don't you know?"
The elder had no choice but to explain Baobao's condition back in the Winged Tiger Tribe.
Yin Jixue instinctively hugged Baobao tighter and couldn't help but defend him.
"Here, Baobao is well-behaved and sensible. He's not nearly as dumb as you make him sound."
The elder could tell that the Demon Queen genuinely cared for Baobao and was moved by it.
"Regardless, we truly appreciate you caring for him. But… we've come to take him home."
Bai Yan stood quietly beside him, restraining his emotions. He had finally seen the young master again—and the young master hadn't lost weight, and his fur looked even better.
Yin Jixue was reluctant, but these were Baobao's family. She had no right to keep him.
She lifted the little tiger to eye level. He blinked his big, round, innocent eyes at her, confused—Mommy, what's wrong?
She fought back the ache in her chest. After raising him for so long, she'd developed a deep bond.
But in the end, he was someone else's child. He should grow up with his real parents.
Reluctantly, she handed Baobao to the elder.
"Next time, don't let him sneak off again. It's dangerous out there."
Baobao didn't understand why his mommy was handing him over to someone else.
He struggled desperately in the elder's arms. The elder held on tightly.
"Baobao, come home with us."
Baobao let out a series of anxious roars.
He didn't want to go home. This was his home. This was where his mommy was. He wanted to stay with her.
Bai Buer quickly stepped forward. "Baobao, I'm your brother! Don't tell me you forgot me too?"
Baobao ignored him, still squirming in the elder's grip, trying to escape.
Seeing his mommy about to leave, Baobao panicked and suddenly transformed into his adult form. The elder wasn't prepared and was knocked over onto his butt. Bai Buer was quickly pulled out of harm's way by Bai Yan.
Everyone froze in shock.
Someone finally spoke up: "How is Baobao able to get this big?!"
The elder jumped up from the floor immediately.
Lou Zhao was still trying to comfort Yin Jixue. "It's just a dumb tiger. If you like him, just take him back."
He didn't dislike the dumb tiger—after all, who'd argue with a fool?
"Forget it. He's someone else's child. He should grow up with his family."
Lou Zhao figured the Tiger King wouldn't bother to care for every cub—especially not a dumb one.
"So what? Staying in Heilong City is a blessing for that dumb tiger."
Yin Jixue pinched the little dragon's mouth. "Stop it. You're making me want to be the bad guy."
Wuwuwu, her baby...
Baobao, now in his adult form, ran swiftly.
With a powerful leap from the ground, he soared through the air. Just as he was about to land, his massive body shrank into the size of a kitten, and launched himself into Yin Jixue's arms.
Yin Jixue, who had just finished stealing her emotions and was preparing to let him go:
A tiny tiger suddenly fell out of the sky and landed in her arms.