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)
…
Upon realizing his misunderstanding, the elder's face flushed red with embarrassment.
"You all have your fur—why do you still need to buy this kind of thing?!"
He sounded like an old-fashioned, rigid parent, unable to accept his children dressing nicely.
The boys were confused.
"But we're wearing these in human form. We can't just go around naked, can we?"
The elder flung his sleeves and turned away.
"Whatever! I don't like them. Hurry up and take them off!"
The boys reluctantly changed back into their original clothes.
Right across the shop was a boutique for beast-form clothing, and its advertisement featured none other than Baobao.
The moment they spotted it, the previously sulking boys erupted in excitement.
"Elder! That's Baobao on the poster! We have to check out that store!"
Before the elder could object, the boys had already dashed over.
The shop, though not officially called a pet store, specialized in clothing for cubs. Its hottest item? The Baobao Signature Line.
"I want this one! If Baobao can wear it, surely we can too!"
The elder had no excuse to refuse—at least these were worn in beast form, and they weren't covered in synthetic fur. Barely acceptable, he thought.
The top floor of Black Dragon Tower was a rotating buffet restaurant, offering both barbecue and hotpot.
The entire rooftop was dedicated to this buffet. There were two full rows of just fruit—proof of how abundant the offerings were.
The restaurant hadn't officially opened to the public yet. At the moment, it was reserved exclusively for the Demon King and Queen, who were there on a date.
Oh, and of course, two little light bulbs—plus one light bulb's bodyguard.
Still, both cubs were in beast form and being looked after by Bai Yan, seated on the opposite side of the rotating floor. Even with the rotation, they wouldn't cross paths.
Baobao was perfectly content. As long as he was in the same space as his mommy and could smell her scent, he was happy.
Bai Buer was busy gorging himself. Dressed in a matching outfit with his brother, he only had to wave a paw to command Bai Yan—no need to move a muscle for food.
Meanwhile, at the couple's table, there were no third wheels—just Yin Jixue and Lou Zhao, sitting face to face. The table was set with a not-quite-authentic Western meal, but it was close enough.
To be honest, whether it was Western or Chinese didn't matter—Lou Zhao's eyes were locked on the immortal brew, drooling.
Yin Jixue tapped the table. "So? Which looks better—me, or the wine?"
Lou Zhao didn't even look up. He answered instantly:
"The wine."
Yin Jixue thought she'd misheard. She leaned her cheek on one hand, smiling sweetly.
"What was that?"
Lou Zhao, face full of innocence like he hadn't said a thing, replied smoothly, "Of course, my queen is the most beautiful."
Yin Jixue blinked at him playfully. "Then what if I drink the whole bottle myself? You wouldn't be mad, right… darling?"
Lou Zhao clenched his jaw and forced himself to look away from the wine. "Go ahead. Just… drink it quickly. Don't let me see."
Yin Jixue, of course, did the opposite.
She poured just a thin layer into her wine glass and began to swirl it gently, letting the scent drift across the table right under Lou Zhao's nose.
To her, the immortal brew was like fancy mineral water. But to Lou Zhao, it was practically magical.
Or rather, immortal brew to demons was like catnip to cats.
He snuck a glance at her, then instinctively swallowed.
Why hadn't she drunk it yet?
If he were in his beast form, he would've dived into the bottle for a bath.
Yin Jixue swirled the glass as if shaking loose some sediment. Finally, she took a sip.
Even just a shallow pour, she could taste a light sweetness, with a mysterious freshness… but overall, it was just watery to her.
Before she could set the glass down, Lou Zhao suddenly slid over beside her, grabbed her chin—and kissed her.
Yin Jixue barely managed to place the glass on the table before throwing her arms around his neck to respond.
She felt like Lou Zhao was about to devour her whole. This was their first kiss that had been this aggressive—she nearly ran out of breath a few times. She had to bite his lip to get him to stop.
Panting against his chest, she gasped, "You're like a dog!"
Her lips stung. He had bitten her.
"You're too delicious. I couldn't help it."
Yin Jixue thought Good thing I drank that wine or someone might think you're trying to do something unholy right here.
Still, the fact that the wine seemed more tempting than her had her tugging on his cheek. "Go marry your wine, why don't you!"
Wait, was that an option?
That was Lou Zhao's first reaction.
Then he realized she might be mad—and promptly kissed her again.
This time, it was much gentler. Slowly, Yin Jixue calmed down.
Fine… she thought. He's too good-looking. I guess I win either way.
"If you want the rest, go ahead. It'll be another half month before the next batch is ready."
Lou Zhao believed in seizing the day. That wine would be safest in his belly.
Though it wouldn't make him drunk, he did become giddy—sitting by her side, grinning like a fool.
"Wife, now that we've drunk together, let's go to the bridal chamber!"
Yin Jixue blushed and shoved him. "It's broad daylight and we're still in public! What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Lou Zhao clung tightly to her waist, body radiating heat. "I don't care. I want to consummate our marriage now."
Completely exasperated, Yin Jixue sighed. Great. He's wine-drunk… and brainless.
She pinched his mouth, making it look like a duck bill.
"Focus. Scientifically speaking, no one consummates anything while drunk. You pass out as soon as you hit the bed."
Lou Zhao didn't hear a word. He just buried his head against her neck, nuzzling nonstop.
Yin Jixue squirmed—too ticklish to endure, but too fond of him to push away. So annoying!
Baobao and Bai Buer were sprawled out in their chairs, bellies round and content. Even their hiccups smelled like milk tea.
Baobao had grown smarter and could shift forms now—but he still couldn't speak or take human form. He could only communicate with Bai Buer and Bai Yan.
"I smell the elder," said Bai Buer.
Bai Yan had sensed it long ago but had been too busy serving their meals to mention it.
Bai Buer suggested, "Why don't we go find him? Walking off the food would help us digest."
Bai Yan glanced in the direction of the Demon King.
Bai Buer leaped down. "Ignore him! He probably wants us to leave."
So Bai Yan took the two cubs downstairs to look for the elder.
The other boys were still refusing to leave. They insisted on buying those fluffy onesies and were even camping out at the store entrance.
A crowd of merchants had gathered to watch the drama. The elder was utterly humiliated.
But he still refused to let the young princes wear animal onesies made from the synthetic fur of other creatures.
To be fair, these onesies were well-designed—matching tops and bottoms with animal ears and tails.
But the boys all favored the full-body animal suits, and to the elder, it felt like they'd forgotten their noble status.
"Elder!"
The elder heard Bai Buer's voice.
"What's with the crowd?" asked Bai Buer, waddling over, belly dragging like a furry dumpling.
The boys immediately complained to him about how the elder was bullying them.
"Come on, Elder—it's just a few outfits. Why won't you buy them? Are you out of money?"
Bam. Bam. Bam.
Three stabbing lines right to the elder's heart.
He clutched his chest. So many demons watching—how could he let anyone think he was broke?