Chapter 42: Of Swamp Noodles and Skincare Routines

The climb back up the thick hanging vine was significantly slower than the drop down, mostly because Bai Yue had to stop every few feet to scold the mythical being trailing behind her.

“I still don’t understand,” Bai Yue panted, hauling herself up another foot. “You’re a dragon! The literal apex predator of the skies! You breathe fire! How can you be afraid of a glorified swamp noodle?”

Below her, Cāng Jì paused his climb, clutching his freshly retrieved Lumina-Stone to his chest. Even covered in swamp mist and monkey grime, he managed to lift his chin with absolute, stubborn haughtiness.

“I am not afraid, star-thief,” he huffed, offended. “I have a highly refined, celestial aversion to multi-headed abominations that lack proper hygiene. It is not fear. It is an aesthetic choice.”

“You fainted the first time you heard them roar,” she reminded him flatly.

“I took a tactical, restorative nap! The humidity was ruining my pores!”

Bai Yue just rolled her eyes and hauled herself over the edge of the platform. Cāng Jì scrambled up right behind her, immediately dusting off his robes and trying to restore his majestic posture.

Hóu Wáng, the Monkey King, was waiting for them. He took one look at Bai Yue, perfectly intact and not currently being digested in three separate stomachs, and his jaw unhinged.

“By the Great Spirit,” the old monkey whispered, his eyes wide. “You’re……you’re not dead.”

“Of course I’m not dead!” Bai Yue huffed, swatting a piece of moss off her skirt. “They were just having a tantrum over a toy. Honestly, you would think nobody in this forest knows how to enforce a cosmic time-out.”

“But…..but the Swamp Hydras!” Hóu Xián dropped down from a branch, staring at her like she had grown a second head. “They usually sleep during the day, but when they wake up, they eat anything that moves! We only throw our garbage down there!”

“Well, maybe if you didn’t throw garbage at them, they wouldn’t be so cranky,” Bai Yue scolded, tapping her foot.

Hóu Wáng looked from Bai Yue, to the completely subdued Dragon Prince, to the Lumina-Stone in Cāng Jì’s hand. The Monkey King slowly shook his head, a look of profound, terrified respect crossing his weathered face.

“You are terrifying….. Anyways, the trials are complete,” Hóu Wáng announced, his voice lacking its usual teasing lilt. He bowed slightly to Cāng Jì. “Your debt is settled, Dragon Prince.”

Cāng Jì straightened his shoulders. He looked at the hundreds of monkeys staring at him from the canopy. He opened his mouth, likely to say something incredibly arrogant, but then he caught Bai Yue giving him the ’don’t you dare ruin this’ glare.

The Dragon Prince swallowed hard. “I…..apologize once more for the Sacred Banyan. And…..thank you. For not dropping me into the swamp yourselves.”

It was the most polite sentence he had uttered in three centuries.

Before the silence could stretch, a tiny golden blur darted across the platform. It was the young monkey Cāng Jì had untangled earlier. He stopped right in front of the massive dragon, looking up with wide, shining eyes.

“Thank you again, shiny-dragon!” the little monkey chirped, waving his freshly-freed tail.

Cāng Jì froze. A violent flush of pink exploded across his cheekbones and the tips of his ears. He crossed his arms defensively and looked away, his jaw tight.

“Keep quiet, you tiny, unhygienic rodent,” Cāng Jì muttered, pouting. But he didn’t move away.

Bai Yue looked up at the sky, shielding her eyes from the sun. “Wait… it’s only the afternoon. Are we really done? Just like that?”

“You tamed a hydra and humbled a dragon before snack time,” Hóu Wáng chuckled, regaining some of his bravado. “I think you’ve done enough for one day, little female.”

“See you again, Cāng Jì!” Hóu Xián cackled from the branches. “Feel free to drop by whenever you need your scales buffed!”

Cāng Jì gritted his teeth, the veins in his neck bulging.

Suddenly, a young, muscular monkey dropped down from a vine right next to Bai Yue, flexing his arms. “Delivery service ready for aggressive relocation back to the lowlands! Grab on, shiny-female!”

“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!”

Cāng Jì’s voice boomed like thunder. Before the delivery monkey could even blink, the Dragon Prince stepped forward. “We will go back ourselves.”

In a blinding flash of golden light and heat, Cāng Jì transformed. His massive, serpentine dragon form materialized on the platform, his bronze scales gleaming like the sun. He let out a territorial, chest-rattling roar that made the entire Iron-Wood tree shake.

ROAAAARRRRR!

The monkeys shrieked in unison, scrambling backward up the vines.

“AHHHH! Big scaly lizard! Very angry scaly lizard!” Hóu Xián yelped, hiding behind his grandfather.

Cāng Jì lowered his massive, horned head, his golden eyes fixing on Bai Yue with a huff of smoke that essentially translated to, ’Get on before I change my mind and eat them.’

Bai Yue didn’t hesitate. She scrambled up his side, settling comfortably between his warm, golden horns.

“Byeeeeeeee!” she waved cheerfully to the terrified monkeys.

With a powerful thrust of his back legs and a massive flap of his wings, Cāng Jì launched them into the sky, leaving the Over-Canopy behind.

As they soared over the lush green sea of the beast world, the wind whipping through her hair, Bai Yue let out a long, contented sigh. That was actually… really fun, she thought, leaning against the dragon’s warm scales.

Hello!

The cheerful, utterly annoying chime of the Goddess echoed in her skull.

Don’t get too comfy up there, raccoon! Tiān-Mìng teased. Don’t forget you still have a traumatized snow leopard cub to make smile!

Bai Yue groaned, her head drooping forward to thump against Cāng Jì’s horn. Argh. How many more days do I have?

Ten days! Tick tock, Feral Mama!

Sigh. A hero’s work is truly never done.

The flight was mercifully short. As the familiar clearing of the Thousand Fang Tribe came into view, Cāng Jì banked gracefully, descending toward the center of the village. He landed with surprising care, ensuring Bai Yue wasn’t jolted, before lowering his neck to let her slide down.

The moment her bare feet hit the dirt, a high-pitched shriek shattered the peace.

“MAMAAAAAAAAAA!”

Yòu Lín, the little fox kit, came sprinting across the clearing at a speed that defied physics. He launched himself through the air, and Bai Yue caught him effortlessly, spinning him around in a tight hug.

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