I Abandoned My Beast Cubs for the Protagonist... Oops?-Chapter 65: You Can Not Banish Her!

"She must leave! Tonight! We must send the cursed female away!"

The exhausted voice of Elder Zhao echoed around the massive central fire of the Thousand Fang Tribe.

The women and cubs were tucked safely away in their huts, while the senior warriors and elders had gathered in a tight, highly stressed circle around the flames.

Elder Zhao aggressively pointed a clawed finger toward the direction of Bai Yue’s hut. "So much has gone wrong since she came back to us! Look at the state of our home!"

"I am looking," Zhāo Yàn drawled, lounging on a large, moss-covered log. The Fox Lord had one leg crossed elegantly over the other. "And I see a village that is perfectly fine, save for a few ripped leaves and some bruised egos."

"Bruised egos?!" Elder Zhao barked. He began counting on his gnarled fingers. "First, a horde of thieving, screaming monkeys! Then, a golden dragon falls from the sky and decides to live here! Then, she tries to suffocate us all with weaponized, boiling red water!"

The wolf elder paused to take a deep, wheezing breath. "And now? Now we have a second, even larger, much angrier dragon building a glowing palace on our lawn, AND a stampede of Horned Berserker-Mice! I am too old for this! My heart cannot take it anymore! She must be banished!"

"You shall do no such thing," Zhāo Yàn snapped. His lazy demeanor vanished in an instant. The Fox Lord sat up straight, his eyes darkening in a way that made the surrounding warriors instinctively back away. "If you lay a single claw on my mate, I will personally ensure you never walk again, old man."

Mo Cheng, father of the twins, hastily slithered forward, raising his hands in a placating gesture.

"Elders, please, let us not be hasty," Mo Cheng pleaded, his slit-pupils darting nervously between the furious Fox Lord and the grumpy wolf. "She is chaotic, yes. But she is no longer the cruel female she once was. Need I remind you? She stood her ground and saved our cubs from the giant vultures. She saved my Shé Yì and Shé Èr."

An elderly crane beastman, whose white feathers were completely ruffled with stress, clacked his long beak in sheer exasperation.

"And so?!" the crane elder squawked, throwing his long wings into the air. "She saved two snake kits, 3 panther cubs, one snow leopard cub, and in return, she brought TWO dragons to our doorstep! Two! The most powerful, arrogant, destructive beings in the celestial realm are currently using our village as a bickering ground! Not to talk of the mice! She must leave!"

While the fierce debate raged on, threatening to dissolve into an actual brawl, one person remained silent.

Han Shān sat on a smooth stone opposite the fire. The massive Snow Leopard Alpha had his muscular arms resting on his knees, his broad shoulders hunched forward.

He wasn’t really listening. The shouting of the elders, the purring of the Fox Lord, the exasperated sighs of Mo Xiao, it all faded into a dull, distant buzz.

Han Shān was staring blankly into the dancing orange flames, entirely lost in his own mind.

Earlier, when the squeaking doom had descended upon the clearing? She hadn’t run to save her own skin. She had dropped to her knees in the dirt, turning her fragile body into a physical shield to protect the cubs from the swarm.

Han Shān swallowed hard. A strange heat began to build rapidly in his chest, rising up his thick neck.

A deep, highly visible blush spread across Han Shān’s usually pale, icy cheeks. A tiny, incredibly rare, and somewhat goofy smile tugged at the corner of his stoic lips.

"What is so funny, snow leopard?"

The sharp, accusatory bark of Elder Zhao violently shattered Han Shān’s internal monologue.

Han Shān blinked, his glowing blue eyes snapping into focus. The entire circle of elders and warriors was staring at him. Zhāo Yàn had eyebrow arched, clearly having caught the massive, lovestruck blush on the ice block’s face.

Han Shān instantly dropped his smile, and he stood up, towering over the wolf elder.

"You will not banish her," Han Shān rumbled. "She is the mother of my cub. She stays."

"But Lord Han Shān!" the crane elder protested weakly. "The chaos—!" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"I said," Han Shān ground out, his icy blue eyes darkening, "you won’t banish her. If you force her out of this village....we leave. I will pack my furs, I will take my son, and I will follow her. And you will lose the protection of the Northern Peaks forever."

Zhāo Yàn smirked. "I second that motion. You banish my mate, and the Eastern Hills withdraws its alliance."

Mo Xiao groaned loudly, burying his face in his massive hands. "By the Great Spirit, give me strength."

The Panther Alpha looked at the elders. The elders looked at the two terrifying, fiercely protective husbands. They were a peaceful, moderately sized tribe,but if they lost the backing of two major Beastman Lords, they would be incredibly vulnerable.

But their sanity was also hanging by a very, very thin thread.

Elder Zhao let out a sigh, rubbing his gray temples.

"Fine!" the wolf elder groaned, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Fine! We will not permanently banish her! But we do not want her here right now! We need to sleep! We need a break from the dragons and the explosions!"

The elders looked at each other, engaging in a rapid, silent conversation of nods and desperate glances.

"Take her away," the crane elder proposed, pointing a feathered wing at Zhāo Yàn and Han Shān. "Just take her and go somewhere else! For seven days. Or fourteen! Take her on a mating retreat! Take her hunting! Go forage in the deep valleys! We do not care what you do, just take the cursed female and leave the village for a week!"

"Yes!" Another snake beastman agreed eagerly. "Let the dragons get bored and leave! Let the mice settle down! Then you can come back!"

Zhāo Yàn’s ears flattened against his head. He gritted his teeth, visibly annoyed.

She had just kissed him, claiming him again. He wanted to take her back to his soft, comfortable, fur-lined hut. He wanted to spend the next week slowly seducing the blushing emale in the comfort of a warm bed. He did not want to drag her out into the humid, mosquito-infested wilderness for a mandatory, village-enforced camping trip!

"Tsk," Zhāo Yàn hissed, his tails lashing angrily behind him. "You dare order a Lord of the Eastern Hills to sleep in the dirt like a common rogue?"

"It is for the good of the tribe, Fox," Mo Cheng grunted, actually siding with the elders on this one. "Just take her to the hot springs. Take the red panda scholar too, since they are apparently having a reunion right now. Just.....give us a week of peace."

"I refuse!" Zhāo Yàn snapped.

"WHO WANTS TO DARE BANISH BAI YUE?!"

Everyone jumped, spinning around.

Standing there, covered in soot, with his expensive golden robes still slightly chewed at the hem by the mice, was Cāng Jì. The Dragon Prince looked pissed.

He marched into the circle of elders, completely ignoring their terrified flinching. He pointed an accusatory finger directly at Elder Zhao’s nose.

"You primitive, flea-ridden dogs want to send her away?!" Cāng Jì shrieked. Are you out of your tiny, mud-filled minds?!"

"Prince Cāng Jì," Mo Cheng tried to placate him. "It is just a temporary measure to—"

"I don’t care if it’s temporary!" Cāng Jì yelled. "If you banish Bai Yue, who is going to cook for my sister?! Do you honestly expect my sister to go back to eating raw, unseasoned river fish?! Do you want her to starve to death in this miserable ecosystem?!"

"If she goes on this ridiculous fourteen-day camping trip," the Dragon Prince declared, crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest, "I am coming with her! And I am bringing my bowls!"