Chapter 22

Chapter 22

While they dealt with the confusion of kindergarten, unconsciously, two months passed.

If Ji Bei hadn’t suddenly called, Bai Huo would’ve almost forgotten his reason for sending the little dragon cub to the kindergarten.

“There’s an update,” Ji Bei saidbriefly, “After tempting the criminal gang for so long, they’ve finally madesome new moves.”

Bai Huo was leaning over his son to cleanhis ears, lazily asking: “What do you need me to do?”

As soon as he spoke, the little dragon cubfelt itchy, he pulled his head back and curled up his tail.

“Don’t hide.” Bai Huo grabbed hisfurry dragon horns.

The little dragon cub obediently laid back downon Bai Huo’s legs.

Bai Huo was a level-10 klutz, but he wasvery careful when cleaning the cub’s ears and cutting his nails. Sitting in abeam of sunshine, his earnest and careful look even revealed a littletenderness. The fat bird trembled in fear at the sound of the nail clipper. Hedidn’t want to trim his claws, so he fluttered his wings, escaping to go chaseafter the Hwamei girl.

“You don’t need to do anything, justkeep doing what you’re doing. Go to school, go home, then go to school again, businessas usual. Make sure your child wears all the trackers and alarms I gave you.”

Bai Huo glanced at the trackers on top ofthe cabinet, which now had a few layers of dust, and gave a vague response.

“Just put them on. You should also paymore attention to your surroundings. If you notice something, don’t act withoutpermission. Report to us right away.” Ji Bei warned, “This time we can’tafford to mess up.”

The two agreed on the plan. Bai Huo hung upthe phone, finally coming out of his daze. The little dragon cub had noticedthat he wasn’t paying attention and had quickly slipped away, hiding behind therefrigerator.

“Li Lin Xi.” Bai Huo called him.

The little dragon cub stayed silent, pretendingthat he didn’t exist.

Bai Huo chuckled when he saw the tail pokingout from behind the refrigerator: “Hey, your tail is exposed.”

The little dragon cub quickly pulled in histail.

“What happened?” Bai Huo walkedover with a smile, pulling him out. “You really hate cutting your nails, huh?”

The little dragon cub was suspended in the air, he didn’t respond, his horns drooping, his four plump claws stubbornly curling up in resistance. After entering the soft scale stage, the little dragon cub’s feathers began growing out. Now, the previously bald places had sprouted short and thin feathers, deeper than the previous smoky gray fur, almost blue-black, and there was a patch of white feathers in between the brows and on the tip of the tail. From head to tail, a perfect combination of majesty and cuteness.

Most dragons were pure in color during the softscale stage, only a few would grow feathers of different colors on their earsor tail, with a probability similar to that of dimples on a human.

After their time together, Bai Huo found thatthe little dragon cub was very obedient most of the time, except when it wastime to clean his ears or cut his nails, similar to how human children didn’tlike to eat rice and cut their hair, every time, he needed to be coaxed.

Cleaning his ears was relatively easy, thelittle dragon cub usually just stiffened up and his ears reddened, but when it’stime to cut his nails, all hell breaks loose. When Bai Huo picked up the nailclipper, the little dragon cub would quickly run away, and when Bai Huo calledhim, his life-less eyes were filled with the words “If you keep forcing me,I’ll run into the kitchen to stew myself in the big iron pot“.

“It’s been so long since you’ve cutyour nails, what if you accidentally scratch myself?” Bai Huo scolded. He liftedhis two slender legs and folded them into a diamond, trapping the little dragoncub in the middle, then he brandished the hateful nail clipper and ordered,“Show me your claws!”

The little dragon cub raised his paw grudgingly.

As the saying goes, unfamiliar at first,but well accustomed soon enough, Bai Huo had slowly gained experience in nailcutting, so it took him less than ten minutes to clean the cub’s nails. Aftercutting, he inspected the claws and blew away any dust, then released the cub,satisfied: “Okay, you can go play now.”

The little dragon cub looked down at hisbare paws, then he ran to a corner of the balcony and silently squatted, similarto a depressed shaved cat.

Bai Huo felt both helpless and amused.

At dinner, the little dragon cub hadfinally accepted the fact that he was a bald-clawed dragon, and turned backinto his human shape, sitting dejectedly at the table as he picked his rice.

Bai Huo coaxed him for a while, but nothingchanged, so he had no choice but to ask Shan Hu for advice.

“Hey, I need to ask yousomething.” Bai Huo crossed his legs, carelessly speaking. “Do allchildren hate cleaning their ears and cutting their nails, or is my sonspecial?”

“Cleaning ears? Cutting nails?” ShanHu almost spit out saliva. “What nonsense are you asking? He’s a dragon, adragon ah!”

“What does any of that have to do withbeing a dragon?” Bai Huo was puzzled.

“Haven’t you learned dragon anatomybefore?”

“I never got to finish my lessons, youknow that. The old lady thought I was unlucky, so she kicked me out whenevershe saw me.” Bai Huo innocently explained.

Of course, later on, Bai Huo stopped tryingto appear in front of her. Whenever she was giving a lecture, he just ran offto screw around.

Shan Hu face palmed, but she had no choicebut to explain: “A dragon’s scales is their armor, with it, their outerbody is almost invulnerable. The only weak points are the tongue, ears, eyes, andthe soles of their feet. Therefore, dragons are extremely sensitive at these areas,even as cubs. Cleaning the child’s ears is basically tickling his weakness, howcan he feel comfortable? And the nails, dragon cubs don’t have fully developedwings yet, they can only rely on their claws to maintain balance, if you cuthis nails, how else is he going to catch fish and climb trees? How can he be happy?!“

Bai Huo suddenly had an epiphany: “Oh… so that’s how it is.”

Then he immediately gave his son a guiltilylook: “I’ve cut his nails several times.”

Shan Hu choked, then sighed, “Your sonis too obedient. If he was a troublemaker, you would’ve definitely been clawedalready.”

Bai Huo heartily agreed with her.

When he’d first cut the cub’s nails, histechnique wasn’t as good as now. He’d even accidentally drawn blood during thefirst cut. The little cub had only pulled away his claws at that time. After BaiHuo urgently transferred the wound, the child had obediently let him continuecutting him. Of course, after the dragon cub realized that he couldn’t climbtrees without his nails, he started running away during nail cutting time.

“But …” Shan Hu turned thetopic back. “Managing the claws is the first step towards civilization. Ifyou want to keep cutting it, then cut it. The current method of survival isdifferent from our childhood. Cultivating these human habits early might not bea bad thing, just don’t cut them too short, leave some length for him to play.”

With that said, Shan Hu once again stronglyrecommended the “Dragon Parenting Manual”, Bai Huo ‘yeah yeah’-ed andruthlessly hung up the phone.

In the past two months, not only had thedragon cub’s feathers grown out significantly, even his teeth had sharpened. Inthe middle of the night, he’ll unconsciously grind his teeth in his sleep, thesound resembled a dog gnawing a bone. Bai Huo folded his hands behind his head,not able to catch any sleep because of the noise. The next day, he went to the forestrystation bright and early, picked out the thickest and oldest tree, and started chopping.Then he shaved it down and threw it to the little dragon cub to nibble on.

“Fortunately, I took you out of thedormitory.” Bai Huo gave the little dragon cub his backpack and carriedhim to school, his complexion especially pale because of lack of sleep. “Youwould’ve frightened your teachers and classmates to death with that bitestrength.”

The little dragon cub didn’t know what he didlast night, blinking in doubt at the big wooden bone.

“Wear this, don’t take it off.” BaiHuo hung the tracker on the little dragon cub’s schoolbag. The tracker was akey ring of a Minion, it didn’t look obtrusive. “OK, go to school.”

After the little dragon cub’s perceptionrange grew wider, Bai Huo no longer needed to squat in front of the school gateall day while the childcare workers glared at him. Instead, he ran to the mahjongparlor near the school to carry out his poverty alleviation duties, then pickedup his son after school.

This made the little dragon cub feelbitter. Before, he could see his Dad for a bit during the lunch break, now he hadto leave school to see him. The little dragon cub was very unhappy about this,until today, when another child stole his snacks, and the two had a dispute,leading to their parents being called in.

Bai Huo rushed over from the mahjong parlor,dreading that his son would bite someone else’s child. When he entered the room,he saw the two children sitting properly, and the other parent standing to the sidewith a fuming expression. At this, he sighed in relief, his paper white face finallyregaining some color.

“Beautiful teacher, I’m really sorry that my son has caused you trouble.” Bai Huo ignored the other parent, smiling as he reached for the homeroom teacher’s hand.

The homeroom teacher was very embarrassed by his title of “senior beauty”: “Oh no, Little Lin Xi is still very well-behaved, it’s just …”

The homeroom teacher glanced at the other parent’s face, struggling to find wording that would be acceptable to both sides: “It’s just that his temper is a little cold and a bit domineering, nothing more.”

“It’s all my fault.” Bai Huocovered his face with one hand, slapping his chest with the other, deeply apologetic.“You know about his mother leaving early. I’ve been raising him alone,there will inevitably be some unsatisfactory areas. Since you called me in, hemust be responsible for this incident. I’ll severely punish him as soonas we get home. “

After speaking, Bai Huo walked over to pick up the little dragon cub. The homeroom teacher was shocked, hurriedly stepping forward to stop him: “No, no, listen to me, please don’t be rough, the child is still young …”

“No, no, you listen to me, it’s betterto be unborn than untaught. Hit someone at school today, murder someone in societytomorrow. If I don’t strictly discipline him now, then when? Please step aside….“

The homeroom teacher’s lines were all snatched away, choking, she said roughly, “No, that’s not it! Don’t move!”

Bai Huo hugged his son, quickly checking himfor any wounds. He turned his head at those words, pushing up his glasses with hisforefinger.

The homeroom teacher collapsed: “Bring the two children home, they’re both tired out. Rest for a day, and let them calm down. I’ll help them shake hands and make peace tomorrow.”

This was the kindergarten’s usual method ofhandling things. The parent of the other party was obviously still angry andwanted to argue, but Bai Huo interrupted them, generously expressing hisunderstanding and willingness to fully cooperate with the school’s education.

Bai Huo was being so reasonable that it wouldbe awkward for the other parent to be too demanding, without a better choice,they had to grit their teeth and carry away their crying child.

When the two left the school, Bai Huopatted the little dragon cub’s back, smiling, “Were you scared? Dad won’t punishyou, don’t be scared.”

The little dragon cub hugged him, sayingmelancholily, “I didn’t bite him.”

“Yeah, Dad knows that you’re veryobedient.” Bai Huo caressed his son’s head, adding in his heart, if you hadbit him, would that child even be alive to cry.

Bai Huo understood his child’s temperament,he knew that his personality was very aloof, and that it was entirely beneathhis dignity to randomly provoke others. He even had enough self-control to nothit back when offended. Bai Huo thought of this, and his heart crumbled, askingsoftly, “Did he bully you?”

The little dragon cub shook his head,saying that he didn’t care. After a moment, he took out a package of driedsquid from his schoolbag and handed it to Bai Huo: “For you.”

Bai Huo took it, very surprised: “Forme?”

Bai Huo pondered over the package, combining it with the complaint the homeroom teacher had given over the phone, finally understanding.

The kindergarten usually gave the children afternoonsnacks, and today happened to be the little dragon cub’s favorite dried squid.The child sitting next to him also likes it. After eating his share, when hesaw that the little dragon cub hadn’t touched his, he tried to exchange histoys for the cub’s snacks. Of course, the little dragon cub didn’t accept, infact, he completely ignored him. The other child couldn’t exchange it, and he alsocouldn’t steal it, so he cried loudly, attracting the teachers and parents’attention.

It goes without saying that this incident wasn’ta big deal, but unfortunately, the other child’s father was quite aninfluential government official. The school didn’t dare insult him, so they hadno choice but to call in Bai Huo.

Bai Huo had lived a long time. After witnessingthe world’s endless cycle of life and death, he would always be more mercifulto human beings, whose life spans and abilities were inferior to his. So, hewouldn’t hold a grudge over this matter, he only needed to care about his son.

“You like dried squid that much?”Bai Huo smiled and coaxed him.

The little dragon cub wrapped his hands aroundBai Huo’s neck, saying coldly, “Mine is mine, can’t touch it.”

Bai Huo was originally worried that thisevent would hurt the little dragon cub’s feelings, but later, he found that hewas completely overthinking it. Instead of being negatively affected, thelittle cub discovered a new equation called “Parents called in = I can seemy father”, and began acting like a little demon.

The previously well-behaved child, who had never been mischievous, suddenly went to great lengths to cause trouble, the homeroom teacher bore the brunt of the suffering, and soon collapsed.

“Li Lin Xi’s Papa, Little Lin Xi toreup all his workbooks, please come in.”

“Li Lin Xi’s Papa, Little Lin Xislipped out during lunch break to climb a tree, please come in.”

“Li Lin Xi’s Papa, please come in…”

Bai Huo didn’t get annoyed by this; he justpatiently ran to the school.

The homeroom teacher had worked in preschool education for many years, she flaunted herself as being extremely patient, but after meeting Bai Huo, she had no choice but to concede defeat. These past few days, she was simply miserable, and she was already looking forward to summer vacation.

Just as the battle between the two partieswas getting intense, the dragon cub suddenly quieted down again, and made nomovements for two or three days. While sitting at the mahjong table, Bai Huo broodedover his peaceful cell phone, quite confused.

In the end, Bai Huo couldn’t sit still. He leftthe mahjong table early and ran to the school without being summoned. The sentrieshad seen him come in every day for the past few days, so they just let him inwithout question. Bai Huo followed the child’s breath to find the activity room.He saw the other children digging in the sand pits in little groups, only thelittle dragon cub was playing alone. Without a second thought, he rolled up hissleeves and jumped into the sand pit to help his son mold the sand.

The little dragon cub seemed to have been verylost in his thoughts, he didn’t even sense Bai Huo’s approach. When he lookedup and saw him, his eyes instantly lit up, but a short while later, his expressionturned heavy again.

“You didn’t miss me today?” BaiHuo smiled and playfully sprinkled some sand at him.

The little dragon cub lowered his head anddug into the sand: “Missed you.”

“So why are you so obedienttoday?” Bai Huo asked again.

The little dragon cub gave him acomplicated look, then suddenly asked, “What is un-adopted?”

Un-adopted?

Bai Huo was baffled, after inquiring from akindergarten teacher, he found out that one of the little dragon cub’sclassmates was pulled out of school two days ago. The reason being, the child hadbeen adopted, but a few months later, the adoptive parents gave birth to twins.After numerous discussions, the family un-adopted the child and returned them tothe welfare agency.

Children might look like they didn’tunderstand, but in fact, they were very sensitive to these matters. The littledragon cub must have heard some gossip.

“Will you not want me?” Thelittle dragon cub’s eyes were deep.

In the child’s rapidly expanding smallworld, he realized that he could be abandoned. Bai Huo looked at the fear onhis face that he was desperately trying to hide, and his heart broke.

“I’ll never abandon you.” Bai Huoput away his natural carefree expression, saying sincerely.

The little dragon cub looked at him for along time, seemingly trying to confirm the truth of this sentence.

“Come.” Bai Huo patted the sand offhis hands, and half-kneeled, picking up the little dragon cub’s hand. He placedhis palm on the child’s smaller palm and said, “This might sting a bit.”

The little dragon cub stared in a daze as BaiHuo put their palms together and turned his hand in a strange circle, then thecub felt a slight tingling spread out from his palm.

“Done.” Bai Huo said and held uphis little hand.

The little dragon cub stared at his palm,there was a crescent-shaped bloody scar, which sank into the skin only a momentlater.

“What is it?” The little dragoncub asked curiously.

“A divine bone contract.” Bai Huosmiled, casually sucking away the scar on the little dragon’s hand with the WoundTransferal spell.

“No matter where I am in the future, youcan always sense my position.” Bai Huo rubbed the little dragon cub’s headand chuckled. “Now you won’t be afraid that I’ll abandon you, right? Littlecub, you also can’t run away later, when you grow up, you have to obedientlytake care of your elderly Dad.”

The little dragon cub shook his palm, thenthrew himself into Bai Huo’s arms, refusing to let go for a long time.

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T/N:

stew myself in the big iron pot- it’s some kind of meme in China to take pictures when your cat voluntarilyputs themselves into cooking pots. Thought I should share.

screw around- the same ‘digging bird nests’ sentence pops up. Since they both haveto do with skipping school, I’m sticking to my interpretation. Unless there’san epidemic of children terrorizing birds in China.

severely punish- Bai Huo actually says that he’s going to ‘beat him up’, 3 times inhis little act. I didn’t want to trigger anyone’s childhood trauma so Ire-worded it.

un-adopted- 弃养, better translation is just plain old abandoned, butit looks like something you can legally do to adopted pets and humans (d!ckmove btw), plus, it doesn’t make sense for LLX to not know the word abandoned.