I Abandoned My Beast Cubs for the Protagonist... Oops?

Chapter 146: The River Snapper Ambush

Down by the bank, Miao Miao had wandered away from Tao Zi’s rock. She was balancing precariously on a slippery, moss-covered log that jutted out over a patch of deep, bubbling brown mud.

"Tao Zi, look!" Miao Miao pointed excitedly toward a massive, glowing pink water-lily blooming in the center of the muck. "Mama loves those! I’m going to pick it for her!"

"Don’t," Tao Zi said, his voice raspy from disuse. He finally stood up, his eyes narrowing. "The mud is bubbling. That’s not natural gas."

But Miao Miao was already leaning forward, her arm outstretched, her fingertips just inches from the glowing petals.

Suddenly, the mud beneath the lily exploded.

It wasn’t a legend or a myth, but to a group of young cubs, it was a waking nightmare. A massive River-Snapper, a prehistoric, armor-plated turtle the size of a large boulder, erupted from the muck. Its shell was covered in spikes and rotting algae, and its jaws, capable of snapping a thick branch in half like a twig, unhinged with a terrifying, wet HISSSSS.

"MIAO MIAO!" Tao Zi yelled.

The jaguar cub didn’t hesitate. He lunged forward to grab her, but his bare feet hit a patch of slick wet moss. Tao Zi’s legs went out from under him, and he hit the bank hard, sliding helplessly down the mud toward the Snapper’s snapping jaws.

Miao Miao shrieked, stumbling backward on the log, her arms flailing. She was completely cornered between the deep water and the terrifying, advancing monster.

The River-Snapper lunged, its massive jaws snapping shut just inches from the hem of Miao Miao’s tunic.

In the bushes, Ruì Xuě’s brain went entirely blank.

With a roar that surprised even himself, Ruì Xuě leaped.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Ruì Xuě flew through the air, a blur of brilliant white fur against the dark green canopy. He landed squarely on the muddy log, placing himself directly between the terrifying River-Snapper and Miao Miao.

The Snapper hissed, rearing its ugly, algae-covered head back to strike at this new, fluffy intruder.

Ruì Xuě didn’t run. He channeled every single ounce of his Alpha Snow Leopard lineage. He remembered the way his father, Han Shān, commanded the winter. He took a deep breath, his purple eyes blazing.

He stomped his front paws onto the wet mud.

CRACK-CRACKLE-SNAP.

A sudden, intense wave of freezing energy erupted from Ruì Xuě’s paws. It wasn’t a massive glacier, he was still just a cub, but it was a concentrated, blindingly cold flash of frost.

The shallow mud beneath the Snapper instantly froze solid, encasing the monster’s front claws and lower jaw in a thick block of dirty ice.

The Snapper let out a confused, garbled croak, its mouth frozen half-open.

Ruì Xuě didn’t stop there. He snatched a thick, heavy piece of driftwood from the bank, raised it above his head like a club, and brought it down directly on the Snapper’s sensitive, scaly nose.

THWACK!

"BACK TO THE MUD!" Ruì Xuě roared, looking feral. "DO NOT TOUCH MY HER!"

The River-Snapper, finding itself frozen, whacked on the nose, and yelled at by a very angry snowball, decided this was entirely too much effort for a snack. It violently wrenched itself backward, shattering the thin ice, and scrambled back into the deep, murky water, disappearing with a massive splash.

Silence descended on the riverbank.

Ruì Xuě stood there, his chest heaving, his hands still tightly gripping the driftwood. He was covered in mud. His pristine white fur was ruined. He was shaking from the adrenaline.

Slowly, he turned around.

Miao Miao was sitting on the log, her amber eyes wide as saucers.

Down on the bank, Tao Zi had managed to sit up. The jaguar cub wiped a streak of mud off his cheek. He looked at the retreating ripples in the water, then looked up at Ruì Xuě.

For the first time since he had arrived in Thousand Fang, Tao Zi didn’t look guarded or edgy. He looked genuinely impressed. Slowly, the jaguar cub gave Ruì Xuě a single, deeply respectful nod.

From the bushes, Yòu Lín, A-Li, and Xiao Hei burst out, cheering like absolute maniacs.

"DID YOU SEE THAT?!" Yòu Lín shrieked, jumping up and down. "HE FROZE THE MUD! HE WENT BAM! POW! HE IS THE SNOW LEOPARD KING!"

But Ruì Xuě wasn’t looking at his brothers. He was looking at Miao Miao.

She stood up. Her usually boisterous, loud demeanor was entirely gone. She walked slowly across the log until she was standing right in front of him.

"Ruì Xuě," Miao Miao breathed, her voice filled with pure, unfiltered awe. "You.....you didn’t even run away. You jumped right in front of its teeth."

"I..." Ruì Xuě swallowed hard, suddenly intensely aware of how muddy and disheveled he looked. He dropped the stick. "I couldn’t let it hurt you, Miao Miao. I... I have to protect you. That’s my job."

Miao Miao’s face broke into a smile so bright it could have rivaled the sun.

"You are my bravest beast," she declared proudly.

And then, without a single ounce of hesitation or warning, Miao Miao leaned forward, grabbed Ruì Xuě by his muddy cheeks, and planted a massive, loud, unapologetic SMACK of a kiss directly onto his cheek.

The entire forest seemed to stop spinning.

Ruì Xuě’s purple eyes widened to the absolute maximum capacity. His fluffy, snow-white ears shot straight up toward the sky. A violent, scorching blush exploded across his face, burning so hot it practically evaporated the mud on his cheeks.

Miao Miao pulled back, entirely unfazed by her own actions, giggling happily. "Come on! Let’s go tell Mama you fought a big beast!" She grabbed Tao Zi’s hand and began dragging the jaguar cub up the bank.

Ruì Xuě did not follow immediately.

He stood completely paralyzed on the log. He slowly raised a trembling paw, pressing his fingers against the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him.

His brain had entirely exited his body. The world was spinning. He was floating. He had won. The edgy jaguar meant nothing: Ruì Xuě had received the kiss.

"Uh oh," Xiao Hei muttered, walking up to poke Ruì Xuě in the ribs. "I think his soul left."

"He’s buffering," A-Li confirmed, waving a hand in front of Ruì Xuě’s vacant, blushing face.

With a soft, happy little sigh, Ruì Xuě’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he tipped backward, fainting dead away into a pile of soft, mercifully dry ferns. He had an absolutely massive, goofy smile plastered across his face.

"Yep," Yòu Lín cackled, grabbing Ruì Xuě’s ankles to help drag the lovesick snow leopard back to the village. "He’s a goner. Mama is going to think this is so funny."