Bai Yue woke up to the sound of a judgmental bird chirping outside her window and a translucent gold box floating in front of her nose.
[DING! ☆]
[Quest: The Snow Leopard's Smile]
[Time Remaining: 14 Days]
[Progress: 0/1]
[Status: Your soul feels 2% 'itchy.' Don't let it reach 100%!]
"Ugh," Bai Yue groaned, swiping her hand through the digital display. It didn't disappear, it just bobbed to the left. "Fourteen days. One smile. And my soul is already starting to itch? That's not a great sign, Tiān-Mìng!"
She waited for a sarcastic reply from the goddess, but the hut remained silent.
"Great. Ghosted by a deity."
She sat up, stretching her limbs. As she did, her mind traitorously drifted back to the night before. The heat of Zhāo Yàn's body pressed against hers... the way his red eyes had narrowed when she pushed him away. She felt her face heat up.
"No, no, no! Focus!" she scolded herself, slapping her cheeks. "The Fox Lord hates your guts. You are here to redeem yourself, not to get distracted by a man who looks like he walked off a high-fashion runway!"
She had to get Ruì Xuě to smile. But how? She was a 'demon' who 'ate dreams.' You don't usually smile at the person you think is going to turn you into a hat.
Bai Yue decided that if she was going to win over a toddler, she needed a peace offering. Her memories told her there was a patch of 'Sugar-Glow' berries near the river, Ruì Xuě's favorite.
She set out with a woven basket, her eyes scanning the brush. She finally found the patch, the berries hanging like glowing blue lanterns. But as she reached for the first one, she heard a giggle.
"Look! It's the.….I mean, it's Bai Yue!" Miao Miao's voice chirped from the other side of the bushes.
Bai Yue parted the leaves and froze. There stood the three panther triplets, looking entirely too innocent. And right in the middle of them, looking like he wanted to vanish into the dirt, was Ruì Xuě.
Ugh???
The moment his purple eyes met hers, his little ears flattened against his white hair.
This was perfect! Was the goddess helping her?
"Hi!" Bai Yue said, trying to keep her voice as non-threatening as a Disney princess. "I was just.…..picking berries. Do you like blue ones?"
Ruì Xuě didn't answer. He ducked behind Miao Miao.
A-Li moved forward, whispering into Bai Yue's ears. "We like cursed female now! And we will help Ruì Xuě like her too. This is operation make snowball smile. Don't worry, leave it to us!"
"Awwwww." Bai Yue's heart nearly melted at how adorable they were being.
"He loves them!" Miao Miao said, shoving the snow leopard cub forward. "But he's too short to reach the best ones. Right, Ruì Xuě?"
Ruì Xuě let out a tiny, muffled "Nn-hnn."
Bai Yue saw her opening. She reached up to the highest branch, where the fattest, juiciest berries grew, and filled her palm. She knelt down, keeping a respectful distance. "Here. I can't eat all of these myself. My stomach would explode."
The triplets watched them with bated breath. Ruì Xuě looked at the berries, then at Bai Yue's face. He took one tiny, trembling step forward. Then another. His little hand reached out...
Snap!
A branch broke nearby. Ruì Xuě shrieked and bolted back, hiding behind A-Li.
"Aww, so close!" A-Li groaned.
"Wait! Look!" Xiao Hei pointed toward the riverbank. "A silver-fin fish! They're so fast! Only the Alphas can catch them!"
The fish jumped out of the water, its scales sparkling like diamonds. The cubs gasped in awe, and even Ruì Xuě peeked out, his eyes wide.
Bai Yue looked at the water. Back on Earth, she had spent her summers fishing with her grandfather. And this body? This body had reflexes that were borderline supernatural.
"You want to see something cool?" Bai Yue asked the cubs.
She didn't wait for an answer. She stepped into the shallow water, moving with a silence she didn't know she possessed. She waited. The water rippled.
Splash!
In a blur of movement, her hand dived into the water. A second later, she stood up, a large, thrashing silver fish gripped firmly in her hand.
"Whoa!" the triplets screamed in unison. "Look! Mama Bai caught a fish! So cool!"
Miao Miao grabbed Ruì Xuě's shoulders. "Did you see that, Snowball?! She's faster than Papa!"
Ruì Xuě was staring. He wasn't shaking anymore. His mouth was slightly open in kid-like wonder. For a second, the fear in his eyes was replaced by 'wow.'
Bai Yue waded out of the water, holding the prize. "It's for your lunch. All of you can share it."
She walked toward them, her heart pounding. Ruì Xuě didn't run this time. He stayed put, looking at the shiny fish, then up at her.
"You.….you caught it with your hands?" he whispered, his voice tiny.
"I did," she said, smiling softly. "And if you're a good boy and eat your berries, maybe one day I'll show you how to do it."
A tiny, almost invisible twitch happened at the corner of Ruì Xuě's mouth. It wasn't a smile yet—not even close—but the sheer terror was gone.
"Okay," he breathed.
"Yay! Fish feast!" the triplets cheered, dancing around.
Bai Yue felt a surge of hope. I can do this. I can actually do this. Take that, goddess of transmigration!
But the moment of peace was shattered by a vibrating growl from the treeline.
"Step away from the cubs."
She spun around. Emerging from the forest was not one of her husbands, but a group of five large, unfamiliar beastmen. They weren't from the mixed tribe. They wore dark, jagged bone ornaments and had the crest of the Vulture Clan tattooed on their necks.
The leader, a man with sunken eyes and a cruel smile, looked at the silver-fin fish, then at the four cubs, and finally at Bai Yue.
"A Rare Female alone in the woods with four high-quality kits?" the leader chuckled, drawing a jagged stone knife. "Today is the Vulture Clan's lucky day. Hand them over, and maybe we'll let you live as a slave."
Ruì Xuě let out a terrified sob and clung to Miao Miao's leg.
Bai Yue looked at the five armed men, then at the four terrified children behind her. The "Mama Bear" instinct she didn't know she had roared to life, hotter than the midday sun.
"You want these kids?" Bai Yue hissed, her eyes glowing with a sudden, dangerous violet light. "You're going to have to go through the 'Demon' to get them."
[DING! ☆]
[Emergency Quest: Protect the Cubs!]
[Reward: Massive Trust Boost + Rui Xue's First Smile?]
[Failure: Game Over. Literally.]