Chapter 84
Chapter 84: The Cub Almost Got Exposed—The Cub’s Mother Said to Bury It and Never Speak of It
Chong Ming’s golden eyes deepened. “You want to raise it?”
Raise a dragon.
How impressive would that be?
Raise it big enough and she’d have a mount. And hot blood to drink—fresh, strong, perfect.
Jiang Tea Tea nodded fast. “I want—”
“Commander-in-chief, she doesn’t!” Cheng Lin Yue blurted.
“Commander-in-chief, she doesn’t!” Sui Xuan Chu echoed at the same time.
One of them clung to Jiang Tea Tea’s arm. The other pressed a hand to the back of her neck, dragging her aside like she was a reckless child about to bite a live wire.
They scolded her in a furious whisper.
“Roommate, you might not know empire common sense, you might not know interstellar common sense—but how do you not know basic life common sense? Even if a dragon clan cub has no mom and dad, they’ll identify bloodline and locate direct-line relatives. The state gives subsidies and those relatives hatch and raise the cub.”
“And if there are no direct-line relatives, or they refuse, the state has an imperial dragon institute to raise parentless dragon clan cubs, train them, integrate them into society, and send them into legions.”
“What were you saying just now? ‘Whoever finds it can raise it’? That’s not allowed. A parentless dragon clan cub can’t be adopted. No matter how capable you are, no matter how much money you have.”
Cheng Lin Yue looked half-panicked. “Sister Tea, stop talking. Your body hasn’t fully recovered. Please. Calm down. Don’t make me kneel and beg you.”
“From now on, the cub has nothing to do with you. Don’t think about someone else’s cub. Don’t want someone else’s cub. Understand?”
As she spoke, Cheng Lin Yue’s mind raced, fear crawling up her spine.
Could Sister Tea’s belly baby be a dragon clan cub?
She couldn’t smell the distress scent. She wasn’t dragon clan.
But Chong Ming was the golden dragon imperial clan, the highest-ranked dragon there was. If a cub cried for help, maybe others wouldn’t notice—but he would.
And the timing he’d mentioned…
It matched exactly the time Sister Tea’s belly had been punched.
If that punch made the baby inside panic and send a distress scent, it fit.
Which raised a terrifying question.
Other than Sui Xuan Chu, when had Sister Tea ever been close to another dragon male?
Was the cub… his?
Cheng Lin Yue’s eyes widened with horror. She felt like she’d grabbed a piece of truth that would get her killed.
Jiang Tea Tea shook them off with a sharp twist. “You two are being dramatic. I just asked. If I can’t raise it, I won’t. If I pick it up later, I’ll put it down. Done.”
Sui Xuan Chu nodded hard, relief pouring out of him. “Good. Roommate, you’re someone who can kill insect clan and kill legion commanders. You’re going to do great things. Don’t make mistakes this stupid again.”
Cheng Lin Yue glared at him, furious on Sister Tea’s behalf.
This bastard dragon still dared lecture her?
Shameless.
Jiang Tea Tea waved, unconcerned. “Yeah, yeah. I got it.”
When they returned, a group had already descended from Chong Ming’s battleship: Minister Lu with a medical kit, plus a special cleanup reconnaissance squad.
They hauled away the insect clan corpses and Jiang Yi Cheng’s bound body. A few stayed behind to sweep the area and collect evidence.
Minister Lu stepped up to Chong Ming. “Commander-in-chief, who’s injured?”
Chong Ming pointed straight at Jiang Tea Tea. “Her belly was kicked twice and punched twice. Check her. Is it serious?”
Jiang Tea Tea’s face tightened.
So much for respecting her refusal.
And Minister Lu was from the medical department—the same man who, back when she was still a tree, had waved scissors at her belly and throat like he wanted to prune her.
A “healer” who tried to cut a tree’s belly and neck was not someone she trusted.
“No need—” Jiang Tea Tea started.
“No,” Cheng Lin Yue cut in loudly, voice overriding hers completely.
She stepped in front of Jiang Tea Tea, body small but posture unyielding. “Commander-in-chief, I am our squad’s healer. Sister Tea’s health is my responsibility. She does not need any other healer to treat her.”
Cheng Xiao Ting stared at her. “Little Bunny, what are you doing? The healer the commander-in-chief brought down is obviously better than you.”
“Move. Let him check Sister Tea. Did you forget how she was sitting on the ground clutching her belly when we found her? She couldn’t even stand.”
Cheng Lin Yue’s eyes flashed. She met Cheng Xiao Ting head-on. “It’s not your business. It’s not any healer’s business. I’m responsible for Sister Tea. I will be responsible for her to the end.”
“During the competition, I will not allow anyone but me to treat Sister Tea. I can handle it. I believe in myself.”
“Little Bunny—” Cheng Xiao Ting began.
“You all need to stop,” Jiang Tea Tea said, stepping forward.
She didn’t want Chong Ming’s subordinate examining her either. She wasn’t human. If anyone figured out she was a tree demon, she’d be finished.
“Listen to Cheng Lin Yue,” Jiang Tea Tea said. “She’s responsible for me. I trust her.”
Chong Ming’s gaze sharpened as he looked Jiang Tea Tea up and down. “Jiang Tea Tea classmate. Are you certain you’re fine? You don’t need my healer?”
Jiang Tea Tea patted her stomach twice, hard enough to make Cheng Lin Yue’s soul leave her body. “My teammate already treated me. I’m great. I could handle ten more insect clan.”
Chong Ming frowned at the gesture, like it physically offended him.
Sui Xuan Chu felt the drop in temperature and moved fast—grabbing Cheng Lin Yue with one hand and Jiang Tea Tea with the other. “Commander-in-chief, we’ll continue hunting cadets now. You’re busy, you’re busy—”
“Come back,” Chong Ming said coldly.
Sui Xuan Chu stopped mid-step.
Chong Ming looked straight at him. “Sui Xuan Chu classmate. You are dragon clan. I have questions about the cub scent earlier.”
Sui Xuan Chu sucked in a breath, shot Jiang Tea Tea a resentful look, and silently cursed her for attracting trouble again.
Jiang Tea Tea blinked innocently at him, then twisted free, casually rescuing Cheng Lin Yue as well. She walked off without a care, calling behind her, “Huang Da Zhuang, let’s go. Wait for me up ahead.”
Huang Da Zhuang was a loyal lackey. He adored his male idol, but when Sister Tea called, the idol was instantly thrown aside like trash.
Cheng Xiao Ting hesitated, then followed them too.
Sui Xuan Chu was left alone with Chong Ming.
He straightened and spoke carefully. “I didn’t smell any cub scent. You’re asking the wrong person. Maybe ask a different dragon clan?”
Chong Ming’s brows remained knit. “That level of distress and danger—how could you not smell it? At the time I sensed it, what were you doing?”
Sui Xuan Chu’s heart hammered. “At the time you mentioned, we were tracking my roommate.”
“My roommate was taken by insect clan. Huang Da Zhuang tracked by scent in beast form. We followed. We were focused on finding her. I didn’t pay attention to anything else.”
Chong Ming fell silent for a moment, then said, voice heavy, “The cub’s scent was dangerous and carried ability pressure. Based on what I sensed, it was either less than three months in the mother’s body—or less than three months in an eggshell.”
“You’re golden dragon imperial clan. Your perception is stronger than other dragon clan. Pay attention. If anything happens, call out immediately.”
Sui Xuan Chu snapped into a salute. “Yes, commander-in-chief.”
“Go.”
Sui Xuan Chu turned and bolted as if chased by ghosts.
Not long after, a cleanup reconnaissance member approached Chong Ming. “Commander-in-chief. We investigated the area. A fight did occur here—but it was one-sided.”
Chong Ming’s gaze swept the ground. “Explain.”
“Seven insect clan members and one pure human male,” the recon member said respectfully. “The seven insect clan members are dead. The pure human male was knocked unconscious. There are no signs of a prolonged struggle here—only running tracks.”
“And… signs that something plant-like burst up from the ground.”
“We can’t identify what plant it was that bound their legs. But we’re certain: once their legs were bound, they had no ability to fight back. They were executed.”
Chong Ming nodded. “Continue collecting evidence.”
“Yes, commander-in-chief.”
Chong Ming returned to the ship with Minister Lu.
Minister Lu went straight to the treatment room to dissect the insect clan corpses.
Chong Ming went to the holding room where Jiang Yi Cheng had been placed.
Jiang Yi Cheng had been woken and strapped to a chair in a stark, white room. He looked around frantically, face full of terror, struggling like an animal cornered.
“Commander-in-chief.”
Cai Xi Chao stood behind Chong Ming with a Lightbrain tablet and reported, “We could only confirm seven insect clan members. One had blink shift. One had fire-type. We couldn’t retrieve footage after they took Jiang Tea Tea classmate.”
Chong Ming stared through the one-way door at Jiang Yi Cheng. “Meaning they possessed equipment capable of blocking all satellite devices outside M31_1137 star—including all of my monitoring.”
Cai Xi Chao lowered her head. “Yes, commander-in-chief.”
Chong Ming turned to the guards. “Watch Jiang Yi Cheng. Do not let him close his eyes. Do not let him sleep.”
“And don’t hit him,” he added. “Let him break on his own. Let him beg on his own. Let him write his own confession.”
“Yes, commander-in-chief.”
Chong Ming walked away, asking Cai Xi Chao as he moved, “Any progress on the cub scent?”
“The scent appeared too suddenly and lasted too briefly,” Cai Xi Chao said. “We can’t lock a location.”
“Stay alert,” Chong Ming said. “If the cub scent appears again, you must lock it.”
“Yes, commander-in-chief.”
Below, the mountains were a wasteland of yellow and dead brown. Not a single patch of green remained.
As Jiang Tea Tea ran, she briefly considered giving back some magic power to save the land—but she realized she’d already eaten its life force as fertilizer.
No amount she returned could revive it.
So she stopped wasting power and kept moving.
Then Cheng Lin Yue called from behind, voice urgent. “Sister Tea—wait! Wait!”
Jiang Tea Tea stopped. “What?”
The others paused too, looking back.
Cheng Lin Yue looked like she was about to burst. “I… I need to go. And I want you to come with me. I still haven’t finished telling you what I was saying earlier.”
Jiang Tea Tea’s expression tightened for a beat.
She wanted to confess that she’d realized Sister Tea wasn’t human?
Fine. Let her. Jiang Tea Tea had already decided how to handle it.
“All right,” Jiang Tea Tea said. “I’ll go with you. The rest of you wait here.”
Huang Da Zhuang couldn’t help reminding them, “Don’t go too far. If anything happens, shout. Who knows if there’s more insect clan?”
Sui Xuan Chu agreed quickly. “Yes, yes. Roommate, don’t go too far. Insect clan showed up once, then twice. Who knows if there’s a third time?”
Jiang Tea Tea nodded. “Got it.”
Cheng Lin Yue grabbed her arm again and led her away, far enough that their voices couldn’t carry.
Once they were alone, Cheng Lin Yue repeated her careful routine—scanning, checking, pulling out a signal jammer.
Jiang Tea Tea slapped a hand down over the signal jammer and poured magic power outward, blanketing the area in a silent shield. “Little Bunny. There’s no one within ten li except our people. You don’t need to make this complicated.”
Cheng Lin Yue froze, then nodded, believing her.
Still, she lowered her voice. “Sister Tea… I checked your pulse. Left and right. I’m sure you—”
“I know,” Jiang Tea Tea cut in.
Cheng Lin Yue’s eyes went wide. “You know? You knew already?”
So she knew she had a cub?
She’d come into the competition carrying it, risking everything for a future—for herself and the baby?
Jiang Tea Tea’s voice hardened. “Yes. I knew. You don’t need to tell me. Bury it. Don’t tell anyone.”