“Long Mo?” Hu Jiao Jiao stared, visibly startled.

The familiar location, the familiar scene… and the familiar plot. It seemed that Long Mo really had a knack for kicking troublemakers into the river.

Hearing Hu Jiao Jiao’s voice, the massive black dragon paused mid-air. His golden beastly eyes locked onto her, and only when he saw she was unharmed did the fierce rage in his gaze begin to soften.

She’s so delicate, he thought. She had never dared to fight back before; she must have been terrified in a situation like this.

The black dragon landed gracefully beside Hu Jiao Jiao and transformed into his human form.

“Dad, you’re amazing!” Long Ling’er cheered, eyes full of admiration and excitement. “You made those two bad people go flying!”

The other four cubs were relieved, each breathing a sigh of relief as well. Though their father was often grumpy and blunt, he could still be useful in moments like this. At least, he could take a hit—and if luck was on their side, he might even win.

As Long Ling’er spoke, Long Mo shot a quick look at Hu Jiao Jiao, inching closer to her.

“If you were scared, you could…”

He pressed his lips together, eager to continue, but was interrupted by angry shouting from the riverbank.

“You idiot, you’re yanking on my hair!”

“Mom! Dad! Are you okay? Come up quickly…”

Watching them get a taste of their own medicine, Hu Jiao Jiao clicked her tongue, clearly unbothered.

If her cubs had gotten hurt, these two wouldn’t have shown an ounce of remorse.

Long Mo’s sharp gaze remained fixed on Hu Jiao Jiao, his expression taut as he noticed how intensely she was staring at the two troublemakers in the river. She must still be shaken, watching them like that, he thought, worried they might come after her again.

With his eyes narrowed, Long Mo turned his cold, calculating gaze toward the two in the water, already planning his next move.

As the couple splashed around, the commotion finally died down. The crowd dispersed, uninterested in getting involved or reporting the incident to the chief.

The family of seven headed home. Long Mo carried a small stone bucket, walking silently, though he felt as if something was missing.

Ahead of them, the five cubs walked along, clearly in high spirits. Long Yao, in particular, held his tail high, humming and wagging as he hovered around his siblings like a little wind-up toy, unable to stay still.

“Awwooo! The little stone bucket is back, and no one got hurt—what a happy day!”

“You’re celebrating over nothing,” Long Zhong muttered, irritated. “We almost got caught by that old witch. Aren’t you scared at all, you dumb dragon?”

“Pffft!” Long Yao stuck his tongue out at Long Zhong and wiggled his bottom, then zipped off to hide beside Long Yu.

Long Zhong’s face darkened as he clenched his fists, steam practically rising from his ears. The other cubs couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Xiao Wu was a real handful, finding ways to drive his third brother mad every single day.

Following behind, Hu Jiao Jiao watched her lively cubs and couldn’t help but smile. When she first arrived, they looked like scrappy little orphans—always dirty, with an air of gloom clinging to their faces. Now, finally, they acted like normal, playful children.

If only she could find a cure for Long Xiu’s eyesight and Long Zhong’s face, she thought. Of all her cubs, those two worried her the most.

She glanced to her side, where the silent Long Mo walked beside her, and softly said, “Long Mo… thank you for before.”

“Mm.”

Long Mo’s face remained expressionless, but his lips pressed tightly together—and he accidentally bit his tongue, the pain instantly causing a vein to pop out on his forehead.

“Long Mo, are you alright? You don’t look well. Are you too worn out today?” Hu Jiao Jiao asked, noticing his strange expression and feeling a surge of concern.

He has been hunting and hauling materials lately, so he must be exhausted.

Long Mo’s face darkened further as he muttered, “No.”

Seeing his curt response, Hu Jiao Jiao didn’t press the issue. The villainous dragon was as moody as they came; sometimes he could be quite decent, but other times he was impossible to read. Not wanting to provoke him, she let it go.

Though they were technically mates, Hu Jiao Jiao had never dated and didn’t really know how to act around him. So, in silence, the two returned home.

When they arrived, Hu Jiao Jiao noticed Long Mo was only carrying the little stone bucket, not any prey, and it clicked. “Weren’t you out hunting, Long Mo? Where’s the prey?”

Long Mo froze mid-step, suddenly realizing what he’d forgotten.

In his rush to get back, he’d left everything behind in the tribe.

“I’ll go get it,” he said, placing the stone bucket down before swiftly shifting into dragon form and flying off.

Hu Jiao Jiao figured he must’ve been worried about the food getting snatched and didn’t think twice about it.

When Hou Xiaotiao came back from hunting, he saw a group of beastmen surrounding a black cow and blue stone. After learning that these were left there by Long Mo, he found a few beastmen to help send them back.

A group of beastmen were walking on the road when they suddenly saw a black dragon flying towards them quickly.

Hou Xiaotiao, carrying a heavy chunk of stone, waved excitedly. “Long Mo! Over here, we’ve got your prey and stone!”

He grinned broadly as the dragon’s head turned toward him, flying faster in his direction.

“Don’t worry about it! We’re just helping out; you don’t have to say thanks…” Hou Xiaotiao started, scratching his head bashfully. But before he could finish, Long Mo shot past him at breakneck speed.

His hair flattened against his head from the sheer force, leaving him mouth-wide in stunned silence, unable to even shout after the dragon.

Seconds later, Long Mo was gone, a distant dot on the horizon.

“Uh… Long Mo, your stuff is…” he muttered, trailing off. With a sigh, he turned to the equally startled group. “Oh well. Let’s just bring it to his house. He probably had something urgent to deal with.”

The tribe’s beastmen now have a much better impression of Hu Jiao Jiao and Long Mo, lending a hand with a few things was no big deal.

Meanwhile, Hu Jiao Jiao was back home, preparing a meal for her cubs, when Hou Xiaotiao and his group arrived with the black bull and stone slabs.

Seeing them, she hurried over. “Weren’t building materials delivered earlier?”

The tribe had been bringing supplies to her house in batches for days, and though Hu Jiao Jiao hadn’t run into them earlier, she’d noticed a new pile when she returned.