Two Weeks Later
The clearing outside Thousand Fang Village had never seen such chaos.
Baskets were being packed and repacked. Furs were being rolled and unrolled. The cubs were running in frantic circles, chasing each other's tails and occasionally crashing into adults. The grandmothers were arguing about seating arrangements. And in the center of it all, Bai Yue stood with Zhēn in her arms, watching her family descend into beautiful, glorious madness.
"I still think this is a terrible idea," Han Shān muttered, tightening a strap on one of the massive packs.
"You've said that eleven times in the last hour," Zhāo Yàn observed, adjusting his travel robes with fastidious care. "Repeating the same complaint doesn't make it more valid."
"I'll stop complaining when the danger is over."
"That will be never. You're a father. You'll complain forever."
Han Shān's ears went pink, but he didn't deny it.
