Feng Qi and Li Sheng had anticipated their son might sleep restlessly, so neither dared to fall into a deep sleep.
The moment Feng Yuan began crying, both dads sat up immediately.
Feng Qi turned on the light.
Li Sheng picked up their son. Without any prior rehearsal, the two of them coordinated seamlessly.
Qin Xun, who had been holding Feng Yuan’s hand, also woke up instantly.
“Yuan Yuan, don’t be scared. Big Dad’s here.”
Li Sheng got out of bed, supporting their son’s back as if holding a little koala, letting the child snuggle against his chest.
Feng Qi also got out of bed and went to pour a cup of warm water, adding a bit of honey to it.
Li Sheng didn’t forcefully wake their son. Instead, he gently patted the child’s back while walking back and forth, rocking him softly.
After a short while, the little one, who had been crying with eyes closed, gradually quieted down.
“Dad…”
A small, hoarse voice called out. Feng Yuan, who had been having a nightmare, finally woke up.
Upon waking, he stretched out his little hands, asking Feng Qi to hold him.
Feng Qi had spent more time caring for Feng Yuan, so the sense of security he provided was the strongest.
“Okay. Dad will hold you.”
Feng Qi took their son into his arms, kissing his little cheek. “Dad prepared some honey water for you. It’s sweet. Would Yuan Yuan like to drink it?”
Tears still streaked Feng Yuan’s face as he nodded.
Feng Qi held the cup with one hand while cradling their son, feeding him the water with the other.
Li Sheng, worried that Feng Qi might not hold him steadily, supported Feng Yuan’s bottom from the side.
Feng Yuan drank almost the entire cup of honey water.
After he finished, Feng Qi wiped his mouth but didn’t make him rinse, allowing the sweet taste to linger.
The little one had been badly frightened and needed some sweetness to soothe him.
“Yuan Yuan, how about we play a card game for a while?”
Feng Qi didn’t ask why Feng Yuan had been crying.
He simply had Qin Xun fetch the deck of cards from the bedside. They all played together.
The card game was simple. Each card featured an animal.
In the game, the elephant trumped the tiger, the tiger trumped the wolf, the wolf trumped the dog, the dog trumped the cat, the cat trumped the mouse, and the mouse trumped the elephant.
Feng Yuan wasn’t particularly good at calculations. But when it came to remembering the hierarchy of this card game, he was sharper than anyone.
Sitting on the bed, surrounded by his family, they played the card game together.
After two rounds, Feng Yuan’s little face gradually brightened with smiles.
He sat between his two dads, with Qin Xun across from him.
Surrounded by his family, Feng Yuan clutched his cards. The fear in his heart slowly began to fade.
“Dad…”
He put down his cards, signaling he didn’t want to play anymore.
Feng Qi didn’t press him.
Feng Yuan nestled back into his dad’s embrace and began describing the nightmare he had.
“It was so scary…”
He repeated those words over and over as he recounted the dream.
The usually fearless little one was genuinely terrified.
When he finished describing how the child in his dream had asked him to pick up a head, even Feng Qi felt a chill.
Such a dream would unsettle anyone, let alone a child.
No wonder their son had cried so bitterly.
Though Feng Qi’s heart grew heavy, his tone remained gentle and calm.
His large hand patted Feng Yuan’s plump back softly, his voice tender and reassuring.
“Yuan Yuan, when you go back to sleep later, just think of Dad.”
“As long as you keep thinking of Dad, I’ll appear in your dreams.”
“Then, Dad will be there to protect you.”
“Do you believe in Dad, Yuan Yuan?”
“Yes!”
Feng Yuan knew that his dad was the most powerful and amazing phoenix of all.
Every vicious beast and villain, once lured out by his chubby little self as bait, would be dealt with by his dad.
His dad could do anything!
Filled with trust and admiration for his dad, Feng Yuan lifted his little face to look at him, completely unafraid now.
While awake, he wasn’t scared. But once asleep…
Neither of his dads knew whether he would still cry.
Soon.
Feng Qi once again managed to lull his son to sleep.
This time, he held his son in his arms instead of putting him in bed.
“Xiao Xun, go to sleep now. Don’t worry about Yuan Yuan. Uncle Li and I will watch over him.”
Qin Xun didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to stay with Feng Yuan, too.
But Feng Qi disagreed.
Qin Xun was still young. Staying up all night wouldn’t be good for his health.
“Xiao Xun, do you still want to grow taller? Staying up late will make you short.”
“If you’re too short, you won’t be able to carry Yuan Yuan.”
Under Feng Qi’s patient coaxing, Qin Xun finally lay down again.
Both children were asleep now, but the two adults remained awake.
Held by Feng Qi, Feng Yuan slept noticeably better this time.
Feng Qi cradled him entirely in his embrace, occasionally kissing his little cheeks.
Perhaps sensing his dad’s presence, although Feng Yuan still whimpered later, he didn’t cry as hard as before.
“Feng Qi, you should rest for a while, too. I’ll watch him.”
While Feng Qi held their son, Li Sheng wrapped both dad and child in his own embrace.
He urged Feng Qi to close his eyes and lean against him to rest.
As for Li Sheng himself, he didn’t sleep throughout the night.
The next day.
Just before dawn, Feng Yuan finally settled into deep sleep. The little one wriggled out of his dad’s arms, rolling onto the bed as if feeling too warm, spreading out his tiny hands and feet.
Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, Feng Qi and Li Sheng finally lay down beside him and slept, too.
This night had been exhausting for the two dads.
And for the little cub on the bed, it hadn’t been easy either.
He had many terrifying dreams, one short nightmare after another.
Feng Yuan felt like crying from fear, but he quickly remembered his dad.
“Dad!”
Calling for his dad in the dream, his dad truly descended from the sky to hold him.
In the dream, his dad protected the little cub all along.
Guarded by his dad, the cub slept until past eight o’clock before waking up.
When he awoke, both dads were still asleep. Only Qin Xun was awake.
“Shh.”
The little one with messy bedhead hadn’t even rubbed his eyes before making a silencing gesture.
Qin Xun, who hadn’t planned to speak anyway: “…”
Qin Xun quietly watched the little cub before him.
The little guy, while telling others not to wake his dads, pressed his own face against theirs.
“Mwah, mwah.”
The little one kissed both of his dads.
He showed some favoritism. He gave his dad six kisses, but only three to his big dad.
Even with all the noisy kisses, neither dads woke up.
Feng Qi was aware of his son’s kisses but was still too tired, so he let his awake son play at kissing.
After Feng Yuan had kissed the adults enough, he let Qin Xun carry him to wash up.
The two little ones went to the bathroom, cleaned up, and when they came out, both dads still hadn’t woken.
Seeing this, Feng Yuan took Qin Xun’s hand and went out to eat.
They still had to go to the training base today.
Feng Yuan hadn’t gone to the base for several days. Although he hadn’t fallen behind in his academic studies, he had missed his morning training sessions.
He wanted to go to the base himself.
There were many children at the base. Aside from him and Qin Xun, there were no other kids at home. His older cousins also went to the base during the day.
“Yuan Yuan, you’re not going to stay at home to play?” Li Heng asked Feng Yuan at the dining table. “Do you want Grandpa to take you out to play?”
Feng Yuan shook his head.
The little one was determined to go to the base.
Seeing his insistence, Li Heng didn’t try to persuade him further.
Since both his dads were catching up on sleep, Feng Yuan didn’t wake them. Instead, he asked his grandpa to take him.
In the car.
Feng Yuan’s chubby little feet stood unsteadily on his grandpa’s legs as he tried to maintain his balance.
Whenever Li Heng moved his legs even slightly, the little one would wobble and topple over with a squeal.
The two of them played like this the entire ride. When they arrived, Feng Yuan kissed his grandpa’s cheek and said goodbye.
The little one headed to the base for training.
With the child gone, the adults at home felt the house instantly grow quieter.
Little Deer had been staying up late and waking up early these days.
After waking up, he went to make breakfast for Feng Yuan.
Today, he was the one who prepared breakfast at home.
By the time he finished eating and returned, Tao Zhi was also awake.
But Tao Zhi, though awake, didn’t move. He lay on the bed, bare-chested.
Little Deer walked over and, seeing him shirtless, blushed slightly.
“Tao Zhi, what’s going on with you these past couple of days?”
Little Deer couldn’t hold back his confusion any longer and asked, “Why don’t you like wearing clothes to bed at night?”
Before, Tao Zhi would at least wear pajamas to sleep.
But now, he didn’t like wearing clothes to bed.
The shorts he had on below were only because Little Deer, blushing and flustered, had hurriedly put them on him during the night.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be wearing anything at all.
“Uncomfortable,” Tao Zhi replied. “Don’t want to wear them.”
Little Deer: “…”
Little Deer felt like he was about to lose his mind.
Tao Zhi already had a habit of hugging him while sleeping. If he were to hug him without wearing clothes, Little Deer didn’t think he could handle it.
“Where are you uncomfortable?”
Though Little Deer was internally complaining nonstop, his delicate face showed no trace of it.
He patiently asked Tao Zhi if he was feeling unwell.
Tao Zhi shook his head, then nodded.
Little Deer was confused by his mixed responses.
“Tao Zhi, where exactly are you uncomfortable? Should we go to the hospital and get it checked out?”
One advantage of living with the Li family now was—
They didn’t need to make an appointment to go to the hospital.
After all, the entire hospital belonged to the Li family.
Seeing Little Deer’s worried expression, Tao Zhi reached out and pulled him straight onto the bed.
“Hey, don’t just hug me like that! Tell me where you’re uncomfortable first!”
As Tao Zhi pulled him into his embrace again, Little Deer kicked his legs and struggled.
“It’s hard to bear… at night, it’s hard to bear.”
Ignoring Little Deer’s struggles, Tao Zhi held him tightly in his arms and gently bit Little Deer’s shoulder.
Little Deer was wearing a white T-shirt he had bought himself. The quality wasn’t very good.
With just a light bite from Tao Zhi, Little Deer heard the sound of fabric tearing.
“Tao Zhi!”
Seeing his shirt torn, even the good-tempered Little Deer grew genuinely anxious. “Don’t tear my clothes!”
But neither Little Deer’s struggles nor his panic made Tao Zhi stop.
Soon.
Little Deer’s shirt was completely torn, beyond any hope of repair.
Just as Little Deer was mentally breaking down again, he heard Tao Zhi’s slightly hurried breathing.
Besides the rapid breaths, he also felt Tao Zhi rubbing against him.
In an instant, Little Deer’s eyes widened in shock.
“Tao Zhi!”
This time, Little Deer’s voice trembled as he called out.
Fortunately, aside from rubbing against him, Tao Zhi didn’t do anything else.
“It’s really uncomfortable at night.”
Tao Zhi repeated once more.
Hearing this, Little Deer finally understood where he was feeling uncomfortable.
But this kind of discomfort was something Little Deer couldn’t help him with.
“Holding you makes it better.”
Tao Zhi closed his eyes, feeling as though Little Deer seemed even more delicious.
He didn’t want to eat Little Deer.
But Little Deer really was very tasty.
Tao Zhi hadn’t yet realized that human desires were divided into many types.
There was appetite, greed for wealth, and lust.
The two of them lay pressed tightly together. Little Deer was being held so closely that he could barely breathe.
“Tao Zhi, let go of me first. I… I’ll find something for you to look at.”
Little Deer knew that Tao Zhi not only lacked many basic life skills but probably also had little understanding of certain physical matters.
So, he thought of finding something for Tao Zhi to look at, hoping he could learn to handle things on his own.
Little Deer’s plan was well-intentioned, but Tao Zhi simply refused to let go.
Seeing the two of them stuck like this wasn’t a solution.
Gritting his teeth, Little Deer made up his mind and decided to go all out.
“Let… let me turn around.”
As soon as Little Deer spoke, his body was flipped over.
He and Tao Zhi now lie facing each other.
Tao Zhi showed no trace of embarrassment, as if holding someone and rubbing against them was no big deal.
Little Deer didn’t share that level of composure.
“Don’t… don’t look at me.”
As he spoke, Little Deer closed his eyes first.
With his eyes shut, his trembling hand fumbled over.
“I’ll only help you this once…”
Outside the window, the sky had already brightened.
It seemed like someone was moving around near the door.
With his eyes closed, Little Deer’s senses grew even sharper in the darkness.
Time seemed to stretch on endlessly in that moment.
After what felt like an eternity, Little Deer finally opened his eyes but didn’t dare to meet Tao Zhi’s gaze.
Instead, he buried his face weakly against Tao Zhi’s chest.
Tao Zhi lowered his head and nibbled on Little Deer’s flushed, burning cheek.
For a moment, the room fell into silence.
Not far from them, in Li Sheng’s bedroom, the two people on the bed had just woken up.
Feng Yuan and Qin Xun were no longer in bed, leaving the adults’ beds suddenly feeling empty.
Li Sheng gently touched Feng Qi’s stomach and asked, “Are you hungry? Should we get up and have breakfast?”
Feng Qi felt too lazy to move.
Seeing this, Li Sheng leaned down and kissed him.
With the little kisser gone from the bed, the big kisser immediately took over.
Feng Qi, tickled by his kisses, couldn’t help but laugh.
“Alright, stop fooling around. Let’s talk about the headless tribe.”
Feng Qi now had quite a few members of the headless tribe in his custody.
Fortunately, these headless tribesmen hadn’t been active for long, or the consequences would have been unimaginable.
They had taken many lives. Feng Qi had no intention of letting them off easily.
What troubled Feng Qi now was—
Some of these headless tribesmen had revealed something to him.
They claimed they had been awakened by an unknown force.
Someone had used this power to rouse them and sent them into the human world to expand their tribe.
They shared this information in an attempt to prove their own innocence.
They were lured into coming to the human world to commit these deeds.
Feng Qi wasn’t fooled by these words.
Even if someone had guided them to the human world, it was still their own choice to commit evil deeds.
They were far from innocent.
Feng Qi’s punishment for them remained as severe as ever.
Perhaps because Feng Qi had tormented them so harshly, they began to curse his son wildly.
They claimed that someone was deliberately plotting Feng Yuan’s death.
And that this person was someone closest to him.
The ones closest to Feng Qi were Li Sheng and the Li family…
Whether it was Li Sheng or the Li family, Feng Qi had witnessed their affection for Feng Yuan firsthand.
Naturally, he didn’t believe such provocations.
“Li Sheng, who do you think lured the Headless Tribe to the human world?”
When he was tracking and sealing the ferocious beasts earlier, he hadn’t sensed anything amiss.
But now, for some reason, he felt a lingering unease.
The human world had finally achieved peace.
Yet it seemed someone was trying to disrupt this tranquility.
“I don’t know.”
Li Sheng raised his hand and gently massaged Feng Qi’s temples.
“Don’t overthink it. We’ll face whatever comes our way. Soldiers will be met with generals, floods with earthworks. We’ll handle whatever arises.”
Li Sheng didn’t want Feng Qi to worry too much.
“What’s most important now is for you to take good care of your health.”
“Only when you’re healthy and safe can I and Yuan Yuan feel at ease.”
“Mm.”
Comforted by Li Sheng’s words, Feng Qi lifted his face and kissed the corner of Li Sheng’s lips. “I’ll take good care of myself.”
When it came to recovering his health, Li Sheng couldn’t help but think of the medicinal ingredients Feng Qi needed.
“I wonder when Wu Jin will return.”
Feng Yuan had also told his big dad about Wu Jin’s journey to transform into a dragon.
Upon learning this, Li Sheng felt a surge of joy.
If Wu Jin succeeded in transforming into a dragon, they could obtain the dragon’s heart scale that Feng Qi needed.
“He’ll be back before Yu Yi’s birthday.”
As he spoke, Feng Qi reminded Li Sheng, “Don’t pressure Wu Jin about the heart scale.”
The heart scale was of utmost importance to a dragon.
Feng Qi was actually hesitant about whether to ask Wu Jin for it.
His initial intention was not to take it.
But if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to prolong his life…
Feng Qi thought for a moment and sat up in bed.
Never mind.
Before Wu Jin returned, he would focus on tracking down other ferocious beasts.
The morning passed in a flurry of activity.
At the training base, Feng Yuan was unusually energetic during his morning drills.
Dressed in a small camouflage uniform, he was practicing ambush tactics.
He had to camouflage himself, sneak close to the target, and simulate firing a sniper rifle.
Of course, the sniper rifle in his hands had been modified and wouldn’t actually shoot bullets.
This time, Qin Xun wasn’t his teammate.
The instructor had mercilessly assigned them as opponents.
To ensure the two youngsters took the exercise seriously, the instructor called them aside separately and revealed the rewards for victory.
“Yuan Yuan, if you win, I’ll tell your teacher to halve your homework for tonight.”
“Qin Xun, give it your all. If you win, I’ll let you and Yuan Yuan be teammates again. But if you lose, I’ll assign someone else as his partner.”
The two different rewards made both children determined to win.
Perhaps the training was too intense, but halfway through, Feng Yuan reached up and touched his head.
He felt a little dizzy.
On the grass, Feng Yuan not only wore camouflage clothing but also had his small face painted with camouflage patterns.
He lay prone in the grass, fully focused on aiming at Qin Xun.
Both of them were stealthily approaching each other.
Finally, they inched closer and closer.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
The sniper rifle began to fire.
Feng Yuan, lying prone, kept missing his shots. Clutching his rifle, he abruptly scrambled to his feet.
As he stood up, it seemed he had moved too suddenly.
A sharp pain shot through his little head, and his vision darkened slightly.
Thud.
Before he could fire a shot, he collapsed heavily to the ground.
Qin Xun, who hadn’t even shot at him, was taken aback when he saw Feng Yuan fall.
“Yuan Yuan!”
Qin Xun dropped his gun and rushed toward Feng Yuan.
His actions made Nick frown.
But Instructor Lin noticed something unusual.
He strode over, picked up the fallen little soldier Yuan Yuan, and held him in his arms.
Feng Yuan’s small face was covered in camouflage paint, but even the paint couldn’t hide the flush on his cheeks.
Lin said gravely, “He has a fever.”
The base had an infirmary.
Lin carried Feng Yuan to the school clinic. Along the way, the little one opened his moist, round eyes, still unaware of what was happening.
He only reported to the instructor, “Instructor, there are rocks in the grass! Yuan Yuan’s head hurts.”
The little guy thought he had bumped his head.
Lin looked at his small face and said, “There are no rocks in the grass, Yuan Yuan. You have a fever.”
Children’s fevers can spike quickly.
At the infirmary, the doctor took his temperature: 38.7°C.
At that temperature, he needed fever-reducing medicine.
For children, fever treatment depends on the temperature.
Above 38.5°C, doctors prescribe medication.
Below 38.5°C, medication is not recommended.
Since the children are very young, injections or IVs are not the first choice for treatment.
The instructor immediately notified Feng Yuan’s family about his fever.
Feng Qi was out at the time.
Upon hearing the instructor’s message, Feng Qi didn’t hesitate and rushed straight to the base.
On the way, he felt a pang of guilt.
“If a child gets frightened, they might develop a high fever. We shouldn’t have let Yuan Yuan go to the base this morning.”
Feng Qi had only just realized this.
Feng Yuan had never been frightened before, and he rarely fell ill or ran a fever.
The thought of Feng Yuan burning up with fever made Feng Qi anxious and restless.
“The instructor said he needs to take medicine. If we’re not there, how will he take it?”
“Feng Qi, calm down.”
Li Sheng held Feng Qi’s hand, trying to soothe him.
“We’ll be there soon. Yuan Yuan can wait for us a little longer. Nothing will happen to him.”
Though Li Sheng said this, he was just as anxious as Feng Qi inside.
He knew all too well how Feng Yuan reacted to taking medicine.
Getting this chubby little one to take medicine always required forceful measures.
Just as the two dads wished they could arrive in an instant, back in the infirmary, Feng Yuan had been placed on a chair by the instructor, and then—
The little one watched as the instructor prepared his fever-reducing medicine.
“Yuan Yuan won’t take medicine!”
As soon as Feng Yuan saw the medicine, he shook his head repeatedly and began scanning the room for the door.
He was planning to run.
Lin immediately saw his intention and ordered Nick to close the door.
The door shut.
Feng Yuan looked at the medicine, then at the closed door. His beautiful, round eyes began to well up with tears.
“Yuan Yuan.”
Lin, who had finished preparing the medicine, didn’t immediately try to feed it to Feng Yuan.
Holding the medicine, he asked sternly, “Tell me, what is your identity?”
Feng Yuan: “I’m Yuan Yuan!”
Lin: “Wrong, say it again!”
Feng Yuan: “I, I’m Daddy’s little baby.”
Lin: “…”
Lin: “Wrong.”
After several consecutive incorrect answers, Feng Yuan’s chubby face tightened, and he finally thought of the right answer: “Yuan Yuan is a soldier!”
“Correct!”
Lin affirmed: “Here, you are a soldier.”
“Recite the first rule of the discipline guide for me.”
Under Instructor Lin’s questioning, Feng Yuan replied in his loud, childish voice: “Obey the instructor’s orders!”
“Very good.”
Instructor Lin nodded and handed over the medicine in his hand.
“Now, Comrade Yuan Yuan, my order for you is to take this medicine yourself.”
“No avoiding it, no crying.”
“A real man sheds blood and sweat, not tears!”
Moonlit: Poor Yuan Yuan… I hope he’ll get better soon.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152