Wolves, Wards & Wild Vows

The sun hadn't yet risen, but the mountaintop was already awake.

Spirit wolves howled in harmony, the wind whistled through the trees, and somewhere amid it all— Shen Yueli was chasing her floating baby across the sky with her hair a mess and her patience hanging by a thread.

" Come down here right now, young lady!

You are not allowed to learn teleportation before potty training!"

The infant cooed, somersaulting in midair with a giggle. A trail of glittering spiritual energy followed her like a comet.

Di Yan stifled a laugh as he floated beside them, calm as moonlight,

casually sipping tea. " She's already mastered vertical ascension. That's at least a Tier Five ability."

" She'd also mastered Tier Five trolling,"

Yueli snapped, summoning a gust of wind that gently tugged their daughter down.

" Why did she inherit your smugness?"

" Because my genes are superior."

" Get out."

He caught the baby mid-hover, grinning as she nestled into his chest with a yawn. " You're just mad she likes me better in the mornings."

Yueli rolled her eyes so hard they nearly popped out of her skull.

Suddenly, a jarring boom echoed from below the mountain— an ancient tremor that made the spirit wolves freeze.

Di Yan's brow furrowed. " That wasn't natural."

" Something's broken through the ward,"

Yueli said, serious now. " The seal around the mountain is crumbling."

Di Yan handed the baby to their most trusted spirit wolf. " Guard her. With your life."

Without another word, the couple vanished into flashes of wind and flame, racing down the mountain like divine warriors returning to the battlefield.

The ancient ward circle at the mountain's base was shattered— fragments of glowing runes scattered like shattered glass.

And standing in the middle of the wreckage, grinning like he owned the world, was a man in obsidian armor,

with eyes like poison and a voice like silk dipped in venom.

" Ah," he drawled. " The forbidden lovers return."

Yueli stepped forward, her voice like a whip. " Lord Karven. I thought we burned you to ashes."

Karven smirked. " Ashes are but fuel for resurrection. And I see you've been busy playing house with your silver- haired assassin."

Di Yan's energy surged in response,

silver flames curling around his fists.

" Speak again, and I'll un- resurrect you myself."

Karven held up a hand, feigning calm.

" No need for violence. I merely came for the child."

Yueli's expression darkened. " Over my dead, resurrected, and dead again body."

Karven titled his head. " That can be arranged."

The battle erupted with a roar.

Silver fire collided with shadow magic,

shaking the sky. Yueli moved like a storm— her fan slicing the air, creating tornadoes of spirit energy that whipped through karven's soldiers like a divine tempest.

Di Yan was a blur of fury and precision,

every strike imbued with a thousand years of lethal experience.

But Karven was no ordinary foe. He absorbed their attacks with ease, his power feeding off the mountain's broken seal.

" He's drawing strength from the ley lines!"

Yueli shouted, shielding Di Yan from a death strike. " We need to cut him off!"

Di Yan's mind raced. " Then we seal the ley lines again."

" Do you remember the incantation?"

Yueli grinned through bloodied lips. " I invented it."

Together, they pressed their hands to the ground, channeling raw energy into the earth. Ancient glyphs flared back to life beneath them, golden and blinding.

Karven howled. " No! You can't—!"

But he could barely finish his sentence before the earth swallowed him, sealing him back into the abyss with a final,

thunderous snap.

The forest fell silent.

Yueli and Di Yan collapsed beside each other, hands still glowing.

" Well," she panted. " That was fun."

Di Yan turned to her, brushing a streak of blood from her cheek. " You look terrifying when you smile after battle."

" You say that like it's not the reason you fell for me."

He smirked, leaning in until their foreheads touched. " Actually, it was your terrible sense of direction."

She snorted. " Says the man who once walked into a cave thinking it was a palace."

" I was drunk."

" You were enchanted."

" I was drunk and enchanted. Not my fault."

Their laughter blended into the quiet rustle of the woods. The spirit wolves began to turn, surrounding them with loyalty and warmth.

Then came the baby— floating down like a smug little moon goddess, cooing at their bruised faces.

Yueli picked her up and kissed her forehead. " You're grounded, by the way."

" For what?" Di Yan asked.

" For being too cute while we almost died."

He nodded. " Fair enough."

As they hobbled back forward their temporary home, bloodied but victorious, Yueli glanced at the pink sky and whispered, " Di Yan."

" Hm?"

" If I die before you, I'm going to haunt you every day."

" Extremely."

He grinned and took her hand. " Then I guess we'll just have to live forever."

And just like that, surrounded by wolves,

floating babies, and a sealed evil lord beneath their mountain, the world felt a little safer. A little funnier. And a whole lot more theirs.