Hui blinked. “Eh? Zhubi isn’t a dragon?”

Tian Chen shook his head. “Dragons come in three colors. Yellow, red, and the most beautiful and powerful color, blue. He is white. Therefore, he cannot be a dragon.”

“Eh? I met a black dragon in the mortal realm—”

“A flood dragon. Our inferior cousins can be many inferior colors. However, true dragons only appear in three colors. Any flood dragon who ascends to the Immortal Realm will change colors to become blue, red, or yellow, according to the quality of their cultivation up to this point.” Tian Chen sat back, gesturing toward where the children had disappeared to.

Grasping at threads, Hui bit his lip. “Uh, he, maybe he’s a very pale blue or yellow…?”

Tian Chen shook his head firmly. “You know his scales are white, as well as I do.”

Hui frowned at the table. But then, then, what does that mean? He’s a dragon. Visibly, he’s a dragon. But if he isn’t, then what is he actually? And… I don’t know. I don’t understand any of this. “He looks like a dragon.”

“Think to yourself. You’ve spent the most time with him. Have you seen a dragon pearl? An inverted scale? Does he have a dragon’s pride? The desire to fly freely in the sky?” Tian Chen gestured. “Tian Lan was born here, but aside from those born in the Immortal Realm, all dragons reach maturity as they leap over the dragon gate. Your Zhubi should appear as an adult in human form, but instead, he remains a child. And his fangs… you know his human form isn’t finished. It should be clear even to an inferior human such as yourself.”

“No, but… but if he isn’t a dragon, then what is he?” Hui asked, completely lost.

Tian Chen leaned forward. He looked Hui in the eye. “The Black Palace has stood empty for many years.”

“The Black Palace…” Hui frowned. But Zhubi is white, not black.

But his mother was a black dragon. Then… wait, hold on. The Black Palace. Blue, red, white, black. The colors of the four cardinal beasts. Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and… and the Black Tortoise. Or put more properly, the Black Xuanwu. Dragon-turtle.

Black Dragon. Zhubi isn’t a dragon. Fighting his maturity… Hui licked his lips, nervous. “Then, is he…”

Tian Chen lifted his hands. “I’m merely guessing. I cannot know for sure. All I know is that he cannot be a dragon.”

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Hui took a deep breath. He rubbed his forehead, trying to think. Zhubi isn’t a snake, isn’t a dragon… he’s a dragon turtle? Ugh. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to explain this to him? It’s the birds and the bees and puberty talk, but for my pet dragon-snake-turtle. And it’s not just puberty, but “Hey kid. You’re about to change colors, and also turn into yet another mythical creature, and also puberty at the same time I guess. And also by the way this is all guesswork, we don’t actually know what’s going on with you, but you definitely aren’t a dragon.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Hui asked aloud, putting his face in his hands.

Tian Chen patted his shoulder. “Child-rearing is hard.”

“I’m starting to realize that.” Hui shook his head. Bai Xue, Li Xiang, I’m sorry. I didn’t even understand the strange conundrums you two faced! To think, I left you to navigate these uncharted waters alone…

Hui stood suddenly, pushing up from the table. He took a deep breath. “I’m going to tell him.”

“Immediately?” Tian Chen asked, raising a brow.

“He… he’d want to know. And besides, he probably already knows, doesn’t he? Somewhere in his heart…” Hui’s voice trailed off. Does he, though? Zhubi’s shown no indication of becoming a turtle that I’ve seen. Maybe he has internally—I’m no vet, after all—but I wouldn’t know about that. No… from all outward appearances, his attitude, everything… he thinks he’s a dragon. Or at least a small snake.

Ugh. I’m going to have to totally break the news, aren’t I? Cold turkey. Zhubi has no idea. Not even an inkling.

“You should move quickly, in any case. He’s rejecting his true self right now. You felt it, right? He’s burning up. If you don’t tell him soon, he might not survive the process. As long as he still has ascension energy on his body, he’ll be fine, but once it wears off entirely, his chances of survival drop.” Tian Chen sat up, putting his hands flat on the table.

“He’s… killing himself?” Hui asked. Instantly, his heart rejected it. Zhubi wouldn’t! He’s as much against dying as I am. He’s willing to fake his death to survive. He wouldn’t do something that hurt him willingly, would he?

As if reading his thoughts, Tian Chen shook his head. “He likely doesn’t know what’s happening. And with recently ascending, his body will be going through many changes one way or another. It wouldn’t be unusual if he thought it was merely leftover changes from his ascension.”

“That…” Hui frowned. That’s possible. It’s not like either of us know what it feels like to ascend. If my body still felt hot this long after ascending, I’d find it strange, but I wouldn’t necessarily think it was fatal immediately.

Well… okay, to be fair, knowing me, I’d probably quietly panic about it fifty times, but I wouldn’t know it was a deadly issue. I’d worry about it being a deadly issue, but I wouldn’t know. And that is different.

Tian Chen shrugged. “If what I suppose is true, in any case. Regardless, if he doesn’t harness the ascension energy to complete whatever transformation he faces, it will become much harder on his body, and might even cause a setback in his cultivation.”

Hui nodded. “Thank you for the advice, Senior.” He turned and ran off. I gotta find Zhubi. The sooner I get this conversation started, the better.

Tian Chen watched him go. He lowered his lashes and sighed. “We all must grow up some time. Both that child… and you, as well.”