Pov Author
The moment the dragon's feet left the ground, Anna's soul tried to escape her body.
"AAAAAAH—NO NO NO—PUT ME BACK DOWN—WE'RE TOO HIGH—SHOU FENG!!!"
Her scream sliced straight through the sky as the dragon launched upward with brutal force. The wind punched her face. The world spun. Her heart banged against her ribs like it was looking for the exit.
She did the only thing her panicked brain allowed.
She grabbed Shou Feng like he was the last solid object in existence.
"Stop shouting," he said over the wind, annoyingly calm. "You're not going to die."
"I AM ALREADY DEAD!" Anna yelled. "This is it! This is how I die! In the sky! With YOU!"
Shou Feng exhaled as if she were the dramatic one. "You're not dying. And stop shaking. You're making the dragon nervous."
"THE DRAGON IS NERVOUS? I'M NERVOUS!"
"It can tell."
"Oh GREAT, now I'm embarrassing myself in front of a dragon! I'm not even from this world! I don't ride dragons—I don't even like ladders!"
Shou Feng's shoulders moved slightly.
He was laughing.
"Are you laughing at me?!" she yelled, gripping him tighter as the dragon tilted sharply.
"A little," he admitted.
"TAKE IT BACK!"
"No."
The dragon's wings cut through the wind like massive blades, and it soared higher, fast enough that Anna's scream cracked.
Then—without warning—the dragon jerked upward again, beating its wings harder to catch a rising current.
Anna shrieked louder than before. "SHOU FENG I WILL CURSE YOU—IN EVERY LANGUAGE—EVEN THE ONES I DON'T KNOW!"
"Hold on," he said calmly.
"I AM HOLDING ON! I AM HOLDING YOUR WHOLE EXISTENCE!"
"You're holding my ribs."
"GOOD!"
The dragon kept climbing, straight into the sky. The world below was gone—completely swallowed by clouds.
And then...
The chaos stopped.
The dragon leveled out. The wind softened.
Anna opened her eyes slowly—hesitant, still clinging to Shou Feng like he was a tree trunk in a storm.
Then she saw it.
And everything went silent.
Clouds stretched beneath them like a glowing white sea, rolling in soft waves. The moon hung above, massive and impossibly blue, shining brighter than she had ever seen it. Its light spilled across the sky like liquid silver.
Golden particles drifted through the air, floating down like tiny falling stars. They didn't burn or fade—they shimmered slowly, drifting past her face.
Far ahead, a soft pink aura shimmered across the horizon.
And in that mist—
Soft echoes of laughter.
Light, tiny, distant.
Like children playing inside a dream.
Anna forgot to breathe.
Her hands slowly unclenched from Shou Feng's clothes. She didn't even realize she had let go of him. Her eyes widened, reflecting the moon.
"What… is this?" she whispered.
Shou Feng didn't answer.
But she didn't even notice.
For the first time since the dragon took off—she wasn't thinking about heights, or falling, or dying.
She wasn't thinking about Shou Feng at all.
She forgot he was even with her.
The world was too big, too bright, too unreal.
The dragon glided forward quietly, letting her drink in the view.
The wind was cool, but gentle—brushing her cheeks like a whisper.
Anna leaned forward slightly, her fear slowly melting into disbelief. Her heartbeat, which had been trying to escape earlier, softened.
The golden particles floated around her, drifting past her hands.
She reached out.
One landed on her fingertip.
Warm.
Light.
Gentle.
It vanished softly, leaving a faint shimmer behind.
Anna's voice was a whisper stolen by the wind. "I've never seen anything like this…"
The sky around her glowed—soft pinks blending into moonlit silver, gold drifting like snow, clouds moving in slow waves as if breathing.
The children's laughter echoed again, faint but unmistakably joyful. It made the air feel alive.
She felt small.
But not scared.
Not overwhelmed.
Just… in awe.
The dragon continued forward, its large wings beating steadily, slicing through trails of moonlit mist. The wind pushed her hair back, letting her see everything clearly.
Her eyes traced the arc of the blue moon.
The sea of clouds.
The golden rain.
The soft pink glow.
The dancing, distant lights.
It didn't feel like the sky.
It felt like standing in the center of a secret the world didn't want to share with anyone.
Anna's breath trembled—not from fear, but wonder.
She didn't know how much time passed.
A minute? An hour? A lifetime?
She didn't notice anything except the world stretching endlessly around her.
She didn't even realize she spoke aloud until the words slipped out.
"It's beautiful…"
Shou Feng's voice reached her —distant, low, like a reminder that he still existed.
"Keep your eyes open. There's more."
She did.
Not because he said so.
But because she couldn't look away now, even if the sky demanded it.
The dragon glided slower, allowing her to absorb every corner of the view. Wind brushed past like a soft hand across her hair.
She had forgotten her fear.
Forgotten her screaming.
Forgotten her panic.
For that moment—she forgot everything else too.
Even the man behind her.
Even the danger he carried.
All she saw was the sky:
Soft.
Vast.
Magical.
Endless.
And for the first time… Anna felt small in a way that made her heart lift instead of fall.
The world had never looked this gentle.
And she never knew the sky could feel… like home.
The wind softened.
After all the screaming, shaking, and Anna clutching Shou Feng like he was the railing of a roller coaster, the dragon suddenly dipped into a smooth, gentle glide. It was so unexpected Anna didn't trust it for a second. Her eyes squeezed shut, fingers digging into Shou Feng's robe.
"Why—why are we going down?" she said, voice trembling.
"Relax," Shou Feng said casually, as if she wasn't gripping him tightly enough to rip fabric. "We're not falling."
"Feels like falling!"
"Then enjoy the feeling."
"ENJOY—?!"
But shou Feng only snorted a laugh. "Mortals," he muttered. "Dramatic by default."
Eventually, Anna forced her trembling lashes open—and the breath that left her chest wasn't a scream this time. It was something soft, amazed, almost stolen.
Below them stretched a kingdom of light.
Not just big—endless.
Lanterns floated like drifting constellations. Golden streets ran like rivers of firelight, splitting into smaller glowing streams weaving between rooftops. Towers rose like polished obsidian, crowned with golden detailing that shimmered as if kissed by the moon.
The sky above mirrored the world below. Stars winked back. Fireworks blossomed silently in the distance—pink, blue, and soft gold.
It was a kingdom carved from starlight and celebration.
Anna forgot entirely that she was clinging to Shou Feng.
She forgot she was even on a dragon.
She simply stared, breathless.
And Shou Feng—oh, he was absolutely doing this on purpose.
The dragon dipped lower, circling a glittering tower. Then another. Then swooped over a bridge lined with lanterns shaped like lotus petals.
Anna inhaled sharply.
"This… this place. It's….
Shou Feng's voice was maddeningly calm.
"Hm? Not bad?"
"Not BAD? Look at it! It's—it's glowing! Everything is glowing!"
"Good lighting is important," he replied like a man discussing interior decor, not an entire kingdom.
The dragon ignored him and continued to glide gracefully.
Anna leaned forward without realizing it, eyes shining as she took in the floating lanterns rising like souls made of light. Children on balconies waved glowing ribbons. Music—soft, otherworldly—rose through the air like a river of bells.
A city living inside a dream.
The dragon circled once more, wings opening wide—
and then began a slow descent.
Anna's eyes immediately shut again.
"No, no—no I don't trust this—!"
Shou Feng sighed. "Stop panicking. You'd think I'm dropping you into a volcano."
"Enough," Shou Feng muttered, tapping the dragon's neck.
They landed with surprising gentleness in an open courtyard paved with polished stone reflecting lantern light like water.
Anna didn't even get a second to find her footing because Shou Feng stepped down and—without warning—lifted her as if she weighed nothing.
He jumped off the dragon's back with her in his arms, landing smoothly.
Anna's eyes flew open.
"Wh—put me—put me down!"
"You were clinging so tightly that I assumed you were not ready to walk," he said calmly.
"That's—NO—THAT'S NOT—"
Before her dignity could completely combust, a figure approached from across the courtyard.
A man.
Tall, dressed in elegant dark-red robes that shimmered faintly like embers caught in moonlight. His long hair—black with streaks of deep silver—fell gracefully over his shoulders. His features were sharp but warm, with eyes that held a playful glint even before he spoke.
He stopped a few steps away…and immediately bowed.
"Brother," he said with a calm smile.
Anna's eyes widened.
Brother?
Shou Feng didn't even bother answering—he just set Anna on her feet gently, as if she were something fragile.
The man looked at the gesture.
Then raised an eyebrow.
Then smirked.
"Well, well," he drawled. "It is the first time I've seen you put someone down with so much care. Usually you drop people like sacks of rice."
Shou Feng glared. "Mong Feng."
"Ahem—my apologies," the man said, though his grin stayed exactly the same. Then he turned to Anna and bowed again. "Greeting, sister-in—AHEM—young lady. I am Mong Feng. Shou Feng's step-brother."
He leaned closer, whispered loudly,
"Though I am younger, I am obviously more handsome. Just saying."
Shou Feng took a threatening step forward.
Mong Feng cleared his throat, straightened, and continued politely:
"Welcome. And please ignore everything I just said."
Anna blinked, still overwhelmed.
"I… I'm Anna."
"Anna," Mong Feng repeated warmly. "Well then, Anna—"
He stepped aside and swept his arm dramatically toward the glowing world behind him.
"Welcome to Feng Kingdom."
Anna froze.
Her heart thudded.
The lights.
The lanterns.
The shimmering rivers.
The endless sky of stars and fireworks.
This wasn't just a kingdom.
It was their kingdom.
Shou Feng's kingdom.
And it was more beautiful than anything she had ever imagined.
End of the chapter