Xuan Long finally appeared in the Upper Domain and his body stiffened as the shockwave from the still ongoing fighting was too much, not for him but for his unborn cub.
So he descided to get far away from the fighting zone and wait in that man’s house. Someone would call that man for him, he did not bother going by himself.
His entire focus was centered on the small weight resting safely within the protective cavity of his throat.
Even now, miles away from the treehouse, the egg was radiating the undeniable power of the Teng Clan.
Xuan Long’s mind was still full of shock and self loathing. When that green crystal jade egg had rolled out from Lan Lan, his brain had effectively frozen. His offspring? How was it possible?
The Teng Clan was a dying lineage; they had not seen a new hatchling in centuries.
The few remaining elders were relics of a bygone era, living in cold isolation without the hope of a future.
Xuan Long had long ago accepted his fate as a lone wanderer. To him, being with Lan Lan was more than he ever deserved.
He had never dared to dream of a child of his own; he was perfectly content to protect and raise whatever cubs Lan Lan gave birth to as if they were his own flesh and blood.
"I am such a loser," he thought, his emerald slit eyes narrowing in a flash of internal anger.
How could he have been so blind? Was he so old and senile that he had not noticed his own bloodline growing inside her?
He remembered how he had constantly marked Lan Lan with his breath to protect her, surrounding her with the scent of the Teng Serpent.
He had always assumed the thick energy clinging to her was just his own lingering mark. He never realized it was being amplified by the new life growing in her womb.
The only reason he had snapped back to reality in the treehouse was the sound of the tiger cubs crying.
The moment the egg was born, it had released a surge of pure, unfiltered spiritual pressure.
If he had not immediately acted to swallow the egg and seal that scent within his own body, the tiger cubs would have been suffocated by the sheer weight of the Teng Clan’s aura.
But more importantly, he felt a cold dread settle in his scales.
The Teng Clan elders, those old coots who lived for power and tradition, would sense this energy if he did not hide it.
If they found out a pure jade egg had been born, they would come down like a plague to take it away. They would claim the child for the clan and tear it away from the only mother it would ever know.
Just like him, who never saw his mother, and he did not remember his father at all. Whether the man had existed in his life or not, he only had inherited memories of his father and nothing else.
"No," he hissed. He would never let his child suffer such a fate. "This egg belongs to us. It belongs to Lan Lan."
He could not allow them to find it. He would never let his child be raised in the cold, loveless halls of the Upper Domain elders.
This baby would grow up in the warmth of the treehouse, surrounded by Lan Lan’s laughter and the smell of the forest.
With a determined flick of his tail, he thought he had to find a way to mask the egg’s presence permanently before he could return home.
He knew Lan Lan was probably terrified and angry, and the thought of her tears made his heart ache, but he had to do this. He had to be the shield his family did not even know they needed.
He was still terrified of the scene when Lan Lan fell into unconsciousness, but he knew he had no option. He had to mask the aura on his egg as soon as possible, and about Lan Lan, he knew they would take care of her.
He had never liked them, but in a situation like this he knew they were the only people he could trust. After all, they were family.
Only now he realized that even if he was powerful, he could never protect Lan Lan alone.
Xuan Long finally realized the bitter truth, and slowly all his possessiveness and the thought of silently taking care disappeared from his eyes as he slowly depended on them. After all, to raise a healthy and glowing family, it needed everyone’s equal contribution.
Huh. He took a deep sigh, his massive emerald coils slowly moving as more and more thoughts came into his mind.
He was still in his snake form.
He refused to shift into his human form; his serpent body was the most secure vault for what he carried.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of him.
A man stepped out from the mouth of a nearby curved door, unhurriedly wiping blood stained fingers on a silk cloth.
He was striking, with eyes as clear as a celestial pool.
The man had a pure angelic face and aura, but only Xuan Long knew how much devil this man was. Even a devil thought twice before getting in his way.
"Brother, it is only the sixth day and you are back again," An Mo said, his voice full of angelic grace and devilish mischief.
Time was a fickle thing. One day in the Upper Domain was a week below. While the Lower Domain had seen nearly one and a half months pass, for An Mo, it had been a mere six days since he last saw the grumpy snake.
"Because of your sudden arrival, I had to end my duel early. I was really looking forward to toying with those challengers for a few more days. You have ruined my entertainment."
Xuan Long had the urge to roll his eyes. While the Lower Domain was practically drowning in rain, this man was complaining about a shortened play fight. But Xuan Long did not have time for banter.
"Build it," Xuan Long hissed, his voice vibrating. "Build the Eternal Shield around us so that no aura or scent could escape from here."
An Mo straightened up, his playful demeanor vanishing. "Brother, why? That shield consumes a massive amount of my core energy. What are you hiding?"