A suffocating feeling rose in Xuan Long’s chest. It was a mix of grief for the years lost and a desperate, raw hunger to know the man who had shared his blood.
He felt like a lost hatchling all over again, looking for a warmth he had never known.
He gripped the jade pendant so hard his scales started to itch. He wasn’t just a discarded egg. He was a son.
"Father..." he whispered, the word feeling strange and heavy on his tongue.
But the moment of silence didn’t last. The warmth of the jade reminded him of another warmth...the warmth of his own home.
He realized that while he was chasing ghosts of the past, his current family was back at the treehouse.
He thought of Su Qinglan’s gentle smile and the way his cubs hissed at him for attention.
He couldn’t stay in this house forever. He had found the truth, and now he had to protect the future he had built. He stood up, his eyes turning cold and sharp again.
He tucked the jade into his chest and moved toward the exit. It was time to go back and face his family.
As he approached, he felt a strange, heavy silence. It was so quiet that for a moment he thought he had walked into the wrong home.
He stopped at the entrance when he saw Shi Feng. The Lion King was leaning against the wall, looking completely healed and refreshed.
Xuan Long’s eyes narrowed into a frown, but he didn’t attack. He just walked inside.
The atmosphere, which was already tense, became even more suffocating the moment he stepped through the door.
Han Jue and Rong Ye looked at him with complicated expressions, but no one said a word.
Xuan Long took a step forward, but suddenly his nose twitched.
He caught a scent in the air...a sweet, lingering smell that made his blood boil instantly. He looked around the room and realized someone was missing.
"Where is Hu Yan?" Xuan Long asked, his voice low and dangerous. "Has that tiger lost his mind?"
Rong Ye immediately chimed in, his voice full of resentment. "Yes! The tiger has lost all his senses! He has no shame!"
Just as the words left Rong Ye’s mouth, Hu Yan walked out from the back area. His hair was a bit messy, and the tips of his ears were bright red.
He had heard everything, but he didn’t argue. He had come downstairs the moment Su Qinglan fell into a deep, peaceful sleep, knowing that if he stayed up there any longer, the other three would probably tear the house down to get to them.
Hu Yan looked at Xuan Long and spoke in a hushed whisper. "Don’t talk so loudly. Lan Lan finally fell asleep. She needs to rest."
Xuan Long’s jaw tightened, but before he could explode at the tiger, a soft hiss caught his attention.
In the basket, the cubs had woken up. They were squirming around, hungry and restless. Xuan Long’s gaze shifted to the basket, and his heart gave a sudden, painful throb.
There was his son, Xiao San. The little snake was not lying in the furs; instead, he was perched right on top of Xiao Yi’s fuzzy tiger head to get a good view.
When Xiao San saw Xuan Long, his little body began to vibrate with excitement. He hissed loudly, his tiny tongue flicking out as he called for his father.
Xuan Long stood stunned. He remembered how agitated and sad the little snake had been when he left earlier. He saw the pure, raw yearning in his son’s eyes...the desperate need of a child for his father.
Xuan Long’s eyes softened instantly. He looked at the little snake and thought of the jade pendant hidden in his clothes.
He thought of the father he never knew and the loneliness he had felt for centuries.
He realized that while he was out chasing the ghost of his own father, his son was right here, terrified of being abandoned just like he had been.
Xuan Long walked over to the basket and reached down. He gently picked up Xiao San, letting the little snake coil tightly around his thumb.
"I’m here," Xuan Long whispered, his voice uncharacteristically warm. "I won’t leave you again."
Xiao San rubbed his tiny head against Xuan Long’s hand, finally calming down. The other two tiger cubs looked up and let out small, sleepy yawns, seeing that the "big scary snake" was back.
The three men standing in the kitchen watched this scene in silence. Even Shi Feng felt a pang of something strange in his chest. The murderous aura in the room had vanished, replaced by the soft sounds of a father comforting his son.
Xuan Long sat by the basket, ignoring the heavy stares of the other men. His entire world had shrunk down to the tiny, flickering tongue of his son.
Xiao San was being incredibly affectionate, rubbing his cool scales against Xuan Long’s palm and letting out happy, rhythmic hisses.
Xuan Long had always been a strict father. He believed that a snake beastman had to be tough and cold to survive.
But today, after discovering the truth about his own past, his heart felt like it was melting. He looked at his son and realized that he didn’t want Xiao San to ever feel the loneliness he had felt for hundreds of years.
"You missed me that much?" Xuan Long whispered, his finger gently stroking the little snake’s back.
Xiao San hissed a "yes" and coiled tighter, refusing to let go.
Suddenly, Xuan Long reached into his clothes and pulled out the green jade pendant he had taken from the lion’s tent. The light from the outside caught the jade, making it glow with a soft, ancient green light.
"Xiao San," Xuan Long said, his voice low and serious. "This is a gift for you. It is... from your grandfather."
Xiao San’s little eyes widened. Like all snakes, he was naturally attracted to shiny, beautiful things.
He looked at the pendant, which was carved in a shape that looked exactly like his own tiny body, complete with the little horns on the head.
He immediately lunged for it, wrapping his small body around the cool stone as if he had found a long-lost treasure.