His loud huffing echoed in the middle of the night as he opened his eyes inside the old cradle.
The icy sensation of those crazy people’s weapons closing on his skin still caused his hair to bristle and his heart to drum madly in his chest.
But a sigh of relief escaped his trembling lips. At least he had survived their mad accusations.
His jaws clenched, and his eyes burned in righteous anger.
’This crazy woman even called Prometheus’ name to sentence me to death! That’s the height of irony!’
Seriously! He was born from Prometheus’ emotions and half his soul. How could she even mention that name and condemn him to death in the same sentence?
He rolled his eyes, cursing them all for attacking him out of nowhere. Worst, they tried to kill a baby! How ruthless were they?
Still, he pushed his anger down to focus on a detail in her words.
’Mages are the cultivators’ enemies... Why? The magic world doesn’t even know about them.’ His brows creased into a frown. ’Is it because of Luna’s bullshit prophecy from fifteen years ago? Would they go so far as to warp the flow of time twice because of it?’
He shook his head. ’Highly unlikely. They must have paid a steep price to use a spell or Qi technique to alter the entire realm. One not even the magus would want to pay...’
He frowned, the mystery hanging heavy in his thoughts.
However, he quickly dismissed everything, as always.
’Breaking my head over secrets I can’t solve won’t help.’ He shook his head and closed his eyes again. ’I’ll gather information with Misha and ask the cow tomorrow. I’ll just sleep and forget about this stupid area four until I grow up enough to sneak to the tower.’
Mana pulsed through his heart as a final defiant thought echoed before sleep claimed him.
’Wait for me to shatter your achievements, Ye Feng.’
Time continued to flow, and the shining stars disappeared one after another from the night sky. The moon followed as the rising sun’s rays replaced its soft glow and illuminated the Lóngshān valley.
With it came the vigorous voice of the cow and the footsteps of five trembling individuals.
"Wake up, old Zhongguo!" She slid the door open and stepped inside. "Your son and stepdaughter came to say hello. I also convinced the two grumpy old men and the proud chicken to help teach the baby!"
Lin Zhongguo’s frame shook under his blankets for a moment before his defeated sigh echoed.
"Give me five minutes to freshen up."
His grief-filled voice echoed as she narrowed her eyes, noticing the blankets were wet with tears.
She nodded in respect.
"I know you took a serious blow with yesterday’s revelations." She walked to the sleeping kids and picked Adam up gently. "Take the time you need to recover without worries. We’ll care for them until then."
With a last glance at Zhongguo’s bed, she regrouped with the others in the courtyard and closed the door behind her.
Then, she smirked at the crane, spider, and serpent and pushed Adam’s sleepy figure before their eyes.
"See for yourselves! He has Lin Yao’s dan tian and can use magic!" Her voice cracked with excitement. "His potential is off the charts. If he can’t save the valley’s spiritual vein, no one in this realm can!"
With intrigued frowns, they began touching Adam’s abdomen, sending wisps of Qi to scan it. Their pupils trembled the next second.
Not the shadow of a doubt clouded their minds as their expression turned solemn.
The crane spoke first, her delicate white robes fluttering behind her.
"I’ll teach him how to move like the wind." Her eyes narrowed, and her heart pulsed with expectations. "Nothing in the universe will graze his body after he completes my training!"
The serpent cupped his fists next and took a sharp inhale.
"I’ll refine his body to immunise it to poisons and teach him pill-refining. I believe he can surpass me in a few years if he’s diligent."
The cow snickered at him provokingly.
"Weren’t you the most opposed? Look at you jumping at the opportunity!"
The serpent’s purple hair bristled on his neck, and his fangs glistened under the sun.
"Non-sense. I didn’t want to listen to you. It has nothing to do with the kid!"
The cow shrugged. "If you say so."
Meanwhile, the spider’s silky hair fluttered behind him as he spoke last.
"I’ll teach him how to craft enchanted armors and weapons... And how to make excellent spiritual wine."
They all turned at him, their lips quivering at the last part of his teachings.
Yet, he raised his palms in confusion.
"What? Do you want him to drink milk all his life? It’ll help him gather Qi faster in the later cultivation realms!"
"Tsk." The cow clicked her tongue. "You just want to share your drunkard habits with him." She shook her head, her stance and tone firm. "Forget about it. Yours doesn’t even compare to that of those monkeys in the north. He’ll just claim theirs if he needs it in the future."
The spider chuckled and cracked his old neck. "Can’t argue with that." He pointed at Adam. "Do you plan to wake him up?"
The cow shook her head in the Lin couple’s direction.
"Let them see him first. But like last time, we won’t tolerate any meddling in our teachings." She pointed at the house. "Check on your father and return to the village after. In fact, it’s even better if you take him with you. His mental state is unstable, and he’ll need his family’s comfort to overcome Lin Yao’s death."
Lin Weijun nodded and approached with Meixiang.
They briefly scanned Adam, tears rolling down their cheeks before they bowed.
"Thank you for witnessing our son’s last battle and sharing his story. Even if it reopened a wound in our hearts, we’re proud of the life he led in that foreign world."
They raised their heads to gaze at his sky-blue hair and handsome features for a second. Then they took heavy steps to the house and disappeared inside.
Meanwhile, Adam subtly sweated in the cow’s arms while keeping his eyes closed.
’Did I become a zoo’s main attraction? And whatever you do, don’t try to feed me again! I’ll pretend to be dead or fight you if I have to, just to avoid those... mountains.’