The Little Hatchling

A/N: Sorry for the delay, it was unintended. I had a series of health issues going on for more than a week, so I was unable to write during that time (๑ŏ ᴗ ŏ๑)

To no one's surprise, this chapter came out super long and will be split into two segments as usual~

This extra will consist of a series of glimpses and chronologically ordered events in our main couple's life many years later, starring a certain little bun. I hope you enjoy the last extra! :)

∘―o―∘

Two hundred years later―

Crack.

The crisp sound seemed too loud in the expectant hush of the egg chamber, its vibration lingering in the air longer than possible. The spiritual energy that had slowly been gathering in the room suddenly rushed towards a certain egg, swirling around it in a maelstrom of rapid currents before getting sucked into it in a constant stream.

Qinghe clutched Wei Xiang's arm and exclaimed in a pensive and excited whisper, "Xiang, it's starting! The egg is hatching!"

Wei Xiang's eyes gleamed with insuppressible joy. He held Qinghe closer and nodded with a wide smile. "Yes, we're finally going to witness the birth of our first child."

It had barely been a few hours before when Wei Xiang had been alerted to a potential hatching due to the perception spell that always kept him aware of the status of the eggs. He had immediately told Qinghe and the rest of the Feng household, and they'd all rushed towards the egg chamber. However, Zheng Xuan had advised everyone that it would be better if the hatchling first had time to bond with its parents before being subjected to such a large group, so the rest of the family waited outside with only the future parents of the hatching wyvern staying in the egg chamber to share this experience.

The couple was currently crouched in front of the bluish-silver egg, their eyes fixed on the hair-thin crack running down from the tip to the middle of the eggshell. Under their focused gazes, the egg lightly wobbled to and fro while another small crack joined the first one.

Qinghe's grip on Wei Xiang's arm grew tighter. He held his breath in anticipation, both wonder and nervousness in his gaze. He'd never experienced anything like this before, and no matter the mental preparations he'd tried to make in these past two hundred years after they'd decided to hatch this egg, he found that the actual situation was still too different from his expectations. There were too many emotions swirling in his usually calm mind, each of them so very vibrant. Every detail in front of him seemed sharper and more vivid than ever, etching itself indelibly into his memory.

Wei Xiang patted Qinghe's hand without taking his eyes away from the egg. There were many recording crystals installed in the egg chamber to catch the hatchings, but Wei Xiang still didn't want to miss even a moment of seeing it with his own eyes.

In a low voice, Qinghe muttered encouragingly, "Come on, little wyvern. You can do it. Be born quickly so that I can hug you."

Wei Xiang's expression warmed.

As if listening to Qinghe, another two cracks split the eggshell simultaneously, connecting with the previous fissure. As a result, a small triangular piece of the eggshell wobbled, breaking free and toppling down to reveal a thin and pale gelatinous layer within. Something dark strained and shifted under the elastic layer.

Qinghe almost jumped with excitement. "I can see it! I can see the baby!"

Wei Xiang nodded, his intent gaze remaining on the hatchling even as he observed, "The little one is progressing well."

Qinghe nodded and declared proudly, "Yes, it's all due to my encouragement."

Letting out a soft chuff of laughter, Wei Xiang turned his head for a moment to place a small kiss on his adorable little husband's forehead before turning back to the egg.

As if energized by the sound of them talking, the little wyvern struggled harder under the membrane, causing the cracks to spread and knocking down more pieces of the eggshell. With a soft and wet tearing sound, the thin membrane split open and let out a gush of transparent fluid. A small and blunt grey snout was revealed as it poked and pushed out sluggishly.

Qinghe leaned forward, unable to hide his awe at finally being able to see the little wyvern. Wei Xiang's eyes turned gold, his pupils going slitted as he focused his entire attention on the hatchling.

The little wyvern's maw opened to reveal tiny needle-like teeth as it gulped down its first breath. Scenting the presence of strangely familiar people, the little wyvern grew excited, its movements hastening as it wriggled with more gusto. The membrane tore further, spilling more thick fluid outside. The swaying of the egg increased while the cracks on its surface spread with sharp snapping sounds. Within a few moments, a large part near the top of the egg had broken off, scattering shell fragments around the base of the egg. The smaller pieces hung down, still connected to the edges of the opening by the remains of the sticky membrane.

From the dark gap, a tiny wyvern head emerged, smaller than a palm and looking more like that of a large grey lizard's than a rare draconic being's. The hatchling was a dull grey in color, but its scales would probably grow in strength and luster with age. Twelve little white bumps crowned its head, yet to grow into full-fledged horns. Since it was born in Heaven, it was already a heavenly beast and didn't have to cultivate to ascend like Wei Xiang had to. Drenched with fluid, the little wyvern's head glistened wetly while its eyes were squished close. Its expression was as if it was concentrating on something. The little wyvern's tiny nostrils flared as it drew in breaths while its neck extended upward, pushing its head out of the egg and into the fresh air outside.

Qinghe pressed his lips together to suppress his excited shouts. He didn't want to end up scaring their child right back into the egg with his enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Wei Xiang had to physically stop himself from helping the little one out of the egg. Spiritual beasts that hatched from eggs often had to struggle out on their own or it would impede their development and cause them to be born weak.

"Xiang, can you tell the baby's gender?" Qinghe suddenly whispered.

Wei Xiang only had to sniff the air once before answering, "It's a male."

Hearing them speak, the little wyvern opened his mouth and let out a warbling, squeaky sound.

Qinghe melted. "Aww, he wants to join our conversation."

Wei Xiang chuckled. "He'll have to fully get out of the egg first."

Seeming to realize it as well, the little wyvern shimmied his body, trying to squeeze up through the hole he'd made. More of his slender neck pushed out of the gap before a pair of bony shoulders followed.

Qinghe's eyes widened as he stretched out his hands worriedly. "Ah, if he keeps going this way, he'll―"

Before Qinghe could finish his sentence, what he feared happened. Due to the hatchling's weight being unevenly distributed, the egg wobbled unsteadily before falling down with a dull thud. It broke apart on one side, the shell fragments scattering on the ground. The little wyvern toppled out of the egg and laid stiffly on the floor as if stunned by this abrupt ejection. His wings lay akimbo on either side, the fragile bones and pale, paper-thin membranes looking crumpled and slicked with fluid. Slumped over on the ground, the hatchling lightly shook himself and made a rumbling, disgruntled sound. His eyelids parted a slit and the little wyvern looked at the world for the first time with a grumpy expression.

Qinghe had to struggle to suppress his chuckles while Wei Xiang's eyes gleamed. They looked at the hatchling with affection, drinking in their first full view of him.

Meanwhile, gathering his four tiny limbs under him, the little wyvern tried to stand up wobblingly. Fluid dripped down from his body while eggshells crunched under him. Tiny black claws clicked on the floor. His slender tail stayed pressed against the ground as if for balance. With determination, the little wyvern tried to take a step forward, his delicate body trembling with the strain. But due to a combination of inexperience and a floor turned slippery with fluid, the little wyvern's limbs slipped and slid in four different directions, sending him crashing to the floor with a splat. The little wyvern made a displeased hiss, but remained splayed on the floor. His expression seemed to say that since the world was being mean to him right after he was hatched, he was going to stop making any effort and just stay here lazily.

Qinghe burst out laughing. His little son was just born and he already behaved like such an old soul!

Taking pity on the hatchling, Wei Xiang grinned and reached out to carefully pick him up, amniotic goo and all. The newly-hatched wyvern seemed to sense a connection with him and coiled his tail around Wei Xiang's wrist and comfortably settled in his arms.

Bending over the little wyvern, Qinghe lightly poked his snout with a finger and cooed, "Oh, look how adorable you are. So majestic even when covered with egg slime. What shall we call you, my sweet little son?"

Though the hatchling didn't comprehend what was being said, he still felt that Qinghe was familiar. How could he not? After all, Qinghe had been the one to spend the most time with the egg till now. And so, feeling favorably towards him and hearing Qinghe's loving tone as he poked his nose, the little wyvern made a pleased rumble, nuzzling the tip of Qinghe's finger.

Qinghe's expression turned adoring. "Aww, he recognizes me! Xiang, did you see?"

Wei Xiang smiled and patted the hatchling approvingly. "Yes. He's a clever little one, isn't he?"

The couple lavished more praise and affection on the little wyvern, stroking him and getting him accustomed to their presence. The little wyvern luxuriated in their attention before realizing that these two people that it recognized the most weren't similar in shape to him. And so, the hatchling shifted into a human baby in an instinctive attempt to match them.

Wei Xiang hurriedly shifted his hold to securely support the wyvern who'd suddenly turned into a plump little baby. A swirl of dark silvery hair adorned the baby's round head while his big bright eyes were a deep blue.

After a moment of astonishment, the couple quickly got used to it. After all, this wasn't unexpected. Qinghe ran his finger over the baby's soft and round belly and remarked, "I never thought about it before, but Xiang, why do you and the little one have bellybuttons? Since bellybuttons are only formed upon removal of the umbilical cord, shouldn't beings that hatch from eggs not have them?"

Wei Xiang nodded and explained, "Eons ago, humans were very strongly biased against non-humans and considered spiritual beasts as the monsters crouching in the darkness waiting to eat them. To be able to mingle with humans unnoticed, the spiritual beasts evolved into being capable of manifesting human bodies for themselves. Since not having navels would obviously give them away, no matter the type of beast, their human form was made to have a navel."

Qinghe showed an expression of realization. "Ah, that makes sense."

Feeling left out, the little wyvern baby waved his little hands and burbled complainingly.

Chuckling, the couple showered their new son with more love until the demanding young master was satisfied. Then remembering that the others were waiting outside to meet the newest addition to the family too, the couple finally decided to take the little wyvern out of the egg chamber.

Outside the chamber, the mood was both tense and hopeful.

Feng Huixin and Feng Chunyi were frowning, with Feng Huixin staring at the inactive transportation array on the wall with a fixed gaze while Feng Chunyi stamped her feet impatiently and paced to and fro, constantly muttering under her breath. Fei Jin held a basin of warm water to bathe the newborn wyvern in while Fei Yin had a stretch of soft cloth at the ready to wipe the hatchling down afterward. They wore focused expressions as if ready to spring into action the second the array opened. Xie Xingye fiddled with the edge of his sleeve, purposely not looking at the wall with the array. But he still couldn't help but peek up at it now and then with an expectant gaze. Zheng Xuan seemed to be the only calm one, patiently patting Xie Xingye's back and remaining composed.

Suddenly, the array on the wall glowed. The attentions of everyone snapped to it as one. From within the array, Qinghe and Wei Xiang emerged, with a baby in Wei Xiang's arms who was slicked with goo and looking around curiously with deep blue eyes. Everyone quickly moved, surrounding the baby, their gazes roving over him.

Feng Chunyi immediately said, "I want to hold him!"

Wei Xiang chuckled. "Mother-in-law, at least wait until he'd cleaned up. Everyone can get a chance to hold the little one then."

Feng Chunyi pouted but nodded. A non-goo-covered baby would be much more pleasant to hold, after all.

Wei Xiang thus set about keeping the baby in place in the shallow basin of warm water that Fei Jin set down while the twins slowly and carefully washed the baby. Meanwhile, Zheng Xuan came over to crouch by them, giving out instructions in his halting, gravelly voice, "Don't let the water…get into his eyes, ears…or his mouth and nose. Don't touch his belly…or throat…too much. Wyverns are predatory…by nature…and their self-protective instincts…will be triggered…if you touch anywhere vulnerable…especially when they are young…and not yet capable of…self-control. If he…switches forms…in between…you must take care…with the wings. They're very…fragile. You should also…be careful of his claws…and the sharp tip…of his tail…when bathing those…vulnerable areas."

Qinghe stood beside them, seriously nodding as if taking notes in his heart, while Xie Xingye made passionate eyes at his dependable lover. Feng Chunyi impatiently waited with folded arms while Feng Huixin clenched and unclenched his hands restlessly, his eyes on his grandson's chubby little cheeks.

Once the baby was successfully bathed and dried using both a towel and Qinghe's wind, it was time for everyone to hold him. Since Wei Xiang and the twins had already gotten a chance by now, Zheng Xuan carried him next. His large and scarred hands seemed gigantic when compared to the baby, but he used the utmost care and gentleness when holding the little one.

Zheng Xuan lifted the baby boy up, looking at him face-to-face, and smiled at him. "Hello, little one."

The baby waved his hands and giggled sweetly.

Zheng Xuan's smile grew wider. He turned to Xie Xingye and offered, "Xingye, do you want to…hold him next?"

Xie Xingye blinked at his beloved, then at the baby, and gave a nervous laugh. Tucking is hands behind him, he shook his head. "No, I… It's okay."

Zheng Xuan raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Looking at Qinghe, he asked, "Have you held your son yet?"

Qinghe shook his head and reached out. "Not yet. Can I hold him now?"

Zheng Xuan nodded and handed over the baby.

Qinghe took the little baby in his arms and marveled at how warm, soft, and heavy the little guy was. But not letting him admire him, the little hatchling twisted and turned as if trying to fall down. Qinghe made a sound of surprise and called out panickily, "X-Xiang! Quick, tell me how to hold him properly so he doesn't fall!"

Wei Xiang chortled at his husband's discomposed expression and went over to help. Once Qinghe was able to hold his son steadily, he bathed the little one's face with kisses while admonishing in an affectionate voice about how naughty he was. The child squirmed and squealed happily.

After that, it was Feng Huixin's and Feng Chunyi's turn. Both of them already had experience with babies due to raising Qinghe, so neither of them was flustered. Feng Huixin stably held the baby with an arm and tenderly squished his cheeks with the fingers of the other hand. Feng Chunyi held him up and made funny faces at the child while asking in a silly voice, "Who's your favorite grandma, little one? Tell me, who~"

Childish laughter rang out, bubbling with innocent joy and bringing a warm smile to everyone's faces.

Nuzzling the cheerful baby, Feng Chunyi casually noted, "He's very advanced for someone just born, isn't he?"

Feng Huixin replied, "Most spiritual beasts are born ready to survive in the wild."

"Yes. Especially in certain species of reptiles where a lot of development occurs while in the egg itself," Wei Xiang added while taking back the baby from Feng Chunyi.

Qinghe excitedly hovered by the child, seeming to almost bounce on his feet. "It doesn't matter how developed he is. The little one is still the most precious baby, aren't you?" Addressing the child at the end, Qinghe tickled his belly, eliciting more happy gurgles.

Coming up to stand on either side of Qinghe, the twins looked at the baby with small smiles. Fei Jin asked, "Senior Brother, what about the baby's naming? Will you wait for a hundred days as per tradition to choose one?"

Fei Yin added, "And will he use 'Feng' or 'Wei' as a surname?"

Qinghe tilted his head and looked up at Wei Xiang. "Since the little one is a wyvern, I think he should use 'Wei'. Xiang, what do you think?"

Wei Xiang blinked. "I… I suppose it makes sense." Turning to Feng Huixin and Feng Chunyi, he asked, "Master, Mother-in-law, is that alright?"

Feng Huixin silently nodded while Feng Chunyi waved a hand while saying, "Of course it's alright. Why are you even asking us? That's the brat you both are taking the most responsibility for."

Wei Xiang smiled and looked back down at the baby. "Very well. He will be surnamed Wei, then. What about his given name, love?"

Qinghe grinned and answered, "There's no rush or a need to wait a hundred days. We can take our time to settle on a name we all like and then use it."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

A few days later, the baby's name was finally decided: Wei Yuan.

...

One thing Qinghe could never get used to was Wei Yuan's occasional crying fits. They came and went like a raging monsoon storm, utterly unpredictable. Every time he saw his son scrunching up his little face and crying like the world was ending, Qinghe would feel his own eyes starting to sting and nose turning stuffy.

When people generally had problems, Qinghe could talk to them and figure out a way to quickly resolve it. But with the infant Wei Yuan who couldn't yet speak to communicate what was bothering him, Qinghe was helpless to do anything. And so, seeing the little one wailing with anguish at how his father was unable to read his mind and give him what he wanted, Qinghe felt beyond distressed. His poor little son, unable to express himself, forced to suffer with no one able to even understand him…

As a result, the adult father would end up accompanying his little son as they both hugged each other and cried, one more silently and with far less tears and snot than the other.

When Feng Chunyi saw this, she very easily absolved herself of blame, saying that this excessive empathy was something Qinghe had gotten from his father. When Qinghe was a baby, Feng Huixin had reacted much like this to seeing his son cry as well.

But knowing this hardly helped Qinghe.

The first time Wei Xiang saw the faces of his two precious people wet with tears, he didn't know what to feel. He'd walked up to them and lifted Qinghe onto his lap, who in turn had their son sitting on his thighs.

Hugging his lover and son close, Wei Xiang patted their backs comfortingly and asked, "Love, what's wrong? Why are you both crying?"

Qinghe sniffled and rubbed his teary face. "I don't know. Yuan-er was crying so pitifully, so I ended up crying too…"

Looking at his newly arrived father, Wei Yuan waved his little fists drenched with tears and drool and burbled something unintelligible in a wronged tone as if trying to answer too.

Wei Xiang's face twitched as he suppressed his smile. Why did he find these two so cute?

Soon, under Wei Xiang's warm palms soothing them and his steady and reassuring presence, Qinghe and Wei Yuan's waterworks quickly ceased. Within a few more moments, the family would be laughing cheerfully again.

From then on, Wei Xiang tried to always be the one who handled their son when he was crying. And even if Qinghe somehow ended up having to face their disconsolate toddler, Wei Xiang would be there. He seemed to have developed a sixth sense for whenever his little husband and son were crying, appearing almost before the tears could start to calm them both. Each time, he couldn't help but think just how strange his family was while also being thankful for having them.

Because all their weirdness aside, Wei Xiang would never trade his beloved family for anything.

As Wei Yuan grew up into a sprightly little boy, Qinghe and Wei Xiang came up with several ways to calm him whenever he grew upset because of some unreasonable thing as children were often wont to do.

Wei Xiang would turn into his wyvern form and have Wei Yuan securely fixed onto his back with unbreakable spells before taking him up to fly. Whatever little woes the child had would often flutter away with the wind, and it also served as encouragement for him to try harder in his daily flying lessons. For some reason, Wei Yuan seemed to be more skilled in climbing up steep surfaces than in flying. Occasionally, when Qinghe joined Wei Yuan on Wei Xiang's back and went flying with them, there'd be especially loud squeals of excitement from the child.

On the other hand, Qinghe's version of cheering him up consisted of using his wind to send Wei Yuan soaring high into the air. As a wyvern, the little boy not only enjoyed flying but also being suspended up high like this. Qinghe would then let him fall down before securely catching the delighted little child. Then he would send him floating up and repeat the process again. Wei Yuan would keep giggling with joy the entire time, his steel-colored hair sticking out every which way. And even after they were done playing, he would be giddy, his little legs pumping as he ran around and jumped to vent his excitement, his smile big and wide.

Another thing Wei Yuan liked doing was sitting on Feng Huixin's lap and watching him seriously attend to paperwork, his clear blue eyes gleaming with curiosity. When he asked questions using his undeveloped vocabulary in a childish voice, Feng Huixin would do his best to answer with simple, easily understandable words. Oftentimes, by the end, Wei Yuan would wind up dozing away in the tranquil silence of the study and his grandfather's steady presence.

Wei Yuan also enjoyed accompanying Feng Chunyi while she was gardening, often following her around like a cute little chick and offering to help her in his sweet voice. Unable to bear how adorable her little grandson was, Feng Chunyi had ended up giving him a few pots of harmless flowering plants to take care of on his own. She very seriously told him that if he did well, she would add more plants in his name and might even consider giving him a plot of land to make his own garden. As a result, Wei Yuan took very good care of his tiny share of the plants and treated them with the utmost importance.

One day, all the flowers in the pots ended up wilting, the plants themselves looking on the verge of death. When Qinghe found Wei Yuan, he was crying his little heart out beside the plants, his expression inconsolable.

"Yuan-er, what's wrong? What happened to your plants?" Qinghe asked worriedly while lifting up the child and patting his back soothingly.

Hiccupping, Wei Yuan held out a crystal bottle with pale green liquid sloshing inside and explained through his tears, "I-I found this in Grandmother's stuff. I asked and she said it was called spring medicine. So I put it on the plants to make them have more flowers b-but…they…they…" Distraught, the little one's face crumpled as if he was about to dissolve into tears again.

Struggling to suppress his own urge to start crying with his son, Qinghe bent to nuzzle Wei Yuan in the way he knew a mother beast would her hatchling. Wei Yuan sniffled, but didn't cry. He clutched at Qinghe's robe and rubbed his wet face against his father's cheek, taking the offered comfort.

After the child had calmed a bit more, Qinghe gently asked him, "Yuan-er, why did you put that spring medicine on the plants to make them flower? Did your Grandmother tell you that it'd work that way?"

Wei Yuan blinked up his large eyes that still shone with the remnants of tears and shook his head. "No, Grandmother didn't tell me to do that. I did it all on my own. Because it's spring medicine, and spring season means more flowers growing, I thought it was medicine to make flowers grow more. But the medicine made all the plants die!" Declaring this angrily, Wei Yuan threw the bottle down with a furious glare. But the sturdy crystal bottle didn't shatter, just bounced and rolled on the ground. Wei Yuan growled at it as if to threaten it into behaving. The unimpressed bottle remained unbroken.

Qinghe was torn between crying and laughing, both at his son's strangely valid child-logic and his angry antics. Taking the bottle of aphrodisiac from the ground and going back into the house, Qinghe explained the situation to the others and let Feng Chunyi use her wood element ability to quickly make the wilting plants—the victims of Wei Yuan's good intentions and a bottle of aphrodisiac—healthy again.

Needless to say that after that, all of Feng Chunyi's bottles of liquids and other suspicious instruments were firmly locked away and put out of reach of the curious little boy.

In this way, a couple of years passed.

...

On a certain summer day, the heavenly realm that commonly had mild weather became hotter than usual. Rather than stay cooped up in the stuffy house, Qinghe took Wei Yuan to the back porch to play in the shade while Wei Xiang went off to fetch some ice.

Qinghe sat on the edge of the porch, his legs hanging down as he leaned on the pillar to his right. He held a particularly large beetle that he was keeping, lazily teasing it with his fingertips. To his left sat Wei Yuan, settled deeper inside the porch and under the cool shade. He was happily playing with a pair of fish-shaped wooden toys Qinghe had carved and painted for him. Wei Yuan was in the process of making a heroic story with two of his favorite little fishies. He had just reached the part where the queen fish was going to rescue the girl fish she loved from the evil people who wanted to catch and eat her when he scented his Father Xiang and looked up.

Engrossed in playing with the beetle in his palm, Qinghe absentmindedly said, "Xiang, you can leave the ice basin at the side. Make sure it's upwind so that it'll cool the breeze as it blows towards us, will you?"

Wei Xiang hummed in agreement and did so, then sneakily took an ice chip from the basin for himself. Wei Xiang's lips stretched with a wicked smile as he oh-so-casually walked towards his husband's unguarded back. Qinghe had swept his hair to the side to expose the back of his collar and nape to the breeze. Naturally, Wei Xiang's aim was that semi-loose collar.

Looking up at his Father Xiang and seeing his evil expression, Wei Yuan giggled. His Father Xiang was definitely going to do something naughty to his Father Qinghe! Hearing the light sound, Wei Xiang turned to him with a smile and pressed a finger to his lips to make a 'shh' motion. Wei Yuan clamped his little hands over his mouth to silence himself, his eyes shining brightly.

Turning back to a still unaware Qinghe, Wei Xiang grinned and reached out a hand. In a single, smooth motion, he pulled back Qinghe's collar and dropped the ice chip in before quickly stepping back.

Qinghe jerked upright and let out a sharp squeal. The beetle in his hand fell onto the ground and scurried off as if sensing that trouble was coming. Qinghe gritted his teeth and got out, "Wei! Xiang! Get out the blasted ice! It's so fucking cold!"

Wei Xiang tsked with humor dancing in his eyes. "Language, love. Is this the example you want to set for our child?"

Qinghe growled and turned to direct a thunderous glare at him.

Wei Xiang smirked. "Oh, so scary. I must run away before I'm roasted to death by the fury in your eyes alone." Saying so, Wei Xiang turned around and promptly escaped his husband's wrath.

Keeping his back stiff and straight, Qinghe postponed his plan of revenge for now and instead focused on trying to get that wretched ice chip out of his clothes. But the damn thing was too slippery and deep within his robe. He finally just loosened his belt and let the ice chip drop down before retying it again. Now that that was done, Qinghe stood up and lifted the ice basin with a grim, determined expression. His husband would definitely pay! Just see if he won't fill his Xiang's inner robe entirely with ice today!

Seeing his Father Qinghe's expression that said that his Father Xiang was in big trouble, Wei Yuan laughed again gleefully.

Hearing the cheerful sound, Qinghe's face softened. He bent to poke his son's round cheek with a cold fingertip and remarked in an affectionate voice, "So you became your Father Xiang's accomplice and let him put that ice into my clothes, didn't you? Naughty brat."

Wei Yuan laughed harder and happily rubbed his plump little cheek against his father's comfortably cool finger.

Qinghe smiled and retrieved his hand before giving him a particularly large ice chip. "Here, Yuan-er, play with this for now. It's nice and cold, isn't it?"

Wei Yuan happily took the offering and said cutely, "Thank you, Father." Aha! Now he had an ice boat for his queen fish to use while rescuing her girlfriend fish!

As Wei Yuan thus happily continued playing, Qinghe hefted up the ice basin and marched in the direction Wei Xiang had fled in, icy vengeance in his mind.

...

Despite all the shenanigans, not all the time Qinghe and Wei Xiang had could be spent with Wei Yuan due to their respective duties. As a result, the couple either made sure that at least one of them would be free to spend time with the child or sent him to play with the many trustworthy people they knew. It helped their bonds of family and friends to grow tighter while familiarizing the little one with the others as well.

On this particular day, Qinghe was taking care of Wei Yuan. Due to the child's adamancy in wanting to see Wei Xiang while he was working, Qinghe decided to take him to the Order of Sentinels. Though this was not the first time the child had been here, he wasn't yet completely familiar with the place either.

Qinghe entered the Sentinel compound with Wei Yuan perched on his shoulders. As they walked the corridors containing the officers' private quarters, the child looked around with a serious expression, searching for Wei Xiang. But all the doors lining both sides of the corridors were closed, and since this was peak working hour for most Sentinels, there weren't many people walking by either. Wei Yuan frowned. Where could his father be?

Sensing his son's puzzlement, Qinghe smiled. Of course he knew where his husband was by way of their soul bond. But just this time, Qinghe wanted to let Wei Yuan try finding Wei Xiang on his own.

As if on cue, Wei Yuan finished looking around and asked confusedly, "Father Qinghe, where's Father Xiang?"

Qinghe suppressed a grin and replied in a contemplative voice, "Hmm, maybe he's hiding behind one of these doors. How about Yuan-er choose a door so that we can go and knock on it. If someone else other than your Father Xiang opens it, you can just ask them if they saw him anywhere."

The child's clear blue eyes brightened. "Yes!" It was good that his Father Qinghe was able to come up with a plan of action, or who knew where they'd have lost his Father Xiang?

Not sensing his son's worshipful gaze, Qinghe prodded, "Which door shall we start from then?"

Wei Yuan scrunched up his brows and looked around before finally pointing in a random direction. "There, that one!"

Qinghe merrily set off in that direction and stood in front of the door. "Here we are. I'll let Yuan-er handle everything from now on then."

Wei Yuan gave a firm nod like an officer about to raid the headquarters of a criminal organization. Raising his little fist and leaning forward while perched on his father's shoulders, he knocked on the door.

After a few moments, the door opened, revealing a casually attired officer who was obviously off-duty. Running his thick fingers through his disheveled hair, the officer yawned and nodded to Qinghe in greeting. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Wei Yuan raised a hand as if in class. "Is my Father Xiang with you?"

The officer's face unconsciously softened into a smile when faced with the child's cutely serious and inquisitive expression. "No, I'm afraid your father isn't here, Young Master Wei."

Pouting that his Father Xiang wasn't being easy to find, Wei Yuan asked, "Then…do you know where Father Xiang is?"

The officer regretfully shook his head.

Clearly disappointed, Wei Yuan slumped down onto Qinghe's head, his legs hanging listlessly from his father's shoulders. But he still took the time to blink at the officer and say, "Thank you for talking to me!"

"No, please, it was my pleasure," the officer said warmly, trying to hide his amusement. Despite having been disturbed out of a nap just now, the officer had a huge grin on his face when he closed the door.

"Father, what do we do? Father Xiang went missing!" Wei Yuan declared worriedly.

Qinghe's eyes shone with laughter even as he patted his son's leg and said solemnly, "Now, now, don't give up yet. Someone must have seen him, Yuan-er. Let's try another door and see."

Wei Yuan nodded, cautious hope in his gaze.

But even after trying a few more doors, they found no clues. Though Wei Yuan was dispirited, Qinghe, in contrast, was in very good spirits after seeing the officers struggling not to smile and falling all over themselves to help his adorable little son.

"Which one shall we try next, Yuan-er?" Qinghe prodded.

Wei Yuan sighed and pointed at a door dully.

Qinghe smiled wryly and decided that if they didn't find anything after this, he'd directly take Wei Yuan to Wei Xiang. While it was good to teach his son how to act independently, he still didn't want him to get too discouraged in the process.

But unexpectedly, this final officer had more to say than the previous ones. Looking at the Wei Yuan perched on Qinghe, she replied, "At this time, Senior Officer Wei should either be in his room or his office. I'm guessing he'll most likely be in his office."

Qinghe silently heaved a breath in relief at that correct answer, glad that this little investigation at least ended up with a fruitful result.

However, Wei Yuan frowned at the officer with a confounded expression and said, "But who's Senior Officer Wei? I want to know where Father Xiang is!"

Qinghe's lips twitched while the officer raised a brow in surprise. Sighing, Qinghe told her, "Thank you for your time, Officer Lie. Our apologies for disturbing you."

As the puzzled officer closed the door, Qinghe started walking along the corridor and asked his son, "Yuan-er, you…you do know that your father's name is not Father Xiang, don't you?"

Wei Yuan made a sound of abject startlement and disbelief. "It's not?!"

Qinghe didn't know whether to laugh or console his distraught son. "No, it isn't. The person you refer to as Father Xiang, someone who also happens to be my husband, is actually called Wei Xiang. Here in the Order of Sentinels, which is one of the places he works in, Wei Xiang holds the title of a senior officer. That is why the people here call him Senior Officer Wei out of respect. And you have his surname, which is why you're named Wei Yuan."

The little boy looked like he'd just heard something earth-shattering. Qinghe lifted a hand to sympathetically pat his arm even as he had to suppress the urge to run to his husband and convey this amusing situation immediately.

Something horrifying suddenly occurred to Wei Yuan, and to confirm it, he peered down and called frantically, "Th-Then, Father Qinghe… Is your name also not Father Qinghe?"

"…" Qinghe was finding it even harder to hide his laughter now. In an even voice, he replied, "No, my name is actually Feng Qinghe. Your grandmother and grandfather are also surnamed Feng."

Wei Yuan looked like the world had betrayed him.

Smiling helplessly, Qinghe spoke, "But Yuan-er, see, of all the people in the world, at this time, only you can call us Father Xiang and Father Qinghe. No one else has that privilege. And when you have more siblings, they'll have that privilege too."

Wei Yuan frowned and gravely pondered upon his words. After a few moments of silence, the little one's expression eased. "Then, for now, you're only my Father Xiang and Father Qinghe? And Grandmother and Grandfather are also only my Grandmother and Grandfather?"

Qinghe smiled wider and nodded.

Cheering up immediately, Wei Yuan said, "Then it's okay!"

Shaking his head helplessly, Qinghe chuckled. "Good. Then shall we go and see your Father Xiang and share this new discovery you made today?"

Wei Yuan happily bounced on his father's shoulders. "Yes!"

And so, off they went to entertain Wei Xiang.

...

When Wei Yuan was old enough, all the adults in the Feng household discussed and decided to send him to a nearby school to broaden his horizons. His family might be able to teach him many things, but going to school and mingling with other kids his age would definitely help him gain valuable knowledge and experience.

Though Qinghe and Wei Xiang worried at first about their precious son finding it difficult to adjust, Wei Yuan proved more adaptable than they thought. He very carefreely made a lot of friends and gained a reputation as a charming and intelligent student. Though most of his fellow students were human deities and not spiritual beasts, Wei Yuan had no trouble fitting in. After all, most of his family back home were human deities too.

One day, Wei Yuan pleaded with his parents, wanting to go and stay at one of his friends' house for a night after being invited. Though Qinghe was reluctant, he was eventually won over by his adorable little son's constant persuasion and agreed. Anyway, this friend that Wei Yuan wanted to stay with was someone he and his Xiang had heard a lot about, so they knew that he would be good to their son. This friend's only parent, his father, worked as a guard at the residence of one of the deities in the heavenly court. From what they'd heard, he treated his son well, so he should treat his son's friends well too by extension. There shouldn't be any trouble. And so, Wei Yuan was sent to spend the night away in his friend's house.

But unfortunately, things were not as they initially seemed.

Wei Xiang was the first one who sensed something wrong and hurried to check up on Wei Yuan through the shadows. What greeted him in the friend's house were shouts of strange men and a conversation that made his heart sink lower and lower in dread.

"Where did that wyvern brat go? Don't let him get away!"

"It took a lot of trouble to get that kid into my house using my own boy as bait, so you lot better not lose him and stiff me of my share of the profit!"

"A rare beast like that, especially a young one, is worth a lot! Don't you dare damage him when you find him!"

"I'd say that dead or alive, he will still have a lot of value. Even if all we get to sell are pieces of him, we'll still earn a lot! The buyers are already set, so the only thing left is finding where he is."

"Shit! I think he managed to get out of the house! Spread out and try to search for him! Don't forget to keep an eye on the sky as well! I'll notify the ones roaming outside to go after him too!"

By now, what had happened was clear to Wei Xiang. His son's friend's father must have urged his own son to invite Wei Yuan as a guest and set up a trap in cooperation with illegal traffickers to lure, capture, and sell Wei Yuan. Since he was one of only two wyverns, and the weakest one too, he had been targeted. But thankfully, Wei Yuan seemed to have escaped and now had the traffickers in a tizzy. However, the traffickers were taking action very quickly, and if they managed to find the child, who knew what all would happen to him?

Wei Xiang was sickened and beyond furious. But rather than give in to rage and waste time here punishing the perpetrators, Wei Xiang quickly used the shadows and alerted the Offices of Judgment instead and explained the situation. He would let his enraged master and fellow officers clean up these people in the house. What was important now was finding his son before any of the traffickers already giving chase could get ahold of him. And so, Wei Xiang hurriedly explained the circumstances to Qinghe and Feng Chunyi as well and conscripted their help in searching for Wei Yuan.

The Feng household was all too clear on what all could happen to a kidnapped child, especially with Qinghe as the prime example. Just the thought of Wei Yuan, that happy, bubbly little boy, going through the same things Qinghe did because of their negligence was enough to whip them all into a frenzy. Without wasting a moment after arrival, they followed possible trails and spread out, hoping against hope that the traffickers who were already on Wei Yuan's tail wouldn't get the chance to catch up to him.

In the end, it was Qinghe who found Wei Yuan. Or rather, he found the traffickers who had been following the child lying on the ground, ripped to pieces. Due to their deity-level sturdiness, all of them were still alive, but were left with deep gouges in their torsos or backs along with a torn limb or two. It seemed that unlike Wei Xiang, Wei Yuan's claws had some substance that prevented quick regeneration even in deities. Unable to move well or breathe, the group of pursuers was flailing in a heap with blood pooling under them. Since this was an uninhabited area with only trees and shrubs to witness their struggles, they were unable to get any aid. So the second they saw Qinghe, they tried to call out to him for help. But one look at his icy gaze and they immediately froze, not daring to move anymore.

Ignoring them for now, Qinghe quickly sent a message to request Wei Xiang to come and asked his mother to take care of the other groups of traffickers still looking for Wei Yuan. As for the child himself, Qinghe could sense that he had climbed up and was hiding in a nearby tree, trying to stay utterly motionless. However, the fact that he didn't jump down the second he saw his father itself alerted Qinghe that something was amiss. And so, he decided to wait for Wei Xiang to arrive before discussing about how to get their son down and comfort him after his ordeal.

In the time till then, Qinghe went about ruthlessly incapacitating the traffickers further to make them lose consciousness just in case they thought up some way to escape, then waited by the tree Wei Yuan was hiding in. Sensing through his wind how his little son had assumed his wyvern form out of fright, clutching a branch high above and trembling against it, Qinghe felt his heart breaking. But he forced himself to wait for Wei Xiang. If he said or did something that ended up worsening his son's current condition, then all the guilt in the world wouldn't be enough to make up for it.

When Wei Xiang arrived, he barely spared a glance to the pitiful heap of traffickers, his gaze instead accurately landing on the tree branch hidden behind foliage where Wei Yuan was. With the amount of fearful hormones the child was producing, it would've been more difficult to not spot him.

"Xiang, Yuan-er isn't coming down on his own. Do you think something's wrong?" Qinghe worriedly asked.

Wei Xiang frowned. "I'm not sure, but I'll find out and take care of it. Love, stay here and wait for us."

Qinghe nodded. Since his husband said he'd deal with it, he would leave it to him.

Without much ado, Wei Xiang directly leapt up and landed on the branch with Wei Yuan. The sight that greeted him made his chest tighten with pain.

His son had instinctively assumed his wyvern form and was lying flat on the branch, his wings tightly folded against his back. Since he hadn't developed confidence in his flying ability yet, Wei Yuan seemed to have chosen to climb a tree and hide here instead. His bloodied claws were dug deep into the branch, the wood turning greyish and flaky where it was pierced due to the injected toxins. Wei Yuan's slender snout was covered with blood from where he'd bitten his pursuers, his teeth that were bared in fear and panic dyed red as well. His eyelids trembled, peeled wide open to reveal unseeing eyes glazed with terror. His long and thin body, covered in a shining layer of small scales a couple of shades darker than silver, was quivering tautly. His long tail was wrapped around the branch, squeezing it tightly as if the more he held on, the more secure he felt.

Wei Xiang took in a deep breath and let it out, trying to compose himself. The sound made Wei Yuan's shaking worsen, a small, helpless growl slipping out of him, both threatening and pleading.

In a calm and gentle voice, Wei Xiang said, "Xiao Yuan, It's only me, your father. I won't hurt you."

Wei Yuan didn't move, not seeming to see or hear him at all, locked in his own fear and stuck deep in self-preservation mode.

Wei Xiang sighed and strode forward on the branch in slow steps. Wei Yuan made alarmed sounds and tried to scoot back, only for his hindquarters to encounter the tree trunk. Wei Yuan whimpered.

"Shh, it's fine," Wei Xiang spoke soothingly and crouched in front of the frightened hatchling.

He held out a hand to let his son sniff him and realize his identity. But unexpectedly, Wei Yuan instead snapped his jaws onto the perceived threat, his teeth piercing Wei Xiang's hand. As he felt the sharp, needle-like teeth digging into his flesh and crushing his bones, Wei Xiang winced. But he didn't retreat or try to take his hand back, simply waiting and hoping that his son would recognize him by the smell of his blood at least.

"Xiang!" Qinghe called from below. Having been keeping an eye through his wind, he was alarmed at his husband's sudden injury.

Keeping his voice steady, Wei Xiang reassured his beloved, "I'm fine. Xiao Yuan is just afraid. I'll take care of it."

Qinghe bit his lower lip, but nodded.

Meanwhile, the smell and taste of Wei Xiang's warm blood flooded Wei Yuan's mouth. The power pulsing in this blood was all too familiar to him. This was his kin, his littermate, the only being currently alive who was like him. The recognition punched him, the impact swift and shocking. Unconsciously, Wei Yuan's jaws loosened slightly. His senses cleared a bit and the figure of his Father Xiang filled his vision.

His father's expression was calm and kind, but the corners of his eyes were pinched in pain. A warm and broad palm brushed the side of Wei Yuan's head tenderly as his father said, "It's fine, it will be fine. I and your Father Qinghe are here. We won't let anything bad happen to you. You did very well in protecting yourself till now. We are very proud of you. Xiao Yuan, why don't you let go of me now and we can all go back home together? Your grandmother is there too. Your grandfather will take care of all the bad people and make sure they can never hurt you or take you away again. Now that we're here, you're not alone. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

Hearing exactly the reassurances he needed and becoming aware that the danger had finally passed, Wei Yuan's chest trembled with sobs while big drops of tears welled in his eyes. His jaws opened to let go of Wei Xiang's hand. Wei Xiang ignored his injury and pulled his son close. He carefully hugged him, patting his back as Wei Yuan cried with the remembered fear and helplessness of before and the relief of now. Halfway through, Wei Yuan turned from a frightened young wyvern to a young boy even as he continued to tightly hold onto Wei Xiang.

Once his sobs had quietened, Wei Xiang held him firmly and jumped down. Qinghe immediately came over to lavish his share of care, comfort, and affection on his little son. Wei Yuan burst into tears again, causing Qinghe's own eyes to start watering. Wei Xiang could only smile wryly and hold them both close, patting their backs consolingly.

Once the waterworks wound down, they returned home, leaving the to-be-kidnappers to the care of the newly-arrived officers of judgment. After another round of fussing from Feng Chunyi, Wei Yuan tearily asked for his parents to cuddle with him. To no one's surprise, Qinghe and Wei Xiang agreed. Feng Chunyi left the family of three to their bonding and declared that she'd stay guard outside the bedroom to make her grandson feel safe and marched away while stroking her wooden sword.

On the bed, the three people laid snuggled together with Wei Yuan at the center. Wrapped in his parents' comforting presence, Wei Yuan slowly calmed. After being scared in the beginning and then crying so much, he felt strangely clearheaded now.

Qinghe wrapped an arm around his son's stomach and asked softly, "Yuan-er, are you alright? Do you feel weird? Did those people do anything…bad to you?"

Wei Yuan blinked at him trustingly and recalled his ordeal, "After they caught me, they scared me and said mean things about how they'd hit me until I was throwing up blood and remove my legs and make me crawl if I kept struggling. One of the evil men said he'd take off my eyes and tongue and only give me worms to eat if I didn't do everything he told me. Then another mean man told the others that I'd be much easier to handle if they broke my legs, so th-they held me d-down and…tried t-to…"

Qinghe hugged his son tightly. "It's alright now. You didn't let them hurt you."

Wei Yuan nodded. The threat of so much violence being done to him had been frightening. The worst pain he'd ever faced before was when he broke his arm after falling down from a tree. At that time, he had been coddled and pampered by his family so much until the injury healed. But he knew that those men would have done much, much worse to him than breaking a bone without even caring, and he would've been utterly powerless to do anything! It was infuriating and frustrating beyond measure!

Sensing his son's increasing agitation, Wei Xiang asked, "Xiao Yuan, what's wrong?"

Wei Yuan blinked and his eyes turned slitted, his irises a reflective silver. With an intent, almost vicious expression, the little boy expressed, "I never want to be prey again!"

Wei Xiang raised an eyebrow in surprise while Qinghe nodded in understanding. Patting his son's head, he said, "That's logical. If Yuan-er wants to be able to protect yourself, then you should learn to fight and deal with people meaning you harm. If you want, your grandmother and I can teach and train you in those aspects. Would you like that?"

Wei Yuan nodded determinedly. As long as it would make him even a little less helpless, he would do it.

Qinghe smiled and pecked his son on the nose. "Good. Now you should try to relax and get some rest. The training you'll have to go through is not going to be easy."

Wei Yuan nodded again and closed his eyes. Knowing that he wouldn't have to feel that fear of being hunted again, and knowing that nothing and no one would be able to hurt him now with his family by his side, he finally felt peace filling him.

Tranquil silence suffused the room, warm and comfortable. Qinghe and Wei Xiang looked at each other over Wei Yuan's resting figure, the same complex thoughts swirling in their gazes. The way Wei Yuan was dealing with this incident was startling, showing just how unpredictably mature a child could be sometimes. It also seemed that no matter how much they tried, they couldn't completely shield their son from the cruelties of the world.

They hadn't expected traffickers to lay their sights on Wei Yuan, but they felt that they should've expected and prepared for it. Now that the traffickers have been captured, the others working with them could be routed out as well. But the couple also knew that there might always be other dangers lurking, out to get their son. As much as they tried to be vigilant, they couldn't completely protect Wei Yuan without smothering him. They would have to figure out a way to balance his safety with his freedom and make sure not to fail their son again.

As Qinghe and Wei Xiang shared these thoughts with each other through their gazes alone, Wei Yuan's childish voice suddenly interrupted them, "What will happen to Xiao Qiu now?" His eyes, having returned to being a bright, clear blue, blinked up at the couple. "Xiao Qiu only has his father as family, so what will he do now after his father became a bad person and got taken away to jail?"

Qinghe bent to kiss his son's cheek and praised, "My Yuan-er is such a good and compassionate child."

Wei Yuan looked at him puzzled. "Eh? Why?"

Chuckling, Qinghe said, "Because you don't even consider what you said as something kind."

Wei Yuan frowned. Wasn't it normal to be worried for his friend?

Qinghe only smiled. After his ordeal and how it had come about only because of his friend's invitation to stay with him, it wouldn't have been odd if Wei Yuan came to resent or avoid his friend. But instead of unfairly blaming his unknowing friend or running away, he instead showed care and sympathy towards him. Though Qinghe didn't know if this response was normal for kids in general, he still felt immensely proud of his own son for thinking this way.

Meanwhile, Wei Xiang answered Wei Yuan's question, "If he doesn't have any objections, Qian Qiu will find a home with one of the deities who want to adopt a child and have been vetted by the Offices of Judgment, your grandfather's people. Once Qian Qiu is settled in his new home, he can choose to come back to school like always. Of course, if you want, we will take you to visit him in his new house so that you can check up on him."

Wei Yuan brightened. "That's good then! Xiao Qiu always wanted a bigger house, so maybe now he can get one."

Wei Xiang smiled and rubbed Wei Yuan's head. "Yes, I hope he does too."

On the child's other side, Qinghe's expression was warm and happy. He extended an arm and hugged both his son and husband. "Alright, now we should all sleep. It's been an exhausting day. Everything else can come later."

"Okay," Wei Yuan agreed easily and wriggled between his parents with a cheerful smile.

And so, with their hearts at ease and their expressions content, the family of three slept.

...

From then on, Wei Yuan's schedule changed. While he did spend a few days a week in the school as usual, he also began to train in martial arts with Feng Chunyi and Qinghe. Rather than just showing him the moves and getting him to mimic it, Qinghe also took his son with him when completing relatively low-risk tasks both in the heavenly realm and the mortal realm. This way, Wei Yuan would also be able to see the practical aspect of battles rather than only the technical one. At the side, he received tutelage from Wei Xiang as well on how to use his beast attributes like claws, tails, horns, and even his instincts to his advantage when in his wyvern form, along with using the metal and fire elements. All in all, the little one's schedule was not as open as before, but his parents still made sure that he'd have plenty of time to play freely, explore the world, and grow up on his own.

This afternoon was one of those free times that Wei Yuan could spend as he liked. Since Qinghe had just finished a certain large task given to him by the heavenly court and was relaxing at home, he and Wei Yuan spent time together playing for hours. Qinghe was expecting Wei Xiang to finish his work and return soon as well, but for now, he was content to accompany his son.

After a morning full of playing, Qinghe and Wei Yuan settled down to relax on a tree. Qinghe laid stretched out on the branch, his back against the trunk. His arms were curled around the child on his lap. Wei Yuan sat sideways on his father's thighs while his head rested on Qinghe's chest.

After exhausting himself by playing to his heart's content, the little boy was tired. Held in his beloved father's embrace, with the wind brushing over his face, along with the sunlight filtering through the thick canopy of leaves and turning the air pleasantly warm, the kid grew drowsy. His eyelids drooped, feeling languid and heavy. Rubbing his eyes with a fist, Wei Yuan sleepily asked, "Father, will you sing me a lullaby?"

Qinghe's eyes widened. "A…lullaby?"

Wei Yuan nodded and shifted to settle himself more comfortably. "Yes. Ah-Wen and Xiao Tai and Lingling from school told me that their parents sing them lullabies to get them to sleep. Can you sing me one too?"

As the child blinked up at him with his big blue eyes looking dazed with sleep, Qinghe felt his heart squeeze. He pondered for a bit, then nodded. "I…I'll try."

Wei Yuan smiled happily and snuggled his face into his chest, preparing to be lulled into sleep by his father's voice. Qinghe smiled wryly and patted his son's head. When was the last time he'd sung? He couldn't remember. But he supposed he could give this a shot for his precious little darling's sake.

And so, Qinghe hummed aimlessly, his voice clear and pleasant to the ear. The tune was gentle and peaceful, floating lightly with the breeze. It elicited the feeling of being petted by cool fingers on a hot day, being enfolded by a warm blanket in a blizzard, being hugged by one's most beloved, or watching the rain fall while sitting snug and dry inside one's home. It evoked the sensation of floating on water, feeling the cool wetness supporting one's back while the mild rocking and swaying suffused one with tranquility. It was like the free and weightless feeling of flying, drifting through white and fluffy clouds and letting the wind guide you to your destination without a care in the world. The tender melody wound around Wei Yuan lazily, making him feel comfortable and even more drowsy. His eyes closed, his body relaxed, and his breathing grew deeper as he slowly eased into slumber.

As soon as Qinghe determined that his son was fully asleep, his voice trailed away. He lifted his head up and smiled at the Wei Xiang who had arrived when he had been in the midst of humming the lullaby. In a quiet voice, Qinghe spoke, "Xiang, you're back."

Wei Xiang nodded with a smile. "Let's put Xiao Yuan to bed and spend some time together…in a different bed."

Qinghe's eyes gleamed at the implication. The couple carefully put the sleeping Wei Yuan in his room and retired to their own bedroom. With a child now in the family, they hadn't been able to carelessly do it wherever and whenever they wanted like before. So when they got some private time alone to enjoy like right now, Qinghe and Wei Xiang learned to cherish it very much.

Without wasting a moment, Qinghe and Wei Xiang began kissing while their fingers eased off each other's clothes. They fell into bed and tangled together. After some foreplay and preparation, Wei Xiang quickly entered Qinghe and buried his face into the crook of his husband's neck, luxuriating in his beloved's scent saturated with arousal.

Qinghe slowly stretched and shifted on the bed restlessly, one arm wound around Wei Xing's shoulder while the other hand cupped his husband's nape. "X-Xiang…" he exhaled, his voice low and breathy.

Something lit up in Wei Xiang's gaze, his eyes glinting. Moving his head, he traced the long column of his beloved's throat with his mouth before biting his Adam's apple, then licking it. Qinghe cried out. As he swallowed thickly, he could feel his bobbing Adam's apple brush against a warm pair of lips still hovering over his throat. The light sensation made Qinghe shudder.

In a deep and smooth voice, Wei Xiang said, "Love, your voice is so beautiful. Why don't you hum me a tune right now?"

Qinghe's face flushed at this unexpected request. After a moment of hesitation, he shyly nodded and tried to hum. His voice quivered at first before slowly steadying. The tune this time was filled with bashfulness and unhidden lust. Given form by Qinghe's voice that had turned husky with desire, the song seemed even more sultry and provocative.

As the melody flowed over him, Wei Xiang felt as if it was sensually caressing his body, sliding over his skin, suffusing his blood, and increasing his need. He could feel the vibration of Qinghe's voice under his lips as he brushed them over his husband's slender throat. He could feel Qinghe's fingers drifting up from his nape and absentmindedly combing through his hair with languid movements. He could feel Qinghe's warm and soft passage tightening and loosening around his member along with the rise and fall of the slow and heated tune. Wei Xiang grew drunk on the intense desire evoked by the wordless song.

Unable to bear any more of this temptation, Wei Xiang abruptly growled, "Enough." His hips withdrew and thrust in a quick and powerful motion.

Qinghe gasped. His voice ceased singing and turned into a symphony of cries at the sudden bursts of pleasure. Moving with fervent passion, Wei Xiang didn't let Qinghe stop using his voice even as it turned hoarser and hoarser with his gasps, moans, sobs, and pleas for more, all the way until they both went over the edge of orgasm one after another.

For the next few months, Wei Xiang grew obsessed with hearing Qinghe sing for him while the pair of husbands was engaged in intimacy. It both puzzled and gladdened Qinghe, and he was all too willing to perform privately for his Xiang like this, reaping the rewards through increased passion.

After that, Qinghe became used to singing happy little tunes to himself, especially when he was drunk and all his usual restraints loosened. Qinghe would let Wei Yuan ride on his shoulders and cheerfully march through the Feng residence's corridors, clutching a jar of wine to his chest while singing with merry childishness, "I love Xiang~ Xiang loves me~ With little Yuan-er, we're a family of three~"

"Three!" the child would echo happily while tilting his head side-to-side and waving his little arms in the air. He really liked it when his father became like this. It was always so much fun!

Other times when he was drunk, Qinghe would stride through the residence while happily singsonging, "Xiiiang~"

And Wei Yuan would try to mirror his father enthusiastically in his childish voice, "Xiang!"

As a result, the house would ring with the sound of one adult and one child alternatively singing: "Xiiiang~", "Xiang!"

One time, as they were calling out like this, Wei Xiang appeared in their path, an amused smile on his face. He didn't even need to scent the alcohol on his husband to know that he was drunk. His childish behavior itself gave it away.

Encountering his beloved suddenly, Qinghe let out a happy shout, "Xiang! You're here!"

Wei Xiang patted Qinghe's head and said with mirth dancing in his eyes. "Yes, love, I'm here. How could I not be when I keep hearing you and our son going around calling me by name."

Qinghe didn't even try to understand and just leaned forward to hug and nuzzle his husband with a silly grin. On his shoulders, Wei Yuan raised up his hands towards Wei Xiang in a silent demand. Wei Xiang lifted Wei Yuan up from Qinghe's shoulders and decided to carry him on his hip, since his front was still being clung to by a certain enthusiastic octopus called Qinghe.

Sensing the shift, Qinghe's head popped up as he looked at Wei Yuan settled happily on Wei Xiang's left hip. Lifting his own arms, Qinghe merrily climbed onto Wei Xiang's other side and hung off his right hip, his limbs winding around his husband's torso.

Wei Xiang showed a helpless smile and adjusted his balance while using his palms to support them both by their butt. Liking the sensation of his Xiang's hand on him there, Qinghe happily wriggled his bottom.

Wei Xiang squeezed it in warning, "Qinghe, behave."

Qinghe pouted but stopped moving.

Sighing wryly, Wei Xiang began walking with two people hanging off him on either side.

"Father Xiang," Wei Yuan suddenly called out. "I've been very good today!"

Looking at his son's blue eyes blinking at him with the expectation of praise shining in them, Wei Xiang smiled warmly. "I expected nothing less from my Xiao Yuan. You're such a good boy."

Wei Yuan smiled, pleased.

Wriggling restlessly, Qinghe suddenly declared, "Xiang, I've also been good today!"

Wei Xiang turned to look at his husband, and reading the 'Praise me too!' written on his face, he struggled to suppress his laughter. In a solemn tone, he nodded and said, "Yes, I knew you'd be good, love. As expected of my wonderful husband."

Qinghe preened happily at the praise.

Wei Yuan piped up again. "Father Xiang, since I was good, I want a kissy as a reward!"

Wei Xiang smiled and dutifully bent to peck his son on his round cheek. "Here you go."

Qinghe began wriggling again. "Xiang, Xiang! Me too! I want a kissy too!"

Wei Xiang chuckled and turned to give him a peck on the cheek as well, but Qinghe moved faster and landed a solid smooch on his lips. Wei Xiang unresistingly accepted it and even opened his mouth in invitation. Qinghe gleeful thrust his tongue in and earnestly began kissing his husband. Wei Xiang's steps slowly stopped as his attention was consumed by the slick little tongue wreaking mischief in his mouth, slipping and sliding every which way like a naughty toddler exploring a new playroom full of toys.

With interest, Wei Yuan looked at his parents exchanging a different type of kissy than he was used to. Tugging on Wei Xiang's sleeve, he interrupted him to ask, "Father Xiang, is that a special type of kissy? Will I get one too?"

Qinghe and Wei Xiang parted with flushed faces. Qinghe buried his face into the side of Wei Xiang's neck while Wei Xiang endeavored to compose himself again and answered his son's question, "Yes, this is a special kiss, but no, I will not be sharing one with you. This special kiss is only reserved for someone who's your mate or a lover who consents to be kissed like this."

Wei Yuan tilted his head, only half-understanding. "What's a consence?"

Wei Xiang gently corrected him, "It's 'consent'. It means agreement or permission. For example, if someone wants to play with your toys, they need your consent to do it. They need to ask you and get your permission first to use them. Similarly, if you want to do something intimate with someone―like kissing them with romantic intentions like me and your Father Qinghe just did, for example―then you must obtain their consent. They have to tell you that it's okay for you to do that and that they want it, and they should be aware and completely conscious while agreeing or it won't count. It's very, very important. Do you understand?"

Wei Yuan frowned and nodded thoughtfully, seeming to slowly digest it.

Wei Xiang smiled and resumed walking down the corridor. It was alright if their son didn't get it completely on the first try. There would be plenty more opportunities to teach him the important things slowly over the years. He and his Qinghe would do their best to educate their child on everything they could and do their utmost to make him an upright and self-sufficient individual. Since they'd chosen to be his parents, that was the least they could do.

...

A scream rent the air, shrill and saturated with pain.

Qinghe flinched, his hands curling tighter inside his sleeves while his feet paced faster. Seated on a stone bench nearby, Chen Xiande had on a tense expression as well.

They were currently on the grounds of the Silver Moon Sect, waiting beside a small, single-room building made of light grey stone. A wide paved path led to the tightly shut door of the building while green plains and well-kept flower gardens sprawled all around the house. In the distance, Wei Xiang and Hei NingYu played with Wei Yuan, keeping the child occupied so that Qinghe and Chen Xiande would have some space while they waited for Jing Shui to finish giving birth.

As another scream filled with agony ripped out of the small building, Qinghe clenched his jaws and tried to convince himself that Jing Shui was fine. There should be no issues with this delivery. After all, it was being overseen by the Deity of Health himself. And after Qinghe's repeated bugging, even Xiao Tian had assured him that there would be no complications. But each time a scream issued out of the building, Qinghe couldn't help but worry, his heart in his throat.

Currently, the Deity of Health and his young apprentice, along with Wu Xiao, Grandma Jiao from the Baolin Tribe, and Liu Xue—Jing Shui's master—were all inside attending to Jing Shui. Since Qinghe, Chen Xiande, and the others had arrived much later, there had been no space inside the room for them, so they could only wait outside.

A year ago, Jing Shui and Wu Xiao had finally conceived a child together with the help of the Deity of Health that Qinghe had introduced to them. Now that the child had grown enough to be taken out of Jing Shui's dantian, it was time for him to give birth. The procedure consisted of the Deity of Health slicing open Jing Shui's belly while keeping Jing Shui conscious so that he could halt his regeneration until the baby was out of his body and continue supplying the child with spiritual power to keep it alive until it was able to take its first breath. But doing that while being cut open, then bearing the pain of the child growing in his dantian being ripped out of him, would be beyond excruciating. However, even knowing all this, Jing Shui had wanted to have a child.

Though Qinghe realized that this was his friend's choice, and that the long-awaited birth of this child could even be considered a joyous occasion, he couldn't help but feel dread and distress chew at him. He didn't like thinking of how much his friend must be suffering. He didn't want his friend to have to go through all this. He didn't like not being able to help and take away all of his friend's troubles. He didn't like it one bit!

"Junior Brother, come here and sit down," Chen Xiande's voice suddenly sounded.

Qinghe halted and turned to look at his senior brother with confusion.

Chen Xiande sighed. "I don't know what you're thinking, but it's plain to see that you're tormenting yourself over it. Come, sit down and tell me what's bothering you."

Qinghe bit his lower lip and nodded. He quietly went to sit beside Chen Xiande, his body remaining stiff and tense. Chen Xiande showed a small smile and began stroking his back gently, waiting silently for him to start speaking.

After a few moments of hesitation, Qinghe finally burst out, "Senior Brother, I-I don't like Brother Jing's child! I don't like how much it's causing Brother Jing to be hurt while being born!"

Chen Xiande raised an eyebrow in surprise. His junior brother sounded uncharacteristically childish. Chen Xiande hugged Qinghe with an arm and patiently said, "Junior Brother, you can't blame the unborn child for that. The child isn't purposefully choosing to be born painfully. Brother Jing and Sect Master Wu were the ones who chose to have this child while fully knowing how agonizing it could be."

Qinghe buried his head into Chen Xiande's shoulder and nodded. Yes, logically, he knew that. And yet…

Jing Shui screamed again, the sound long and gut-wrenching, before his voice ended in a helpless sob.

Qinghe's shoulders hunched as he chewed on his lower lip. The worry and pain in his expression were palpable.

Chen Xiande sighed and turned towards where Wei Xiang and Hei NingYu were looking after Wei Yuan in the distance. The little boy was happily chasing a butterfly while holding out a flower as if in bait. The two adults watching this seemed to be suppressing smiles. Suddenly seeming to sense something, Wei Xiang looked over with a frown, his gaze accurately landing on a distraught-looking Qinghe. Wei Xiang turned to glance at Chen Xiande with a concerned question in his gaze. Chen Xiande wordlessly shook his head and instead mouthed to his lover to send Wei Yuan over.

Hei NingYu arched his brows but nodded. He said something to the Wei Yuan who had been happily following the butterfly through fields of flowers. Wei Yuan stopped and listened intently to what Hei NingYu had to say before nodding and turning to dash towards the house. The more he neared his Father Qinghe and Uncle Chen, the more of his father's distress Wei Yuan could scent. Directly heading to his father, Wei Yuan tugged on his sleeve apprehensively. "Father? Did something bad happen?"

Qinghe straightened from where he had been leaning into his senior brother, his eyes suspiciously red-rimmed. Before he could answer, Chen Xiande spoke, "Yuan-er, your father is needlessly worrying about your Uncle Jing. Why don't you comfort him?"

Qinghe shot a baleful glance at his senior brother. Using his little son was unfair! How would he be able to resist his adorable Yuan-er's charms? Trying to put on his usual pleasant expression, Qinghe smiled at his son and said, "It's alright, Yuan-er. I'm fine."

Wei Yuan tsked. "Father, lying is bad. I can smell that you're not okay."

Qinghe's eyebrow twitched. Of all the people he could choose as his family, he just had to go and get two spiritual beasts who wouldn't be swayed by his acting skills. Sighing, Qinghe rubbed his forehead.

Seeing this, Wei Yuan frowned concernedly and climbed up into Qinghe's lap. Qinghe automatically steadied him and held him close. Wei Yuan hesitated uncertainly before carefully closing his little arms around his father in a hug. Trying to reciprocate the way his parents comforted him, Wei Yuan sloppily patted Qinghe's back and pressed wet kisses to his father's face. "It'll be okay, Father."

Qinghe felt his heart melt into a soft puddle of warm feelings. He smiled more genuinely this time. In a quiet voice, he expressed, "Thank you, Yuan-er. I'm already feeling much better."

Seeing that his attempt at comforting had been a success, Wei Yuan beamed happily.

From beside them, Chen Xiande suddenly said, "Junior Brother, see? Isn't it wonderful to have a child like this? But even such an adorable and lovable child like Yuan-er must have been extremely painful to give birth to. And yet, doesn't it seem worth it now? If you had to bear a lot of pain to bring such a child into this world, then wouldn't all that have been worth it?"

Qinghe froze and opened his mouth, then closed it. In the end, he could only nod and admit, "Senior Brother is right."

Chen Xiande's expression softened as he patted Qinghe's head and continued, "It's like that for Brother Jing and Sect Master Wu as well. All this pain is worth it for them to make a new life that they can love and cherish with all their hearts. No matter how much agony Brother Jing has to go through now, I don't think he will ever regret it as long as he gets to have a child of his own at the end."

Jing Shui's voice sounded again, his scream sounding guttural and faintly exhausted. But this time, Qinghe didn't feel as pained or desperate. This…was something his friend had chosen. This was something Jing Shui wanted. To get a child, this was a payment he was willing to make, and Qinghe didn't want to diminish that choice by worrying like a mother hen unable to trust her chicks.

Letting out a breath, Qinghe smiled at Chen Xiande and repeated, "Senior Brother is right. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up." His voice turning wry, Qinghe went on, "But I have to say that Senior Brother seems to have gotten more formidable in your persuasive ability. It's a necessary quality for a sect master to be sure, but I'm starting to miss the times when I could easily get away with things in front of you." Qinghe pouted exaggeratedly and puffed up his cheeks in mock-dissatisfaction.

Chen Xiande laughed and poked his junior brother's cheek. "So you say, but weren't you the one who started me on this path of becoming a worthy sect master? Junior Brother, you only have yourself to blame."

Qinghe stuck out his tongue while Chen Xiande chuckled cheerfully.

Jing Shui's scream rang out again, sounding tired and worn out. Some of the lighthearted humor left Qinghe's face, but he still didn't grow as anxious as before. Seeing this, Chen Xiande nodded to himself in satisfaction. It could be said that after two hundred years, Chen Xiande had firmly settled into his role as Qinghe's senior brother, caring for him whenever he could and correcting him whenever he beat himself up unnecessarily.

Wei Yuan interrupted this moment of brotherly harmony to suddenly ask, "Father, why is Uncle Jing shouting like that? What's wrong with him?"

Qinghe smiled at his son and answered, "Didn't we say before that your Uncle Jing is giving birth? It seems to be a very painful process, hence him screaming."

Tilting his head, Wei Yuan commented casually, "Ah, I see. Is Uncle Jing going to poop out an egg then?"

Qinghe and Chen Xiande almost choked on air.

Struggling to compose himself, Qinghe finally got out, "Yuan-er…we talked about this before, didn't we? Humans don't lay eggs, they directly give birth to live babies. And…the way childbirth works for males is different from females."

Thinking back to a certain memory, Wei Yuan showed an expression as if just remembering it.

A few months ago, when Qinghe and Wei Xiang had felt their unquenchable passion for each other abruptly rising despite their son being awake and prowling the house, they'd firmly locked the door to their room and began rolling on the bed. However, when Wei Yuan suddenly decided that he wanted to show his parents an interesting worm and found their door locked while strange sounds issued from within, he merrily climbed up the side of the house and entered the room through the window. Needless to say, the child was both shocked and curious about just what his parents were doing, wrestling naked like this. This had ended up with the couple having to give the child a detailed explanation of how people had sex and all that it entailed, including the subject of conception, pregnancy, and birth. Wei Yuan had listened intently the whole while, both fascination and disgust displayed in his face.

Though Qinghe had been utterly calm and composed on the outside while imparting that knowledge, just thinking back to it made him want to cough with remembered embarrassment. Thankfully, his Xiang had been right there with him helping explain the concepts to their child, lessening his burden.

Before Qinghe could dwell too long on that memory, his attention was redirected by the door to the small building opening. Qinghe's back snapped upright. He only just realized that he didn't seem to have heard Jing Shui's screams for a while. Was it…finally over?

Without a word, Qinghe and Chen Xiande began striding towards the door, an inquisitive Wei Yuan still in Qinghe's arms. In the distance, Wei Xiang and Hei NingYu looked at each other and also decided to head in with their respective beloveds.

The inside of the room was stuffy and smelled of sweat and pungent herbs. In the middle of the room, on the bed, laid Jing Shui, his body without strength and his eyes glazed while he weakly let out quick and short breaths in an attempt to manage his pain. The sheets under him were soaked with sweat, only the area under his abdomen painted a garish red with a pool of blood. His upper half was completely bare, and his lower belly was still open, with the edges of the cut glowing a strange white and trickles of blood continuing to ooze out. Ribbons of translucent spiritual power extended out from his open stomach, their ends ragged and waving in the air as if searching for something. The Deity of Health was bent over Jing Shui's stomach, the usual bandages around his throat undone. The deity seemed to be singing something inaudible, and hearing his soundless song, the ribbons coming out of Jing Shui's stomach slowly curled in on themselves and folded back into Jing Shui.

Standing beside the bed was a pale-faced Wu Xiao, his arm being gripped by Jing Shui to use as an anchor while he was adrift in an ocean of agony. His slender fingertips dug deep into Wu Xiao's skin, embedded into his flesh to the point of even pressing into his bone, blood flowing down in unending streams. But Wu Xiao bore it silently, his free hand gently wiping away the sweat on his beloved's brows as he murmured soothing words of comfort and encouragement. Now and then, his gaze would drift over to the side to ascertain that his newborn child was alright. An old woman with a dark blue cloth covering her head whom Qinghe recognized as Grandma Jiao was bent over the bed, industriously wiping down the rest of Jing Shui's body without saying a word. The thick steel bangles on her weathered arms clinked and clanked in a subdued manner.

At the side, the assistant of the Deity of Health, a young girl in a blue robe, held a swaddled bundle with something reddish and squirming inside that emitted soft yet insistent cries. A basin of bloodied water stood at the side, seemingly used just now to wash the baby. Liu Xue stood smiling and cooing over the newborn, her fingers oh-so-gentle as she played with the baby's tiny fists.

As soon as they entered the room, Chen Xiande, Hei NingYu, and Wei Xiang, along with a Wei Yuan who was just lowered onto the ground, headed straight for the baby, wanting to either look at it or help with caring for it. Qinghe, on the other hand, marched towards Jing Shui with a worried frown. His voice was full of worry and a hint of panic as he called, "Brother Jing, are you alright?"

As Qinghe strode towards Jing Shui, he was suddenly stopped by a nut-brown arm blocking his path. In a raspy voice, Grandma Jiao said, "Calm yourself before you go to him. He's agitated enough as it is. You going there in this state won't help him any."

Qinghe blinked at her and woodenly nodded. She was right. He was wound too tight. Seeming to sense his mood, Wei Xiang silently appeared, wrapping an arm around his waist and saying, "Love, don't worry. Your friend is in the Deity of Health's care. By the look of it, he's just about done wrapping up. Your Brother Jing will be fine."

Qinghe blinked and nodded again. With the help of Wei Xiang's familiar and calming presence, Qinghe soon managed to get himself under control and slowly stepped forward to help care for Jing Shui while Grandma Jiao went to hold the baby. Her arms now freed, the Deity of Health's apprentice went over to help her master.

Meanwhile, the Wei Yuan who was lifted up by Hei NingYu finally got a look at the newly born baby while it rested in Grandma Jiao's arms. Seeing the small, wrinkly baby with blotchy, pinkish skin, Wei Yuan wrinkled his nose. He wanted to say that the baby looked like a hairless monkey, but he managed to control himself. What if the baby heard him and remembered his words? How would he be able to play with it when it grew up if the baby decided it didn't like him for being rude this once?

Suddenly realizing something, Wei Yuan turned to Hei NingYu and whispered worriedly, "Uncle Hei, I wasn't this ugly when I was born, was I?"

The lips of everyone in the room twitched.

Wu Xiao turned towards Wei Yuan with a glare. "What did you just say, brat?"

Realizing that he's been able to hear what he just said, Wei Yuan blinked his eyes innocently. "Your baby is very pretty, Uncle Wu. Like a…like a…" Wei Yuan struggled to come up with a flattering comparison. His face suddenly brightening, he said, "Yes, like a strawberry!"

"…" Wu Xiao looked at him blankly, then shouted, "Do you think I'd be appeased with that!"

Wei Yuan showed a guilty expression while Qinghe and Wei Xiang were torn between laughter and tears.

Unexpectedly, Jing Shui's voice interjected weakly, "Why? What's wrong with strawberries? They're cute."

Wu Xiao's attention was immediately redirected towards his husband. "Ah-Shui! Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?" Turning to the Deity of Health, Wu Xiao frantically continued, "He's fine now, isn't he?"

The Deity of Health had just finished healing the cut on Jing Shui's lower belly and was allowing his apprentice to wind the length of white bandages back onto his smooth neck. Turning towards Wu Xiao, he gave a simple, quiet nod. Without looking up, his apprentice acted as her master's mouthpiece and said, "Yes, your husband should be fine now, Cultivator Wu. Just make sure that he rests well and replenishes his spiritual energy. That means not using it for anything other than circulating it through his body. It is recommended that you and he spend as much time with your son as possible and learn how to care for him together. That is a necessary bond that parents must form, both between themselves and their child. But other than that, there's nothing else to worry about."

Wu Xiao let out a breath in relief and hugged Jing Shui. Grandma Jiao brought their child to them and let Jing Shui and Wu Xiao admire the new life they created with wonder and awe on their faces.

Grandma Jiao watched them with a small smile. Turning towards the others, she made a silent gesture, urging them out the door. Understanding that she was suggesting they give the family of three some space, the others all slowly exited the room, soft smiles and warm expressions on their faces.

Outside, Wei Yuan turned to Qinghe with a frown and asked worriedly, "Father Qinghe, do you think the baby heard me say it was ugly? Will it not play with me anymore after growing up?"

Qinghe and Wei Xiang looked at him with surprise. Then Qinghe smiled and reassured, "I'm sure the baby didn't hear what you said. Just in case, why don't you apologize the next time you see the child?"

Wei Yuan immediately regained his spirits and nodded. "Yes!"

And so, Wei Yuan became determined to say sorry and treat the baby well in the future to make up for being rude this time.

For the first few weeks after their child's birth, Jing Shui and Wu Xiao extensively argued over which one of their surnames to give their baby. Wu Xiao wanted to name him as 'Jing' so that his beloved would know that he still had at least one blood-related family member left. But Jing Shui refused, saying that he didn't want their son to be named after his detestable family. In contrast, naming the child after Wu Xiao's family that had been so caring and warm to Wu Xiao when they were alive would be much more preferable. As a result, in the end, that's what the couple chose to go with. Their son was finally named Wu Jiyue.

In the future, as Wei Yuan grew up, he indeed became good friends with both the younger boy Wu Jiyue and the already grown up Yan Minglan, Yan Lin's daughter. Though in Yan Minglan's case, it was mostly because she was often tasked with keeping the two younger boys in line and looking after them that she ended up caring for them. Having taken the elixir given to her family by Qinghe long ago that would grant her immortality just like it did to her parents, despite two hundred years having passed, Yan Minglan still looked to be a young girl. By the time the boys grew up and the visible difference in age between them and her vanished, the three would become a tight-knit group. But for now, they were still in the process of growing up and deepening their relationships.

And all the while, Wei Yuan merrily went about meeting more people and winning more hearts.

...

On a certain bright evening, Qinghe took Wei Yuan to the Spirit Bewildering Forest to meet with Kong Min and the Master of Land, Ying Xulin.

Though the reason Qinghe used outwardly was that he needed them to babysit his son, the true reason was to let Wei Yuan and Ying Xulin meet for the first time and bond. Wei Yuan had already had the chance to get close to Kong Min during his visits to the Sentinel headquarters, but he hadn't met the reclusive Ying Xulin yet. Qinghe had thus decided that it was about time his son got acquainted with yet another of his strange uncles.

As Qinghe and Wei Yuan walked down the cleared path Ying Xulin had made especially to welcome them after knowing of their arrival, Wei Yuan looked around energetically with gleaming eyes. Running to the edge of the path, Wei Yuan pointed to the glowing blue-green mushrooms lining the sides and shouted, "Father, look! Mushies!"

Qinghe smiled. "Yes, aren't the glowing mushrooms pretty?"

Wei Yuan nodded, then immediately snapped his attention to something else and pointed up, declaring, "Flying fishies!" Jumping in place with insuppressible excitement, Wei Yuan began calling, "Father, look, there's flying fishies! There's small flying fishies here!"

The creatures Wei Yuan was pointing to each had a circular black head that was indeed flat like a fish's, with big and round eyes protruding from either side. A thin black tail directly extended from the head and was enveloped in a purplish glow that seemed to take the shape of an elongated leaf. Wherever the creature swam in the air, it left behind a trail of faint purple light.

His gaze flicking towards a swarm of these creatures floating along the path, Qinghe showed a helpless yet indulgent look. "Yes, yes, I see them. But Yuan-er, they're not fishes but tadpoles. I suppose they belong to the violet crowned frog that's said to dwell only in the Abyssal Fog Swamps in the Spirit Bewildering Forest."

Wei Yuan tilted his head. "Father, what are tappoles?"

"Tadpoles," Qinghe enunciated, "are baby frogs. In ordinary cases, after directly hatching from eggs, the tadpoles can only live in water. They eventually grow legs, became able to live on land as well, and turn into frogs. If you want, we can borrow some frog eggs and grow them back home so that you can see the process for yourself."

Wei Yuan grinned and bounced around with more vigor. "Yay! We're getting baby frogs!"

Qinghe chuckled. His little son was so excitable that even the simplest of things could send him into a jubilatory dance.

Shadows suddenly slid over them as something blocked the sky above for a moment before moving on. Wei Yuan froze and looked up. The sight that greeted him made his mouth drop open.

Scattering the sky above them were irregular spherical clumps of earth that were barely a meter in diameter. On top of each ball of earth grew a small sapling made of white wood, it's smooth branches adorned with icy blue leaves. The saplings' roots seemed to have spread throughout the clumps of earth, holding the dirt together tightly and hanging down after piercing through the earthen sphere. Small and round glowing bumps grew from the exposed, dangling roots in neat columns, giving off a faint silvery radiance. The spheres of earth were connected together with a spider web of silvery threads, causing the entire group of floating saplings to drift together in the sky.

Only after the group of saplings slowly glided away out of sight did Wei Yuan regain his wits. "F-Father! There's flying trees!" he exclaimed with a disbelieving expression.

Qinghe chuckled. "Yes. I suppose it's the migration season for the jade-wood saplings. They'll go to the western section of the Spirit Bewildering Forest and set down roots in the Phantom Fire Hills to absorb its unique flavor of energy for the next couple of seasons, then head back to the Frozen Cliffs."

Hearing this, Wei Yuan's stupefied expression turned to one of deep contemplation. The pair started walking again, and it was only a few minutes before the child once more began energetically pointing out every new wonder they came across, be it the fluffy and white cloud-like creatures sliding softly over the ground, transparent and hollow glowing rocks housing creatures resembling snails inside it, or spiny, ghost-like worms diving in and out of tree trunks as dolphins usually did in water. Every interesting sight, smell, or sound made Wei Yuan's eyes gleam, his wide smile of awe staying undimmed.

In this way, they finally made their way to the edge of the Forest's Cradle.

Seeing the large, straight, and tall trees on the border of the clearing, Wei Yuan happily skipped up to them and hugged one of the trunks. "Father, look! This tree is so big!"

Qinghe smiled helplessly. "Yes, it is. But so are the other trees here."

Wei Yuan nodded, then frowned. "Father, can this tree also fly like the ones we saw before?"

Qinghe grinned. "Maybe it will if you ask your Uncle Ying."

Wei Yuan perked up. So the Uncle Ying he was going to meet could make trees fly? How fun! Then he should definitely be on his best behavior so that his uncle will like him and make trees fly when he asked!

Seeing his little son's expression that appeared as if he was plotting on how to charm Yin Xulin, Qinghe's eyes shone with amusement. He made a beckoning motion and held out his hand. "Come here, Yuan-er. Let's go and meet your Uncle Kong and Uncle Ying."

Wei Yuan walked over and obediently held his father's hand, happily following him into the Forest's Cradle.