Strange Egg

Three months passed since the conversation between Yun and Pang Tong as Zhending seemed livelier than usual.

Yun was drinking tea in the courtyard with Diao Chan who received an egg from Yun which he won against Shura.

"So what is inside it?" asks Diao Chan as she looked at the egg of the size of an ostrich egg with some red marks on it.

"I don't know, I heard from my Godfather that his wife gave him that egg. So it could be a blessing or a curse," says Yun since he never met Shura's wife.

"You think your Godmother would gift you with a curse?" asks Diao Chan as she looked at the egg while holding Zheng in her arms.

The little boy was stretching his hands out towards the egg wanting to know what is inside it like his mother who is curious glancing at the egg.

"Now I know from who he inherited his curiosity from," says Yun with a smile as he was enjoying his time with his wife and youngest child.

"So how are the classes you are taking from Wei Mei?" asks Yun as Diao Chan was still taking classes on how to administrate a household.

"I have quite advanced the last two years. Wei Mei is quite the teacher," says Diao Chan as Shadow landed on the table.

She walked towards Zheng who grabbed her without discrimination making the eagle struggle to free herself as Zheng hold her in his little chubby arms until Diao Chan helped the eagle out of them.

Shadow was back on the table walked towards the egg and looked at it when Yun looked at Shadow and remembered that Shadow broke out of the egg after Hou Yi pierced his finger and some of his blood on the egg.

"Dear, can I ask for your hand for a moment?" asks Yun as Diao Chan looked at Yun and remembered how they tamed the tiger kittens when they traveled to Xiangyang.

"You think blood will make it hatch," says Diao Chan as Yun nods making Diao Chan sigh before she stretches her left hand towards Yun who summons a dagger out of his ring.

He pokes Diao Chan's finger making her flinch for a moment before Yun moves her finger over the egg as blood drips on the egg making it shine before it begins to move which surprised both adults.

In the meantime in the Warrior's Realm, Shura was sitting in his office looking at what was unfolding with his wife.

"So what will hatch out of it?" asks Shura as he was curious about it.

"I received it from one of my friends while drinking tea. She was quite intrigued after hearing your little friend's story," says Lorena as she was leaning against Shura's desk.

"You told your friends about my little investigation?" asks Shura as Lorena smiled at him.

"No, I just told them that you saved a Soul that was unjustly killed and that you gave it a chance to redeem itself," says Lorena not revealing all her secrets to Shura as Shura laughed from hearing that.

"Fine, keep your secrets. I will find out sooner or later who gifted the egg to you," says Shura as the egg stopped shining and the egg hatched.

Back in the courtyard, inside the egg was a red featherless chicken which was giving its first sounds from itself when Yun looked at it confused being reminded of Shadow's first moment which was her being completely black without feathers.

Yun picked the little guy up who struggled as if he knew that Yun wasn't his owner while Diao Chan had her finger in her mouth for a moment to clean her wound.

Yun opened with his free hand Diao Chan's right hand and placed the chicken on her palm which tranquilized the chicken as he was calm knowing it was in his owner's hand.

Yun takes Zheng from his mother's embrace while looking at his wife and asking, "What do you want to name it?"

"I don't even know what it is," says Diao Chan looking at the chick when Shadow jumps from the table and begins to use her talons to write on the ground.

She knows the difference between the bird races since she lived for a while between them while being separated from Yun back in the Warrior's Realm.

"A Phoenix?" asks Yun as Shadow nods before he almost dropped his youngest because of the shock.

He believed that it would be a simple bird and not something that extravagant as he looked at the chick in his wife's hand before looking at Shadow again and he says, "I think you will need to step up your game if you want to compete against a Phoenix."

Shadow jumped at Yun as she was pecking on his head for a moment before writing on the ground that she was way better than a simple Phoenix.

"Alright, you didn't need to peck my head just to tell me that," says Yun as he uses his foot to swipe everything away before sitting down again.

"It is a Phoenix," says Yun towards Diao Chan as she looked at the chick in her hand as she was using one of her fingers to pet it under its peck while thinking of a name.

"How about Fenghuang like in the Legends of Si Ling. We can call him Feng for short," says Diao Chan as the chick seemed to like its name when Yun looked at Shadow.

"Can you take care of it until it can take care of itself?" asks Yun as Shadow jumps onto the table again.

She nods but waited for Yun to pet her on the spot she loves the most as Yun passes his free hand over the feathers on her belly as well as the throat and under her peck.

"I know that you like it," says Yun as he finished with petting Shadow who walked over towards Diao Chan before picking the phoenix chick up before she flew away with it.

"So Shadow will mother it until it can take care of itself," says Diao Chan as she trusted Shadow since she never failed the family.

Yun then places Zheng into Diao Chan's arms before he takes Diao Chan's left hand and used Light Qi to heal the scratch he made to hatch Feng.

"It won't take longer than a year for Feng to take care of himself," says Yun as he lets go of his wife's hand before a servant comes towards him.

"My Lord, Master Pang Tong has arrived with the candidates for the second exam. He wants you to meet the candidates," says the servant to Yun as Yun looked at his wife.

"Just go it is more important since they will be responsible for the safety of our family," says Diao Chan as Yun kissed his wife before going with the servant to meet with the candidates.

He arrives at the Main Hall and sees twenty people standing in four lines while Pang Tong was standing beside a table when the servant opens the door and everyone was looking at the door.

Yun takes a deep breath before he enters the room radiating an aura of superiority that could intimidate the candidates but Yun needed to see who could keep a calm mind when in the presence of a beast.

Yun walked towards the table Pang Tong was standing beside. Once there he turns to the candidates and his aura changed which became more soft and comfortable.

Yun sits down and says, "Sit down everyone. Most of you must have traveled for a long time to get to Zhending and should rest before the third exam begins."

Yun takes the list with the people that passed the first exam when he says, "Number nine and number seventeen, you are dismissed for not keeping a calm mind when I entered the room. I could see you shaking in fear. I can't have someone like that on the battlefield he would only kill himself and my men."

"Bu-" says number nine when Yun glared at him making him go mute.

"Out," says Yun in a dominant tone making everyone in the room know that he won't tolerate their presence once they failed the exam.

"You will get a chance to come again when the next exam takes place," says Yun as nine and seventeen are escorted out while they were hanging their heads.

Yun looked at the list again and many names on the list were fabricated. He looked at the people seeing that some women had sneaked in as well.

"I see that women have passed the exam as well. You don't have to hide so take a step forward if you are one or I will force you to stand out," says Yun as he looked at the eighteen remaining candidates when four of them take a step forward.

They surprised some of the other candidates since three of them were clothed like men and had hidden their appearance while only one of them was wearing a veil to hide her face.

"Number thirteen and number nineteen are dismissed as well. I don't need people that can't be honest once they were found out," says Yun as those two didn't make much of a fight before following the servant out of the room.

"Back in formation," says Yun as the woman returned back to their position and Yun looks at every one of them.

He looks at the names again while he crossed out four names before he reads the name and he says, "Zhong Da, step forward."

A young man stepped forward and walked towards the table Yun looked him in the eyes when he says, "You have grown up quite well, Sima Yi. Does your father know that you came here or will I have to inform him that his son ran away again?"

"He should be aware of it," says Sima Yi as he now had longer hair than before which reached his back.

Sima Yi was wearing normal clothes instead of his usual clothes which would reveal his identity faster when Sima Yi asks, "How did you find out?"

"I met you once. It will be hard to forget the impression you left on me back then. I hope you pass the last examination," says Yun as he smiles at Sima Yi seeing that he really came.

"Now back to your position," says Yun as he looks at the next name.