Chapter 758: Sorrow

"You actually... dare have... a second child?"

Faced with the Demon Child's accusation, Marquis Zheng first looked at the bright golden pill in the Demon Child's hand.

Qi Refiners existed in this world.

Naturally, pills and elixirs existed too.

No one had ever heard of a true pill of immortality.

But some pills genuinely possessed unusual effects.

And this one gave off such a strange fragrance that it was impossible not to notice.

Zheng Fan looked at the Princess inside the room.

Then at the Demon Child's fury.

Then remembered that the Princess had only just returned from Chu territory.

He had known nothing about this beforehand.

But now... the outline of the entire matter quickly assembled itself inside his mind.

Zheng Fan did not answer the Demon Child's question directly.

Instead, he pointed at the pill.

"Does that thing actually work?"

Xue San had once jokingly asked Siniang whether she had ever worried that she and Master might suffer from reproductive isolation.

Master and the Demon Kings all looked human enough.

But fundamentally... their levels of life were different.

And although the Demon Kings had not yet fully recovered their strength... their foundations were still what they were.

Great Chu's Fire Phoenix had long since gone extinct.

Only a spirit-form Fire Phoenix still fluttered around.

Great Yan had artificially bred many varieties of Pi Beasts.

But genuine Pixiu?

There were only a handful in the entire world.

The principle of Heaven was simple.

The higher the level of life... the harder it became to reproduce.

The Demon Kings unquestionably stood on a level of life above even Pixiu and Fire Phoenixes.

But... nothing was absolute.

Where the Dao rose one foot, the demon rose ten.

There was always some method to be found.

Success was not guaranteed.

But at least one could try.

The Demon Child tilted his head slightly and continued staring at Zheng Fan.

"If it didn't work... why would I take it?"

Zheng Fan smiled.

"So it really does work."

"Heh-heh... heh-heh... You want it...?"

The Demon Child asked.

Marquis Zheng felt his bare feet beginning to freeze.

It was deep winter.

Standing barefoot on cold blue bricks was too much even for a man full of fire.

And the bathrobe thrown over his body had soaked up the water he had never bothered wiping away.

At first, it had not felt like much.

But once those droplets cooled... the sensation became genuinely miserable.

If he had been fighting a war outside, none of this would have counted as anything.

But this was home.

"You don't want me to have another child?" Zheng Fan asked.

"What do... you think...?"

Zheng Fan laughed again.

He remembered the bottom of the Wang River.

The moment the Demon Child had finally called him "Dad."

Of course... one could argue the boy had been pushed so hard by that woman at the time that he had simply stopped caring about anything else.

But Zheng Fan had still enjoyed hearing that word.

His relationship with the Demon Child had never been a pure father-and-son relationship.

And yet the Demon Child's extremity, his obsession, his viciousness... all of those traits were, in truth, projections of Zheng Fan's own aesthetic preferences.

What surprised Zheng Fan now was just how far the Demon Child was willing to go to stop this.

It was not as though Zheng Fan had never known the boy disliked the idea.

Otherwise, on that night with Siniang years ago, he would not have sealed the Demon Child outside with a talisman and asked the Sword Saint to stand guard.

But back then...

Zheng Fan had assumed it was merely childish possessiveness.

Hadn't the Demon Child gradually grown used to things over these past two years?

As a parent, selectively ignoring a child's feelings for the sake of one's own preferences... wasn't that one of the most basic parental operations imaginable?

Only... the Demon Child was not an ordinary child.

That self-congratulatory bullshit about, "I asked my eldest whether she wanted a little brother to play with, and she agreed, so only then did we work hard and have a second child"...

Marquis Zheng could not use that excuse.

What did some tiny brat know?

But the Demon Child... was different.

He understood.

He understood everything.

He was a spirit.

Those eyes could see through the tiny selfish calculations hidden inside human hearts in an instant.

Zheng Fan raised his head.

He looked at the Demon Child again.

"You really won't agree? Tian Tian isn't a baby anymore. If you like little kids, we could give you another little brother or sister or two to play with."

His tone was genuinely negotiatory.

He was truly discussing it.

At the same time... the hand Zheng Fan held behind his back waved gently.

The Sword Saint understood.

He turned around.

Went home.

He would not involve himself in this household affair.

Then...

A'Ming, who lived in the Residence's wine cellar, appeared.

Xue San also happened to arrive.

He had planned to leave tonight with his scouts for Snow Sea Pass and then enter the snowfields.

Before departing, he had come to confirm a few details with Master.

And now... he had walked straight into this scene.

The Sword Saint left.

They did not.

What happened between Master and the Demon Child was a household affair.

But it was also... a matter among Demon Kings.

The Demon Child answered coldly:

"You wish."

A direct refusal.

Zheng Fan nodded.

"Fine. Then no children."

"Heh-heh... heh-heh..."

The Demon Child laughed again.

He handed the bright golden pill to Zheng Fan.

"What... should we do... with it?"

Zheng Fan reached out and took the pill.

He held it beneath his nose and sniffed.

"Smells pretty good. Is this something the man takes or the woman?"

In truth...

Zheng Fan had a certain psychological shadow where pills were concerned.

He had seen the late Emperor of Yan covered in spots from pill toxins.

The Demon Child simply hovered there, face close to Zheng Fan's, watching him.

Zheng Fan shook his head.

He dropped the pill onto the floor.

Then... lifted one foot.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

The Princess screamed.

This pill was unimaginably precious.

More importantly... it was her hope.

Smack!

Zheng Fan crushed the pill beneath his foot.

A pill like this had to be taken according to a particular method.

Once inside the body, its medicinal force needed to be dissolved layer by layer before it could truly function.

Crushed into powder on the floor like this... the pill was completely ruined.

The Demon Child seemed to freeze.

He had not expected Zheng Fan to be so decisive.

So clean about it.

Zheng Fan reached out, wanting to touch the Demon Child's face.

His hand passed through the spirit's body.

So he could only make the gesture symbolically.

"All right. Next time something happens, tell me directly. Don't act on your own. This is home. Don't do it again."

With that...

Marquis Zheng waved toward everyone present.

"All right. Matter settled. Everyone disperse. Go on."

Then...

Marquis Zheng himself started walking back toward his room.

He shivered violently along the way and cursed:

"Freezing my ass off."

...

The Sword Saint returned home.

The child was already asleep.

His wife had not woken either.

The Sword Saint looked at the baby.

Then at his wife.

He shook his head helplessly.

In the future... he probably ought to show a little restraint.

Using children to mock that man surnamed Zheng again... would be somewhat inhuman.

After finishing that thought... the Sword Saint placed his newly sleeping son into the cradle.

Then he slipped the sheathed Longyuan into the cradle's tether loop.

The Sword Saint sat beside it.

One finger turned lightly.

Longyuan turned lightly.

And the cradle... began rocking gently as well.

...

Liu Ruqing had heard the commotion from the Princess's courtyard too.

She had gone over immediately.

But once she saw even the Sword Saint had appeared there... she quietly withdrew.

What happened afterward... she did not know.

In truth... she had no idea what had happened at all.

After the disturbance ended, Liu Ruqing, as the junior woman of the household, came over intending to check on the Princess.

But she found the Princess sitting in a chair... tears gathered in her eyes.

Liu Ruqing hesitated.

Then did not enter to offer comfort.

A widow who had survived several years inside the Fan Clan understood human warmth and coldness far better than most.

She also understood that right now... the Princess did not need someone to comfort her.

Especially not someone who had no idea what had happened.

It looked like... a quarrel.

After leaving the Princess's courtyard, Liu Ruqing stopped for a moment outside the main quarters.

Instinct told her that she ought to go check on her husband now.

But she still did not.

Instead... she returned directly to her own courtyard.

Everyone had a philosophy for surviving in this world.

Hers... was knowing her place.

She climbed back into bed.

Pulled the quilt over herself.

And silently prayed that tomorrow... everything inside this household would return to peace.

...

Tian Tian rubbed his eyes.

He had already washed up according to his strict routine and climbed into bed, preparing to sleep.

Tomorrow he still had to wake early for lessons.

After that, he would eat breakfast with his godfather, who was accustomed to waking late.

When he slept... he always placed the red stone beside his pillow.

That was a habit he had developed in infancy.

He was used to opening his eyes and seeing her beside him.

Used to her playing with him.

Watching him fall asleep.

Children who grew up alone from very young ages often lacked a sense of security.

Tian Tian never had.

He opened his eyes.

Looked at the red stone beside the bed.

And felt faintly confused.

Then he sat up.

Climbed out of bed.

His room had been built as a heated room.

Marquis Zheng himself disliked the artificial constancy of "spring all year round," so the main quarters had never been built that way.

But for his godson... naturally, whatever was best had been provided.

So Tian Tian stepped down from the bed wearing only a white inner robe.

When he walked outside... he saw a black child's silhouette sitting on the steps.

There was wind outside.

Cold wind.

Tian Tian ran back into his room.

Put on his clothes, socks, and shoes properly.

Then quietly walked outside again.

He sat down on the steps beside the black child.

The Demon Child turned his head.

Looked at Tian Tian.

Then turned back and stared ahead.

Tian Tian stood up again.

Ran inside.

Brought out some snacks.

And arranged them in front of the Demon Child.

The Demon Child did not move.

"Sachima. Dragon Throne. Eat."

Tian Tian pointed at one flavor of sachima.

The Demon Child still did not move.

In the past, he would at least play along.

Tonight... he could not be bothered.

Tian Tian scratched his head.

Then walked back into the room and carried the red stone outside.

He crouched beside the Demon Child.

Rolled the stone toward him.

For a very long time... this had been the game the two of them loved most.

But when the stone rolled to the Demon Child's feet... he did not roll it back.

Tian Tian stood there.

Watching him.

All this time... the Demon Child had accompanied and cared for Tian Tian like an older sister.

This was the first time Tian Tian had ever seen him like this.

In the end...

Tian Tian sat down again.

He lifted one arm.

Held it loosely around the Demon Child's incorporeal figure... as though hugging him.

Two children... sat side by side on the steps.

And let the cold winter night wind blow over them... again and again.

...

"Hiss... hiss..."

Inside the wine cellar...

A'Ming reclined inside his coffin.

A glass of red wine rested in his hand.

He swirled it gently.

Beside him stood a cage.

Inside the cage... was another coffin.

Kashir reclined inside that one too, holding a glass of red wine.

Xue San leaned over a tiny pile of powder and sniffed lightly.

Then... he smiled.

"Guess what I can smell in this?"

A'Ming teased:

"Whether Master has athlete's foot?"

"What happened to noble decorum?"

Xue San gave A'Ming an irritated look.

"Aren't you supposed to be heading onto the snowfields? Why are you still here?"

"My men have already left. I can set out a day or two later and still catch up with them before Snow Sea Pass. Won't delay anything."

The tiny pile of powder... came from the pill Zheng Fan had crushed.

"Oh. Good."

A'Ming continued staring at the red wine in his hand.

"This world really is interesting. Every so often, something appears that catches you completely off guard and reminds you this isn't some purely ordinary world."

"Look at yourself. Then look at me sitting in front of you. I'm curious how you've only just realized that now," A'Ming said.

"This pill reminds me of an old prescription."

Xue San's roles among the Demon Kings were twofold.

First, craftsman.

Second... apothecary.

That was one of his innate talents.

"Something you came up with back when you were messing around with divine-beast crossbreeding?"

"That was a long time ago. But this pill probably does work."

"If it didn't work, the Demon Child wouldn't have tried stealing it. Truthfully, I don't especially care whether Master has children," A'Ming said.

Xue San nodded.

"Unless it's a child with Siniang."

A'Ming hesitated.

Then nodded faintly.

A bond existed between the Demon Kings.

That bond came from mutual recognition on the level of life itself.

They could dislike one another.

They could even turn against one another.

But the very fact that such emotions could exist meant they recognized each other as the same kind of being.

Otherwise... there would be nothing but contempt.

Would you genuinely become angry at an ant beneath your feet?

"Still, I understand the Demon Child too. Hahaha."

A'Ming smiled.

At that moment...

Kashir, locked inside the cage, spoke.

"Honored Lord Xue San, might I also examine that miraculous powder?"

"You understand this stuff too?" Xue San asked.

Kashir smiled.

"As you know, a noble ought to maintain a few refined hobbies. Otherwise, what difference would there be between us and those muddleheaded commoners?"

Xue San scraped a little powder onto the tip of his dagger and held it toward the cage.

Kashir leaned closer.

He sniffed it.

Then extended his tongue and tasted the tiniest trace.

"This..."

"What?"

"There should be a plant-derived ingredient in this powder. I've seen it mentioned in the notes of an ancient apothecary."

"Oh?"

Xue San immediately grew interested.

"Legend says that a very, very long time ago, there was a great dragon tamer in the West..."

Xue San tilted his head.

"Get to the point."

Third Master had no interest in a lecture about Western history.

"Ah, yes, my lord. The dragon tamer's dragon grew old, yet needed to produce another dragon. Otherwise, the tamer's position would become impossible to preserve. A dragon tamer without a dragon... what difference would there be between him and a salted fish in a fisherman's house along the coast?"

"And then?"

"The difficulty was that dragons find it extraordinarily hard to produce offspring. In the end, he sought help from the greatest apothecary of that age and obtained what he needed. Eventually, the dragon successfully produced a descendant. In that apothecary's notes, he recorded using one miraculous herb. Later generations called it... Dragon-Seeking Grass."

Xue San nodded.

Then looked toward A'Ming.

"Do you remember the procedures we saw inside Great Yan's Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate?"

Once, they had accidentally released a Pixiu inside Yanjing's imperial palace.

Even so, Xue San had pestered A'Ming into using Master's command token so they could visit the Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate afterward.

Zheng Fan's status was exalted.

He himself was one of the men permitted to possess a Pixiu.

And one of the Directorate's current senior managers happened to have some history with Zheng Fan too.

Years earlier, when Zheng Fan brought the Princess back toward Jin, he had encountered that man and a woman and brought the pair along with him.

Because of all that... most of the Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate's secrets had not been hidden from Xue San when he visited.

A'Ming looked at him.

"You could also get to the point."

"Fine. When the Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate breeds Pixiu, they feed them certain pills. One of those pills is used to increase fertility in high-grade Pi Beasts. I studied it. And I even..."

Xue San reached into his clothes.

He took out a dark yellow pill.

"They gave you one?" A'Ming asked.

"I stole it."

"Why did you steal that?"

Then realization appeared on A'Ming's face.

"You wanted Master to take it?"

"Strictly speaking, let me use an imperfect analogy. 'Reproductive isolation' isn't really the right term either. But for all kinds of reasons, the vitality of one side's sperm can fall to a level so low it's almost absurd. And this sort of pill can help rescue that absurdly low..." Xue San paused. "...sperm vitality."

Kashir listened intently.

"So the woman takes it?"

"Yes. The pill used by the Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate contains an ingredient similar to the herb inside this pill. But the difference in medicinal strength is enormous. It's like the difference between a Pi Beast... and a true Pixiu."

"The pill the Princess brought back from Chu is that high quality?"

"Absurdly high. If we sent it to the Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate in Yanjing, they might genuinely be able to breed another one or two true Pixiu."

"Heh."

A'Ming laughed.

"I'm beginning to feel a little sorry for Master."

"Sorry about what?"

"You know exactly what."

"No. I don't."

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Xue San's mouth.

"This stuff is called Dragon-Seeking Grass in the West. In Chu, I'm sure it has some equally grand and domineering name. In Yanjing's Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate, it goes into things fed to Pi Beasts. Dragons. Phoenixes. Pixiu. Pi Beasts. What are those things? They're beasts beyond beasts. And even bodies like theirs might not withstand a pill made from this kind of medicine. Its effect is simple. It squeezes every function of the mother's body dry... for the sole purpose of gestating offspring."

A'Ming's expression changed.

"In other words..."

"In other words, if the Demon Child hadn't made a scene tonight, the Princess would have swallowed that pill and then slept with Master. Most likely... she really would have conceived. Factor in the way the Princess's Fire Phoenix bloodline strengthens her body too. Do you know what the best possible outcome would be?"

"What?"

"The child is born prematurely. The mother dies."

A'Ming fell silent.

Xue San drew a deep breath.

"The Demon Child definitely doesn't want Master to have other children. But at the very beginning, he didn't want Siniang climbing into Master's bed either. Later on... didn't he accept that too? What the Demon Child truly may not want to see... is a child who, from the day it's born... has no mother."

[End of Chapter 758]