As Shen Tanqi turned to look at Yu Ce with a shocked expression, his reaction was swiftly caught by the keen eyes of Consort Shen. She narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze resting on the tall and elegant figure of the daemon cultivator.
A daemon.
Shen Tanqi must have lost his mind. He had fallen seriously ill.
The face of this cultivator seemed familiar; Consort Shen’s mind quickly searched through her memories and soon found a resemblance buried deep within her thoughts — the one locked in the underground water dungeon of the Shen family, Yu Ce’s younger brother.
It was Yu Ce. The moment this thought surfaced, Consort Shen felt her temples throb painfully; she knew Shen Tanqi was unruly, but previously it had only been petty mischief at home and outside. Now, he was going to have a child with a daemon.
If this were true, the Shen family would be the subject of ridicule for centuries!
It must be suppressed; no one could let this leak out.
As everyone remained silent and dared not speak, Consort Shen was the first to cover her lips and smile, fanning the family head beside her to calm the fire, “Look at the miracle doctor, always so fond of joking. Today, the young master’s return is a great joy, and the miracle doctor wishes to bring us even more happiness.”
The family head’s expression remained unchanged, his eyes fixed on Shen Tanqi and Yu Ce behind him, who bowed their heads in silence. He gripped the armrest of his chair tightly, causing the lacquer to crack layer by layer; if he continued like this, he might crush the chair entirely.
“But miracle doctor, your joke is not funny at all.” Consort Shen rose slowly, walking calmly over to the miracle doctor’s side while waving her fan. As she drew near, she coldly whispered, “Know your place and leave.”
The sweat on the Arab doctor’s forehead had not yet dried before a new wave emerged. He attempted to explain something, but upon seeing Consort Shen narrowing her eyes, he immediately stuttered, “That’s what I meant. I was trying to lighten the family head’s mood, but it seems my joke-telling skills need improvement.”
Upon hearing this, the family head remained silent, his eyes fixed on Yu Ce’s face behind Shen Tanqi like a ferocious wolf in the wilderness, showing extreme malice, refusing to shift his gaze even slightly towards the miracle doctor, merely waving his hand to dismiss him.
After the doctor left, those insightful members of the main lineage also took their leave one by one, until the entire main hall was left with only Shen Tanqi, Yu Ce, the family head, and Consort Shen.
Oh, and Shen Zhiguo, who was clueless about the situation.
Consort Shen sat back in her seat and slammed the armrest of her chair, angrily reprimanding Shen Zhiguo, “What business do you have here? Get lost, you clueless fool!”
Unable to vent her anger on Shen Tanqi, it naturally fell upon the unfortunate Shen Zhiguo.
Shen Zhiguo opened his mouth, his sparse eyebrows furrowed in distress, but in the end, he dared not stay any longer and slipped out of the hall dejectedly.
“Damn it, what bad luck.”
Shen Zhiguo grumbled under his breath, irritated, “Why should I get scolded for someone else’s fault?”
As soon as he stepped out of the main hall, he heard a faint growl from the corner, as if a man was struggling to suppress his anger.
“Who told you to talk about good news? Do you think you can deceive my father and Consort Shen with such nonsense?”
Shen Zhiguo, who had intended to leave, halted at the familiar voice. He looked around, confirmed there was no one nearby, and cautiously approached.
Sure enough, the familiar voice belonged to Shen Han, the illegitimate son of the third branch of the Shen family, whom Consort Shen had dispatched when Shen Zhiguo sought reinforcements.
Shen Han seemed extremely irritated at the moment, breathing heavily, and slapped the person in front of him without hesitation, “Idiot! I paid you a fortune to set up this scheme, and you blurted out such a ridiculous remark! Useless idiot!”
With that, he slapped the person again without hesitation, as if releasing pent-up frustration, nearly sending the person flying.
The sound made Shen Zhiguo cringe. He squinted and vaguely recognized the person opposite him, wearing a wrapped cloth cap — wasn’t this the Arab doctor from earlier?
The doctor looked utterly distressed, covering half his face, and hurriedly explained, “Young master, it was you who told me that Shen Tanqi’s mother, at forty, sought various remedies to conceive before she got Shen Tanqi. I just examined his pulse; this lad indeed has a unique constitution, naturally able to give birth to children.”
The conversation paused momentarily, and Shen Han’s voice turned colder as he said, “So what, daemon men can give birth, and some half-demons can also give birth? Nowadays, it’s not at all surprising. Do you really think the family head would dislike Shen Tanqi just because of this? You’re naive! Tell me the truth, does he really have a seed in his belly?”
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiguo quickly stretched his neck, intending to listen closely to the rest, but then saw Shen Han suddenly turn around, draw his sword, and cautiously shout in his direction, “Who’s there?”
Still in a huff, he hadn’t even noticed someone approaching.
Shen Han moved gracefully, leaping towards the thicket where Shen Zhiguo was hiding. With a swift slash, he cut through the grass, only to find a few dry leaves. He looked around suspiciously and heard some springtime catcalls from a dim corner.
It was just a cat.
Shen Han softened the hostility in his eyes, casually sheathing his sword and walking away.
After he left for quite some time, in the now deserted space, a chubby man covered in fat struggled to climb out of a trash bin filled with arrays.
Shen Zhiguo couldn’t help but swallow hard, feeling his heart pounding in his throat.
Luckily, he had a keen mind and considered the array-marked box left by Shen Tanqi and the others as a treasure, storing it in his storage ring.
Otherwise, by now, he might have been scattered into several pieces in the wild fields several miles away from the Shen family.
At this moment, under the waning moon and starry sky.
Inside the main hall of the Shen family, the air felt cold and tense.
“Father, do you believe that quack doctor’s words?” Shen Tanqi cautiously broke the silence.
In truth, he was not feeling much better himself, his mind a tangled mess of worries, unable to process this sudden ‘pregnancy’ with his brain that functioned like a single-core processor.
He knew what it felt like to be pregnant, having experienced it before. If there truly was a child in his belly, he should be able to tell.
But how much time had passed? It was probably just an embryo in there. However, he recalled how Yu Ce had known he was pregnant the next day, confidently placing a hand on his abdomen and saying…
“As soon as I touch it, I can tell if there’s something inside.”
Thinking about this, Shen Tanqi was almost going mad inside. If they hadn’t done anything wrong, he would naturally have had a clear conscience and wouldn’t believe the words of that quack doctor.
But what happened between him and Yu Ce that night was indeed unexpected, and not just once.
Even if Shen Tanqi wanted to find a reason to deceive, he couldn’t deceive himself.
Despite Shen Tanqi’s attempt to speak first, the family head remained tight-lipped, as if overwhelmed with anger; the muscles on his face trembled, and veins bulged on his forehead.
Seeing this intimidating appearance, Shen Tanqi felt a twinge of guilt, fearing he might anger himself to death.
After a moment, Consort Shen took a deep breath. In a tone different from when she spoke to Shen Zhiguo, she shifted slightly and leaned forward to look at Shen Tanqi, speaking earnestly in a low voice, “Young master, the only ones left here are your closest family. Please, tell us what’s going on.”
Shen Tanqi was at a loss for how to respond; he was completely confused himself.
Seeing his hesitation, Consort Shen was about to say more when the family head, who had been silent for a long time, interrupted with a hoarse voice, “Whose seed is it?”
This question was even harder to answer than the previous one. Shen Tanqi desperately wanted to run away, out of the Shen family, out of Shuoxia City, away from this complicated world.
“I…” Shen Tanqi hesitated, unsure how to dodge the question. After considering how to respond believably, he fabricated the only plausible reason, “I don’t have any child at all. That quack doctor must have made a mistake. I don’t know where you found this trickster.”
“You do but don’t dare!” The family head exploded with suppressed anger, suddenly reaching out to slap the tea table beside him, smashing it into pieces.
“You’re spineless! You’re just a spineless man! How can the Shen family produce such a worthless person? You’re negligent in your cultivation, don’t come back to inherit the family business, fool around outside all day, and now you bring a child from the outside with a daemon? Today, I must punish you on behalf of our ancestors!”
He cursed non-stop, grabbed the phoenix-headed jade cane from beside his chair, and stood up to beat Shen Tanqi, “If I don’t break this cane today, I’m not your father! Come here!”
Shen Tanqi stared in disbelief at the sturdy jade cane. It was thick and solid; one blow might kill him. How could he wait for it to be broken?
Instinctively, Shen Tanqi wanted to rush out the door, but a powerful palm strike sealed the door shut behind him, perfectly tight, not even a fly could escape.
Shen Tanqi’s heart skipped a beat. It turned out the Shen family’s dominance was not without reason; everyone in his family was capable and formidable.
He quickly turned around, fearing the jade cane would strike him at any moment, only to see an almost indiscernible blur of snowy white— Yu Ce raising his scabbard, shielding Shen Tanqi.
Yu Ce didn’t charge forward, but this enraged the family head even more. He sneered, looking coldly at Yu Ce, “You dare to shield him? Is a lowly daemon’s life worthy?”
Shen Tanqi hurriedly grabbed Yu Ce, whispering in his ear, “Don’t confront him. Kick open the door and run.”
As the words fell, Yu Ce turned back, giving Shen Tanqi a deep and slow look, gently touching the scabbard emitting a chilly aura, whispering back, “There are several Nascent Soul stage guards outside; there’s no escaping. In the past, it was my senior brother who taught me what to do; today, I’ll teach my senior brother what to do.”
He slowly placed his sword on the ground, bending down. In Shen Tanqi’s astonished gaze, he softly said, “First thing, a man must take responsibility.”
When he looked up again, Yu Ce’s eyes were resolute. He lowered his head and said calmly, “Ah Qi’s child is mine. I hope you’ll understand. If there’s any dissatisfaction, I, Yu Ce, will accept any punishment. But I will make things right; I will do everything in my power to marry him and bring him home.”
Upon hearing Yu Ce’s idea of taking responsibility, Shen Tanqi was almost out of breath. He grabbed Yu Ce’s collar, gritting his teeth, “Your idea of taking responsibility is proposing to my father?”
Why don’t you take responsibility for us having a child together?
Even Consort Shen couldn’t stay silent after hearing this. She stood up angrily, “How dare you! You’re just a cunning beast, and you want to marry into the Shen family? Have you even considered your own worth?”
With Consort Shen’s words, Shen Tanqi no longer saw Yu Ce as the upgraded male lead; now he seemed more like a freeloading male lead.
Why did this silly dragon always rewrite the script himself?
Despite Consort Shen’s scolding, the family head seemed unsatisfied. His hand trembled as he gripped the jade cane, shaking violently, pointing at Yu Ce, “Monster! Kill that monster!”
The scene was chaotic, with the jade cane about to fly out of the family head’s hand and hit Yu Ce’s head. Shen Tanqi felt his head spinning. Unable to bear it any longer, he shouted, “Enough! What’s all this fuss about?”
There was a moment of tense silence in the air, an eerie calm settling over them.
Trembling, Consort Shen pointed at Shen Tanqi and said, “How can you speak to your father and me like this?”
But Shen Tanqi was too frustrated to think twice. Without hesitation, he spoke up, “I mean everyone here. Can we all stop? Can you all listen to me first?”
Seeing the family head about to retort, Shen Tanqi immediately grabbed onto a nearby pillar and spoke coldly, “I’ll finish speaking soon. If anyone interrupts me, I’ll bang my head against this pillar and die.”
He knew exactly how to hit the family head where it hurt the most. The family head was furious, but he also didn’t want to provoke his unruly son, teetering on the edge of a breakdown.
Because knowing this stubborn kid, he might actually do it.
After saying these words, Shen Tanqi sighed inwardly. He didn’t want to reveal so much.
But if he let this group of lunatics continue bickering nonsensically, today would end with him being beaten to death with a jade cane or accidentally married to someone.
The noisy main hall finally quieted down because of Shen Tanqi’s reckless threat.
“Alright, now listen to me,” Shen Tanqi took a deep breath, exhaling the heaviness in his heart. He spoke softly, “It’s true that Yu Ce and I have two children together. But that’s because I was poisoned at Bloodthirst Cliff and there was no cure. Without him, I would have died long ago, and father, you wouldn’t see me as I am now.”
He recounted everything that happened at Bloodthirst Cliff, explaining it all to the family head and Consort Shen.
Their expressions were quite a sight to behold.
“Also, I can’t be certain if the pulse the doctor detected earlier was real because I was drugged recently as well, and it was Yu Ce who helped me through that ordeal.”
Upon hearing this, the head of the household’s heart almost shattered. He struggled to catch his breath, especially upon learning that Shen Tanqi had been poisoned and drugged. His vision blurred momentarily.
His beloved son had grown up sheltered in luxury at home, without a hint of mistreatment. But what trials had he faced during those years of cultivation outside?
Shen Tanqi explained the cause and effect of everything clearly with a slightly restrained expression, and then brought up the most crucial point: “Also, if I am truly with child, father, you must not harm Yu Ce.”
The head of the household thought his son was threatening him. His lips trembled as he was about to speak, but Shen Tanqi continued, “During the first few months of the dragon pregnancy, there is a dependency period. If he dies, I won’t last long.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
