Thank you, BlueMoon, for the ko-fi~
After letting go of his big dad’s neck, the heartbroken little phoenix tried to run off on his short little legs.
But before he could take more than two steps, he stopped on his own.
Wiping his tears, he glanced back at the stove.
After staring at it for a moment, the hungry little one turned back around.
With tears in his eyes, he walked toward the stove.
The stool he had been standing on earlier had already toppled over.
He picked it up, climbed back onto it, and served himself a large bowl of meat and vegetables.
The food was still warm and smelled delicious.
Feng Yuan couldn’t find any chopsticks, so he washed two small twigs to use instead.
Sheng, who was still standing in the kitchen, was indeed Li Sheng. He watched as the tearful little guy ate while crying.
He couldn’t quite make sense of it.
Feng Yuan would take a few bites, pause, and let out a sob.
Crying and eating, he finished one bowl and then served himself another.
Lately, since he had been drinking milk with Eggy, Feng Yuan’s appetite had noticeably grown.
After finishing two bowls of meat, his little mouth was shiny with grease.
There was still some left in the pot, enough for two or three more bowls.
But Feng Yuan didn’t eat any more.
He covered the pot with a lid, planning to save the leftovers for Uncle Chi Shui.
As for his big dad, the heartbroken and sulky little guy decided to ignore him.
After tidying up the kitchen, Feng Yuan prepared to leave again.
This time, Li Sheng finally stopped him.
Grabbing his arm, Li Sheng made him pause.
There was water readily available in the kitchen water vat.
Li Sheng led him to the vat and told him to wash his face.
From the beginning until now, Li Sheng hadn’t gotten a clear look at the little guy’s face.
It was just too dirty.
Feng Yuan had to cook over a fire.
He wasn’t very good at lighting it, so it was common for his face to get covered in soot while cooking. Add to that the cleaning he had done, the little guy looked downright grubby.
Hearing his big dad tell him to wash his face, Feng Yuan instinctively closed his eyes and tilted his little face upward.
Li Sheng: “…”
Li Sheng could tell at a glance that the little guy expected him to wash his face for him.
But Li Sheng, who had little affection for young children, didn’t even lift a hand.
He only said coldly, “Wash it yourself.”
Feng Yuan: “…”
Feng Yuan opened his eyes.
Staring at his big dad, who refused to wash his face, his chubby, tear-streaked face was filled with outrage.
“Yuan Yuan is very angry!” the little guy declared. “So angry that he can’t be coaxed!”
Li Sheng: “Hmm.”
Li Sheng: “I wasn’t planning to coax you.”
Feng Yuan: “…”
Feng Yuan was so angry he nearly fainted.
Fuming, he leaned over the water vat and splashed water noisily onto his face.
Washing his face was like waging a war, with water splashing everywhere.
When he was done, he lifted his little face, still seething with anger.
His freshly washed face bore a striking resemblance to Feng Qi.
Looking at that chubby little face, Li Sheng’s eyes flickered slightly.
He was still pondering.
How much of what this little guy had said earlier was true?
Just based on his face, it was certain that he was related to Feng Qi.
But was this face related to him?
Li Sheng thought for a long time. Before he could reach a decision, he suddenly caught the scent of a phoenix.
He was all too familiar with that scent.
The phoenix was heading this way.
The little phoenix, who had been angered to the brink of death, also caught his dad’s scent.
“Dad!”
The little guy’s reddened eyes suddenly lit up.
He excitedly ran outside, ready to find his dad.
Li Sheng stared at his retreating figure for a moment before chasing after him, grabbing him by the collar, and taking him out.
By the time Chi Shui, who had been looking at photos until now, realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
Only half a pot of food remained in the kitchen.
And the little hostage he had captured had already been taken away.
Chi Shui rushed out and saw the Phoenix in the distance.
At this moment, Feng Yuan, who had finally found his dad, spread his little arms and threw himself toward his dad.
Feng Qi did not refuse the little phoenix’s outstretched hands.
He could recognize the scent of this little phoenix.
It seemed to be his own child.
Although Feng Qi also had no memories, he had his sense of smell. His sense of smell had already confirmed the little phoenix’s identity.
So, when the little phoenix started crying loudly, Feng Qi naturally reached out and took him.
Once the little phoenix was in his dad’s arms, his tiny hands and feet clung tightly to him.
He was crying intensely.
Feng Qi gently patted his back, soothing him with practiced ease.
“Alright, alright. Don’t cry anymore.”
Holding the chubby little phoenix in his arms, Feng Qi hurried back.
With Li Sheng accompanying him on the return journey, he encountered far fewer troubles.
Almost no demons dared to stand in his way anymore.
The relationship between gods and demons had always been adversarial.
Feng Qi had no idea how many demon lives had been taken by his hands.
He slaughtered these demons without batting an eye.
But at this moment, he had no interest in engaging in battles with them.
He wanted to return home quickly.
The journey was smooth, so it didn’t take Feng Qi long to bring the little phoenix back to his nest.
After landing with the little phoenix in his arms, he looked down and noticed that the little guy, who had been crying the entire way, had fallen asleep.
Tears still clung to the little guy’s long, curled eyelashes.
His pink, delicate little face, having cried for so long, looked pitiful even in sleep.
Feng Qi had no memory of this little fledgling.
But as he looked at the pitiful little guy, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Almost instinctively, he wiped away the little guy’s tears.
He even washed the little guy’s face again.
The phoenix nest was quiet and undisturbed.
Li Sheng watched silently as Feng Qi cared for the fledgling and asked, “Is this really your child?”
Feng Qi hummed in affirmation.
After responding, Feng Qi found it amusing.
“I’m certain I’ve never given birth to any children.”
“But this little guy is indeed connected to me by blood. He is truly my child.”
As he spoke, Feng Qi pinched Feng Yuan’s chubby little cheek.
While pinching the soft cheek, a strange thought crossed his mind—
This little guy seemed to have gained weight.
The thought was peculiar.
Feng Qi wanted to ponder it further, but had no way to do so.
He gazed at the little guy, who clung to his clothes even in sleep, before finally looking away.
For now, he was too lazy to dwell on things he couldn’t understand.
He turned his attention back to Li Sheng.
“On our way back just now, those demons seemed to fear you?”
Feng Qi stared directly at Li Sheng.
If his clothes weren’t being held by the little fledgling, he would likely have walked right up to Li Sheng by now.
“Xiao Sheng, didn’t I tell you not to go to the demon realm?”
“It’s not a good place. You won’t learn anything good there.”
Ever since Feng Qi had picked Li Sheng up, he had forbidden him from returning to the demon realm.
He didn’t want Li Sheng to be assimilated by the demons of the demon realm.
Those demons were inherently cruel and cold-blooded. Born on the battlefield, the battlefield was their home.
As long as they lived, they would follow their innate instincts, repeatedly waging wars.
They reveled in battlefields drenched in rivers of blood.
To them, the blood-soaked soil of the battlefield was the greatest paradise.
Feng Qi had been raising Li Sheng all this time as part of an experiment.
He wanted to test whether these demons, if placed in a different environment, would undergo changes in their temperament.
Would they abandon their inherent nature and become peaceful?
So far, the results of Feng Qi’s experiment had been excellent.
Li Sheng had not shown even a hint of his malevolent nature in front of him.
He had behaved too perfectly.
So perfectly that Feng Qi had long stopped believing it.
“I went to find this little guy,” Li Sheng replied to Feng Qi’s question. “I wanted to know if he is truly your child.”
Li Sheng explained why he had gone to the demon realm.
Feng Qi followed up with another question: “You wanted to confirm his identity… Now that his identity is confirmed, what do you plan to do next?”
Li Sheng fell silent.
Just as Feng Qi raised an eyebrow, about to ask again, Li Sheng suddenly spoke: “He said he is my child, too.”
“He said that after we were together, we gave birth to him.”
“Feng Qi, do you think what he said is true?”
Feng Qi: “…”
Feng Qi: “What?”
Feng Qi’s previous composure and calmness instantly wavered.
He had considered many possibilities for the little guy’s origin.
For instance, it could have been his own phoenix essence, which, by some twist of fate, nurtured a child.
Or perhaps he had been influenced by the heavens and earth, unknowingly producing an heir.
In any case, among all the reasons he had thought of, the one Li Sheng just mentioned was absolutely not among them.
He and Li Sheng had not yet engaged in any substantial relationship.
“Feng Qi, do you have a way to verify this?” Li Sheng continued to press Feng Qi, hoping he could find a way to confirm it.
This time, it was Feng Qi who fell silent.
Feng Qi leaned back on the couch and resumed gazing at the little phoenix in his arms.
Time passed slowly.
As Feng Qi watched the little phoenix, he eventually drifted off to sleep as well.
He was awakened by Feng Yuan shaking him.
Feng Yuan had come with a mission, so even his sleep was restless.
Even though he was sleeping in his dad’s arms, Feng Yuan only slept for a short while before opening his eyes.
As soon as he woke up, he roused his dad as well.
“Dad, let’s go home!” Feng Yuan urged his dad to return. “Uncle Bai Ze said we can’t stay here for too long.”
“We need to go home now.”
Feng Yuan had been held by his dad and lulled to sleep, so he assumed his dad remembered him.
After Feng Yuan finished speaking, Feng Qi was momentarily stunned.
“What are you talking about? What do you mean by going home?”
Feng Yuan: “…”
Feng Yuan was confused.
He pointed his chubby little finger outward and said, “Outside the mirror.”
“We also need to bring Uncle Chi Shui along.”
Feng Yuan’s words made no sense to Feng Qi.
Seeing his dad make no move, Feng Yuan pouted, finally realizing the truth.
His phoenix dad hadn’t remembered him either!
“Dad, it’s Yuan Yuan! I’m Yuan Yuan!”
Perhaps because his phoenix dad, even without remembering him, had held him as soon as they met, Feng Yuan wasn’t too upset at the moment.
At least, he wasn’t as heartbroken as he had been earlier when facing Li Sheng.
He focused on the key points and recounted everything that had happened outside.
Things like the collapse of the World of the Mountains and Seas.
His dad had brought him to live in the human realm. They had even found his other father.
But because both dads had lost their memories of the past, they had entered the Magic Mirror.
They had come to the Magic Mirror to search for their memories.
However, something has gone wrong with the mirror. Once his dads entered, they never came out.
Missing his dad, he had followed them inside.
Though Feng Yuan’s childish voice was still unclear, his words were understandable.
Feng Qi understood what he was saying.
Even though he understood, he couldn’t quite visualize the events Feng Yuan described.
“Yuan Yuan, I need some time to process what you’ve told me.”
Feng Qi gently rubbed Feng Yuan’s little head, comforting him. “If what you say is true, I will definitely take you back.”
“Mm!”
Feng Yuan nodded his little head emphatically.
Feng Qi wanted to verify his words. The first step in that verification—
Was to confirm his relationship with Li Sheng.
During this era, the phoenix was an immensely powerful being.
He could examine Feng Yuan’s bloodline.
He took a feather from the little phoenix and a drop of Li Sheng’s blood.
In just a moment, he had his answer.
It was true.
What the little phoenix said was true.
His other father really was Li Sheng.
Li Sheng, too, could read the answer from Feng Qi’s expression.
That day.
After reuniting with his dad, Feng Yuan wanted to go out and explore the other divine beasts. The moment he left, Li Sheng cornered Feng Qi in the nest.
“We have a child.”
Li Sheng’s reaction to the “child” itself was rather indifferent.
But when it came to Feng Qi, the one who had given birth to his child, he could no longer restrain his emotions.
He pinned Feng Qi down on the bed.
This was the first time the usually obedient Li Sheng revealed such dominance in front of Feng Qi.
Feng Qi managed to free one hand and patted his face.
“Xiao Sheng, did I raise you so carefully just for you to disrespect me like this?”
Li Sheng’s dark, intense eyes showed no sign of backing down.
He bent his right knee and pressed closer.
“Feng Qi, you were willing to bear my child.”
Li Sheng clung to this fact.
Just the thought of such a proud phoenix being willing to bear his offspring made his blood boil with excitement.
He had originally thought it would take a long, long time to win over the person before him.
Perhaps until the next great war between gods and demons.
He knew another war was inevitable.
The demons of the demon realm were already growing restless. Even within his own territory, they were waiting.
A divine-demonic war was bound to happen.
Li Sheng had already resolved to protect the phoenix and ensure his safety.
When the time came, the gods would fall one by one.
But he would not.
With him there, the phoenix would remain unharmed.
And then, he would keep the phoenix by his side for eternity.
The progress Li Sheng had envisioned with the phoenix—
He never expected it to advance so far today.
Li Sheng continued to press closer, while Feng Qi’s expression remained unreadable, leaving it uncertain whether he would get his way.
Meanwhile, outside, Feng Yuan, now separated from his dads, was busy exploring this new world.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152