Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Heilong-yuan(Black Dragon Wall)
Heilong Bay (Black Dragon Bay)
Heilong Ridge (Black Dragon Ridge)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
Qinglong (Azure Dragron)
...
Though the affairs of the Black Dragon Clan were all managed by the Office of Censors, some matters still required Yin Jixue's attention—after all, she had been away for quite a while.
With a rare bit of free time, Bai Baobao took the initiative to make a noble sacrifice for the sake of his little brother: he volunteered to stay home and play with the egg.
Seeing how he'd nearly finished his preschool curriculum and how pitifully he looked at her, clearly reluctant to part, Yin Jixue couldn't bear to say no.
Luckily, in the Demon Realm, there was no such thing as standardized exams or rigid academic pressure. Even if Baobao wasn't a top student, he would never have to worry about his livelihood.
Still, she wanted to be strict with him now so that he wouldn't regret it in the future—not regret not learning more while he had the chance.
Then again, with Bai Baobao's status, even if he knew nothing at all, no one would dare trick him.
That was how Yin Jixue justified it to herself.
...
If the eggling had to learn to speak after hatching, then surely his first language would be speechlessness—because even as an unborn baby, still floating in egg fluid, he found himself more mature than his older brother.
Said older brother, cluelessly prancing around in his tiger cub form, had taken to treating him like a toy. He played to his heart's content, completely unaware that this "toy" was a yet-to-hatch baby brother.
Sitting in the yolk, the eggling fell into deep thought. No wonder Mom and Dad wanted a second child—seems like the first one didn't turn out too bright. And he's... mutated.
"Awooo…" Bai Baobao leaned in with big watery eyes, nose damp as he sniffed the eggling.
He adored his little brother—his baby brother carried the comforting scent of their mother.
The eggling turned the other way. Though there wasn't much difference between the front and back of an egg, it was unmistakably clear—he was showing Bai Baobao his butt.
He rolled himself away—he didn't want to play with a fool.
But Bai Baobao thought the eggling was playing with him, so he pounced again, pinning him under his fluffy little paw pads.
The eggling struggled under his big brother's paw, crying out in his heart, Help! I don't want to play with a dummy! Where's Mommy? I want Daddy!
No matter how hard he "screamed," his mother and father never showed up.
Even later, when Yin Jixue and Lou Zhao did walk in on them, they just thought the two brothers were getting along adorably.
And so began the eggling's miserable life under his big brother's "affectionate torment," which lasted a full seven months. Technically, it was just Saturdays and Sundays each month—but finally, the eggling began to show signs of hatching.
By now, Bai Baobao had entered first grade, and his little brother's hatching coincided perfectly with his summer vacation—finally no more fake "sick days"!
Yin Jixue and Lou Zhao kept a close watch on the eggling's hatching progress. But hatching, too, seemed to follow the lunar calendar—every day they thought he'd come out, and every day their hopes were dashed. Eventually, Yin Jixue had to return to her official duties.
As for Lou Zhao, he stuck to her like glue. Though this was his only biological son, he knew Bai Baobao was more than capable of watching over the little one.
Then one afternoon, Bai Baobao, back in tiger cub form, had snuggled up for a nap with his baby brother's egg in a little cradle—more accurately, he had taken over the cradle, squashing the poor eggling into a corner, clutching him like a plush toy.
From the bed came the faintest sound.
Bai Baobao's ears perked up. He instantly opened his eyes and stared at the eggshell, alert and serious.
A thin crack appeared on the egg.
In a flurry of paws and tail, Bai Baobao rolled off the bed and bolted out the door. Though this was his little brother, even he knew instinctively that newborns were supposed to be greeted by their parents—he didn't want to mess this up.
At that very moment, Yin Jixue felt a psychic link spark between her and her child. She exchanged a glance with Lou Zhao, and in a flash, they teleported to the palace.
Just as the eggling poked his tiny head out of the shell, the first thing he saw was the mother he'd dreamed of day and night.
Yin Jixue's face was already glowing with a smile—only to freeze in the next second.
Because the first thing the newly-hatched eggling did was not eat his eggshell…
Instead, he buried himself in Yin Jixue's arms and began to cry.
Whimper, whimper, sob sob.
This… This was her son? The future Crown Prince of the Black Dragon Clan?
Lou Zhao, too, couldn't bear to watch. He still had memories from the day he was born—he'd never shed a single tear in his life.
Yet their son? He was bawling the moment he was born.