A Crash Course on Parenthood

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

The people who were in The White Forest dropped everything and ran for their lives. Birds flapped away in fright, and covered half the sky.

It wasn't abnormal for the sound of unlucky travelers' screams to echo throughout the forest, but to the people of Mortal Realm, this day went down in history as one of the loudest screams ever heard. Wild rumors about its origins were spread throughout the capital like a wildfire: A vengeful spirit drinking the blood of people who invaded their territory; someone being castrated alive; something so scary and mysterious that just looking at it was like looking into the face of your nightmares, never to emerge alive again.

In the years to come, those rumors would become a legend of their own, and stories would be passed down from generation to generation about the dangers of The White Forest, and to not go too far into it or else the next scream would be yours.

Of course, the perpetrator didn't know all that. She was just a hungry baby at that time.

It took Bai Rong some time to figure out that Yin Xue was crying because of hunger. She was a newborn after all.

'Where to find milk where to find milk where to find milk. Think, Bai Rong!'

Unfortunately, the heavens were not on her side. Lightning flashed and it started raining heavily. Bai Rong quickly ran back to the cave, and Yin Xue cried even harder, frightened by the storm.

By the time the rain stopped and Bai Rong had finally managed to feed Yin Xue, she built a fire and thought, 'Note to self: I will never adopt again.'

***

Heavenly Realm. Celestial Palace.

In Crystal Courtyard, a woman in a pale pink dress with embroidered lotus flowers was holding her newborn baby to her chest. The ornaments in her hair were intricately carved of the finest gold. Precious gemstones hung from it, catching the light of the setting sun outside her window.

She turned to one of her trusted handmaidens and said, "I wish to speak to the Celestial Diviner in private. Summon him in."

"Yes, Your Highness." The maid bowed and left the room.

The Celestial Diviner gracefully fanned himself and sat down in front of the Second Prince Consort. "Why have Your Highness summoned me? I don't think it's merely for tea and talk."

The Second Prince Consort nodded. "As you know, this palace is a cruel world of schemes and politics, and my imperial father-in-law is already on his guard after hearing what you said. I don't want my child to suffer because of some foretelling."

"What do you want me to do, then?"

"Hide my child's spiritual energy. That way, they won't kill him. For now. When he becomes powerful enough, I will give him what is rightfully his." The Second Prince Consort eyes turned hard.

Yun laughed softly and tapped his nose with his fan. "They say the Second Prince Consort is soft spoken, kind and intelligent, befitting of your title 'Phoenix of Peace'. I think that is your mask, no? Deep down, you have big plans."

She stiffened for a second, then recovered. "They say the Celestial Diviner uses his prophet fan to predict the future, but that's not entirely true, am I right? You're actually involved. You like to sow the seeds and watch the fruits they eventually bear. Think of this as another seed, and one day, it will grow into a big tree. I know you want to watch the future play out. All you have to do is fulfill this one request."

Yun laughed. "Second Prince Consort is clever. Very well, I will seal your child's spiritual energy in a magical artifact, but it can only be a temporary vessel. Formidable power or not, spiritual energy is a free form that does not like containment. Eventually, that power will break free, and even I don't know what backlash it will bring from being sealed up too long."

The Second Prince Consort nodded resolutely and placed her baby on the bed. When she saw what Yun pulled out of his sleeve, ripples appeared in her originally calm phoenix eyes. It was a jade pendant with the carving of a small flower on it. The semi circle shaped pendant hung from red braided thread and swung back and forth in between Yun's fingers.

Back and forth.

Lies and truths.

Past and present.

The Second Prince Consort shook out of her reverie and saw that Yun was smiling knowingly at her. "So this is where my pendant went 30,000 years ago. I didn't expect it to be in your hands," she said nonchalantly, as if the pendant was a mere jewellery and nothing important to her.

'Fate truly loves to play games with me,' she thought, suppressing the storm of emotions in her heart. Then she looked at Yun transferring her child's spiritual energy into the pendant, golden spiritual energy glowing around him as bright as the sun, yet as soft as mist. 'Or maybe he has been playing us from the start. I wouldn't put it past him.'

Some time later, the spiritual energy transfer was done. Yun fastened the pendant around the neck of the baby and said, "This seal will weaken in 15,000 years. Around that time, the little prince will slowly be able to cultivate. How to break the seal will depend on him."

"Thank you."

The Second Princess Consort knew that news of her child being a "waste" would spread soon, along with Yun's prophecy. She touched the jade pendant missing its other half and just stared at it unmovingly for a long time, lost in a daydream that nobody could awaken her from. Or a nightmare.