Chapter 196 Decisions

There was a long silence in the small study room. The five Tanzanies looked at the middle-aged monk sitting opposite them, as they were wondering how old Huoyan was. 

Michio asked, "Master, how old is this Huoyan?" 

Yuuto sighed and said, "I don't remember anymore. I counted at the beginning, but then he became rogue, and I stopped counting. He should be several hundred years old now." 

Abrafo scoffed at Yuuto's ridiculous remarks. "If he was several hundreds of years old, you would have been dead long ago. Why are you still standing?" Abrafo asked. 

Yul said, "Abrafo, there are another race who do not age as long as they remain pure." 

Abrafo looked at Yul in confusion and asked, "There are? Why do I not know of this race?" 

Michio said, "Have you forgotten Lady Lan?" 

The corners of Yuuto's mouth dropped. "You...have you seen Lan Huan?" he said with trembling lips. 

Michio nodded and said, "We met Lady Lan in Magior City." 

Kaizen turned to look at Budi. "Master, according to ancient records, Lan Huan was imprisoned by the gatekeeper of the Southern Sea. How could these thieves meet her in the Magician City?" 

Abrafo gritted his teeth. "If I hear slander from you again, I will really lose it." 

Yuuto said, "In exchange for freedom, she paid a heavy price." 

Michio said, "Master, we did meet Lady Lan in Magior City. Although she did make some mistakes, that was because she promised to protect the city. She really repented at the last moment." 

Yuuto asked, "How is she?" 

Hajime reached into his cross bag and took out a bone the size of a finger. "This is what is left of Lady Huan. Michio thought that if we bring a piece of her with us, we can help her accumulate merit and maybe help her soul to reincarnate." 

Yuuto looked at the small piece of bone in Hajime's palm, tears moistening his eyes. "It was me who pushed her into the fire. When Huoyan was a little boy, I wanted to raise him as a normal child, but because of his abilities, he often hurt those who played with him. The children in the village refused to play with him. Fearing that he would be lonely, I decided to spend money to find a child in the village to be his playmate, but it only lasted about a day, and the hired child refused to come back. One day, I went to the market and saw a child being sold by his parents, so I came up with the idea of buying a child and bringing it back to be Huoyan's playmate. I looked at the children on the market one by one, and Huan was the only child qualified to be Huoyan's playmate." 

U-ri said, "It's because Lady Huan was an untouchable." 

Yuuto nodded. "Yes, most children can't keep up with Huoyan, but Huan, as an untouchable, Huan learns very quickly. From the first day I brought Huan home, they formed a special master-slave relationship." He sighed. "Huan is an obedient child. She truly believes that Huoyan was her master. I forced Huan to sign a blood contract with Huoyan, fearing that Huan would escape, but the decision I made that day turned out to be a mistake...a huge mistake that resulted in the loss of thousands of innocent lives." His lips trembled and tears flowed down his cheeks. "When Huoyan learned of his birth and the death of his parents, Huoyan became furious and blamed innocent mortals for the deaths of his parents and clan members. He went on a killing spree, burning innocents, village after village. At that time, Huoyan was unstoppable. Besides him are two of the most powerful weapons an Nephalem could possess." 

Yul asked, "What are the weapons?" 

Yuuto said, "Huan and Eldrys." 

The five Tanzanies murmured, "Eldrys...." 

Yuuto continued with his story, "As people continued to die and Huoyan became stronger, the mortal kings and the leaders of the nine dragon clans joined forces to seal Eldrys in No Man's Land and Huoyan in Kinigan Island. In order to save Huan from being killed, I made an agreement with the gatekeeper of the Southern Sea to seal off ninety percent of her magic abilities." 

Abrafo said, "I heard that Eldrys is an unkillable beast, but the same cannot be said for Huoyan, so why not kill him?" 

Yuuto explained, "Because Huoyan is an Nephalem born from a pure phoenix egg. He has the power of gods and demons, as well as the powerful shield protection of the pure phoenix egg." He looked at Hajime. "Therefore, we can't let you carry the pure phoenix egg in your body, that's the reason why we must remove the pure phoenix egg from you to prevent another Huoyan, but unfortunately, we are too late." 

Hajime said, "I agree today that the pure phoenix egg must be removed. If the Pure Phoenix Egg is something that will cause a catastrophic loss of life, I don't want to be the one to cause such a huge loss." 

Budi sighed and said, "It's too late." 

Hajime asked, "What do you mean it's too late?" 

Budi said, "Our mission is to protect life, not destroy life." 

Hajime said, "I also want to protect life, so cut me open and take it out." 

Yuuto looked at Hajime and asked, "Are you willing to protect other people's lives but destroy the life inside you?" 

Hajime was confused by Yuuto's statement. "What do you mean?" he asked. 

Yuuto said, "Inside the pure phoenix egg in you, there is a new life that is about to begin." 

U-ri looked at Yuuto and then at Hajime. He was surprised and shock to hear this. "You...you mean...Hajime is pregnant?" 

Yuuto nodded and said, "Anyone who eaten a pure phoenix egg, whether male or female, mortal, immortal or demon, can conceive as long as they mate with a male." 

U-ri asked, "So, this is why Hajime must stay here for three years?"

Yuuto said, "If he chooses to leave, as a man unable to give birth on his own, he will die during childbirth, but the unborn child inside him will continue to live until the child is able to burst itself out of the deceased's abdomen."

U-ri said, "Just like a bird breaking out of its shell."

Yuuto nodded and said, "Yes. This is another reason why he must stay. I will help him and ensure that he can give birth to the child safely. After giving birth to the child, if the child shows no signs possessing dark energy, you can leave our temple." He looked at Hajime. "Because the child is so early in life, you can choose to keep it or terminate it." 

Hajime placed the bone in his hand on the table next to him. "I...I... I need a moment to process this," he said, walking away quickly. 

"Hajime..." Yul quickly followed Hajime out of the library door. 

Yuuto stood up from his chair and walked to the table. He picked up the piece of bone on the table and looked at it. He sighed and murmured sadly, "Huan..."

When he learned that another life inside him had just begun. Generally speaking, when a person learns that he is going to be a parent, his heart will be full of happiness and excitement, but not Hajime. Now Hajime's heart was filled with many doubts and uncertainties. He hesitated whether to keep the child or take the child out. 

Hajime closed his eyes, tears moistening his eyes. He never imagined that one day he would be the parent of a child. In his other life, he never wanted children. It's not that he hates children, it's that he went through hell as a child, and he doesn't want his child to grow up in a loveless family like him. The thought of a child being laughed at, hated, beaten, and abused made Hajime wonder if it would be merciful for Hajime to end the child life at this stage. He didn't want to give life to an innocent child and have him grow up to be as unloved as he was. He worries that the day he leaves this world, the innocent child he left behind will be treated unfairly like him. Thinking of this, the abuse and beatings that Ami had given him suddenly came back. When he closed his eyes and tried to think positively, he began to find that all the healed wounds in his other life suddenly began to be torn open one by one. Then, with rage raging in his heart, he grasped the railing tightly with both hands, recalling every wound he had ever received. 

When Yul finally found Hajime, he saw Hajime standing alone. He walked up to Hajime and found that Hajime's eyes were closed tightly, and Hajime's hands were tightly grasping the railing. 

Yul never imagined that one day he would become a father. From the first bow he bowed to heaven to recognized that Hajime was his other half, he had already accepted the fact that he would never have a child, so the news that Hajime was pregnant with his child made Yul's heart tremble with joy, but now looking at Hajime's expression, he realized that Hajime might not be as joyful as he was. 

Yul sighed, walked behind Hajime, put his arms around Hajime's waist, kissed the back of Hajime's head, and then hugged Hajime tightly. 

"The decision is yours," Yul whispered. "Whether to keep the baby or not..." Yul sighed with a heavy heart. "I respect your decision." 

Hajime's tightly closed eyelids finally shed tears. "I...I... I don't want to keep it," Hajime whispered through tears. 

Yul held back his tears and his face filled with disappointment. Despite his disappointment, he knew that the path they were on was fraught with danger and that they might not be able to care for the child. 

"Mm." 

Hearing Yul's brief answer, Hajime knew that Yul was disappointed with Hajime's decision to terminate the pregnancy. He turned to face Yul. Hajime saw the disappointment on Yul's face. Hajime noticed that this was the first time he saw Yul's eyes filled with sadness. 

"If I asked you to decide whether to keep it or not, what decision would you make?" Hajime looked up at Yul's disappointed face and asked. "Tell the truth and say what's in your heart."

Yul looked down at Hajime, sighed, and whispered, "I want to keep him." 

Hajime burst into tears. "Yul...I don't want to bring a child into this world and grow up in a toxic environment full of hate, unlove and abuse. I'm scared...so scared that no one will love the innocent life I left behind. I don't want my child to go down the same path I went through." 

Yul said, "He won't." 

Hajime said sadly, "Who can guarantee it? After I leave, your life and the life of the child continue. Sooner or later, you will remarry, and the wife you choose will no longer love my child after she has her own children." 

"If this is what you're afraid of, then you just need to stay with us and continue to love him and give him the love you think he deserves," Yul said, wiping away Hajime's tears. 

Hajime knew that if one day he had to return to his own world, if he had to leave his child here and never see his child again, his heart would be torn apart. If every day he must think about whether his child is loved, whether the child is missing him, what if his child is not loved and was treated the same way his parents had treated him, then it is better not to have this child. It would save him and the child many nights of heartache and tears. With tears streaming down his face, he said, "Life is unpredictable... Who knows when we will be separated." 

Yul kissed Hajime's forehead, tightened his arms around Hajime, and said, "No one knows when our time will come, so let us love him to the fullest, as each day is our last. You might not know..." Yul smiled with tears. "Since accepting you as my wife, I have accepted the fact that I will be a childless man. Unexpectedly, heaven was so kind and blessed me with a child. When I learned that you were pregnant with my child, my heart trembled with joy and happiness." He lowered his head and kissed Hajime's forehead. "I know the road ahead of us will be difficult and dangerous, but I will do whatever I can to keep you and our child safe, even if I have to sacrifice my own life." Yul pressed his forehead on Hajime's. "So, I beg you, please keep our child."