Chapter 3: Birth

Ji Ning opened his eyes and saw himself held by a giant of a man dressed in white fur. He immediately realized that as a baby, the man holding him would naturally seem like a giant.

"You may leave," the man instructed.

"Yes," the three maids replied respectfully.

The man holding him was presumably his father in this life. Even just after having a son, he remained like a ten-thousand-year iceberg, hard to approach. He wore splendid white fur, while the three maids also wore animal hides, clearly of much poorer quality.

The room was quite spacious; the walls, dressing table, chairs, bed, and everything else were carved from rock, exquisitely and delicately wrought, radiating an ancient, rustic beauty. The bed was covered with the fur of a massive, six- or seven-meter-long beast, its fur trailing to the floor. The fur on the bed looked extremely luxurious, and on the bed lay a young woman with a face full of sweat.

"Even the dressing table, chairs, and bed are carved from rock, and the room is also rock-carved. Father and the three maids all wear animal hides. It seems this world's civilization is not very advanced," Ji Ning thought to himself.

"Son," the man in white fur said, holding the baby. Though still cold and without a smile, his eyes could not hide his excitement.

Suddenly, Ji Ning felt a mysterious, cool energy flow into his body, very comfortable, and then quickly recede.

"Yichuan, how is our son?" the young woman on the bed asked hurriedly.

"As expected, his physical aptitude is average," Ji Yichuan said softly.

Tears glistened in the young woman's eyes. "Let me hold him."

The man quickly handed the baby over.

"Be good," the young woman said, looking at the baby with deep affection. "Yichuan, our son was injured in the womb. Even though I ate heavenly treasures, it only made up for a little. We have failed our child."

Injured in the womb?

Heavenly treasures?

It seemed his parents in this life were no ordinary people.

...

Shortly after giving birth, the mother was already walking easily, also dressed in white fur, holding the baby as she and the father walked out of the room.

"Go and clean up," Father Ji Yichuan instructed the three maids outside the door.

"Yes," the three maids replied respectfully.

In the corridor outside stood a snow-white dog with long, soft fur, looking very docile. Its gaze fell on Ji Ning, filled with excitement and affection.

In the wide courtyard outside lay a huge black snake, coiled in dark, winding loops, pressed against the inner edge of the yard, circling round and round, while also raising its body high. The raised part alone was dozens of meters tall, its scales pitch-black and chilling, each scale the size of half a person. The enormous snake head, as large as a house, slowly lowered and drew near.

"Heavens!" Ji Ning was startled. The snow-white dog was one thing—he had seen plenty of dogs in his past life, and this one was only slightly larger than usual.

But that coiled, raised monster—was it a snake?

Coiled in circles, with just the raised part dozens of meters long, its total length must have been two or three hundred meters. Such a terrifying monster was right at his doorstep? This was too...

"Son," Ji Yichuan said, paying no heed to his son's feelings—or perhaps people in this world were long accustomed to such things and found nothing strange. He pointed at the snow-white dog. "This is your Uncle White, your father's sworn brother. He also saved your life. You must treat him as you would me."

The snow-white dog looked at Ji Ning affectionately, and Ji Ning could even feel the deep love from the dog.

But...

Call a dog 'Uncle White'?

"Yichuan, the child has just been born and doesn't understand anything. What's the use of saying this?" the young woman said, holding the baby.

"Whether he understands or not, this is his first meeting with Xiao Bai." Ji Yichuan looked up at the massive snake head, as large as a house. "Brother Black!"

Whoosh—the black snake, which on Earth would have driven countless nations mad, suddenly turned into black mist, then condensed into a middle-aged man with black hair. The black-haired man smiled at the baby. "Yichuan, I remember when you first showed your brilliance and I pledged to follow you. Now, in the blink of an eye, you have a son. Child, don't be afraid. I am your Uncle Black."

"Come, let's go outside," Ji Yichuan said. "Grandfather and the others are waiting outside. Brother Black, you'd better return to your original form. I know maintaining human form is uncomfortable for you."

"Hiss..." The black-haired man nodded. Whoosh, he turned into black mist, which instantly became the enormous coiled black snake from before. The snake's head stretched far away, its massive body swiftly slithering, rustling, easily crossing the courtyard wall and disappearing.

Ji Ning was still somewhat dazed.

What seemed normal to people of this world was utterly shocking to Ji Ning, who had lived on Earth in his past life. A two- or three-hundred-meter-long winding black snake turning into a middle-aged man, telling him he was his Uncle Black?

A demon!

"Could that snow-white dog also be a demon?" Ji Ning felt this world was even more incredible than he had imagined.

The couple, holding the baby, walked along the corridor toward the outside, with the snow-white dog at their side. At the end of the corridor, they followed a stone path into a garden. The vegetation in the garden was covered in thick snow. Several black-armored guards stood motionless here and there, while in the center stood dozens of people, each accompanied by strange beasts, poisonous insects, or birds.

Ji Ning understood at once: it wasn't that his father was special, but that people in this world had a habit of raising and taming demonic beasts.

"It seems I'll have to deal with demons often from now on," Ji Ning quickly adapted and began to observe the dozens of people. They all had extraordinary bearing, like fierce tigers or leopards, and were mostly dressed in finely tailored, luxurious animal hides. Only three women wore silk or cloth garments.

Ji Ning was secretly surprised.

It seemed not everyone in this world wore animal hides; silk or cloth existed here. And judging by the positions of the three women, they were ordinary among the dozens, indicating that silk or cloth garments were not necessarily more prestigious than finely tailored animal hides.

The silver-haired old man standing at the front walked over directly. "Come, Yichuan, let me hold the child."

"Grandfather," Ji Yichuan said, taking the child from his wife and handing him to the old man.

"This child is truly beautiful," the silver-haired old man said, beaming with joy. "Yichuan, now that you have a son, I can rest assured. I have been the Prefect for eighty years. According to clan rules, one cannot serve as Prefect for more than a hundred years. At most, I have twenty more years. I once wanted you to inherit the position of Prefect of our Ji clan's Western Prefecture, but you were determined to pursue the path of immortality. Now that your son is born, I think he should be the next Prefect."

The next Prefect?

Ji Ning marveled. It seemed his status was not low, and his family was quite extraordinary. The extremely obedient maids in animal hides and the motionless black-armored guards all reflected the family's power.

"Elder Brother!" a furious shout rang out.

Who dared to disrespect the Prefect?

Ji Ning looked toward the sound. An old man with fiery red hair, radiating a scorching aura, strode forward. On his right ear hung a bright red earring—no, not an earring, but a finger-length, vivid red snake. Was he wearing a red snake on his ear?

The old man with the red snake on his ear strode forward and growled, "The succession of the Prefect's position cannot be so casual. Besides, we don't even know this little one's aptitude yet."

"The aptitude of Yichuan's son is naturally..." The silver-haired old man was confident, and a warm current flowed into Ji Ning's body, then quickly receded.

"Yichuan!" The silver-haired old man looked in shock at his most proud and beloved grandson.

How could he not be shocked?

This was the son of Ji Yichuan, the 'Drip Sword'! With a single sword stroke, he had slain countless great demons from deep mountains and lakes. Among the countless tribes under the Ji clan's Western Prefecture, more knew of the Drip Sword than of the Prefect himself.

If one consumed enough spiritual herbs and treasures in the womb, the baby's physical condition could naturally be nurtured to be excellent.

"Elder Brother," the old man with the snake laughed. "It seems Yichuan's child has very average aptitude. Our Ji clan's Western Prefecture commands many tribes. How can a weakling serve as Prefect? How can the Ji clan members be convinced? How can the tribes be willing to submit?"

"Prefect, this little one seems unsuitable to be the next Prefect."

"The position of Prefect cannot be so arbitrary."

The dozens of people were all high-ranking members of the Ji clan's Western Prefecture, and many spoke up.

"Silence," Ji Yichuan said, frowning. His cold gaze swept over them, and many clan members fell silent.

But the old man with the snake shouted angrily, "What a temper! This is the Ji clan's Western Prefecture! Can't we even speak? If your son wants to be Prefect—if his aptitude were good, and given your great contributions to our Western Prefecture, we would have no objection. But his aptitude is so average, and he wants to be Prefect? Our Western Prefecture commands countless tribes. We must contend with surrounding forces and fight great demons in deep mountains and lakes. How can a weak Prefect convince the clan and make the tribes submit? If our Western Prefecture loses its authority, how can we contend with surrounding forces and fight the great demons?"

"I will slay the great demons in the deep mountains and lakes myself!" Ji Yichuan's voice was ice-cold.

"How impressive, Ji Yichuan! There are plenty of great demons lurking in the deep mountains and lakes. Go ahead and kill them. I, Ji Lie, say this: if you can kill a hundred great demons, we will not contest the position of Prefect of our Western Prefecture, and your son can succeed directly," the old man with the snake sneered.

Ji Yichuan stared at him.

Every great demon was cunning and powerful, not easy to kill. Killing a hundred great demons was impossible; even killing ten would be a miracle.

"Enough. The child has just been born and cannot withstand such commotion." The silver-haired old man swept his gaze around and ordered, "Tonight, a banquet will be held in the Drifting Snow Hall. Now, all of you, withdraw."

"Yes."

The old man with the snake was the first to respond loudly, then led more than half of the people away. The others soon filed out, leaving the garden.