Chapter 118 – Three Eggs
Jian Luo had once imagined where he would give birth, much like how he once pondered over how to divide the specialties when returning to the Dark Star. But plans were futile as changes always outpaced them. He could only reluctantly accept this damn life.
The feeling of a spatial teleportation became familiar after experiencing it once. The light inside was too bright, making one instinctively want to close their eyes.
But what made it suffocating was that the landing point was random, and one usually fell upon arrival. Jian Luo’s stomach pains were unbearable. To prevent a harsh landing or hitting any rocks, he had to curl up to protect himself.
“Jian Luo…”
Someone grabbed him from behind, accompanied by a smell of blood. Lu Shifeng extended his long arm, pulling Jian Luo into his embrace, shielding him. The light was too bright, and Jian Luo couldn’t see who it was clearly. However, he instinctively snuggled into Lu Shifeng’s arms, like a chick seeking refuge.
Lu Shifeng held him protectively. The time in the teleportation passage wasn’t long but not short either. It was almost after Jian Luo had prepared himself that— “Bang!” they landed.
Fortunately, someone cushioned him, so he wasn’t hurt.
Jian Luo shifted his body and glanced at his legs. There seemed to be traces of blood flowing down.
In an instant…
Although he had never experienced it before, he had a strong premonition. He was going into labor.
Unexpectedly, the dragon hatchlings were premature. Jian Luo sighed deeply. The hatchlings in his belly probably knew it was time to come out, tossing and turning vigorously. Waves of pain made him gasp for breath. Jian Luo didn’t have time to think much. He remembered someone being transported with him and looked back to see the person lying nearby.
With just one glance, his eyes widened.
The person was Lu Shifeng, or rather, not quite. The person before him was a younger version of Lu Shifeng, with dragon horns on his head. The original military uniform was a size too big, and he was visibly injured, currently unconscious.
Jian Luo remembered the queen mentioning that when dragons were severely injured, their bodies would automatically revert to their younger selves as a self-protection mechanism. He had only heard about it before, but now seeing it was quite miraculous.
Jian Luo muttered, “No way…”
Taking his gaze away from Lu Shifeng, he finally had time to look around. This place was definitely not Earth or any other planet he had visited. The sky was orange, and towering trees filled the forest, with dinosaur-sized birds circling overhead, giving it a bizarre appearance. The only consolation was a small thatched hut not far away. This seemed to be on the outskirts of a village.
Jian Luo held his stomach, enduring the pain. “Hold on, little ones, just a bit longer. It’s not time for you to come out yet…”
Jian Luo, enduring the pain, stood up. He moved to Lu Shifeng’s side, gently calling, “Lu Shifeng, Lu Shifeng?”
The man with closed eyes didn’t respond much.
Jian Luo took a deep breath. Fortunately, the thatched hut was less than ten meters away. Even if he had to drag someone, he should be able to get them inside. He couldn’t just leave someone outside in this unfamiliar place; what if something happened?
Since becoming pregnant with dragon hatchlings, Jian Luo could feel his body gradually becoming stronger. Before, he couldn’t even drag someone without falling ill. Now, maybe it was due to the special circumstances or being forced into this situation, but Jian Luo summoned all his strength and pulled the person into the hut.
“Phew…”
The inside of the hut was relatively clean, with no signs of anyone living there. There was nothing on a small earthen bed, covered in dust. However, he had no time or energy to complain about it.
Jian Luo held his waist, moving slowly. Finally, he managed to lie down on the earthen bed. Just completing this step consumed all his energy. While catching his breath, the bracelet given to him by the queen lit up.
The bracelet emitted mechanical sounds. “Detection: Your body has entered the delivery stage. Please adjust your breathing, replenish your strength, and consume nutrients promptly to prepare for childbirth.”
?
Jian Luo looked incredulously at the bracelet. He never imagined that the bracelet would have such a function at a time like this.
Seeing Jian Luo’s lack of response, the mechanical voice repeated itself.
Jian Luo impatiently said, “Alright, I got it.”
Finding nutrients in this place was impossible. He didn’t even have the strength to walk now. Jian Luo sighed. His storage space was still open, containing only a few bags of elf dried fruits and some buns he made before.
Jian Luo hesitated, then took out the buns to eat. He decided to leave the dried fruits for the hatchlings; they were more nutritious. Although his storage space preserved them, it had been a while, so the buns were a bit hard to bite into. But that didn’t matter; when hungry, one could eat anything.
The bracelet said, “Please relax your body, lie on your side…”
Jian Luo looked at the bracelet curiously. “Who programmed you? What’s the process for dragon childbirth?”
He finished the buns hastily, feeling the pain in his abdomen growing stronger. The sensation was like someone doing square dancing in his stomach, switching from “Plum Blossom” to “Little Apple,” getting more lively.
Jian Luo curled up, holding his stomach, sweat dripping from his forehead. He trembled uncontrollably.
The bracelet continued, “Please pay attention to your posture…”
Jian Luo’s head buzzed, and his ears were filled with the idiotic prompt sounds from the bracelet. Waves of pain made his consciousness blur. The pain seemed endless, and sweat soaked his eyes, plunging everything into darkness.
If Jian Luo were to recall the entire process of giving birth, it would be utterly devoid of any technicality. There was no preparation, no effort; just pain and eventually fainting. What followed was entirely natural; the hatchlings would come out if they wanted to.
“Boom!”
The sky darkened, and lightning streaked across it.
The thunder roared, jolting Jian Luo awake from the pain-induced faintness. When he regained consciousness, he felt disoriented at first, blinking in confusion before remembering that he seemed to be in the midst of childbirth.
Instinctively, Jian Luo reached for his belly, only to find it empty. This had become a habitual gesture over the past dozen months. Not feeling his belly there startled him, widening his eyes in disbelief. Suddenly alert, he sat up abruptly, his gaze falling on three eggs rolling near the edge of the small earthen bed.
Three red eggs, adorned with exquisite patterns all over them. Inside the thatched hut, devoid of light, the thunder tore through the sky. Despite the darkness, when a bright light momentarily streaked across the window sill, the patterns still reflected light, revealing the delicate lines upon them.
Jian Luo hurriedly gathered them back from the edge of the bed. “My goodness, I almost smashed them.”
He had no idea how these three eggs came to be, but now that his belly no longer ached, he felt much better.
Glancing at Lu Shifeng lying nearby, Jian Luo remarked, “He’s still not awake…”
The healing ability of the dragon race was remarkable. Before Jian Luo gave birth, Lu Shifeng’s body was still bleeding, but now it had mostly healed. He was just unconscious.
Looking at the three eggs in his arms, Jian Luo wondered, “What should I do? I don’t know how to hatch eggs…”
As Jian Luo pondered whether to build a fire to provide warmth for the eggs to hatch, one of the eggs trembled. It happened so quickly that Jian Luo almost doubted his own eyes.
Carefully, Jian Luo held his breath. “Did… did you move, little one?”
The egg remained still.
He pursed his lips, thinking he might have been mistaken. Gently, he placed each egg back, one by one. As he reached for the last egg, suddenly—”Crack.”
The egg… cracked!
Jian Luo widened his eyes, incredulous. “Did I crush it??”
As he panicked, contemplating whether to try to mend it, a black, tiny dragon horn emerged from the cracked shell. With a small opening, the hatchling seemed to glimpse hope and exerted effort, finally breaking the shell entirely, revealing its entire head.
Jian Luo held the egg motionlessly, dumbfounded.
The little black dragon was indeed very small, with a head barely larger than his thumb. Its horns were curved and not yet fully extended, resembling a round succulent. Slowly, as if adjusting to the light, it opened its eyes—red eyes, clean and pure like two red gemstones, moist and curious about the world.
In an instant, Jian Luo’s heart melted. He suddenly understood the feeling of holding something precious in his palm, his hand trembling slightly as he dared not touch the hatchling.
After a moment, the hatchling, realizing no one was touching or acknowledging it, emitted a soft, plaintive cry, completely different from the majestic roar of adult dragons. Jian Luo remembered the powerful roars of dragons in their prime, echoing with authority and intimidation, enough to immobilize weaker creatures.
But the hatchling’s cry was weak and plaintive, resembling a coquettish kitten, evoking sympathy.
Jian Luo hesitated. “Are you hungry?”
The hungry hatchling whimpered softly. If it were a human baby, it would surely be crying by now, but the hatchling only nudged its head against its mother’s hand, instinctively seeking comfort.
Jian Luo took out a piece of dried fruit and offered it to the hatchling.
However, the fruit was obviously too large, even when torn into smaller pieces. The hatchling showed no interest in the fruit, sniffing at it disdainfully and turning its head away.
Feeling a bit disheartened, Jian Luo mumbled, “I should have kept some buns…”
Of course, the hatchling was oblivious to his father’s troubles, still nuzzling Jian Luo’s hand affectionately. It lacked the imposing aura of its father and the noble elegance of the dragon race, truly embarrassing its lineage.
Frowning, Jian Luo finally had an idea!
He picked up a piece of the shell and held it near the hatchling’s mouth. “Eat this, it’s nutritious.”
Initially just trying his luck, Jian Luo had read in books that eggshells were very nutritious. Some hatchlings would eat their own shells right after birth. However, their dragon, Long Batian, was obviously too clueless to eat, so Jian Luo had to take matters into his own hands.
The red shell was brought to the hatchling’s mouth, and although it hesitated at first and sniffed it with some disdain, Jian Luo insisted. Reluctantly, the hatchling opened its mouth and took a bite. After a few bites, it seemed to find the taste agreeable and, without Jian Luo’s prompting, began to nibble eagerly on the shell.
Jian Luo patted its head. “Eat slowly, save some for the next meal…”
The author has something to say: Long Batian: It’s okay, I can eat my little brother.
Jian Luo: …
T/N: AAAAAA!!! Dragon babiessss!! They’re finally here! (Spoiler, not really spoiler alert: there are going to be many cute dragon baby moments! Hang on to your cute buttons :D)
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How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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