GD Ch. 9

Chapter 9: When Will It Break Out of Its Shell?

The hole, no bigger than the tip of a little finger, had been punctured neatly, without a single crack around.

Zhuyou lowered her gaze and saw only darkness within the small hole the size of a fingertip. Nothing was visible inside, as if it were filled with ink. Once she cast a hurried glance at Hanzhu, Hanzhu quickly said, “It wasn’t me.” Hanzhu hastened to distance herself, making it clear that she wasn’t the one who punctured it.

How could Zhuyou not know? The dragon egg had broken under her very eyes with such a neat hole. No matter how suspicious she was, she shouldn’t suspect her own maid.

She watched in silence, waiting for some sign of movement, but nothing came. It was as if whatever was inside had fallen asleep again.

This… was very strange. She had never seen a hatching egg behave like this, with moments of stillness. Was it because of insufficient spiritual power?

Hanzhu also stared at the egg intently, but she wasn’t worried that it might suddenly become a dead egg. Instead, she feared what hatched out might cause trouble.

This wasn’t good. She needed to keep an eye on it, lest her mistress soften her heart and allow whatever was inside to harm them.

Inside the egg, there was still no movement. Zhuyou wondered how it could endure like this. Could it be that it didn’t even know how to break out of its shell? She stared intensely, her silver-white hair almost brushing against the radiant dragon egg. She thought to herself, if this dragon egg was so foolish, would it hatch into a fool? If that were the case, it would be a waste of such a beautiful dragon egg and her spiritual power.

Hanzhu quickly asked, “Mistress, what should we do?”

Although Zhuyou’s spiritual power had recovered somewhat, she didn’t want to exhaust herself entirely on this egg for now. If Luo Qing came to seek her help, she still needed to reserve some energy to tend to the Crystal of Law that sealed the soul of the Devil Lord.

After pondering for a while, listening to the crackling sound of the wall lamp embedded in the wall, and twirling her pure white hair, she said, “It’ll come out when it wants to. If it doesn’t come out, it won’t. If it stays in there for too long, it might actually become a fool.”

Hanzhu was taken aback. Having another fool around would only make matters worse for the already stretched resources of the Grand Hall. But she couldn’t say that. After some thought, she said, “Mistress, fools don’t speak well. Although their foundation might be better since they may have been taught since childhood, a fool is still a fool. They might not have the talent to serve others.”

This was true. Zhuyou’s gaze remained fixed on the cracked dragon egg, without a hint of movement, her lips slightly raised. It was unclear whether she was pleased or displeased. Seated on the soft couch, the black-clad mistress lightly tapped the armrest twice and said, “Whether it’s foolish or not, we’ll only know once it hatches.”

“Your wisdom knows no bounds, Mistress.” Hanzhu quickly bowed her head.

The dragon egg remained strangely still, without any other movement.

Zhuyou glanced at the weapons rack where various demon weapons were displayed. “Go fetch two swords, ones with a bit more spiritual energy.”

Hanzhu was startled once again but obediently replied before turning to the weapons rack. She discreetly covered her chest, feeling her heart racing. This constant surprise was truly nerve-wracking.

When Hanzhu returned with two long swords, Zhuyou raised her hand and drew one of them from its scabbard.

Objects that accompanied humans gave rise to life. If conditions were right, they could even take on human form and develop consciousness, becoming what were known as sentient objects. Such objects relied on spiritual energy for cultivation. If the spiritual energy within them dried up, they reverted to their original state and started anew.

The sword Zhuyou drew had a simple and dark appearance, but wisps of spiritual energy enveloped its blade.

“Not bad. While not as abundant as spirit stones, this spiritual energy will suffice,” Zhuyou breathed out a stream of air, and the dull sword instantly became bright, as if it had been freshly polished. The once dull blade now gleamed brightly, even reflecting Zhuyou’s appearance.

Zhuyou stared at the blade, and the narrow width of the blade reflected her eyes, precisely the eye with phoenix markings etched into its tip since her birth.

Just by looking at her thin, pink lips and her jawline, one might expect her demeanor to be sharp and cold, but oddly enough, she had a pair of very innocent eyes, truly innocent. Despite having fallen into devilhood, she still felt she had done nothing wrong.

What wrong had she done? Not doing something was simply not doing it. She had denied it, but no one had believed her, so she had no choice but to succumb to the darkness.

The eyes reflected on the sword narrowed slightly, and the wrist holding the sword hilt moved slightly. The reflection on the blade instantly transformed into a translucent veil.

With a swift motion, Zhuyou returned the sword to its scabbard.

Hanzhu whispered beside her, “Mistress, these two swords could take on human forms in another sixty years or so.”

“Sixty years is too short. Even if they take on human form, they won’t cherish the human body they’ve attained through hard cultivation. They won’t discern the dangers of the Three Realms and will only become vulnerable sentient objects, easily deceived and exploited,” Zhuyou said with apparent concern.

Hanzhu couldn’t refute, only saying, “Indeed, you possess such foresight and wisdom. It’s truly the fortune of these objects to encounter you in this life.”

Zhuyou nodded approvingly. “Why weren’t you such a flatterer in your past life?”

Hanzhu choked up. “Could it be that you know about my past life, Mistress?”

Zhuyou remained silent, giving her a sidelong glance with complex emotions in her eyes.

Hanzhu didn’t press further. She had a feeling that her mistress had rescued her from the mouths of demons not out of a sudden burst of kindness. Kindness was something she hadn’t heard of since her mistress picked her up.

Zhuyou gripped the gem-encrusted sword scabbard, and for a moment, she actually entertained the thought of extracting the gems from it. Though those little devils weren’t very wealthy, they always sent the best items.

She hesitated for a moment, then with her other hand, she brushed her index and middle fingers together along the scabbard, tracing them down to the bottom.

A faint wisp of spiritual energy rose from the scabbard, drifting slowly with her white fingers, before finally settling on the cracked dragon egg. The wispy spiritual energy, as thin as smoke, was instantly absorbed as soon as it touched the egg.

Hanzhu beside her watched in astonishment, realizing that the egg indeed consumed spiritual energy. The egg, now nourished by the spiritual energy, seemed even more beautiful, with a glossier sheen on its shell.

“It’s so pretty, but it can’t learn anything good. It just keeps eating,” Zhuyou tossed the sword to Hanzhu and took another one from her. Repeating the same technique, she extracted the spiritual energy from the second sword as well.

With a creak, the egg, now filled with spiritual energy, made another slight noise, and the shell collapsed a bit more. Inside, it remained pitch black, revealing nothing.

After silently observing for a while, Zhuyou finally made up her mind to pick up the egg and shook it downward, with the cracked part facing down. Hanzhu watched nervously, then breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed, “It’s formed! No egg fluid leaked out.”

Zhuyou also breathed a sigh of relief, glad that there was no dispersing yellow.

***

Half an hour later, the lotus demon who was sent to the Heart-Questioning Rock returned. 

While carefully entering the Grand Hall, Hongqu whispered, “Your Grace, Second Lord Luo Qing asks you to head to the Heart-Questioning Rock.”

“Ask?” Zhuyou raised her eyes slowly.

Hongqu quickly corrected herself, “Second Lord Luo Qing humbly requests your presence at the Heart-Questioning Rock!”

Zhuyou admired this lotus demon. She was adaptable and capable of handling important matters. Most importantly, while being adaptable, she could also assist others in being flexible.

“Then let’s go,” she said. As she stood up, she made sure to carry her egg with her.

Hongqu discreetly glanced up and saw a small dark spot on the otherwise pristine white shell of the egg. She thought to herself, Uh oh, the egg of the fallen divine offspring is broken.