not because of her identity—a mortal, on the Demon King's territory, she was less than even the lowest-ranking Demon Servant.
but because of Sha Qian Mo's attitude towards her.
The Demon Servants discovered that although the King's tone was indifferent, he had secretly instructed the kitchen to send her three meals daily, and also had someone prepare clean bedding and change of clothes for her.
"Is the King being too polite to that mortal?" one Demon Servant secretly asked the Steward.
The Steward glared at him: "Are you in a position to question the King's affairs?"
The Demon Servant shrunk his neck, daring not to speak further.
Hua Qian Gu lived in that small stone chamber, not leaving during the day, focusing on two things—holding Tang Bao's egg, and cultivation.
She dared not announce her cultivation. In her previous life, she cultivated the Power of the Demon God; in this life, she wanted to walk a different path—activating the Godhead within her body. But Godhead Awakening required an opportunity; it couldn't be awakened just by wishing.
"Take it slow," she told herself.
However, Tang Bao's egg had been acting increasingly strange these past few days.
The green light on the eggshell had gone from faint to bright, sometimes even bursting with dazzling light, illuminating the entire stone chamber. Fine cracks began to appear on the eggshell's surface, like a spiderweb.
Hua Qian Gu felt both joy and fear.
Joy that Tang Bao was about to hatch. Fear that—in her previous life, Tang Bao's hatching had caused quite a stir, attracting much attention. In this life, at the Demon Emperor Palace, if the commotion was too great, she didn't know what trouble it might cause.
As she was thinking, trouble arrived.
"Bang—"
The stone chamber door was pushed open from the outside.
Sha Qian Mo stood at the doorway, his purple eyes fixed directly on the egg in her embrace. His hair was somewhat disheveled, as if he had been disturbed from cultivation and had rushed over.
"What is that?" he asked, walking in, his voice low.
Hua Qian Gu instinctively shielded the egg in her embrace: "It's nothing."
"Nothing?" Sha Qian Mo walked up to her, looking down at her, "Your 'nothing' has stirred the spiritual energy of my entire Demon Emperor Palace. Do you know that demonic beasts within a hundred-mile radius are all heading this way?"
Hua Qian Gu froze.
She looked down at the egg—the green light on the eggshell had become dazzling, dyeing the entire stone chamber emerald green. A powerful spiritual energy surged from the egg, spreading outwards like a tide, wave after wave.
"Tang Bao..." she murmured.
Sha Qian Mo reached out, and Hua Qian Gu instinctively flinched back.
"Let me see," Sha Qian Mo's tone was unyielding.
Hua Qian Gu hesitated for a moment, then handed the egg over.
Sha Qian Mo took the egg, cradled it in his palms, and lowered his head to examine it closely. The moment his pupils touched the eggshell, they contracted sharply—not in fear, but in shock.
"Ancient Spirit Insect," he said, word by word, "This is an Ancient Spirit Insect egg."
Hua Qian Gu remained silent.
"These spirit insects became extinct after the God Realm's Fall; you wouldn't find a second one in the Six Realms," Sha Qian Mo looked up at her, his gaze turning sharp, "How could you, a mortal, possess such a thing?"
Hua Qian Gu opened her mouth, not yet having figured out how to answer.
Sha Qian Mo had already leaned closer to her, his purple eyes mere inches away, like two cold gemstones, seeming to pierce through her.
"Hua Qian Gu, who exactly are you?"
Hua Qian Gu looked into his eyes, her heartbeat like a drum.
She couldn't tell the truth. Not yet, at least.
"Its name is Tang Bao," she reached out, took the egg back from Sha Qian Mo's hands, and held it in her embrace again, "It's my child."
The stone chamber was silent for three seconds.
Sha Qian Mo's expression shifted from sharp to bewildered, from bewildered to shocked, and from shocked to a complex look that was hard to describe.
"Your... child?" His gaze moved from the egg to her face, then from her face to her stomach, "You... have a child?"
Seeing his reaction, Hua Qian Gu couldn't help but smile.
"It hasn't hatched yet," she raised the egg and shook it, "It's an egg, not a baby."
Sha Qian Mo's expression froze.
He stared at the egg for several seconds, then stared at Hua Qian Gu for several seconds, before slowly straightening up and taking a deep breath.
"You mean, this egg is your child?" he confirmed again.
"Yes."
"You gave birth to it?"
"..." Hua Qian Gu almost burst out laughing, "I can't give birth to an egg. It's a spirit pet I'm raising, but to me, it's my child."
Sha Qian Mo's expression finally shifted from "shocked" to "I see." But the look on his face remained complex, as if he had been relieved, yet also more confused.
"The spirit pet you're raising is an Ancient Spirit Insect?" he repeated, "You, a mortal, raising an Ancient Spirit Insect?"
"Is that not allowed?"
"Ancient Spirit Insects require extremely dense spiritual energy to hatch. How can you, a mortal, provide for it?"
Hua Qian Gu looked down at the increasingly dense cracks on the eggshell and said softly, "It doesn't need spiritual energy; it needs love."
Sha Qian Mo fell silent.
He looked at Hua Qian Gu holding the egg—her expression was gentle, and there was something in her eyes he couldn't understand, like cherishing, like guilt, or perhaps compensation.
"You care a lot about this egg," he said.
"Because it's worthy."
Sha Qian Mo didn't press further. He turned and walked to the doorway, suddenly stopping, and said without looking back, "It's about to hatch. I will have guards strengthen the Demon Emperor Palace to prevent anyone from disturbing it."
Hua Qian Gu was taken aback: "Aren't you going to ask about its origin anymore?"
"If I asked, would you tell me?"
"No."
"Then I won't ask," Sha Qian Mo's voice was faint, "You wouldn't harm me anyway."
He left.
Hua Qian Gu held the egg, watching his figure disappear at the end of the corridor, her eyes reddening again.
In her previous life, he was like this too, trusting her without asking for reasons.
"Tang Bao," she pressed the egg against her face, feeling the temperature of the eggshell, "Hurry up and come out. In this life, so many people are waiting for you."
The green light on the eggshell flickered, as if responding to her.
A few more cracks appeared.
Soon.
【End of Chapter · Guess in the Comment Section: Will Tang Bao hatch in the next chapter? 】
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