Soulbound: Chronicles Of A Shadow Assassin-Chapter 34: A Trip To The Past [II]
’Thank you for gracing me with this opportunity. The deed has been done, and my offspring now resides in the belly of your wife. Please take care of the child, and be the father I never had the chance to be.’
Jiang Renxing body aggressively shook under the weight of his seething emotions. ’If you weren’t dead, I’d kill you over and over again!’ He yelled in his head, as he looked at the bane of his nightmare lying lifelessly on the ground.
In a fit of rage, he tore the note to shreds, the fragments fluttering to the ground like confetti. Seizing Long Zihan’s legs, he dragged the lifeless body across the earth, his footsteps heavy with fury as he stomped towards the serene waters of Crystal Cove Lake.
As he reached the shore, he hurled the body into the water with a savage cry, the lifeless body splashing into the lake like a discarded rag doll. "Despicable!" he spat in a venomous voice filled with disgust, his chest heaving with indignation, and his eyes blazing with fury. "May your soul rot in eternal torment!"
End of flashback.
Jiang Renxing’s scowl deepened as he gazed at the child nestled in Wadam Wang’s arms. Maybe it was because he knew already had an idea of the child’s paternity, but he could actually see some resemblance of Long Zihan in the child.
Did he just say some? Heck, it was so obvious. The child even had the same eye color as Long Zihan, and the shape of their features seemed to echo Long Zihan’s own. It was as if he was staring at a miniature version of the his betrayer of a friend, and he couldn’t help but feel a pang of discomfort.
He held the baby’s tiny hand in his, and Madam Wang couldn’t help smiling sadly at the father and son pair who had just lost someone precious to them.
Unknown to Madam Wang, Jiang Renxing was actually secretly performing a spell. He hid the subtle glow of his palm as he muttered a spell under his breath.
He closed his eyes, and he could see into the depths of the baby’s soul. The child possessed a spiritual core, which wasn’t supposed to be if he were truly the son of a dragon shifter. Jiang Renxing’s brows furrowed in confusion, leading him to look deeper.
And there it was, a tiny, glowing dragon scale embedded in the child’s spiritual core, pulsing with a faint, iridescent light. The scale seemed to be absorbing and reflecting the surrounding spiritual energy, resonating with a power that was unmistakably tremendous.
He is indeed the offspring of that devil... but it seems he also has my blood running in his veins seeing as he has the spiritual core of a Mage. He thought to himself as his eyes snapped open. But that doesn’t make him my son!
Without giving Madam Wang a heads-up, he roughly took the baby from her arms and walked out of the room.
"My lord!" Madam Wang cried out in alarm, her voice trembling with concern. "Where are you taking the child, my lord?" She rushed after him, her eyes fixed anxiously on the infant, but Jiang Renxing turned a deaf ear to her words, his expression unyielding as he strode out of his abode with the child clutched tightly in his arms.
News of Zi Yu, falling into labour had spread, and most people were happy as they awaited the arrival of the newborn, especially the Mages of Jinxing.
But another news followed shorty. it was the news of Zi Yu’s death during childbirth.
The Mages of Jinxing had gathered outside, ready to march over to the Jiang residence to pay respect to the wife of a respected Mage who was once part of them until he was promoted to be the leader of the Huo sect.
Before they could all gather as one to head out, an unexpected visitor suddenly showed up at the training area.
Jiang Renxing stood before them, looking as furious as ever, and in his arms laid the newborn.
Master Zhang and Lin Xiaoyan immediately rushed out when they heard the gasps and murmurs of the Mages outside.
Shocked to see that Jiang Renxing had come all the way to Jinxing with the baby, Lin Xiaoyan could only open his mouth in shock, while Master Zhang did the talking.
"We heard about what happened to Zi Yu." Master Zhang spoke sympathetically, his voice reflecting his sadness. "We were just about to head over. Why did you trouble yourself to come here when you should be mourning your wife?"
"I came here because there’s something I must do in order to change the fate of this child in my arms." Jiang Renxing spoke with a straight face before shocking everyone by unsheathing his sword.
Before anyone could question what he was planning to do, he muttered a spell under his breath, allowing his spiritual power flow into his sword. He stabbed his sword into the ground, erecting a shimmering golden barrier.
"What are you doing?" Lin Xiaoyan asked with furrowed brows, immediately alerting the other Mages to intervene.
It seemed the Mages had monumentally forgotten who Jiang Yichen was, and they had thought they could do something to stop him, despite not knowing what he was about to do.
But immediately they came in contact with the barrier, it released a thrilling force which sent them flying away from the barrier.
Jiang Renxing paid no attention to the others, and continued with what he was doing. He left his sword buried in the ground, and placed the child in his arms on the ground.
Muttering another spell under his breath, his right palm emitted a golden light, and he placed it on the baby’s chest.
Lin Xiaoyan, seeing this, immediately rushed to the barrier. With just a slash from his sword, the barrier was dissipated, and he quickly snatched the baby from the ground.
"What have you done?" He asked as he inspected the child in his arms.
Jiang Renxing stood up and nonchalantly patted his hands together before looking at Lin Xiaoyan. "I sealed his spiritual core. He won’t be able to practice spells all his life."
Lin Xiaoyan looked at Jiang Renxing, his mouth agape in shock.
"I forbid anyone from unsealing his spiritual core!" Jiang Renxing raised his voice in command, turning around to look in eyes of every Mage present there.
"How could you do this to your son?" Lin Xiaoyan asked in bafflement, not being able to comprehend Jiang Renxing’s actions.
"My son?" Jiang Renxing said as if he had just heard a joke, barely managing to hold back a scoff.
With nothing further to say, Jiang Renxing turned around to leave, not bothering to take the child along, and even left his sword behind. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"Wait!" Lin Xiaoyan followed Jiang Renxing outside of Jinxing with the baby. "You can’t just leave like this. What about this child? Think about what people would say about Zi Yu and this baby. They will say he’s not your son and call him an illegitimate. Zi Yu will probably be tagged as an unfaithful wife. Is that what you want?"
"I’m heading over to my home to lay my wife to rest. Once it’s done, I’ll send Wang Meiying to come get him from Jinxing. Since my wife gave birth to him, he will be raised by my family." Jiang Renxing paused to explain.
"See, this is what I’m talking about. I haven’t heard you call him your son for once." Lin Xiaoyan countered, "...Is he really not your son?" He carefully posed the question.
"Believe what you want to believe." Jiang Renxing said. Finally having enough of Lin Xiaoyan’s probing questions, he began to walk away.
Lin Xiaoyan wasn’t done though. "You mentioned earlier that you wanted to change the fate of this child. That means this child probably has an ill fate. Instead of only sealing his core, why don’t we just end his life here and now to totally prevent any trouble in the future."
Jiang Renxing’s head immediately whipped backwards, and he saw Lin Xiaoyan toss the baby in the air, while swiftly unsheathing his sword. In the blink of an eye, Lin Xiaoyan had muttered a spell, infusing spiritual power into his sword as he slashed at the defenseless baby in the air.
Jiang Renxing’s eyes widened, and in a blur, he jumped to catch the baby, before countering Lin Xiaoyan’s attack with a spell of his own.
Lin Xiaoyan heaved a sigh, relief evident on his face. "He really is your son, after all. If you had made even the slightest mistake, you would have gotten badly injured by my attack, but you risked it, just to save him."
"If he dies, then that means my wife just lost her life for nothing." Jiang Renxing said, before looking Lin Xiaoyan in the eyes, finally deciding to explain. "If his spiritual core remains sealed, and he lives his life as the son of the Jiang family, he will live. However, if his spiritual core is unsealed and the power hiding inside him is revealed, he might not survive."
Lin Xiaoyan’s jaw dropped. He was rendered speechless for the third time in less than an hour. "Who... is the father of this child?" He asked in a barely audible voice.
Jiang Renxing’s eyes scanned the area, making sure no one else was present. "A dead man." He answered. "His birth defies the norms, and should never have happened."
