Another Vidyadhara man also noticed the red heart that had appeared above his companion's head, pointing at his head in astonishment.
"Wait, you have a heart over your head too! What's going on!"
Fu Zhu, who had been standing behind the two after they brushed his hand off their shoulders, naturally noticed the hearts popping out above their heads. His expression changed instantly. He hastily pulled out an Ender Pearl, used it to teleport to Dan Heng's side, and whispered a rapid warning.
"Dan Heng, we need to get out of here, now! My gut tells me what's coming next is not going to be good!"
Although Dan Heng didn't understand what was happening, he saw the hearts above the two men's heads. Trusting Fu Zhu, he didn't ask any questions and turned to leave with him.
But in the instant they turned, the two bewildered Vidyadhara men suddenly found their bodies moving on their own, their faces drawn directly and uncontrollably toward each other until they were stuck together. Fortunately, both of their noses were prominent enough to prevent their mouths from meeting.
The next second, the cry of a baby rang out from their feet. The force that had been controlling them and pressing them together vanished, and the two men hurriedly retreated two steps to put some distance between them.
With that step back, they saw a baby that had appeared out of nowhere on the ground between them.
"Where did this child come from?!"
Hearing the perplexed shout and the baby's cries from behind, Fu Zhu slapped his forehead in resignation and sighed.
"To think it actually works on you Vidyadhara... Dan Heng, we're too late to leave now."
Hearing this, Dan Heng stopped in his tracks and immediately spun around. His eyes scanned the scene and fell upon the infant lying on the ground. A wild idea uncontrollably surfaced in his mind, and he turned to Fu Zhu with a look of slight bewilderment.
"Don't tell me... the reason you wanted us to leave so urgently was because of this child?!"
Fu Zhu, his face a mask of misery, turned back and nodded. He looked at the crying infant on the ground with a complicated expression, then, clinging to a sliver of hope, he opened his minimap for a look.
[Vidyadhara Youngling]
Because it had not yet been named, the baby was directly labeled with its race on the minimap, completely shattering Fu Zhu's last shred of delusion.
He never would have imagined that coral was the Vidyadhara's reproductive food! Just like wheat for cows in MC!
The few people present were all staring blankly at the Vidyadhara youngling crying on the ground. As a woman, Huanxi was the first to react, rushing over to pick it up.
Whatever the situation was, the child was innocent.
Huanxi took off her own outer coat and carefully wrapped the infant in it, all while examining its little face.
"Where did this child pop out from? Huh? Why are its ears so pointed? They're just like our Vidyadhara... wait a minute??"
Huanxi placed her index finger on the infant's lower abdomen to inspect its internal condition. Her expression changed in an instant, as if she had discovered something terrifying.
She couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "This child is Vidyadhara?! Where did he come from?!"
"What?!"
When the two Vidyadhara men from before heard Huanxi say that the suddenly-appeared infant was a Vidyadhara, they were completely thrown off balance.
They knew that the number of their Vidyadhara kin was fixed. Every single Vidyadhara was registered, even those who underwent reincarnation!
It was absolutely impossible for a new Vidyadhara to suddenly appear, unless the child had been transported here by someone. But that made no sense either!
What could a mysterious powerhouse capable of teleporting a Vidyadhara youngling without anyone noticing possibly want?
For fun?
If it was a follower of the Path of Elation, then that was a possibility.
After confirming the baby in her arms was indeed a Vidyadhara, Huanxi immediately cast aside all her current tasks.
The sudden appearance of this child very likely meant that some individual or faction was secretly plotting against the Vidyadhara. As a member of the Vidyadhara, Huanxi would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen!
Huanxi's gaze swept sternly over Fu Zhu and the others as she spoke.
"Everyone, although this is sudden, I must ask you to come with me to be investigated by the Dragon Masters. A quick check will reveal where this child came from."
The other Vidyadhara naturally had no objections. They had come looking for trouble, but things were different now. The safety of the Vidyadhara race was at stake.
Seeing them agree, Huanxi turned her gaze to Fu Zhu and Dan Heng. "Mr. Fu Zhu, Lord Dan Heng, may I ask you two to also accompany us to the Scalegorge Waterscape for questioning? After all, Mr. Fu Zhu, you did have contact with them just now. Although the possibility of your involvement is low, we cannot rule it out."
Low possibility? I'm the one who did it!
Fu Zhu grumbled internally before nodding his assent. Hiding was definitely not an option. He couldn't treat all Vidyadhara as fools; any intelligent person could guess that this matter was related to him.
Rather than keep running, it was better to go and explain things clearly.
Suddenly, Fu Zhu found his surroundings fading to black and white. A mask flew out from some unknown corner and circled around him, and at the same time, Aha's voice echoed in his mind.
"Ahahaha, my friend, you seem troubled? Mmm-hmm, you accidentally used your special talent to allow the Vidyadhara, a race stripped of their [Procreation] ability, to give birth to a new life. Ahahaha, that is indeed a vexation that brings Aha great joy!"
Fu Zhu's brow twitched. As expected of the Aeon of Elation, he saw through the whole situation at a glance and understood that the new Vidyadhara was connected to him.
"Aha, what's your purpose in suddenly appearing? Can't you just stay on the sidelines and watch the fun quietly?"
The mask floated to a stop in front of Fu Zhu, then conjured a white-gloved hand and wagged a finger at him.
Aha is here to help you! Did you forget the last time Aha helped you cover up that matter with the news reporter investigating the Nether Portal?
"You're here to help me?"
Fu Zhu expressed extreme suspicion. If it were Aeons like [Nous], [Qlipoth], or [Yaoshi] who had appeared, Fu Zhu might have believed them. But the one saying this was Aha...
There was a ninety, no, ninety-nine percent chance something was off!
"That's right, that's right! Aha is here to help you!"
Aha suddenly let out a strange laugh, a sound that made Fu Zhu feel even more uneasy.
"As Aha speaks to you now, Aha has already published an article on all of the Luofu's major social and news websites. And the title of the article is [Shocking! A Nameless Guest Actually Caused a Vidyadhara to Give Birth to a New Life!]. Isn't Aha amazing?"
Fu Zhu's breath hitched, and he couldn't help but curse.
"Fuck, you call this helping?! Sabotaging is also helping, is that it?!"
"How can you say that? Isn't Aha making you famous? It saves you the time of having to get famous, so you won't need to borrow other people's names to sell your technology anymore. Isn't that a great thing? Ahahahahaha!"
As the laughter echoed, the black and white scenery around Fu Zhu gradually returned to its original colors, and the mask that had been floating before him vanished without a trace.
But Fu Zhu still couldn't stop himself from yelling at the spot where the mask had been, "Aha, I curse your ancestors!"
"Fu Zhu?"
Dan Heng, standing beside Fu Zhu, suddenly heard him curse loudly, even mentioning that Aeon of [Elation]. He couldn't help but frown and ask, "What happened?"
Fu Zhu rubbed his forehead and sighed, "I got screwed over by that damned God of Elation."
[Path of Elation Power Upgraded: I → II]
[Touch Range Increased: 10 meters → 50 meters]
The system's sudden notification about his Path upgrade left Fu Zhu at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.
The increase in touch range was certainly a good thing, but Aha had also caused him a great deal of trouble. He had no idea how much trouble this "fame" would bring him.
Aha had mentioned earlier that the Vidyadhara were a race stripped of their ability to [Procreate]. By allowing a race with a fixed population to produce a new life, he would likely stir up considerable turmoil. He could only wonder if Jing Yuan would be able to suppress this news.
Seeing Fu Zhu's dispirited mood, Dan Heng frowned and glanced warily at Huanxi, who was leading the way with the child in her arms. He leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Should we just make a run for it?"
Fu Zhu thought for a moment, then finally shook his head.
"Let's just go with it. I'll contact Jing Yuan later and see if he can help suppress this matter."
Hearing Fu Zhu say this, Dan Heng nodded and said no more.
The two of them quietly followed Huanxi, boarded a skiff at the ferry crossing, and flew all the way into the sacred homeland of the Vidyadhara within the Scalegorge Waterscape.
Huanxi had already sent a message to the Dragon Masters within the clan while boarding the skiff. The moment Fu Zhu's group arrived at their destination and disembarked, a Dragon Master with a white beard and white hair was already waiting for them with several Vidyadhara guards.
"Huanxi, is this infant in your hands the one you said suddenly appeared at the ferry crossing?"
"Yes, Dragon Master."
Huanxi carefully handed the baby in her arms to the Dragon Master. "Please examine him, Dragon Master, and see which clan member has been reincarnated."
The Dragon Master nodded and took the baby into his arms. He then glanced at Fu Zhu and the others. "Well then, Huanxi, you will be in charge of hosting these two guests. I will come find you all shortly."
"Yes, Dragon Master."
After respectfully bowing to send off the Dragon Master, Huanxi straightened up and turned to Fu Zhu and Dan Heng. "This way, please."
Fu Zhu and Dan Heng exchanged a look and followed Huanxi into a room.
Huanxi invited the two to sit down and brewed them a cup of tea. "Please, help yourselves. It will only take a moment for the Dragon Master to investigate the infant's identity."
Dan Heng did not drink the tea Huanxi offered. Instead, he looked up and asked, "I would like to know, will I still be able to meet with the Dragon Lady as promised?"
Huanxi simply maintained a polite smile. "I must ask Lord Dan Heng to wait patiently."
Dan Heng fell silent. He picked up the teacup and took a sip. Patiently waiting meant that the meeting was unlikely to be arranged.
A while later, after Fu Zhu and Dan Heng had finished their third cup of tea, the Dragon Master from before finally returned, still holding the same Vidyadhara infant in his arms.
"Who is it! Who did this!!!"
The moment the Dragon Master stepped inside, he started roaring at the top of his lungs.
The scene startled Huanxi, who hurried forward to ask, "Dragon Master, was this infant stolen from the sacred land?"
"Stolen?"
The Dragon Master glared at her. "You don't understand, you don't understand anything! This infant is not in any of our records! Not even in the records of the Vidyadhara on any other Xianzhou ship!!!"
"..."
"What?!"
Huanxi immediately understood the meaning behind the Dragon Master's words. This infant was, in the truest sense of the word, the second new life for the Vidyadhara in who knows how many ages, besides Bailu!
The Dragon Master, still holding the baby, wanted to roar again and ask who did it, but before he could get the words out—his eyes fell upon Dan Heng, who was sitting there drinking tea with Fu Zhu.
"It was you! Dan Feng!"
The Dragon Master, holding the baby, stomped his way over to Dan Heng. "Did you use the Dragon Transformation Art to create this new life?! Do you know the consequences of doing so? What if—"
Dan Heng raised a hand to cut off the Dragon Master's words, shaking his head with a cold expression. "It was not me. And I will state again, I am not Dan Feng. I am Dan Heng, a Nameless."
Seeing Dan Heng deny it even at this stage, the Dragon Master laughed in fury. He pointed a finger at Fu Zhu beside him and said, "If it wasn't you, who could it be! Among everyone present, only you have mastered the Dragon Transformation Art. Don't tell me you're trying to pin the blame on your companion here!"
Seeing the Dragon Master point his finger at him, Fu Zhu sighed and put down his teacup.
"Old man, calm down. This matter indeed has nothing to do with Dan Heng. This newborn was, in fact, born because of me."
Seeing Fu Zhu admit it, the Dragon Master turned his head to look at him with a dismissive expression. "Do you take me for a fool? You expect me to believe such a clumsy lie?!"
Fu Zhu shrugged and retorted, "You're the one who said my words sound like a clumsy lie, so where did I get the confidence to say it? You can feel free to bring a couple of Vidyadhara over, and I'll demonstrate for you."
"Hmph! Fine, I'll take you up on that. If the result proves you are toying with me... Fu Zhu, don't think you can do whatever you want just because the General protects you! The Vidyadhara won't take this lying down! Don't forget, that machine of yours is still disturbing the peace of the Scalegorge Waterscape! The Vidyadhara have not settled that score with you yet!"
After delivering a string of warnings to Fu Zhu, the Dragon Master nodded to Huanxi, who immediately went to bring back two male and two female Vidyadhara.
"Go on, prove that your words are not a lie."
Fu Zhu sighed and stood up. He pulled out four pieces of beautiful coral and walked over to the two men and two women. "Open your mouths wide."
The four Vidyadhara hesitated for a moment before opening their mouths. Fu Zhu directly stuffed the four pieces of coral into them.
The next second, red hearts began to stream out from above the heads of the four. They were uncontrollably drawn toward each other, pressing close.
A moment later, two cries rang out from the floor. Everyone looked down to see two more Vidyadhara younglings, who had appeared on the ground out of thin air.
Seeing this, the Dragon Master couldn't stop himself from blurting out a curse.
"Fuck!"