Chapter 143

The next morning, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er, the couple, resumed their usual schedule again, getting up early together and having breakfast. After the meal, Zhang Fan was about to go to the kitchen to wash dishes when he heard Fei Er's distinctive knocking sound again from outside the courtyard gate.

Seeing this, Zhang Fan gave Ba Ke Er a helpless smile, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and was about to go open the door when Ba Ke Er called out to stop him.

"Fan Fan, I'll go open the door; you sit a moment, don't wash the bowls yet—they might have something important to discuss with us, and washing the dishes later won't be too late."

After saying that, Ba Ke Er reached out and ruffled Zhang Fan's head, gave him an indulgent smile, then turned and went to open the door.

Zhang Fan stood where he was, watching Ba Ke Er's retreating back, a warm current flowing through his heart, and he sat down with a smile.

As soon as Ba Ke Er reached the courtyard gate, he hurriedly opened the door for Fei Er and his wife, said nothing, merely gesturing with his eyes for them to come in; after Fei Er and his wife entered, Ba Ke Er hastily closed the door again and started walking toward where Zhang Fan was.

Fei Er lunged over as soon as he saw Zhang Fan, excitedly saying, 'Fan Fan, do you know? Ba Ke Er and Mo De brought back an Exquisite Dragon Beast egg yesterday!'

Upon hearing that, Zhang Fan instantly became interested, astonishedly saying, 'Really? Then… where is that Dragon Egg? Why don't I see it there? Fei Er, have you seen it?'

Hearing Zhang Fan's question, Fei Er felt a bit down again. 'Actually, I haven't seen the Dragon Egg either; I only heard Mo De say so when I just came over, but didn't Ba Ke Er tell you? The Dragon Egg is now with my father.'

Saying this, Fei Er suddenly realized that if he pleaded with his father, he might still get to see the Dragon Egg; thinking this, Fei Er's mood improved again, and he said with a smile:

'Fan Fan, let's go talk to my father and see if we can see the Dragon Egg! If my father lets us raise the Dragon Egg, that would be great! Wow… this is the first time I've had such an idea! It's amazing! This is raising a Dragon!'

Zhang Fan had originally given up on the idea of seeing the Dragon Egg, but hearing Fei Er say that, his confidence suddenly swelled. Zhang Fan gathered his courage and said to Fei Er, 'Good! Let's give it a try!'

Regarding Zhang Fan and Fei Er's idea, Mo De and Ba Ke Er, even though they knew it was unlikely to succeed, were tactful enough not to say so, fearing to hurt Zhang Fan and Fei Er.

Zhang Fan thought, since we're going to the chieftain's house to see the Dragon Egg, we definitely need to prepare some gifts beforehand, otherwise it would be embarrassing to make a request, right?

So, after Zhang Fan made his decision, he began preparing gifts. Fortunately, the chieftain is also a bit of a foodie, so Zhang Fan thought it over and decided to just bring some tasty food.

Having made up his mind, Zhang Fan pulled Fei Er into the kitchen and made a basket full of various snacks, some of which Fei Er and Ba Ke Er had neither seen nor eaten before. This already showed Zhang Fan's sincerity.

Since the things were already prepared, Zhang Fan and Fei Er hastily summoned the somewhat reluctant Ba Ke Er and Mo De, and together they headed to the chieftain's house.

On the way, Fei Er and Zhang Fan keenly noticed Mo De and Ba Ke Er's reluctance. After thinking, they simultaneously said to their male partners, 'Since you don't want to go, then don't force yourself.'

After saying that, the two exchanged a knowing smile, making Ba Ke Er and Mo De feel quite embarrassed. However, in order to spend more time with their beloved females and to see more of their beloved partners.

Ba Ke Er and Mo De forced out a smile uglier than crying, and almost simultaneously said, 'No way! How could we be reluctant? We're still too happy to even keep up! After all, how did we two bring back the Dragon Egg?'

As for Ba Ke Er and Mo De's expressions, Zhang Fan and Fei Er could see them crystal clear, perfectly obvious. Even if the two were ten meters away, they could still clearly guess what their partners were thinking.

What's more, now they're so close, you could even say they're as close as possible. However, Zhang Fan and Fei Er were both smart enough not to continue dwelling on this issue.

Instead, they shifted the conversation and began talking about recent events in the tribe, as well as what Zhang Fan and Fei Er had done after Mo De and Ba Ke Er left.

Without realizing it, as they talked, they had already arrived at the chieftain's gate, and Fei Er hurried forward to knock on the door.

Not long after, Chieftain Fei Ji came over to open the door for everyone, invited them into the courtyard, then led everyone into the main hall and had them sit down.

Fei Er saw that he had entered the house but still hadn't seen his Am, and felt a bit strange—normally Am would come out to greet him as soon as he arrived home! What's going on today? Why isn't anyone here?

Chieftain Fei Ji, upon seeing his son's expression, could guess what he was thinking. He smiled, rubbed Fei Er's head, and said, 'Fei Er, do you feel strange? Why haven't you seen your Am after all this time?'

Fei Er saw that his thoughts had just been spoken out by his own father, and didn't find it strange—after all, his father had always been clever—but after thinking a bit, Fei Er felt it was still a little strange; what did his father mean by saying that?

However, regarding this, Fei Er didn't pursue it further, but with a serious expression said, 'Yes, Father! Where is Am? I want to go see him!'

However, Chieftain Fei Ji's originally relaxed expression suddenly stiffened, and he said with a solemn face, 'I think you came to see the Dragon Egg, right? Well, everyone, follow me.'

Having said that, Chieftain Fei Ji turned around and walked ahead on his own.

Zhang Fan and the others hurried to follow, but what puzzled Fei Er was how his father knew everyone had come to see the Dragon Egg—clearly he himself had never said they were coming to see the Dragon Egg! Moreover, he himself had clearly said he wanted to see Am!

After thinking for a while, Fei Er came up with a possibility: the Dragon Egg must now be in Wei Er's hands; otherwise, hearing him say that, his father's reaction shouldn't be like this!

The more Fei Er thought, the more plausible it seemed; and when he followed the chieftain into the side room of the house—that is, his own original room—his guess was indeed confirmed, without a doubt.

Wei Er was indeed here, and his hands were currently cupping a colorful, oval-shaped unknown object. Needless to say, Zhang Fan and Fei Er also guessed that this was that Exquisite Dragon Beast egg.

Because the colors on the egg exactly matched those on the Exquisite Dragon Beasts' bodies.

But it's unclear whether it's due to the lighting or his own eyes; Zhang Fan actually felt that the color on the Dragon Egg had deepened a bit after everyone entered.

Moreover, for some reason, Zhang Fan clearly heard a child's laughter coming from beside his ear. For a moment he was at a loss, and after looking carefully at the Dragon Egg again, he found nothing.

Ba Ke Er's gaze had never left Zhang Fan's figure for a moment. So, at the instant Zhang Fan zoned out, Ba Ke Er keenly noticed that something was off with Zhang Fan.

Looking at Zhang Fan's somewhat dazed eyes, Ba Ke Er also felt puzzled, stepped forward, lowered his head, and whispered in Zhang Fan's ear, 'Fan Fan, what's wrong?'

Zhang Fan had been concentrating on thinking about the voice that had suddenly appeared beside his ear, and was getting lost in thought when Ba Ke Er suddenly spoke, startling Zhang Fan so that he immediately snapped back to attention.

Zhang Fan lifted his head to look at Ba Ke Er's concerned gaze, his heart warmed, but he also realized now wasn't the time to talk about it. So, Zhang Fan merely gave Ba Ke Er a light smile and replied softly, 'Nothing, we'll talk later.'

Having said that, Zhang Fan again fixed his gaze on the Dragon Egg, preparing to test again whether the voice he had just heard was real or an illusion.

However, until Zhang Fan and everyone left the room in the chieftain's house where the Dragon Egg was kept, he still couldn't hear that voice again. This made Zhang Fan even more curious.

Indeed, it's because time and circumstances don't allow it; for now he can't resolve this doubt. Zhang Fan thought, if he could see the Beast God once more, perhaps then everything would become clear.

After the chieftain led everyone out of the room where the Dragon Egg was kept, he then led everyone to the courtyard and began discussing the ownership of the Dragon Egg.

The chieftain thought, since this Dragon Egg was brought back together by Ba Ke Er and Mo De, and it was also discovered by Mo De's father Lei Ya, then the Dragon Egg should be entrusted to Zhang Fan and his wife to raise.

However, regarding the chieftain's decision, Fei Er, who usually has no opinion of his own, objected, thinking: 'This is an Exquisite Dragon Beast egg; when it hatches, it will become a Dragon Beast, and it might even turn out to be an unusually cunning and ferocious Exquisite Dragon Beast!'

He feared that if it really hatched, and turned out to be a creature that could not become a Beastman, or a female primitive beast, what would they do?

The Exquisite Dragon Beast is so powerful; if it someday sought revenge on the Heaven Lion Tribe, what could they do? Or should they just throw it out of the tribe, which wouldn't bring disaster to the tribe.

When Fei Er finished voicing all these worries one by one, everyone was stunned. Especially Zhang Fan, who even looked like he'd been startled.

He took two steps at a time, ran up to Fei Er, raised his hand to feel Fei Er's forehead, found his temperature normal, then let out a breath as if sighing, and said with a smile:

'Fei Er, I see you're fine! Why are you suddenly talking nonsense! Actually, even if it were a primitive beast, as long as we discover it early and nip it in the bud, it wouldn't pose any danger!'

As soon as Zhang Fan's words fell, Wei Er over there also disagreed and spoke to Fei Er.

'I think Fan Fan is right, Fei Er. Why don't you think: if this Dragon Egg hatched into a pretty and well-behaved little female, would you still be willing to cruelly toss it out of the tribe to fend for itself? Fei Er, you're a good child, aren't you?'

At the moment Wei Er spoke, Fei Er already realized his mistake. Now hearing Wei Er finish, Fei Er felt even more guilty.

Unable to help himself, he lowered his head, quietly walked over to Mo De's side, nestled into his embrace, and began to reflect in his heart.

After Fei Er's uproar, the chieftain became even more determined to entrust the Dragon Egg to Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er for upbringing. He earnestly persuaded Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er as a couple, and they willingly agreed to adopt the Dragon Egg.

Since the Dragon Egg's ownership issue was settled, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er officially became the Dragon Egg's foster parents. Everyone felt it was also time to leave the chieftain's house. Thus, after saying goodbye to the chieftain and Wei Er, Zhang Fan and his wife and Fei Er and his wife left together, just as they had come.

If one must point out a difference, it is this: the basket that Zhang Fan is now holding, which originally was used to carry food, now contains a colorful Exquisite Dragon Beast egg.

At that moment, in the place where no one was paying attention—inside the tightly covered basket—the dragon egg suddenly twitched, like a playful child, though it made no sound.