"Hurry! Your wife is giving birth to your son, and you are completely drunk! You are a disgrace for your clan and all men of the human race!"
A woman was chasing a blood covered man who was running away at full speed, like a chicken running away from the frying wok. Both servants and guests turned to watch the strange and amusing spectacle, trying their best to suffocate the laughter and hide the looks of schadenfreude.
If they were caught mocking those two, they might as well start writing their wills and saying goodbyes. The man was Shen Xuefeng, King Shen Zhang's second son, and the woman was Song Mei, third of five sisters, whose father was Song Shuren, Lord of the Chìhóng Prefecture. They were both pillars of the Empire, sworn Brothers of the Emperor himself, whose families had fought alongside since before this country was even born.
"What's the fuss about. It isn't even the first time…" groaned Shen Xuefeng.
Song Mei's eyes lighted up, like small incandescent embers.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"Nothing! I'm going, I'm going! Put back the sword, you crazy woman!"
In the meantime, in a bedroom of the Shen clan's mansion, Song Fen was giving birth to her third son. Three hours already passed, and, not only her damn husband still wasn't here, the delivery was hurting like hell. It wasn't easy the other times, but now it was way harder. The screams were deafening, so loud the windows were threatening to shatter. She wasn't alone, of course. Her mother, Lady Song Li, a nurse and a few female servants were attending to her with great care. It was so sudden, ten days before expected, they didn't have time to call the physician from the Capital, Doctor Hue Tong, a birthing expert who took care of every pregnancy of the Shen clan until now, so they had to make do with his nurse.
"Don't worry my dear, it will be all right. The battle has ended a few days ago, so General Shen Xuefeng will be here soon. You'll have another beautiful, healthy son, don't worry!" tried to calm her down the mother.
At that moment, the wooden doors slammed open with a loud crack, breaking in four pieces, letting two figures rush inside.
"I'm here honey, I'm here! Where's the *hic* little monster?" asked the seasoned General, his eyes confusingly searching a little baby in every nook and cranny of the room.
Song Mei hit him with the of the hilt of the sword.
"You idiot! Can't you see my sister is still delivering? Go by her side and be useful, for once in your life!"
Two hands interlaced, he, still in armour, dirty and drunk of blood and wine, she, a stunning beauty capable of toppling cities and Empires, reduced a mess by the last hours.
"What is this smell, are you drunk?" whispered the Young Lady, writhing in pain.
"Don't think about it now, concentrate and relax. You already did it before, you can do it!" soothed her Shen Xuefeng, biting his lip.
"Brace yourself! I can see the head, he's coming!"
Everyone held their breaths, afraid that even a tiny whiff would hurt the baby.
Husband and wife squeezed harder each other's hands.
One thing united them at that moment.
There was no more anger, frustration, pain, nor any other emotion. It wasn't their moment, it belonged to him, their son.
He slowly came out to see the world, basking in the light of the moon and the stars.
The parents smiled at the new life.
Everybody shut up, silence reigned. The nurse lightly slapped the newborn, who took his first breath. Strangely, no crying was heard, but something similar to a delighted shout of victory.
"He has the spirit of a warrior, like his father! Hahaha! I shall name him Shen Lu!"
Shen Lu looked around curiously, at his parents, at the other people, and at the room.
His memories were fuzzy, but he still remembered quite a lot of his previous lives. Just thinking about it, felt like a million knives pierced his mind. 'It must be because I'm an infant. My brain still isn't ready for *aaaaaah*, damn it!'
His headache worsened, like a hammer hitting on a nail.
Song Mei swiftly took her nephew in her arms, stealing him from her sisters'.
"How cute!" she said bopping on his nose.
Shen Lu stared at her, feeling something in his little heart. It was his new instinct as a toddler. He wanted his mum. He wanted to cry. 'No, stop. Be good. Don't be ridiculous.'
He teared up a little, but he managed to stop the sirens that were about to blow up.
His father closed in and took him. No words were spoken, but he could see the love in his eyes. Then, a strong smell assaulted his frail nostrils.
Shen Lu slapped his father and arched his body towards his mother, who was still resting on the bed. 'Damn you! You're this drunk, and still want to hold your son, in this state? Let me go to mother, now! Irresponsible! A totally irresponsible father!'
"Fine, fine! Here, this is your mother…!!!"
The General froze on the spot, his expression turning serious, not even an ounce of the effects of alcohol could be seen anymore, forcefully expelled by his power.
He put his hand on his son's chest, frowning.
It was rare to see Shen Xuefeng serious, so nobody expressed their doubts after witnessing the scene. They waited, fearing the possibility of the baby being a cripple or having an illness.
The spirit power flowed through the little body, checking every meridian, blood vessel, organ, muscle and bone. Shock gradually appeared on his face.
"Everybody out, except for my wife and Song Mei!" he shouted. For a while, nobody moved, but seeing the bloodshot eyes and murderous aura around him, they all ran out afraid.
Old Lady Song Li, stayed behind glaring at her son in law. "I'm not going anywhere. I want to know what's happening." she stated impassible.
"Go call Father, Lord Song Shuren too."
The Old Lady hesitated, but, in the end, she chose to do as told.
"Xuefeng…"
"I'll explain when they are here. I'm sorry, but it's a critical matter. It concerns the fate of our clans, of the entire Empire!"
Song Mei looked at the father and son duo. She was trembling from head to toe.
"He's only a child…"
Soon, a man wearing a black robe and a silver crown on his head came in. King Shen Zhang didn't seem very old, his hair was still jet black with only some grey strands. His cold blue eyes pierced the people in the room. Following him was Lord Song Shuren, a middle-aged man in a brown armour. These old monsters were Nascent Soul experts of a couple hundred years old.
"Why did you call me here, son. While my grandson's birth is of utmost importance to me and brings me great joy, my duties as a King are numerous in this troubled times."
"Hold him and you'll understand, Father. By the way, his name is Shen Lu."
The King took his grandson and inspected him with his spirit power.
"He's an Asura…"
The surprised mumble deeply shook them. It was common knowledge that Devas and Asuras were born in the Heavens, and even there it was rare. An Asura being born in the Mortal World wasn't an impossible thing, but the chances of it were so low no one would ever believe it if they didn't see it personally.
Asuras and Devas were human beings blessed by the Universe.
Asuras had powerful bodies, while Devas were in harmony with the elements of nature.
"Shen Lu. You are a hope for our clans, but also a bane…"
King Shen knew what would happen if news about this spread: his grandson would suffer from countless assassination attempts, his clan would lose all power and eventually fall, attacked from all sides by enemies and allies alike. The Emperor wouldn't stick his neck to protect them, otherwise, the consequences would be deadly. They were Brothers but he couldn't ask him to fall together. He wasn't sure the Emperor wouldn't betray him too, so asking for his help wasn't an option.
"Erase the nurse's memories of today. Kill the female servants. Make sure that no word about this is known to anyone who isn't in this room. As for us… secrecy is the only thing that will keep Shen Lu and both our clans safe. I hope everyone understands."
"We obey Your orders, Your Majesty" everyone declared seriously.
Shen Lu was still awake and he heard all the discussion 'Perfect...I still can't even eat but my life is already in danger'
After the old men got out Shen Xuefeng breathed a sigh of relief. He grinned again at his son.
"Well, little boy, it seems you'll need a lot of protection... I wanted to keep it for myself.. but...Uff! Here! This is going to be your partner and your loyal guard! It is still a cub, like you, but it will grow strong and powerful." he said while taking a strange creature from his Interspatial Ring. Shen Lu stared at it baffled. It was similar to a cat, but its tail was longer and its shape reminded him of a lizard. The eyes were deep red and the fur was of a particular grey, like ashes. Instead of normal whiskers, it had what seemed like the nose tendrils of a dragon. Its fangs and claws looked way more dangerous than those of a tiger, and his father said this monster was still an infant! The "thing" yawned, showing him even more of its fearsome teeth, while it exhaled a bit of smoke.
"What is that thing and why are you giving it to our son?" asked Song Fen, too tired to make an effort to appear angry.
"Uh, it's just a pet, a Dragon Cat. It's completely safe." answered Shen Xuefeng.
"Yes, if for completely safe you mean a man-eating Demon Beast, created by Mother Nature to be a perfect killing machine. Then yes it's completely safe." shouted Song Mei, already flashing away from the bedroom, leaving behind an embarrassed General and a furious mother.
"SHEN XUEFENG!" the yell shattered the already weakened windows.
Shen Lu looked again at the Dragon Cat, and the Demon Beast looked back at him. The Dragon Cat meowed confused.
'Heh, it seems like you and I are the only sane ones here!' he thought amused.