I was born a god, the son of the Demon Lord.

Xu Nanyi pressed her younger brother onto her shoulder and patted the back of his head.

Shen Xizhou buried his face in his hands, his shoulders trembling.

From the egg to now, all the little bit of relationship he and Shen Jiuyuan had painstakingly built up has been wiped out here.

The way that person looked at them was no different from how they would look at monsters.

"Xiaozhou, he doesn't recognize us now."

Shen Xizhou gave a muffled "hmm" without looking up.

Shen Jiuyuan leaned against the wall, tilting his head to watch the two of them hugging.

The image was jarring to him, a primal sense of rejection. After six years in the Demon Cave, he had almost forgotten what the word "dependence" meant.

"Tsk, what a weak piece of trash."

He looked away, closed his eyes, and couldn't be bothered to look anymore. If he wanted to kill him, he could; it wasn't like he hadn't died before.

After calming Shen Xizhou down, Xu Nanyi finally had time to deal with her young father.

But she didn't dare to get too close, so she found a stick and poked Shen Jiuyuan's shoulder.

Shen Jiuyuan didn't open his eyes, but a tree branch was poking him repeatedly in the hollow of his shoulder. It didn't hurt, but it was incredibly annoying.

He opened his eyes irritably, "If you want to kill me, just kill me! Why make such a fuss!"

Xu Nanyi squatted about an arm's length away, holding a dry tree branch in her hand, the tip of which was poking at his collarbone.

His shout made her face stiffen, and her eyes reddened within three seconds.

Xu Nanyi gripped the branch tightly, and could only tell herself that her father simply didn't know she was his future daughter, which was perfectly normal.

But she couldn't stand being yelled at.

She tossed the branch aside and pulled a small, palm-sized, silver-white bell from her bosom, its surface engraved with a ring of fine runes.

This was a gift from Wu Qiyue to her upon meeting her, called "Well-behaved Bell".

It was originally intended for use when Shen Xizhou grew up and became disobedient.

Unexpectedly, his father benefited first.

Xu Nanyi shook her head.

Ding.

The sound was soft, like a drop of water falling on a jade plate, crisp, smooth, and penetrating straight into the brain.

Shen Jiuyuan froze, his brain feeling as if it had been torn in two in that instant.

Half of him was himself, a volatile, wary, and murderous beast; the other half seemed to have been gripped by the back of his neck, lying down quietly.

Xu Nanyi stared at him, her eyes still red, "You just yelled at me."

Shen Jiuyuan's mouth started moving on its own.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault, I shouldn't have said that to you."

The voice came from his own throat, sincere in tone and upright in attitude.

Shen Jiuyuan felt like he had gone completely mad. His facial muscles were twitching, his mouth was apologizing, his brows were furious, and his golden vertical pupils were filled with disbelief.

When did he ever say "I'm sorry"? He didn't even use the word "thank you" once during his six years in the Demon Cave!

Xu Nanyi sniffed; after receiving the apology, her anger subsided by about 70%.

"Alright, I'll forgive you since you didn't know about this."

Aunt Kong said that it's normal for Father to have a temper, as he is a spoiled little husband. She is the future Demon Emperor and should be more magnanimous and not hold such a grudge against him!

She held the bell in her hand, becoming serious. "My name is Xu Nanyi, and this is Shen Xizhou. We are your future children."

Shen Jiuyuan's expression changed from furious to blank, and his eyebrows furrowed at an extremely strange angle.

What nonsense is this brat spouting? Is he out of his mind? I've seen weasels begging for titles before, but can you ever see a human skin begging for its own father?

Xu Nanyi waited for a while, but received no response, so she rang the bell again.

Ding.

Why aren't you saying anything?

Shen Jiuyuan's mouth moved on its own again: "I'm thinking about a problem."

"What are you thinking about?"

"I've seen weasels begging for titles in the Demon Cave before, but now I see a human skin begging for a father. It's outrageous. Why don't you just say I'm your mother?"

Xu Nanyi and Shen Xizhou exchanged a glance, both seeing the same speechless expression in each other's eyes.

Shen Xizhou peeked out from behind Xu Nanyi, revealing a bright, vengeful smile.

"It's not impossible, but you can only call them Daddy and Mommy. After all, my older sister and I have a mother, but we came out of your belly."

He made a gesture and said cheerfully, "An egg that I personally hatched!"

A crack finally appeared in Shen Jiuyuan's expression.

Within the golden vertical pupils, confusion, absurdity, and rage tore at each other, ultimately merging into a state of bewilderment.

Shen Jiuyuan didn't laugh; he just felt that these two were really a bit off.

But... to be honest, he doesn't want to die yet.

The advantage was clearly in the opponent's hands; the bell could control his mouth, and the chains on his body had absorbed all his demonic energy, making escape impossible.

Moreover, these two little ones are incredibly naive, and the fact that they've managed to survive in the Demon Cave until now is an absurd miracle in itself.

Since we can neither kill them nor escape, there's only one way left.

--play.

So what if I become a father? It's a freebie. I won't even care if he dies.

Shen Jiuyuan's eyelashes trembled slightly, concealing the rage that had been etched on his face. When he raised his head, the murderous intent in his golden vertical pupils had mostly faded, replaced by a cautious, tentative...softness.

"Is what you're saying... true?"

His voice was low, tinged with a youthful, hoarse hesitation, "Are you really my... future children?"

At this moment, he was like a wounded cub abandoned in a corner, unsure whether the hand extended in front of him was safe or dangerous.

Xu Nanyi was still a child at heart, and her nose tingled as she nodded vigorously.

"Really! Yiyi isn't lying to her dad."

Shen Jiuyuan scoffed inwardly; the bait had been taken.

A fleeting hint of triumph flashed in his eyes, but it was perfectly concealed by his long, drooping eyelashes. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, his smile precisely controlled between "moved" and "unbelievable."

"That……"

He moved his wrist, the chain rattling, his tone revealing just the right amount of melancholy.

"Father has been here for a long time, and no one has ever said anything like this to me before... Could you please untie this? I want to... hug you all."

He spoke the last three words very softly, his breathy voice tinged with grievance, and a fragile loneliness appeared on the face of the twelve-year-old boy.

Xu Nanyi hesitated for half a second.

Shen Xizhou shook his head frantically behind her, "No way!"

Xu Nanyi gripped the bell tightly, her tone sincere and firm, "Mother said that when Father goes mad, the chains must not be opened easily."

Shen Jiuyuan's smile froze for 0.3 seconds.

Little brat, aren't you taking the bait? Aren't they my offspring? Aren't I their mother? Do you think I'd tie myself up?

He quickly adjusted his strategy, his smile only growing stronger, and his tone as gentle as a spring breeze.

"It's okay, I understand. After all, we're not familiar with each other yet, so it's normal that you don't trust me—"

He paused, deliberately turning his head to one side to reveal the red marks on his neck from the chain, his voice tinged with a thin layer of bitterness.

"...I'm already very happy that you can stay here."