For the unconscious, the passing of time bore no feeling.
After a long while, Xia Lei’s fingers finally twitched. He opened his eyes. He peered down and found that his clothes had returned to its original state but his body was still a tad bit rigid from the coldness. There were still chills coming from inside his bones, it felt pretty awful.
But as soon as he realized that he still had his physical body, Xia Lei was relieved. After taking the final AE capsule, Xia Lei was worried that some form of intense chemical reaction would have transpired and caused his body to disintegrate. Thankfully, the paranoia was in vain.
Evolution was slow. While he had swallowed the last AE capsule and activated the last leg of his evolution, it did not mean that he’d reach its apex form right away. There was a process of indefinite duration but Xia Lei was confident that he wouldn’t attain his final form very soon.
Xia Lei struggled to clamber up from the ground. Then, he left the basement.
The skies were still dark at this hour and the round full moon was hung on the far horizon. The lunar body was dim and seemingly cold tonight.
Xia Lei watched the moon, suddenly feeling all too lonely. He had never once felt that emotion in his life. He had five gorgeous wives, four adorable and smart children, the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team and the Relief Society. They all looked after each other and have sworn to fight alongside one another. He had possessed a lot of company and he knew this feeling shouldn’t have existed. Yet, it emerged and was so abrupt at that.
Could it be that his sudden loneliness was an omen to his departure? Perhaps it was a clear sign that he was soon to leave his wives and children and the rest of the world behind.
Xia Lei had no answers.
But at this very moment, he felt exceptionally lonely.
He returned to Tang Yuyan’s room later. The warmth radiating off the bedroom and the mild fragrance wafting off Tang Yuyan’s body had helped soothe his senses. The woman was still soundly asleep among the sheets. Xia Lei couldn’t help but think about their earlier passionate tangling of limbs and everything else they’d experienced together with gentle eyes.
Despite his staring, Tang Yuyan did not stir. She seemed to be enjoying a sweet dream, judging from the blissful sweet smile she had on the corners of her lips.
Xia Lei stripped off his clothes but did not join her in bed. He entered the bathroom and turned the hot water on max. He stood under the showerhead and let the hot water gush down.
The warmth restored some temperature and washed away a part of his suffocating loneliness. For a moment, Xia Lei felt like he was still a normal human being. An important feeling that he had realized he took for granted in the past.
“Yawn... “ Tang Yuyan’s voice was heard from outside the bathroom. “Hubby, it’s half past four in the morning. Why are you already awake?”
Xia Lei peeked out from behind the shower curtain and replied, “I couldn’t sleep so I woke up to take a shower.”
“Why can’t you sleep?” Tang Yuyan was worried now. “Is your body feeling alright?”
Xia Lei lied. “Got a little bit of a tummy ache. Maybe it was the herbal soup.”
He needed an excuse to hide his problems. While Jiang Ruyi’s three whip soup was innocent, Xia Lei had turned it into his scapegoat.
This was a white lie. He did not wish to plunge his women into ultimate despair before his end had arrived. He wanted to leave behind only the best for the loves of his life. He’d shoulder the loneliness and sadness brought on by the lie alone.
Next morning, everyone in the family was gathered around the dining table for breakfast. The four babies were comfortably in their strollers suckling on their bottles. They were on a diet of their mother’s breast milk and not powder formula. The Xia family women had all decided to breastfeed their children.
All four of the children were making astonishing progress each day with apparent changes. Those were reflected in their physical coordination, literacy and recitation of Han characters as well as environmental adaptation and interpersonal communication. Watching his children brought improvement to Xia Lei’s mood. He teased each of them, the melodious bell-like laughter never once ceasing. The five women too had wide smiles and soft eyes at the sight of it. This family was wonderful and the atmosphere this morning was exceptionally remarkable.
“Yuyan, I see that you’re having a hard time walking now. Please do not push yourself too hard. I’ll conduct a test on you soon. If you’ve gotten pregnant, you should start to take it easy,” said Fan Fan.
“Huh? You can already run tests at this stage?” Tang Yuyan was bewildered.
Long Bing smiled. “Fan Fan is the best biotechnologist the country has to offer. The antidote you’re using was created from her research. It’ll be alright. I was tested by her too in the beginning and it’s very accurate.”
“Then I’ll be in your care.” Tang Yuyan nodded excitedly, eager to run the test as soon as possible.
Fan Fan chuckled. “We’re a family and we’re technically sisters now. There’s no need to be so courteous.”
Tang Yuyan laughed. She was already a fan of the dynamics they shared in the family.
“Papa!” Xia Fan abruptly threw her milk bottle onto the floor. “Pick up!”
“Huh?” Xia Lei placed his cutleries down and frowned. He chastised his daughter, “You were the one who threw your bottle. Why am I supposed to pick it up for you? Are you asking to be spanked?”
Xia Fan drummed her meaty palms on the stroller’s tray as she excitedly chanted, “Pick up! Pick up! Pick up!”
Xia Lei was speechless.
Fan Fan urged, “Hubby, you should pick that up since she asked.”
Xia Lei pointed a finger at Fan Fan and shot her a dirty glare. One second later, he bent over and picked up the milk bottle and returned it to Xia Fan’s tray.
“Papa, good.” Xia Fan continued to drum her tray. “Feed milk!”
At this moment, Xia Long too threw his milk bottle. “Papa! Pick up! Papa! Pick up!”
“What’s with you?” Xia Lei feigned anger. “Are you asking to be spanked too?”
Long Bing hissed, “Do you love your daughter more than your son?”
Xia Lei was at a complete loss of words.
Before Xia Lei could even pick up Xia Long’s milk bottle, Liang Jiayu and Xia Jianghe mirrored their siblings and threw their bottles. They too began to whine for their father to pick it up.
Xia Lei felt like he was at the brink of insanity. Yes, he was the head of the family that had enjoyed the happiness of a big family and the blessings of many. But he too seemed a person at the lowest level of the family hierarchy. The one with the highest power and status was obviously his four babies, followed by his five women and then him. The milk bottle incident happening before his own eyes was already a real testament to that.
After his children had finally settled down, Xia Lei decided to make an announcement.
“My darlings, are you done with breakfast yet?”
“What’s the matter?” asked Fan Fan.
Xia Lei continued, “Let’s go home. We’re going back to the Peace Mansion after this.”
“The Peace Mansion?” Long Bing was a little weirded out. “Have they relieved the danger?”
Xia Lei nodded. “Yes, it’s safe now. We may go home now.”
Liang Siyao smiled. “That’s great news. I don’t wish to stay here any longer. Our house feels much more comfortable than this place.”
“I think so too. Going back is definitely better than remaining here,” agreed Jiang Ruyi.
The danger was eliminated but only Xia Lei was aware of how it was eradicated and the price he paid.
“Ah Bing, drive your Knight XIV later. You all will go ahead and I’ll tail behind,” said Xia Lei.
“Why are we moving separately?” Long Bing raised an eyebrow.
Xia Lei answered, “I need to move those things in the basement home. Those things must not be placed beside you and the children.”
Long Bing nodded. “Alright.”
The five women set off to pack up and then climbed into Long Bing’s Knight XIV. Tang Yuyan would drive her military off-road vehicle alone and leave the premises first.
Down in the basement, Xia Lei packed up everything. The compass, the Box of Worlds, the Bronze Book, the silver armour and the crystal skull. He brought everything out of the basement, climbed into his car and ignited the engine.
As soon as his vehicle had left the residential area, Xia Lei could no longer see Long Bing’s car. Both Long Bing and Liang Siyao were aware of what the ancient alloy box was capable of. Hence, they had made it their duty to bring the children as far as they could away from the box. But of course, they were also aware of how Xia Lei was the only one in the world that was immune to the ancient alloy box.
Just as Xia Lei was about to enter the fast lane and speed up, a black Toyota off-road vehicle suddenly drove by his car. When it passed by, Xia Lei noticed a person sitting in the co-driver seat in the other car. He froze.
In the Toyota off-road vehicle was a man dressed in a black robe. He wore a black pointed hood that was pressed so low to the point Xia Lei failed to make out his face.
The prehistoric chosen one has appeared.
It was obvious that the black-robed man was here to rectify if Xia Lei had truly consumed the last AE capsule. And to Xia Lei, the prehistoric chosen one’s presence meant that his super bodyguard had arrived. Xia Lei had now attained some precious time to breathe.
The cars brushed past each other with no further communication between Xia Lei and the prehistoric chosen one.