Birthday Banquet

Before him stood a magnificent ancient city, the imperial capital of the Jia Ma Empire in the northwestern corner of the Dou Qi Continent, known as Jia Ma Holy City.

Today, Xiao Lin, a renowned Dou Wang expert of the Jia Ma Empire and the head of the Xiao Clan, welcomed his second son. The entire Xiao Clan was immersed in celebration.

As one of the great families of the Jia Ma Empire, such a joyous occasion naturally drew congratulations from other factions.

"The head of the Zhang Clan of Huangshi City has arrived!"

"The head of the Mu Clan of the Imperial Capital has arrived!"

"The head of the Wang Clan of the Imperial Capital has arrived!..."

Xiao Lin, the head of the Xiao Clan, was smiling so broadly today that his mouth was nearly crooked. His second son had been born, and he had never expected that after more than a decade, his wife would bear him another child.

Xiao Lin was already fifty years old. On Earth, he would certainly have been considered an old man, but as a Dou Wang, he had a lifespan of around two hundred years. He could still be considered in the prime of his life.

At the banquet, Xiao Lin chatted merrily with several old friends. Their wine cups clinked without pause as they drank cup after cup of fine wine brewed from premium medicinal herbs.

Nalan Jie, the head of the Nalan Clan, seemed to have had too much to drink. His face was flushed red as he repeatedly slapped Xiao Lin on the shoulder and laughed loudly.

"I never expected it! Old Xiao, you're already fifty, yet you can still have another son. It's a pity my old woman's belly hasn't shown any sign of movement. Otherwise, if she gave birth to a daughter, we could arrange a betrothal before birth. Our two families could become even closer."

Hearing Nalan Jie's words, Xiao Lin had another idea. He slowly said, "I'm afraid I can't count on your daughter. But that brat of yours is about the same age as my eldest son. We could arrange a childhood betrothal for their future children."

As soon as Nalan Jie heard the suggestion, he thought it was not a bad idea. He and Xiao Lin had known each other for many years, and their families also cooperated frequently in business.

Mu Chen, the head of the Mu Clan, also said with a cheerful smile, "Brother Xiao Lin, we came today to congratulate you on the birth of your younger son. Why haven't you brought him out for everyone to see?"

At Mu Chen's words, the crowd began clamoring, all demanding to see the star of the day.

Seeing that he could not suppress their enthusiasm, Xiao Lin waved his hand and had a servant ask his wife to bring out the young master.

Before long, a mature-looking woman entered the hall with an infant in her arms.

Beside the woman stood a boy of twelve or thirteen. He was Xiao Zhan, the eldest son of Xiao Lin, the head of the Xiao Clan.

When the guest of honor appeared, everyone gathered around. Xiao Lin carefully took the infant from the woman's arms, then asked her with concern.

"Xue'er, how is your recovery?"

A trace of exhaustion appeared on Xue'er's face, but she smiled and said, "I'm fine. I rested for a day, and I've recovered quite a bit."

Only after Xiao Lin and Xue'er had shown concern for each other for a while did they turn their attention to the infant in Xiao Lin's arms.

At that moment, the infant was constantly observing his surroundings with his dark little eyes.

This infant was no ordinary child. He was a transmigrator named Xiao Zhen, formerly just an ordinary office worker.

One morning, while on his way to work, he was accidentally struck and sent flying by a car that had suddenly gone out of control.

In the final moment before losing consciousness, Xiao Zhen saw a pair of high heels step out of the car that had hit him and walk toward him.

Xiao Zhen saw clearly that the person who had hit him was a female driver. She looked fairly attractive and was probably a novice who had accidentally stepped on the wrong pedal. Driving in high heels, it was no wonder an accident had happened.

The female driver panicked on the spot for a while before remembering to call 120, but it was already too late. Xiao Zhen could not hold on until the emergency responders arrived. By the time the ambulance reached him, he had already breathed his last.

Xiao Zhen had never expected that one hit from that female driver would send him straight into another world.

After transmigrating, Xiao Zhen appeared in a warm little room. After an unknown amount of time had passed, he finally saw daylight again.

That meant he had been born again. He was certain that his transmigration had been the reincarnation kind rather than body-snatching. That spared him some guilt; stealing an infant's body would have been far too cruel.

The newly born Xiao Zhen's eyes were filled with confusion and a faint trace of fear. Everything around him was unfamiliar.

Moreover, this world was far from ordinary. He had even seen people running across roofs and scaling walls, while birds as large as airplanes sometimes flew through the skies. None of that could exist in an ordinary world.

The one good thing was that the family he had been born into seemed wealthy. Looking at the busy servants and maids around him, he had two wet nurses alone.

Another point was that he could actually understand the language spoken in this world. He did not know whether it used Chinese characters, but it sounded almost no different from the language of Huaxia before his transmigration.

No matter how hard Xiao Zhen thought about it, he could not understand why he had transmigrated. Was it because he had been an orphan since childhood and fit the protagonist template?

Fortunately, this family also seemed to be surnamed Xiao, so at least he did not need to change his surname. Of course, what he did not know was that this Xiao was not the same as his Xiao. He would still have to change his surname.

A few days after Xiao Zhen's birth, the entire residence became lively. From the servants' discussions, it seemed they were celebrating his birth.

The drowsy Xiao Zhen was suddenly carried out of the room by his mother in this life. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself brought into a hall.

The hall was bustling with activity, and all kinds of delicious food covered the tables. He curiously looked around and discovered that many of the dishes were things he had never seen before.

Especially the roasted meat as large as a small mountain. It was unknown what kind of animal's leg it had come from, roasted crisp on the outside and tender within, then coated with some unknown seasoning. The enticing aroma of meat made even him, an infant whose teeth had not fully grown in, drool.

Suddenly, a burly man in his forties picked him up. Xiao Zhen recognized the man—he was his father in this life.

Xiao Lin said to the surrounding guests, "Everyone, take a look. This is my second son. What do you think? He looks pretty good, doesn't he?"

Nalan Jie stepped forward, stroked the short beard on his chin, and laughed heartily.

"This child really does look good. Brother Xiao, he doesn't look like you at all! One look tells me he takes after his mother. He'll definitely grow into a handsome young man and probably charm countless young girls."

If Nalan Jie's words had been said on Earth, any man would have suspected that the child was not his own. But on this continent, where everyone cultivated, such misunderstandings would not occur.

After all, some powerful cultivators could sense the bloodline connection between two people.

Mu Chen, the head of the Mu Clan, carefully examined little Xiao Zhen and said somewhat doubtfully, "This child is truly quiet. He doesn't fuss at all!"

Nalan Jie added, "Could the child be sick? I've heard people say that the louder a newborn cries, the healthier he is."

Xiao Lin said uncertainly, "That shouldn't be the case! The clan physician said this child is very healthy!"

At that moment, the sturdy-looking Xiao Zhan stepped forward and simply said, "I'll take a look!"

With that, Xiao Zhan ran to his father's side, stood on tiptoe, stretched out his little hand, and pinched his younger brother's cheek.

Xiao Zhen was a little displeased by that. This brother of his in name had used so much force that his cheek hurt.

Xiao Zhen simply went along with his wishes and opened his mouth to cry loudly, his wails echoing throughout the entire hall.