Elena rose from her chair.
Su Li's grip on the amulet suddenly tightened, then loosened again.
The door opened from within. Elonore's face appeared through the crack, her eyes red-rimmed, but the corners of her lips were curved upward.
"A boy. Mother and child are both safe."
Su Li's legs moved.
When he entered the delivery room, his steps were three times lighter than usual. The sound of his soles touching the floor was nearly inaudible, as though he feared crushing something.
Saina lay on the bed, her face pale and her forehead still beaded with sweat. But her eyes shone brightly, fixed on the little bundle wrapped in cotton cloth at her side.
Su Li walked to the bedside.
The child was tiny. Even smaller than he had imagined. His little face was all wrinkled, his fists clenched, his mouth open as he wailed.
Saina looked up at him. She smiled—a weary smile, but a genuine one.
"Look." Her voice was soft and hoarse. "Him."
Su Li bent down and looked at that wrinkled little face.
Shen En picked up the child and held him out to Su Li. "Hold him."
Su Li reached out.
He had fought fifth-tier cores. He had cleaved through fragments of formation eyes. With a single swing of his fourth-tier greatsword, he could blast cracks into a city wall.
But at this moment, both his hands were trembling.
As his arms curved around the child, that tiny weight settled into them.
So light, like a ball of warm cotton.
Su Li's breath caught for a beat.
The child's cries gradually softened in his arms. His eyes remained shut, his tiny fist loosening and clenching again, as if testing the boundaries of the world.
Su Li lowered his head and stared without moving for a