When he reached the foot of the mountain, he startled the two guards that were stationed next to the path.
"Zhu Hong?"
Zhu Hong smiled faintly, rubbing the egg in his arms. "I took a different path down on the way back since it was already quite late. I hope I didn’t startle the two of you." He smiled brightly and nodded at them. He seemed calm but, in fact, his heart was beating violently. He felt like a fraud. Clearly, he had just picked the egg up by accident, not because there really was a special connection between them. Would others notice? He couldn’t help but worry about that.
At the very least, neither of the guards seemed to find anything strange. "It’s already quite late indeed. You should probably hurry back to the front."
"Yes, I’m sure Elder Bi will already be worrying." The two of them encouraged him, smiling when they looked at the egg in his arms.
Zhu Hong nodded, rubbed the top of the egg again, and then left after saying his farewell. He walked over to the front of the mountain, his heart still seeming to be stuck in his throat. But he walked on. In any case, he had already taken the egg. The guards hadn’t noticed anything. Maybe nobody would.
And who said that he couldn’t still be a good spouse for the one that would be getting out of this shell? Even if there was no special connection, he would definitely treat them well.
Thinking of that, Zhu Hong felt a little better. In any case, it was true that this egg had been quite hidden. Normally, hardly anyone ever took that path. And with how this egg had already been a bit dusty, it would’ve been even more difficult to spot it in the future. Yes, he might be this egg’s only chance to find its way down the mountain.
He continued to rub it, making the last bit of dust come off. It really was pretty when looking at it like this. Who knew how the one hatching from it would look later on? He couldn’t help but be a little curious.
Finally, the group of Elders and other adults that had been waiting at the main path leading up the mountain came into view. He could feel the tense atmosphere surrounding them. Some were talking in hushed voices, clearly worried that once again, somebody would descend without an egg. Zhu Hong also saw Elder Bi who was staring up the mountain with his brows furrowed and his gaze worried. Clearly, he also didn’t want that to happen.
Zhu Hong smiled faintly and patted the egg. The two of them were bound together now. He couldn’t help but be a little thankful that it had made it possible for him not to disappoint Elder Bi. If it was just the others, he might not mind as much, but when it came to Elder Bi, he didn’t want to give him cause to worry.
Zhu Hong walked over slowly, not showing that he was there yet. In any case, they would soon notice anyway.
As it turned out, Zhu Hong had been wrong. He got closer but Elder Bi was staring up the mountain with his gaze growing more worried with each moment while the others had already descended into a spirited discussion, wondering how it could be that Zhu Hong of all people was unable to find his destined egg. Thus, nobody noticed that he was approaching. He smiled wryly and lightly shook his head, finally clearing his throat when he had reached the edge of the circle that had formed around the path.
The others look back to see what the one behind them wanted to say and one of them actually yelped when they saw Zhu Hong. "Zhu Hong! Where did you come from?"
Zhu Hong faintly raised his brows and then motioned down the path he had just taken. "It took a while to find it so I chose the closest path to make sure I didn’t have to go down while it was dark."
This explanation was quite sensible. The phoenix eggs might be sturdy but nobody would put them in danger deliberately. Since it had been found, it was best to carry it down while there was still a sliver of sunlight before they finally brought it over to the phoenixes’ place tomorrow.
Zhu Hong smiled faintly and then motioned ahead. "Well, would you let me pass through?"
The others hurriedly nodded and then stepped to the side, letting Zhu Hong walk over to Elder Bi’s side. The Elder had looked over as soon as he heard Zhu Hong’s voice and relief flooded his eyes. He smiled brightly when Zhu Hong finally came out of the crowd. "I see you made it back in time."
Zhu Hong nodded and rubbed the tip of the egg again, looking at it thoughtfully. "It was a bit hidden so I actually missed it when I went around the mountain the first time. I almost thought there wasn’t one for me." He freely admitted to that thought, a hint of guilt once again awakening in his mind. He knew that if he stayed as close to the truth as possible, it would be more believable. But it still didn’t change that he was boldly lying here.
Clearly, this was not the egg he had bonded with. There was no such egg. If there would ever be one, the chance was already lost because now, he had taken another one back. This meant that he had deprived his originally destined partner of the chance to be with him, and had also deprived another dragon of the chance to be with their partner.
He should feel bad about that. But at the same time, he couldn’t bring himself to admit to it. No, the time to reconsider had already been long past. At the moment when he carried the egg down from the mountain, he had already lost the opportunity to do so.
Elder Bi looked at the egg with the delicate pattern and nodded to himself. "It’s beautiful. Congratulations. I’m sure your partner will be a delicate beauty as well."
Zhu Hong smiled. No matter how his partner looked in the future, he would still do his best to treat them as well as he could. For this person, he would go above and beyond to make up for what he had done. Even if fate was not at work, he would make sure that they wouldn’t have a single complaint at his side.
"It’s late already. We should probably return."
Elder Bi nodded and the dragons finally grouped together, returning to the valley. Most people returned home while Zhu Hong, Elder Bi, and the small progression of other Elders made their way over to the temple.
Zhu Hong carried the egg forward and then sat down in front of the altar, his heart thumping loudly with every step. When he knelt down, he feared it would jump out of his chest to show the dragon god just how shameless this son of his race was for making a mockery out of such a sacred ritual
Zhu Hong stared up at the statue of the dragon god, his mouth dry. He kept quiet for a moment and took a shaky breath, gulping to somehow find his voice back. "This member of the dragon race, who is going by the name of Zhu Hong, has come to present his future spouse to you." He took the egg with both hands and then carefully raised it in the air for the dragon god to see.
He had to force himself to make sure that his hands didn’t accidentally tremble and show that he was just playing an elaborate act. Finally, he bowed his head and then took the egg down, hugging it against his chest once more. Now, he would have to keep vigil at this place until the next morning before they went over to the phoenixes.
The Elders only watched on for a moment before they nodded at each other and then left. Only in the morning when the sun went up again, would they return to accompany Zhu Hong to the forest.
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