The other three Elders also looked distraught. If they didn’t know who the child was, then what should they do? It wouldn’t even have a name!

Lan Jing hesitated for a moment longer before she turned back to Zhu Hong. "Where exactly did you find them?"

Zhu Hong tensed up, afraid that the more she would ask, the more likely she would discover that something was up with him finding this egg. Still not answering would be even more suspicious so he could only go ahead. "On the north side of the mountain. Well … it was a little hidden."

"Hidden? Like how?"

Zhu Hong nervously rubbed his hands. It had to be obvious that he had a guilty conscience, right? "Well, I’m not quite sure if it was placed there deliberately but when I found it, it was stuck in a crevice. I was thinking that maybe it had been blown in there by the wind. I originally didn’t even see it when I made my first-round around the mountain." He had already told the dragons as much yesterday and nobody had insinuated that it was strange so he really hoped that this wouldn’t be a problem now that he mentioned it to the phoenixes.

The Grandelder indeed just nodded slowly. "So it was like this. Well, in that case, maybe the egg had been lying in there for quite some time."

Zhu Hong almost heaved a sigh of relief when that was the only conclusion she came up with. He hurriedly nodded and even provided her with more information. "I think that you might be right. When I originally saw it, I thought the egg was gray but after pulling it out, it turned out that there was a layer of dust on it. Most likely, not even the wind and rain could touch it in there."

Lan Jing faintly furrowed her brows. "It’s quite lucky you were still able to find them then. Well, at least that tells us that it really has been some time. I’ll go and take a look at some of the older compartments."

She pushed past the other three Elders and went around the tree, looking at the compartments on the other side. Most of them were filled with the shards of eggs that had long hatched. There were only half a dozen compartments with untouched nests. Two of them had been covered with cloths, signifying eggs had come to harm in some way and hadn’t been able to hatch.

While Grandelder Lan Jing went to check the few compartments that were still completely empty save for the nests, Zhu Hong on the other side turned to the other three Elders. "Elders, please excuse me if I am rude but may I ask what this means? What will happen to the egg if there is no compartment for it?" Inwardly, he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this was a stroke of luck. He had brought back an egg he wasn’t connected to and now, something like this happened. If their relationship wouldn’t be viable because of that, he definitely wouldn’t need to worry. The question was just what would happen to the phoenix inside?

Well, he didn’t need to worry. His hopes were immediately shattered.

The female Elder of the group patted his shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile. "There’s no need to be agitated. Things like this are rare but they do happen on occasion. If there really is no compartment for the egg, we would just open up a new one. After that, we’ll have to gather some materials to make a nest and then the egg can be put there. The worst part about it is that the name the young one was originally given will be lost. Grandelder Lan Jing will issue a new one but it isn’t the same as being given one by their parents. But other than that, the egg will be alright and can hatch normally."

Zhu Hong nodded even though he wasn’t sure if this was something that should calm him down or not. For a normal dragon, this probably would’ve been grounds for hope but for him, he didn’t really know what to do with that information. A stranger outcome probably would’ve been better for him to make sure he could keep the secret.

On the other side, Grandelder Lan Jing finally nodded when she arrived in front of the last compartment. Her lips curved into a beautiful smile and she gently placed the egg inside the nest. Looking at it for a moment and rubbing over the names that had been engraved below, she finally turned and came back to the other side.

Looking at Zhu Hong who looked utterly nervous, she smiled even brighter. Clearly, this young dragon’s feelings had to be quite deep. Good. Very good. Especially after realizing just which egg this was, she was glad that the little phoenix would come into the house of a dragon that cared so much about them. Feeling quite a bit of goodwill, she immediately explained to Zhu Hong. "No need to worry any further. I found it. This egg is actually quite old. It has been lying on the mountain for many years without being found. Their name is Zhen Zhu."

"Zhen Zhu." Zhu Hong nodded slowly, committing the memory to name. "Then … how long will it take?"

Grandelder Lan Jing chuckled, feeling that the young dragon in front of her was really quite impatient. But, well, most of them were when they brought the eggs of their future spouse here. "The young phoenixes already grow inside the egg while they are on the mountain. The only reason they come here is because they need to absorb the memories of our clan from the mother tree. Considering the time, Zhen Zhu should already be grown up by now. I would say that a week will be enough for them to hatch."

Zhu Hong’s eyes widened and he looked in the direction the Grandelder had just come from. One week? That … "There is still so much to prepare."

More often than not, it would take several years for the young phoenixes to grow and hatch from their eggs so that the dragons had more than enough time to prepare their houses for the day their spouse would move in with them. Now though, there was only one week. How would he be able to do everything in just seven days? After all, there was a lot to do. His household was only organized for one person. And not to mention the things they would use in their daily life, he still had to prepare his spouse’s clothes! Since he would only find out Zhen Zhu’s gender the day they hatched and were brought over, he could only prepare a few sets of everything. How could that be done in just a week?!

Elder Bi was also a bit worried but he still stepped forward and patted Zhu Hong’s shoulder. "You don’t worry. We’ve managed to prepare for the arrival of a lot of younglings from the phoenix clan. We will be able to do the same for your spouse. Anyway, it is not like you are alone."

Zhu Hong nodded but he was still a bit worried. He felt like rushing home and starting immediately. Even if he couldn’t prepare everything sufficiently, just having half was already good!

Lan Jing could see from his face what was going through his head. She motioned toward the door, not intending to keep them any longer. "A week is indeed not much time. You should go and hurry. Prepare whatever you can. I’m sure that Zhen Zhu will be understanding after they hatch."

Zhu Hong bowed, and then bid his farewell, hastily leaving the house.

The Elders stayed behind to say a few more words but then followed him outside, finding him already pacing up and down in front of the door.

Elder Bi went over and patted his shoulder again, finally motioning up again at the sky. "It’s alright. I know you’re worried. Everyone would be in this situation. But we have done this quite often. As long as all of us help out, it should be possible to do."

Zhu Hong nodded, and the dragons rose into the air, changing their form and rushing back toward their valley. Now, not much time was left. They had to use every single second that they had.