The Snow Emperor and the Little Plum

Chapter 23

Yecao Cao hummed to Little Yun who peered at the four men in front of their chair. They looked like the perfect picture of an Emperor and his heir and many's hearts were in turmult as they watched one of the most powerful beings in Tiandi grovel before the plum and his child.

"My, you must have rushed here in such a haste for you to arrive in merely a week," chippered Yecao Cao cheerily as he watched the Vermilion dragon who winced.

"Nonsense, I have prepared for far longer to defend my dear Great Grandchild..."

"Yecao Cao."

"Right, Little Cao! From the, eh..."

"Demon Emperor," reminded Yecao Cao with a sweet smile that surely was poisonous as all present saw the Vermilion Dragon sweat rivers. The Dragon lord of the Southern sea gave a nervous laughter that did not reach his eyes.

"Just so. The Demon Emperor will surely flee back to his hollow now when I am here. By the way," Ao Qin's eyes fell on the little child. "Is that my descendant?"

"Yes, this is my son, Yecao Yun."

The child glared with spite at the Vermilion Dragon who did not even react. he merely paled at the sight of the thin child. "What happened to him? No, that doesn't matter. Doctor! I need a doctor."

"He is fine, just hungry," said Yecao Cao and rolled his eyes.

"Hungry? Bring food. A lot of it. Plenty of meat. A boy needs his meat," shouted Ao Qin in full panic.

"What is he doing?" asked Yecao Cao to the closes of his kin.

The man with blood red scales chuckled and leaned forward. "My mother said that if either of you perish she will not let him come back to the palace. He must be afraid that the frail child will die on him."

Yecao Cao could only roll his eyes at the Vermilion Dragon's foolishness while watching little Yun being showered with food. Some of which Yecao Cao stole under the condemning eyes of the sect members. "What? He has enough food," thought Yecao Cao with a pout but soon put those thoughts to rest as little Yun pressed a bun to his lips. Yecao Cao was increasingly happy as he had just discovered the joy of being fed by his child. He could not help but to kiss the little Yun who giggled happily. A sound that lighten the rooms heavy atmosphere and finally settled the Vermilion Dragon who though that a dying child would certainly not laugh.

Little Yun continued to munch on a peeled apple while Yecao Cao turned to the Vermilion Dragon who had sat down beside his children. "Did you happen to encounter any of the Yaoguai?"

"No," The dragonkin who had whispered into his ear earlier replied respectfully. Yecao Cao had a good expression of the man who seemed calm, but fierce with a beautiful armor showcasing him as of high birth even though he was a mixed race. He had mentioned that he was the son of Yecao Baihé so he must be a relative. "The countryside was unusual quiet, they don't seem to have detected us."

"What's so unusual with that, Ao Mo Xu? We moved stealthily through the lands. Of course they would not discover us," huffed Ao Qin under the chuckles of his other clan members.

"Father, you can't move stealthily," one of them said covering his smiling face with his sleeve. This one's scales were so light that when the sun hit them you could see a hint of gold making them the same color as the sunset.

"And you certainly did not, you kept stopping to put up a fire because you were hungry and drank heavily while shouting for mother to the heavens. Every creature within a mile of us heard your shouting," muttered the other one, who must be a full-blooded dragon as he looked fully human except for the red hair and the blue eyes which followed his surroundings with unbending pride.