When he said, "You're going to be a grandfather," Yan Shouyi wore a rare, mischievous smile.
Lin Zhitong had kept it from him for so long. When he realized he was going to be a father, he felt both happy and annoyed.
The happiness was self-explanatory. The annoyance stemmed from his own slow reaction, not realizing his wife was pregnant sooner.
Later, he announced the news to Long Feicheng and the others, only to find that they didn't believe him at first.
This made Yan Shouyi even more frustrated, as their reactions were not what he had hoped for.
So, Yan Shouyi deliberately "understated" the announcement of his impending fatherhood, aiming to shock his father, wanting his usually stern and rigid father to also be taken aback.
This was to satisfy Yan Shouyi's small vanity.
As Yan Shouyi imagined, Yan Chou's reaction should have been surprise, then disbelief, followed by sheer joy, and perhaps even tears of happiness as he shouted to the heavens: "Wife! Do you see this! Shouyi is going to be a father, I'm going to be a grandfather!"
He might even have cheered with the Dog Taoist and the others.
Yes, yes!
Exactly!
Yan Shouyi grinned mischievously, eager to hear his father's reaction.
However, after Yan Shouyi delivered the "bombshell news" to Yan Chou, his father's reaction greatly disappointed him.
Yan Chou merely snorted coldly, "Heh, you finally figured it out?"
Yan Shouyi: "..."
He glanced at Lin Zhitong beside him. Seeing her struggling to suppress a smile, he guessed that his father already knew the news!
And here he was, foolishly trying to witness his father's moment of breakdown.
One could imagine that Yan Chou, on the other end of the phone, was not surprised but was instead laughing at his foolish son for only just discovering the truth.
In that instant, Yan Shouyi was overcome with shame.
I'm so stupid!
Such a big thing as this girl being pregnant, even the sect leader of Lü Jing knew about it, so how could that girl's father not know?
And if her father-in-law knew, even if he followed that girl's advice to keep it from me, he would definitely tell my father!
This scene must have been the result of the two fathers discussing it.
This meant that his father was among the first to know about this girl's pregnancy, yet he was excitedly planning to "bombard" his father with this news.
It turns out the clown was me all along!
Yan Shouyi covered his face, feeling ashamed for a while.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhitong was laughing so hard her stomach hurt.
"Since you know you're going to be a father, you must fulfill your duties as one and take good care of Zhitong."
Yan Chou waited for a moment, his tone carrying a hint of lightness. It seemed that seeing his son embarrassed gave him, the father, a sense of satisfaction.
"Got it..."
Yan Shouyi replied listlessly. He felt he couldn't endure another such socially awkward moment of failing to show off and being slapped in the face.
Yan Chou gave a faint "Mm" and promptly hung up the phone.
The Dog Taoist, who was tending to his wounds, asked curiously, "What were you talking to Shouyi about? Father, father, what?"
Yan Chou was silent for a moment before saying, "Shouyi is going to be a father."
"What?!"
The Dog Taoist and the Monk Miaoji were shocked. The small medicine bottle in the Dog Taoist's hand even clattered to the ground.
Yan Chou was very pleased with their reaction, his lips even uncontrollably curling upwards.
He added, "And he's going to be the father of two children."
The Dog Taoist and Monk Miaoji were shocked for a second time.
"Wait, that's not right!" The Dog Taoist suddenly found the key point. "They haven't been married long, and they can already tell that the girl is pregnant with twins?"
Monk Miaoji analyzed, "Perhaps it was a case of getting on the bus before buying the ticket. Wasn't that how Big Brother was back then?"
Having his past brought up by Monk Miaoji, Yan Chou coughed dryly.
He then said, "Actually, I've already thought of names for the two grandsons."
"What are they?"
Yan Chou smiled and patted the heads of the Dog Taoist and Monk Miaoji, "Good, good, two fine grandsons."
The two froze for a moment, then became furious. If it weren't for Yan Chou being injured, they would have definitely fought him to vent their anger.
Monk Miaoji said indignantly, "Amitabha, thankfully Shouyi is honest, unlike you!"
The Dog Taoist nodded in agreement. They believed that with Yan Shouyi's honest nature, he would never joke with his brothers.
Hearing this, Yan Chou felt a little guilty.
Yes, my son wouldn't be so irresponsible.
To compensate for his guilt, Yan Chou earnestly explained, "Shouyi really is going to be a father. I'm not lying to you about this."
"Get lost!" the two said in unison, completely disbelieving Yan Chou's tall tales.
Yan Chou: "..."
...
"So my dad already knew you were pregnant. Why didn't you tell me sooner!"
After hanging up the phone, Yan Shouyi cast a resentful glance at Lin Zhitong.
Lin Zhitong pouted proudly, "You didn't ask either."
"Alas, I've lost so much face this time. As a father, I'm the last among all my relatives to know that I'm going to be a father!"
Yan Shouyi couldn't help but touch Lin Zhitong's belly again, "You made me miss out on two months of the joy of being a father."
Lin Zhitong impatiently swatted away Yan Shouyi's amorous hand, "It's fine to touch my belly, but don't go any higher."
"Ahem."
Yan Shouyi coughed dryly, withdrew his hand, and impatiently said, "Why haven't their essence spirits been fully absorbed yet? It's late, and we need to... do business!"
Lin Zhitong spat and turned to go back into the room.
Yan Shouyi quickly followed.
In the suite's office, Lian He, Tao Hua Ying, Heichuan Lu, Zhu Shanzao, and Yan Gui were floating in mid-air, dividing the essence spirits from the oil lamps.
When Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong returned, there were only a few essence spirits left.
They waited a while longer, and the four simultaneously opened their eyes.
Lian He spoke first, "Princess, my residual soul has stabilized considerably."
"Shi Jing and the others' essence spirits are truly delicious," Tao Hua Ying licked her crimson lips. "Now, my strength is probably not inferior to Shi Jing's back then!"
Tao Hua Ying was originally a Ghost King, but her strength was not as great as Shi Jing's. After absorbing the essence spirits, she had likely made significant improvements.
Heichuan Lu said in broken Chinese, "I am... one step away from becoming a Ghost King."
Lin Zhitong nodded in satisfaction. Heichuan Lu's swordplay was superb, and if he could become a Ghost King, he would undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with.
Yan Gui and Zhu Shanzao also saw considerable improvements.
Among them, Yan Gui, as a faceless ghost, although not yet at Heichuan Lu's "one step from Ghost King" realm, had also grown in size, with more black energy coiling around his body.
The strength of a faceless ghost lay not in direct combat, but in disruption and confusion, so Yan Shouyi did not need Yan Gui to have a very high level of cultivation.
As for Zhu Shanzao, Yan Shouyi felt that this fellow had allocated all his attribute points to being "tough and thick-skinned."
In other words, after digesting these essence spirits, the only improvement Zhu Shanzao had made was in his resilience.
Yan Shouyi was also satisfied with Zhu Shanzao's self-awareness.