The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 505: Grandmother’s Call

Chapter 505: Grandmother’s Call

Xuan Jian’s voice grew more animated as he spoke of Xiao Long and Da Long. "Xiao Long, the little rascal, loves to be lifted up to great heights. My men often perch him on the highest branches of the peach trees in the courtyard, with supervision of course. His curiosity knows no bounds and he is a very social little one.

And Da Long, he’s the more serious one. He always watches over his brother, making sure Xiao Long doesn’t get into too much trouble but that’s only when he isn’t getting into trouble himself. He seems to be dependable, but he enjoys hiding away from any and all adults.

When I dream of our life in Dong Yang’s estate, I realize he often finds places with your old scent, places you often frequented in both lives."

Xu Feng listened, feeling a calm wash over him. The joyful emotion in Xuan Jian’s eyes was a contrast to the blank stares and pained looks he had seen earlier. It was a strange sight, one that made Xu Feng’s heart swell with hope.

Hope for what exactly? He wasn’t really sure.

Here was a glimpse of the Xuan Jian he had fallen in love with, unburdened by the weight of their shared pasts.

"They’re so clever," Xuan Jian continued, his voice filled with pride. "Da Long has already started actively absorbing energy when he can. He’s a natural, just like you, Feng Feng. And Xiao Long, well, he’s got the spirit of an adventurer. Always exploring, always pushing boundaries."

Xu Feng closed his eyes for a moment, letting the words wash over him. His children were alive, almost thriving even, in Nanshan Estate. It was a life that felt both premature and yet inevitable.

He, Xuan Jian, and Xuan Yang were living as shadows of their former selves, yet here were these two new lives, full of potential and promise. Lives he was unable to safely bring into the world before.

Xu Feng was certain he had never had children of his own in any life. He was often unfortunate enough to die young. So while he was unaware in the past, he always gravitated toward children in each new life, and he had an obsession with finding the perfect partner whether it was a woman or a man, to build a family with.

Their current relationship was a strange mirror of the one playing out in the distance, where they would eventually live in the same home on the same land, bound together by fate. Xu Feng wanted to soak up every detail of his children’s personalities and stories, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss.

There had to be a reason why their fates were so intertwined. Why did Dong Yang remember their past lives first? Why did Xuan Jian alone remember and relive their past lives in his dreams? None of them retained memories of their past lives during the day. This was the first time Xu Feng was experiencing these memories again.

While these questions swirled in his mind, the most pressing concern for Xu Feng was Da Long and Xiao Long. He had brought two cubs into the world and left them in a dying land nearly devoid of spirit energy. What kind of dad was he? Even if history wanted to repeat itself, and there was some grand curse, how could he sit back and let his children suffer in a world he brought them into?

"I want this all to end," Xuan Jian finally said, his smile turning hollow.

Xu Feng wasn’t sure exactly what Xuan Jian wanted to end, and he was a bit scared to ask. Instead, he moved closer to the other and held his hand as they stared at the other versions of themselves in the distance—Xuan Jian’s punishment.

The sight of their past selves, caught in a never-ending cycle of love and loss, was a haunting reminder of Xu Feng’s last moments in Nanshan Estate. Xu Feng squeezed Xuan Jian’s hand, offering silent support. He felt the weight of their shared burden, the endless repetition of their fate.

How do you win against fate?

"I want this all to end too," Xu Feng whispered, his voice barely audible. He wasn’t sure if he meant the curse, the suffering, or the perpetual cycle of their lives. Maybe it was all of it. He glanced at Xuan Jian, searching his eyes for some sign of clarity. But there was none, only the same hopelessness that he’d seen before.

The dragon, his dragon, was grieving his loss. Xuan Jian had been grieving before they’d even gotten together in their most recent life. This was the face of a man so far gone Xu Feng wasn’t sure how to proceed.

As they stood there, holding hands, Xu Feng felt a determination rise within him. He couldn’t let his children suffer. He couldn’t let this cycle continue. There had to be a way to break free, to change their fate.

He turned to Xuan Jian, his voice steady. "We will find a way. For Xiao Long and Da Long. For all of us. We will break this cycle."

Xuan Jian looked at him, a flicker of hope lighting his eyes. "Do you really think we can?"

"We have to try," Xu Feng replied. "For our children. For ourselves. We’ve come this far. We can’t give up now."

Xuan Jian began to nod before his face became neutral once more, a small smile playing at his lips. "This is just a dream. I almost forgot I already lost you. Again." His voice was laced with the bitterness of someone who had experienced the cruelty of fate too many times.

Xu Feng could see the realization dawning in the other’s eyes. Xuan Jian remembered he was a cursed dragon, one the heavens were torturing relentlessly. Xu Feng wanted to reach out further, to reassure him, but he couldn’t think of a way to offer comfort when he himself felt so uncertain. He was here now, but would he remember all of this later?

Xuan Jian was asleep, but was he? Where was he? This wasn’t his first memory, not his first dream. Xuan Jian had hinted that he’d left them... was he dead?

Xu Feng didn’t think he was dead, but then again, how would one know if they were dead?

"If I am dead, I’ll find a way to come back to you," Xu Feng said, his voice trembling with determination. "Even if I’m younger than our sons, I’ll come back. I swear it on my luck as a dragon, no, on the fertility of my bloodline, Long Jian, I won’t abandon my children."

Xuan Jian seemed to waver, his eyes suspiciously damp, but he wouldn’t spare another glance at Xu Feng, as though he would disappear in a moment. "I think I am too lonely. Yang has been gone for nearly half a moon phase, and you’ve been gone for longer. I have our children, but I want more. I am greedy." His voice cracked with the weight of his confession.

Xu Feng wanted to console him, but the fear in Xuan Jian’s eyes hadn’t receded in the least. "Some only have one love, but I want two."

Xu Feng opened his mouth, but a voice left him speechless.

"Yang, it’s time."

Xu Feng turned abruptly, his heart pounding. It was time. It had been time for quite some time...