Bai Xiaochun merely watched them leave. He wanted to say something, but in the end, was unsure of how to console them, and simply maintained silence.
Soon, the only people left in the palace hall were Zhou Zimo, Song Junwan, Hou Xiaomei, and Gongsun Wan’er. When it came to Gongsun Wan’er, the other three women had long since realized that she had some sort of special relationship with Bai Xiaochun. Although Song Junwan and Zhou Zimo had initially excluded her, Hou Xiaomei had struggled with the matter for a while, until she came to the conclusion that having her Master in the group with them would benefit her.
And now, in a moment of impending crisis, and facing an unknowable future, Song Junwan and Zhou Zimo exchanged a glance, sighed, and finally accepted Gongsun Wan’er.
The time they had left was limited, and Bai Xiaochun knew that a catastrophe was coming that he couldn’t easily resolve. Originally, he had assumed that the pressure would be terrifying. However, with all the women around him, he suddenly realized that he wasn't as frightened as he had thought he would be.
Actually… he realized that he missed them, and in fact, was a bit guilty that most of his time in the Eternal Immortal Domains had been spent on cultivation, and on establishing the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. For a long time, he had worried that people would see through the fact that much of his supposed strength was a sham, which could lead to the downfall of the nation.
Because of that, he had remained completely focused on cultivation. Whether it was for the purpose of resurrecting Bai Hao, or for reaching the Archaean Realm, he had worked so hard… that he had forgotten the most important thing of all….
Family.
Forget that there had been a multitude of reasons, in the end, he had not paid enough attention to his family. He had not spent time with them. Perhaps without impending catastrophe, he would not have realized it. And maybe if he had realized it, he would never have been able to find the right balance between cultivation and family.
Men often bear the responsibility to deal with such matters, and with a personality like Bai Xiaochun’s, that became an even more difficult task.
Now, disaster loomed, and time was very limited. And sadly, it was only in those circumstances that he became aware of his oversight. Sighing, he stepped forward to embrace all four of the women.
“How are Dabao and Xiaoxiao?” he asked softly. As a father, it felt strange to need to ask such a question, and only went to further reinforce how much his cultivation had taken him away, not only from his Daoist partners, but also his children.
“They’re both in secluded meditation,” Song Junwan replied quietly.
Bai Xiaochun sent some divine sense out, and soon located the two private chambers where Dabao and Xiaoxiao were.
It had been a few years since he had last seen them. During his journey in the void, he had occasionally returned, but had never been able to spend a lot of time with them.
Both of them were still young, but in terms of their cultivation, they had access to the rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the Eternal Immortal Domains, as well as innumerable precious materials. On top of that, they were spectacularly talented to begin with. Although both of them were roughly in their twenties, Xiaoxiao was already attempting to break through into the Celestial Realm.
She was very much the daughter of Bai Xiaochun and Song Junwan, and had inherited merits from both. She was incredibly beautiful, and also very quick-witted. A single glance at her, and anyone would realize she was both imaginative and calculating.
Dabao was a bit behind his older sister, being in the great circle of the Demigod Realm. He looked very much like his father, but no one would describe him as being quick-witted like his sister. He took things slowly. From his chiseled good looks, it was possible to see how tenacious and persistent he was. In fact, one good way to describe him was a Bai Xiaochun who wasn’t afraid of dying.
Upon catching sight of his son and daughter with divine sense, Bai Xiaochun smiled. Then he focused his attention on his four Daoist partners, and his gaze eventually came to rest on Hou Xiaomei’s swollen belly. Clearly, she was reaching her due date.
He had long since come to sense the fluctuations of his own blood within Hou Xiaomei, and now that he was looking at her, she blushed slightly and wrapped her arms around her belly.
Smiling, he stepped forward and embraced her.
“I’ve already thought of a good name….” he said. As soon as the words left his mouth, Hou Xiaomei became visibly nervous. Song Junwan and Zhou Zimo both blinked in consternation, and Gongsun Wan’er’s eyes widened into a glare.
Voice as hard as iron, Gongsun Wan’er said, “There’s no need for you to worry about coming up with a name!”
In response, Hou Xiaomei sighed with relief.
Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat a few times, looked around at the women, and decided that now was not the time to discuss this sensitive matter.
And thus, the days began to pass. For Bai Xiaochun, it reminded him of his early days in the Spirit Stream Sect. He ignored cultivation, and everything else for that matter, choosing instead to be with his Daoist partners, and keep watch over Dabao and Xiaoxiao. He also spent time with Big Fatty Zhang and his other friends.
Of course, he also spent time reminiscing with Li Qinghou and some of the other members of the older generation.
Three months later, Hou Xiaomei went into labor. Although Song Junwan, Zhou Zimo, and even Gongsun Wan’er had done everything they could to prevent Bai Xiaochun from proceeding with his naming plan, he was the Arch-Emperor, and could not easily be stopped. He had already secretly crafted an identity medallion for his new child, with the name engraved on its surface. And as soon as the child was born, he immediately had the name announced publicly.
Because of how famous he was, the news immediately spread through the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, and by the time the women heard, it was too late to do anything about it….
“That’s it, Bai Xiaochun. You’re dead!!”
“What kind of a name is that, Bai Xiaochun? Xiaobao? Y-y-you’re… you’re giving your son almost the same name as yourself?”
Gongsun Wan’er was enraged, and as for Song Junwan and Zhou Zimo, when they thought about the names of their own children, they were similarly angered.
“Hey,” Bai Xiaochun said courageously, “isn’t Xiaoxiao a good name? And so is Dabao. It all makes sense! My oldest son will be Dabao, and the youngest will be Xiaobao. See? They’re both treasures!” As far as Bai Xiaochun was concerned, he was the father, and therefore, he had the right to pick names for his children. And that was especially true considering how amazing his own name was.
The arguments over the name, and the very birth of Bai Xiaobao, temporarily relieved some of the pressure weighing down on the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. People began to smile and laugh again, even the Grand Heavenmaster and other important officials. The Giant Ghost King, Li Qinghou, and the other celestials all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw tensions in the nation being eased.
Gongsun Wan’er, Song Junwan, and Zhou Zimo all realized that what was done was done. Considering that Bai Xiaochun had announced the name publicly, it couldn’t be changed. And Hou Xiaomei simply sighed. Stroking her child’s cheek, she thought about it, and came to the conclusion that she could accept a name like that.
Feeling very pleased with himself, Bai Xiaochun took Xiaobao in his arms and began to rock him back and forth. Xiaobao was a bit different from his siblings. He did not inherently possess the Undying Codex like Dabao, nor did he have the Live Forever Codex like Xiaoxiao. However, he did possess the aura of a Dao Body.