Inside the cave, Zhou Qing's eyes snapped open, and even as the Token slipped from his palm, he didn't notice at all.
In the cramped grotto he paced back and forth, his steps as chaotic as a drunkard's.
Suddenly, he scooped up the old hen that was scratching at the dirt, loose soil pattering down.
"Hey, chicken!" He lifted the old hen and spun around, sending feathers flying in fright. "I might be a dad!"
The old hen's little bean-like eyes instantly went round.
"Tell me, will it be a boy or a girl?" Zhou Qing hugged the chicken to his chest, face full of excitement. "Lu once asked me which I'd prefer, and I said I liked both..."
His voice suddenly choked. "But I never thought this day would come so soon."
This time, the old hen, for once, quietly nestled in the crook of his arm, listening to Zhou Qing's incoherent rambling: "I have family now... I'm no longer... all alone..."
