The illusion instantly vanished into Lan An's brow, transforming into a faint blue mark that quickly disappeared.
[After adulthood, merfolk are kings of the deep sea, but their young are weak and reproduction is difficult. The remnant of the ancestral spirit of the merfolk protects their offspring and can summon the ancestral spirit for assistance in times of crisis.]
After explaining through mental communication, Lou Xian Yue smiled at Sang Luo, "Sang'er, it's your turn to say the blessing."
Below the altar, tens of thousands of beastmen looked up at her. Most of them had not had the fortune to witness the baptism of the previous sea emperor successors, but they had heard that the blessing of the biological mother beast during the baptism would have a huge impact on the beastman. It was rare for a beast mother to pray for blessings, so the little殿下 was truly lucky!
What blessing would Queen殿下 offer?
Wishing her offspring to awaken the supreme rule talent? To become the strongest beast king? To lead the South Sea beastmen to conquer all directions? To expand the family's power? Or perhaps…
"I wish Xiao An peace and joy, without pain or worry, and to grow up healthy."
Sang Luo didn't have great expectations for her children, only simple wishes.
As soon as she finished speaking, she transformed into a stream of light and entered Lan An's brow.
This…
It's a real blessing!
Sang Luo was dumbfounded. She thought it was just a simple verbal blessing, but she didn't expect it to be real. This, this, this… Was what she said just now too hasty? Could she do it again!
"Thank you for Sang'er's blessing. An'er will definitely grow up healthy," Lou Xian Yue said affectionately, planting a kiss on her forehead.
From an angle unseen by others, Sang Luo reached out and lightly tugged on Lou Xian Yue's wide silver sleeve, whispering, "Was my blessing too simple and casual? It's no different from saying nothing. My precious son's only chance in this life, won't it be wasted by me…"
"How could it be wasted?" Lou Xian Yue's eyes were so gentle they were almost cloying. If it weren't in public, he would have wanted to hug her and grind against her, "Believe me, this is the best wish for him. Xiao An will definitely thank you in the future."
"Next, there are still many tedious rituals, all for the sake of the priests. If you're tired, go back and rest first. After it's over, I'll bring the child back to the palace to find you."
Sang Luo sensed that he seemed to have something to say, but when she turned her head and saw several high priests from the South Sea dressed in gorgeous clothes approaching, she nodded, "Okay, then I'll go back to the palace and wait for you."
Sang Luo herself didn't like such crowded and lively occasions, and since there was nothing else for her to do, she went back to the palace to rest.
It was midnight when Lou Xian Yue returned with the child in his arms.
Lan An was sleeping peacefully in his arms, looking no different from before, but Sang Luo could feel that his soul power was much more condensed than before.
The first time she met Lan An, his body was really weak, and his soul power was like a misty layer, which could be blown away at any time.
"This is…"
"Sang'er's blessing," Lou Xian Yue said, wrapping his other arm around her waist and kissing her lips, "The situation of our merfolk clan is a bit special. Explaining it… is a bit tedious. If you want to know in the future, I'll slowly tell you."
"There's one thing I should tell you. The blessing of the biological mother beast during the baptism has a significant impact on the life of a merfolk. Your blessing is equivalent to injecting a new force into Xiao An. From now on, he doesn't need to sleep anymore and can live like a normal cub."
"Didn't you say you slept for a long time when you were young?"
"I didn't receive a blessing," Lou Xian Yue shook his head, not caring at all, "This is normal. Most beast mothers don't give blessings to their cubs during the baptism."
"Why?" Sang Luo knew that in the beast world, offspring were usually raised by the beast father, and the beast mother's affection for the offspring was shallow, but after all, they were her own children, so why miss this good opportunity?
"Blessing is actually transferring a portion of one's own 'fortune' to the offspring. Merfolk cubs are born with the luck of the void, and during pregnancy, half of the luck will remain in the mother's body. The essence of blessing is to take back this portion of luck… This portion of luck is generally not very useful in the mother's body, but after all, it's a good thing, and no one wants to give it away." Lou Xian Yue said somewhat uneasily, "I didn't tell you about this in advance, will you blame me?"
"I know you wanted me to bless our son. Whether you said it or not, I would have blessed him."
Sang Luo could understand Lou Xian Yue's painstaking efforts as a beast father. The person he cared about most was this son, "Compared to this, I'm more concerned about another thing. A natural-born king beast physique should be stronger than ordinary beastmen. The other cubs I gave birth to are also very healthy. Why are the merfolk cubs so weak at birth? Is it really congenital weakness?"
"Our merfolk clan has all come through like this. Aren't we living well?" He handed the child to her, "Okay, Sang'er, don't think so much. Xiao An's body is fine now, and you have time to spend more time with him."
Seeing that Lou Xian Yue looked fine, perhaps she was overthinking it, Sang Luo nodded and smiled, "We have a custom in our hometown called 'Zhua Zhou'."
"What is 'Zhua Zhou'?"
"When a child is one year old and has his own ideas, the parents will find some representative small objects and let the child grab them to see which one he likes. To a certain extent, the things the child grabs can also reveal the child's temperament, personality, and preferences. When he grows up, the child may become a talent in that area," Sang Luo said, "Actually, it's not necessarily accurate, but it's quite memorable."
"Well, that's quite interesting," Lou Xian Yue nodded in agreement, "What do you need? I'll prepare it."
"Let me think. The common ones are abacus, book, scissors, wooden comb, comb, writing brush, flute, wooden spoon, copper coin, gourd, wooden hammer, fan, rouge box, seal…" Sang Luo listed the items.
These things were basically not sold in the sea. Lou Xian Yue sent someone to the mainland and spent a day preparing everything.
After completing the process, he placed these small objects on a large piece of red cloth. Lou Xian Yue held Lan An on the ground. Xiao Lan An was crawling around on the ground, carefully selecting.
Sang Luo thought he would grab a flute or a book, but she didn't expect that in the end he… grabbed an abacus.
"This child doesn't take after me," Lou Xian Yue said dejectedly. How could he grab an abacus? Their merfolk clan hadn't had anything to do with abacuses for eight generations.
"You'd be finished if he took after you!" Sang Luo scolded, "I see the documents in your study are almost piled up like mountains, and I haven't seen you touch a few books. Grabbing an abacus shows that my son is good at managing things and has a bright future."
"Yes, yes, Sang'er is right. My position has a successor. Xiao An will definitely manage better than me when he becomes the Sea Emperor in the future."
After dinner, at night, Sang Luo lay in bed looking at the ceiling. The joy of the past few days slowly dissipated, and a sense of melancholy inexplicably emerged in her heart.
She didn't expect that Lan An, whom she hadn't seen for a year, missed her so much. She held full moon ceremonies and one-year-old birthday ceremonies for the wolf cub and the little mermaid, but there were still two unborn cubs that she couldn't even see. She didn't even have the chance to hold a birthday party for them…
My schedule has been too inverted recently, and I can't write at night when I'm drowsy. I'll try to change my schedule and update earlier during the day.
