Why?

That was the question he asked himself every day and every night.

Why was he born this way? Why had the Heavenly Dao cursed him so?

He can't possibly show anyone this form of his. What about him even resembling the dragon?

The young boy looked at his feathered forearms. He felt disgusted at his taloned feet and wings. It was unnatural, so unnatural.

Dragging his claws across his forearm showcased the unique glow of the smooth feathers manifesting underneath. Chao Feng struggled to comprehend why he had to be this way. Even plucking all his feathers only resulted in more taking their place.

His beak, so birdlike, so avian. No whiskers, no serpentine physique, not even the thick muscular limbs like his brothers. His body lacks any and all aquatic features. Not even a turtle shell like his mother.

It must've been humiliating for his family. Son of a dragon who wasn't even close to being a dragon. The only thing remotely similar were their horns. But then so many races had horns.

The sealed door behind Chao Feng shook violently as a loud banging noise registered within Chao Feng's eardrums. The son of the dragon turned his short neck towards it.

"Chao Feng, open up, I know you're in there!"

Chao Feng grimaced and hugged his legs in a fetal position. He designed to ignore the voice. It was one he was intently familiar with.

Qiu Niu, the eldest son, the perfect son. The crown prince under their father's seat. The greatest composer of music the world has ever seen. Superior to all composers in phoenix history.

They say the sound of his song alone can rearrange the world itself. Though rarely seen, his might was not something phoenixes nor devils wished to contest.

"Chao Feng, little brother, come on how long do you plan to stay in there."

Chao Feng closed his eyes and pulled his palms over his ear. Just the thought of facing his draconic brother with his looks terrified him.

"How am I going to finish this song without you?"

"Chao Feng?"

"Fine"

The door's many locking enchantments were torn to shreds and the structure itself came flying off its hinges. Qiu Niu walked in, took one look at Chao Feng's form and deflated.

"Chao Feng," he called out.

"Go away," the younger boy insisted. "You don't want me here."

"That's not true brother, you know that," Qiu Niu placed a hand on Chao Feng's shoulder. He was unsure how to proceed in this situation.

"Chao Feng, little brother, it's not good to lock yourself in this place. I still need your help you know. No one's as good as you on vocals," he tried.

Chao Feng stared up unimpressively. 'Who are you fooling?' His eyes evidently said. Qiu Niu was educated by a Hunyuan Wuji Luo Golden Immortal since he was a child. His own grandmaster who hadn't been seen for many Yuanhui to the point where many even doubted whether he was still alive.

"Song was made by us together, I can't do it without you, can't sing like you can."

Qiu Niu pleaded with Chao Feng. Inwardly, he was incredibly displeased. What had started out as an attempt by an elder brother to bond with his younger brother through a shared interest had turned into a discovery of a terrible truth.

The eldest son of the ancestral dragon was an exalted figure with the highest status available. Any one of his brothers were the same. After all, who'd dare speak ill of the dragons.

But Chao Feng's situation was much different it would seem. To such an extent that even his father hadn't realised how badly it affected the young prince.

Zulong's seed is as unpredictable as the weather. Very few of his children even resembled him. He himself was closer to a dragon shaped ox than a member of the dragon clan. His brothers Yazi, and Pulao were short but stout beasts with draconic features.

Suanni was a lion while Denglong was a dog. Bi An was a tiger while Bixi turned out to be a turtle. Even little Chi Wen was more fish than dragon. Out of all nine siblings, non of them looked quite right.

Chao Feng most of all was the worst off. From his father's crazy genes, he came out resembling their worst enemy. As if the Heavenly Dao was spitting in their faces, Chao Feng was a phoenix with the horns of a dragon. If one didn't know any better, he could be passed off as an offspring of Zufeng.

"Chao Feng, this is something we worked on together for months. Father and our brothers were very excited to listen to you. The people are excited to listen to their fairest prince sing."

Chao Feng scoffed aloud. His body shimmered and glowed in many different colours resembling a rainbow. From out of his skin popped beautiful colourful feathers decorating his body like a dress.

"Look at me. They were right, I'm not even a dragon," he snapped.

In a flash of light, the young boy was replaced by his true form. A shining phoenix who's body was covered in smooth red scales from his short neck to its bushy feathered tail. His hind legs were chicken like in their composition ending with long sharp curved claws.

His forelimbs though were massive wings decked out in thick layers of crimson feathers. They would occasionally catch flame as well and glow in a shining yellow colour.

Chao Feng's head resembled that of a pheasant. Atop his crown were deer like antlers not dissimilar to his father. They jotted out like the crown of kings.

Quite evidently, Chao Feng was far more bird than dragon or turtle.

"Of course you are, who has been telling you?" Qiu Niu tried to walked forwards

"Just leave me be," Chao Feng yelled angrily. His body exploded in a radiation of crimson fiery light that expanded like a dome. The hot winds burned away at the room and streaked past Qiu Niu.

The elder dragon sighed. "Stop this please!" He sang. His voice carried by the air halted the expansion of fire, intercepting and dispelling the extreme heat until they fully dissipated.

Chao Feng appeared momentarily horrified. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," he tried saying. Two arms folded around the phoenix pulling him into a hug.

Qiu Niu strode forwards before he could continue. "It's nothing, no big trouble little brother," he reassured him. He stroked avian dragon's scaly back comforting him despite the intense heat being emitted.

"Didn't even hurt, I assure you."

He sat down beside the younger phoenix. Was this how Chao Feng really felt for so many years? He wondered what was the catalyst for it all. He'd never treated his brother any differently than the others.

After Qiu Niu, all the children of Zulong had a variety of shape and sizes. Any voices of accusation towards Gui Daiyu was swiftly denied and proven false.

"Chao Feng, whatever happens, no matter how you look or how different you are. You are still my brother and family stick together."

Chao Feng raised his head to look at Qiu Niu. "You are at war with my kind."

"You are a dragon. You may be avian in shape but you are my brother first and thus a dragon," Qiu Niu patted his shoulder. "Ask anyone and they'll tell you the same. Besides, don't you wanna show father your new talent? Come on, people are starting to worry."

"Singing is for phoenixes. Dragons roar and command," Chao Feng said.

"Says who? I play music and songs of all kinds and I'm the most dragon shaped dragon. Seafolk of all kind sing and dance. Creatures of all kinds do it."

Qiu Niu stood up with a hand raised. Chao Feng stared at it for a while before transforming back into a boy and reluctantly held onto it.

"Let's get you cleaned up. Dinner is only in a few hours and we can't see you all frazzled."

"Thank you," Chao Feng said.

"No problem, it's what brothers do."

…

After settling down Chao Feng, Qiu Niu left him rehearsal notes and left to check the theatre stage.

"I heard about Chao Feng."

Qiu Niu stopped narrowing his eyes. He turned and glanced at a corner and immediately spotted Suanni.

Suanni had grown a lot over the years. What was once an energetic and mischievous boy had grown into a strong broad shouldered man with a fiery mane of hair. His mouth would nowadays constantly emit copious amounts of smoke.

"How is he?" Suanni asked.

"Shaken but otherwise calm," Qiu Niu sighed. "How did this happen?"

"He doesn't look like a member of a dragon clan, nor even a flood dragon clan. Talks like those were around since second brother's birth," Suanni said.

"Only it would seem that it's even worse for him based purely on his likeness to birds. We were too negligent with him," Qiu Niu said shaking his head.

"Just based purely on our brother's looks, there's been many talks behind closed doors. But those were just that, talks behind closed doors. Let's see who has the balls to say it to Chao Feng's face," he humphed.

Suanni nodded in agreement. "Big brother, I should tell you. As soon as Chao Feng ran out, Denglong already began sniffing around. We'll find out who it was."

"Good."

Denglong, the famous guard dog was a fellow brother of Qiu Niu. Though the eldest thought he should lighten up instead of being so rigid in defending the southern borders all the time. It was rare to see him back in the east sea.

This was what he planned after all. For all the family to gather around and spend time around a good song.

"Help him out as best you can, get our cousin's help if you need it," Qiu Niu instructed. "I still need to check on the stage."

"Still not trusting anything but your own eyes?"

"I'm using that stage, I'll inspect it myself."

…

Bixi, Bi An, and Chi Wen were already present when Qiu Niu joined them at the Stage he'd wanted. It was a grand structure, many thousands of metres high and designed to house only the most distinguished of guests within the East Sea Dragon Palace.

"Brothers," Qiu Niu called out. "I see everything is in order."

Rows of servants walked by and bowed towards him. Looking around, he saw the seats prepared for his father, mother, and all his brothers were set up and everything had been readily prepared. Even food was in the final stages of completion.

"And you got Chao Feng back? Or will we be seeing a solo?" Bi An asked.

The tiger-dragon hybrid was the eighth brother of nine. Despite his ferocious appearance, Bi An was actually very much a reasonable fellow. He was the one often times negotiating for their father.

"He's back, he'll be here by then," Qiu Niu replied.

"That's good," Chi Wen, their eighth brother sighed in relief. The glutton of the family was usually assigned to overlook the open ocean from high perches.

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"I confess to have not been back in a while, but why would Chao Feng run out like that?" He asked.

Qiu Niu growled at the reminder. "If I had to guess, it was probably some words among the younger kids. Suanni and Denglong are already looking into it, we'll find the culprit."

Bi An sighed, "There were rumblings among the ministers when they first saw Chao Feng but father silenced them quickly. I never expected it to have continued, it was never the case before."

"Hm, I guess none of us looked too egregious in the family of dragon and turtle. I mean most of us resemble land bound beasts and me and Bixi are the only aquatic ones here," Chi Wen said.

"Can it fish, enough talk about such rage inducing topics brothers, we'll sort things out after tonight," Bixi said.

Bixi was the only sibling among the nine to resemble their mother more than their father. He was literally just a turtle with the head and tail of a dragon.

For Qiu Niu, it was nice seeing everyone interacting together for the first time in thousands of years. In this day and age, they were usually busy running around the greater empire.

For each siblings, they were born tens of thousands of years apart, sometimes even up to a Yuanhui. It was already an incredibly accomplishment for Zulong to father nine children. For immortals, the stronger they are, the more difficult it was to have children, this was especially the case for two individuals of such high power.

As such, by the time another child was born, the older one would've long left to find his own walk in life. Just like the older generation, the sons of the Ancestral Dragon had pursued their own interests.

Zulong himself was incredibly proud of what each had accomplished. He'd personally seen to their education just as Da Hai had trained him years prior.

The four nodded and waited for the main event. Chao Feng arrived later in the day with Suanni in tow. Accompanied by more and more of his family, Chao Feng felt more comfortable.

…

Zulong arrived accompanied by his second and fourth sons Yazi and Pulao. His wife Gui Daiyu arrived hand in hand with him and the four descended to the tables.

"Father, mother," seven of the nine sons stood up and greeted with a now.

"Children, tonight is just for us, none of you need to stand on occasion," he said sitting down on the main seat. Gui Daiyu smiled sitting beside him.

Zulong had changed over the years. He appeared far older than he was, now sporting a long beard with an aged but handsome face well into his fifties. He smiled brightly at the sight of his completed family.

"You all," he whispered emotionally.

"Qiu Niu, Yazi, Pulao, Denglong, Suanni, Bixi, Bi An, Chi Wen, you've all grown up and accomplished many things away from this seat. And you little Chao Feng, I've heard you've progressed well in your cultivation," he said.

"Yes father," they said. Chao Feng shrunk a little when Zulong's gaze landed on him

"You've broken into the Profound Immortal realm I see. And you're only a thirty two years old, well done son, well done."

"Thank you father," Chao Feng nodded looking away. He seemed to shrink in on himself as if he didn't want to be here.

"You know father," Qiu Niu said. "Chao Feng is an incredibly skilled singer."

"Really?" Zulong raised an eyebrow. "Now that's a surprise, none of you lot", he pointed towards the other seven, "Have ever shown an interest in it before."

"Meh, not my cup of tea," Yazi snorted. "Not since big brother went through his, ahem, phase."

"Oh heavens don't remind me," Suanni gripped the side of his head. "Couldn't think straight for a thousand years, poor brother Ao Guang didn't sleep for centuries straight."

"Worst part was the clothing, what were you thinking Qiu Niu?" Yazi said exasperatingly.

"Now now children, I thought it was fine," Gui Daiyu said showing a strained smile.

"Mother don't pretend," Pulao said. "I could hear you complaining down the hallway every time."

"It was an experimentory time," Qiu Niu defended.

"It was sleepless torture."

"What happened?" Chao Feng asked innocently. "I've never heard of this before."

"Neither have I," Chi Wen, Bi An, and Bixi leaned over. "What's so interesting about it?"

"Well it was…" Qiu Niu began.

"Don't, we erased it from the history books for a reason," Denglong snapped. "You had no concern for my ears."

Zulong chuckled at the memory. He'd sent Qiu Niu to Da Hai for some time hoping for the young lad to learn something and improve his skills. While Qiu Niu did improve, he'd also brought back something completely alien.

The pristine prince swapped his golden yellow and white robes for form fitting black leather clothing. He'd trimmed his long hair shorter and coloured it. He'd went all out and started applying exotic makeup. Gui Daiyu had been horrified by the change.

Then there was his change in musical style. Zulong very muted enjoyed the traditional calming music and had welcomed the louder, more bombastic one. But the constant noise started grating on him after a while.

"You lot have no appreciation for fine art," Qiu Niu scoffed. "If you wanna know more, talk to me later."

"Fine art is the text written in my poems, not whatever plucking of the strong you do," Bixi argued.

What followed next was a series of arguments involving what was considered and what wasn't considered art. Zulong smiled in his heart, his children were a variety short. Some were brutal warriors while others were musicians, poets, or diplomats. 'But all are great artists in their own right,' he acknowledged inside his mind.

"So father, mother, Chao Feng and I have something to show you," Qiu Niu said motioning for the youngest brother. Chao Feng suddenly froze unsure of how to proceed.

"Oh?" Gui Daiyu perked up. Zulong had already guessed what it was, it wasn't exactly subtle.

"Chao Feng, do you have something to show us?" Zulong edged on. He leaned forwards with a warm smile.

"I…" Chao Feng swallowed and looked toward Qiu Niu. The eldest merely sent an encouraging nod back.

"Don't feel pressured on our account son," Zulong said.

"Your father speaks true Feng'er. If you are uncomfortable…" Gui Daiyu spoke tenderly.

"No, I can do it," Chao Feng interrupted shaking his head. "Let's go big brother."

Chao Feng and Qiu Niu stood up and made for the stage. It was there that Qiu Niu said down and brought out a guqin and rested it on a table above his lap. It was one among many string instruments he owned but this was his most prized one.

Together, they began a performance of song and dances. Chao Feng unleashed a fiery aura and wowed his family with his vocals. It was telling for the impressionable young immortal when his parents smiled and clapped for him.

'Qiu Niu was right, it's all really just in my head,' he thought as he danced. He still couldn't help but feel a tinge of fear remembering what the other children had said.

He wasn't like a dragon at all. Any creature can have horns and scales. But dragons were special in their makeup. He, Chao Feng was closer to their hated enemies than any honourable dragon.

He couldn't stand it. He knew all his brothers were all born a bit different, not fully a dragon unlike their kin in the main clan. But why did he have to be so criminally distinct? Why resemble their rivals of all people.

"Magnificently done son," Zulong praised when Chao Feng walked off stage. "You've certainly outstayed your brother here."

"I wouldn't have been able to were it not for big brother," Chao Feng said bashfully.

"Come here you, you were great," Gui Daiyu ignored any protests and embraced Chao Feng in her bosom. Chao Feng's face resumed in a full broad smile.

Seeing this, Qiu Niu too was very pleased. He walked up to his father and said, "I assume Denglong told you before you arrived together?"

"He did, your brother is extremely quick on the job, far quicker than I," Zulong admitted.

"So we know who?" Qiu Niu whispered back.

"Young Void Shark, Sky Squid and Crystal Prawn were all such fine talents," Zulong said. "Their futures were definitely bright."

"They are?" Qiu Niu raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed, such a shame they encountered cultivation deviation though. A terrible loss," the Dragon Sovereign sighed.

"I see, their families must've been devastated."

"Indeed, it seems in their grief, they decided to join their children," Zulong shook his head with a saddened expression. "But no need to worry, now is a joyous time."

…

Even later that night, Zulong found Chao Feng starring at the ocean above him from a rooftop perch.

"Usually I'd find Chi Wen in places like these," Zulong called out.

"Father!" Chao Feng exclaimed. "I mean emperor-father. What are you doing here?"

"I know I have been a bit busy recently with the recent phoenix debacles but we're not so distant for such formality son," Zulong sat down beside Chao Feng.

"Father," Chao Feng mumbled. "Sorry, I'm just a bit under the weather today."

"I heard about your situation."

Chao Feng perked up with a frightened expression.

"Don't be like that son, you have nothing to fear of me. Never show that with me," Zulong warned.

"You hate phoenixes father. And I'm a phoenix," Chao Feng said.

"I don't hate phoenixes son," Zulong denied.

"I saw what you did to that phoenix diplomat. I heard about the battles in the south sea. You hate phoenixes," Chao Feng sighed and hugged his knees.

"That was a spy, completely different circumstance," Zulong said. His gaze softened as he stroked Chao Feng's back. "Chao Feng, I don't hate phoenixes or avians of any kind. Seagulls and some cranes used to exist under me before they left for the south continent."

"I don't dislike avians. Sure they'll all be better off away from that toxic waste of space but I don't dislike them."

Chao Feng contemplated his fathers words. In his mind, his worries never went away. "You still love me? Even if I look like them?"

Zulong chuckled, "You are my son. You were born of me and Gui Daiyu and I know that for a fact. Your appearance is irrelevant, your similarity to a phoenix is unimportant. Dragons are ultimately a label I slapped on to my creations. But you, you will always be my son."

"You never had to have feared," Zulong sighed. "It brings me pain to know I've failed you in that regard. But I hope to make amends as well."

Chao Feng sniffed but smiled. "Thank you dad."