You Can’t Actually Get Pregnant, Can You?
Feng Qi chased after the intruder amid Jun Ruzhuo’s furious protests.
Ji Chaoyun quietly let out a breath and instinctively pulled Feng Qi’s outer robe more snugly around himself.
Their outer robes were all made in the same academy style, but Feng Qi was much taller than him. Draped around Ji Chaoyun, the robe hung noticeably loose, making his already slender figure appear even more delicate.
Jun Ruzhuo glanced at Ji Chaoyun, then quickly looked away, pretending nothing had happened as he stared at the floor.
The room fell silent.
Before long, Jun Ruzhuo could not help glancing at him again.
After repeating this several times, he finally snapped, “If you can’t hold on, then sit down. Do you really want to faint here and have Second Highness Feng pull out my dragon tendons?”
“...Huh?”
Ji Chaoyun blinked at him blankly.
Jun Ruzhuo said nothing more. With a dark expression, he dragged Ji Chaoyun over to the table, heated the kettle with a spell, poured a cup of hot tea, and shoved it into his hands.
The entire series of movements was completely natural and done in one smooth motion.
Ji Chaoyun lowered his eyes to the steaming cup in his hands and smiled faintly.
“Thank you.”
“N-No need.” Jun Ruzhuo turned away and refused to look at him again.
Ji Chaoyun took a sip of the hot tea. Only then did his body begin to warm, and the exhaustion weighing on him eased slightly.
Holding the cup in both hands, he asked softly, “Has he treated you well all these years?”
He did not say the person’s name, but Jun Ruzhuo immediately knew who he meant.
“Pretty well,” Jun Ruzhuo said sullenly. “Three hundred years ago, Second Cousin died in the war. You... fled the clan, and Uncle fell seriously ill afterward. Most clan affairs have been handled by Third Cousin ever since.”
“This time, it was also Third Cousin who wanted me to come to Hongmeng Academy. He hoped that after I finished my studies, I could return and help him.”
Ji Chaoyun gave a mocking laugh but said nothing.
Jun Ruzhuo studied his expression. He seemed to hold himself back for a moment, but eventually continued.
“The clan hasn’t been peaceful these past few years. You know how much prestige you once held. Even after Third Cousin has managed clan affairs for so many years, many elders still consider you the rightful successor. So...”
“So he has spent these years eliminating dissent and dealing with the elders who refused to obey him?”
“Yes.” Jun Ruzhuo said, “But I don’t think Third Cousin was wrong. Uncle will pass the Dragon King’s position to him sooner or later. If it were me, I would also remove anyone harboring disloyal intentions before they became a problem.”
“I never said he was wrong.”
“B-but...”
“Ah-Zhuo, you’re no longer a child. There are things you already understand in your heart. You simply don’t dare admit them.” Ji Chaoyun spoke quietly. “Third Brother... truly does want me dead. He has wanted that since three hundred years ago.”
Jun Ruzhuo’s face instantly went pale.
Ji Chaoyun continued, “Jun Jue, Third Prince of the Dragon King, had the weakest innate spiritual roots among us, but he was also the most calculating. If I remained alive, how could he inherit the Dragon King’s throne? I thought that once I descended to the mortal realm, he would stop holding onto this grudge. Unfortunately...”
“But you’ve already lost your dragon pearl and become half yao. Why would he still—”
“That’s what I don’t understand either.”
Ji Chaoyun took another sip of tea. Through the rising steam, his expression was difficult to make out.
“I can no longer return to Lingyuan Sea. Why does he still refuse to let me go...”
The room fell silent once more.
A moment later, movement finally came from outside the courtyard.
The two exchanged a glance and stood.
They had barely stepped outside when a familiar voice rang from beyond the courtyard gate.
“Didn’t we agree you’d inform me the moment you found anything? Aren’t you afraid I’ll report this to Immortal Lord Tianshu?!”
“We just didn’t have time to tell you yet. If you keep quiet, no one will know.”
“Damn phoenix, easy for you to say. What if someone finds out—”
Jiang Cheng entered the courtyard while escorting a young disciple, arguing with Feng Qi as they walked.
Then his gaze unexpectedly met Ji Chaoyun’s.
His tone changed strangely halfway through his sentence.
“...I’ll let it go this time. Next time, don’t let me catch you.”
Feng Qi followed behind him and rolled his eyes before quickly walking to Ji Chaoyun.
“Well? Did Young Master Jun manage to keep his dragon tendons?”
Ji Chaoyun could not be bothered with his childish nonsense. He looked past him toward the person beside Jiang Cheng.
“That’s him?”
“Mm.” Feng Qi tossed a cloth bundle onto the ground.
Several jade bottles rolled out.
“This guy knows Lucun Peak too well. I had to chase him for quite a while before catching him.”
Before Ji Chaoyun could speak, Jun Ruzhuo stepped forward.
“Wen Yi. It really was you?”
The disciple named Wen Yi turned his face away without looking at him.
“Young Master.”
Jun Ruzhuo asked, “You stole my medicine?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because...”
Wen Yi finally raised his head, but instead of looking at Jun Ruzhuo, he looked toward Ji Chaoyun standing behind him.
“Because I poisoned him.”
The moment he finished speaking, the person behind him kicked hard into the back of his knee.
Wen Yi dropped to his knees.
Behind him, Jiang Cheng asked coldly, “Why did you do it?”
Wen Yi bent forward and gave a quiet laugh.
“No particular reason. My young master dislikes this person, and I dislike him too. As my young master’s study companion, shouldn’t I clear away obstacles for him?”
“Enough excuses.”
Feng Qi interrupted lazily.
“You’re merely a study companion. How could you possibly get your hands on Blood Lotus Lingzhi? Who told you to do this?”
“No one told me to do anything. I don’t even know what Blood Lotus Lingzhi you’re talking about.”
Wen Yi continued calmly, “I only knew that Young Master Jun intended to give Ji Chaoyun medicine, so I went to the sea market and bought a poison that could make someone lose control of their spiritual power. I wasn’t certain which bottle Young Master Jun would choose, so I poisoned all of them.”
Feng Qi sneered. “You were bold enough to do that without fearing the truth would come out?”
Wen Yi replied, “Everyone saw Ji Chaoyun lose control on the arena. If you hadn’t insisted on vouching for him, his cultivation would already have been abolished, and he would have been expelled from the academy. As for the medicine, I confirmed beforehand that it was harmless to immortals. If you hadn’t uncovered it, Young Master Jun would never have noticed anything unusual.”
“...”
What he said was indeed true.
Everyone had witnessed Ji Chaoyun lose control on the arena, and even the medical immortal had been unable to identify the drug responsible.
If Feng Qi had not insisted on investigating, Ji Chaoyun would already have been expelled from the academy. He would never have had the chance to return to the sea market or discover the origin of the herb.
Yet Ji Chaoyun’s expression slowly darkened.
Too composed.
This study companion spoke in an orderly manner without the slightest panic of someone whose crime had just been exposed. It was as though he had prepared this explanation long beforehand.
Feng Qi was about to question him again when Ji Chaoyun suddenly tugged at him from behind. He lowered his voice. “Now that we’ve caught someone, the rest shouldn’t be our responsibility.”
“But...”
“Ji Chaoyun is right,” Jiang Cheng said.
He gathered up the medicine scattered across the ground.
“Since he has already confessed to poisoning you, I’ll take him back to the Inspection Hall and have him thoroughly interrogated. Immortal Kai Yang assigned me to assist with this investigation. Don’t worry, I’ll see it through.”
Feng Qi was still uneasy.
“The origin of the Blood Lotus Lingzhi is unknown. The only half-demon who might have known something about it was silenced. This definitely isn’t that simple. You...”
“I know!” Jiang Cheng interrupted impatiently. “Do you think I’m stupid? Do I need you to explain all of that to me?!”
Feng Qi raised a brow, neither confirming nor denying what he had said.
Jiang Cheng could not be bothered arguing with him. He turned toward Jun Ruzhuo.
“Jun Ruzhuo. The poison came from medicine you gave Ji Chaoyun, and Wen Yi is also your man. You’ll have to come with me too.”
Jun Ruzhuo nodded.
“...All right.”
Jiang Cheng looked at Ji Chaoyun, opening his mouth as though wanting to say something.
In the end, nothing came out.
Instead, he turned toward Feng Qi and snapped irritably, as though venting his frustration, “We’re not done with you stealing a token from the Inspection Hall. Just wait for your punishment!”
With that, he left the courtyard with Jun Ruzhuo and Wen Yi.
Only after the three had gone far away did Ji Chaoyun shake his head.
“They won’t find anything.”
Feng Qi turned to him.
“Why do you say that?”
Ji Chaoyun said, “Wen Yi is nothing more than a pawn. He has fully admitted to everything he said and did, and we found no other evidence from the half-demon. This thread of investigation has already been severed.”
Feng Qi smiled.
“No need to be so pessimistic. The Inspection Hall has its methods. Maybe they’ll manage to pry his mouth open.”
Ji Chaoyun frowned faintly but did not respond.
Feng Qi asked, “What are you thinking?”
“He lives with Jun Ruzhuo. If he wanted to steal the medicine, would it really be such a coincidence that he happened to do it precisely when we came to investigate?”
“...”
Feng Qi closed his eyes and seemed to silently curse.
“He deliberately let us catch him so he could become the scapegoat for whoever is behind this!”
Ji Chaoyun said, “Let’s go. Like I said, what comes next no longer has anything to do with us.”
He was just about to walk forward when the tension keeping him upright finally loosened.
Only then did he realize how drained he was. His legs weakened, and he nearly fell.
Feng Qi hurriedly caught him.
“I told you not to come tonight, but you insisted. Look at you. You can barely walk.”
“...I’m fine.”
Ji Chaoyun was still somewhat uncomfortable with Feng Qi touching him after what had happened between them.
Feng Qi, however, acted as though he did not care at all. He bent down as though preparing to pick him up.
Ji Chaoyun recoiled as though facing a great enemy.
“What are you doing?!”
“Carrying you back,” Feng Qi said. “Look at yourself. Can you still walk?”
“...Of course I can.” Ji Chaoyun gritted his teeth. “It’s almost the Hour of Hai. Do you want everyone to see us?”
“Let them see. It isn’t as though we’re doing anything shameful.”
“I said no, so no!”
“...Really no?”
“No!”
“Fine.”
Feng Qi looked distinctly disappointed.
He walked around to stand in front of Ji Chaoyun, then bent his knees slightly and lowered himself.
“Then I’ll carry you on my back. That’s fine, right? Get on.”
“You...”
Ji Chaoyun fell silent.
He could not see how being carried on Feng Qi’s back looked any better than being carried in his arms.
Feng Qi urged quietly, “Hurry up. Stop dawdling. Once evening lessons end at the Hour of Hai, the whole academy will see this prince carrying you, little yao dragon. You may not be embarrassed, but I am.”
Ji Chaoyun silently stared at Feng Qi.
Feng Qi maintained his position without moving.
After the two remained locked in a stalemate for some time, Ji Chaoyun silently climbed onto his back.
Feng Qi carried Ji Chaoyun down the mountain.
Although he claimed they had to return to Wenqu Peak before the academy dismissed for the night, his steps remained slow and steady.
The short stretch of road seemed as though it would never end.
Ji Chaoyun lay against Feng Qi’s back, his body somewhat tense.
Noticing this, Feng Qi laughed.
“Why are you so nervous? I’m not going to do anything to you.”
“...”
“You said it yourself. What happened before was an accident.” Feng Qi’s tone was unconcerned as he joked, “You and I are both beasts. What’s the big deal about going through a heat? Still, you’re reacting so strongly... You can’t actually get pregnant, can you?”
“...H-How could I? I’m a man!”
Feng Qi laughed. “What does being a man have to do with it? There are male immortals in the Immortal Realm who can bear children. Though you don’t look like one.”
In this world, men capable of bearing children were called shuang’er. They were extremely rare, but they did exist.
However, shuang’er were generally physically weak and almost incapable of martial cultivation.
Ji Chaoyun was indeed frail now, but only because he had lost his dragon pearl and ruined his spiritual foundation.
Before that, he had been the Dragon King’s crown prince. His cultivation had been extraordinary. There was no possibility he possessed such a constitution.
Feng Qi felt a faint trace of disappointment but did not show it.
“I was joking just now. In any case, don’t keep dwelling on what happened. I’ve never been so intimate with anyone in my life, and even I’m not blaming you. Why are you the one making yourself miserable?”
“...Mm.”
Ji Chaoyun answered softly.
His body was no longer as tense as before.
After another while, Feng Qi said, “By the way, haven’t you noticed that your spiritual power has increased quite a lot today? If this were before, you definitely wouldn’t have lasted until now. Aren’t you curious why?”
“...”
“Ji Chaoyun?”
Ji Chaoyun did not answer.
Feng Qi turned his head and saw that the other had already fallen asleep against his shoulder.
Half his face was buried against Feng Qi’s shoulder. Exhaustion still lingered in his features, yet he slept quietly.
Silver moonlight spilled over him beneath the endless stars.
His long lashes cast small shadows across his face, while a few soft strands of hair fell over his forehead, making him look gentle and harmless.
Under the star-filled sky, Feng Qi’s lips slowly curved upward.
His footsteps unconsciously became even slower.
As though, by doing this, he could stretch this road on forever.
By the time Ji Chaoyun woke again the following day, the sky was already nearing dusk.
When he cultivated in the mortal realm, and later after arriving at the academy, he had always been occupied with his studies. Ji Chaoyun could not remember the last time he had slept for so long.
He stared blankly at the gauze canopy above him for quite some time before his mind began to clear.
Although he was still somewhat groggy, there was no discomfort in his body. Instead, his spiritual power felt abundant, and all his fatigue had vanished.
Ji Chaoyun turned over and buried his face into the soft pillow.
For once, he allowed himself to linger in bed before slowly sitting up.
After dressing, he opened the door and unexpectedly found Feng Qi crouching beside the lotus pond, teasing the fish.
Seeing him emerge, Feng Qi turned back with a smile.
“Finally awake? If you hadn’t woken up soon, I was about to go to Alchemy Hall and ask an immortal physician to come examine your pulse.”
Ji Chaoyun ignored that and asked, “Isn’t it time for afternoon lessons? Why aren’t you in class?”
Ji Chaoyun’s suspicions had yet to be cleared, so the academy had temporarily suspended his lessons.
Feng Qi had been assisting him with the investigation and naturally had reason to ask for leave as well, but now that they had caught someone, why was this man still acting so leisurely?
Feng Qi tossed the fish food into the pond, dusted off his hands, and stood.
“What’s the point of attending cultivation class? I defeated Immortal Yu Heng, who teaches cultivation to Heaven-ranked disciples, ten years ago.”
“Even if I went, would he dare teach me?”
“...”
Ji Chaoyun wisely decided not to discuss that topic.
Instead, he asked, “Any results from the Inspection Hall?”
“No.”
Feng Qi said, “Jiang Cheng sent someone to tell me. They interrogated that boy all night, but he insists that he acted alone to poison you and that the poison came from the half-demon. They couldn’t get anything else out of him.
They’re still trying, but the three-day deadline is approaching. If they still can’t uncover the real culprit by then, there will only be...”
When the deadline arrived, they could only hand Wen Yi over for punishment. The matter itself would have to end there.
Ji Chaoyun nodded, unsurprised.
Feng Qi sat down on the bamboo chair, bracing his arms against his knees. “But that isn’t the only problem. I’ve been thinking all day about the black-clothed man we encountered at the sea market. Who exactly was he?”
“You have a guess?”
Feng Qi shook his head. “Everything happened too quickly that day. I didn’t really get a clear look at him, but I keep feeling like I’ve seen his build somewhere before. And his sword...”
“His sword?”
“He cast a spell on his sword so that we couldn’t see its true appearance. What kind of person would do something like that?”
“...Someone we know.”
“Exactly.” Feng Qi continued, “And another thing. We had barely entered the sea market before someone attacked us. The only lead we might have questioned was killed before we could reach him. Whoever this person is, they know our movements extremely well. Perhaps...”
Ji Chaoyun finished for him.
“The black-clothed man is most likely someone from the academy. Or at the very least, he has an informant inside the academy.”
Feng Qi did not answer, seeming to consider something.
After a brief silence, Ji Chaoyun said, “I may have seen that sword before.”
“What?”
“I told you before that I was once attacked by those people in the mortal realm.”
That rainy night flashed through Ji Chaoyun’s mind once more.
Chaotic footsteps.
And the blade that pierced straight through his chest.
Ji Chaoyun composed himself before saying in a rough voice, “I saw that black-clothed man’s sword back then. He didn’t hide its appearance with a spell.”
Feng Qi paused, then gave a soft laugh. “Looks like it really is someone from the academy after all”
Ji Chaoyun nodded. “That day, he wasn’t guarding against me. He was guarding against you.”
“Do you still remember what the sword looked like?”
Ji Chaoyun lowered his eyes and slowly shook his head.
The memories from before his death in his previous life were badly fragmented.
He only vaguely remembered the sword’s shape.
Even Ji Chaoyun himself was uncertain whether he would recognize it if he saw the sword again.
Feng Qi then said, “There’s still something I don’t understand. What does any of this have to do with the Dragon Clan? And what does it have to do with that bastard Third Brother of yours?”
Ji Chaoyun fell strangely silent for a moment before answering.
“Lingyuan Sea is tens of thousands of li from here. If Third Brother wanted to move against me, naturally he would have to find an accomplice inside the academy.
That accomplice discovered we had gone to the sea market, silenced the half-devil before we arrived, then pushed the study companion forward as a scapegoat.”
“That simple?”
Ji Chaoyun asked, “What are you trying to say?”
Feng Qi smiled. “Last night, once we discovered the poison had been placed in Jun Ruzhuo’s medicine, you refused to let me tell Jiang Cheng. What is it that you don’t dare let Jiang Cheng know? Or rather, what is it that you don’t want the academy to know?”
Ji Chaoyun replied calmly, “I simply wanted to avoid creating further complications.”
“No. It isn’t that simple.”
Feng Qi spoke slowly, as though merely stating an obvious fact.
“Whether it was the black-clothed man, Wen Yi, or even you, all of you tried your hardest to make us believe the Blood Lotus Lingzhi came from that half-demon in the sea market.
However, the moment you learned the poison was hidden inside the medicine from Lingyuan Sea, you already knew the Blood Lotus Lingzhi didn’t come from the sea market at all. It came from the Dragon Clan.”
“...Three hundred years ago, after you parted ways with Feng Xiao, you had lost your dragon pearl and could barely sustain your spiritual power, yet you still did everything you could to return to Lingyuan Sea. Was it because you wanted to confirm whether the Dragon Clan had truly rebelled, and whether they had truly colluded with the Demon Realm?”
A faint ripple finally appeared in Ji Chaoyun’s otherwise calm eyes.
He stood perfectly still, giving no outward sign of anything amiss, but beneath his sleeves, his hands had already begun to tremble.
Feng Qi remained perfectly composed. He patted the empty space beside him.
“Come sit down.”
“...What?”
Feng Qi looked at him with a smile, his voice gentle.
“Have you forgotten what you promised me? You said you’d tell me everything. I’m ready now.”
“Come sit down and tell me slowly.”
☁︎₊˚⊹ The Author’s Jade-Slip Aside ⊹˚₊☁︎
Sorry I’m late! This chapter was a little long and took forever to write, hahahaha.
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