This Is Our Child
Ji Chaoyun was quickly drained of all strength by the spiritual power surging endlessly within him. He did not even know when he lost consciousness.
When he woke again, he was already back on Wenqu Peak.
He was alone in the room.
Ji Chaoyun turned over and got off the bed. His abdomen abruptly swelled with pain, and his legs weakened, nearly sending him tumbling to the floor.
“Don’t move around. Lie back down!” Feng Qi happened to push open the door at that moment. Seeing Ji Chaoyun braced against the bedside nearly frightened the soul out of him.
He strode over and pressed Ji Chaoyun back onto the bed.
Ji Chaoyun was just about to ask what had happened when Feng Qi placed a hand over his abdomen and slowly sent spiritual power into his body.
To his surprise, the power churning violently within him gradually calmed beneath the influx of Feng Qi’s spiritual power.
Only when that force had completely settled did Feng Qi stop.
Ji Chaoyun asked, “What exactly is...”
“Shh.” Feng Qi pressed a finger against Ji Chaoyun’s lips, tilted his head to look at him, then suddenly laughed softly. “You really are a little fool.”
“?”
Feng Qi sat beside the bed, took Ji Chaoyun’s hand, and carefully placed it over his lower abdomen. “You really can’t guess what this is?”
Ji Chaoyun followed their joined hands with his gaze and blinked in confusion. “So it really was something you did? What kind of spell did you cast on me?”
“A spell?” Feng Qi burst out laughing and shook his head. “How should I put this? Saying I did it isn’t exactly wrong, but this isn’t a spell.”
“Then what is it?”
Feng Qi sighed, opened Ji Chaoyun’s palm, and placed it over his abdomen again.
A small amount of spiritual power passed through their palms and entered his abdomen, awakening the cluster of spiritual qi that had only just settled. Threads of spiritual power spread outward like ripples, circling beside their own spiritual power, lively and full of movement, almost like... a faint heartbeat.
Ji Chaoyun abruptly raised his head.
“This... this is...” Ji Chaoyun stared blankly downward. Nothing could be seen from the outside of his flat abdomen. His fingertips cautiously stroked that small area, and he could not resist sending in a little more spiritual power.
The cluster of spiritual qi seemed to sense the summons from outside and gradually grew excited, restlessly releasing waves of spiritual power that wound around Ji Chaoyun’s own.
As the waves of spiritual power strengthened, Ji Chaoyun’s dragon pearl began to grow unstable.
He frowned in discomfort. “Mm...”
“Stop making trouble.” Feng Qi covered Ji Chaoyun’s hand with his own and scolded in a low voice, “Settle down, troublesome little thing.”
As though frightened by him, the restless waves of spiritual power instantly quieted.
Ji Chaoyun grabbed Feng Qi’s hand, looking somewhat dazed and at a loss. “Feng Qi, this is...”
“Little fool, you still haven’t understood?” A smile filled Feng Qi’s eyes as he said softly, “This is our child.”
Ji Chaoyun’s throat went dry. He could not utter a single word and simply allowed Feng Qi to hold his hand in his palm.
“I already examined you while you were asleep. It’s not even two months old yet. It has only just taken form and can already sense the outside world.”
“No wonder your condition has been so inconsistent lately. This child carries divine blood and requires a great deal of spiritual power while growing. You can’t support it alone.”
“Still, don’t be afraid. I’m here. I can keep it under control.”
Ji Chaoyun did not answer.
He stared blankly at Feng Qi as though he could not understand what Feng Qi was saying.
Feng Qi lightly pinched his cheek. “Why are you looking so foolish? I thought you’d be very happy.”
“I... I...” Ji Chaoyun spoke in a daze. “But I’m clearly... How could...”
Feng Qi said, “I’m still investigating the exact reason. Perhaps the Dragon Clan’s constitution is unusual, or perhaps losing your dragon pearl and reconstructing your immortal bones changed your constitution somehow.”
“Oh...”
“What is it? You don’t like children?”
“Of course not!” Ji Chaoyun lowered his eyes to his flat abdomen, his words tumbling out incoherently. “I-I like it very much... Truly, I’m so happy. How could I have gone this long without realizing? This is simply...”
Feng Qi lowered his head and pulled him tightly into his arms. “You don’t have to say anything. I understand.”
“I’m very happy too, little dragon.” Feng Qi said warmly, “I have never been so grateful to the Heavenly Dao. After everything we have been through, it still sent you back to my side and even granted me such a precious gift.”
Feng Qi’s thumb affectionately brushed Ji Chaoyun’s cheek. He said softly, “I don’t even know what virtue or merit I possess to deserve such fortune.”
Ji Chaoyun rubbed lightly against Feng Qi’s shoulder and whispered, “You are also the best gift the Heavenly Dao ever gave me.”
Feng Qi’s eyes stung faintly. He turned his head and kissed Ji Chaoyun lightly beside the earlobe. “You’ve been lying down for almost an entire day. Do you want to go outside for a while and get some air?”
“All right.”
Ji Chaoyun nodded. Before he could even get up, Feng Qi lifted the covers and directly picked him up from the bed.
“...”
Feng Qi did not even put shoes on him. Carrying him toward the door, he asked, “What?”
Ji Chaoyun gritted his teeth lightly. “Didn’t you say... we were going out for a walk?”
He placed particular emphasis on the word “walk.” Feng Qi met his gaze innocently, and Ji Chaoyun admitted defeat. “...Never mind.”
The door opened, and sunlight flooded the courtyard, spreading warm light over them.
Feng Qi set Ji Chaoyun down on the bamboo couch. Ji Chaoyun studied him thoughtfully without speaking.
Feng Qi encircled him with both arms. “What are you looking at?”
“You.” Ji Chaoyun said, “I’m wondering why you’re behaving so calmly today. You’re making me look terribly unsteady by comparison.”
On any ordinary day, it would already have been fortunate if this phoenix had not overturned the entirety of Wenqu Peak. What was wrong with him today?
Could regaining his memories from the past truly have made him more composed?
“Isn’t this better?” Feng Qi raised a brow and declared with perfect righteousness, “I’ve always been this mature and steady. Unlike you, one little cub frightened you so badly you couldn’t even speak properly.”
Ji Chaoyun gave him a suspicious look and muttered something under his breath, then allowed Feng Qi to hold him as they lay down on the bamboo couch.
The bamboo couch had originally been meant for only one person. With two grown men lying on it, it was somewhat cramped. Feng Qi carefully avoided pressing against Ji Chaoyun’s abdomen and lightly stroked his lower belly with his fingers. “What do you think it’ll be once it’s born?”
Ji Chaoyun lay against Feng Qi’s chest and whispered, “With your divine bloodline, I’m afraid it’ll be a phoenix.”
“I’d rather it were a little dragon.” Feng Qi smiled. “As good-looking as its father.”
Ji Chaoyun raised his head to look at him. “Don’t you dislike the Dragon Clan?”
“...” Feng Qi coughed lightly. “Did I say that?”
“You did.” Ji Chaoyun said with certainty. “You said the Dragon and Phoenix Clans have never gotten along, and you also said you didn’t have the slightest good feeling toward dragons.”
“............”
Feng Qi said solemnly, “I don’t like the Dragon Clan, but I like you. I’ll like any child you give birth to. Even if it’s a little dragon with a pair of phoenix wings, I’ll still like it.”
Ji Chaoyun imagined that appearance and burst out laughing, repeatedly shaking his head. “That would be far too strange. No, no. It absolutely cannot look like that.”
He laughed so hard he nearly rolled off the couch, and Feng Qi hurriedly tightened his arms around him.
The afternoon sunlight was just right. The two nestled together on the bamboo couch and basked in the sun for a while before Ji Chaoyun suddenly remembered something and sat upright. “My Heavenly Ranking Tournament...”
Feng Qi seemed to have prepared for this question already. He explained, “You fainted before the match, so it will most likely be counted as forfeiting. Classes have been suspended for the next few days, and the tournament results will be announced the day after tomorrow.”
Ji Chaoyun lowered his eyes in disappointment. “How could it end like that...”
“What more do you want?” Feng Qi raised a brow. “You fought four matches while carrying a child. Who could be more impressive than you?”
Ji Chaoyun said, “But I promised I would win Cloud-Ascending Tower back for you...”
“That doesn’t matter.” Feng Qi interrupted softly. “Those are all external possessions. Nothing is more important than you.”
Ji Chaoyun remained silent for a long while before sighing softly. “Very well. Then I can only wait until next time. At the next Heavenly Ranking Tournament, I’ll definitely win Cloud-Ascending Tower back for you.”
“All right.”
Ji Chaoyun’s hand unconsciously settled over his lower abdomen. He then asked, “Right, since this spiritual qi is the child, why didn’t the immortal physician detect it that day at Alchemy Hall?”
Ji Chaoyun had discovered the spiritual qi before Feng Qi returned. Perhaps the child had still been too small then for its life force to be detected. Since Ji Chaoyun had never considered such a possibility, he had failed to realize what it was.
Yet Xihua was an immortal physician who had cultivated for a thousand years. Why had she also failed to detect the child’s existence?
Moreover, that day at Academy Hall, Ji Chaoyun had examined himself as well. The spiritual qi truly had vanished without a trace.
Feng Qi fell strangely silent.
Ji Chaoyun instinctively sensed something was wrong. “What happened?”
Feng Qi said quietly, “Xihua... is missing.”
“What do you mean, missing?”
Feng Qi said, “Yesterday, after you fainted at the martial field and I brought you back to Wenqu Peak, I immediately sent someone to Alchemy Hall to ask Immortal Xihua to come examine you. Yet she was gone.”
“...The people at Alchemy Hall said Immortal Xihua had still been there that morning, taking pulses and prescribing medicine as usual. Everything was normal. Yet when the person I sent went to find her, she was no longer in her room.”
Ji Chaoyun’s brows drew tightly together. “Not in her room... An immortal physician cannot leave the academy without the permission of Immortal Venerable Tianxuan of Alchemy Hall and Immortal Venerable Tianshu. She disappeared without cause?”
Feng Qi did not answer. He stared at the clear pond before them, his expression gradually darkening. “Immortal Xihua’s medical skill is exceptionally high. If she deliberately concealed the child’s presence within your abdomen, it is indeed possible that we would have been unable to detect it.”
“She did it deliberately? But why would she...”
Feng Qi stroked Ji Chaoyun’s hair and withdrew his gaze. “These are only my suspicions, but if she truly did it, there is probably only one reason.”
“What reason?”
“Do you remember Yan Huaqing?”
Ji Chaoyun froze.
Feng Qi said, “Half of Yan Huaqing’s soul still remains in the Immortal Realm. The Demon Clan knows possession techniques. No one knows what kind of person he might have become.”
“If that’s the case...”
Feng Qi’s gaze darkened slightly. He said softly, “If that’s the case, continuing to remain at the academy may place you in danger.”
Ji Chaoyun lowered his eyes.
The sleeve of his right arm slipped down slightly, exposing a faint semicircular scar.
Even after a Dragon Clan scale-shedding wound healed, it would forever leave a mark at the place where the scale had been lost.
Ji Chaoyun stared at the scar and said quietly, “Yan Huaqing regards you as his sworn enemy. Earlier, merely to test your identity, he was even willing to sacrifice a wisp of his own soul and hundreds of years of the Dragon Clan’s plans. If he learns of me and this child, I’m afraid he’ll use us to threaten you.”
Feng Qi sighed softly. “Yes. I’m worried about that as well.”
Ji Chaoyun suddenly realized something and grabbed Feng Qi’s hand tightly. “Are you going to send me away?”
“Little dragon...”
Ji Chaoyun stared fixedly at him, a hint of unease showing in his eyes.
He was afraid.
Three hundred years ago, Feng Xiao had left him in the mortal realm precisely because he feared that returning to the Immortal Realm would place Ji Chaoyun in danger.
Afterward, Ji Chaoyun waited in the mortal realm for three hundred years.
Ji Chaoyun said nothing.
He merely stared steadily at Feng Qi and waited for his answer.
War was imminent, and there could be no room for error. He did not want to leave, yet he also did not want to become Feng Qi’s weakness or something others could use against him.
Feng Qi pressed Ji Chaoyun’s head into the hollow of his shoulder, took his cold fingers into his palm, and warmed them. “No. I’m not sending you away.”
Ji Chaoyun’s eyes trembled faintly.
Feng Qi said, “Have you forgotten what I told you? This little cub needs a great deal of spiritual power to grow. Leaving you alone won’t work.”
Ji Chaoyun gave a soft sound of acknowledgment, then slowly asked, “Then what should we do?”
“I’ve already sent people to search for Immortal Xihua, and I’m investigating those around her as well.” Feng Qi said, “Fortunately, you’re staying by my side now, so nothing will happen to you. As for what we should do next, I still need to... think about it.”
Ji Chaoyun nodded, then said, “Let’s not think about this anymore. The weather is so good today. Shall we go see the sea of clouds?”
Wenqu Peak stood at a high elevation. From its summit, one could see the vast sea of clouds stretching across Hongmeng Mountain, a boundless view of magnificent scenery.
“...” Feng Qi’s expression became unnatural for a moment. He laughed dryly. “Why did you suddenly think of going to see the sea of clouds?”
Ji Chaoyun tilted his head. “I simply want to. I’ve been busy with the Heavenly Ranking Tournament lately and haven’t gone up there for a long time.”
“But... but...” Feng Qi’s gaze wandered before he said solemnly, “The wind at the summit is strong. It wouldn’t be good for the little cub in your abdomen.”
“Is that so?” Ji Chaoyun looked only half convinced. “Then... shall we go see the bamboo sea? I found an excellent place halfway up the mountain for admiring the bamboo before. Let’s go now.”
“...” Feng Qi said, “The bamboo sea... might not be very admirable right now.”
Ji Chaoyun frowned. “What exactly happened?”
A short while later, Feng Qi took Ji Chaoyun outside the courtyard.
Starting roughly several dozen chi along the path outside the courtyard, every stretch of bamboo forest had been completely severed at the waist and lay collapsed across the ground. The devastation could only be described as devastating.
Ji Chaoyun: “...”
Ji Chaoyun stared at the wreckage before him, then turned his head in disbelief. “This... was your doing?”
Feng Qi suddenly seemed to take an immense interest in a wild blade of grass beside his foot, nudging it back and forth with his toe. “I just... got a little excited after learning the news. I was worried that staying in the courtyard would wake you, so...”
“So?”
Feng Qi said guiltily, “So I thought I’d come outside and calm down. Who knew that after I finished calming down... it would look like this?”
“...”
IsitRo: Not Feng Qi acting chill after learning he was becoming a father but only at the expense of the bamboo field LOL
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