I Want the Child in His Belly
Ji Chaoyun thus settled down in Qingqiu.
During the days he remained in Qingqiu, Bai Qiuyue truly kept his promise and sent people to take good care of him, never mistreating him in the slightest.
Aside from forbidding him from leaving the clan grounds, they did not even restrict his movements.
“Young Master, it has already been four or five days. Please eat something.” A delicate-featured young fox brought some food to Ji Chaoyun’s side.
Ji Chaoyun leaned against the bed and shook his head. “Thank you. There’s no need.”
“I made all of this myself. No one else has touched it. If you’re worried, I can taste it for poison first. Please, just eat a little.”
Ji Chaoyun finally turned to look at him and smiled faintly. “Ah-Li, I know you mean well. Thank you, but there’s no need for that. An immortal can go several days without food or drink and be fine. You may leave for now.”
The youth called Ah-Li lowered his eyes, looking as though he were about to cry. “Even if you’ll be fine, what about the child in your belly... You have to think of him.”
Ji Chaoyun rested a hand over his abdomen and said quietly, “He’s fine. There’s no need to worry.”
“Then...”
“Ah-Li, how old are you?”
Ah-Li answered quietly, “O-One hundred and twenty.”
“Still so young.” Ji Chaoyun asked again, “Do you know what Qingqiu is doing now?”
Ah-Li froze and did not answer.
Ji Chaoyun said, “You’re still young and didn’t experience the war three hundred years ago. Neither did I, but I’ve heard a little about it. Back then, the Qingqiu Heavenly Fox Clan mobilized its entire clan to resist the Demon Realm and suffered terrible casualties. Have your elders ever told you about that?”
“I...”
“You know what will happen if the Demon Realm makes a comeback. Are you truly willing to stand by and watch it happen?”
Ah-Li’s face turned pale. His hands began to shake, and he could barely hold the food box.
A voice came from outside the door. “Very well said.”
Ah-Li’s entire body jolted. His grip slipped, and the bowls and dishes crashed noisily to the floor.
Ah-Li turned and dropped to his knees. “G-Greetings, Clan Leader.”
Bai Qiuyue stepped into the hall, his white robes spotless. His gaze swept over the mess on the floor, and his expression darkened. “Hurry and clean that up.”
“Y-Yes!”
Bai Qiuyue walked around Ah-Li and came to Ji Chaoyun’s side. “I heard you haven’t eaten or drunk anything for five whole days. What is this? I haven’t even done anything to you yet, and you already don’t want to live?”
Ji Chaoyun glanced at him, then lowered his eyes and ignored him.
The corner of Bai Qiuyue’s mouth curved slightly. He sighed. “I thought what you said just now was quite good. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong person. Ah-Li won’t help you.”
Ji Chaoyun’s eyes snapped open.
Bai Qiuyue smiled and said mildly, “Ji Chaoyun, do you know how many people have wanted to pledge themselves to me these past few days?”
“I locked them separately in the dungeons behind the mountain. There is no light, no sound, not a shred of spiritual power, and neither water nor food. They don’t know whether their relatives and companions are safe. They don’t even know whether the Immortal Realm has already fallen completely. Living each day in constant fear like that, how many do you think managed to endure?”
“...Not many.” Bai Qiuyue continued, “Every day, I watch them beg me from inside the dungeon. They beg to serve the Demon Clan and beg me to let them out. Do you know something though? I don’t trust any of them.”
“There is only one kind of person in this world worth trusting: someone whose weakness is firmly in your grasp.”
Ji Chaoyun’s expression shifted slightly, and his gaze moved toward Ah-Li.
The small youth knelt on the floor, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Bai Qiuyue said, “Ah-Li’s grandfather is the oldest elder of the Heavenly Fox Clan and was once one of my parents’ subordinates. The old man is in poor health and cannot withstand the cold and hardship of the dungeon, so Ah-Li has no choice but to obey me.”
“Even your own clansmen, you...”
Before Ji Chaoyun could finish, a hand abruptly closed around his throat.
Bai Qiuyue tightened his fingers and lifted him bodily from the bed. “You still have the leisure to worry about others? Are you truly not afraid I’ll kill you?”
The pressure around his throat made it difficult for Ji Chaoyun to breathe. He clutched Bai Qiuyue’s wrist and forced out, “...Do you dare?”
“You...”
“Clan Leader!” Ah-Li suddenly cried, “Didn’t you say the Dem… His Venerable ordered you to spare Young Master Ji’s life? Clan Leader, please show mercy.”
The strength in Bai Qiuyue’s hand loosened. He shoved Ji Chaoyun back onto the bed. Air rushed back into Ji Chaoyun’s lungs, and he doubled over, coughing violently.
Bai Qiuyue said, “I’ll have Ah-Li prepare another meal and bring it here. You’d better obediently eat it. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to make you eat it my own way.”
After saying this, he turned a cold gaze toward Ah-Li. “Did you hear me?”
Ah-Li replied, “Yes...”
Bai Qiuyue withdrew his gaze and walked out without looking back.
Ah-Li shuffled forward on his knees until he reached the bed. Seeing the ring of red marks around Ji Chaoyun’s neck, tears welled in his eyes. “Young Master, why must you...”
“I’m fine.” Ji Chaoyun caught his breath and looked toward the hall entrance. In a low voice, he said, “It seems I guessed correctly.”
☁
Bai Qiuyue strode into the clan leader’s bedchamber with a dark expression.
Several members of the Heavenly Fox Clan were cleaning inside.
Bai Qiuyue sat behind the long table at the front of the hall. One clansman approached carrying hot tea. “Clan Leader, please have some tea.”
“Get out.”
“You said...”
Bai Qiuyue suddenly knocked the teacup from his hands and shouted, “I said get out!”
“Y-Yes!” The clansman paled with fright, bowed to Bai Qiuyue, and hurried out of the hall.
The hall doors closed before Bai Qiuyue’s eyes. The lingering creak echoing through the empty chamber.
The stump of his left wrist hurt until it was nearly numb. Bai Qiuyue raised his left arm and saw that blood had already soaked through the white bandages at some point.
He stared at the bandaged stump and gave a mocking laugh. As though all the strength had been drained from his body, he leaned back in the chair and released a weary breath.
“...Who has upset my little fox again?” Yan Huaqing’s voice sounded through the empty hall. Bai Qiuyue slowly opened his eyes.
A hazy figure appeared within a bronze mirror on the long table.
Bai Qiuyue did not look at the mirror. He gazed into the empty space overhead and said quietly, “No one.”
“No one? Then it must be me.” Yan Huaqing regarded him mildly, his voice exceedingly patient. “You’ve cut off your connection with me these past few days. Are you angry with me?”
Bai Qiuyue ignored him coldly. “How would this subordinate dare be angry with Venerable?”
“If you aren’t angry, why won’t you look at me? Don’t you love looking at me most?” Yan Huaqing said gently, “I’ve told you many times. You aren’t my subordinate. You are the person closest to me in this world.”
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Bai Qiuyue’s mouth. “I fear... you ought to add ‘once was’ to that now.”
“What do you mean?”
Bai Qiuyue still did not look at him. He scoffed. “Am I wrong? If not, why wouldn’t you let me end Ji Chaoyun’s life at the immortal residence? Why are you keeping him alive?”
“The child of an immortal and a god, with the bloodlines of both the dragon and phoenix clans combined. Naturally, that child is far more useful than a mere Heavenly Fox like me. Am I right?”
“...”
The figure in the mirror remained silent for a long while before Yan Huaqing said, “I do indeed want the child in his belly.”
Bai Qiuyue’s hand hanging at his side silently clenched.
The room became so quiet that the drop of a needle could have been heard. Only Yan Huaqing’s voice continued unhurriedly, “Everything is ready. The day the Demon Realm’s seal is broken is close at hand. Follow my instructions and bring Ji Chaoyun and his child safely to the Demon Realm. You will understand everything else when the time comes.”
A cold gleam passed through Bai Qiuyue’s eyes, though nothing unusual showed on his face. “I will. Venerable may rest assured.”
Yan Huaqing studied Bai Qiuyue’s profile, then shifted his gaze to his wrist. “Why is the wound bleeding again? Have you not been applying medicine properly?”
“I...”
“No matter. Once you reach the Demon Realm, this Venerable will personally treat your wound.”
Bai Qiuyue’s eyes flickered. At last, he could not resist turning his head.
Yan Huaqing had already left. Only a hazy shadow remained in the mirror, slowly fading away.
Bai Qiuyue stared at the bronze mirror for a long time. Only after a while did he say softly, “Venerable may rest assured. I will certainly deliver him to the Demon Realm completely unharmed, provided he behaves himself.”
☁
After nightfall, Qingqiu became extraordinarily cold. The sea breeze carried the distinctive dampness of seawater and seemed to seep straight into one’s bones.
Few people moved about the Heavenly Fox Clan at night. Only several clansmen on patrol made their rounds between the various halls.
The disturbance came in an instant. Flames suddenly rose from some distant hall. Once the sea wind caught them, the fire spread rapidly.
“Fire! Hurry, there’s a fire over there!”
“That’s the side hall where Young Master Ji is staying! The Clan Leader ordered us to take good care of him before he left. Hurry and put out the fire!”
“Why is the fire getting bigger? We can’t put it out!”
The silence shattered, and cries of alarm erupted throughout the clan grounds. Amid the chaos, no one noticed a dark figure silently slipping between halls and pavilions, passing through the heavily guarded defenses and heading toward the rear mountain.
Ji Chaoyun wore a fitted green outfit in the standard style of the Heavenly Fox Clan guards.
He had waited several days and had finally found an opportunity tonight, when Bai Qiuyue had shut himself away and refused to emerge.
The flames at the front mountain grew fiercer, making the rear mountain seem even quieter than usual. Ji Chaoyun soon reached a valley in the rear mountain, but his steps abruptly stopped. He braced a hand against the stone wall beside him and bent slightly, forcing himself to endure the spiritual power churning ceaselessly within his abdomen.
Someone approached quickly in the distance. Ji Chaoyun slipped behind a section of rock and peered out. It was Ah-Li.
Ah-Li held up a torch and looked around beside the stone wall. “Young Master? Young Master?”
“I’m here.” Ji Chaoyun had just tried to step forward when a heavy, dragging pain struck along with another violent fluctuation of spiritual power. His legs weakened, and he nearly fell to the ground.
“Young Master!” Ah-Li hurried forward to steady him. The firelight illuminated Ji Chaoyun’s pale face.
Ah-Li said anxiously, “Young Master, you’ve cut off the supply of spiritual power to the child in your belly these past few days. If this continues, he’ll begin forcibly absorbing your spiritual power.”
“It’s all right.” Ji Chaoyun remained where he was until the pain eased somewhat, then slowly said, “Bai Qiuyue forced me to eat those meals mixed with spiritual medicine because he wanted me to replenish my spiritual power so the child would be born sooner. Yan Huaqing must want to use this child. No matter what, I cannot let him be born at a time like this.”
Ji Chaoyun’s face was deathly pale as he said quietly, “I would rather die than let this child become a second Bai Qiuyue.”
“Young Master...”
Ji Chaoyun raised a hand to stop him, then asked, “How are things at the dungeon?”
Ah-Li replied, “We followed your instructions and rescued everyone. They’re all heading toward the cliff at the rear mountain now. That cliff is a hundred zhang high, and there is sea on every side. How are we supposed to...”
“You rescued them just like that?” Ji Chaoyun’s eyes narrowed slightly. “That was far too easy...”
During his days among the fox clan, he had noticed that Bai Qiuyue disappeared for two hours every evening. Several times, Ji Chaoyun had even deliberately caused trouble within the clan, yet Bai Qiuyue still did not appear.
For that reason, he had persuaded Ah-Li to gather several clansmen unwilling to submit and use the cover of night to set a fire and rescue the prisoners.
Yet... how could everything have gone so smoothly?
Ah-Li asked, “Young Master, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the Immortal Realm allied forces will meet you there.” Ji Chaoyun rubbed the youth’s head and said gently, “Ah-Li, I’ll leave everyone in your care. Once the allied forces arrive, leave this place immediately. The dragon clan will protect you.”
“What about you?”
“I...”
“He isn’t going anywhere.” A voice sounded behind them.
They both turned. Wei Shaoyang emerged from behind the mountain rocks with more than a dozen Heavenly Fox clansmen.
Ji Chaoyun moved in front of Ah-Li and said under his breath, “Go. I’ll deal with them and come find you. If I haven’t appeared after the time it takes an incense stick to burn, have them take all of you away.”
“Young Master...”
“Go!”
Tears welled in Ah-Li’s eyes. He wiped them away and choked out, “Thank you for saving my life, Young Master. Ah-Li will remember this forever.”
He hurried into the darkness. Wei Shaoyang raised a hand, and several clansmen were about to give chase.
Ji Chaoyun raised his hand, and a slender immortal sword appeared in his grasp.
Only then did Ji Chaoyun take a closer look at the people before him. Every one of them bore burns of varying severity. Even Wei Shaoyang at the head of the group had half his robe hem and some of his hair burned away. Covered in soot and dust, he looked particularly wretched.
The smell of scorched vegetation lingered in the air. Ji Chaoyun laughed lightly. “The Phoenix Divine Fire doesn’t feel very pleasant, does it?”
Wei Shaoyang shouted angrily, “Pah! Ji Chaoyun, don’t be so arrogant! You set a fire, tried to escape, and freed so many prisoners. Today will be the day you die!”
“Prisoners... They are your fellow immortals. Some of them were even your fellow disciples.” Ji Chaoyun looked at him coldly. “Are you truly so obstinate that you refuse to see reason?”
“You’re trying to stall for time until reinforcements arrive, aren’t you?” Wei Shaoyang’s gaze darkened. He shouted, “Attack! Kill him!”
Dozens of clansmen drew their swords at once and rushed toward Ji Chaoyun. Ji Chaoyun turned aside from the nearest blade, rotated the sword in his hand, and struck the attacker’s back with the hilt.
He was no longer what he had once been. Facing dozens of Heavenly Fox clansmen alone, he still held back with every strike and showed no sign of being at a disadvantage.
He even had enough leisure to turn toward Wei Shaoyang and ask, “Even Bai Qiuyue doesn’t dare kill me. You certainly have courage.”
“So what?” Wei Shaoyang said. “You set a fire and tried to escape. We were ordered to pursue you and accidentally stabbed you to death. Who could blame us?”
Ji Chaoyun kicked away a clansman who swung his sword at him and nodded. “A fine calculation. Unfortunately...”
His voice stopped.
As though he had caught sight of a glimmer of light within the darkness, a thought Ji Chaoyun had overlooked suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Before he could react, an invisible light flared deep within his sea of consciousness and swiftly seized control of his body.
A sword came down toward Ji Chaoyun’s head, but before it could touch him, the clansman’s movements abruptly stopped.
The young man looked down. Scalding blood sprayed from his body, bursting from his severed throat.
“No...” The young clansman fell stiffly before Ji Chaoyun. Ji Chaoyun stared at him blankly and shook his head in disbelief.
Another cold gleam stabbed toward him from behind. Ji Chaoyun turned sharply and drove his sword straight through the attacker’s heart.
One sword after another.
The dozens of Heavenly Fox clansmen fell one after another beneath Ji Chaoyun’s blade. At last, Wei Shaoyang’s expression changed.
He turned to flee. At that very moment, the final clansman fell.
Wei Shaoyang looked up. Ji Chaoyun stood between the narrow stone walls, drenched in blood. The towering flames in the distance cast his slender, thin silhouette into stark relief.
“D-Don’t kill me. Don’t kill me...” Wei Shaoyang slowly backed away, his face white as paper.
Ji Chaoyun walked toward him. His steps were extremely slow, as though he were struggling with all his strength.
Wei Shaoyang could no longer care about anything else. His knees gave way, and he dropped to the ground. “Don’t kill me! I didn’t want to join the demon clan either! It was Bai Qiuyue! Bai Qiuyue said that if I didn’t do this, he would kill everyone in Yunlucheng! I already offended you and Divine Lord Feng Xiao. I had nowhere else to go... Please, please don’t kill me...”
Ji Chaoyun had already reached him. A fine layer of sweat covered his forehead, and pain showed on his face.
Only now did Wei Shaoyang finally hear what he was saying.
He was saying, “Run!”
Wei Shaoyang froze.
The next moment, Ji Chaoyun raised his sword high and thrust it through Wei Shaoyang’s throat.
The sword was pulled free, and Wei Shaoyang’s body collapsed to the ground.
His eyes remained wide, his expression filled with shock and terror as though he still wanted to say something. He could no longer speak. Bloody foam spilled from his pierced throat, and the light in his eyes rapidly faded.
The sea wind swept between the steep stone walls, making a sound like wailing.
Ji Chaoyun stood alone amid the bodies, his sword hand shaking uncontrollably.
He had never killed so many immortals before.
“So why did you have to run?” Bai Qiuyue’s voice sounded quietly. He walked up behind Ji Chaoyun, lightly took the sword from his hand, and tossed it onto the ground.
Bai Qiuyue leaned close to Ji Chaoyun’s ear and murmured, “If you hadn’t run, they wouldn’t have died, and neither would you. Wouldn’t that have been better?”
Ji Chaoyun could not turn around. His voice was hoarse. “You’re going to kill me?”
“No. I won’t kill you.” Bai Qiuyue wiped the splattered blood from Ji Chaoyun’s cheek and said mildly, “These past few days, I’ve been thinking about what method I could use to avoid the outcome I don’t wish to see. Fortunately, I’ve now thought of a wonderful idea.”
He tilted his head and whispered something beside Ji Chaoyun’s ear.
Ji Chaoyun’s expression changed instantly.
The Phoenix Divine Fire could not be extinguished without divine power. The blaze soon completely swallowed the palace hidden among the mountains, staining the horizon red. Under cover of night and flames, dark figures began landing upon the isolated island one after another.
Before long, people reached the place where the fighting had occurred.
“W-Why are there so many dead people here?!” someone in the group exclaimed.
Feng Qi approached with Shuofeng, his gaze sweeping darkly across the surroundings. Shuofeng crouched and quickly examined several bodies before returning to Feng Qi’s side. “Divine Lord, this seems to be... Young Master’s swordsmanship.”
Feng Qi’s expression darkened, but he did not answer. Something suddenly caught the corner of his eye. He strode forward and picked up a slender immortal sword from the ground.
Shuofeng was startled. “This sword...”
Familiar spiritual power still lingered upon the slender blade. Feng Qi lightly brushed his fingers over the bloodstained sword and said, “It’s his sword. He’s nearby. Split up and search!”
No one knew that somewhere along these stone walls was a concealed cave.
An illusion concealed its entrance, making it invisible to outsiders.
Bai Qiuyue stood at the mouth of the cave and watched the people moving back and forth outside, seemingly with great interest. “A pack of fools. Do you truly think they can save you?”
Ji Chaoyun knelt inside the cave, his gaze fixed tightly on the outside.
Feng Qi happened to pass directly before the cave entrance. His steps paused slightly, and he looked toward the cave.
Through the stone wall concealed by illusion, Ji Chaoyun met Feng Qi’s gaze.
Feng Qi...
Ji Chaoyun could not move a single part of his body. He silently called out in his heart. Feng Qi did not notice. He merely swept his gaze over the stone wall before continuing quickly onward.
The footsteps outside gradually faded away. The corner of Bai Qiuyue’s mouth curved upward. “See? I told you. He can’t find you.”
He turned and slowly walked toward Ji Chaoyun. “Little dragon, now that only the two of us remain, have you considered the proposal I gave you earlier?”
The cave was completely silent. Ji Chaoyun stubbornly kept his eyes fixed outside. Only when the last trace of sound disappeared did he slowly close his eyes.
Feng Qi.
Feng Qi...
Far away in the forest, Feng Qi abruptly stopped.
☁︎₊˚⊹ The Author’s Jade-Slip Aside ⊹˚₊☁︎
Red packets will continue to be given to the first thirty comments on this chapter.
I wanted to hurry and finish writing this stretch of the plot, so this chapter ended up a little longer. The little one should probably come out tomorrow orz
【Recently there have suddenly been a lot more cuties sending nutrient solution hahaha. Did you all suddenly become this rich?】
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