Chapter 513: The Birth
Saang Zhe couldn’t see what happened next.
Not because he didn’t want to, but because Nian Nian had voluntarily shut down the mask mode.
“What are you doing?” Saang Zhe said, slightly annoyed.
Nian Nian poked his face with a pout, “Just checking what you’re currently thinking.”
“If you’re anxious and restless, what’s going to happen to Little Ying? What about the others in the Saang family?”
“Since you’re the head of the family, you need to show some composure. Don’t be all soft and squishy like a marshmallow.”
Despite Nian Nian’s blunt words, Saang Zhe slowly began to calm down.
“…What should I do?”
“Don’t worry,” Nian Nian said casually, “The child will be born just fine, and Little Ying will be okay too.”
“With this system giving you a guarantee, can you relax a bit now?”
Saang Zhe nodded, releasing a long breath.
Nian Nian, arms crossed and floating in mid-air, glanced at Saang Zhe’s face with a subtle gaze.
“By the way.”
“Aren’t you going to ask Bai Ming why she’s not here today?”
“She’s inside giving phone instructions for the cesarean. If I want to ask, I have to wait until today is over,” Saang Zhe replied tiredly.
Nian Nian rolled her eyes and said nothing more.
The air fell back into a tense silence.
——
Meanwhile, the people outside seemed to sense that something was off.
“I say, National Teacher.”
Xu Yourong poked Li Shanyan, “I’ve never had a child, but does it really take this long to give birth?”
“…There are shorter ones and longer ones,” Li Shanyan replied, his expression now serious rather than playful. “But according to my previous observations, it shouldn’t be this troublesome.”
“If things were going smoothly, we should have already gone in to present our gifts.”
Xu Yourong couldn’t help but retract his neck, “Could it… really be that something went wrong?”
Li Shanyan shot him a fierce glare.
And it wasn’t just him.
Qin Xiuyuan and Long Xiao also glared at him fiercely.
Xu Yourong immediately shrank back, feeling slightly wronged.
“It definitely feels off in there.”
Long Xiao squinted, “The surrounding spiritual energy seems to be drawn towards somewhere.”
“Yeah,” Qin Xiuyuan whispered, “It looks like it’s drawing towards the delivery room.”
“What if something serious really happened?”
“Don’t jinx it. Be careful; if Saang Zhe comes out, he might come for you,” they all knew too well.
This child was, after all, Saang Zhe’s lifeblood.
If something went wrong today, no one would sleep well tonight.
“Hmm?”
The Four Great Ascendant Realms suddenly looked up simultaneously.
The pulling force from the delivery room seemed to swell several times, and a barely visible vortex of spiritual energy began to spin slowly above the Saang residence.
“What… is this…”
“Everyone,” Li Shanyan said solemnly, “Act now.”
The Four Great Ascendant Realms soared into the air, each taking a side to firmly hold the spiritual vortex.
But the suction force from the delivery room was only growing stronger, the surrounding spiritual energy gradually thinning as more distant energies were drawn in, making the vortex spin even faster.
“This is not good.”
Li Shanyan frowned, “At this rate, before we can control the vortex, all the surrounding spiritual energy will vanish.”
“And it’s drawing energy from even farther away. If this continues, the vortex will just get bigger, and we’ll struggle to protect the Saang residence.”
“But we also can’t destroy the vortex easily,” Long Xiao added with worry, “What if it’s related to the fetus…”
Li Shanyan pondered for a moment.
The other three looked to him as well.
Though he currently appeared as a harmless young boy, the National Teacher, Li Shanyan, was still the most trustworthy person present.
After a moment, Li Shanyan slowly opened his eyes, his youthful voice speaking up:
“…Do you have any money?”
The other three almost fell from the air.
“What?! National Teacher, are you joking? You’re thinking about money at a time like this?!”
“I’m saying,” Li Shanyan said earnestly, “To create a vortex we can control, we need to prevent further distant energies from being drawn in.”
“In other words, we need to actively supply it with energy ourselves.”
The three exchanged glances, suddenly enlightened.
Quickly, above the Saang residence, four streams of spiritual energy burst forth into the air, directly targeting that vortex.
To an outsider, the Saang residence appeared to be celebrating like a fireworks display, various colors of spiritual energy mixing beautifully.
This spectacle soon attracted the attention of everyone in Zhe Sang Town, even those on Magic Path Mountain could spot it from afar.
“Look, that’s the Saang family.”
“Saang Zhe’s child is about to be born!”
“This is a miracle, a miracle!”
“Saang Zhe’s child will likely be more outstanding than him in the future.”
Inside the delivery room, Zhang Xiaoying had already lost consciousness multiple times.
Her awareness was becoming hazy, and her sweat was diminishing, as if all the moisture and spiritual energy in her body were being drained away.
In a daze, she seemed to hear chaotic battle cries around her.
Amongst the cultivators, blades flashed and blood flowed, with servants from the Water Moon Sect on one side and those from the Demon Cult on the other.
Zhang Xiaoying appeared to be standing in the midst of a chaotic battlefield, everywhere filled with the nauseating stench of blood, and every step was like walking over corpses.
She didn’t know how long she wandered aimlessly.
Until exhausted, she fell into a mountain of bodies.
Behind her, she could vaguely hear distant voices, mocking and regretful.
“Do we still need to save that person?”
“What person? Zhang Xiaoying?”
“Huh? Is there such a person on our team?”
“She’s so inconspicuous; I almost forgot she was part of the team.”
“Forget it, let’s act like we didn’t see her.”
“We never saw her anyway; I didn’t even know when she disappeared, where she went.”
Zhang Xiaoying couldn’t hear clearly.
But those words buzzed around her ears like mosquitoes, lingering for a long time.
Making her feel restless.
Causing her indescribable pain.
She didn’t want to die in this place.
She didn’t want to just disappear and be forgotten.
She wanted to go home.
To return to her parents, to the small town where she was born.
To spend a few easy days in her parents’ tailor shop, weaving fabric and chatting with them.
Cooking, sitting on the doorstep to bask in the sun.
Zhang Xiaoying bit her cracked lips.
She thought she heard someone calling her name.
Yan Rouwan. Master Yu Xia.
Gu Yingmian. Huo Ningxue.
But she couldn’t lift her eyelids.
Her eyelids felt so heavy, so tired. Just keeping them barely open drained all her strength.
And she felt, if she closed her eyes now, she would immediately see the scenes she longed for.
Seeing her hometown.
Seeing the familiar tailor shop.
Seeing her parents’ gentle smiles.
Seeing someone remember her name and lift her from the blood-soaked ground.
Cleaning her up in water, changing her into clean clothes.
Making tea, cooking, and doing laundry for her.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
“I’m Saang Zhe from the Punishment Department, and you’re a disciple of the Water Moon Sect, right? I might have seen you before.”
Zhang Xiaoying slowly opened her eyes.
The voice’s owner was gripping her hand tightly, so tight it hurt a bit.
His handsome face was streaked with tears, eyes slightly red, as he bent over her, weeping uncontrollably.
When he cried, Zhang Xiaoying suddenly felt a great pain.
Everywhere hurt.
Her body hurt. Her heart hurt too.
It hurt so much that she couldn’t help but want to hug him and pat his head.
“Husband…”
That dry voice, as if it didn’t come from her at all, escaped from her throat.
The man in front of her trembled violently, then looked up in surprise, his face stained with tears showing pure excitement.
The next moment, she was embraced by the familiar warmth.
“Little Ying! You’re awake!”
“Child…” she felt weak, unable even to push Saang Zhe away.
In the past, she would have smacked him on the head, watching him come over with a cheeky grin, begging her to keep hitting him.
Saang Zhe quickly took a swaddled bundle from Aunt Yu and held it out to Zhang Xiaoying.
Zhang Xiaoying struggled to prop herself up, stretching her neck to see the child’s face.
In that moment, she couldn’t hold back the flood of tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
…The child was safe.
So beautiful.
Resembling both herself and Saang Zhe.
That tender little mouth, that straight little nose, the tiny skin, and the small hand instinctively gripping her finger.
“My… child.”
Zhang Xiaoying laughed through her tears.
Laughing until she could barely breathe.
“Yes,” Saang Zhe also laughed, “Our child.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
He leaned down and gently kissed Zhang Xiaoying’s lips.
Then handed the child over gently, allowing her to kiss the baby too.
All the onlookers were deeply moved.
Aunt Yu secretly wiped a few tears, while Yan Rouwan looked on, touched and happy.
Gu Yingmian smiled with relief, Huo Ningxue seemed to breathe a deep sigh of relief.
Shi Qingyan and Meng Qiyan’s eyes were red, while Si Jingzhu and Hua Jianglian crowded next to Zhang Xiaoying, eager to glimpse the little baby.
Zhang Xiaoying’s parents, Zhang Zhiquan and his wife, were crying hysterically by the bedside.
Tang Yubbing and Long Huan were the first to exit the Saang residence, conveying the good news to the four Great Ascendants and other powers waiting outside.
“Dad, the child is safely born.”
“Everyone, thank you all so much tonight. The child has safely arrived; please stay at the Saang residence for the night. A grand banquet tomorrow.”
Xu Yourong finally sighed in relief, Long Xiao stroked his beard, and Qin Xiuyuan smiled, “Young Master Saang is indeed blessed; the child will surely be happy and healthy, living to a hundred.”
Li Shanyan gazed at the Saang residence for a long time, and finally nodded with a kind smile.
“It seems my wish earlier has indeed borne fruit.”
“Wishing? What did you wish for?”
“I wished that if the child could safely arrive… I’d gladly work like an ox for this child for life.”
Xu Yourong instantly looked at Li Shanyan with deep respect.
——
On the other side.
At the top floor of the Fusa Pavilion in Linzhou.
Watching the adorable face of the baby on the communication device, Bai Ming let out a relieved sigh. The little maid beside her congratulated, “Master, that’s wonderful.”
“It seems the cesarean method indeed works.”
“Of course it works.”
Bai Ming turned to glance at her highly pregnant belly, her gaze growing softer.
“If it didn’t… I’d have no face to meet the child’s father.”
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