Han Yunxi stopped caressing her stomach, for now she was finally carrying the seed that Long Feiye had longed for since the start. Hadn’t she wanted a baby as well? Well now it was here, but there was no way for her to tell Long Feiye the good news. She couldn’t begin to imagine how happy he’d feel if he knew.
After Bai Yanqing knocked her out that day, she woke up in this small, dark room. She had no idea how long she was unconscious for, much less the difference between day and night. Bai Yanqing might be afraid of her, because all he did was deliver her three meals. Whenever possible, he avoided speaking to her so she couldn’t get any information out of him. She used all the powers of the detox system and discovered there were countless poison plants around her. The only thing she could ascertain was that Bai Yanqing had locked her up in the poisons storehouse of the Poison Sect’s forbidden grounds. As to where the storehouse was, she had no idea. Her dark days pa.s.sed without end as she fretted uselessly over Long Feiye. This was probably the most depressing moment of her life.
It wasn’t until she discovered her stomach pains and lack of menstruation that she realized she might be pregnant. The beginning stages of pregnancy often came with pains and menstruation issues. Although she was technically a doctor, she wasn’t learned in obstetrics and knew little of pregnancy. She’d only found out so much through casual conversation with Ning Jing in Three-Way Black Market. Pregnancy pulses were very faint and differed with each person; some people showed signs as early as 30 days, while others needed 40-50 days to exhibit any hints. She had no idea how big her baby was when she determined the pulse, much less how many months had pa.s.sed since her pregnancy.
It would be lying if she wasn’t uneasy about this!
Things might have been different if she knew earlier. With Long Feiye’s temper, he would have placed her under house arrest in Jiangnan’s Plum Blossom Sea ages ago. Despite only having an estimate, she could still feel the changes in temperature from within her room. Medical City was located in the north[1] and the room tended to be chilly. Han Yunxi considered various elements before determining that it had to be autumn already, probably the seventh or eighth lunar month.
Her monthly friend had paid its last visit during the last ten days of March. As things stood, the baby was probably close to four months old. She had been skinny to begin with and wore wide-fitting robes, so it was impossible for Bai Yanqing to tell her pregnancy unless he looked closely. However, she could clearly feel her protruding belly. No matter whether this was a girl or boy, it was her and Long Feiye’s flesh and blood. They were growing by the day and would soon be able to sense her moods, hear her voice, and sense the movements of the world outside. Han Yunxi dearly hoped to return to Long Feiye’s side before the baby was capable of sensing the outside world. She loved Long Feiye’s low, magnetic voice. Although it sounded cold, it was still pleasant to listen to. If the little fellow heard its father’s voice, he or she should be happy too.
Under Bai Yanqing’s watch, she knew there were zero chances of her escaping from the storehouse. Her only hope laid in finding a way to contact a rescue party. Long Feiye and the rest must be looking for her all over the place, but they’d always had guards at the Poison Sect’s forbidden grounds. Thanks to the mysterious black-robed figure they encountered here in the past, she and Long Feiye had a team of poison guards stationed deep in the forest.
If she wanted to call in reinforcements, she’d have to leave this little room first.
Despite her anxiety, Han Yunxi had never sounded Bai Yanqing out or tried any methods. Unless she was 100 percent certain, prodding the man would only raise his suspicions and make it harder for her eventual escape. For now, she had to wait patiently for an opportune moment.
--
Bai Yanqing came in as usual with a lantern in hand. It illuminated the secret, sealed s.p.a.ce and Han Yunxi’s face. She was sitting in a corner, hugging her knees to hide her stomach so no one could catch an inkling. As Bai Yanqing examined her, she studied him back. His face broke into a friendly face at the eye contact, but he remained mute. Setting down the food, he turned and prepared to leave.
The container of food was three huge layers high and included rice, vegetables, and soup. Bai Yanqing seemed to worry that she wouldn’t eat well, because he took especial care when it came to her meals. Han Yunxi knew Bai Yanqing was only taking such pains because he feared her health would suffer in captivity, making her a poor opponent for Long Feiye in the future. He wanted her to cross swords with Long Feiye so the two of them could kill each other off. Before that happened, she had to be well-kept, healthy, and uninjured. Only then would their duel be sensational, after all.
Although she knew Bai Yanqing had ulterior motives and sinister plans, Han Yunxi still ate her three meals well. How else would she have the strength to trick him? And nurture the baby in her stomach? On this point at least, she was much luckier than Ning Jing. Han Yunxi also knew that the fact that Bai Yanqing refused to harm her would become a big ace in her sleeve. She would have to sabotage that fact for any hopes of escaping this dark room.
Day after day pa.s.sed. Han Yunxi was still out of ideas. If she guessed right and it really was winter, then her dual cultivation deadline with Long Feiye was fast approaching. Only five or so months remained! If things dragged on any longer than this, she was really going to feel afraid!
On this day, Bai Yanqing came to bring her breakfast again, but Han Yunxi simply curled up in a corner, mute. She looked at him coldly until the man was about to leave and lock the door. Then her gaze turned ruthless before she gave out a low, piteous wail. Bai Yanqing was immediately on guard, but he didn’t look back and continued to keep walking. Han Yunxi steeled her heart and rolled onto the ground, protecting her stomach with both hands. She couldn’t help crying out twice as blood flowed out from beneath her skirts. Bai Yanqing glanced back and paused, then finally opened the jail cell dool.
“Stinkin’ la.s.s, don’t even dream of…” He didn’t finish before he saw her bloodstained dress and her protruding stomach.
“You…” Bai Yanqing was surprised. He could smell poison in the air. He a.s.sumed Han Yunxi was up to some scheme again, but never realized she was actually pregnant. Moreover, she was poisoning herself to abort her baby!
“Even a tiger won’t eat its own cubs! Hehe, you woman, this old man really underestimated you!” Bai Yanqing laughed coldly.
Han Yunxi had a face full of pain as she looked up at him. “I’d rather Long Feiye never knew the baby existed than have him kill his own flesh and blood! I’ll be the villain in this case!”
Those words successfully stirred Bai Yanqing’s interest. With amus.e.m.e.nt, he laughed. “Tsktsktsk, it’ll be very interesting when your family of three reunites in five months!”
“It won’t be a family of three! Bai Yanqing, don’t you fret, I’ll accompany my child to the afterlife!” Han Yunxi said icily. “Even if it’s at the gates of the underworld, my family of three will have its reunion all the same! I’m telling you now, I’ll never raise my sword against Long Feiye in this lifetime! You’ll never understand what it means to truly love someone and be loved in turn!”
Bai Yanqing gave a start while more blood flowed from beneath Han Yunxi’s dress.
“No! You can’t die! Even less should your child! Definitely not!” Bai Yanqing raved like a madman.
Ice glimmered in Han Yunxi’s eyes before she said, “You’ll never be able to cure my personal poison!”
That was enough to incite Bai Yanqing into a rage and panic. He rushed outside and shouted, “Someone come, go to Medical City and grab a few maternity doctors! Quickly!”
Hearing this, Han Yunxi exhaled in relief. She had poisoned herself, but it was an accurate dosage issued by the detox system. Any more and both her and the baby would be in danger. This dosage was also enough to elicit surface symptoms of an oncoming abortion, but if treated in time, could salvage the situation. She had no other way than risking it. She had even prepared herself to either live or die together with her child!
Before that, she’d entertained other ideas like faking a fall or ingesting safflowers, but poison was the best choice because she could control it completely. After all, this way both her and the baby had a second way out via the antidote if she regretted her decision.
Bai Yanqing took a sample of her blood and quickly produced an antidote for the poison after some a.n.a.lysis. He forced Han Yunxi to take it, but still didn’t get his doctors. Han Yunxi curled up into a ball on the ground and began to tremble as if she was cold. She still seemed to be bleeding as the bloodstains on her dress grew bigger and bigger. Looming over her, Bai Yanqing could only stare. In the end he had to personally grab the cotton-padded quilt from the stone bench nearby to drape over Han Yunxi’s body, but that didn’t help matters.
“Why haven’t they found any doctors yet?!” he shouted.
Hao San quickly walked inside. “Master, how could it be so simple to find maternity doctors in Medical City? Suppose we startle the snake in the gra.s.s? As this subordinate sees it, just forget about the baby.”
Bai Yanqing stared at the pale, shaking Han Yunxi and asked, “Can you guarantee that abandoning it won’t result in two deaths instead?”
That’s what Han Yunxi had threatened him with, after all. Hao San didn’t know enough medical knowledge to guess, much less obstetrics. He didn’t dare answer. If they lost the baby, his master would lose a piece of amus.e.m.e.nt at best, but losing Han Yunxi was a big deal.
“This subordinate has already sent people to search, they’ll capture them as soon as they can,” Hao San said honestly.
“Cold...it’s cold…” Han Yunxi’s mind was clear, but she really was freezing. Still, it wasn’t as bad as she was acting out. “Bai Yanqing, it’s no use...heheh, farewell!”
“If you see Long Feiye...help the mother of his baby to say goodbye on both our behalf.”
It seemed that she had bled more, enough to dye a large swath of thatch red. Bai Yanqing and Hao San wouldn’t go as far as lifting up her dress, so they had no idea that Han Yunxi’s condition wasn’t as bad as they’d feared. The additional blood came simply from cuts on her legs. Even if this lasted for two more hours, Han Yunxi would still be able to hold on.
But to their eyes, Han Yunxi was experiencing a ma.s.sive haemorrhage! Bai Yanqing’s eyes had already narrowed into slits as he was both furious and panicking. He was only a poisons master, not even a poison doctor. He had no solutions to this mess. Gripping Hao San by the collar, he demanded, “Why aren’t the doctors here yet? Why not?!”
Hao San was even more anxious than him, but suddenly had a stroke of genius. “Master, the doctors must be already on their way. How about we bring her to Ning Jing and Su Xiaoyu for a look? Ning Jing’s given birth before and Su Xiaoyu’s worked long enough by Gu Beiyue’s side to learn some medical skills!”
1. This is relevant because Poison Sect is located behind the place.