Chapter 65
Qi Zhou continued kicking the tree angrily, cursing Er Niu through gritted teeth.
After he finished venting, Xia Yi cautiously asked, “So, what do you plan to do now?”
“I’m going to kill that dog of a man, Gu Beicheng,” Qi Zhou replied, his eyes still red.
Tsk, if you were going to kill him, you could’ve done it earlier when you were walking side by side. That would’ve been the perfect time.
Seeing that Qi Zhou was still fuming, Xia Yi thought for a moment and said, “I don’t think you need to go as far as killing him. Why carry a murder on your conscience? It’s cleaner this way, isn’t it? You’re going to return to your world eventually, and once you do, you’ll never have to see him again. Just act like nothing ever happened.”
Qi Zhou froze upon hearing this, his lips pressed tightly together as his gaze drifted.
“What? You don’t want to leave now?” Xia Yi asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Of course not. I never want to see him again,” Qi Zhou muttered, but his voice grew softer.
The two of them continued walking in silence.
“Congratulations, host! Your carrots have matured, and the mission is complete,” came the sudden voice of system 179, accompanied by the sound of fireworks and award music.
[Mission objective: Rescue the head of Qishan Sect and all its disciples.]
[Completion: 1/1]
[Reward: Painless and safe childbirth.]
Xia Yi was about to habitually complain about the reward, but the words caught in his throat.
W-what? Did I hear that right? Painless and safe childbirth?
“Yes, host. When I first saw this mission, I didn’t even want to tell you the reward because the task seemed insane. Now, I realize this reward is amazing.”
179 burst into cheerful laughter.
Xia Yi was initially stunned, his mind buzzing like he had been struck by lightning.
After the shock subsided, he began to think. Hey, come to think of it, this reward isn’t bad, not bad at all.
At first, he had a psychological aversion to having children and struggled to adapt to the idea. Once he accepted it, his only remaining fear was of childbirth itself.
There were so many stories about difficult births and excruciating pain that Xia Yi couldn’t bear to imagine what his own labor day would be like.
Especially in this farming world, where there was a lack of resources. If something went wrong during childbirth, he would probably just have to wait to die.
This reward is great, really great—like a considerate, heartwarming friend to all women.
But then, a hint of caution surfaced in Xia Yi’s mind.
“179, in the past, whenever I completed a task, I’d be transported to the cultivation world soon after—sometimes the same day, or at the latest, within two days. Will that happen this time too? I’m an expectant father now. What if I get sent over right when I go into labor?”
“If Wenzhu isn’t by my side, I won’t be able to give birth. I’d hold it in until I burst.”
“Would you be able to bear the responsibility of losing both mother and child? And if Wenzhu can’t handle it, that’s a whole family gone.”
The system was clearly spooked into silence.
After a long pause, it said in a quiet voice, “To be honest, host, I don’t know when you’ll be transported again. But I’ll do my best to make sure that, if you are, Gu Wenzhu comes with you.”
After a moment, it added, “Should we bring Doctor Li along too?”
No, please, Doctor Li is good at treating colds and flu, but he has no clue how to deliver babies.
Back at the village entrance, Xia Yi parted ways with the absent-minded Qi Zhou and headed home.
Turning a corner, he froze in shock.
A crowd of villagers had gathered at his front gate, peeking in with grins on their faces. Some were even holding bowls of food, chatting and whispering. A bunch of village kids were perched on the wall, watching too.
“What’s going on here?” Xia Yi quickly walked up, pushing through the crowd.
“Xiao Yi, you’re back?” Sister Wang, who was holding her baby, leaned in and whispered, “Are those two Wenzhu’s biological parents? They’re stunning, like immortals.”
…So, you all gathered at my house just to gawk at my in-laws?
When Xia Yi squeezed into the yard, he saw that not only was the gate crowded, but there were people inside the courtyard too.
Uncle Wang sat under the ginkgo tree, holding a pipe and sipping tea, while Li Zhu squatted next to him, massaging his legs.
Nearby, at a small table, Cang Yi and Xie Shang sat listening to Uncle Wang with great interest.
“And so, Wenzhu won that fight, so the sugar cake went to him, and the peanuts went to Li Zhu.”
“Then, he turned thirteen—no, wait, fourteen.”
“Wrong, wrong, Uncle Wang! He was only ten that year,” Li Zhu quickly corrected.
So, they were telling stories about Wenzhu’s childhood. I’ve been out all afternoon, and they’ve only gotten to when he was ten years old.
Suddenly, a voice from the wall outside called out, “Uncle, you forgot one thing! Tell them about the time when Wenzhu and I got lost picking persimmons in the mountains when we were nine.”
It was Zheng Ergou’s voice. He was perched on the wall, holding a bowl and surrounded by a group of kids.
Cang Yi and Xie Shang were listening with great interest, not missing a single detail. Even stories about young Gu Wenzhu being chased by a dog and falling into a ditch had them first on edge, then bursting into laughter.
Gu Wenzhu sat silently in a corner of the courtyard, listening to the villagers laughing and recounting his childhood embarrassments, his face expressionless.
Xia Yi knew that Wenzhu’s emotions were probably in turmoil, which made him secretly amused. He casually grabbed a small stool, walked over, and sat down beside him.
Gu Wenzhu noticed someone sitting next to him, and when he saw it was Xia Yi, he quickly stood up and carefully helped him sit down.
This unscripted tea party lasted until nightfall, with the moon high in the sky. Only after the adults collected their children and went home did the remaining villagers reluctantly start to leave.
Gu Wenzhu tidied up the guest room, changing the bedding on the double bed to freshly aired sheets.
This bed was one he had made with his own hands when they got married, one of two he had crafted at the time. When Xia Yi had asked why they needed an extra bed, Wenzhu had cleverly replied that it would be for guests in the future, instead of saying it was for their future child.
Luckily, he had made an extra bed. Otherwise, tonight they would have had to give up their bedroom and sleep on the floor.
After everyone left, the yard grew quiet. Xia Yi, holding two pillows in his arms, curiously peeked out the window.
He saw Cang Yi slowly rise and walk over to the ginkgo tree, gazing up at the full moon in the sky.
Jie Shang followed him, standing by his side and looking up at the moon as well. Without realizing it, Jie Shang quietly slipped his left arm around Cang Yi’s slim waist.
Cang Yi seemed to resist for a moment, but Jie Shang only held him tighter, eventually pulling him into his embrace.
“What are you thinking about?” Gu Wenzhu asked as he shook out the bedding. Xia Yi, unusually quiet, was lost in thought, leaning against the window.
“I’m thinking… that your son’s future childhood playmate might actually be your little brother,” Xia Yi whispered mysteriously.
“What?” Gu Wenzhu asked, clearly confused. “What little brother?”
“Come over here, and you’ll see,” Xia Yi said with a playful smile.
Gu Wenzhu put down the bedding, still puzzled, and walked over to see what Xia Yi was pointing at.
Just in time to see Jie Shang leaning down to gently kiss Cang Yi.
Under the moonlight, their tall figures melded into one.
Gu Wenzhu’s face turned beet red as he quickly pulled Xia Yi away from the window. “Enough, let’s go back to our room.”
Back in their bedroom, Gu Wenzhu brought out a basket of sewing supplies and began making tiger-head shoes for their baby, while Xia Yi grabbed some fresh clothes and headed to the bathroom for a bath.
When Xia Yi awkwardly stepped over the threshold of the washroom, Gu Wenzhu glanced up and cautioned, “Be careful, don’t slip.”
“I know, I know,” Xia Yi replied while closing the door.
Once all his clothes were off, Xia Yi stood in front of the copper mirror, twisting his waist and looking at himself, starting to complain in dissatisfaction.
“179, my eight-pack abs have turned into this huge watermelon.”
“Host, you never had abs to begin with.”
“I wonder if I’m producing pregnancy hormones or something. My skin is getting paler, and my sun-kissed complexion is gone.”
“Host, your skin has always been this color.”
“179, my eyesight’s getting worse too. The figure in the mirror looks all distorted.”
“Host, your figure is already—”
The system’s voice abruptly stopped, and simultaneously, both Xia Yi and 179 shouted in alarm, “It’s happening!”
The scene around them was slowly starting to warp, the usual sign of an impending time travel.
Xia Yi looked down at his belly. “No way, I need to bring Wenzhu with me. I’m not having this baby by myself.”
As the world began to spin, Xia Yi, without a second thought, showed a nimbleness he hadn’t had since becoming pregnant. Despite being completely naked, he kicked open the already warping door and charged out.
The scenery before him became a blur of strange, colorful lines, and he couldn’t spot Gu Wenzhu anywhere. He tried to shout but found he couldn’t make any sound. Stretching his hand out toward the swirling vortex ahead, he closed his eyes.
Only when he heard the sound of wind, something that shouldn’t exist inside his home, did Xia Yi open his eyes.
The moment he did, he saw a towering mountain gate.
Though it was nighttime, his vision was sharp enough to see the large characters carved into the giant rock: “Qishan Sect.”
Sure enough, he had traveled again.
And he was standing in the large square in front of the mountain gate, the exact place where he had last faced off with Jie Shang.
A gust of night wind blew past, sending a chill through him and raising goosebumps all over his body.
Instinctively, Xia Yi hugged his arms around himself, but the smooth, bare skin under his hands suddenly felt wrong.
He then heard two sharp gasps from his right.
Looking over, he saw two young children, about seven or eight years old, holding brooms, their mouths wide open in shock as they stared at him.
Xia Yi realized something was very wrong. He suddenly remembered that he had been in the middle of taking a bath before the time travel, and he hadn’t bothered to grab any clothes before rushing out.
His heart sank. Oh no, this is bad.
Looking down at himself, he cursed inwardly. He was, indeed, completely naked, standing there under the moonlight in all his pale-skinned glory, fully exposed.
This is insane!
His mind raced, wondering whether he should hide and ask the kids to fetch him some clothes, or if he should just run straight to the Bamboo Courtyard as fast as he could.
As long as I run fast enough, no one will see me.
Besides, if I cover my face, who could recognize me? Who would guess that Junior Brother Xia, known for his graceful demeanor, could have such a big beer belly?
Even if they try to guess by my body type, they’d probably think it’s Xiao Ming!
