After I Got Pregnant With The Hero’S Baby, I Ran Away With The Ball. Chapter 16
byWhether in Ghost Valley or Heaven Gate, Chu Jingyun had never handled trivial matters like building nests for spirit beasts. His first thought was to find disciples from Beast Taming Peak to do it.
Beast Taming Peak housed many spirit beasts and occupied a large area, situated right next to the main gate. To reach Beast Taming Peak, one inevitably had to pass through the main gate.
Chu Jingyun was still reeling from the shock of Duan Xi wanting to court his Valley Master, and he walked past the main gate preoccupied. A sudden commotion, however, pulled him back to reality.
“Miss! Unauthorized entry into Heaven Gate is forbidden!”
The gatekeepers’ soft shouts were faintly audible, followed immediately by a clear voice saying, “Are your dog eyes blind! Do you know who this young lady is, daring to block me!”
“Hmm.” Chu Jingyun retracted his right foot, which he had lifted halfway, took a step back, and looked towards the main gate.
Outside the gate, a girl in red and a girl in blue stood angrily, their swords already pressed against the gatekeepers’ necks.
The girl in blue said, “My young lady is the fiancée of your Gate Master, your future Gate Master’s wife. Who gave you the audacity to block the Gate Master’s wife?”
The other girl, in red, lifted her chin and puffed out her chest, her eyes showing a mix of arrogance and petulance.
The gatekeepers scoffed upon hearing this, exchanging glances before saying, “No matter who the young lady is, no one can enter Heaven Gate without a pass. If the young lady insists on forcing entry, then don’t blame us for being impolite!”
“You!”
The red-robed girl was so angry that her hand gripping the sword hilt trembled.
Just as a fight was about to break out, Chu Jingyun quickly stepped forward, placing himself between the two parties.
“What is all this commotion about?”
He glanced at the two girls, raising an eyebrow slightly. Weren’t these the little miss from Taiheng Sect and her maid?
He narrowed his eyes. “Oh, isn’t this Miss Ninger? Why are you here instead of staying at Taiheng Sect?”
“Elder Chu?”
The red-robed girl recognized him too. Pouting, she pointed at the gatekeepers and began to complain to him.
“You came at the right time. How can these gatekeepers be so blind? I traveled a long distance to get here, and not only did they fail to greet me with courtesy, they actually dared to chase me away! Is there any justice?”
Chu Jingyun listened silently, chuckling inwardly but maintaining a serious expression outwardly. After she finished, he turned to look at the gatekeepers. “A guest has arrived. Even without an invitation, you should at least announce their presence. How could you directly chase them away? If word of this gets out, other sects will laugh at us for lacking manners.”
Ostensibly, he was scolding the gatekeepers for the red-robed girl, but in reality, he was subtly criticizing her.
Heaven Gate had always disliked uninvited guests. This Zhao Ninger was only daring to cause trouble here because of that non-existent engagement.
Furthermore, Chu Jingyun held little affection for anyone from Taiheng Sect, but he still had to perform his duties publicly, especially since the two spirit herbs the Valley Master needed were still in the hands of the Taiheng Sect Master. This little miss could not be completely offended yet.
Whether she genuinely didn’t understand or was pretending not to, Zhao Ninger huffed, “They must kneel and apologize to me!”
She had never suffered such a slight since childhood.
Chu Jingyun deflected the demand skillfully. “The disciples are just following the rules, Miss Ninger. Please don’t hold it against them, lest you damage your health from anger.”
Zhao Ninger snorted, clearly intending to continue her fuss. Her maid whispered something in her ear, and her expression immediately changed drastically.
The maid spoke very softly, and Chu Jingyun couldn’t openly eavesdrop. He didn’t hear clearly, only catching the words “seduce” and “little slut.” Although he didn’t know the purpose of Zhao Ninger’s trip, combining the circumstances, he strongly suspected that Zhao Ninger might be targeting the Valley Master.
It was likely that news of Duan Xi keeping a “canary” in Heaven Gate had been leaked by someone.
But how would a little princess raised in a sect courtyard know about the affairs of Heaven Gate, which was thousands of miles away?
Someone must have intentionally fanned the flames.
His eyes deepened. His original intention to send the girl away changed. He smiled and said, “They are just two gatekeepers. Why bother getting angry with them, Miss Ninger?”
Zhao Ninger scoffed. “Where is Brother Duan Xi? Tell him I’m here and have him come out to greet me.”
Chu Jingyun inwardly clicked his tongue, but maintained his smiling demeanor. “The Gate Master is currently very busy and might not be free for a while. Miss Ninger must be tired from the journey. How about letting a disciple take you to rest first?”
Zhao Ninger’s face grew even uglier. She bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth and grumbled angrily, “What could he possibly be busy with? He must be busy flirting with that little slut!”
A hint of murderous intent flashed deep in Chu Jingyun’s eyes, but he concealed it well, unnoticed by anyone.
Zhao Ninger stomped her foot, extremely unwilling. “Fine, I’ll listen to you for now.”
Chu Jingyun extended his right hand in a gesture of invitation. “Miss Ninger, please follow me.”
Zhao Ninger and her maid stepped through the main gate. Chu Jingyun casually summoned an outer disciple, instructing him to take them to Pine Welcome Pavilion, while he himself hurried back to find Duan Xi.
As Zhao Ninger left, she didn’t forget to look back at the two gatekeepers, warning them, “Don’t think this is over. I will definitely have Brother Duan Xi cripple you two blind little demon lackeys later.”
The gatekeepers looked straight ahead, pretending not to hear. Only after Zhao Ninger had walked far away did the two exchange glances, curl their lips, and sneer. This little girl really thought highly of herself.
In the small courtyard on the other side, the two adult Celestial Wolves quickly woke up. The first thing they saw was the little Celestial Wolf sleeping soundly in Wei Lin’s arms.
They looked at Wei Lin warily, but showed no intention of attacking or hostility.
However, when they noticed Duan Xi sitting next to him, the Celestial Wolf couple immediately bared their teeth and bristled their fur, adopting an aggressive stance.
Duan Xi noticed the stark difference in their attitudes and immediately felt psychologically unbalanced.
He pointed at the fat wolf cub sprawled on Wei Lin’s lap. “I captured their whole family, and you hold their cub’s life in your hands. Why do they give you a pleasant look but treat me with such ferocity?”
Wei Lin stroked the soft wolf fur. The little wolf cub unconsciously twitched its leg. He smiled and said, “Perhaps you look more fierce.”
Duan Xi tilted his head upon hearing this, rubbing his chin as he carefully examined his face. He actually seemed to consider the statement seriously, then said, “Hmm, my wife is indeed beautiful. Even the spirit beasts are fooled by your appearance.”
Wei Lin paused in his actions, giving him an annoyed side-eye. Knowing that this man was thick-skinned and he couldn’t win an argument, he simply chose not to respond.
He looked at the two Celestial Wolves opposite him. They looked very nervous, likely knowing they couldn’t defeat Duan Xi, yet unable to abandon their child.
Wei Lin felt sorry for them and returned the little wolf cub. The large Celestial Wolves, having recovered their child, whimpered softly, curling the little wolf cub into their large, fluffy tails to hide and protect it well.
On an impulse, Wei Lin spoke to them softly, “No one here will harm you, nor do you need to worry about predators. How about staying by my side from now on?”
The large Celestial Wolves seemed to understand his words. They looked at each other, then raised their heads to look at him. The slightly larger male Celestial Wolf let out a long howl, as if responding to him.
Both wolves simultaneously bent their knees and knelt, lowering their heads—a posture of submission.
“They agreed?” Wei Lin looked sideways at Duan Xi.
Duan Xi was also a little surprised. He had thought that some force would be necessary to subdue them, but he hadn’t expected Wei Lin to gain the Celestial Wolves’ submission with just a few words.
He nodded. “Yes, they agreed.”
A hint of joy appeared between Wei Lin’s brows, but it was mixed with some worry.
“I’ve never raised animals before. I’m afraid I won’t be able to care for them properly.”
Although he had loved small animals since childhood, he had never owned one, not even a small cat or dog. When he was young, circumstances didn’t allow it. When he grew up, he didn’t want to mess with their lives.
He was afraid that these three robust Celestial Wolves would end up malnourished under his care.
Duan Xi shrugged indifferently. “What are you afraid of? There are so many disciples at Beast Taming Peak; they aren’t just there to eat free food. I’ll have Bai Xi teach you the important things about raising Celestial Wolves later.”
Bai Xi was the Peak Master of Beast Taming Peak. His true form was a cypress tree, and he was famously known throughout Heaven Gate as a great animal lover. Besides the spirit beasts he raised, the demons within the sect were also within the scope of his affection. If not for sect rules, he might very well have included the young demons within the sect into Beast Taming Peak to raise them all together.
Thinking of Bai Xi, he couldn’t help but recall Bai Xi’s persistent desire to see his true form.
He possessed the precious bloodline of the ancient Vermilion Bird and could transform into his Vermilion Bird form, but he always presented himself in human form, and no one had ever seen his demon appearance.
The desire to see his true form had almost become an obsession for Bai Xi. If he were truly allowed to teach Wei Lin how to raise Celestial Wolves, Duan Xi would inevitably be pestered for a while.
He rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on, and decided it was best to avoid letting Bai Xi out if possible.
Wei Lin, however, was unaware of the complexities. Since Duan Xi had made it clear, he felt relieved.
By now, the fiery sunset clouds in the sky had completely faded, gradually swallowed by the boundless darkness. As the last ray of sunset fell, the sky was adorned with countless stars, twinkling faintly.
Autumn nights were cold. Wei Lin wasn’t dressed very warmly, and when the night wind blew, he shivered. He subconsciously hugged his arms and rubbed them, as if that could warm him up.
Just as he entertained the thought of going back inside to fetch a cloak, he felt a heavy fox fur cloak draped over his shoulders the next second. Duan Xi had appeared behind him at some point, his hands passing around both sides of Wei Lin’s neck, carefully tying the garment straps for him.
When he noticed Wei Lin’s gaze, Duan Xi’s dark eyes lowered slightly, tinged with a three-part smile.
“You don’t take care of yourself at all. I truly don’t know how you managed to survive all those years before.”
Wei Lin pursed his lips. He was about to retort that he had lived perfectly fine alone before, but thinking of his end in the previous life, he couldn’t bring himself to argue.
Duan Xi was right; he truly didn’t know how to take care of himself.
The moon was bright and the stars scattered. Moonlight spilled onto the two of them, casting a layer of soft, hazy light. Outside the courtyard, Chu Jingyun stood still, watching, feeling reluctant to interrupt.