After I Got Pregnant With The Hero’S Baby, I Ran Away With The Ball. Chapter 12

The medicinal bath needed to last for one hour. There was a fire essence stone at the bottom of the tub, so Wei Lin didn’t need to worry about the water cooling down and catching a cold.

He felt unusually drowsy, perhaps because it was so late.

He calculated the time and realized it was still early before the hour was up, so he leaned against the edge of the tub and closed his eyes.

He woke up from a hazy sleep, realizing that much more than an hour had passed. He got up and put on his clothes. As he tied his belt, the scale on his waist side faintly reappeared.

He glanced at it but ignored it, having no idea what it meant anyway.

When he returned to the room from the washroom, the moon was high in the sky outside the window. The bright moonlight streamed through the window and scattered on the floor, casting a silvery, warm glow.

The chirp of a nightingale reached his ears, and he felt vaguely strange.

How could there be a nightingale above the Heaven Gate?

He paused by the window for a moment. A nightingale fluttered its wings and flew toward him, landing directly on his shoulder. It folded its wings, and its two claws cautiously shifted inward, pressing close against him.

He raised his hand in confusion to stroke the nightingale’s back. Not only was the nightingale not startled away, but it affectionately rubbed against the side of his face.

The nightingale’s appearance was too sudden, and Wei Lin didn’t know how to react for a moment.

While he was stunned, the nightingale hopped around on his shoulder, and a gray feather fell from its wing.

The feather drifted down lightly. Wei Lin reached out to catch it, and as his fingers pinched the feather, a man’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

[Your subordinate Nine Phoenix greets the Valley Master.]

Someone was using spiritual sense to transmit a message to him. This was his first reaction, and Wei Lin was so startled that his hand trembled, almost dropping the feather.

He nervously looked around. The night outside the window was deep, and he couldn’t see anything unusual.

He withdrew his searching gaze and then remembered that in the cultivation world, spiritual sense transmission could span a thousand miles. The person transmitting the message, who called himself Nine Phoenix, should not be nearby.

The nightingale on his shoulder was still hopping happily. He guessed that this nightingale was the medium Nine Phoenix was using to communicate with him, likely to avoid detection by Duan Xi.

When he first transmigrated into this world, he thought it was strange that the original owner’s subordinates were all missing. Were they all hidden in the shadows?

He couldn’t figure it out. What exactly did the original owner intend to do?

He subtly suppressed the confusion in his eyes, forcing himself to remain calm, and silently thought: [What is it?]

[We have found the Vermilion Bird’s divine soul, but the old dog Xing is watching closely, and there are layers of restrictions. It will take some time to break through and rescue the Vermilion Bird.]

Vermilion Bird…

Wei Lin tightened his grip on the feather in his hand.

The Vermilion Bird was originally one of the original owner’s subordinates, and she was Duan Xi’s mother. But in the original novel’s plot, the Vermilion Bird had been personally killed by the original owner, and her divine soul was sealed within a winter plum blossom.

The information given by Nine Phoenix completely contradicted the original plot.

The original owner, who killed Duan Xi’s mother, couldn’t possibly be unaware of the Vermilion Bird’s location, and even less likely to send subordinates to rescue her.

At this moment, Wei Lin had to doubt the authenticity of the plot where the original owner killed Duan Xi’s mother.

[Valley Master?]

Nine Phoenix, having waited for a long time without a response, couldn’t help but call out in confusion.

He snapped back to reality. Since he had no memories of the original owner, to avoid arousing Nine Phoenix’s suspicion, he kept his reply brief: [I know. You handle it.]

Immediately after saying this, he heard movement outside the courtyard. The nightingale on his shoulder was instantly startled, fluttering its wings and flying out the window. The spiritual sense transmission in his mind was also cut off.

“Wife, why are you still awake so late? What are you doing?”

Outside the courtyard gate, Duan Xi, dressed in black with red hair, stood with his arms crossed, his chin slightly raised, looking at him with an inscrutable expression.

Wei Lin twirled the nightingale feather in his hand, his expression calm: “A little darling flew in, and I was just playing with it.”

Duan Xi narrowed his eyes: “Where is that little darling now?”

“You startled it away.”

Wei Lin gave him a cold look, then closed the window.

Duan Xi stared at the warm yellow candlelight filtering through the window paper. Not long after, the room went dark. The person inside seemed to have gone to rest. He stood outside the courtyard for a while before turning to leave.

In the darkness, Wei Lin had no sleepiness whatsoever. His mind was filled with thoughts about Duan Xi’s mother and the original owner.

The deeper he thought, the more he felt that things were far from as simple as they seemed on the surface.

If the Vermilion Bird wasn’t killed by the original owner, then who killed her? Who took Duan Xi’s sister? Why did the original owner never explain anything to Duan Xi? Or did he explain, and Duan Xi didn’t believe him?

What exactly happened between the original owner and Duan Xi a month ago? Why did the original owner suffer Cultivation Deviation, and why did he make all his subordinates lie low in the dark while he knowingly risked danger alone, even though he might die?

What role did the old dog Xing, mentioned by Nine Phoenix, play in all this?

Questions flooded in one after another, and Wei Lin felt like his head was about to explode.

Unable to find any answers, he let out a long sigh of stale air and simply emptied his mind, thinking of nothing.

Sleep soon overtook him, and he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Outside the window, tree shadows swayed, and the crisp rustling of leaves rose and fell as the night wind blew past.

In the dark room, someone walked slowly, finally stopping by the bed.

The dark clouds were scattered by the wind, and the moonlight once again shone through the window paper into the room, illuminating half of the newcomer’s face.

It was Duan Xi, who had returned.

He stood by the bed, his right hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist. His deep, abyss-like eyes stared intently at Wei Lin’s sleeping face.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally moved. He released the sword hilt and reached toward Wei Lin’s crown.

A trace of pure spiritual energy emerged from his fingertips and pierced into the crown of Wei Lin’s head.

Wei Lin’s meridians were even more fragile than the last time. His Dantian was almost entirely occupied by demonic energy, and two-thirds of his Nascent Soul was polluted. Only the pair of hands holding the strange red bead remained fair and tender.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but the red bead seemed to have grown slightly larger than before, and the originally intense red glow was now flickering weakly.

Duan Xi felt a slight stirring in his heart. He had a feeling that if this red bead completely dimmed, something irreversible might happen.

He wrapped the spiritual energy around the bead. The bead was very weak, but upon sensing his presence, it still affectionately circled his spiritual energy once.

He felt a strong affinity for this bead. After a moment of thought, he generously channeled the spiritual energy from his body into Wei Lin’s body continuously.

The bead sensed his intention and greedily devoured all the spiritual energy.

As the spiritual energy was absorbed, the dim red glow intensified, driving away the demonic energy near the Nascent Soul.

The sleeping person frowned uncomfortably and let out a muffled groan.

Afraid of waking him, Duan Xi withdrew the spiritual energy from his body when he felt it was enough.

Wei Lin’s hair was very soft and felt good to the touch. As he withdrew his hand, Duan Xi rubbed it affectionately.

As if being soothed, the person whose expression had been pained gradually relaxed his brows.

Duan Xi simply sat down on the edge of the bed. His movements were very light, and the sleeping person was not disturbed in the slightest.

After being driven away by Wei Lin earlier, he had returned to Sun Candle Palace. He had just finished dealing with a day’s worth of accumulated affairs and hadn’t even had time to rest when he felt someone touch the restriction around Wei Lin’s small courtyard.

The intruder was deeply hidden; he couldn’t detect their exact location or the depth of their strength.

Usually, in such a situation, the person was either a mortal with no spiritual power or someone whose strength surpassed his own.

In the current cultivation world, those whose strength surpassed his could be counted on one’s fingers, and none of them had a good relationship with Wei Lin.

His first reaction at the time was not to avoid the danger, but to worry about Wei Lin’s safety.

When he rushed over, all he saw was the heartwarming scene of Wei Lin playing with a nightingale; there was no powerful being trying to take his life.

The one who triggered the restriction must have been the nightingale on Wei Lin’s shoulder.

He recalled the group of whales from before. At that time, Wei Lin’s eyes had been just as gentle.

Wei Lin seemed to like these small animals very much.

He gently stroked the soft black hair, pondering: I should get Wei Lin a small pet to keep, so he doesn’t feel so depressed all the time.

Having made up his mind, Duan Xi stayed there for only a short while before leaving as silently as he had arrived.

The next day, when Wei Lin woke up, he felt like his entire body was falling apart, utterly exhausted. He simply attributed it to the aftereffects of climbing those stairs yesterday and didn’t think much of it.

Just as he finished dressing, a knock sounded promptly at the courtyard gate.

His motion of buttoning his robe paused. Duan Xi never knocked, so the person delivering the medicine was clearly not him.

He called out: “Wait a moment.”

Then he quickly put on his outer robe and walked out.

Outside the courtyard gate, Chu Jingyun, whom he had met once before, was waiting respectfully, holding a bowl of medicinal soup.

Wei Lin was somewhat surprised to see him. Chu Jingyun was Duan Xi’s right-hand man. Would such a small errand as delivering medicine actually require him?

Wei Lin had a premonition that Chu Jingyun’s delivery of medicine was false, and that he had something else to discuss.

He calmly pushed open the door and said to the long-waiting Chu Jingyun: “Come in.”

Chu Jingyun nodded to him: “Wife, I apologize for the intrusion.”

Wei Lin gave a faint hum, turned, and walked inside, with Chu Jingyun following closely behind.

Like the people who usually delivered the medicine, Chu Jingyun had to watch him drink it first.

Wei Lin held the medicine bowl, his stomach churning with acidity. Since noon yesterday, he felt nauseous and sick whenever he smelled medicine. He didn’t know if it was a psychological aversion to the medicine or a sign that his body was deteriorating.

Seeing him stare at the medicine bowl without moving for a long time, Chu Jingyun waited patiently without urging him.

He took a moment, frowned, and drank the entire bowl in one gulp.

His stomach was uncomfortably churning. His peripheral vision caught sight of a small jar on the table. A sweet scent wafted into his nostrils, making his mouth water.

He remembered that it was the preserved fruit Duan Xi had forced on him yesterday. Although he didn’t like sweets, this preserved fruit seemed delicious.

Unable to resist the craving, he reached for the jar, lifted the oiled paper sealing the opening, and the unique sweet aroma of the preserved fruit became even stronger.

He pinched one piece and put it in his mouth. It was unexpectedly delicious, and at the same time, the feeling of nausea and sickness was suppressed.

Chu Jingyun did not take the bowl and leave after he finished the medicine, but stood still in place.

Wei Lin thought to himself that indeed, people don’t visit without a reason. He looked up at Chu Jingyun: “Is there something else?”

Chu Jingyun pursed his lips, his eyes complex. He stared at Wei Lin’s eyes for a long time, then suddenly bent his knees and knelt down.

“Valley Master.”

Wei Lin’s hand holding the jar trembled slightly, and his pupils contracted sharply.