After I Got Pregnant With The Hero’S Baby, I Ran Away With The Ball. Chapter 14

Yin Changlan left with a heavy heart, and Wei Lin tiredly pinched the space between his eyebrows.

He knew Yin Changlan must have discovered something, but he had absolutely no way to extract information from him.

The leaves on the trees in the courtyard were already turning yellow. Roughly calculating, he had been in this world for almost a month. The mystery left by the original owner was growing larger, yet he still only understood bits and pieces. He even had to meticulously disguise himself in front of the original owner’s subordinates to avoid being discovered as an imposter.

Although his previous life was financially strained and exhausting, it was nowhere near as precarious and crisis-ridden as his current situation.

He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on, so he could only take things one step at a time.

For the next few days, Chu Jingyun delivered his medicinal meals. Since he couldn’t dismiss the hidden sentries left by Duan Xi every time, Chu Jingyun’s visits were brief, and he never spoke to Wei Lin, which provided some relief.

Yin Changlan occasionally came to check his pulse, but the nausea and vomiting showed no signs of improvement; in fact, they worsened. Later on, he frequently felt tired and drowsy.

In less than a week, Wei Lin visibly lost weight and looked utterly haggard.

When Duan Xi returned, he saw Wei Lin sleeping soundly on the lounge chair through the courtyard fence. Accompanying him was Yin Changlan.

From a distance, Duan Xi noticed the fatigue etched onto Wei Lin’s brow. He instinctively frowned and asked Yin Changlan beside him, “Why is he so ill?”

He was so thin that Duan Xi almost didn’t recognize him, and his complexion was so pale it looked as if he might ascend to immortality the next second.

Duan Xi regretted leaving for so long, and he also blamed his so-called father for causing so much trouble.

Yin Changlan glanced back and forth between the two, seeing the heartache in Duan Xi’s eyes, and was unsure whether he should tell him the truth.

Wei Lin’s pulse was too complex. Although he had diagnosed a pregnancy pulse, he couldn’t sense the presence of a fetus in Wei Lin’s abdomen.

Perhaps the pregnancy pulse was a false alarm, and besides, a man becoming pregnant was inherently fantastical. It was better not to mention it.

He figured the jade slip he had previously sent to his master had probably been seen by now. He would wait for his master to return for a final confirmation, ensuring nothing was overlooked.

So, he pondered and said, “I don’t know the reason, but Madam has been vomiting severely lately and can barely keep down any medicinal soup. I have switched to gentler medicinal meals, but the effect hasn’t been very good.”

Duan Xi’s frown deepened, but he said nothing.

The two tried to walk into the courtyard as quietly as possible, afraid of waking him, but the sleeping man was still startled awake like a frightened bird.

His golden pupils were filled with wariness and vigilance. Wei Lin sat up, clutching a small dagger in his hand. When he saw it was Duan Xi and Yin Changlan, he calmly slipped the dagger into his sleeve.

“Why are you here?”

Wei Lin rubbed his throbbing temples, his tense emotions relaxing slightly.

He couldn’t be blamed for being so jumpy. Recently, for some unknown reason, he kept dreaming of being chased by a group of black-clad men, followed by scenes of being cut open and disemboweled.

Because he was constantly plagued by nightmares and poor health, Wei Lin hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time, and his eye sockets looked somewhat sunken.

“I heard you haven’t been well lately. I came to see you.”

Duan Xi said, walking toward him, not even calling him ‘Madam’ to take advantage of him.

Yin Changlan, sensing this wasn’t the time for him to intervene, remained standing where he was.

Wei Lin glanced at the two of them, lay back down on the lounge chair, and shielded his eyes from the dazzling sun with his right arm. He murmured, “I’m still the same. What’s there to see in a dying person?”

He was very aware of his own body. Currently, he was only clinging to life through the sheer belief that he didn’t want to die.

Sometimes he genuinely wanted to just close his eyes and leave, ignoring all the conspiracies and schemes, but a voice in his mind constantly urged him to live, that he must live, as there was still something very important he hadn’t done.

“Your life is mine. As long as I forbid you to die, even the Heavenly Dao cannot snatch your life from my hands.”

A pair of warm, large hands grasped his wrist, lifting his arm away from his eyes without allowing refusal. In his eyes, which were like stagnant water, was reflected Duan Xi’s fiery, obsessive dark gaze.

As if burned, Wei Lin averted his gaze, refusing to meet his eyes, and looked sideways at the fallen leaves on the ground. “Whatever you say.”

Duan Xi’s grip on his wrist tightened slightly, losing control of his strength. Wei Lin frowned in pain: “You’re hurting me.”

“Sorry.”

Duan Xi released his hand. As he had expected, a few bruises had already formed on Wei Lin’s wrist.

“You seem to have changed a little.”

Duan Xi stared intently at his face, as if trying to discern something from his expression.

Wei Lin paused his action of rubbing his wrist, then laughed self-deprecatingly: “A phoenix that has lost its ability to fly is nothing more than a slightly better-looking ground chicken.”

A surge of nameless anger flared up in Duan Xi’s heart, but he wasn’t here to argue with Wei Lin. He took a deep breath and said in as calm a tone as possible, “We are only missing the final Bodhi Root and Spirit Cleansing Fruit, but both of these spiritual medicines are in the hands of the Taiheng Sect Master. It will be difficult to obtain them from him. You might need to wait patiently a little longer.”

Wei Lin’s eyes flickered. If he remembered correctly, the Taiheng Sect Master was the male protagonist’s father, though the relationship between the father and son was not good at all.

If the original owner and Duan Xi shared a blood feud, then Duan Xi’s father was not far behind.

A father who could be cold-blooded enough to throw the young Duan Xi into the Ten Thousand Demon Cave just to stimulate his Vermillion Bird bloodline and forge him into the strongest weapon was certainly not a good father.

Wei Lin tried hard to recall the original plot. The novel didn’t describe much about the male protagonist’s father, and he never appeared in the later stages of the story.

But one thing was certain: Duan Xi’s father’s surname was Xing.

This made him think of the “Old Dog Xing” mentioned by Nine Phoenix. Perhaps the two were the same person.

With this thought, some things began to surface.

Perhaps it was Duan Xi’s father who had disguised himself as the original owner, killed Duan Xi’s mother, took away his sister, and then threw Duan Xi into the Ten Thousand Demon Cave.

If he did all this, what exactly was he plotting?

Wei Lin thought of the rumors about the so-called Ghost Valley. If that were truly the case, then it could only be said that rumors were harmful.

Wei Lin remained silent for too long. Duan Xi, still frowning, thought he didn’t believe in his ability, so he repeated, “No matter what, I will definitely cure you. Instead of wallowing in self-pity here, you should think carefully about how you will repay my favor later.”

Wei Lin looked up at him. Duan Xi’s gaze was too serious and persistent, and Wei Lin couldn’t help but feel a little emotional. No one had ever cared for him like this.

Duan Xi was not inherently a bad person. If the misunderstanding between them could be resolved, perhaps they could become confidants.

Thinking this, he suddenly curved his eyebrows and smiled: “What favor? Don’t forget, we have an equal exchange.”

His golden pupils, filled with laughter, shone with dazzling light, like gems wiped clean of dust.

Duan Xi was captivated by those clear eyes and felt an impulse to reach out, lock the person in front of him away, and hide him so no one else could discover him.

He was startled by the dark thought in his heart. To cover up his inner turmoil, he followed Wei Lin’s line of conversation: “Yes, equal exchange. You still owe me a promise that hasn’t been fulfilled.”