Cool Alpha Pregnant with a Dryad’s Cub - Chapter 9

Top Scholar Xu pushed open the kitchen door, intent on heading inside, only to be bounced back by an invisible barrier. He waved his hand, dispelling the boundary.

Ban Ning, who had been squatting by the door, seized the opportunity to slip in past his feet.

“Get out,” Gongsun Wu said without looking up from her vegetable chopping.

“Huh?” Xu stood with one foot suspended mid-air.

Gongsun Wu raised her kitchen knife and pointed it toward Ban Ning, who had snuck up beside her. “Wait outside. Move it.”

Ban Ning let out a couple of whimpering whines. Seeing Gongsun Wu slightly lift a finger, the fox quickly turned and bolted out.

Xu comforted the creature, “Be a good cub, the kitchen is a mess.”

He locked the door. Ban Ning drooped its ears, staring inside with a pitiful expression, hoping to stir their sympathy.

Turning away to avoid the gaze, Xu said, “I’ve looked into Zhuo Ti’s background.”

“Talk,” Gongsun Wu said, lifting a pot lid.

Xu tapped his phone, reading the details. “She’s a local through and through. The Zhuo family carries a lot of prestige in City A. Her ancestors were businessmen with considerable wealth. Ten years ago, the family was involved in a car accident. There were five people in the vehicle: Zhuo Ti’s parents, her older brother and sister-in-law, and herself. The other four died in that crash, she was the sole survivor.”

Inside the pot, the stew bubbled away, its rich aroma wafting out. Outside the glass door, Ban Ning caught the scent and began frantically scratching at the wood.

Gongsun Wu replaced the lid, her voice low. “And then?”

“After the parents and brother died, there was no one to manage the family businesses, and they were quickly picked clean. Zhuo Ti was in the hospital for a full year before she woke up,” Xu continued. “Zero romantic experience. No evidence of her ever being involved with demons. Her parents and ancestors were all pure humans.”

“Mhm. I sensed her last night, she is human.” Gongsun Wu turned off the stove and poured the stewed meat into a bowl, garnishing it with chopped green onions before sliding it in front of Xu. “Want a piece?”

Xu reached out, pinched a morsel, and tossed it into his mouth, hissing as the heat scorched his tongue.

Gongsun Wu carried the meat out of the kitchen, sending Ban Ning into a hopping frenzy.

She scooped up the fox with one hand and set it on the table. The moment the plate touched the surface, Ban Ning lunged forward impatiently.

“Hot,” Gongsun Wu cautioned, covering its muzzle.

Ban Ning whimpered, its eyes fixed on the meat.

Having swallowed his piece, Xu couldn’t resist grabbing another. Ban Ning shot him a murderous glare; if it weren’t currently in Gongsun Wu’s arms, it definitely would have lunged at him.

“I’m done, I’m done,” Xu said, patting the fox before looking at Gongsun Wu. “Since our guesses were wrong, what’s the next move?”

Gongsun Wu touched the bowl. The temperature was fine now. She let go, and Ban Ning streaked forward like an arrow, munching away happily.

She was about to speak when her ears twitched. She looked toward the door. “Someone’s coming.”

A woman slowly appeared outside the house, peering in. Upon seeing the people in the glass room, she froze for a moment before running inside with a grin.

“Boss!” the woman cried, bolting toward Gongsun Wu.

Gongsun Wu narrowed her eyes. Before she could even stand, the newcomer had thrown her arms around her.

“Boss, I missed you so much!” Zhu Xuelu hugged her tightly, her voice thick with emotion. “Five hundred years! You went into those mountains and stayed for five hundred years!”

“Why did you cut your hair so short?” Gongsun Wu smiled, stroking the woman’s hair. “I heard from Osmanthus that you went to another realm?”

“Short hair is more convenient,” Zhu Xuelu said, releasing her. “What ‘other realm’? That was just going abroad!”

Gongsun Wu studied her. “You’ve gotten darker.”

“Tanned. The UV rays in the African deserts are too strong.” Zhu Xuelu’s eyes grew red. “I rushed back as soon as I got Top Scholar’s message, but things kept me delayed until now. It’s so good to see you.”

Gongsun Wu opened her palm. “Don’t cry. Take these.”

In her hand were two golden ginkgo nuts.

Zhu Xuelu looked dazed as she took them. “I heard from Top Scholar that you’ve already ascended to immortality, Boss, and that your fruits can save a demon’s life. Is that true?”

Gongsun Wu only smiled without answering. Zhu Xuelu swallowed one nut. A warm current surged through her, and her entire body felt as if its meridians had been flung open. She checked her own pulse; it was steady, orderly, and full of vitality.

“Boss!” Zhu Xuelu cried in delight, quickly eating the second one.

Gongsun Wu asked, “Since when did you learn to read pulses?”

“Learned it from a human.” Zhu Xuelu grinned. Spotting Ban Ning eating happily on the table, she called out, “Ning Ning, come let Auntie hold you!”

Ban Ning turned its head away with great reluctance, hopped off the table, and scurried outside.

“Hey!” Zhu Xuelu reached out to grab it, but missed. “Where is it going?”

Xu walked to the door, watching the retreating figure. “Probably next door.”

Zhu Xuelu joined him. “Aren’t we going to bring it back?”

“Leave it be, it won’t get lost,” Gongsun Wu said. “Peony, come help me bind my hair.”

Zhu Xuelu turned around with a smile. “Sure thing, Boss! I’ve bought so many beautiful hair ribbons and accessories for you over the years.”

Ban Ning sprinted all the way, belly full and heart set on finding Mother! Finding Mother!

A car was pulling out of Mother’s courtyard. Ban Ning backed up to give it room. Hurry up and drive away, it wanted to go inside to find Mother.

The car stopped in front of it. Ban Ning tried to find a gap to squeeze through, but then it heard Mother’s voice.

“Looking for me?”

Ban Ning looked up. Mother was stepping out of the car. It began bouncing up and down, trying to jump onto her.

Zhuo Ti caught it with both hands. “I have to go out for a bit.”

Where are you going, where are you going!

“To… see Grandma,” Zhuo Ti said. “Come back when I get home.”

Ban Ning rubbed against her chin. When are you coming back?

“After lunch.”

When is that?

Zhuo Ti said helplessly, “I’ll come find you as soon as I’m back, okay?”

Okay! Happy with the promise, Ban Ning jumped down and waddled back toward home.

Zhuo Ti sat back in the passenger seat. Zhuo Li stared at the white fox’s back and said, “The neighbors’ pet?”

“Yeah.” Zhuo Ti nodded. “Let’s go.”

Zhuo Ti rubbed her sweaty palms, then unwrapped a lollipop and popped it into her mouth.

Zhuo Li kept light music playing, the soothing tunes gradually steadying Zhuo Ti’s heart.

Why be a surgeon? She should have been a psychologist instead.

Grandma lived in a nursing home on the outskirts of the city. It wasn’t far from the Zhuo residence, about a fifty-minute drive, but for some reason, Grandma refused to live with them.

Zhuo Ti rarely visited the nursing home. For one, her own conscience was uneasy, and for another, Grandma didn’t much care to see her.

Zhuo Li would bring her along to visit Grandma once every few months.

The nursing home sat at the foot of Mount Luyi, surrounded by mountains and water. It was a quiet, comfortable environment. The director of the home had been a friend of their father’s; knowing they were coming, he came to the entrance to greet them.

“Xiao Li, Xiao Ti,” the Director said, smiling as he shook their hands.

“You’re too kind, Director Yang. Where is Grandma?”

Director Yang chuckled. “Auntie Jin is in the backyard watching the young people play ball. Now that spring is here, we’ve brought in a few college volunteers to keep the seniors entertained.”

Zhuo Ti followed behind Zhuo Li, trying her best to look normal.

The backyard was an open space enclosed by the nursing home’s three buildings, filled with flowers and greenery. There were paths for chess and walking. Zhuo Ti could hear laughter before they even reached it.

Two girls were playing badminton. Not far away, under a pavilion, sat several silver-haired seniors accompanied by several nurses.

Zhuo Ti spotted Grandma immediately. She was eighty-eight this year, but her health and spirit were excellent. She wore a floral grey jacket, her long hair combed neatly.

She was the one laughing the loudest among the seniors.

A nurse saw them and whispered something to Grandma. Grandma turned to look their way, and the smile on her face stiffened.

Suddenly, Zhuo Ti didn’t dare step forward.

Zhuo Li patted her back. “It’s okay.”

Led by Zhuo Li, she walked over. Zhuo Li knelt before Grandma and gave her a hug. “Grandma, did you miss me?”

Grandma stroked Zhuo Li’s hair. “I did! Xiao Li, you haven’t come to see me in a long time.”

“Work has been too busy, my apologies.” Zhuo Li studied her complexion. “Mhm, my Grandma is still as beautiful as ever.”

Grandma’s smile returned. She had indeed been a beauty in her youth, and she was no less striking in her old age.

Seeing that she was in a decent mood, Zhuo Li said, “I wasn’t the only one who missed you. Someone else missed you very much, too.”

Only then did Zhuo Ti speak, her voice very soft. “Grandma…”

Grandma didn’t say a word, nor did she look up at Zhuo Ti. She simply held Zhuo Li’s hand and looked toward the girls playing badminton.

Zhuo Ti, however, felt a sense of relief. This was already good enough. Compared to the initial resistance and hysteria, this quiet disregard allowed Zhuo Ti to surface from the feeling of drowning.

She stood behind Grandma, consciously staying out of her line of sight. Zhuo Li looked back at her; she gave her sister a small smile, signaling she was fine.

She knew Zhuo Li was trying to mend her relationship with Grandma.

Watching Grandma’s white hair, Zhuo Ti felt a lump in her throat.

Grandma loved watching sports, and the old lady was laughing merrily.

One of the volunteers ran out of steam, leaning over and waving a hand. “I can’t go on, I can’t beat you.”

“Oh, come on, I’ll take it easy on you,” the other volunteer said.

“I’m too tired.”

“I’ll do it,” Zhuo Ti said.

She took off her jacket, stepped onto the court, and took the racket from the volunteer. She spun it in her hand; the quality was decent.

The opponent saw her stance and felt a surge of competitive spirit. “Bring it!”

Zhuo Ti sent a gentle serve over. It had been a long time since she’d played, so long that her swing felt a bit stiff.

As a child, she loved playing with her family in their courtyard with her mom, dad, big brother, and sister. Grandma would sit and watch just like this, and the laughter felt just like it did back then.

Zhuo Ti was positioned with her back to Grandma. She didn’t know what kind of expression Grandma had now. Was she still smiling, or did she refuse to even look?

Zhuo Li knelt by Grandma’s side. “Look, Grandma, isn’t Xiao Ti great?”

Grandma said nothing, her eyes fixed on Zhuo Ti, her thoughts unreadable.

Spring was in full bloom, the courtyard filled with green leaves and red flowers. Zhuo Ti, dressed entirely in black, looked out of place. The girl who had loved vibrant colors as a child had, at some point, stopped wearing anything else.

Grandma lowered her head. “Let’s go back.”

Zhuo Li was stunned. “You’re not watching anymore?”

“My head feels a bit uncomfortable.”

Zhuo Li didn’t dare delay, turning the wheelchair around. “Alright, let’s go back and rest.”

Someone shouted, “Grandma Jin, you’re not watching the game?”

Mid-air, delivering a smash to the shuttlecock, Zhuo Ti twisted her left ankle upon landing. Losing her balance, she tumbled to the ground, using her left hand to brace herself.

She looked back to see Zhuo Li already pushing Grandma into the adjacent building.

Her palm began to sting. She flipped her hand over; the skin was scraped, and small beads of red were oozing out.

She sat on a bench outside the room, feeling drowsy. Perhaps she had gone to bed too late last night, though she couldn’t remember when she’d fallen asleep. This morning, she only felt that she had slept deeply, a very heavy and sweet sleep, but it hadn’t been long enough.

She jolted upright when someone nudged her shoulder. Zhuo Li tilted her head. “Let’s go.”

“Huh?” Zhuo Ti glanced toward the room. “Aren’t we having lunch with Grandma?”

“She took her medicine and went to sleep. We’ll eat with her next time.” Zhuo Li draped an arm over her shoulder. “I’ll go pay the fees, then we’re heading back.”

Zhuo Ti gave a soft cough. “Um, I already paid.”

Zhuo Li stopped in her tracks, narrowing her eyes. “You secretly paid last quarter, too. What’s the deal? Is she only your grandma?”

“Why don’t you save some money to find an Omega and get married?” Zhuo Ti said. “You’re thirty-five already.”

“Wow, listen to you, acting like you’re so young. You don’t need to find an Omega and get married?”

Zhuo Ti curled her lip. “Age before beauty. You first.”

Zhuo Li tightened her arm. “Don’t pay the fees in secret next time, you hear me?”

Zhuo Ti nodded, her throat tight as she acknowledged the command.

Leaving the nursing home, Zhuo Li suddenly sniffed the air. “I thought it was just the smell of the facility earlier.”

She leaned in close to Zhuo Ti. “Why do you smell like blood?”

Zhuo Ti leaned back. “Are you a dog? Even a bloodhound would lose to you.”

“Where are you hurt?” Zhuo Li’s expression turned serious.

Zhuo Ti sighed, pulling off her black leather gloves. “Just a tiny scrape. If you hadn’t mentioned it, it would have healed itself by now.”

The wound wasn’t large, and over an hour had passed, yet the blood was still slowly welling up.

Zhuo Li grabbed her arm and marched toward the parking lot. “You know perfectly well your coagulation is poor!”

Zhuo Ti knew, of course. Her blood hadn’t clotted well since that car accident abroad, yet there was otherwise nothing wrong with her body.

“It’s just a tiny little wound, it’s fine,” Zhuo Ti insisted.

Zhuo Li ignored her, pulling her to the car and retrieving disinfectant and hemostatic medicine from the trunk. Zhuo Ti jumped. “Sister, Dr. Zhuo, this is such an overkill.”

Zhuo Li unscrewed the iodine. “Who told you to have bad clotting? For anyone else, this would have stopped bleeding ages ago.”

Just as she opened the bottle, her phone rang with an emergency call from the hospital. She was forced to abandon her afternoon off and rush back. She frantically shoved the supplies into Zhuo Ti’s hands. “Do it yourself, then put on a bandage. I have to go, take a taxi back!”

The words came out in a blur as she scrambled into the car, tossed Zhuo Ti’s bag to her, and floored the accelerator.

Zhuo Ti caught the bag with her elbows, smiling helplessly. One second she was the protective sister worried she would bleed to death, the next she was the dedicated doctor worried about someone else dying.

Luckily the hospital had a situation, otherwise Zhuo Li would have worried herself sick over this scratch.

She looked at the mess in her hands and gave the wound a cursory cleaning.

Sitting on a flowerbed at the nursing home entrance waiting for her ride, she put on her headphones and looked down at her phone. Suddenly, a dark shadow lunged at her.

Zhuo Ti instinctively gripped her phone, her right arm coming up in a defensive posture to protect her neck. She looked up to see a strange man, his face contorted in a hideous snarl.

“Blood,” the man muttered, his eyes a crimson red as he stared at Zhuo Ti’s hand. “Pure Yin blood!”

Zhuo Ti drove her knee into the man’s groin and slammed her elbow toward his Adam’s apple. The man hadn’t expected this human to have such speed and power; he bent over in pain. Sensing a second attack, he pressed his palms to the ground and bounced backward, putting several meters of distance between them.

Zhuo Ti frowned. The way he retreated was abnormal, he had drifted back like a weightless piece of paper in the blink of an eye.

She pulled off her headphones. “Who are you?”

The man wore all black with a black cape. His eyes were bloodshot, but his fingers were blackened, as if poisoned.

The man licked his lips, watching Zhuo Ti’s left hand as he slowly approached. “Don’t resist. Just let me drink your blood. Once I’ve had enough, I’ll leave.”

Zhuo Ti backed away. Blood-drinking? What blood-drinking? That phrase sounded hauntingly familiar.

She quickly scanned the surrounding paths. The man hadn’t seemed to feel pain from her full-strength strike, and given the way he had drifted back like paper, she knew she couldn’t win this fight.

If you can’t win, you run. Behind her was the nursing home, a large area with many people. She could leave through the other gate.

Zhuo Ti turned to run, only for the man to appear before her as if he had teleported, seizing her by the throat. Zhuo Ti’s eyes widened; she had never seen anyone move so fast.

No, that wasn’t the point. The point was, she was about to lose consciousness from the lack of air.

The man grabbed Zhuo Ti’s left hand, his eyes shining. For convenience, she had only disinfected the wound without applying a bandage. The man extended his tongue, bringing it close to her palm.

He reeked of decay. Zhuo Ti clenched her fist, but she couldn’t break his grip.

It’s over. How can no one see this? This road led toward Mount Luyi and was practically deserted. Gatekeeper uncle, stop playing Solitaire on your computer and look over here! Someone’s going to die!

The man’s tongue stopped half a centimeter from Zhuo Ti’s hand. Then, he was hoisted into the air like a tiny chick. Zhuo Ti saw the person behind him.

She wore a pale purple robe, her long hair tied loosely to one side and draped over her shoulder. A pale green hair ribbon added a touch of gentleness to her appearance.

Gongsun Wu easily lifted the man with one hand and tossed him backward with a flick of her wrist, sending him rolling across the ground.

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