The Demon Lord Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 22

“How did Chen Li end up injured like this?” Yu Chu hurried to the medicine hut immediately after hearing the report from his disciples. There, he saw his eldest disciple lying on the bed, his face as pale as death.

In the entire Beichen Mountain, Chen Li’s martial arts prowess was second only to Yu Chu himself. Yu Chu had never seen this eldest disciple, who had always been his pride, suffer such a severe injury.

Ku Mu answered truthfully, “Eldest Senior Brother… he utilized the Soul-Burning Technique.”

“What?” Yu Chu’s eyelid twitched. “Wasn’t he sent to find Shutao? How could things have escalated to the point of using the Soul-Burning Technique? Did he cross paths with the Demon Race?”

Ku Mu thought long and hard, finally deciding to keep the matter regarding Ji Shutao a secret for now. “Most likely.”

“Where are Gan Yang and Tu Jing?”

“This time, it was Second Senior Brother who asked me to go. They are in a town to the west; I didn’t see Third Senior Brother or Fifth Senior Brother.”

“The West…” Yu Chu chewed on those words, a murderous intent flashing in his eyes. There was a divine physician living in seclusion on the Western Mountain. If Zhuang Yi was with Ji Shutao, she would certainly head West. Furthermore, he clearly remembered arranging for them to pursue toward the Southeast why on earth would they go West?

Last time, on his way to the Western Mountain, he had fallen into a trap set by Zhuang Yi and ended up diverted toward the Southwest. He had assumed they were taking a circular route to evade him. He hadn’t expected that taking the wrong path would delay him by several days. Later, he became entangled in the affairs of Beichen Mountain and hadn’t been able to leave again. As long as Ji Shutao did not return, he could not rest easy.

Ji Shutao and Zhuang Yi must be in the West. Yu Chu looked at Ku Mu again. “Did you find Shutao?”

Ku Mu felt as though his Master’s gaze was piercing right through him. He stiffened his neck and continued, “No.”

“Wasn’t Cun Ming sent to investigate who attacked Shutao? Why was he with Chen Li?”

Ku Mu couldn’t understand why his Master felt exceptionally oppressive today. He inconspicuously wiped away his sweat. “Second Senior Brother told me that Eldest Senior Brother encountered danger and summoned him over.”

“Why hasn’t he returned yet?” Yu Chu continued to question, seemingly unaware that the person before him was his disciple and not a criminal under interrogation.

“Second Senior Brother said he still has some matters to handle. He will return once they are settled.”

Yu Chu finally stopped questioning and withdrew his probing gaze. He hovered his palm over Chen Li’s chest, condensing his cultivation into his palm to slowly heal Chen Li’s internal injuries bit by bit.

The Inn

“What did you say?” Ji Shutao stood up with a start.

Zhuang Yi leaned against the bedside and repeated herself: “When you left back then, it was because your Master found out about us and ordered you to return to Beichen Mountain immediately. You vowed to me that you would definitely be able to persuade your Master to accept me. I didn’t expect you to never return.”

“In other words… Master has known about us all along?” Because she was so shocked, Ji Shutao’s words came out one by one, haltingly.

“Yes.”

Ji Shutao asked with total sincerity, “Then why didn’t he beat me to death? And where did I get the courage back then to think I could actually persuade him?”

The truth was always a headache.

Zhuang Yi said airily, “Zhuang Yi gave you the courage.”

Ji Shutao ran “thud-thud-thud” to Cun Ming’s room and told him the news.

The moment he heard the truth, Cun Ming wore an expression of shock identical to Ji Shutao’s. “Master knew all along?”

Ji Shutao nodded, looking like she had lost all hope.

“Master knew all along, yet he hasn’t laid a hand on you?” Cun Ming’s tone was filled with disbelief.

Ji Shutao answered weakly, “Maybe it’s because I was already at death’s door at the time?”

Ji Shutao hadn’t been prepared to come clean to her Master yet. Now, suddenly hearing that Yu Chu had known all along, she felt a slight sense of relief. Since Master already knew, did that mean he wasn’t entirely opposed to it?

Following that logic, it was practically as if Yu Chu had directly consented to her marriage with Zhuang Yi.

“You have always been Master’s most beloved young disciple; he softens his heart for you most easily.” Cun Ming also felt there was still room for maneuver.

Ji Shutao let out a long breath. “At least I’m not that scared anymore.”

“Since you’re here, I’ve decided to head back to Beichen Mountain this afternoon.”

Over the past few days, they had searched the mountain several more times. Not only had the people from Cangyou Pavilion, Ye Yiran, and Wu Huo vanished, but even the bear-men and stone pillars had disappeared completely.

Cun Ming worried there was a trick involved, and even more so that Wu Huo was in danger. He decided to report the matter to Master; the earlier he did, the better Wu Huo’s safety could be guaranteed.

“But we have no evidence left. How are we going to persuade Master to pay a visit to Cangyou Pavilion?”

“We’ll take it one step at a time. We have to let Master know that Seventh Junior Brother is missing first.”

Although Wu Huo’s disappearance had no direct link to Cangyou Pavilion, everything was just too coincidental. Once there are too many coincidences, things become very suspicious.

“Alright then, be careful on the road.”

“You know me. I’m ‘Invincible Under Heaven’.”

Cun Ming made a funny face, making Ji Shutao laugh. As she walked out the door, she was looking down and laughing, and inadvertently bumped into someone.

“Ye Xiaoge? Why are you out?”

Ye Xiaoge rubbed her head and said somewhat bashfully, “I wanted to go to your room to ask if Sister Yiran had been found. I didn’t expect to bump into you as soon as I came out.”

Ji Shutao and Zhuang Yi’s room was in the back, Cun Ming’s was in the middle, and Ye Yiran’s was in the front. To get to Ji Shutao’s room, she had to pass by Cun Ming’s.

Ji Shutao led her back to the room. Zhuang Yi was leisurely leaning against the bed, holding a jar and munching on preserved plums. The room was filled with “crunch-crunch” sounds and the drifting scent of plums. Hearing the door open, her eyes brightened. “Shutao, you’re back.”

“Yeah. I’m going to talk to Xiaoge about Yiran.” Ji Shutao walked to the bedside and took the jar from her.

The jar actually only had a few pieces left at the bottom! Ji Shutao clearly remembered that when she went out earlier, she had handed Zhuang Yi a full jar!

Zhuang Yi guiltily stuck out her tongue and said coquettishly, “They’re delicious.”

Ji Shutao turned around with a cold, emotionless face, though she was actually about to suffer internal injuries from holding back her laughter. This version of Zhuang Yi was just too, too, too cute!

The witnessing Ye Xiaoge.

So why didn’t I just stay in my room? Why am I here? What exactly did I do wrong?

Ji Shutao coughed and looked back at Zhuang Yi, saying solemnly, “This… this stuff… if you eat too much… it’s also not… good.”

There was an obvious smile in Zhuang Yi’s eyes. “Shutao, why are you stuttering?”

Ji Shutao covered her mouth, but her face turned red uncontrollably.

Ye Xiaoge: “Miss Ji, why is your face red?”

Ji Shutao felt even more embarrassed. She patted her own face, trying to wake herself up. She sat down in front of Ye Xiaoge, and the news she was about to share successfully drained the flush from her face.

“Yiran hasn’t been found. All of them… vanished into thin air.”

Ye Xiaoge stared blankly at Ji Shutao. It took a while for her to react and ask, “Does that mean… Sister Yiran… can’t be saved?”

Her eyes turned red; she couldn’t accept this outcome.

“They abandoned this location, so they must be going to the next one. It won’t be that easy to find them,” Zhuang Yi’s voice drifted over.

“So Sister Yiran can still be saved?”

“She can, she can.” Ji Shutao nodded heavily.

“That’s great, thank you both.” Ye Xiaoge was overjoyed, her eyes full of light.

“So, what do you plan to do next?” Ji Shutao asked her.

“I will naturally continue following you to find Sister Yiran.”

Ji Shutao’s expression shifted. After a moment, she said to Ye Xiaoge with earnest concern, “Having followed us up the mountain this time, you’ve seen how dangerous this matter is. Zhuang Yi is also quite injured, not to mention she is pregnant. So, Xiaoge, you should go home first. I promise you that we at Beichen Mountain will bring Ye Yiran back to you unharmed.”

Ye Xiaoge looked past Ji Shutao to stare at Zhuang Yi. She had never imagined that Zhuang Yi was pregnant.

This trip up the mountain had indeed given her quite a fright, and she understood that if she stayed, she would be a burden to them no matter what.

Once Ye Xiaoge understood, she nodded and gave Ji Shutao a mischievous smile. “Then I’ll just wait for your good news.”

In truth, her eyes were brimming with tears. This smile looked worse than crying and didn’t convey the lightheartedness she intended.

Ji Shutao didn’t call her out on it and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry.”

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