The Demon Lord Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 27

Yu Chu arrived in the town early the next morning. Following a sudden intuition, he walked straight into the inn where Ji Shutao was staying.

Ji Shutao happened to be eating breakfast on the first floor, and her eyes collided directly with Yu Chu’s gaze.

She had not expected her master to arrive so quickly. Walking up to him, she was caught off guard and could only manage a panicked cry of, “Master.”

“So you still know I am your master,” Yu Chu glared at her. “Get to your room. Now.”

Ji Shutao was utterly confused, not understanding how her master could be so furious before she had even said a word. However, she knew one thing for certain: she was about to face the most difficult moment of her life confessing the truth about herself and Zhuang Yi to her master, even though he clearly already knew.

“Did you think that by having your senior brothers hide it from me, I would remain in the dark?” Yu Chu was so angry his internal organs felt like they were on fire. He slammed his hand on the table, speaking with the bitterness of failed expectations. “Why do you keep involving yourself with Zhuang Yi over and over again?”

He had suspected something was wrong when Ku Mu was acting so hesitantly. Furthermore, Ku Mu had encountered Chen Li and Cun Ming in the western town the very town he was in now. With everyone converging, his suspicions were confirmed. They must have seen Ji Shutao and conspired to hide the matter from him.

He had thought that making her forget would return her to the righteous path, but he hadn’t expected her to fall back into the trap so uncontrollably.

“Master, your disciple knows she has erred.” Ji Shutao knelt before Yu Chu, attempting to explain herself. “But Master, even if I do not remember Zhuang Yi, I can still fall in love with her again based on the feeling of love itself. Master, the Demon Race is not as irredeemable as you think. Zhuang Yi, she…”

“Shut your mouth! You… you…” Yu Chu pointed at Ji Shutao for a long while, unable to find words. He could not understand how the disciple he raised could say such things.

“Master, please don’t be angry.” Ji Shutao stood up to try and soothe his breathing.

“Kneel down!” Yu Chu barked. Ji Shutao immediately returned to a kneeling position. “What do you, at your young age, know of love? How many demons have you actually met? To speak so arrogantly… you don’t even realize your mind has been clouded by others. All your years of study have gone to waste!”

The stinging rebuke did not sway Ji Shutao’s internal resolve. She kept her back straight and said firmly, “Master, I may not understand the definition of love, but Zhuang Yi allows me to see it. She is love itself to me. Perhaps, Master, you have never known how to truly look at others. The righteous path can also kill, and the Demon Race can also save.”

Ji Shutao’s words rang out with such conviction that they shook Yu Chu’s spirit. Among his eleven disciples, Ji Shutao was the most eloquent and the most daring when it came to contradicting him. Even as a child, she would argue until she was red in the face if things didn’t match what he taught, getting so upset she wouldn’t eat for three days until Yu Chu finally gave in and coaxed her back.

But now, involving the Demon Race, Yu Chu would not be coaxing her.

“The Demon Race is evil. Evil makes the world unstable and must be eradicated. What nonsense are you spouting?”

“The Demon Race is not evil; only those who commit evil are evil. One’s identity does not determine everything. Master, you are being too narrow-minded.”

The argument between Ji Shutao and Yu Chu grew increasingly heated, with her repeatedly accusing him of being small-minded.

In a fit of rage, Yu Chu slapped Ji Shutao across the face and roared, “Get back to the Northern Chen Mountains with me!”

“I won’t go back. I want to stay with Zhuang Yi.”

“What did you say?” Yu Chu narrowed his eyes, his gaze a harbinger of a coming storm.

“I won’t go back. I want to stay with Zhuang Yi,” Ji Shutao repeated, unwavering.

Yu Chu’s mind flashed back to a few months ago. Back then, Ji Shutao had been just as stubborn, saying she wanted to be with Zhuang Yi, and the result was…

Yu Chu raised his palm, channeling ten-tenths of his power to strike Ji Shutao in the chest. She had coughed up blood and collapsed on the spot. That was how her severe injury had happened.

Yu Chu looked at his own hand involuntarily. Was he going to injure his own disciple again? For the sake of that position, ambition had seeped into his very bones; there was no turning back. He craved that seat of power, to be the one whose call the whole world answered.

Yu Chu closed his eyes. As long as… as long as she loses consciousness.

They only needed to return to the Northern Chen Mountains. That way, no one would know that Yu Chu’s disciple had fallen for the Demon Sovereign. That way, Yu Chu would not be criticized, and nothing would stand in the way of him taking the position he dreamed of.

However, Yu Chu did not expect someone to intercept his move. The counter-force was profound, reaching a level beyond ordinary men.

He opened his eyes to find Qian Feng standing before him, while Ji Shutao was held in Zhuang Yi’s arms.

“It has been many years. I wonder if you have made any progress, Excellency?” Qian Feng asked with a smirk. With a sudden burst of strength, he pushed Yu Chu back. Yu Chu stumbled until he hit the wall, using it as leverage to stop himself.

He breathed heavily. Qian Feng was indeed as powerful as rumored.

“Qian Feng? I trust you have been well.” Yu Chu smoothed his long robe, his expression remaining composed.

“What did you intend to do to our Sovereign’s consort just now? To strike your own disciple with such a heavy hand?” Qian Feng only wore a smile when being sarcastic; otherwise, his face was cold.

“Shutao is my disciple. I will discipline her as I see fit; it is not the place of the Demon Race to interfere. I know not when you began practicing such fox-like sorcery to bewitch others.”

Every word from Yu Chu was like a sharp blade. Ji Shutao was visibly stunned; it was the first time she had heard her master use such vulgar language. She cried out, “Master!”

“Do not call me Master. I have no disciple who consorts with demons,” Yu Chu said through gritted teeth.

“And you think you’re such a saint?” Qian Feng couldn’t help but snap back. “You think you walk the straight and narrow? That you’re a bright moon without a single shadow? ‘The gentleman is broad and level; the petty man is always full of distress.’ You are a petty man through and through.”

This final meeting Ji Shutao had hoped for ended with Yu Chu’s departure.

Ji Shutao stood dazed. “How did it come to this? How? I clearly wanted to reason with Master. How did it turn out like this?” She crouched down, helplessly hugging her shoulders, weeping silently.

Zhuang Yi’s hand, reaching out to comfort her, paused in mid-air and ultimately did not descend. She turned to Qian Feng and said, “Let’s go out. Let her be quiet for a while.”

Qian Feng nodded and followed Zhuang Yi out.

The room was not truly quiet many sounds could be heard but all that rang in Ji Shutao’s ears were the words her master had just spoken.

He said she didn’t know what love was. She knew; she knew Zhuang Yi was love itself. He said the Demon Race was evil and should be eradicated. There is evil in the Demon Race, but they are not all evil.

The final sentence arrived, treading upon the sound of Ji Shutao’s breaking heart. She heard her master ask: “If you go with Zhuang Yi, you no longer have me as your master, and I, Yu Chu, no longer have you as a disciple. Make your choice.”

Master was truly cruel. He knew she hated making choices most of all she couldn’t even choose between a bun or a mantou, let alone between Zhuang Yi and her master.

Ji Shutao clutched her head in pain. How could her master push her to such an extreme? How had her master changed so much from the person he used to be?

Back then, her master had stood in the snow and said softly to her, “Come home with me. There are many senior brothers who can play with you.”

Now, her master’s voice was icy: “Go with Zhuang Yi and you lose your master. Choose.”

She didn’t understand. She had fallen in love with Zhuang Yi, the person who, aside from her master and brothers, loved her most in the world. Though Zhuang Yi was the Demon Sovereign, she had not killed innocents along their journey. Why couldn’t her master accept it?

Ji Shutao’s head felt like it was going to explode. She had thought she could persuade him. She needed an excuse, something to pull her out of this despair.

Master must just be in a bad mood today. He probably couldn’t find Seventh Senior Brother. I was too blunt today, I was too disobedient… that’s why he said such hurtful things.

It had to be that. Perhaps when she went back, her master would be smiling again, welcoming her through the mountain gates and telling the kitchen to hurry and prepare her favorite dishes.

Ji Shutao wiped her tears and stood up, temporarily numbing herself. However, while she could numb herself, she couldn’t fool Zhuang Yi.

Zhuang Yi remained clear-headed. She saw her bumping into the frame of the carriage, saw her staring blankly outside, and saw her failing to respond to anything. Zhuang Yi never behaved this way; she was always the most lucid one. Whether it was pain or joy, if one isn’t lucid, the experience doesn’t truly belong to them.

Having come to the human realm, she could not run away, especially since she had met Ji Shutao again.

Zhuang Yi put an arm around Ji Shutao’s shoulder and said to her, word by word: “Shutao, sometimes things don’t go as we imagined, and that’s alright. But we must learn to accept it. Escaping only prolongs the pain.”

Ji Shutao still gave no reaction. Zhuang Yi sighed. “Pain is unavoidable. If you feel bad, just cry it out.”

Ji Shutao shook her head. “I’m not hurting. I’m not in pain. Nothing happened.”

Zhuang Yi stroked her hair and leaned against her. When the lucid remain lucid and the muddled refuse to wake, even Zhuang Yi had no way to help.

The further west they went, the more desolate it became. They could no longer find places to stay and had to camp out in the wild.

One night, Qian Feng woke Ji Shutao. Rubbing her eyes, she followed Qian Feng into the carriage. Zhuang Yi was sleeping alone in the carriage; since it was small and Ji Shutao was afraid of accidentally kicking her, she had been sleeping outside with Qian Feng.

Ji Shutao saw Zhuang Yi clutching her stomach tightly, her face covered in cold sweat from the pain. She immediately panicked, keeping her voice low: “What’s wrong with Zhuang Yi?”

“She’s in pain. Can’t you see?”

“I see it! What do we do?”

“Go in and hold her.”

“Will… will that help?”

“You are the other mother. You should be able to soothe the child.”

“What do you mean ‘should’? This is a critical moment, can’t you be more reliable?”

Zhuang Yi let out a groan of pain, and Qian Feng pushed Ji Shutao directly inside.

Ji Shutao embraced Zhuang Yi from behind, gently rubbing her stomach. After a while, the pain indeed subsided. Relieved, Ji Shutao held Zhuang Yi and fell asleep.

The next morning, Zhuang Yi found Ji Shutao unusually energetic, a complete departure from her listlessness of the previous days.

While Ji Shutao went to get food, Zhuang Yi whispered to Qian Feng, “What happened to her?”

“She probably realized that many other things are also important,” Qian Feng shrugged. “You hid another thing from us. We’ve noted it.”

“What thing?” Zhuang Yi held her stomach, planning to deny everything to the end.

“I am a Demon Elder. No one knows the business of the Demon Race better than I. It is difficult for a demon to conceive with another race,” Qian Feng said with a feigned sigh. His Sovereign’s defensive posture was quite amusing.

Qian Feng wasn’t finished. “Then again, the Demon Race’s reproductive capacity is poor. We’ll eventually phase ourselves out at this rate.”

Indeed, it was extremely difficult for demons to conceive, whether with other races or their own. Qian Feng’s heart bled every year seeing only a few dozen successful births.

“Once pregnant, not only does one’s magic weaken, but the body is uncomfortable all over. Some even die from the pain,” Qian Feng told Ji Shutao.

Ji Shutao was so shocked she dropped her food. “Then what can be done?”

“Care. The care of the other mother makes the child feel secure.”

Zhuang Yi watched silently as Qian Feng spoke this nonsense.

The effect of Qian Feng’s nonsense was explosive. From then on, Ji Shutao was inseparable from Zhuang Yi, providing such meticulous care that it gave Zhuang Yi goosebumps.

Zhuang Yi tried to tell her delicately, “Not everything Qian Feng says is the truth.”

Unexpectedly, Ji Shutao didn’t believe her at all. Given Zhuang Yi’s track record of hiding her pain until she nearly died, there was already a lack of basic trust. Zhuang Yi was speechless utterly speechless.

In truth, a demon child consumes the mother’s own demonic energy and cultivation, which is why gestation is so difficult. What Qian Feng said about “care” held some truth, but it was more about physical contact. The presence of the other parent helps stabilize the child and gives the mother a chance to breathe provided the partner is reliable.

Many demons lost their children or suffered physical ruin during pregnancy because their partners were unreliable.

Ji Shutao, who was frequently in close contact with Zhuang Yi, was clearly very reliable.

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