Scripture Depository.
As the name suggested, it was where cultivation arts and secret manuals were stored.
This world seemed to be the Cultivation World, but it also had its own lower realms.
Several of those lower realms were part of Modern Society.
So there were also childcare manuals that were relatively less fantastical.
The latest measurement put my weight at thirty-seven kilograms—I didn't look at all like I was already carrying a little baby.
I trotted along at a leisurely, steady pace, my smooth pink-and-white fur quite eye-catching as I searched for my target on the first floor of the Scripture Depository.
Suddenly, my eyes lit up, and I stopped at the bottom of a row of bookshelves.
The book I needed was on the fourth shelf.
I rose onto my tiptoes and reached up, but I was still just short.
I was about to fetch a little stool when a warm voice came from above. "Is this the one?"
A slender, jade-like hand reached toward a book.
I froze for a second, then nodded. "Yes, thank you."
Ye Qingxian stared at the book's cover.
[Child-rearing Guide.]
The Junior Sister, who'd never had much of a presence, was practically invisible in the sect.
It was only recently that she'd noticed she had a younger Junior Sister.
So she'd started paying a little more attention to look after her.
She tucked the book into my arms and looked at my somewhat blank expression.
Blank? I was stunned, okay?
How was this any different from playing on your phone in class and getting caught by the teacher?
"Your top priority right now should be cultivation. You can't go mixing with unsavory people."
"You're so young, and already thinking about having children?"
Ye Qingxian spoke with earnest concern.
In the Cultivation World, where people could easily live for hundreds of years, eighteen or nineteen was indeed no more than a little girl who hadn't grown up yet.
I clutched the Child-rearing Guide in my arms. It was already much bigger than my little hands. My mouth fell open in shock, and my mind was a jumble of thoughts about how I couldn't let the Female Protagonist discover my secret. I blurted out whatever came to mind. "He has a Ghost Fire Flying Sword. It's so cool, and he said he'd take me to see a meteor shower." The main thing was, I couldn't let myself get involved with the Female Protagonist.
My clear, sweet voice started spouting nonsense, still soft with a trace of childishness.
Combined with my starry-eyed expression, it made even Ye Qingxian, the Female Protagonist, freeze for a moment.
A Ghost Fire Flying Sword?
What kind of trashy toy was that?
Only little girls who were still young enough would fall for such a thing.
"How interesting." Ye Qingxian's red lips parted.
"I heard there's a group of people who enjoy tricking innocent young girls. So they've set their sights on a Direct Disciple of my Heavenly Sword Peak."
She rested a hand on my shoulder. My body betrayed me with a little shiver. "Your Senior Sister has also long admired the handsome man you mentioned. Remember to introduce us next time."
The Female Protagonist had been gone for ages, but I was still standing there, cowering like a turtle hiding its head.
I had a little notebook dedicated to holding grudges.
But how was I supposed to record the Female Protagonist acting like that?
Ye Qingxian left.
She figured that, after her warning, the Junior Sister wouldn't go astray and do anything scandalous like getting pregnant before marriage.
Because—
From the time she was little, no matter what she said to anyone, no one had ever ignored her advice.
A week passed in a flash, and Heavenly Sword Peak was thriving.
I was the only one sitting in my cave dwelling, feeling a little glum.
I stared at the system panel, which said I'd been pregnant for a week.
Then I took out the Child-rearing Guide I'd already read countless times.
I was doomed. Doomed.
I'd planned to secretly have one or two babies behind the Female Protagonist's back.
Who could've guessed—
I'd been caught red-handed as soon as I got pregnant with the first one.
If she kept an eye on me after this and suddenly realized I was pregnant—
Would the Female Protagonist think I was shameless and kick me and my baby out of Heavenly Sword Peak?
Probably not. Probably not.
I was a disciple accepted by the Heavenly Sword Venerable. I'd been presented at the ancestral rites, offered incense, and formally recorded as a Direct Disciple.
Even if she was the Female Protagonist, she couldn't kick me out.
I gritted my teeth and made up my mind.
Looks like if I ran into the Female Protagonist again, I'd just have to keep spouting nonsense.
Whether it was the baby of some Ghost Fire Blondie or some random Little Black or Little Green by the roadside, it could belong to anyone in the world—just not the Female Protagonist.
As long as I didn't lead the Female Protagonist astray and make her suspect herself, everything would be fine.
This world was far too conventional.
As the Female Protagonist, Ye Qingxian probably would never imagine that this world had a rebellious Ye Xiaoyao who'd set her sights on harvesting wool from a woman like her.
I, Ye Xiaoyao, swore I'd never take the usual path.
It was a bright, sunny afternoon.
I sat on the swing I'd built, lazily soaking up the sun.
I called it "nurturing the baby."
The little one in my belly was my baby, and also my future hope.
I had to pamper this Little Ancestor, didn't I?
Before my talent improved, cultivation was just too hard.
I'd given up on it ages ago. On top of that, I often had to go farm for spirit stones so I wouldn't starve to death in my cave dwelling, which left me even less time to cultivate.
I wasn't too fond of the sect's atmosphere.
Maybe it was because cultivation was so difficult for me that I couldn't fit in or empathize with the others.
A few months of cultivation for me amounted to one day of breathing practice for everyone else. I was already eighteen or nineteen and still no different from an ordinary person. I guess that was a first among Direct Disciples.
There was another reason, too...
I pulled out my black notebook. Countless names were densely recorded across its pages.
My expression darkened slightly.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. There were no years in cultivation; in the time it took to blink, I was already three weeks pregnant.
I wore the light-blue dress I liked. Its gentle, pale tones could make anyone's eyes light up. I no longer dressed like I used to, always wanting to become a big villain and favoring dark dresses that mixed black and red. I hopped out of my cave dwelling.
Time to head out and set the bait.
Before you continue