Advance Labor

Granny Liu's tour of the Grand View Garden was over.

Back in my little nest, I shut the door. Life had to go on.

No matter how noisy and bustling the outside world was, or how colorful the immortals' private lives were, none of it had anything to do with me, Ye Xiaoyao, a Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator.

I took out the Storage Bag I kept close to me and counted my spirit stones again.

I wouldn't be able to farm for the next two months.

That was bound to put me under some pressure.

My remaining spirit stones were dwindling, and soon I'd have fewer than a hundred.

I rested my chin in my hands, my brows knitted with worry.

What should I do?

I straightened my clothes and prepared to go out.

I couldn't help thinking again of my arrangement and partnership with Qing Ye.

If I had any choice, I'd never have gotten involved with Ye Qingxian.

The insecurity that came from never being able to let my heart settle was something Ye Qingxian could never compare to Qing Ye on. The latter was the only person willing to respect me and treat me as a cultivator of equal standing. No matter how I looked at it, Ye Qingxian couldn't hold a candle to Qing Ye in my heart.

So I'd rather have Qing Ye lend a hand and be there in case something went wrong when I gave birth, instead of leaving what was practically a bomb guaranteed to explode by my side at my most vulnerable moment.

As nearly three months had passed, the possibility that Qing Ye was Ye Qingxian had grown smaller and smaller.

As long as she wasn't Ye Qingxian, I believed my faith wouldn't crumble.

When all was said and done, I just wanted someone to acknowledge me for once.

Instead of being pitied again and again by the Female Protagonist and no one else.

I went out with a heavy heart.

I was mentally prepared.

If Qing Ye emerged from seclusion early, or I managed to contact her and confirm she wasn't Ye Qingxian, I'd go ahead and give birth with her there.

Having witnessed the true splendor of the Cultivation World—and learned that even a crab could easily crush me—had left me under immense pressure ever since I returned.

I knew that they and I still belonged to different worlds.

The Direct Disciple's cave abode.

Ye Qingxian gazed at the clone she'd just created, thoroughly pleased. Finding a suitable secret technique had taken nearly two months, but at last, she had something to show for it.

To ensure there was no room for error, she had even given the clone a real name recognized by the Heavenly Dao.

They shared memories, thoughts, and physical sensations.

She was practically a Little Ye Qingxian, almost indistinguishable from Ye Qingxian herself.

With a wave of her hand, Ye Qingxian sent the Qi Refining Seventh Layer Little Ye Qingxian to Qing Ye's cave abode.

What she hadn't expected was that just after creating a clone, Ye Xiaoyao would arrive at her cave abode.

Qing Ye opened the door without a second thought.

I froze for a moment, then instinctively asked, "You're out of seclusion?"

The weariness on Qing Ye's face was unmistakable.

I stared at Qing Ye's forehead. Her spiritual root was very poor, only a little better than mine.

The name Qing Ye stood out to me, and my heart felt more at ease than ever before.

She gave a self-deprecating smile, her expression forlorn. "I was trying to break through to the second realm. Who knew I'd fail at the last moment and fall back to Qi Refining Seventh Layer instead? I may need your help more often from now on. I hope you won't mind..."

My heart tightened as I sensed Qing Ye's cultivation level.

Sure enough, she was at Qi Refining Seventh Layer now.

She was even teetering on the brink, liable to fall to Qi Refining Sixth Layer at any moment.

"Th-this..." I felt sorry for what Qing Ye had gone through, then said, "Why don't you rest in your cave abode? In this state, you shouldn't have to trouble yourself with helping me."

I was scolding myself for being so suspicious.

Qing Ye was Qing Ye. How could she be that woman who was always so inexplicable, let alone some lunatic whose mind was destined to turn into a jumble of nonsense in the future?

She'd only been in seclusion, and her breakthrough had failed.

Meanwhile, I'd been suspecting Qing Ye's motives all along.

I really shouldn't have.

"It's all right." Qing Ye gave a weak cough. "My dantian was damaged, so going into seclusion won't help. I can recover little by little. Your situation matters too."

She looked at my belly. "It should be about time for you to give birth, right?"

I held one hand against my lower back to steady myself. "Yeah. I feel like I could go into labor at any moment..."

"Have the baby." Suddenly, I really hated the phrase "drop a litter." It made me feel as if I were constantly being reminded that my baby was some kind of mixed-breed kitten.

Qing Ye stared into the pretty red eyes of the little girl. "Isn't your Senior Sister going to take care of you while you give birth?"

"Her?" I enunciated each word, my voice clear and unhesitating. "She's a bad person."

I pouted. My honest words made Qing Ye's heart sink.

"She's... really, really bad?" Even she didn't realize how tentative she sounded.

"Mm..." I added, "Not that bad, I guess. I just don't like her."

I kept my eyes on an ant on the ground, so I didn't notice Qing Ye's expression stiffen a little.

She forced out a couple of carefree laughs. "Ha, ha. Then she really does sound awful..."

No kidding.

How could she not be awful?

So much time had passed, and she still wasn't a positive character in her Junior Sister's eyes. She hadn't even earned a passing grade. Where was the justice in that?

I eyed Qing Ye suspiciously. She seemed to be forcing a smile, but I was probably imagining it. "Don't tell anyone else, okay? If you get caught talking behind a Direct Disciple's back, you're done for. I'm only saying a thing or two to you in private."

"Understood." Qing Ye patted her chest and promised.

As if.

She wasn't crazy enough to go around spreading rumors about herself.

Her Junior Sister was another matter. It was fine if she talked about her.

The future hadn't been changed yet.

One day, her Junior Sister would learn what kind of person she was.

Ye Qingxian forgave her in no time.

Qing Ye and I settled on a place.

"She definitely won't know about this place. I found it years ago—it's my secret hideout." Qing Ye was certain Ye Qingxian wouldn't know about it.

"Really?" I was still a little uneasy. Giving birth was a major event, and I'd rather trust the wards on my own cave abode. Even if Qing Ye were someone else in disguise, I could use the wards to fight back when I was at my most vulnerable.

No matter how much I trusted someone, I'd never leave myself without a backup plan.

There shouldn't be fools like that in the Cultivation World.

"Let's go back to my cave abode."

I made my decision without hesitation.

"Let's cut the knot."

"We'll do it tonight. You stand guard for me."

Ye Qingxian would never have guessed.

I'd work with the system to induce labor a full week early.