Parasitism

Well then, this time he had truly fainted.

Bian Chunchou hurried forward to support him, only to discover that the man... was far too light. Had Bian Chunchou grown stronger lately, or was this man really just too thin?

"Is he all right?"

"He's fine, just frightened unconscious." Bian Chunchou looked up at the sky. "It's almost midnight. Are the Moonlight Grass about to mature?"

Wen Xu nodded. "Soon. I can feel it—they're about to mature."

Moonlight Grass only matured at night, when the moonlight was at its strongest. If they were not harvested in time, they would wither within an extremely short span. The mission required ten jin, and while ensuring their quality, the three of them would need at least three days to gather enough.

"Now."

The instant Wen Xu finished speaking, Bian Chunchou and Chen Zui sprang into action. All three were cultivators, so the simple task of picking Moonlight Grass was naturally no challenge for them.

But the Moonlight Grass truly withered at an outrageous speed. Even the epiphyllum would have to call it big brother in the realm of withering. In the blink of an eye, the three had filled their baskets, yet altogether they had gathered only a little over three jin.

Sure enough, gathering missions traded time for sect contribution points.

"They wither way too fast. Are they rushing off to be reincarnated?"

Wen Xu chuckled softly. "Aren't they just? Rushing off to be reincarnated."

Bian Chunchou: ...

"Let's go. We'll come back tomorrow. First, take these two to the magistrate's office. As for this one, let's bring him along for now. He doesn't seem to be in good shape. I'm afraid if he gets another fright, it really will be one corpse, two lives."

Chen Zui had no objection, and Wen Xu did not refuse either, so Bian Chunchou carried the man with them.

The next day, however, the weather suddenly turned overcast. The originally bright and sunny sky had become thick with dark clouds before noon, and by evening, a torrential downpour had begun.

"We're screwed. Moonlight Grass only matures when the weather is sunny and clear. Looks like we can't pick any tonight." How could the weather change at the drop of a hat? It was clearly winter—why was it pulling summer's little tricks?

Good thing that Mist Mountain Village investigation mission had a long time limit. Otherwise, they might have been out of luck.

"That person still hasn't woken up?"

Wen Xu and Chen Zui were cultivation maniacs. Even though the spiritual energy in the air was weaker off the mountain, they still meditated and circulated spiritual energy instead of sleeping. Bian Chunchou wanted to sleep too, but... they were friends, so he could only risk his life keeping them company in the grind.

Thus, the only bed in the room was occupied by the pregnant man they had rescued. Perhaps it was an illusion, but his belly had barely shown last night. Today, it had actually begun to bulge slightly.

"Wen Xuxu, why do I feel like his belly is growing so fast?" Even blowing up a balloon was not this fierce, was it?

Wen Xu could not help frowning. He had already realized that they might have rescued trouble. If it had been in the past, when he was alone, he would absolutely not have stepped in to help. At most, after those two had left, he would have dug the man out and counted it as a daily good deed. But this was the cultivation world, and he had joined a sect. Yonglu Mountain was a righteous and prestigious sect. As a Divine Venerable's disciple, he could choose not to be kind, but it was best not to stand by and watch someone die.

"His stomach is very strange." Though his vision was concealed, even if Wen Xu was only pretending to be blind, his hearing and sense of smell had improved to a certain extent. Combined with the perception of his Wind Spiritual Root, there were in fact far more things he could detect now than his eyes could see.

"How is it strange?"

Wen Xu could not quite explain it. "They say pregnancy lasts ten months. Whatever a pregnant woman eats, the child in her womb eats as well, so pregnant women become hungry especially quickly. Some women with good appetites can even eat ten meals a day. But haven't you noticed? It's been a full day and night. An ordinary person should be hungry by now. He isn't injured, and at this hour, he should already be starving." How could he still lie there so quietly?

Bian Chunchou could not help holding his breath, because just now, he had seen it with his own eyes—

"Ahhh! His belly really got bigger again! He isn't going to be in danger, is he?"

This was the cultivation world, sure, but it could not be this unscientific! It was challenging his understanding of biology!

"Should we bring back a doctor to take a look?"

Wen Xu thought, How would I know? But they had already rescued the man. They could not just leave him alone. "Get a spirit physician. An ordinary doctor probably can't handle a pregnant man."

Chen Zui quickly brought over a spirit physician. Unexpectedly, he was a very young, refined-looking man. He carried a small wooden case, and Wen Xu sniffed lightly, yet could not detect even the faintest trace of medicinal herbs or pill fragrance.

Did spirit physicians not need to prescribe medicine? A question slowly rose in Wen Xu's heart.

"Physician Ming, how is he?"

Upon seeing the man on the bed, Physician Ming's face also showed astonishment. "Are you sure you called the right person? I think you ought to hire a midwife."

Well, damn. Who was so formidable as to knock up a man? Incredible.

Physician Ming's expression turned subtle as he took the man's pulse, then his brows drew together. "Hm? It resembles a slippery pulse, yet differs somewhat from one. There really is a child in his belly, but this child..."

"What is wrong with the child?"

"It..." Physician Ming looked at the three of them. "Which of you three is this child's biological father?"

The three of them: Huh? Was something wrong with this spirit physician's head? What biological father?!

Parasitism

"Hey, don't look so terrified. I was just joking. I know you're disciples of Yonglu Mountain. You certainly aren't the sort of... shocking and world-defying people."

By shocking and world-defying people, did he mean people capable of getting men pregnant?

Bian Chunchou: ...He had said both the nice and nasty parts all by himself. What kind of spirit physician was this? Was he even legitimate?

He could not help turning to Chen Zui. "Where did you hire this spirit physician?"

Chen Zui's gaze at Physician Ming was also somewhat doubtful. "Clearheart Hall, two streets away."

Ah, Clearheart Hall. Wasn't that an enterprise under Golden Cauldron Pavilion? As the richest force in the cultivation world, Golden Cauldron Pavilion had a vast estate and great wealth. Surely it would not harbor some swindling fraud, right?

The moment Physician Ming heard their exchange, he became angry. "You actually doubt my identity? I'm deeply wounded. I don't even want to examine this bizarre case of a pregnant man anymore!"