Xinran's plans

A gentle breeze drifted by. Outside the cave, all was quiet.

Xu Xinran nestled in Qin Yi's arms, looking at him from up close. "Husband, tell me, what should we do if we have a child?"

"Then we'll have it."

"Really...?" Xu Xinran's eyes flickered.

The world of cultivation was, after all, different from the world of mortals.

If a mortal couple truly conceived a child, they would certainly have it. More children meant more blessings.

But in the world of cultivation, few people actually wanted children.

Whether in the Famous Sword Sect or any other sect, once a man's woman became pregnant and decided to have the child, the sect would suspend their cultivation resources.

For at least three years!

Why, you ask?

The reason was simple. Once you had a child, you certainly could not devote yourself wholeheartedly to cultivation.

Rather than issue resources for you to waste during that time, they might as well wait three years, until you could temporarily take your mind off the child and devote yourself wholeheartedly to cultivation again, before resuming your supplies.

Perhaps you would say, in such a vast sect, couldn't dignified cultivators hire a nanny?

Servants and maids could certainly help look after the child, too.

If that was what you thought, you were wrong.

In the world of cultivation, once a couple had offspring, both husband and wife had to personally nurture the child for at least three years.

The first three years after birth were the best time for a child's innate foundation to take shape. Thus, if the parents devoted themselves to shaping it, the child was destined to start higher than ordinary people.

Gu Yiyi and Gu Qingshuang, for instance, had possessed the aptitude to cultivate from birth, precisely because their parents had shaped their innate foundations during their early childhood.

Among children from ordinary families, only a handful suitable for cultivation could be found out of a hundred, or even a thousand. That was the difference.

Especially in a major sect, if you had a child who could not cultivate, wouldn't you become a laughingstock if word got out?

Thus, once you decided to have a child, you would receive no cultivation resources for at least three years. Even rendering meritorious service would not change that.

That was also why Xu Xinran was deeply moved as well as surprised by Qin Yi's words.

Wasn't this a sign that he would take responsibility?

"Of course it's true. If you get pregnant, don't hide it from me, and don't secretly dissolve it. You must keep it."

"Mm."

In the world of cultivation, if a woman became pregnant and did not want the child, she could use her own spiritual power to dissolve the fetus before it took shape. It was very simple, something she could do with a single thought.

"Then... if we're going to have the child, Husband, you'll have to acknowledge who you are."

Xu Xinran stole a glance at him.

Song Xianming was dead anyway. Though no one knew yet, someone would surely guess it as time went on.

And if Xu Xinran was pregnant then, everyone would know it certainly was not Song Xianming's. Besides, Qin Yi would not let people believe his own child belonged to Song Xianming.

At that point, he would have to step forward and acknowledge the child as his. Otherwise, the sect would force Xu Xinran to dissolve the fetus.

"Then I'll acknowledge it. Is your husband the sort of man who dares to act but not own up to it?"

Qin Yi spoke with bold assurance.

Having a child took ten months, and even for her belly to grow noticeably large would take four or five months.

He felt that within four or five months, he should long since have grown to heights beyond the Famous Sword Sect's reach.

Once he reached those heights, who cared about its rules and sect regulations?

"My husband really is a responsible man." Xu Xinran smiled sweetly, curled up in his arms like a kitten.

"Oh, right, I wanted to ask you for something else," Qin Yi suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"A bottle of Qi Gathering Pills."

The Qi Gathering Pills were intended for Miao Xiufeng.

Because Qin Yi had been at odds with Hua Yunfeng, he had not handed over the materials from their mission, so he had to take responsibility for providing the Qi Gathering Pills Miao Xiufeng was owed.

"Mm." Without hesitation, Xu Xinran searched herself and took out a bottle for him.

"Here, take a few. A few should be enough for your body to more or less recover."

Qin Yi poured two Qi Gathering Pills out of the bottle and personally fed them into her mouth.

Xu Xinran's eyes widened in surprise as she passively swallowed the Qi Gathering Pills as though they were candy.

"Husband, these pills... how can you take them like this?"

Even when they completed missions, each person was only issued three Qi Gathering Pills a month.

Yet now, Qin Yi had fed her two merely to help her body recover.

Once she swallowed the Qi Gathering Pills, a gentle warmth swiftly began circulating through Xu Xinran's meridians.

Under the cleansing wash of the medicine's effects, the pain and exhaustion Qin Yi had put her through indeed subsided for the most part after only a little while.

Only when it was nearly dark did Qin Yi and Xu Xinran part there.

Xu Xinran was still trembling when she left. Fortunately, she could fly on her sword, and under cover of night, no one would notice anything.

Qin Yi stepped back onto the riverside path. Judging by Xu Xinran's condition, she had probably reached her limit.

But the [Thousand-Control Pill] was said to remain effective for three days.

"Today's only the first day."

What about tomorrow and the day after?

How should I deal with it?

Just as he was troubled by this, beneath the gentle moonlight, he suddenly spotted a familiar, graceful figure on that same familiar stretch of river.

Only now, that graceful figure looked lonely and cold.