Little Bundle

Miao Xin found a 24-hour convenience store and bought a baby bottle, Su Ming quickly sent over. However, he had never actually taken care of a baby before, so he contacted Miao Xin and searched for parenting guides on Baidu. He then discovered that Younier had already added warm water to the bottle and tested the temperature by dripping some on her hand, her movements appearing quite practiced.

I forgot this girl has younger siblings.

Miao Xin also sent a disdainful message, saying that she also has a younger sister and that not everything needs to be searched on Baidu.

Younier quickly prepared the milk. The baby appeared to be sleeping, but when the bottle was handed to him, he immediately latched onto the nipple and began sucking vigorously. However, Younier's rib injury hadn't healed, so she couldn't hold the baby.

Su Ming glanced at Hansite, then looked at Qiluo.

"I'll go prepare to start the engine," Hansite said, and immediately went to the locomotive's cab.

In the corner of the workshop Zijin propped up a treatment bed with bones and tossed Katharine onto it. "Little Unicorn, come lend a hand!" she called out, Qiluo immediately ran over as if fleeing.

Su Ming had no choice but to accept her fate and breastfeed the baby herself.

Younier went to the warehouse to find fabric to make clothes for the children.

The scholar and the unicorn peeled off Katharine's coat, only to find that the inside of the clothes was covered in blood. Zijin quickly used her detection magic and breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the wounds were not deep, and the bleeding had been stopped after initial treatment. Only a cut on her leg had caused the most severe bleeding.

Su Ming walked over carrying the child and was also startled. He knew that Katharine was injured, but he didn't expect so many injuries. This former chief inspector was definitely a werewolf.

He lifted her eyelids to check her pupils, then put his multi-function watch on Katharine's wrist to check her pulse, followed by her blood pressure. "Her vital signs are alright, treat the wound as soon as possible."

Zijin untied the simple bandages that Katharine had made herself, cleaned the wounds again, and sealed up any smaller cuts. Qiluo also released water magic to soothe the wound tissue and restore its vitality.

The large wound on his leg was a bit troublesome, so Su Ming asked Zijin to clean it first.

After the baby finished feeding, Su Ming, following Younier's instructions, held him upright and patted him for a while. Seeing that he was in good spirits and even opened his eyes to look around, Su Ming assembled a crib out of bones and placed the baby on it.

He then walked to the medical sterilizer, took out a surgical kit, untied it, put on rubber gloves, and began threading the needle.

"You need stitches?"

"You know how to suture?"

Zijin and Qiluo asked at the same time. This world also has the concept of suturing, as an auxiliary means of wound treatment. The principle is not much different, but judging from Su Ming's actions, the details are obviously different. Especially in terms of preventing infection, there are many operations that would be superfluous in this other world.

Su Ming tore off the sticky note from the outside of his surgical pack and stuck it in a convenient spot. He then followed the instructions on the note to complete the disinfection process. He asked Qiluo and Zijin to help him, one on each side of the wound, and began suturing the blood vessels inside the wound with needle forceps.

Although Su Ming had practiced by peeling raw eggshells, he knew his own skill level. Fortunately, there were very few blood vessels to deal with, and they were just branches of veins, located superficially. He was covered in sweat after stitching them up before he began to treat the torn muscle and skin.

"You were practicing this when you were sewing those vegetable stems earlier." Qiluo understood. "You're quite talented."

Zijin remained silent; she could see Su Ming's awkwardness. He was clearly guarding against some unforeseen situation, and it was obvious who he was concerned for. Since Zijin couldn't accept light-based healing magic, treating her external injuries using methods from another world was a question of whether it would save her or take her life.

The whole process only took twenty minutes, but after it was finished, Su Ming felt extremely tired and sat down to the side. Only then did he notice that Katharine's face was pale, her lips were tightly pursed, her hands were gripping the edge of the bed, and her whole body was covered in sweat.

Damn, I completely forgot about the anesthesia! Su Ming thought to himself. But to be able to endure this, he truly deserves to be called a ruthless person who managed to escape from the encirclement with a child!

Fortunately, the wound had been stitched up, and a light blue healing magic appeared on Qiluo's hand, relieving the pain in the injured area.

Katharine then fainted again.

Upon learning that the surgery was complete, Hansite also started the Youth Civilization. The carriages began to sway gently, and the long train began to move forward amidst the increasingly heavy blizzard.

Behind the train, the continuously falling snowflakes slowly covered all traces left since setting foot on the ice field.

****

Miao Xin contacted me; she had obtained the medicine.

Su Ming cut over and found her standing in the medicine warehouse of Pine Mountain Sanatorium.

The private hospital had already closed down, and Miao Xin, dangling her keys, had even entered openly and legitimately.

"[This is so convenient.]" Su Ming exclaimed. "[It is great, I'm almost reluctant to report the dean's new incriminating evidence.]" Miao Xin said.

"We'll talk about it after we've used it enough," Su Ming said. "Anyway, we're in prison, so there's no rush."

Su Ming disconnected the connection, prepared the intravenous injection solution of glucose and compound sodium lactate, and administered it to Katharine.

"I need to get some sleep. Who's going to take care of the child?" Su Ming asked. It was already six in the morning, and both he and Zijin were exhausted.

Younier raised her hand, but Su Ming refused, "You can talk about it after your fracture heals!"

The remaining two humans and one animal were in the workshop, looking at each other, then at the baby who had eaten his fill and was fast asleep.

"Forget it, if we send Qiluo, we don't even know if the baby will survive until tomorrow morning," Zijin sighed. "Qiluo can sleep here and watch over Katharine."

"Chirp!" Qiluo immediately transformed back into her unicorn form and lay down on the ground.

Su Ming placed an alarm clock set for one hour next to Qiluo. "Just pull it out after the IV drip is finished. It's okay if some blood is lost."

He had exhausted his Magic Power yesterday at noon; the scholar had used Levitation Spell for a long time in the evening and had just used terrain magic to create an avalanche. Both of them had been working hard until now, so if we were to compare their fatigue levels, we could only say they were about the same.

Su Ming resignedly picked up the baby and headed towards his room in the living quarters. He placed the baby on the bed and began to undress, but suddenly heard a few clicks. It was Zijin who had demolished the wall of his room and pushed her bed over from next door, putting it next to his to form a larger one.

"Put the baby in the middle, and we'll sleep on either side," she said to Su Ming, her voice slurred. She looked up and saw that he had already pulled his pants down halfway as he was getting ready to change into his pajamas.

The girl hesitated for a moment before realizing what she meant, "Sorry."

Su Ming was also so tired that all he wanted to do was sleep. He changed into his pajamas, climbed into his bed, and covered himself with the blanket.

"I'm really exhausted and a little dizzy." The girl sat on the edge of the bed and apologized to Su Ming again.

"I'm not angry, I'm just sleepy," Su Ming said. "Go to sleep, who knows when this kid will cause trouble."

"Um."

The girl picked up her pajamas, intending to change, only to realize she was in the same room as Su Ming. Too lazy to think about it anymore, she turned off the light and began undressing in the dark.

"Um, I have Darkvision," Su Ming said, displeased. "You don't even need to use a shielding spell?"

"I'm so tired." The girl snuggled under the covers. "Goodnight."

"..-Good night."

****

Su Ming was awakened by the sound of hooves crying at nine o'clock in the morning; he had only slept for less than three hours.

Zijin sat up with her hair disheveled. The two poor souls exchanged a glance and resignedly began changing the baby's diapers, making milk, and feeding the child.

But after drinking, the baby refused to sleep and strained his legs, crying.

"Such a small creature, yet so mischievous," the scholar complained.

Su Ming picked up the child and placed him on his shoulder. "I'll take him to see Katharine. You go back to sleep."

Zijin went back into bed and fell asleep soon after.

Su Ming carried the baby to the workroom. Hearing the baby's movements, Katharine struggled to open her eyes. Her complexion was much better than last night; although she still looked tired, some color had returned to her cheeks.

Judging by her age, this Empress of the Stars should be in her forties, but she looked like a slightly older sister. Her skin was radiant, and her temperament was elegant. Lying there, she exuded a dignified and composed air—of course, Su Ming knew that this was purely an illusion caused by her weakened state after being injured.

In this alternate world, the lifespan of ordinary humans is shorter than that on Earth, but the strong can live much longer. Humans like Katharine, who have reached High Rank combat position, can live to be over 150 years old, so it is normal for them to age slowly.

She had long, golden hair like Yise, only slightly darker. Su Ming handed the baby in his arms to Katharine. Seeing the baby's rosy complexion and darting eyes, Empress of the Stars was relieved.

"Thank you," she said to Su Ming, glancing out the window at the raging blizzard. "You were really there for us last night. We wouldn't have made it through this weather."

"You guys are lucky," Su Ming said. "To avoid being noticed, we chose to drive through remote, uninhabited areas. But you, to shake off your pursuers, headed in the most difficult direction."

"So this is a two-way journey," Katharine chuckled.

"I'd rather say you delivered the goods to my door," Su Ming said bluntly. "You can guess why we're here."

"It's hard not to guess." Katharine gently patted the baby in her arms. "You wreaked havoc on the seas, crushing the Allied Fleet, acting like the new maritime overlords. Then, after the Council of Cardinals of Light finally managed to assemble a carrier fleet primarily composed of dragons, you went and robbed the Divine Might Prison in the Ice Plains! Truly, impressive methods!"

"So you'll have to stay here for a while," Su Ming said. "I'll go through the motions and tie you up."

Last night, Zijin's attack showed Su Ming that she had killed at least a hundred pursuers. And Katharine's strength, which allowed her to escape from an encirclement of this scale, is self-evident.

No wonder Zijin didn't dare to pursue the enemy immediately during the Battle of Agate Sea.

Su Ming drew his Thorn Long Whip and unfurled it. He planned to learn some more spells later; he had no shortage of restraint spells in the dark magic system, but he hadn't learned them, so he could only learn them on the spot from his spellbook.

"Wait!" Katharine hurriedly waved her hand, "I have no interest in masochism, and—this is something we can discuss!"

"Oh?" Su Ming became interested. "For example, you could order the release of the prisoners from the Divine Might Prison?"

Although he had prepared a prison break plan, there were still many variables and details that had not yet been finalized. If there were a shortcut, that would be even better!

"I don't have that authority," Katharine said. "You should know that I've long been stripped of real power. I wear a prestigious title, but in reality, I'm just a figurehead in a political deal between the two sides."

"Lady Katharine," Su Ming said, utterly bewildered, "Last month you were commanding the combined fleet to encircle and annihilate us with such high spirits, how come you're like this now?"

"It's because the operation to capture you failed," Katharine snorted. "Such a large-scale operation, and you escaped, suffering such heavy losses—don't you bear any responsibility?"

"Then I can just use kidnapping as an excuse to have the temple ransom the person with prisoners, right?" Su Ming said, "Alright, nominally you are the Empress of the Stars."

"Sure, sure," Katharine patted the baby in her arms. "To the outside world, this little guy is still the prince of the Stars; exchanging him for dozens of prisoners is no problem at all."

"External?" Su Ming caught the key word.

"Actually, he's not Xialike's child," Katharine said. "There's a complicated story behind it; if you're interested, I can gossip about it to you later."

Xialike Fabilio, the current king of the Star Empire, rules over the largest and most prosperous empire in the other world.

"--I'm not really interested either," Su Ming said insincerely.

"Demanding ransom under the guise of kidnapping is very risky to execute." Katharine pulled her hair out of the baby's hand. "You'll expose your whereabouts and face pursuit from over a dozen archbishops and more than two hundred priests—"Over a dozen? Two hundred?"Su Ming quickly pulled out the data seized from the Plundering Clock, as well as the intelligence purchased from the Thieves' Guild. "Why does my data only show three archbishops guarding the Divine Might Prison! And only twenty or thirty bishops and priests!"

"There are only three Divine Might Prison, that's true, but there's also the Sea of Divine Grace." Katharine looked at Su Ming, then suddenly realized, "I understand, Ailisha's information hasn't been updated, you don't know about this yet!"

"Please explain clearly." Su Ming forced himself to calm down; the enemy's size had multiplied many times over, which was no joke.

The Divine Might Prison is strategically located and equipped with powerful protective arrays. With just three archbishops leading a squad of priests, it is an easy-to-defend stronghold that is difficult to attack. Even Saint Rank warrior would not fare well in a direct assault.

Su Ming's original plan was to infiltrate and launch a surprise attack, bypassing the Divine Might Prison's defense system, suppressing key enemies, and achieving a rescue. However, if the enemy's scale far exceeds expectations, this plan will become unfeasible.

"First of all, you know that the Sacred Mountain is also a place of ascetic practice, right?"

"The environment there is pristine, far from the hustle and bustle," Su Ming replied. "Ailisha said that if she weren't afraid of the cold, she would have gone there for a year of further study."

"The Holy Mountain Divine Might Prison separated the training grounds and built a new academy right below it," Katharine said. "The name is quite extravagant; it's called Sea of Divine Grace."

"Build an academy on a snow-capped mountain?" Su Ming didn't understand. "Is there some cultivation secret in the Dome Mountains region?"

"The mystery of ghosts," Katharine sneered. "Many second-generation gods have picked up bad habits, their cultivation has stagnated, and they're always Life and Wrong. So the old folks built the academy in this godforsaken place where no one can hear their cries for help, to capture those disobedient brats, lock them up, and discipline them strictly."