Yan Zhen stepped through the space portal and returned directly to his room. He opened the door and walked out.
Long Ying was sleeping as soundly as ever. Whenever he was away, she spent most of her time asleep. Crucially, her aura had clearly grown stronger by a whole level. It seemed she had upgraded her stars while he was in seclusion.
—All I can say is nine stars, since six flipped upside down!
Yan Zhen took a sip of lemon tea, then knocked on Cai Lian’s door. She opened it promptly and welcomed him inside.
To his surprise, Cai Lian had also advanced. She was now at the Six-Star Mystic Ancestor realm!
—Did Yi Xian’er give her the push she needed?
Yan Zhen said nothing about it, though. He simply pulled his Wife Lady into a long, lingering French kiss, then wrapped his arms around her and murmured sweet nothings.
Cai Lian put on an air of aloof arrogance, but in truth, her ears turned pink at the slightest flattery, and she melted into compliance after just a few honeyed words.
At least, she was like that in front of him.
“Has it started swelling yet?”
“N-Not yet.”
“If it does, you have to tell me.”
“Why are you so fixated on that!”
“I’m just concerned about you, that’s all.”
“As if.”
“Cai Lian~”
Yan Zhen leaned in for another kiss, teasing his pregnant wife until her heart fluttered and her cheeks burned with shy delight.
As they whispered sweet nothings, the Flame Princess suddenly stirred awake. Hearing her father emperor and mother concubine’s sappy talk, she let out a drawn-out “Eeee~~~”.
Yan Zhen laughed it off, but Cai Lian immediately composed her features, resuming her icy Female Monarch demeanor. Clearly, she didn’t want to lose face in front of her daughter.
With her due date drawing ever nearer and the fetus maturing by the day, Cai Lian found it increasingly hard to keep her lively daughter in check. Neither the Snake Technique nor the Fetal Stability Pills were working as well anymore. Yan Yan was full of energy in the womb, chattering nonstop this way and that.
Cai Lian hadn’t seen her husband in over half a month, and her heart had brimmed with longing. His sweet talk had left her dizzy with bliss and sweetness—until their silly daughter popped in to ruin it. Now she couldn’t have looked more annoyed if she tried.
“You’re the chatterbox. How’s your cultivation coming along? If you don’t work harder, you won’t catch up to Ling’er after you’re born. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I’ve been working super hard! I’ll be at least at the Mystic Initiate Realm when I come out!”
“Ling’er will probably be born at the Mystic Master Realm.”
“Really? You’re just bluffing, Mother Concubine~”
“Ling’er’s divine soul was innately powerful. She was born at the Divine Soul True Realm in her last life. Now that your Aunt Zi is pregnant with her ahead of schedule, let’s call it half that—a Divine Soul Manifest Realm. That’s the Mystic Master Realm, isn’t it?”
“. . .”
—That actually makes a lot of sense.
And so Yan Yan had no choice but to settle down and become a proper grinding queen. After all, she wanted to be a good big sister who could protect her little sibling.
With the little ancestor finally behaving, Cai Lian breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at Yan Zhen and saw his bizarre expression. Coughing twice to cover her embarrassment, she realized the mood had been utterly spoiled by that little blabbermouth of a daughter.
Cai Lian mentally marked one up on the tally for her silly girl—the one that meant spankings on the path to adulthood.
“Go visit your other sisters. This Sovereign is tired.”
Yan Zhen naturally didn’t just agree and leave. He spent a little more time cuddling with his Wife Lady, helped her lie down comfortably, planted one last kiss on her lips, and then departed. He made a quick stop in Long Ying’s room.
She lay sprawled on the bed, a tiny bubble forming at the tip of her nose that grew and shrank with each breath. Unable to resist, Yan Zhen reached out and poked it.
Pop! The bubble burst, and Long Ying’s eyes fluttered open in a daze, her expression utterly dreamlike.
“Yan Zhen Zhen?”
Yan Zhen patted her head gently.
“You’re dreaming. Go back to sleep. When you wake up, there’ll be big pork trotters waiting.”
Long Ying mumbled an “oh” in a stupor, closed her eyes again, and drifted off. Another comical little bubble soon formed at her nose.
Yan Zhen couldn’t help but smile. He left a bottle of freshly refined Five-Fragrance King Beast Pills by her bedside—delicious and highly nourishing.
Leaving the Jia Flame Cave, Yan Zhen headed next door to the Rain Flower Cave.
Mentor Yu Xuan and Aunt Shui Bailan were both in cultivation. With one wielding water and the other ice, the entire cave mansion had turned chilly.
Just as he was about to leave, the massive surge of ice Mystic force suddenly faltered, then slowly receded. Yan Zhen knocked on Aunt Shui Bailan’s door.
Moments later, it opened. A poised beauty with white hair, a blue skirt, and silver-framed glasses poked her head out. Seeing it was Yan Zhen, her eyes lit up behind the lenses, and she said happily:
“Yan Zhen, you’re out of seclusion? Xuan’er is still cultivating. Want to come in and sit?”
Yan Zhen had no objections. He boldly wrapped an arm around Aunt Shui Bailan’s waist, entered her room, and shut the door behind them.
They sat down at the table. Shui Bailan poured two cups of iced tea from the pot—one for herself and one for him.
“Try it. I made it with the recipe you gave me. I think it’s delicious.”
Yan Zhen took a sip and recognized it as Mystic Water Lemon Tea—cool and refreshing, with a perfect tangy sweetness.
“It takes me back.”
He drained the cup, and Shui Bailan refilled it right away. Yan Zhen asked casually:
“Auntie, is your cultivation not going smoothly?”
Shui Bailan set down the teapot and adjusted her glasses.
“No, I was just getting impatient and botched my breathing, so I stopped to relax.”
Yan Zhen stared at her intently, and she promptly lowered her head, looking guilty.
“Give me your hand. Let me check.”
“. . .”
Instead of complying, Shui Bailan sneaked her hand under the table. Yan Zhen reached out with his own little hand and grabbed hers anyway. A quick pulse check confirmed his suspicions.
“Your mystic power is clogged, and your meridians are damaged. It’s not too bad yet, but if you keep pushing, who knows. You’re frowning now?” Yan Zhen furrowed his brow. “This is backlash from forcing a breakthrough. Auntie, how could you—”
The Discipline Director of the Outer Academy, known as the Ice Crystal Witch, now resembled a naughty little girl who knew she’d done wrong. She couldn’t meet Yan Zhen’s eyes and murmured weakly:
“S-Sorry.”
“That’s not like you at all, Auntie. Even Little Aunt wouldn’t make a mistake like this.” Yan Zhen felt a headache coming on—and an even greater ache in his heart. “Is it too stressful being here?”
“No!” Shui Bailan jerked her head up and explained hurriedly. “I just misjudged the timing. I thought I could do it, so I pushed once. It has nothing to do with anything else, really—don’t, don’t kick me out, Yan Zhen!”
She seemed terrified, clutching his arm with both hands, her face paling as her eyes pleaded desperately. But after those last words slipped out, she regretted them, realizing she shouldn’t have even thought that way.
“Yan Zhen, I— Ah!”
Shui Bailan wanted to explain further, but Yan Zhen pulled her over forcefully. She stumbled and fell into his lap. Looking up, she saw him making a sulky, kitten-like face:
“What are you saying, Auntie? That’s slander! I’m getting mad now!”
But being glared at like that from the corner of his eye actually calmed Shui Bailan down. She whispered softly:
“I spoke too fast. Don’t take it to heart, Yan Zhen.”
“Spoke too fast? So that’s really what you think deep down? That I’d kick you out?” Yan Zhen huffed angrily. “Am I that kind of person?”
“Sorry, I know I was wrong.”
“No sincerity.”
“. . .”
Shui Bailan’s pretty face flushed red. She adjusted her glasses again, then pursed her lips and planted a kiss on his cheek.
“Better now?”
“Passable, I guess.”
Yan Zhen’s expression softened a bit, though he still looked thoroughly displeased.
With no other choice, Shui Bailan looped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.
