“Marshal, Madam has recovered very well. There’s no serious problem.” Mu Rong Qing, the Xiahou family’s private doctor, put away his instruments and turned to look at Xiahou Zhong. “However, she has been injured after all, so her body is still weak. She needs to be properly rested and cared for.”
“Good.” Xiahou Zhong nodded solemnly. His tense body looked as though he were making pre-battle preparations. “Is there anything else we need to pay attention to?”
“As for the rest…” Mu Rong Qing glanced at Lian Qiguang, who was sitting cross-legged and curled up in Xiahou Shaoxuan’s arms, expressionlessly picking at his fingers. He smiled meaningfully. “The child is not yet two months old, which is still a dangerous period. A pregnant man can become very irritable during pregnancy, so you need to accommodate him more and avoid stimulating him, lest it affect the fetus as well.”
“No problem.”
“After another month, I’ll come back to examine Madam again.” Mu Rong Qing nodded and, under the steward’s guidance, left the room.
“Shaoxuan, come outside with me for a moment.” Xiahou Zhong spoke in a deep voice and gestured toward the door.
Lian Qiguang abruptly raised his head and glared at Xiahou Zhong warily.
Xiahou Shaoxuan reached out and rubbed Lian Qiguang’s head, intending to set him down.
“I’ll be right back.”
“No!” Lian Qiguang’s two little claws clutched tightly at Xiahou Shaoxuan’s collar as he glared at Xiahou Zhong with obvious hostility.
“Why are you looking at me like that!” Xiahou Zhong glared back. “Can I eat him?”
“No!” Lian Qiguang clung to Xiahou Shaoxuan and refused to let go. Xiahou Shaoxuan was afraid of hurting him by using too much force, so he could only slow his movements and support him in his arms.
“All right, all right, all right!!” Seeing this, Xiahou Zhong felt his chest tighten with anger. But whether it was the older one, the younger one, or the one that had not even been born yet, he could not scold a single one of them. He could only wave his hand and speak through his anger. “Just protect him! Let’s see how you’re going to stuff him into your pocket and carry him around with you all the time!”
Faced with Xiahou Zhong’s anger, Lian Qiguang’s head drooped. He burrowed into Xiahou Shaoxuan’s embrace and did not even spare him another glance.
Xiahou Zhong had no choice but to give up. He stomped out of the room angrily.
After Xiahou Zhong left, the room returned to silence.
An Ruxin and Xiahou Jue were outside dealing with the guests. Xiahou Luoyu and the others were all reckless, rough-handed people who had no sense of restraint. Xiahou Shaoxuan had ordered them not to come within five meters of Lian Qiguang. He had even directly set up a protective barrier of Emperor-rank supernatural ability around Lian Qiguang’s room.
Xiahou Luoyu had cursed furiously about it, but after Xiahou Shaoxuan gave him a thorough beating, he became honest, sporting a bruised and swollen face.
“Shaoxuan, let’s go back to District Three to live.” Lian Qiguang raised his head and spoke in a muffled voice.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing Lian Qiguang’s displeasure, Xiahou Shaoxuan softly reassured him.
“I don’t like it here.”
Ever since Lian Qiguang had fought his way to the First Prison a few days ago, he had been confined to the house after returning and had not gone out for several days.
But that did not mean he was unaware of what was happening outside.
Lian Qiguang was an underage Void-rank expert, a Natural, and pregnant. Xiahou Shaoxuan, meanwhile, had successfully advanced to Emperor rank before even reaching a hundred years old. His monstrous talent had caused countless people to cry out that he was a freak.
These two matters had already caused a tremendous uproar online.
Over the past few days, from morning until night, the people coming to visit the Xiahou family had practically crowded around the gates, desperately wanting to see Lian Qiguang and Xiahou Shaoxuan.
With so many people, An Ruxin and Xiahou Jue could no longer handle everything themselves. They had directly left the reception to Steward Qi and the robots.
But there were some people whose status meant they could not simply be turned away, forcing them to grit their teeth and deal with them personally.
Seeing the gloom on Lian Qiguang’s face, Xiahou Shaoxuan gently pulled him into his arms.
“Fine. After some time, once your condition has completely stabilized, we’ll go back to District Three.”
“My body is already fine.”
Hearing Xiahou Shaoxuan agree, Lian Qiguang’s eyes immediately lit up. He shot straight up from the bed and even patted his now considerably rounder belly.
“Look.”
Startled by his sudden movement, Xiahou Shaoxuan’s face immediately darkened. He quickly scooped Lian Qiguang up and held him securely in place.
“Wife!!!”
Looking at Lian Qiguang’s innocent little face, Xiahou Shaoxuan’s forehead twitched.
“Wife! You’re not allowed to do that anymore. Do you hear me?”
“I really am fine now.”
Thinking that Xiahou Shaoxuan did not believe him, Lian Qiguang seriously pinched his soft belly.
“When I used to go on missions, my stomach was torn open countless times. My internal organs even spilled out, and I was still fine, wasn’t I? This time, I only lost a little blood. Eat some meat and sleep for a night, and it’ll all grow back.”
Xiahou Shaoxuan stroked Lian Qiguang’s pale, tender little belly. Even he could not deny how much his heart ached.
After remaining silent for a long while, Xiahou Shaoxuan sighed softly.
“Wife, I protect you. Now, you also need to learn to protect our child.”
“Why do I have to protect him?” Lian Qiguang tilted his head. “I’ll teach him how to fight. Whoever dares bully him, we’ll chop them down!”
Xiahou Shaoxuan could not help laughing.
“But they haven’t even come out yet, have they? Once they come out, I’ll teach them how to fight together with you.”
“Okay!” Lian Qiguang thought about it and added, “I’ll teach one, you teach one. Then we’ll make them fight and see who’s stronger.”
“Wife.” Xiahou Shaoxuan flicked his forehead, somewhat helpless. “They’re your biological children.”
“Right, you still haven’t told me why you suddenly advanced to Emperor rank.” Rubbing his forehead, Lian Qiguang suddenly remembered something and asked suspiciously.
Xiahou Shaoxuan extended a hand and took Qianming out of his spatial storage.
“It was this saber.”
“Qianming?”
“Apart from the jade bed you left behind, this saber gives me a very powerful force every time I hold it or use it. A few days ago, when I saw you being knocked down in the prison, I was furious, so I took it and fought my way out of the prison. During that time, this force kept crashing against the barrier between the two ranks within my body. Then, suddenly, I advanced.”
Lian Qiguang looked at Qianming in Xiahou Shaoxuan’s hand, his brows drawing together slightly.
After pondering for a moment, Lian Qiguang reached out and grasped Xiahou Shaoxuan’s wrist. His emerald-green supernatural ability slowly seeped into Xiahou Shaoxuan’s body.
Worried, Lian Qiguang did not miss a single corner, carefully examining Xiahou Shaoxuan’s body from within.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
He could not detect anything abnormal in Xiahou Shaoxuan’s body. Lian Qiguang’s heart sank slightly. He withdrew his supernatural ability and shook his head.
“Keep Qianming with you. You’ll probably need it soon enough.”
Xiahou Shaoxuan quickly stored Qianming back into his spatial storage.
He had used Qianming several times. Its baleful aura was far too heavy and its bloodlust too intense. Now that Lian Qiguang was pregnant, he especially could not allow him to be exposed to it.
“Shaoxuan, after we return to District Three, accompany me to the school.”
“Who are you going to see?” Xiahou Shaoxuan raised an eyebrow slightly.
Lian Qiguang shook his hand, his eyes flashing with grievance.
“My spatial storage is ruined. Everything is gone. I’m going to find my classmates and collect their gift money. I need to earn milk powder money for the meatball.”
“…”
Xiahou Shaoxuan was speechless.
As for Xiahou Zhong, he angrily left Lian Qiguang’s room and went downstairs, where he saw Mu Rong Qing, who had apparently already left, sitting downstairs.
He was startled and walked over.
“Marshal.”
Seeing Xiahou Zhong approach, Mu Rong Qing put down his tea and stood to greet him.
“Is there something else?”
“There’s something that isn’t convenient to discuss. It concerns Madam.”
The usual warmth had disappeared from Mu Rong Qing’s face, replaced by solemnity and seriousness.
Xiahou Zhong’s expression immediately tightened. He gestured with his hand.
“Study.”
“Yes!”
After arriving in the study, Xiahou Zhong sat down and activated the soundproofing barrier in the room.
“Tell me. What’s going on?”
“Marshal, did Madam receive a full-body examination at the hospital?”
“No.”
“No wonder.”
Mu Rong Qing nodded thoughtfully.
“It’s like this, Marshal. I just gave Madam a full-body examination and discovered that Madam is not a Natural.”
“What?”
Xiahou Zhong was shocked.
“Impossible! If Little Guang isn’t a Natural, then how could he become pregnant?”
“That is precisely what I find strange, and why I asked to speak with the Marshal privately.”
Mu Rong Qing opened the intelligent computer in his hand, causing a virtual screen to appear.
“Madam’s overall physical data is tens of millions of times higher than that of a Natural. Even among supernatural ability users, Madam is almost as strong as Major General Xiahou.”
“Moreover, Madam’s genes and cells do not appear to be human. Or rather, they do not resemble modern humans. He has not undergone mutation. Instead, he retains almost perfectly preserved primitive, ancestral data.”
“In other words, Madam is almost like a living primitive human.”
Listening to Mu Rong Qing’s words, the corner of Xiahou Zhong’s eyebrow twitched, and his hands tightened slightly.
If he had been somewhat confused at first, now he understood clearly.
Not only did he understand, he seemed to understand the reason as well.
Why say he’s like one? He is one!!
“Who else knows about this?” Xiahou Zhong asked solemnly after making his decision.
“Only you and me.”
“Destroy all the data. As for what the two of us discussed today, the moment you walk out this door, forget it.”
Mu Rong Qing was slightly stunned by Xiahou Zhong’s order, but he still stood and bowed.
“Yes!”
Just then, the optical computer on Xiahou Zhong’s hand suddenly lit up.
Xiahou Zhong tapped it, and Steward Qi immediately appeared on the floating screen.
“What is it?”
“Master, the eldest young master of the Lian family has arrived.”
Damn it! Xiahou Zhong secretly clicked his tongue.
Here comes the reckoning! The younger one is broad-minded, but this older one…
Remembering the way Lian Yucheng had stubbornly broken off the engagement back then, Xiahou Zhong rubbed his temples.
“All right. Treat him well. I’ll be there immediately.”
“Yes!”
Xiahou Zhong shut off the optical computer and got up, walking toward the study door. Mu Rong Qing silently followed behind him.
“Mu Rong.”
When Xiahou Zhong’s hand was resting on the door, he suddenly stopped and spoke slowly.
“Don’t think about using Little Guang to solve the current problem of reproduction. Little Guang is merely an accident—a miraculous accident.”
After saying this, Xiahou Zhong pushed open the door and left.
Mu Rong Qing froze slightly.
He watched Xiahou Zhong’s retreating back, his eyes dark and unreadable.
“…Yes, Marshal.”