Chapter 49: The child that was born was a dog.
"Listen to this! What kind of charlatan's tone is this, trying to deceive people with fortune-telling? Does such a thing even exist? You can predict other people's fates, but not your own?"
Tianle stepped forward, blocking Meng Yiqiong's path: "Master never lies."
Meng Yiqiong said helplessly, "I know you resent me for saving others but not Anan. It's because Anan really couldn't be saved. You heard that I saved Lu Nanxing and Mr. Zhang, and I know you're unhappy about it. But the pocket watch shows that they weren't meant to die."
Jianjie abruptly waved her hand: "So my Anan deserves it? I refuse to believe in fate. Today I'm going to prove you wrong!"
The temperature was rising higher and higher, and the house was like a steamer, yet there was still no visible flame.
Jianjie's hair was standing on end in agitation, as was Tianle's. However, Meng Yiqiong felt a chill all over her body, and it seemed to become more pronounced the closer she got to Tianle.
Tianle had one hand behind his back. Meng Yiqiong glanced at him and saw that he had actually made a hand seal to carve out a space for himself in the raging flames.
"Master, can you grant me a request?"
Meng Yiqiong stopped him first: "Tianle, I said, there's no need to save someone who wants to give up on themselves."
“Master, please let me finish. I’m not trying to restrict you or prevent you from making that choice. I just want to say that if you can get out of here alive today, promise me you’ll do a few things before you activate your Purple Lotus, okay?”
He rarely showed such a serious expression, so Meng Yiqiong nodded: "Okay, then go ahead and say it."
Tianle's lips curled into a weary smile: "After you leave here, learn to ride horses, gallop freely across the grasslands, feel the wind, chase the sunset, watch the clouds from the mountaintop, have barbecues with lots and lots of people, ride Ferris wheels with lots and lots of people, run wildly in the rain with lots and lots of people, don't worry about your clothes getting wet, don't feel bad about the bad weather; learn to play badminton, sweat it out under the scorching sun; eat dozens of new things you've never tried before... After you've done all this, if your master still remembers me and remembers what I said, then when you make the choice to leave this world, I won't blame your master anymore."
The chill came and went, sometimes noticeable, sometimes weak, but Tianle remained as radiant as ever, watching her and silently waiting for her answer.
Meng Yiqiong said, "Okay, I promise you."
As soon as she finished speaking, the coolness vanished, replaced by a burning sensation on her back. However, with her pores tightly closed and no sweat coming out, she only felt a wave of dizziness.
Tianle staggered and collapsed in front of her, leaving a pool of blood beneath him.
Even more horrifying, a hairy but bloody tail had already been born.
Meng Yiqiong was startled. She had delivered babies before, but this was her first time helping a dog give birth. She wasn't sure if the tail coming out first was a sign of a difficult birth, or if this was just how dogs were born.
She yelled at Jianjie, "Come help! If we don't get the umbilical cord blood, your Anan won't survive either."
The hatred in Jianjie's eyes was instantly replaced by a glimmer of clarity. Meng Yiqiong was right; the most urgent task at hand was to ensure Tianle could safely give birth to her child.
However, he had clearly been drained of his magical power for too long, and it was too hot here, so he had no strength left.
"Quickly put away that weird magic of yours. He needs a comfortable environment right now."
In the comfortable environment, Meng Yiqiong thought of a place that could solve her immediate problem.
She got up, put Tianle on her shoulders, supported his side waist, and the two of them staggered towards the dark room.
Jianjie followed closely behind them, never allowing them to leave her sight. To be precise, she never allowed Tianle's belly to leave her sight.
After Tianle was carried to the bed in the dark room, her hairy buttocks were also born.
Turning around and leaving, as Jianjie withdrew her magic, the temperature of the entire building dropped. Lu Nanxing, Gan Lu, Mei Tang, and others then took the person back to the hospital.
The mothers were already struggling to cope. Some were in similar situations to Tianle, going through the most difficult part of childbirth, while others needed large amounts of blood transfusions. Everyone was immediately in a flurry of activity.
Because of her own childbirth experience, Lu Nanxing could offer little technical assistance, but she could provide significant psychological comfort.
Unlike the other expectant fathers, Tianle remained silent. He had visited the hospital several times, carrying his own belly, to watch Meng Yiqiong deliver babies, and was well-prepared mentally. Besides, he was only five months pregnant, which would make the delivery easier.
He used his strength once and gave birth to a spotted puppy.
Its fur was entirely white, just like his; only a few dark spots remained on its back.
Meng Yiqiong was also a little puzzled. She didn't have freckles herself, so how come the child she had with Tianle looked like this?
However, before Tianle could even take a second look, the newborn puppy was immediately snatched away by Jianjie.
"Give it to me now!" Jianjie cut the umbilical cord, collected the cord blood, and rushed out the door.
Tianle mustered her last bit of strength to chase after them, but Meng Yiqiong wouldn't let her: "Don't worry, I will definitely bring the child back."
Tianle said, "No. She's gone mad now. She can cast spells on this building, and she can cast spells on you too. Master, do you remember what you promised me? We stepped out of this building..."
“Once we step out of this building, I will experience what you told me,” Meng Yiqiong immediately replied. “But, Tianle, your body can’t hold up for that long.”
For the first time, Tianle disobeyed her orders. Instead, he took her with him, flashed his claws in front of his eyes, and the two appeared in a simple, dark room.
The umbilical cord blood had already been sprinkled on Anan. Jianjie ignored the crying baby in her arms and stared intently at Anan.
Taking advantage of the moment, Tianle snatched the puppy from her hands.
She wouldn't give up until she was certain that Anan had survived.
Tianle said, "You're still trying to take it from me? Aren't you afraid something might happen to your Anan?"
"Are you threatening me? Your master harmed him, so you'll harm him too." Jianjie spoke like a surrendered warrior, his words cold and hard, but utterly devoid of fighting spirit, so there was little trace of toughness in his voice.
"No one wants to harm you; it's your own inner demons that are causing this. Give it to me!"
As a blood droplet flew through the air in an arc, Tianle snatched the child back, and the blood droplet landed right on Anan's abdomen.
For a fleeting moment, a smile bloomed on Jianjie's face. She saw Anan's body seem to move slightly, and his face regained a radiance.
However, in just a moment, everything shattered.
The entire room was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Only the baby's cries reminded her that there were other people in the room.
She called out Anan's name again and again, but Anan's body deteriorated rapidly, and she could no longer recognize him even when he first appeared.
"What happened?" Jianjie collapsed to the ground, clutching her head in pain, looking at Meng Yiqiong as if she had begged her for help countless times before.
Meng Yiqiong didn't want to see her like this either, but it was too late to turn back: "Jianjie, I've already told you. The fate has been determined on the pocket watch, and it cannot be changed by human power."
Jianjie waited so long, for several years, only to receive confirmation of Meng Yiqiong's statement.
Once their matter was settled, Meng Yiqiong walked towards Tianle, who had been standing with his hands behind his back.
He stood there, still so radiant, even a little silly, staring at her, head tilted, his blond hair a mess from his own scraggling.
The puppy in his arms had stopped crying. He suddenly stroked the dog and then patted Meng Yiqiong's shoulder hard.
Meng Yiqiong met his sincere gaze in astonishment, then quickly realized what was happening. Tianle was implanting a factor that would extend her life by a hundred years.
She didn't know how long her lifespan would be in this life, but with this factor, she could live to at least 125 years old.
Tianle didn't ask her if she was willing to take on the task, but she had already agreed to Tianle's request before stepping out of that building.
She won't make any decisions lightly until she has experienced all those things.
But as Tianle laughed and laughed, he gradually fell silent.
Meng Yiqiong noticed something was wrong and rushed over to hug him, only to find that she was not hugging a solid object. Although it was soft and warm, and still fluffy, its human form was about to crumble, and it was gradually revealing its true form.
And the fur on the original form was flying into the sky, one by one.
One or two flakes, three or four flakes, thousands or tens of thousands of flakes, as if they were endless. Its fur was glossy and clean, thanks to Meng Yiqiong's grooming. At this moment, it spun and pounced into the sky.
Such a scene is truly breathtaking.
Jianjie regained her senses and rushed over to ask, "What happened? Can he still be saved?"
Meng Yiqiong held Tianle, who had revealed his true form. This was not the eight-month-old dog she had raised, but the 'little' dog she had picked up from the garbage dump.
Its fur was pure white and flawless, while the little spotted dog next to it climbed up, whimpering.
In the end, the puppy in her hands grew smaller and smaller until it was just a fluffy piece of fur, which she gently stroked in her palm, as if trying to leave some mark.
Ultimately, unable to resist the call of heaven, it too vanished into the wind.
Gan Lu, Mei Tang, and others also saw the scene here. Not only them, but even Song Kaifeng in the city noticed it.
The fluffy feathers, falling like snowflakes, seemed to carry away someone's endless longing.
After Ganlu and Meitang made sure the men in labor were out of immediate danger, they rushed to Jianjie's office. However, apart from her holding Anan's body and weeping uncontrollably, Meng Yiqiong and Tianle were nowhere to be found.
They could faintly hear the barking of a puppy. Looking out the window, they saw a small spotted dog running towards the garbage dump, its feet wobbling in the mud.
·
The following summer, Ganlu and Meitang were both awarded advanced status. Jianjie stayed by Anan's grave, never again concerning herself with worldly affairs.
Meng Yiqiong, on the other hand, was traveling the world. Gan Lu and Mei Tang, without their master, although capable of carrying the burden themselves, felt as if they had lost their backbone. Song Kaifeng repeatedly invited her back, but she didn't respond.
She has learned to ride horses, climbed many famous mountains, taken many photos of herself embracing clouds, met many people, eaten barbecues, and rode Ferris wheels, all of which she documented with her camera.
Looking at the photos she posted, Gan Lu and Mei Tang both felt that Meng Yiqiong and Tianle were starting to look more and more like a married couple, especially their radiant smiles, which made them look exactly alike.
If we're talking about something even more similar, there's the little spotted dog that's just learned to take human form.
And so it went, one year, two years, several years passed, and Meng Yiqiong lived her life so brightly and with such vigor. There was no self-pity, no regret, no resentment or worry, she simply gave it her all and stopped counting down the days.
But Ganlu knew who she was waiting for.
They witnessed the sky filled with flying catkins, but they couldn't find a trace of their souls anywhere, so how could they possibly come back?
But Meng Yiqiong believed that Tianle would never abandon her so easily. Tianle was already immortal, and although Meng Yiqiong could live to at least 125 years old, it was still a very small number in his long dog life. Tianle had also told her that in order to prolong his life, he would give birth to a puppy for her every hundred years, so that their offspring would be endless. He wanted her to stay with him forever.
This little spotted lone offspring in front of us is hardly enough.
Moreover, she can maintain her youthful appearance at 25 years old now, but if she doesn't extend her life in time after she passes away, she will age. Meng Yiqiong doesn't want to see an old lady walking down the street with a blond, energetic young man.
With nothing else to do, Meng Yiqiong would wander around the garbage dump in the backyard, hoping that she might be able to find one or two trash.
But Song Kaifeng kept the backyard clean and tidy, and even planted medicinal herbs in a simple way. It's rare to see a dirty little dog like Tianle anymore.
Sometime some time later, the spotted dog suddenly brought home another puppy.
Its fur was pure white, with a tuft of yellow fur on its forehead. It couldn't resist seeing Meng Yiqiong.
The spotted dog insisted that Meng Yiqiong keep it, so Meng Yiqiong had no choice but to take it for a check-up first.
The X-ray showed that the puppy's third rib on its left chest was also missing. The vet said it was congenital; the dog had never had that rib since birth.
Meng Yiqiong looked at it, and it looked at her. Their eyes met, and tears welled up in their eyes.
"Tianle, is that you back?" Meng Yiqiong picked it up, and the touch felt so familiar.
Although it is just an ordinary dog now, without spiritual power, cultivation, the ability to take human form, or speak human language, she believes, she just believes, that one day, this little dog can also possess these things.
The last words Tianle said to her before her soul dissipated echoed in her ears:
"Master, you will always be my master."
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Author's Note: I admit this story isn't very well written, so I'm ending it quickly. I originally wanted to combine cuteness with a bittersweet angst, but it seems I didn't quite get the character setup right [laughing and crying][pity]. I need to keep learning~
The next world is about that story of separation followed by love, as mentioned in the caption. [doge emoji]
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