Chapter 71: What is all this nonsense?! Once you regain your memories, you'll kill the wolf...
"Master!"
"Master! Master! Master!!!"
Lou Yan called out several times, startling Heng Qichun inside the room so much that he couldn't stay in bed any longer. He got up to open the door without even putting on his shoes.
Just as he stepped into the outer room, he bumped into Lou Yan, who was hurriedly returning, and was met head-on by the chill emanating from the wolf cub.
"What's wrong?" Heng Qichun's lips moved slightly as he suppressed the urge to cough and looked Lou Yan up and down to make sure he was dressed properly and hadn't been beaten up.
But he still asked anxiously, "Is it that the doctor refuses to come, or have the mountain people turned their backs on us and are trying to drive us out?"
Lou Yan opened his mouth, and after a moment of reaction, he realized that it was his hurried and flustered appearance that had caused his master to misunderstand.
He quickly turned around and closed the door to prevent more cold air from blowing in. He leaned against the door frame by the stove, trying to get rid of the chill on his body, before explaining to Heng Qichun from a distance, "It's not the doctor's business, and no one is trying to kick us out. I have some good news to tell Master."
Heng Qichun finally managed to stand still, raised his hand to cover his mouth and coughed a few times. Once the discomfort in his chest had subsided, he asked Lou Yan, "What good news?"
Lou Yan was just waiting for him to ask.
The wolf cub kept everyone in suspense, leaning against the doorframe and laughing to himself for a while, until he caught sight of Heng Qichun's pale face and immediately stopped laughing.
He sprang up as if waking from a dream, helped Heng Qichun to sit down on the nearest round stool, and thoughtfully dragged the small stove closer.
The sky outside was overcast and darkening, so the matter of finding a doctor was temporarily put on hold.
Heng Qichun did not urge him, but listened quietly as Lou Yan said, "Yesterday, the clan leader and his group came in in a great throng, insisting that the Nine-Child Mother had appeared and given us a child, which even saddened Master. I thought it was utterly absurd at the time!"
"Putting aside the fact that the spiritual energy they detected actually came from Master, let's just talk about the Nine-Child Mother—for thousands of years, only those who went up the mountain to worship had the chance to pray for offspring. Why did she bestow the child upon us this month?"
Heng Qichun was stunned, not expecting that this was what he was going to talk about.
Unfortunately, after losing his memory, he couldn't recall any of the ancient legends of the human world. He could only carefully consider Lou Yan's words based on his existing knowledge. Then, he raised his hand to his lower abdomen with some uncertainty and asked, "So you think that what they said last night was actually a lie?"
"Of course it's fake!" Lou Yan excitedly squatted down beside Heng Qichun, rested his chin on his master's leg, shook his head, and said smugly, "I ran into Wang Sheng as soon as I went out. He said that there really was a pregnant pearl on the female tree!"
"Someone must have secretly entered the temple and prayed for a child, and they actually thought the child was ours, hahaha!!"
Lou Yan's thinking was very simple.
If that absurd tree really did produce an absurd bead, then it would prove the rumor that "the female tree gives birth to a baby" on Mount Nyoki is true.
Since the tree still bears children, the mother of the nine children must have bestowed them according to the old customs.
Most likely, someone secretly sought offspring without the clan leader's knowledge, which led Wang Sheng, the spirit hunter, to point the finger at the master and disciple.
Lou Yan silently went over his reasoning in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Having shed the risk of "becoming a father," his handsome face was full of ease.
After saying that, she raised an eyebrow at Heng Qichun and asked, "Master, do you think what I said makes sense?"
Heng Qichun remained silent.
To be honest, Lou Yan sensed something was wrong the moment his master stopped talking, but he still held onto a sliver of hope that Heng Qichun hadn't responded because he felt disappointed.
He even wanted to persuade Heng Qichun to reveal his identity as a supreme god of the eighteen realms and tell him that he really had a child and would kill the wolf once he regained his memories.
But he was also glad that he spoke a moment too late.
—There was already a loud knocking on the door behind me.
"Young Master Lou!" It was Wang Sheng, who had been left outside by Lou Yan. "Are you extremely excited?"
Lou Yan thought for a moment, then got up and opened the door for Wang Sheng.
Fearing he might bring the chill to Heng Qichun, Lou Yan didn't let anyone near after entering, keeping him at the door for a moment before asking impatiently, "Why haven't you left yet?"
Wang Sheng was a middle-aged man who was also skilled in divination and spirit reading, and was often relied upon by the people in the mountains.
Having been treated rudely by Lou Yan, a mere youth, for two consecutive days, he couldn't help but feel displeased, but he still patiently asked in return, "Why should I leave?"
Lou Yanxin said, "Haven't you hurt my master enough by spreading rumors?"
But with Heng Qichun still behind him, he didn't say those words.
After a moment of silence, Lou Yan heard his master's voice coming from behind him.
"Little Wolf." Heng Qichun's voice was very soft, with a lingering hoarseness at the end. He said to Lou Yan, "Please let him in."
Lou Yan paused for a moment, then obediently stepped aside, gesturing for Wang Sheng to come in and sit down.
Wang Sheng failed to grasp the implied meaning in Heng Qichun's words, assuming that "Little Brother" was an affectionate term used between the Daoist couple.
He looked back through the gap that Lou Yan had made and, sure enough, saw his white-haired Daoist partner sitting listlessly behind him.
Wang Sheng felt a lump in his throat, and ultimately withdrew his leg that was about to step inside.
For some reason, he always felt that although Lou Gongzi's Daoist partner seemed gentle and easy to talk to, every time he saw him, his heart would pound uncontrollably, making him even more fearsome than the barbaric and domineering Lou Gongzi.
"Just sit down when I tell you to!" Lou Yan urged impatiently.
Wang Sheng snapped out of his daze, quickly waved to the master and apprentice, and put on a polite smile again.
"No, thank you," Wang Sheng said. "It'll just be a few words, I'll leave after I'm done."
Lou Yan had no interest in exploring the reason for his sudden politeness. Since Wang Sheng was not sitting, he moved to sit next to Heng Qichun and casually crossed one leg.
Without asking Wang Sheng what he wanted to say, she thought for a moment and said first, "Perfect timing, there's something I'd like to trouble you with."
Wang Sheng then stopped talking, and said with an "uh," "What is it?"
When the topic of Heng Qichun came up, Lou Yan unconsciously straightened up in his chair, raised his finger to poke his brow, and said, “My Daoist partner has been feeling unwell these past two days. I was originally going to ask a doctor to take a look, but since I’ve run into you, I’d like to ask you for a favor.”
Fearing Heng Qichun would accuse her of being impolite, Lou Yan forced a smile after speaking and added, "After all, you're more familiar with me~"
What should have been a very simple matter turned into a difficult one for Wang Sheng. He cautiously glanced at Heng Qichun a few times before finally asking, "May I ask, is this young master feeling unwell?"
Lou Yan glanced at him, noticing his burly appearance and doubting his medical skills, but out of concern for her master's health, she answered truthfully, "It seems his cold has worsened."
"He hasn't been able to eat anything since noon today. He vomits whatever he eats, and he feels nauseous even when he's asleep."
When Lou Yan said this, Heng Qichun sat silently beside him and listened. Apart from the fingers that were gently stroking his lower abdomen and slowly tightening, there was nothing unusual about him.
Coincidentally, Wang Sheng glanced at Heng Qichun's lower abdomen without leaving a trace, and happened to see Heng Qichun's actions.
He sighed, smiled with relief, and his expression immediately relaxed. "In my opinion, you don't need to call a doctor anymore."
"Why!" Lou Yan became agitated upon hearing this, stood up angrily, and looked as if she wanted to tear Wang Sheng apart.
He ground his teeth angrily and asked, "My master... my Daoist partner is still ill. Are you cursing him to die early by not letting him call a doctor?!"
"Little Wolf!" Heng Qichun frowned, his voice soft but with a hint of bravado. "Let Mr. Wang finish speaking."
Lou Yan paused for a moment, then reluctantly shut his mouth, signaling to Wang Sheng that he could finish speaking.
Wang Sheng wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, not daring to look at Heng Qichun anymore. He lowered his eyes and stared at Heng's lower abdomen, pondering each sentence carefully, saying, "Loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, these are signs of pregnancy..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lou Yan punched him down, the wolf cub menacingly pressing him to the ground, revealing his sharp canine teeth. "What nonsense are you spouting!"
Lou Yan's punch was quite forceful; although he didn't use any spiritual power, it still bruised Wang Sheng's lip.
Wang Sheng lay on his back on the ground with a cry of "Ouch!" He struggled to raise his hand and press down on Lou Yan's wrist, which was gripping his collar. "Young Master Lou, you're cold, calm down..."
Lou Yan couldn't calm down; the veins on the back of his hand bulged. He easily pried Wang Sheng's hand away and then tightly gripped the man's neck.
"You're trying to fool me with something like this, and you still want to tell me to calm down..."
"I'm not lying!" Wang Sheng was terrified of Lou Yan and quickly explained, "After the Nine-Child Mother bestows offspring, there will be no dawn for ten days on Mount Nuqi. After ten days, the baby will be born. During this period... those who have been given offspring by the Nine-Child Mother will show signs of pregnancy. At first, they will feel nauseous and vomit, and then their pregnancy will become more obvious. They may even experience the pain of childbirth!"
Heng Qichun sat to one side, his face ashen. His hand, which had been resting on his lower abdomen, began to tremble. He lightly gripped the fabric of his abdomen with his fingertips, then released his hand as if he had been electrocuted.
Lou Yan noticed Heng Qichun's reaction and felt that his master must have been angered by Wang Sheng's words.
He immediately raised his hand to cover Wang Sheng's mouth, his fierce expression suggesting he wanted to bite this mortal to death. "You dare to fart!"
"That pearl is growing on the southernmost branch of a tree." Wang Sheng bit Lou Yan's hand, and just as Lou Yan pulled his hand back in pain, he exclaimed, "Only the two of you live in the south!"
Fearing that Lou Yan might get serious again, he cried out in desperation, "Everything I've said is true. If you don't believe me... go see for yourselves!"
Even so, Lou Yan still did not believe it.
He already thought the idea of "a female tree giving birth to a baby" was nonsense, and he couldn't connect "Heng Qichun" with "pregnancy".
Could this Wang Sheng be trying to extort money from them?
Just as Lou Yan was about to unleash her spiritual power to teach Wang Sheng a lesson, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her—Heng Qichun clutched his chest, got up, and quickly walked to the door, retching incessantly.
Lou Yan stood there, looking at Heng Qichun's back and then at Wang Sheng, who was being pressed to the ground by him, and suddenly felt that all her previous composure had collapsed.
Lou Yan: Haha.
Am I going to be a dad?!
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