Chapter 72: Tides of Warmth Surge (VI)

When Sui Ning and Xie Changzhou returned to their small courtyard, it was already late at night.

“Sui Ning, I’ll return the children first; you rest first,” Xie Changzhou said, holding the two sleeping infants.

Sui Ning nodded slightly, and a soft smile appeared on her face. “Okay, come back early.”

She stood outside the door and watched Xie Changzhou leave, like a wife seeing her husband off.

As soon as Xie Changzhou’s figure disappeared around the corner, the smile on Sui Ning’s lips immediately turned cold.

She hurried into the house and went to the study to take out some paper and an inkstone.

Her hand holding the pen trembled slightly, and her long eyelashes quivered as she hesitated, looking at the pristine white paper.

The ink dripped onto the paper from the tip of her brush, bringing her back to her senses.

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He asked her to forget.

Forget what?

Forget about Gui Luan and Yanheng? Why should she forget? What was he planning?

Sui Ning became a little panicked and quickly called out to the system in her mind: [System, are you there?]

There was still no response.

Her voice trembled: “System, are you there? Can you say something?”

She had never been so eager to hear from the system, but the long-awaited mechanical voice still didn’t appear.

Days had passed, and the system still hadn’t shown up.

She could no longer deceive herself into thinking that the system was just busy with something else.

Until now, she had realized very clearly that the system had disappeared.

She was left alone in this world.

Sui Ning held the paper tightly, her hand filled with writing marks, creasing the paper as she squeezed it.

The system had really disappeared. What was she going to do? How was she going to go home?

What about her family?

Her throat tightened, and her heart was in a state of panic, not knowing what to do.

Faint footsteps came from outside the door, followed by the sound of the courtyard gate opening and closing.

Sui Ning quickly came back to her senses, put the paper back into her bag, and adjusted her emotions.

She smiled and walked out of the study. Xie Changzhou was already pacing in the courtyard.

His expression was calm, and he didn’t change his expression when he saw her coming out of the study. He gently took her hand and asked, “Ningning, what are you doing in the study? Why haven’t you rested yet?”

Sui Ning’s heartbeat accelerated, but she still had a gentle smile on her face. She buried her head in his arms and hugged his lean waist tightly.

“I haven’t finished reading my book yet. I thought you wouldn’t be back for a while, so I wanted to read a book while waiting for you.”

Xie Changzhou held her waist with his hand, tightened her into his embrace, and said, “It’s hard for Ningning to wait for me.”

Sui Ning shook her head and said, “I’m worried about you. “

Her voice was soft, and there was nothing unusual about it.

Xie Changzhou’s gloomy expression faded a bit, and he lowered his head to kiss her lightly on the top of her head, saying, “Ningning, don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

Sui Ning’s back stiffened slightly, and she nodded slightly, saying, “I trust you.”

His grip on her waist tightened, and his hand rubbed her waist. Sui Ning’s body went weak.

He lifted her up by the waist and carried her into the room.

She panicked and was about to push him away, but suddenly she thought of something and lifted her hand, obediently wrapping it around his neck.

The curtains fell and gently swayed in the wind.

Sui Ning gripped the bed tightly, her white hands squeezing hard and her nails sinking into her palm. The slight pain made her slightly more alert.

Can’t forget, can’t forget.

She kept reminding herself in her heart, squeezing her palms tighter.

Her clenched hand was gently opened and covered by a warm and cool hand, their fingers interlocking.

His voice was hoarse and deep. “Ningning.”

Sui Ning kept reminding herself to stay clear-headed and not be tempted by him, but her body didn’t listen, and her consciousness became even more chaotic.

The warm, spiritual energy flowed through her meridians, erasing her memories bit by bit. Everything she saw and heard today turned into an illusion.

Xie Changzhou once again erased her memory.

***

When Sui Ning woke up, the pillow next to her was still cold, and he had already gone out early again.

She sighed softly, increasingly wanting to run away and live on her own for a few days.

“Xie Changzhou is really too much…

Day after day like this, she will sooner or later…

Thinking of something, Sui Ning suddenly shuddered.

They had never taken any measures, and there were no contraceptives here. Her body had no problems, and Xie Changzhou didn’t seem to have any problems either.

If this continued, wouldn’t she get pregnant?

Sui Ning felt a little panicked. She was only 22 years old and had never thought of becoming a mother so early.

Moreover, she was going home, although she didn’t know if it was still possible to go back now.

What if she really got pregnant…

She touched her abdomen and felt the palm of her hand burning.

She didn’t know if it was psychological, but she always felt something unusual in her lower abdomen.

She hadn’t had her period for more than a month, but she had never been concerned about her irregular periods.

Now she was starting to feel a little uneasy.

Sui Ning’s heart tightened. She was just about to take out a spirit stone from her Qiankun bag to go see a doctor when her movements suddenly stopped.

She slowly took out a sheet of paper from her Qiankun bag.

It was written in a familiar font—the simplified Chinese characters she had learned for more than ten years.

It was her handwriting, but she didn’t remember writing any of this.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she carefully read the contents of the paper, and her heart beat faster the more she read.

No wonder she always felt like she had forgotten something.

She wrote this last night and forgot about it this morning.

She shared a room with Xie Changzhou last night.

An incredible idea emerged.

Xie Changzhou entangles her to do these things whenever he has time, and she is gradually forgetting these things.

He erases her memory while she is unconscious.

Her heart beats faster and faster. After getting married, she had the feeling that her brain wasn’t functioning properly, and her system disappeared after getting married.

Could it be related to him?

But how could it be? Xie Changzhou is just a character in a book; how could he possibly know about the existence of the system?

Yanheng, Gui luan, and Ji Hu…

The fonts are clearly hers, but she has no impression of them.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her sea of consciousness, as if it would pierce her entire body. Sui Ning trembled in pain.

She curled up her body with cold sweat on her forehead.

Some strange scenes flashed through her mind, and she closed her eyes to endure it.

This time, she saw more scenes.

She saw Yanheng’s face.

She saw herself dressed in noble and gorgeous robes, with a young face that still looked like a child. However, the emotions on her face were mature and calm, without any trace of childishness, as if she had experienced many hardships.

She stood alone on a high platform and spoke in a cold voice, “I am Yanheng, the only god in this world. I will inherit the responsibilities of my father and mother gods and forever guard you all.”

It was eerie to hear such words from a child, but it inexplicably made people feel convinced from the bottom of their hearts.

Sui Ning seemed to be staring at her through the void, and Yanheng’s face… was exactly the same as hers when she was young.

It was her face.

Yanheng’s gentle face disappeared, and the scene changed. She saw an older Yanheng, slender and thin, with a veil on her face and a phoenix crown on her head, gently swaying with her movements.

She looked down at the young man lying on the ground and said softly, “From now on, you will be called Jihu, and I will teach you how to practice spells.”

The young man on the ground was covered in wounds, small in stature, and about the same age as a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old in the mortal world.

Jihu stared blankly at Yanheng in front of him with his glazed eyes, forgetful of speaking.

He was covered in blood, and around him were dozens of dead demons. The god who saved him was standing in front of him.

She saw too many scenes: Yanheng teaching Jihu how to practice spells, Jihu becoming the number one in the upper realm, and leading the immortal world to win many battles.

Yanheng lived alone in the line of heaven for ten thousand years, doing nothing but practicing.

In the last scene, she met a pair of blood-red eyes with a strong sense of murderous intent hidden in them.

She suddenly opened her eyes, and the pain in her consciousness gradually disappeared.

Sui Ning’s throat was tight, and she closed her eyes again to try to see more scenes, but this time she couldn’t see anything clearly.

Does she only see them when she is emotionally excited?

She hurriedly got up and ran to the study, picked up a brush and paper, and began to write down the scenes she had just seen.

She recorded her lost memories in great detail.

When Sui Ning finally finished writing, she looked at the paper on the desk in a daze.

She didn’t know why she could see these things.

But she knew that Xie Changzhou didn’t want her to remember them.

That means Xie Changzhou also has these memories, and he knows clearly what harm they could bring to her.

So he wants to erase her memory. 

What will Xie Changzhou do after erasing it?

A sudden wave of anxiety hit her chest, and a sharp pain struck her abdomen. Sui Ning frowned, the pain growing more intense by the second. She hastily gathered up her papers and attempted to return to her room.

Just as she arrived at the door of the study, the hidden pain in her abdomen suddenly intensified. Sui Ning was too weak to hold onto the door frame, and her legs gave out, causing her to shiver and slide down along the frame. 

She could clearly sense a warm flow seeping out, and her eyelashes trembled as she stared at herself in disbelief. She had only gotten up, dressed in white inner clothes, and now there was a fresh red stain gradually spreading at the bottom of her skirt. 

Sui Ning had seen blood several times before, but never before had it made her feel so scared, and her heart shook. 

“Xie Changzhou… Xie Changzhou…”

She thought of something and struggled to get up, her heart beating faster and tears rolling down her cheeks. Her legs were weak and her abdomen was in severe pain, and she felt something slipping away from her. 

She tried to regulate the spiritual energy in her body, but her dantian was shattered, and the spiritual energy could not be gathered. The clothes under her were already soaked in blood.

Sui Ning suddenly broke down emotionally: “Xie Changzhou, Xie Changzhou!”

Xie Changzhou, please come back soon.

Please come back soon.

Her beautiful face was filled with tears as she struggled to get up, one hand holding onto the door frame and the other supporting her lower abdomen.

Her shaky body had just managed to stand up straight when a sharp pain hit her abdomen, causing her to fall forward, despairingly watching the ground come closer.

The scent of pine filled the air as she was embraced in a familiar embrace.

“Ningning, don’t be afraid; I’m here.”

The clear and moist voice was accompanied by an obvious panic, and the indifference on Xie Changzhou’s face disappeared completely.

Xie Changzhou lifted her up and carried her into the room, placing her on the bed.

Her skirt was stained with blood, staining the bedding red, and the bloody smell made Xie Changzhou’s heart ache.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his slender hands trembled as he sent his spiritual energy into her body, trying to stop the bleeding.

Ningning grasped his hand and cried softly, shouting at him, “Xie Changzhou, save it, save it!”

She held his hand to her lower abdomen, tears streaming down her face. “I want it; save it!”

“You have to save it; I can’t keep it anymore!”

Xie Changzhou was shocked, unbelievingly probing her abdomen.

Did Sui Ning… get pregnant?

How is that possible?

Sui Ning’s crying echoed in the room, and Xie Changzhou’s brows furrowed as he quickly sealed her acupoints.

His slender hand rested on her belly, and warm, spiritual energy surrounded her body, slowly probing into her womb, trying to save the life that was about to dissipate.

Sui Ning cried weakly, tears hanging on her long eyelashes. Xie Changzhou’s heart was breaking from seeing her cry.

One hand was delivering spiritual energy to her belly, while the other hand trembled as he wiped away the tears on her face.

“Ningning, don’t cry… I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Xie Changzhou’s voice was hoarse, and his glassy eyes were bloodshot.

He had sensed something was wrong with Sui Ning when he was still at the Limitless Sword Sect, but the courtyard was already protected by his spell. How could Sui Ning be in danger?

However, the marriage contract engraved on his soul told him that Sui Ning was indeed in danger.

He immediately left his work and rushed over. As soon as he entered the small courtyard, he felt like his heart was about to break.

Sui Ning’s white robe was soaked in blood, and she leaned against the door frame, weakly falling down. Her beautiful face was pale and covered in tears.

At that moment, Sui Ning seemed like she was about to break apart.

He felt like he was also thrown into a freezing, snowy world and could only sense the piercing cold.

Sui Ning was still crying, pleading with him in a choked voice, “Xie Changzhou, save it… save it…”

Xie Changzhou’s tears fell as he stooped over, his tall and straight figure trembling as he gently kissed her cold and sweaty forehead.

“Ningning, Ningning, don’t be afraid… don’t be afraid…” he said, wishing he could transfer all of his energy to her and bear a thousand times, a hundred times, the pain for her.

Sui Ning curled up her body and whispered, “The baby…”

Xie Changzhou choked up, and big tears streamed down his face.

What should he do? What should he do?

Xie Changzhou and Sui Ning were crying…

Think of a way. Think of a way…

His hand trembled slightly as he desperately transferred his warm and powerful energy to her.

He looked at her flat belly, where nothing was visible but life was growing inside.

Xie Changzhou’s voice was hoarse with emotion. “Ningning, what should we do…”

He had never hated himself so much. If it weren’t for him, how could Sui Ning have become pregnant? How could she have suffered so much pain?

Sui Ning was in so much pain that she was on the verge of losing consciousness. She held her stomach and cried out, “Baby, don’t do this; it hurts…”

“Mother hurts…”

“What’s wrong with you… What’s wrong with you…”

Xie Changzhou’s tears fell, his eyes turning crimson, as he hugged Sui Ning and trembled. “Ningning, Ningning… Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid.”

His warm and gentle energy continued to flow into her body, but it seemed to have no effect, like pouring water into the ocean.

He was almost despairing.

He was the number-one person in the world. If he couldn’t save his wife, who else could?

“Ningning, Ningning…”

Sui Ning’s crying suddenly weakened, and Xie Changzhou trembled lightly as he looked towards her.

There were still tears on her beautiful face, and her eyes were fixed on her lower abdomen.

“Ningning?”

Suddenly, Sui Ning squeezed his hand tightly, and her bright eyes lit up. “Xie Changzhou, it’s okay…”

Xie Changzhou quickly reached out and felt as if her meridians were suddenly unblocked, and the stagnation from before dissipated.

As if hearing her mother’s painful cry, the child in her lower abdomen, who had experienced something unknown, quietly calmed down. The warm flow that had been pouring out gradually stopped, and the sharp, bone-piercing pain seemed to disappear suddenly.

Tears fell from her eyes like broken beads, and she cried softly in his arms.

She knew that she had almost lost it.

She didn’t want to become a mother so early, but when she really sensed its existence and felt it slowly leaving her, her heart almost broke.

“Xie Changzhou, Xie Changzhou…” Sui Ning cried and choked, burying herself in his arms.

Xie Changzhou hugged her tightly, and his eyelashes trembled lightly. “It’s okay, Ningning, it’s okay.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

He hung his head and kept rubbing her hair, his throat tightening, only knowing how to apologize to her again and again.

The warm spiritual energy was close to her belly, continuously flowing into her body.

As they hugged each other, the quiet room was only filled with Sui Ning’s soft sobbing.

***

When Sui Ning fell asleep, her eyes were already red and swollen from crying.

Xie Changzhou sat by the bedside, holding her hand with one hand and gently soothing her tired body with the other.

The redness in her eyes gradually faded, and Xie Changzhou’s spiritual energy probed into her lower abdomen.

He could clearly feel a force there, warm and pure, strong and powerful.

That was the pure power of a god.

That was their child.

Xie Changzhou’s slender hand lightly covered her lower abdomen, which was flat, and the child hadn’t even started to have a heartbeat.

Even now, he still finds it unbelievable that Sui Ning was…pregnant?

How could she possibly be pregnant when her divine power was sealed? How could she have his child?

Besides, her constitution was clearly one that made it very difficult to conceive.

The child was already over a month old, and they had almost been together every day, but he had never sensed the child’s existence.

It was as if it had appeared out of thin air.

Just like it had been hiding from him all along.

Xie Changzhou’s eyes darkened as he tightly held onto Sui Ning’s hand, his emotions complex.

Sui Ning placed both hands on her belly, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and even in her sleep, her beautiful face was not at ease.

He leaned down and lightly kissed her forehead, his voice hoarse and hot: “Ningning, don’t be afraid. I will arrange everything for you.”

The wooden plaque around his waist lit up, and a coldness flashed in Xie Changzhou’s eyes, and the tenderness on his face suddenly disappeared.

He put down the wooden plaque, took a deep look at Sui Ning on the bed, and left.

As he walked to the courtyard, he added a sturdy barrier.

When Sui Ning woke up, she was alone in the room. The sun was gradually setting, and the setting sun’s glow slanted into the room.

Her muddled brain cleared up, and she suddenly remembered what had happened during the day.

She tremblingly placed her hand on her belly and suddenly laughed softly.

“You’re still there…that’s great.”

She felt like crying, but she held back her tears. She couldn’t cry so easily now that she was going to be a mother.

Sui Ning sat up and leaned against the head of the bed, gently stroking her flat belly. Although it was still flat, life was growing inside her.

Now what? Her mother would definitely kill her. She was so young, and she had gone and married and had a child outside. Although she didn’t know if she would ever have the chance to go back.

She quietly looked at her flat belly. A crystal-clear teardrop fell, and she quickly wiped it away.

She missed her family too.

Sui Ning took out the two sheets of paper from the bag, carefully examining the handwriting on them.

She had very little information at the moment. All she knew was that she looked like the goddess Yanheng, and her memories had been erased by Xie Changzhou.

Xie Changzhou also knew about these memories.

What was her lover in the bedroom, the father of her unborn child, hiding from her? Was something happening outside, and was that why he had been so busy lately?

Sui Ning felt a sinking feeling in her heart, her lips tight, and her face cold.

She got dressed and walked outside. They lived near the city gate, so she headed towards the city area. Along the way, there were vendors on both sides of the street and people coming and going, all dressed in clean and tidy clothes with smiles on their faces, indicating how peaceful and tranquil this place was.

Despite this apparent peace, what had happened? Why was Xie Changzhou hiding something from her?

Standing alone on the street, people passing by looked at her with suspicion, as if they couldn’t understand why a woman was standing alone on the street.

Sui Ning’s hand clenched tightly at her side. What was the purpose of the black-clothed person she encountered last night in Gusu?

Suddenly, her head was struck with a sharp pain, and she held onto a nearby wooden post, her back slightly bent in pain.

A cold and clear voice echoed in her mind, filled with heavy killing intent.

“Stop, Gui Ba!” 

“Who’s there?” 

“Heh, Yan Heng?” 

“Yan Heng?” 

She heard the sounds of swords and screams. Finally, the image in front of her gradually became clear, and she met a pair of dark red vertical pupils, the same as the ones she saw in the morning. 

It was a giant beast with a majestic head and long horns, carrying a person on its tall and sturdy body. 

His face was pale and feminine, and his red eyes were full of cruelty, with a gloomy smile on his lips. 

Although she had never seen this face before, a name suddenly popped into her mind. 

Gui Ba. 

Demon God Gui Ba. 

Gui Ba seemed to be looking at her through space, his voice low and cold: “Beast.” 

The beast under him roared and rushed towards Sui Ning. 

Her phoenix eyes suddenly widened, and she quickly got up and dodged. The beast passed by her side and roared as it went towards her back. 

Sui Ning looked back and saw a slender figure standing in mid-air, with a cold and cool expression visible even through the veil covering her face. She was not afraid, even when facing a beast several times her size. 

She flashed her white figure and flew towards the beast. 

The scene in front of Sui Ning suddenly became blurred, as if covered by a layer of gauze. Two figures could be vaguely seen outside the veil.

She trembled as she covered the thin veil over her hand, touching the hands of the two people outside.

Both of them froze for a moment, then an excited woman’s voice sounded.

“Husband, Heng’er touched me!”

“I sense it; Heng’er is conscious!”

For some reason, upon hearing their voices, Sui Ning’s heart suddenly felt sour.

The woman continued to gently touch her through the veil, saying, “Heng’er, you have to grow up quickly.”

“My Heng’er, my Heng’er.”

“The gods and goddess will always love you.”

Sui Ning’s tears fell as the two stood up to leave, and she became panicked.

“Don’t go, don’t leave!”

She desperately tore at the thin veil, but it was unexpectedly tough and resilient, and she couldn’t tear it apart.

She could only watch the two figures grow further and further away.

“No! Come back!”

The scene abruptly ended, and Sui Ning suddenly opened her eyes.

Passersby looked at her in surprise, but she didn’t care; her chest was heaving with heavy breaths.

She saw beasts and Gui Ba.

And she also saw Yan Heng.

As well as the god and goddess, which are Yan Heng’s parents.