Chapter 205 - 202: Gave Birth to a Bird

Chapter 205: Chapter 202: Gave Birth to a Bird

Xiao Lili didn’t think she was a genius, but she wasn’t an idiot either.

She believed the main reason characters died in movies was because of those idiotic plot points where the protagonist just *had* to go inside and take a look.

So, she decided to turn around and leave immediately. After that, she’d find a temple to pray at or find a monk or Daoist to consult.

’Don’t think about anything, and don’t look back. Just get home. Everything will be fine once I’m home.’

Without any hesitation, she hurried away.

She had been feeling anxious for a while. Her stamina didn’t seem as good as before, and she tired easily. Today, it seemed her fatigue was even causing hallucinations.

Besides visiting a temple, she figured she should probably get a medical check-up.

She hadn’t been walking and thinking for long.

"BANG~"

This was not the sound she wanted to hear. It was the sound of a heavy wooden door swinging open on its hinges and hitting the side wall.

By the time she processed what was happening, the hair on her body was standing on end. Goosebumps popped up all over her skin as if by magic.

She had actually walked right into that gloomy, enormous old mansion!

’But I was trying to leave!’

Escape!

It was the only word on her mind.

She spun around and bolted for the exit. The moment she stepped through the doorway, the light flared. A faint sensation of weightlessness washed over her and was gone in an instant, as if she had stepped through a spatiotemporal tunnel into another world.

It was a fantastical, kaleidoscopic scene of vibrant colors.

This was a situation she’d normally only see in movies, anime, or fantasy novels.

And there, sitting at a table and chairs woven from vines amidst lush green grass and red flowers, was her somewhat older ex-boyfriend, along with a group of vaguely familiar people.

"Uh, hey, Xiaoli. Long time no see!"

Gou Junbao was sitting there with Qin Xiaoxia and the others, watching as a panicked yet inexplicably bewildered Xiao Lili entered the house and then ran back out.

He knew Qin Xiaoxia and his friends must have influenced her. He also knew that as a father-to-be, he should remain serious at a time like this, but he couldn’t help but let out a weak laugh.

Seeing all this, seeing so many people—and especially seeing Gou Junbao—Xiao Lili was stunned. Her mind was filled with questions, but her fear subsided considerably.

More than twenty minutes passed as she went from initial panic and disbelief to a state of calm.

Xiao Lili lifted her T-shirt, revealing her slightly bulging stomach.

"You’re saying I’m pregnant? No wonder I haven’t been able to lose this belly recently..."

Then she shot an angry look at Gou Junbao, who quickly averted his gaze.

"You said it was the safe period... That’s why I didn’t..."

It looked like the quarrelsome pair were about to start arguing, but they still didn’t know the most important part.

"Brother Gou, Sister Gou, don’t fight just yet. Little Hero hasn’t told you the really serious part."

Huang Jiutian managed to placate them. If they were this agitated without even understanding the situation, their reactions later would probably be even more exaggerated.

The day’s events had been too bizarre. Hearing his words, they subconsciously quieted down.

Qin Xiaoxia stopped teasing them.

"Xiao Lili, don’t resist whatever you’re about to feel. I’m going to show you two what’s inside your stomach."

As he spoke, ambient Magic Power coalesced into a mist and covered Xiao Lili’s abdomen, penetrating straight through flesh and soul.

She felt only a faint burning sensation, followed by a feeling in her abdomen like wading through a warm, sluggish river.

Qin Xiaoxia’s Magic Power passed through her abdomen, curved around, and formed a faint, visible image in mid-air.

It was a view of the inside of Xiao Lili’s abdomen—or rather, her womb. Within it was an oval, egg-like object, wrapped in a membrane threaded with fine blood vessels.

It rose and fell in time with the rhythm of the girl’s heartbeat and breathing.

"AHHHH!!!! What is that?!"

Seeing this, Xiao Lili let out a terrified scream.

She might not be an expert in biology, but as a modern, college-educated young woman, she knew that human embryos did not look like that.

"How can I have this in my stomach?! Is it a tumor... No, no, impossible!!"

Gou Junbao’s jaw dropped as well. He turned to look at Qin Xiaoxia.

"You’re saying that’s my child?"

Words could hardly explain anything at a time like this. Qin Xiaoxia simply grabbed Gou Junbao’s hand, transmitting the feeling to him, and told him to hold Xiao Lili’s hand at the same time.

"THUMP... THUMP... THUMP..."

The egg’s faint heartbeat, along with a sensation both familiar and strange, was transmitted into both of their hearts.

They had never felt anything like it before, but their instincts told them this was the feeling of a blood connection.

The two, who had been agitated, gradually calmed down. Even Xiao Lili’s terror lessened considerably.

For some inexplicable reason, they could feel their connection to this little life in that moment.

However, this magical feeling of impending parenthood lasted only for a short while.

"So, you feel it now, right? Brother Gou, that’s your child. Your little tadpoles could probably apply for a Guinness World Record. As for Xiao Lili, she’s at least half the birth mother."

Xiao Lili couldn’t stand the thought of having an "egg" in her stomach. She was child-free by choice; she wouldn’t even want a normal embryo, let alone something that could be like a creature from *Alien*.

"You guys must have a way to get this egg out of me, right? What if it burrows its way out of my stomach?"

Her voice was tinged with panic.

"Please, help me! I’m scared... Gou Junbao, say something!"

In truth, Gou Junbao’s feelings were also complicated. He was shocked that he’d done something so outrageous. This thing was clearly not human, and he found it a little hard to accept being its father.

"Little Hero, can you help get it out of Xiaoli? You guys aren’t ordinary mortals, right? It’s too dangerous to leave this in her body."

"If we take it out, the egg might not survive. I don’t know how long it needs to reach full term. Oh, by the way, if we take it out and the egg can still hatch, are you two planning to try raising the next generation?"

Xiao Lili and Gou Junbao’s mouths twitched. They glanced at each other but said nothing.

"If you don’t want to raise it, let me! I’m great at raising small animals!"

Doudou jumped excitedly onto the vine table to make his presence known. He just knew Gou Junbao and Xiao Lili wouldn’t have the courage to raise this egg; he’d been eyeing this opportunity for a long time.

But Qin Xiaoxia completely ignored Doudou.

"I brought you here to discuss how to handle it. Since you’ve both decided to have it removed, I’ll respect your choice. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?"

Just as Gou Junbao was about to speak, Xiao Lili clutched her stomach, her face contorted in pain.

Qin Xiaoxia and the Red Demoness exchanged a look; they both sensed something.

"It’s reacting to my Magic Power," Qin Xiaoxia noted. "It seems to be scared. Does it already have instincts at this size? Or is it already intelligent?"

Xiao Lili’s stomach was visibly rising and falling, as if a ball were poking it from the inside.

The girl’s terrified screams and cries of pain were incessant. She repeatedly pressed down on her stomach, while Gou Junbao stood beside her, panicking and unsure of what to do.

"Little Hero, hurry up! It seems like it doesn’t know how to get out..."

Qin Xiaoxia had never delivered a baby before. In this situation, there were only two options: either perform a C-section on Xiao Lili directly or guide a natural birth.

With them here, plus the Flower of Life, at least Xiao Lili’s life wouldn’t be in danger.

He shot a look at the Red Demoness and Su Su.

"I’m leaving it to you two. Help her deliver the ’baby’!"

"Huh?" "What?"

Su Su and the Red Demoness froze simultaneously.

"Why are you looking at me? You’re the girls. You expect me to deliver it? Besides, I don’t have any experience delivering babies either!"

"But Mentor, I don’t have any experience either!"

"Me neither!" the Red Demoness quickly added.

Gou Junbao and Xiao Lili were already panicking. Hearing this exchange, they broke out in a cold sweat.

In the end, a Secret Realm Membrane separated the Red Demoness, Su Su, and Xiao Lili, who was about to give birth. Qin Xiaoxia, Huang Jiutian, and the others waited outside. Gou Junbao’s anxiety was peculiar; he felt just like an expectant father waiting outside a hospital delivery room.

The Red Demoness and Su Su had no technical skills for this, so they could only resort to brute force over finesse.

The former used the power of a Sea Siren to dull Xiao Lili’s pain. The latter used her Crystal Ball as a lens to observe the situation inside the abdomen, then turned her Magic Power into an invisible blade and sliced open Xiao Lili’s skin.

Blood immediately gushed out, but under the Red Demoness’s control of water, it parted to the sides so as not to obstruct Su Su’s Visual Sense.

"It’s only this big?"

Once the C-section was underway, they discovered the egg in Xiao Lili’s stomach wasn’t as large as they’d imagined. At most, it was the size of a goose egg. It was just wrapped in many layers of a bloody membrane.

The egg was trembling nonstop, likely because of Qin Xiaoxia’s Magic Power earlier, which had made it extremely uneasy.

Su Su coated her hands with Magic Power, grabbed the egg from a few centimeters away, and then remembered to clean the blood and membrane residue from Xiao Lili’s womb.

"Oh, such a big wound..."

Xiao Lili looked uneasily at the incision on her body. Although it didn’t hurt much, this wasn’t a hospital, and she couldn’t help but feel scared.

However, it was as if opposing forces of gravity were pulling the wound together. It sealed shut instantly, and dozens of pink flower petals adhered tightly to the incision inside and out, like bandages.

After a long ten-odd minutes of waiting, the Secret Realm Membrane opened. Xiao Lili lay weakly on a vine bed cushioned with dandelions, while Su Su held a constantly trembling, grayish-white egg-shaped object in her hands.

Su Su was about to make a joke about whether it was a "boy egg" or a "girl egg," but before she could even take a step, she felt something was wrong.

"Mentor, I think it’s about to come out!"

The eggshell in Su Su’s palm began to crack. Within seconds, it split into two halves, revealing what was inside...

A bird?

Well, not quite a bird.

It was plump and fleshy, with very little fuzz. It had distinctly small wings, but it also seemed to have a pair of chubby little feet, though the tips of its toes appeared to have fleshy claws.

Although its face had a beak-like protrusion, its large eyes and the tuft of silly hair on its head made it look exceptionally cute.

"Hic~"

It was like a hiccup. A small puff of faintly glowing, white-hot air shot out of its mouth.

PS: Saturday’s first Chapter.