Chapter 251: Big Cat and Anan 4

Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Big Cat and Anan 4

Ying Jiuyao’s tail shot straight out, his Gilded Beast Eyes flying wide. "A cub?"

The Divine Pattern on Su An’an’s waist lit up right on cue.

As the pink light swirled, it condensed into the illusion of a small White Tiger cub, curled up and snoring as it hugged its tail.

Ying Jiuyao stared at the illusion of the tiger cub, his breath catching.

Three seconds later.

"Out of the way! Everyone get the hell out of my way!"

The Tiger Clan people watched, dumbfounded, as Ying Jiuyao sprinted past, carrying Su An’an.

His tail was puffed up like a feather duster, and he muttered as if possessed:

"The Spiritual Spring needs to be warm! The cushions need three layers! Where did I put the fetus-preserving medicine? The fetus-preserving medicine!"

「The Holy Land, inside the Elder Hall.」 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

With a CRACK, Ying Jiuyao’s claws fractured the stone table. "Is Anan pregnant or not?!"

The elder’s beard trembled. "Her pulse is steady and deep. It is indeed the pulse of a pregnancy."

"BOOM!"

Suddenly, Ying Jiuyao buried his face in the crook of Su An’an’s neck, his purr so deep it made her collarbones tingle. "My baby."

His tiger ears pressed flat against her neck, but the tip of his tail thrashed about excitedly behind him, sending pebbles skittering across the floor with a RUSTLE.

He was hugging her so tightly she could barely breathe. Su An’an patted his back. "Loosen up, you’re going to crush your own cub."

Ying Jiuyao immediately loosened his grip by half an inch, his golden eyes fixed on her lower abdomen as if trying to see right through her skin.

"Did it move?"

"I only just got pregnant, how could it..."

Before she could finish her sentence, he suddenly swept her up into his arms.

As they passed a medicine rack, he stretched out a long arm and swept half the herbs off it.

Amidst the CLATTER, she heard him threaten in a low voice:

"Anyone who dares to wrong my cub, I’ll break all their bones."

Su An’an laughed and tweaked his ear. "Right now, the person most likely to wrong him is you."

He immediately slowed his pace, and even his breathing grew lighter.

But the arms holding her remained tense, as if he were cradling the entire world.

Back at the treehouse, Su An’an was surprised to discover that the twin fruit tree outside the window had grown seven new fruits on its branches.

The pearly white skin of the fruit glowed with a sweet luster in the morning light.

"Anan!"

Ying Jiuyao’s palm suddenly pressed against her lower abdomen, and the Golden Light emanating from the cub pulsed like musical notes.

"It’s talking."

Big Cat’s voice was hoarse and off-key. The tip of his tail slapped anxiously against the couch. "I can feel it."

Su An’an froze, her fingertips tracing the faint glow that appeared on her belly. "What is it saying?"

"Our cub."

Ying Jiuyao suddenly buried his head in the crook of her neck, his tiger ears pressed against her collarbone, his purr vibrating through her chest. "It says it wants to protect you."

Her eyes grew warm. She tweaked the tip of his ear. "Silly, we’re the ones who are supposed to protect it."

The wind from the treetops, carrying a sweet fragrance, billowed in and tangled their hair together.

Ying Jiuyao’s joy didn’t even last for three days.

It was shattered by Su An’an’s morning sickness, which was getting worse and worse.

At breakfast, she had just picked up her Spirit Rice Porridge when she clapped a hand over her mouth and ran for the washroom.

She came back pale-faced and collapsed onto the side of the bed, her hair stuck to her cheeks with cold sweat.

"Why is your morning sickness so severe?"

Ying Jiuyao’s tail instantly puffed up like a feather duster.

"I’m fine." Su An’an waved a weak hand, but the next second she gagged, pushed him away, and ran for the washroom again.

Ying Jiuyao froze on the spot, shock rippling through his golden eyes.

The strongest cub in the history of the White Tiger Clan was already putting its mother and father in their place before it was even born.

"The books say that the purer a White Tiger’s Spiritual Power, the heavier the burden on the mother’s body."

Ying Jiuyao’s face was filled with worry. "Especially a Golden-striped White Tiger’s cub; they’re the hardest to carry to term."

It was all his fault his seed was too powerful.

"It’s okay, I made these."

Su An’an took out a glass bottle filled with amber-colored pills.

"Fetus Protection Pills refined from Star Dew Fruit, calming herb, and Tiger Tail Flower. They can soothe the cub’s overly domineering Spiritual Power."

Ying Jiuyao picked up a pill and brought it to his nose, smelling a faint, clean bitterness mixed with the lingering medicinal fragrance from her fingertips.

"Will they really work?"

"We’ll know once I try."

Su An’an tipped two pills into her mouth.

The pills dissolved into a warm current that flowed into her abdomen. The once-turbulent Spiritual Power suddenly became as docile as a kitten.

Ying Jiuyao stared at her slightly bulging belly, the tip of his tail curled into a question mark with tension. "You’re really not going to throw up?"

"Mhm!" Su An’an raised an eyebrow smugly. "My Alchemy skills can handle any kind of troublemaker..."

Before the words were out of her mouth, the fetus suddenly erupted with a blast of Golden Light, blowing a hole straight through the roof.

Ying Jiuyao: "..."

Su An’an: "Looks like the dosage wasn’t enough."

She tipped two more pills into her mouth, then turned and ran for the washroom to throw up.

「Five days later.」

Ying Jiuyao snuck up to Su An’an’s side, his fluffy tail wrapped around her waist like a cushion. He was holding three large ceramic jars.

"The elder said sucking on preserved plums can suppress the nausea. I went to the back mountain and picked some wild plums, then preserved three jars of them in honey."

He held out the ceramic jars as if presenting a treasure. The amber-colored plums were soaking in honey, glistening invitingly.

Su An’an picked one up and put it in her mouth. The sweet and sour flavor spread across her tongue, and the churning in her stomach did indeed subside a little.

"Still feeling sick?" Ying Jiuyao’s golden eyes dimmed. He suddenly remembered a folk remedy the females from the neighboring village had mentioned.

"They said smelling the smoke from a roasted orange peel can help. I’ll go burn one now."

Before Su An’an could respond, he had already grabbed a bamboo basket and dashed into the kitchen.

Before long, the smoky scent of something scorching, mixed with a faint orange aroma, wafted out from the kitchen.

Ying Jiuyao ran in holding a scorched orange peel, his tiger paws red from the heat. "Smell this, does it make you feel any better?"

Su An’an was amused by him. Just as she was about to say it was working, a sudden churning deep within her began.

Brilliant Golden Light exploded from her abdomen. This little cub’s fetal movements were like a shower of molten iron sparks.

"This little guy’s Spiritual Power is too fierce."

Su An’an helplessly rubbed her abdomen.

It had gotten to the point where she could only wear crop tops; otherwise, her clothes would be burned by the little stinker’s Spiritual Power.

"You can’t just leave your belly exposed. It’ll be troublesome if you catch a chill."

The very next day, Ying Jiuyao brought over a pile of dried mugwort and Gang Vine and sat in the courtyard to personally weave a belly wrap.

His tiger paws fumbled clumsily as he tied knots with the thin vines. When he made a mistake, he would undo it and start again. The grass clippings stuck to the tip of his tail fell all over the ground.

"Use this."

He handed over the woven Gang Vine wrap. The inner layer was lined with Swan velvet. "The elder said mugwort has a calming effect, and this is soft."

Su An’an touched the lopsided knots on the wrap and suddenly felt it was more heartwarming than any treasure.

With half a month left until the due date, Ying Jiuyao had already fussed over the delivery room until it looked perfect.

He chopped down the thickest parasol tree to make the bed frame. Afraid Su An’an might bump into it, he had a carpenter sand all the corners down until they were perfectly round.

Under the bed, he placed sun-dried cotton quilts, and on top, he laid three thick mattresses. It was incredibly soft to the touch.

"The medical officer said we need to have brown sugar and ginger slices ready."

Ying Jiuyao squatted in a corner, organizing a cloth bag stuffed with dried hawthorn slices and pickled cucumbers.

They were all things Su An’an loved to eat during her morning sickness.

Dried lemon slices hung all over the walls. When the wind blew, a faint, sour fragrance filled the room.

Su An’an leaned against the doorframe and laughed. "Are you turning the delivery room into a general store?"

"Just in case."

As Ying Jiuyao stood up, he knocked over a bamboo basket, and cotton balls rolled all over the floor. "I also had the guards stand watch outside the courtyard. If your Spiritual Power goes berserk, they can burn mugwort immediately."

"The medical texts say mugwort smoke can ward off evil."

He spoke with great seriousness, but the soft fur behind his ears trembled slightly.

Su An’an walked over and traced a finger over the small cuts on the back of his hand—scratches he got from the vines while weaving the Gang Vine wrap.

"Don’t be nervous." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed the corner of his mouth. "You’re here with me."

「In the blink of an eye, the day of the birth arrived.」