Chapter 225: Saving Her

A quarter of an hour later, the midwife said happily, "She's out, she's out!"

But her voice quickly fell, "Oh dear, the baby's face is turning blue."

Miao He was also a little panicked and hurried over to look at Pan Yun, "Little Martial Uncle…"

Pan Yun's hand remained pressed against Xiao Lian; although the child had been born, her condition could hardly be called good—she needed her Yuan power to stop the bleeding and keep her vital.

She hadn't expected that saving someone would cost so much Yuan power; just maintaining a sliver of life required a great mass of Yuan power.

Clearly, destroying it only took a thread of Yuan power, but maintaining it required a continuous supply of Yuan power.

She glanced at the child and said, "Bring her over, let me have a look."

Miao He was flustered, but the midwife was not; she swiftly pried open the baby's mouth, cleaned the filth from her mouth and nose, then held her upside down and slapped the soles of her feet hard.

After a few slaps the baby still didn't respond, so she carried the child over to show Pan Yun.

Pan Yun split her attention, sending a thread of Yuan power into the baby's body to stimulate her tiny heart.

The little heart stirred faintly, but quickly stalled again.

Pan Yun frowned deeply and said to Miao He, "Press on her heart and lungs. Miao He, do you still remember the emergency method your master taught you? Press, quickly."

Miao He paid no heed to the table being cold and hard, laid the baby on it, and began pressing on her heart and lungs.

Xiao Lian came back to herself from the pain; turning her head, she saw the scene, and for a moment her spirit crumbled—tears streaming down.

Her mother saw and couldn't help scolding her, "What are you crying about? You're in your confinement month. If you cry now, do you still want your eyes? Just a little girl—dead is dead. You get your body well, and next time have another one with your husband."

Turning her head, Xiao Lian could see the baby being shaken ceaselessly in Miao He's hands—pressed, shaken, again and again…

Just like her whole life, always held and swayed by others.

Xiao Lian's face went deathly pale; she grabbed Pan Yun's sleeve, eyes full of desperate hope, "Xuanmiao Xianshi, please save her, please save her!"

She could feel Pan Yun saving her; if she left, she might lose her life.

Pan Yun lowered her head and met her gaze. She knew that she knew, and she knew that she knew that she knew—so she didn't waste words and asked directly, "Are you sure?"

Xiao Lian, tears streaming from her wide-open eyes, nodded firmly and said, "I'm sure!"

The woman beside her was still prattling on, "Save what, saving you is the most important. Don't be stubborn—your body can't go on like this. If it's not treated, how will you bear children in the future? Daoist, don't listen to her—save her first…"

Pan Yun cast her a cold glance and said, "Shut up!"

The woman choked, silenced by her pressure, and could only seek an ally. She turned to the pale-faced middle-aged woman beside her and said, "In-laws, say something! It's a girl—gone is gone. Save my daughter, and she can still bear sons with her husband in the future."

The middle-aged woman's mouth moved; she murmured, "Save them both, save them both. The child has already been born—how could we stand by and watch her die…"

Pan Yun paid the two no more heed and said to the anxious midwife, "She's going to hemorrhage badly. Give her medicine, stop the bleeding. Miao He, you help her."

Miao He immediately set down the baby in her hands, and in half a breath the two had switched.

Miao He went to stop Xiao Lian's bleeding and channel Yuan qi, but her cultivation was far inferior to Pan Yun's—she hadn't known that healing someone would consume so much Yuan power.

The moment Yuan power entered her body, it was like falling into a bottomless vortex, vanishing in an instant; Miao He's face gradually turned pale.

After only a moment she dared not channel any more Yuan power, and could only use acupuncture and medicine to treat Xiao Lian.

Seeing Miao Zhen had been watching coldly all along; seeing this, she thought for a moment, then stepped forward to take over from Miao He, pressing her hand onto Xiao Lian.

But her channeling of Yuan power was unlike Miao He's—not pouring it in all at once. She firmly controlled her Yuan power, feeding it in only thread by thread, even as the midwife kept calling out, "The bleeding's getting worse! Oh dear, there was no bleeding before—why is there so much now?"

Miao He was so anxious sweat broke out on her forehead; she quickly stuffed a pill into Xiao Lian's mouth, then needled her to stop the bleeding, and pulled out hemostatic powder from her jade tablet space, working with the midwife to apply the medicine and stop the bleeding…

Only Miao Zhen remained unmoved, wholly focused on using a wisp of Yuan power to protect her heart meridian, controlling her heartbeat—neither too fast nor too slow…

And the moment Pan Yun took over the baby, she immediately pressed on her chest, carefully probing Yuan power into the child's body, gently coaxing her heart.

The heart wasn't beating, but she kept pressing—as if providing an external heart for her—the blood still flowed…

After a while, whether it was the Yuan power taking effect or her constant pressing making the heart beat, it finally stirred faintly, and after a long while stirred again…

Pan Yun's hands never stopped—pressing on one side, channeling Yuan power on the other—and finally, the little heart began to beat slowly but steadily…

But this was still far from enough; her little heart was still very fragile, looking as if it might give out at any moment.

Pan Yun began to rub her, letting Yuan power float to her palms, continuously rubbing her chest, back, and limbs, trying to make the blood from the heart flow quickly through her whole body…

Under her constant rubbing, the infant who had been holding her breath finally opened her mouth and gave two soft hums, then began to cry faintly.

That cry was no less than a shot of stimulant to everyone in the room; both in-laws' eyes lit up at once. Xiao Lian's mother even threw herself to the bedside and pinched Xiao Lian's arm, "She's alive, she's alive! I'm telling you—if you died, this little girl would never have a good life in this world. If her stepmother and father bully her, I won't care."

Xiao Lian's expression dimmed, but her eyes grew all the more resolute; she took a deep breath and forced herself to hold it in.

Not long after, the midwife cried out joyfully, "The bleeding's less! Oh dear, it seems to have stopped." Pan Yun had already wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes and brought her over to show her, "Look, your daughter."

Xiao Lian turned her head to look at the baby, smiled through her tears, and gripped the swaddling clothes tightly, "Thank you, Xuanmiao Xianshi, thank you, Xuanmiao Xianshi. This devotee will eat only vegetarian food all her life and serve at your spirit tablet."

Pan Yun: "I eat meat and fish. I don't keep dietary restrictions."

Xiao Lian was stunned for a moment, tears rolling down, "I—I will burn three sticks of incense morning and evening to pray for you, beseeching the heavens to keep you safe and smooth."

Pan Yun's lips curved slightly; she nodded and said, "Good."

Miao He beside her quickly added, "And me, and me!"

Xiao Lian nodded again and again, "Right, and the two little Immortal Masters too—I'll make offerings to all of you."

The two in-laws beside her also hastened to say they would properly thank the three.

Of course, there was the midwife too—but the midwife didn't care for a longevity tablet; what she wanted was money.

So she had her own sense of duty; seeing that Xiao Lian's bleeding had truly stopped, she shooed the three little Daoists out, "I'll tidy her up. You few little brats… little Daoists, please wait outside."

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The middle-aged woman also came to her senses and hurriedly and respectfully invited the three out for tea, "I'll go cook, boil some eggs. Immortal Masters, have a red egg later."

Xiao Lian's mother stayed behind to help the midwife.

The four had only just opened the door and stepped out when they came face to face with three people carrying things into the room.

Ding Yuan saw Pan Yun and the other two come out of his room covered in blood, and the blood in his veins instantly ran cold, "You—you, you—what did you do?"

Luo Jiecheng and Pu Min were also startled, their hands dropping at once to the blades at their waists.

Pan Yun gave them an annoyed sideways glance and said, "What could I have done? Deliver a baby, save a life. What did you think we did? Murder, wipe out your whole family?"

Pan Yun stepped over the threshold and came out, frowning. "That person inside—is she your wife?"

The middle-aged woman hurriedly explained, "Yuanzi, your wife has given birth. It was a difficult labor. Three immortal masters happened to pass by and saved your wife."

She quickly apologized to Pan Yun and the others. "This child has been on duty so long his brain's gone soft. Seeing everyone covered in blood, he jumped to conclusions. Please don't take offense, immortal masters."

Pan Yun said with a half-smile, "Well, this officer is quite the devoted public servant."

Ding Yuan's face flushed crimson.

Luo Jiecheng caught on at once, hurried forward and saluted, saying, "Many thanks to the three Daoist masters for not holding past grudges and saving my sister-in-law. The masters truly are of immortal bearing and bone, kind-hearted and benevolent. These are apology gifts from us brothers to the masters."

Pu Min caught on as well and quickly said, "Right, right, right. Seems we'll have to prepare another gift of thanks. Daoist Master Pan, you see, we really are quite fated, hahahahaha…"

Pan Yun glanced at the things they offered, not looking pleased in the slightest. She merely nodded and said, "We are quite fated indeed, but I wouldn't dare accept this gift carelessly. Why don't the three of you tell me what it is you want?"

Ding Yuan's mother had also caught on by now—the three Daoist masters knew her son, and there seemed to be some past grievance between them.

She immediately retreated to one side, watching her son with worry.

Luo Jiecheng said, "Daoist Master Pan, today my brother was rude and offended the three masters. This is an apology gift. Please, Daoist Master Pan, accept it."

Pan Yun: "And after I accept it?"

Luo Jiecheng: "The county magistrate…"

"Oh~~" Pan Yun finally caught on, and said with a half-smile, "So you're afraid I'll lodge a complaint with the county magistrate?"

She waved her hand directly and said, "Fine, I'll accept this apology gift. It's true I haven't reported you to the county magistrate either, but…"

She raised her eyes and met their gazes directly. "Are you apologizing because I know the county magistrate, or because you know that perverting the law and extorting money is wrong? Today I have the county magistrate backing me, so I get a fair shake. But what about the common folk who have no one to rely on? Are they just going to be devoured by you lot, helpless?"

"Are you truly at ease with that?"

Luo Jiecheng's expression shifted slightly. After a moment of silence he said, "Daoist Master Pan, it is true my brothers were in the wrong here. He's been weighed down by family troubles lately, and it put a temper in his work."

"That temper of his could ruin an ordinary household and leave them with no way back," Pan Yun said. "Officer, may I ask who gave him that power?"

Luo Jiecheng had nothing to say.

Pu Min hurriedly explained, "Daoist Master Pan, we truly know we were wrong, but what he did is also understandable. Our salaries are too low, and our superiors skimmed them, so we had no choice but to skim a little off the city gate tax. Otherwise the brothers can't even feed their families."

Pan Yun: "How pitiful. And then I, an ordinary commoner bringing ten sacks of grain into the city, have to hand over one tael of silver. Do you know how many sacks of grain on my cart one tael of silver is worth?"

Pan Yun walked to the three men's side and said softly, "Six sacks!"

There will be one more update later tonight

(End of chapter)