Chapter 389: with translation of chapter title

The atmosphere finally wasn't so heavy and dull.

I know everyone is worried about me.

I don't want everyone to revolve around me because of this matter.

And I don't want this big stone to weigh on Liu Junyan's heart, with the gloom never lifting.

Everyone still has more important things to do.

Nirvana and giving birth—no one can take my place in these two matters, so let me face them alone.

I have long been mentally prepared to face them.

I deliberately livened the atmosphere, never expecting Liu Junyan to take my words to heart; later he repeatedly returned to the Linghai Dragon Clan, humbly asking his second and third aunts for egg‑hatching techniques and taking careful notes.

It was only much later, when I happened to flip through that "Egg‑Hatching Notebook," that I discovered this secret.

After drinking the porridge, I felt much better; I got up and took a hot shower, and outside it was already broad daylight.

It was a glorious sunny day after a long time.

The summer morning carried a hint of restlessness, so I had Liu Junyan accompany me for a walk by the river.

At dawn, while I was in a deep sleep, the water flow had already poured into the Zhu Pan River.

I don't know if it's psychological, but I always feel the Zhu Pan River's water is much clearer than before.

Liu Junyan took my hand, and we walked from south to north, then back from north to south.

During that round trip, I told Liu Junyan everything that had happened before, as well as my thoughts about Niuhu Mountain.

I asked, "Āyàn, when will we go to Niuhu Mountain again?"

"Nothing urgent about Niuhu Mountain," he said. "I want to return to Song Mountain first."

Indeed, the Zhu Long Formation suppresses Niuhu Mountain; early or late doesn't matter, but the matter of the Copper Coin Person is urgent.

I tentatively asked, "Can we delay going to Song Mountain by a few days?"

"How many days?" Liu Junyan asked. "Xiao Jiu, all the passages beneath Wufu Town are blocked, the town is temporarily safe, and I have arranged personnel to guard it; this time you can return with me."

"Since Nirvana can be postponed, I definitely want to go to Song Mountain with you; I also wish to personally light a Buddha Lamp at the Dharma King Temple for our child and pray for blessings." I said, "I want you to wait a few days because Shulan is about to undergo her tribulation, and I'd like to wait until she passes it before we leave."

I still feel uneasy.

Bai Shulan has been entangled by inner demons for years; each centennial tribulation is a life‑or‑death trial for her. This centennial tribulation is crucial—if she passes it, her cultivation will rise another level.

If she fails, as she said, she may face an even fiercer madness.

I want to take Liu Junyan to see her before her tribulation, so she can glance at the Copper Coin Person once more.

Only with hope in her heart can she have the willpower to utterly defeat her inner demons and pass the tribulation.

Liu Junyan met my earnest gaze and finally nodded: "All right, we'll wait a few days; coincidentally, Elder Fang also said he'd like to come, to ask you in person about the details of the Xuan Feng and the main hall of the Divine Temple. Once everything here is settled, we can leave with peace of mind."

I brushed against Liu Junyan's arm, thinking of how he had separated the Copper Coin Person from himself to clear a path for me, and my heart was moved.

I asked anxiously, "Is the Copper Coin Person all right? When he opened the path for me, half his body was covered in white scales—does that affect him?"

Liu Junyan hesitated before replying, "There is some effect, but he now has Dragon Qi protecting him; after we return to Song Mountain and receive the Empty Silence Abbott's empowerment, this might actually be an opportunity."

An opportunity for him to be completely separated from Liu Junyan's body and become an independent entity.

Success or failure hinges on this trip to Song Mountain.

We stood side by side on this bank of the Zhu Pan River, gazing across to the opposite shore.

The hills on the far side remain, the trees lush and verdant, as if all that had happened over the past days were merely an absurd dream.

"Āyàn, after the formation was refilled, did you send someone to check it?"

"I went myself and had a look," Liu Junyan frowned. "The situation is terrible—bird corpses litter the ground, along with some abandoned formations, and many children's bones are buried in the shady side of the hills… it's shocking."

Although I didn't see it myself, just from Liu Junyan's description I can already imagine that horrific scene.

The likes of Ti Luan and Feng Xianqiu—truly beyond words to record.

And yet it is precisely this sort of people who dare to seek Buddhahood and immortality—who gave them the audacity?

"However, that opposite bank now belongs to Zhao Zixun," Liu Junyan continued. "Before the river flood came, Wang Pang and Shi Changyun on this side's corner set up another formation, weakening this formation's impact on the pawnshop and Wufu Town; thereafter this stretch of the Zhu Pan River can enjoy many years of peace."

I felt glad: "Perfect timing for Elder Fang's arrival; we can discuss merging this area with the Jiuyan Zone with him, and afterward we can try to recruit troops and buy horses."

Liu Junyan curled the corner of his mouth: "Why are you just like Li Qingying? She's always going on about recruiting troops and buying horses, but Wufu Town has suffered heavy blows repeatedly, and post‑disaster reconstruction still needs time—there's no rush."

I shrugged, not dwelling on it further; Liu Junyan will arrange it well.

Lunch was plentiful; Li Qingying made me medicinal cuisine, both delicious and nourishing.

After the meal I felt a bit drowsy, thinking of taking a short rest.

As a result, I slept until evening.

I was awakened by hunger.

That hunger wasn't merely the empty feeling after food digestion; it was a craving for meat, as if my body lacked even a trace of animal product, making me want to devour an entire cow at once.

I got up and headed straight for the kitchen.

Li Qingying had wrapped dumplings; I ate a big bowl, but it still wasn't enough.

She said there was leftover medicinal cuisine from noon in the pot, and asked if I wanted some.

I nodded straight away.

The medicinal cuisine heated up, and after drinking three large bowls I finally felt my stomach ease a little.

But shortly after nine in the evening I grew hungry again.

As soon as I felt hungry I was growling for food, unable to wait even a second.

Then I went to rummage through the freezer myself.

The freezer held Li Qingying's usual stock of meats, dumplings, wontons, etc., but I didn't want any of them.

Looking at those meats, all I could think about was the flavor of the medicinal cuisine.

The main medicinal ingredients in that cuisine were all sent by Bai Shulan, stewed together with an old hen for a long time.

Now, even if we make it right now, it's already too late.

Besides, who would a decent person be, thinking only about eating medicinal food all day?

I've also heard people say that pregnant folks get sleepy, get hungry quickly, their tastes change, and they become picky to the point of being unreasonable… I rubbed my belly and suddenly realized what was going on.

Bái Sōnglán had warned me, saying that the little guy, the bigger it grows, the more energy it draws from me.

My becoming so sleepy and ravenous must be because of this.

And what this little guy wants to eat surely isn't ordinary food, right?

What it wants is a supplement like the spiritual qi of spiritual bones…