Chapter 624

Eh……

I'm sweating bullets.

With all these questions you're asking, Auntie, you're practically just about to come out and ask: 'Xiao Jiu, are you pregnant?'

How are you both so… perceptive?

Liu Junyan, from my frequent dreams, figured out I might be pregnant.

And what about Auntie?

She can't possibly have thousand‑mile eyes and X‑ray vision, can she?

I hurriedly cut off her rapid‑fire questioning and asked curiously, 'Auntie, you called me before dawn—did you dream I was pregnant?'

Tang Xun obviously didn't expect me to be so direct; she froze for a moment, then explained: 'No, I didn't dream. On that vacant lot where old Cangwu Mountain collapsed, a little phoenix tree sapling suddenly sprouted, and I wondered if that child had come?!'

If Tang Xun hadn't said it, I wouldn't have thought of that.

Back then, the phoenix‑tree granny told me that when the next phoenix lord descends, the phoenix tree will regrow.

The place where the phoenix tree stands is the new territory of the phoenix clan.

Now I've just become pregnant, and the little phoenix tree has also sprouted… the granny's words have come true!

So, the child I'm carrying is the next phoenix lord?

Thinking of that, I said: 'Auntie, just now Shulan‑sister came to take my pulse and said I might be pregnant; after dawn I want to go back to the phoenix clan to see that little phoenix tree.'

Tang Xun was overjoyed: 'Really great! I didn't expect this day to come so quickly—heaven has eyes! What do you want to eat? Auntie will get up and make it for you right now!'

I laughed: 'Don't bother, I'll go after I've eaten breakfast.'

Tang Xun then said she'd tell this good news to A Cheng so he could be happy too.

After hanging up, I wasn't sleepy anymore; I got up to take out the Cangwu Dark Seal and gently stroked its patterns.

This is the Fire Seed.

Once the next phoenix lord appears, these Fire Seeds will one after another be born into this world, and the phoenix clan's propagation… officially begins now!

Liu Junyan was rummaging through boxes and cabinets next to me, making a clatter, and I asked: 'A Yan, what are you looking for? Do you want me to help you find it?'

"No need!" Liu Junyan immediately said, "I… I'm looking for a few decent gifts to bring back to the phoenix clan for Auntie."

I gave an "oh" and, seeing his evasive back, felt something was odd.

I didn't call him out; I was a bit hungry, so I went to the kitchen to find something to eat.

Around five o'clock, Li Qingying usually is already up.

After getting up, she'll first go to the Zhu Pan River bank to whip (exercise), a habit she's kept year after year.

When I passed her room, I saw the light on and a shadow moving at the window, so I walked over and shouted, 'Qingying sis, you're up?'

Inside, her body shuddered, then she replied: 'Xiao Jiu, you… you got up so early today?'

From inside came the sound of rustling; Li Qingying hastily tidied up a bit, then came to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, I smelled a faint scent of blood; a glance showed a tissue dropped at the table leg with blood on it.

Li Qingying followed my gaze and saw it too, then hastily explained: 'Hey, I've been getting heaty these days; I got a nosebleed first thing this morning; later when I go grocery shopping I'll pick up some bitter melon to reduce the heat.'

I felt a bit self‑reproachful: 'Surely it's because I've been worrying too much lately that I've gotten heaty.'

"What nonsense!" Li Qingying said, "Back when Seventh Lord sent me here, it was precisely to worry about your affairs; that's my duty."

She said this while already hooking her arm through mine and heading to the kitchen: 'Are you awake from hunger? You haven't been eating well these days; tell me what you want and I'll make it.'

I laughed and said: 'Just something casual will do; after breakfast Liu Junyan and I will head back to the phoenix clan, Qingying sis—I think I'm pregnant.'

Li Qingying's eyes widened instantly: 'Really? Did you have Shulan take a look?'

I told her what had happened earlier; Li Qingying clicked her tongue in amazement, then feigned annoyance: 'I can't believe I wasn't the first to notice—how annoying!'

I burst out laughing and promised her: 'When the second baby is born, you'll be the first to hold them.'

Li Qingying laughed along.

But for some unknown reason, while eating breakfast, Li Qingying ate and ate and then drifted off.

When her gaze fell on me, I inexplicably felt she seemed a bit sorrowful.

But it was just a flash; when I looked again, she had returned to normal.

After breakfast, Liu Junyan and I prepared to set off; I asked Li Qingying if she wanted to come along, but she said she wouldn't, as she had other things to attend to today.

Just then Hui Moqiong came back from outside; we exchanged greetings and started the car to leave.

As soon as we entered the phoenix clan's territory, I rolled down the window to look outside.

In the distance I could see the phoenix tree Tang Xun had mentioned.

It grew exactly where the phoenix‑tree granny had originally grown, but it's far larger than Tang Xun said—looks over two meters tall, thick enough for one person to encircle.

Liu Junyan pulled the car over and stopped not far from the tree; Tang Xun and A Cheng were both standing beneath it.

I got out of the car and ran over: 'Auntie, A Cheng.'

A Cheng exclaimed happily: 'Sis, come quick—look, this phoenix tree really grows at the sight of wind; at this rate, in just a few days it'll become a towering giant!'

"Yeah." I reached out to touch the trunk, feeling a myriad of emotions: 'Back then the phoenix‑tree granny was really tall and thick, able to shelter the whole phoenix clan from wind and rain.'

A Cheng asked me: 'Sis, will you come back to the phoenix clan?'

I immediately replied: 'Sure, whenever I want to come back I can.'

But after saying that, I realized I had misunderstood.

A Cheng was actually asking whether I would return to live in the phoenix clan and not leave again.

I ruffled A Cheng's head and said: 'A Cheng, the phoenix clan already has the next phoenix lord; she'll stay there to live, while I still have to manage the pawnshop.'

A Cheng nodded obediently and declared with ambition: 'Well, I'll study the witchcraft diligently; when she grows up and returns to the phoenix clan, I'll be a true great witch of the clan, and I'll wholeheartedly assist her!'

Everyone laughed along.

Our A Cheng has finally grown up.

He is no longer that twisted and lonely little boy; he will eventually grow into a Feng Clan Great Witch capable of standing on his own.

I dug a deep hole at the roots of the paulownia tree and buried the Cangwu Dark Seal inside.

Sow the Fire Seed, and let it grow quickly.

We stayed in the Feng Clan for two days before returning to Dang Pu.

Over these two days, that paulownia tree has truly grown taller and thicker, visible to the naked eye.

In early lunar March, it is already the blossoming month of April; many tender new shoots have sprouted on the paulownia tree, crisp and tender, full of vitality.

Everything is getting better.

But when everything was getting better, the person who had always been by my side from the very beginning, accompanying me, caring for me, protecting me, met with misfortune…