Chapter 625

Li Qingying is very busy.

I returned to the Feng Clan for two days; she did a big cleaning at home, taking out all the little clothes, blankets, bottles etc that we had prepared for Xingchen before, and washed them all.

We had prepared a lot back then, but Xingchen was born and hatched hastily in the Zàng Qū.

Not long after birth, she absorbed a large amount of Merit and Spiritual Qi, quickly growing into the size of a few-year-old child, so all those things left in the Dang Pu are now useless.

They are all new.

Li Qingying checked everything over, made a list, and went to the shop to replenish what was missing.

In the main courtyard, little clothes were spread out to dry everywhere.

In the front hall, there were still many unopened packages.

On the tea table lay an open black-covered notebook; I glanced at it and saw it was a handwritten postpartum meal plan……

「Sister Li Qingying…… Sister Li Qingying……」

I shouted while walking backward, Li Qingying was in the main courtyard collecting the already-dried little clothes.

I was both laughing and crying: 「Sister Li Qingying, how can I feel pregnant while you're already anxious before birth? I've just conceived; pregnancy takes at least a few months—why do we need to prepare all this so early? 」

Li Qingying smiled and said, "Better safe than sorry."

Her hands kept folding clothes without stopping.

While busy, she kept chattering: "I'll take care of these little clothes, pack them in vacuum bags, put them in your wardrobe; before delivery you must take them out, fluff them, knead them with your hands—babies' skin is tender, kneading makes them softer, and she'll be more comfortable wearing them."

「I won't help you prepare diapers; I'll note it in the notebook, and before delivery you can have Seventh Lord or Mo Qiong buy them—whatever brand, whatever size—I've already worked out the plan. 」

「If you're busy then and can't breastfeed, formula……」

「Stop! Halt! 」

I stopped laughing and no longer teased Li Qingying's mood.

I interrupted her, looked her over from head to toe; aside from not resting well and her complexion being a bit off, I saw nothing wrong with Li Qingying.

I then asked, "Sister Li Qingying, what's wrong? Did delivering Xingchen in the Zàng Qū give you psychological trauma? Are you really feeling anxious?"

Li Qingying shook her head: "No, I'm just…… just……"

Her state was very off, which made me uneasy.

「Sister Li Qingying, have you been overly tired lately? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? I'll ask Sister Shulan to come check you. 」

As I spoke, I was about to go fetch Bái Sōnglán, but Li Qingying grabbed me.

「Xiao Jiu, I'm not uncomfortable anywhere, really. 」 She confessed, 「It's just that I suddenly remembered the Linghai Dragon Clan has been re‑planned; our Red Carp clan originally had its own territory in Linghai, but now there are no elders to guide us, and I worry the Red Carp population will dwindle too quickly, so……」

「So you want to go back to Linghai to live, right? 」 I asked.

Li Qingying nodded firmly: "Yes, at least for the next ten years or so, I need to go back and look after the younger generation."

I let out a long breath: "What's there to hide? Linghai and the Dang Pu are both your home; they're not far away—you can go back whenever you want and return whenever you want; you're free."

Li Qingying scratched her head and said, "Then I'll settle things here at the Dang Pu and head back to Linghai first."

She turned back to her room, took out a red wooden box, pressed it into my hand, and said, "Xiao Jiu, if I can't make it when you give birth, this longevity lock is my gift for meeting your second treasure; please put it on her for me."

As she spoke, she began to choke up.

I reached out and hugged her, replying, "Sure, I'll definitely put it on her myself and tell her this is a meeting gift from your Aunt Li Qingying."

Li Qingying hummed a few times, turned her face away to wipe the corner of her eye, then turned back with red eyes and smiled at me.

I felt uneasy inside, always sensing that something was still off.

Li Qingying didn't tell me the truth.

But she refused to say, and I couldn't force her, so I could only go along with what she said.

Turning around, I told Liu Junyan about this, asking him to find a time to return to Linghai to check, inquire of Xiaoye about the Red Carp clan's recent situation, see if the Li Qingying family had encountered something she couldn't resolve but was too embarrassed to bring up with us.

Liu Junyan said he happened to be planning a trip back and would find out clearly.

But when Liu Junyan returned from the Linghai Dragon Clan that evening, he told me, Xiaoye had not neglected the Red Carp clan; he had not only allotted them a private territory, but also selected talented, early‑awakening youths for individual cultivation.

The Linghai Dragon Clan had previously suffered Heavy Damage, and being in urgent need of personnel, it would not slight any of its clans, nor fail to nurture every promising talent.

「So Sister Li Qingying is lying! 」 I declared firmly, 「She's not at all worried about the Red Carp clan; she's hiding something from us. 」

Liu Junyan agreed.

I thought and said, "Could it be that she's overworked? Or maybe she's having a dispute with Fifth Lord Hui?"

Liu Junyan shook his head: "Li Qingying isn't pretentious or affected; that's not her nature."

So all we could do was keep observing her secretly.

Thus another few days passed, and Li Qingying remained busy, eager before leaving to put everything in the Dang Pu in perfect order, down to the last detail.

I kept watching her, but never saw any problem.

Until one night, Hui Moqiong returned from outside, passed by Li Qingying's room, and smelled a strong scent of blood.

He knocked and called a few times, but no one answered, and the bloody smell grew stronger.

Rats already have keen smell, and moreover Hui Moqiong's profound Xiūwéi let him discern it clearly.

He burst in and saw Li Qingying lying in a pool of blood.

She lay beside the table leg, her head resting in the blood, the trash can nearby full of blood‑stained tissues, and on the table a box of hemostatic medicine, more than half of which had been consumed.

The blood was spurting from the small red mole on Li Qingying's nose tip.

That small red mole wasn't a real mole; it was the scar left when the horn she had grown years ago was cut off.

It had always been fine; I don't know why it suddenly started spurting blood.

Hui Moqiong then grabbed Li Qingying and rushed out, making a huge commotion; we were all awakened, didn't have time to put on our outer garments, and chased straight to the Bái Jiā Yīguǎn.

The whole way was streaked with bloody marks.

Bái Jīngmò opened the door and immediately arranged hemostasis.

But it simply wouldn't stop.

When Bái Sōnglán came over, Li Qingying's face had already turned as pale as paper from excessive blood loss.

Hui Moqiong stood by the bedside, trembling violently, eyes bloodshot.

He grabbed Bái Sōnglán's hand, his voice trembling as he pleaded: "Shulan sister, please save her, you must save her; without her, I will die..."