Chapter 679

Upon hearing the news of Jiaoning, the tension in my heart eased instantly, my whole body went limp, and I actually collapsed onto Jin Wuya and fainted.

By the time I woke up again, half a day had passed.

Outside, the rain was still falling; Jin Wuya sat beside the bed, tightly gripping my hand, his eyes worried yet gentle.

I opened my eyes, struggled to sit up, and Jin Wuya hurried to help me.

I smiled and said, "I'm just overly tense and exhausted; I'm not that delicate, no need to help me."

Jin Wuya insisted on helping me sit up, placed a pillow behind me, then poured me a cup of warm water and handed it to me.

Holding the water cup, I felt a bit uneasy: "What's wrong?"

Jin Wuya looked at my eyes solemnly and said, "The family doctor just came by."

My heart skipped a beat; seeing his grave expression, I wondered if it could be...

"I... I wouldn't have come down with some serious illness, would I?"

"No, no!" Jin Wuya hurriedly said, "Shi Rou, you're pregnant."

I widened my eyes in disbelief and said, "I'm 43—what pregnancy? Could there be a mistake?"

Jin Wuya said, "There's no mistake; the family doctor said it's been almost three months. You... you haven't felt anything?"

I shook my head.

My period indeed hadn't arrived on schedule; I thought I was entering menopausal disorder, so I didn't pay attention.

But I never expected it to be another pregnancy.

At this moment, my heart was filled with mixed feelings.

I inevitably thought of the two children I had lost before; when Jiaoning was born, I felt it was my eldest daughter coming to find me again—this time, could it be my son coming to find me?

Jin Wuya was even more nervous than I was; after all, I count as an ultra‑advanced‑age pregnant woman, and he arranged every aspect of my daily life, practically waiting on me hand and foot.

Still, I insisted on making a trip to the Linghai Dragon Clan; I needed to see Jiaoning's condition with my own eyes to feel reassured.

Jin Wuya and I drove to Jiangcheng; I slept along the way, so when we arrived my energy was still decent.

Zhong Qusu personally came to fetch us into the dragon palace; halfway, we "happened upon" Jiaoning.

I will never forget that scene.

First I saw a small, wholly black dragon flash by; then came Jiaoning in human form with a fish tail, giggling as she chased the black dragon. At that moment, a tiny, multicolored phoenix folded its wings and shot past like an arrow released from a bow.

Afterward, several red carp, nearly identical in appearance, followed along.

Each of those red carp had a little horn on its forehead—clearly not ordinary human children.

I exclaimed in surprise, "Qingying gave birth to this many in one litter?"

"Yes, eight in total, just hatched two months ago," Zhong Qusu said with a smile. "They swim over from the Zhu Pan River every day to play, then return at night; if they don't come back after dark, Gray Fifth Lord will soon come looking for them."

I laughed too: "Not a single one resembles Gray Fifth Lord."

"You'd better not say that in front of Gray Fifth Lord, or he'll get angry," Zhong Qusu whispered to me. "I heard Gray Fifth Lord has been begging Qingying to have another litter, but Qingying refuses, saying she's afraid of giving birth to a nest of big rats with fish scales, and this pregnancy has her nearly frantic."

I thought seriously about it; even a litter of furry red carp would be quite strange.

But no matter what they look like, they are their parents' treasures.

Just like our Jiaoning—when she was born, wasn't she also a human with a fish tail?

As we spoke, a group of little ones swam back, playing and frolicking, utterly delighted.

Zhong Qusu took my hand and said, "Shi Rou, Jiaoning belongs to the sea—look how happily she plays with her companions here! She is the Fire Seed left by the Merfolk clan, a direct-line bloodline of the Merfolk; as long as you feel at ease leaving her here, I guarantee I will protect her well."

Zhong Qusu is Jiaoning's dry mother; she dotes on Jiaoning, so I certainly feel reassured leaving Jiaoning in her care.

But she wouldn't bring this up for no reason; I keenly sensed something odd: "Is someone targeting Jiaoning?"

"Such a big matter can't be kept secret," Zhong Qusu said. "The Merfolk are treasure from head to toe; Jiaoning has been watched since birth, but these past four years she's stayed safe by maintaining her Human Form State. After this heavy rain, Jiaoning likely broke through the first stage of Merfolk cultivation, sensed the danger, and desperately swam toward the Linghai waters. I've had people investigate—there's already a bounty of ten thousand gold placed on her head in secret at the Gui Shi."

Jin Wuya and I instantly turned ashen-faced.

As parents, we've been terribly careless.

Actually, I should have realized earlier—how could an ordinary couple possibly protect such a special child?

Zhong Qusu continued, "There's another thing you might not know: when Jiaoning came to find me and cried, her tears turned into round, lustrous pearls as they fell—this little one is going to be extraordinary."

By now, we had followed Zhong Qusu's steps into the main hall of the Linghai Dragon Palace; she had us wait a moment, then returned carrying a seashell jewelry box.

She handed the jewelry box to me; I quickly opened it and saw inside a neat row of a dozen or so round, lustrous white pearls, of superb quality.

Zhong Qusu said, "Boss Jin is a connoisseur; pearls like these taken to the Gui Shi are priceless despite having a market—others may not say so, but even Shulan, upon seeing them, would surely be unable to put them down. They serve as a medicinal guide for making rare pills, and they've been out of stock at the Gui Shi for many years."

I took two pearls, closed the box, and handed it to Zhong Qusu: "These two I'm offering as a substitute gift—I'll give them to Shulan; the rest are yours, Qusu. I entrust Jiaoning to your care."

Zhong Qusu refused to accept it, but after several pushes back and forth, she finally took it: "I'll keep these for Jiaoning for now, and when she can stand on her own someday, I'll return them all to her."

That day, we stayed a long time at the Linghai Dragon Palace.

Later, Xiaoye returned and had a lengthy private talk with Jin Wuya in the study.

Midway, the kids wore themselves out from playing; when they came back, Jiaoning spotted me at a glance, lunged forward and hugged me: "Mom, why did you come? You missed me, right? Hehe, Jiaoning hasn't been running around; I came to the dry mother's place to do closed‑door training, and I'll go back after breaking through the first stage."

I lifted her onto my lap, affectionately rubbing her with my chin, then said: "The dry mother's place is fine and safe; Jiaoning will live here long‑term, and I and your father will come visit often. While staying here, you must listen to the dry mother, don't run around, and don't be mischievous—understand?"

I kept chattering on with instructions.

Jiaoning tilted her little head and looked at me with a puzzled expression.

After a while she finally interrupted me, asking: "Mom, is it because you have a little brother now that you don't want Jiaoning anymore?"