Chapter 827: Side Story 4: 64

A light drizzle fell in the early morning.

The entire western bank was shrouded in misty haze.

Hui Moqiong hadn't expected to run into Xiao Jiu by the water's edge.

After Li Qingying fell asleep, he also dozed off for a while.

But with something on his mind, he woke again not long after.

Hui Moqiong carefully eased himself away from Li Qingying, dressed, and went to the water's edge.

He had intended to walk along the bank a bit more, hoping to find Seventh Lord's current hideout, but he hadn't expected to see Xiao Jiu's thin silhouette far away.

Xiao Jiu stood alone without an umbrella, quietly watching the water surface constantly rippled by raindrops.

Hui Moqiong walked over and stood beside Xiao Jiu.

He had meant to urge Xiao Jiu to hurry back so she wouldn't get soaked and chilled.

But when his gaze pierced the rain‑mist toward the opposite bank, he froze for a moment.

At that moment, Xiao Jiu's voice came: "Hui Fifth Lord, we're quite familiar with this area; I wonder if I'm misremembering, but I don't recall that little ridge on the opposite bank in my memory."

Hui Moqiong saw it too.

Not only was it absent from his memory, but he hadn't seen it yesterday when he patrolled this waterfront.

Without answering his own question, Hui Moqiong saw Xiao Jiu realize something was off.

She turned her head to look at Hui Moqiong, who said, "Xiao Jiu, go back first; I'll swim over to have a look and get back to you shortly."

Having said that, Hui Moqiong shifted form into a large rat, plunged into the water, and swiftly swam toward the opposite bank.

He didn't fly or wade across because the hillock opposite was small and low, invisible from the surface, so Hui Moqiong chose to investigate from underwater.

Xiao Jiu did not leave.

She widened her gaze, scanning north to south bit by bit, and noticed that the slight protrusion on the opposite bank looked exactly like a turtle shell slowly rising from the water.

That instantly reminded her of the turtle‑shell pattern on Liu Junyan's back.

Could there be a connection?

Or was she overthinking it?

Even if she were the only one feeling uneasy, Hui Moqiong likewise sensed the problem, didn't he?

Xiao Jiu waited a full quarter‑hour before Hui Moqiong's head broke the surface and he swam toward the shore.

When Hui Moqiong stood on the bank again, Xiao Jiu asked, "How is it?"

Hui Moqiong furrowed his brow, opened his mouth several times, but couldn't find the words: "Very strange."

"That little hill on the opposite bank, seen from afar its top looks like a round lid, or like a turtle shell stuck on the water surface; but when you swim up close and view it from below, you see its whole body is column‑shaped, resembling… a stone tablet, or like a divine needle that stabilizes the sea, deeply rooted underwater, and as time passes it is gradually rising…"

This is merely Hui Moqiong's analysis and speculation based on what he just saw; it may not be accurate.

Yet his words made Xiao Jiu's heart skip a beat.

Like a stone tablet.

Like a divine sea‑stabilizing needle.

Such metaphors aroused in Xiao Jiu an inexplicable sense of fatalism.

"Let's go back."

Xiao Jiu said nothing more, turned, and slowly left the water's edge.

Hui Moqiong couldn't grasp Xiao Jiu's current state of mind, but he could feel that her mood was very poor.

But under the present circumstances, unless Seventh Lord himself says he's come out seeking help, there's nothing they can do.

All they can do is wait.

Watch and wait.

The rain fell steadily all day.

At dusk, the rain suddenly intensified.

Within ten or so minutes, the light rain had turned into a downpour.

The sky grew completely dark, and cold wind whooshed into the courtyard.

Li Qingying urged Xiao Jiu to put on more clothes, stay in the room, and go to bed early.

Hui Moqiong felt inexplicably uneasy; he told Li Qingying, "Qingying, go keep Xiao Jiu company for a chat; I'll head out to look around and be back shortly."

Li Qingying replied, "Go quickly, return quickly, and be careful."

Hui Moqiong grabbed the courtyard gate and hurried straight to the western water's edge.

The rain was so heavy it lashed his face, making his eyes hard to keep open.

Before he even reached the water's edge, Hui Moqiong gazed out at the surface; his feet felt as if rooted, unable to move a step forward.

At that moment, the water's surface rose and fell in waves, like a winding dragon swimming through it.

And the direction of its swim was actually circling the little hill they had seen that morning, looping around and around, as if endless.

Just then, a thunderclap exploded unexpectedly from behind.

Hui Moqiong turned to look and saw that the lightning seemed to have struck the very area of the courtyard where they were staying.

He didn't have time to think; he turned and ran back.

When Hui Moqiong pushed open the gate and charged into the main courtyard, he saw that the center of the courtyard was a huge black hole.

It was a hole blasted out by heavenly thunder.

From the east wing came Xiao Jiu's painful groans mixed with Li Qingying's hurried footsteps—no one knew what they were doing.

Hui Moqiong, too, threw propriety aside, strode into the main courtyard, heading toward the main house while shouting, "Qingying, what's happening? May I come in?"

Li Qingying immediately answered, "Come in!"

Hui Moqiong flung open the east wing's door and saw Xiao Jiu leaning against the inner wall of the bed, her outer garment pushed up to expose her stomach.

At this moment, Xiao Jiu's belly was swollen like a watermelon, covered with patterns that were hard to see clearly, because above those patterns was a seal blood talisman drawn in blood.

This seal blood talisman was obviously drawn by Xiao Jiu herself; her right index finger was still bleeding, the bed beneath her was also soaked in blood, and bean-sized beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks. She looked as if she had been washed in water, appearing extremely painful, on the verge of fainting at any moment.

"Li Qingying, what on earth is going on?"

Seeing this scene, Hui Moqiong could not possibly stay calm.

After all, he didn't know what had happened, nor did he know how to help Xiao Jiu.

If anything were to happen to Xiao Jiu, how would he ever face the Seventh Lord?!

Before Li Qingying could speak, another thunderbolt came crashing down.

Hui Moqiong clearly sensed that this bolt of lightning was heading straight for the east room.

More precisely, it was aimed at Xiao Jiu.

Before the lightning could strike, Xiao Jiu spread her colorful wings behind her, flames rose, and a strong surge of Qi shot upward, forcibly blocking that bolt of lightning.

With a boom, the thunderbolt struck the courtyard.

The ground shook and mountains trembled.

Xiao Jiu let out a painful roar and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Only then did Hui Moqiong realize that the lightning that had fallen in the main hall, which had originally been aimed at Xiao Jiu, had been forcibly pushed back by Xiao Jiu using her Qi.

But Xiao Jiu runs the Yin Dang Hang, having helped countless people and accumulated boundless merit; she is not currently undergoing tribulation, so where would heavenly thunder come from?

So, these two bolts of lightning were not aimed at Xiao Jiu, but at the little third in her belly.

That's not right either.

If it were heavenly thunder, even if Xiao Jiu were reluctant to lose the child, she could not possibly openly block those two bolts; instead, she would have the little third bear them.

Then, where did these two bolts of lightning come from?

And what were they intended to do?