Chapter 975: with translation of chapter title

Actually, Bái Sōnglán's words to Ao Jing were more straightforward and also more detailed.

Ao Jing listened, his face flushed and ears red, yet he still listened attentively to every detail, for he knew that every word Bái Sōnglán said would absolutely help Shan Shan.

Shan Shan was so clever that even though Ao Jing spoke haltingly, she quickly realized: "Aunt Shulan told you about 'yin-yang harmony' not just to have you stay by my side and rub my belly—that's too simple; it requires us to engage in marital relations, right?"

Ao Jing nodded immediately.

Shan Shan let out an "oh," already understanding: "It's just that we need to have marital relations; it doesn't mean we must get married, right?"

Ao Jing caught the subtext in Shan Shan's words: "Shan Shan, you don't want to marry me?"

Shan Shan shook her head: "It's not that I don't want to marry; I just feel the timing isn't right. Actually, at first I allowed you into my room because my aunt and the Seven Halls Yama had suffered many years of hardship, and I couldn't bear to let you endure that same suffering."

I want you to know that I cherish you and have chosen you for this lifetime, but truly taking the step to discuss marriage requires at least waiting for my parents to return, with both families' close relatives—including us—sitting down to discuss the details; once our marriage is established, it is meant to last a lifetime, with no room for carelessness, you know that I am not someone who settles.

Our relationship is fine and we get along, but after marriage we would face many problems—for instance, I must revive the Feng Clan while you must lead the Linghai Dragon Clan; after we marry, should we live separately or together? Living together would inevitably neglect one side; living apart, what's the difference from not being married?

Also, will you ascend in the future? I am unlikely to ascend; if you do, no matter how good our feelings are, they will eventually turn to nothing, and how many people can be like my father, who after ascending still willingly remains in the mortal world to continue fate with my mother?

As for marriage, if one acts on heated emotion, the success rate is actually higher.

What's most feared is when one party is relatively rational; after weighing pros and cons, it becomes hard to reach that final step.

Ao Jing is inherently rational, while Shan Shan is carefree about small matters but cautious about big ones.

Once both become rational, even taking a small step forward feels extremely difficult.

Although Ao Jing felt disheartened in his heart, he could not help but admit that Shan Shan was right.

If they truly were to marry, the obstacles they would need to eliminate are indeed numerous.

Ao Jing is a person with a strong sense of responsibility; since he wants to marry Shan Shan, he must first put her at ease and actively clear away all problems between them before he feels qualified to be her husband.

At this moment, Ao Jing again felt the urge to drag Ao Ji back and have him inherit the Linghai Dragon Clan.

Shan Shan then asked: "Aunt Shulan, did she tell you how many days a single session of yin-yang harmony can last?"

"She did," Ao Jing replied honestly, "as short as three days, as long as a week; afterward it still depends on the situation."

Shan Shan breathed a sigh of relief: "Three days is fine, Brother Jing; then you can come every three days—thank you for the trouble."

That night, Ao Jing stayed over at Shan Shan's place.

Although they were intimate, his state of mind was far from what it had been the previous few days.

It felt as if he had suddenly fallen from heaven into the abyss, catching him completely off guard.

The next morning, the sky was already bright, yet Ao Jing did not want to leave at all.

Shan Shan also woke up and asked him why he was still there.

Ao Jing countered: "Only allowed to come once every three days? I want to come every night—would that not be okay?"

Shan Shan laughed helplessly: "Your legs are on your own body; if you want to come, can I still stop you?"

Ao Jing's eyes lit up instantly.

Shan Shan then said: "But I still need to remind you, everyone says that after a man turns 25 he's already 60, so you still need to take it easy…"

Ao Jing's forehead filled with black lines: "That's for ordinary people; I'm a dragon—it's different!"

Shan Shan giggled, then kicked him with her foot to drive him away.

Only then did Ao Jing leave reluctantly.

Before leaving, he still worried and urged: "If it still hurts, don't tough it out; contact me right away."

Shan Shan agreed.

As Bái Sōnglán had predicted, Shan Shan felt no pain all that day, but she could clearly sense her body gradually weakening.

Even diligent cultivation didn't help; that feeling of continuous weakness could not be alleviated in any way.

It was as if a mouth were constantly secretly sucking her essence blood.

Time flew like a shuttle.

At the end of February, Liu Junyan and Xiao Jiu, rushing back and forth, finally concluded the Earth Vein Journey and returned to Wufu Town.

After a brief rest, the two went to the Feng Clan to visit their precious daughter.

The moment Xiao Jiu saw Shan Shan, her heart clenched: "How did this child become so thin?"

She took Shan Shan's hand and felt her pulse.

Xiao Jiu knew a little simple diagnostic method, but she found nothing abnormal in Shan Shan's pulse.

Liu Junyan felt even more heartache for her precious daughter; she questioned A Cheng in detail and also took Shan Shan's pulse, but found nothing.

Xiao Jiu then drove them all out: "Āyàn, don't you have something to discuss with A Cheng? Go get busy; I'll keep Shan Shan company."

Liu Junyan was reluctant, but she still dragged A Cheng out.

He understood that Xiao Jiu wanted to get rid of them so she could have a heart-to-heart with her daughter.

Many things can only be spoken about openly between mother and daughter.

When only Xiao Jiu and Shan Shan remained in the room, Xiao Jiu lowered her voice and asked: "Shan Shan, tell me honestly, when you were with Jing'er, did you take precautions?"

To this question, Shan Shan blushed and felt startled; she shook her head: "No."

Neither of them had ever brought this up before.

Xiao Jiu slapped her forehead, feeling somewhat self-reproachful: "It's my fault; I should have reminded you right away."

She then said: "You said you always feel something secretly sucking your essence blood, causing your body to continually weaken; I wondered if you might be pregnant."

Shan Shan immediately denied it: "That's absolutely not the case; if it were, your pulse readings would have detected it."

From the beginning, when A Cheng's uncle took her pulse, to Aunt Shulan, and up to now, Shan Shan doesn't even know how many rounds of pulse-taking she's had, and no one has ever detected an auspicious pulse.

"Indeed there is no auspicious pulse, but that doesn't mean you're definitely not pregnant," Xiao Jiu said. "The inheritance of your father's pulse has its own peculiarities; when I was pregnant with your older brother, the whole gestation was unlike anyone else's, and only later did I learn that in your father's lineage, someone can carry a child for dozens of years without any sign, only showing when a suitable opportunity arises; you may have inherited that trait from your father's side."

After Xiao Jiu's lengthy explanation, Shan Shan felt her head swell.

Although I didn't fully understand, Shan Shan grasped the key point: "If that's really the case, then all I can do is wait? Wait for him to absorb enough essence and blood, then manifest himself?"