Chapter 977: One Pregnancy, Three Treasures

People, no matter how good the relationship, will still have selfish motives.

The Feng Clan's pure bloodline legacy now rests on Shan Shan.

Moreover, the male phoenix also needs the placenta of the little phoenix.

If we wait for the male phoenix to break out of the Nirvana Fire Realm, A Cheng can still place his hope on the male phoenix.

Sure enough, as Bái Sōnglán said, Shan Shan's pregnancy has been quite tumultuous.

She early on had pregnancy reactions, losing appetite all day, vomiting whatever she ate, growing thinner and thinner, her eye sockets even sinking a bit.

She vomited like this for three months, her complexion worsening to the extreme.

Xiao Jiu and the others tried every way to find nutritious tasty food for Shan Shan, but it was utterly useless.

She was also extremely drowsy.

The longest she slept was a full day and night, yet A Jing, worried, forcibly woke her up.

After three months, her belly was huge, showing her pregnancy early.

Bái Sōnglán regularly came to take Shan Shan's pulse; it had always been normal, until the beginning of the fourth month, when she took Shan Shan's pulse again and exclaimed.

That exclamation made everyone present's heart jump.

Bái Sōnglán frowned tightly, her fingers wandering over Shan Shan's pulse, repeatedly checking something.

After a long while, she said, "How strange—I clearly felt it just now, but now it's gone."

A Jing anxiously asked, "Aunt Shulan, what did you feel?"

"Another fetal heartbeat." Bái Sōnglán said, "It was beating very faintly, but I definitely felt it; yet when I checked again, I couldn't feel it."

A Jing's eyes widened: "Another fetal heartbeat? Do you mean Shan Shan might be carrying twins?"

Bái Sōnglán waved her hand, cautioning, "It's also possible I misfelt; let's wait a week and I'll come back to take Shan Shan's pulse again."

Xiao Jiu felt uneasy and privately asked Bái Sōnglán, "Sister Shulan, tell me honestly—what are the odds of twins?"

Bái Sōnglán shrugged and said, "Xiao Jiu, you know I'm confident in my medical skills; since I felt it, I'm certainly not wrong. But while we can stay calm, the babies might not— that fetal heartbeat is too weak, whereas that dragon cub is robust. I worry the weaker one will ultimately be absorbed by the dragon cub, so I'd rather not trouble them for now."

In twin pregnancies, if one fetus is frail, there is indeed a chance it will be absorbed.

Xiao Jiu appreciated Bái Sōnglán's thoughtfulness, so he also didn't spread the matter.

Liu Junyan and Shan Shan weren't told either.

But Xiao Jiu also wondered, "If there's another fetal heartbeat, why has there been no movement for three months? Could the two babies not have implanted at the same time?"

"There are many possibilities," Bái Sōnglán said, unfazed. "After all, Shan Shan isn't an ordinary human; perhaps this is how phoenix pregnancies work."

Xiao Jiu could sense that Bái Sōnglán had been nervous at first, but now she seemed faintly excited.

After all, this is also a breakthrough for her, isn't it?

One week later, Bái Sōnglán went to the Feng Clan as promised to check Shan Shan's health.

This time, as soon as her fingers touched Shan Shan's pulse, her eyes lit up—she felt it again.

Moreover, this time the fetal heartbeat that had been weak a week ago was now thumping strongly.

Bái Sōnglán felt this wonderful change, her joy showing on her face.

But soon her expression changed again, for… she felt another very tiny fetal heartbeat…

This time, Bái Sōnglán's gaze toward Shan Shan carried worry.

A pregnancy with triplets will make both gestation and delivery extremely arduous.

However, judging from the fetal heartbeats' growth, Shan Shan's special constitution might mean the three babies won't be born at the same time.

Bái Sōnglán felt a bit anxious; she now only wanted to return to Qinling to look for ancient texts to see if similar cases occurred in history.

Her reply to Shan Shan and A Jing was: "For now, the two babies are developing well; Shan Shan, take good care of yourself."

Everyone was very happy.

A Cheng's heart, which had already withered, instantly rekindled.

As for twins, there might just be a little phoenix among them.

Thus another week passed, and when Bái Sōnglán came again to take Shan Shan's pulse, the third fetal heartbeat was already quite evident.

But this time she did not feel a fourth fetal heartbeat.

It can basically be confirmed that Shan Shan is indeed carrying triplets; the dragon cub is very robust, while the other two little ones are about three months younger, and those two later ones are more like twins.

When this news came out, it truly brought joy to some families and sorrow to others.

But everyone's attitude was unanimous—everything comes first for Shan Shan.

After running around for several months and then enduring an extremely perilous tribulation, A Ji, who had barely managed to get by, upon returning home was thrust by Xiaoye into taking over some of A Jing's usual duties, like being forced to herd ducks onto the shelves.

A Ji cursed and wanted to flee, but Xiaoye gave him a harsh beating, locking him in the Linghai Dragon Clan like a prisoner to work as an ox and horse.

Zhong Qiuqiu, meanwhile, appealed to emotion and reason.

During those days, A Ji's ears were almost rubbed raw into calluses.

"Your older brother is at a crucial stage of transforming his dragon role; he needs to guard his wife and children, so be sensible and don't cause trouble."

"The tasks you're taking on now are less than a third of what your older brother usually does."

"By rights, this work should originally have been yours."

"If you don't want to become the Linghai Dragon King, no one's forcing you—but once your older brother becomes Dragon King, as his only younger brother you'll certainly have to assist him…"

A Ji was so annoyed he sometimes started speaking without restraint.

"Mom and Dad, I've long suggested that you, while still strong and healthy, should practice a few more minor instruments."

"If you two don't want to practice, that's fine—my older brother is about to become a father, after all; my little nephews and nieces aren't much younger than me, as long as they turn out well."

"Ah, Dad, don't hit me! I was wrong, I was wrong—isn't that enough?"

Days passed in chaos, and after a few more months Shan Shan's belly had grown so large that standing up she couldn't see her toes.

She carried this pregnancy to full term—ten months—before going into labor.

On the day her water broke, the Linghai Dragon Clan's dragon head incense burned especially brightly, and the whole area above Linghai seemed to be shrouded in a haze of incense smoke.

As for the Feng Clan side, Mount Azure Paulownia was scorching hot to an alarming degree, feeling as if the Nirvana fire domain were about to explode.

The male phoenix that had been in seclusion for a long time within the Nirvana fire domain seemed to sense something, and suddenly opened its eyes.

He watched as the space within the Nirvana fire domain continually twisted, and countless slashes suddenly appeared on his body, feeling as if the sky were about to collapse.

He had clearly achieved Nirvana once before! Moreover, his secluded cultivation over this period had advanced greatly, and he had already subdued the Dust-Dispelling Pearl—so why did he feel as if he'd been knocked back to square one in an instant?

He was certain he had not suffered a cultivation deviation.

What on earth happened?!

Do the heavens just begrudge his good fortune, forever refusing to give him a chance to live?...