Chapter 1046: Midwives, unforeseen event in Tiger’s Den (1/2)

After sending off Tang Li, Long Feiye and Han Yunxi set off. Logically speaking, they should be halfway to Celestial Mountain by now and arrive in another half month. But the unexpected trip to the Tang Clan delayed things so they were behind schedule. It typically took a month to reach Celestial Mountain from the Tang Clan.[1] In one month, it’d be the third lundar month. Leaving aside anything they might meet during their trip, there was a long travel time between Celestial Mountain and Three-Way Black Market as well.

Time was tight.

Han Yunxi’s group forgo the carriage in favor of riding horseback into the dust. The couple never asked after Gu Qishao’s whereabouts because they were certain the man was around, just in hiding. That night, when they stopped to rest by a river, Gu Qishao suddenly showed up and extended his beautiful, tapered fingers towards Long Feiye.

“Hand it over!” he said brusquely.

He had secretly followed Old Loony last night and sat on his roof, before quietly sending him down the mountain and backtracking to the group. Naturally, he saw how Old Loony had handed Xu Donglin a box to give to Long Feiye.

Without a word, Long Feiye relinquished the item. Han Yunxi was curious, but Gu Qishao didn’t shy away and opened the box in front of them. Inside laid a single copper coin tied up with red string. Gu Qishao gave a start before he recovered with a grin. “It looks pretty nice, doesn’t it.”

Han Yunxi saw that there was a unique etching on the coin and leaned over for a closer look. Seeing this, Gu Qishao offered her the coin. “If you like it, I’ll give it to you. This is something good, there’s only one of it in the entire world.”

“I don’t want it!” Han Yunxi refused instantly. Can’t he show a little more consideration? He’s giving away something Pill Furnace Master gave him so freely.

Gu Qishao was still smiling. “If you don’t want it, I’ll hold onto it until the day you wanna play around with it.”

Han Yunxi rolled her eyes and ignored her.

Gu Qishao took custody of the coin then. Eventually, he found a chance to hang it back around his neck with no one noticing.

After a brief rest, everyone resolved to move on despite their exhaustion. Whenever they thought of Ning Jing and Mu Linger, they held on despite all weariness. Before setting off, Long Feiye had instructed Xu Donglin to send a letter to his master expecting their arrival in ten or so days. At this breakneck pace, they could actually make it within that timeframe. But just who would get Long Feiye’s letter in the end?

Currently, they were rushing for their lives towards Celestial Mountain. Bai Yanqing and Jun Yixie, on the other hand, were expecting them to rescue the hostages at Tiger’s Den. The latter had already increased the guards around the compound, its three inner levels and three outer levels. He was determined to have Long Feiye and Han Yunxi leave their lives here.

Myriad Merchant Hall and Bai Yuqiao had been exchanging messages smoothly this entire time, so neither Long Feiye’s side or Bai Yuqiao knew of Jun Yixie’s dealings behind the scenes. As the delivery date approached, Ning Jing’s movements grew more and more labored. It was almost impossible to hide her bulging belly. She had stayed indoors for five entire days to avoid any potential accidents. Any danger to her now would put two lives at risk.

At the moment, Mu Linger was helping Ning Jing massage her feet. Her feet and hands had started swelling up mid-way through her pregnancy, sometimes feeling sore. Mu Linger wrote a few prescriptions to help her with the swelling, but couldn’t stop the pain. Now she was massaging Ning Jing’s wrists.

“Big sis Jing, don’t be nervous. A month’s already passed, so my big sis and the rest should be here very soon!”

“Big sis Jing, there’s only a few more days left. You have to relax. As long as you give birth to the baby, it’ll all be alright.”

“Big sis Jing, there’s Bai Yuqiao, so nothing chaotic will happen. Although she’s a really irritating girl, she’s dependable when it comes to work.”

“Big sis Jing, if you’re nervous, just think of the baby. Do you want to have a boy, or a girl? That’s right, say--”

Ning Jing finally cut Mu Linger off with impatience. “Alright! If you’re nervous, then be quiet and focus on your work!”

Ever since Ning Nuo sent them a letter saying that the rescue mission and northern expedition would be delayed by a few months, Mu Linger had started to panic. Even so, she insisted on saying Ning Jing was nervous instead. If Ning Jing wasn’t stuck with a swollen belly and too lazy to move, she would have lost it ages ago.

It really was very annoying!

Mu Linger blankly shut up, but soon couldn’t help babbling again. “Big sis Jing, Jun Yixie won’t sent anyone to inspect us during these days, right?”

Jun Yixie’s scouts always arrived at unexpected times, almost exposing them on multiple occurrences. If Bai Yuqiao hadn’t been on guard, Ning Jing would have been outed long ago. Mu Linger was anxious! She kept worrying that Jun Yixie would sent inspectors here while Ning Jing was giving birth. What then?

“He won’t!” Ning Jing intoned. She was clear on how dangerous her situation stood, but she never told Myriad Merchant Hall about Jun Yixie’s unscheduled inspections.