31: Chapter 31 Confirms Pregnancy

Yang Yuan opened his eyes; it was already broad daylight.

Sunlight shone in through the window, falling on Cheng Ying's face.

She was still asleep, holding Xue Jian in her arms, breathing very lightly.

Yang Yuan got out of bed on tiptoe, put on his clothes, and walked into the courtyard.

The morning breeze carried the salty scent of the sea, feeling very comfortable on his face.

He drew his single saber and practiced a set of the Yue Maiden Sword Technique.

His skill in using Qi to control the sword was becoming increasingly proficient; with one strike, his Saber Qi could fly out three zhang away.

After finishing his practice, he turned and went back inside.

Cheng Ying was already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed holding Xue Jian.

"Breakfast is ready, come in and eat," she said.

Yang Yuan took his daughter and kissed her on the face.

Xue Jian giggled, grabbing his nose with her little hand and giving it a hard twist.

"You little girl, you're getting stronger," Yang Yuan grimaced.

Breakfast was very simple: porridge and steamed buns.

But halfway through eating, Cheng Ying's expression suddenly changed.

She put down her bowl, covered her mouth, and stood up abruptly to rush outside.

Yang Yuan was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed her out.

Cheng Ying crouched in the corner of the wall and dry-heaved for a long time, but nothing came up.

When she stood up, her face was a bit pale.

But there was an indescribable light in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Yang Yuan handed her a bowl of water.

Cheng Ying took the water and rinsed her mouth: "It's nothing, I might have eaten too quickly this morning."

Yang Yuan looked at her, and a thought popped into his mind.

He didn't press further, helping Cheng Ying sit back in her chair.

"You rest first, I'll wash the bowls."

Cheng Ying glanced at him and didn't say anything else.

But Yang Yuan already had a rough idea.

He remembered the System had previously prompted that the conditions for the second pregnancy had been met.

Seeing Cheng Ying's reaction, it was highly likely.

In the afternoon, Huang Yaoshi did not come.

He had given notice beforehand that he was going out to sea and told Yang Yuan to practice on his own.

Yang Yuan wasn't idle either; he practiced the method of rotating his Internal Energy again.

He was now very proficient at rotating his Internal Energy within the blade, and with one strike, the penetrating power was twice as strong as before.

Cheng Ying sat in the courtyard, her belly protruding, watching him practice his saber.

Xue Jian was crawling on the ground, chasing a butterfly.

Life seemed very peaceful.

But Yang Yuan knew this peace wouldn't last long.

Night fell.

Cheng Ying lulled Xue Jian to sleep and lay on her side on the bed.

Yang Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about his training plan for tomorrow.

Suddenly, a System prompt popped up in his mind: [Detected that Cheng Ying has successfully conceived. Second pregnancy in progress. Expected due date: 8 months later.]

Yang Yuan stared at the text, stunned for several seconds.

Then the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

He turned to look at Cheng Ying.

She wasn't asleep yet and was looking at him.

"What's wrong?" Cheng Ying asked.

Yang Yuan didn't answer directly, just holding her hand: "Is it that you are pregnant this morning?"

Cheng Ying was stunned for a moment, then her face slowly turned red.

She lowered her head, her voice as low as a mosquito's hum: "You... how did you know?"

"I could tell," Yang Yuan said, "You had the same reaction when you were pregnant with Xue Jian last time."

Cheng Ying was silent for a long time.

Then she said softly: "Then... are you happy?"

"Happy," Yang Yuan gripped her hand tightly, "Especially happy."

He didn't say anything more.

Moonlight shone in through the window, falling on her slightly flushed face.

The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Yang Yuan got up.

He swept the courtyard and washed the clothes that had been changed last night.

Cheng Ying wanted to help, but he pressed her back into her chair: "You rest, I'll do it."

Cheng Ying didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I'm just pregnant, not useless."

"You still need to rest," Yang Yuan said without turning his head, "I'll take care of Xue Jian, I'll cook, you just focus on nurturing the baby."

Cheng Ying watched his back as he busied himself in the courtyard, the corners of her mouth twitching, but she said nothing.

In the morning, Yang Yuan taught Cheng Ying a few moves of the Yue Maiden Sword Technique.

It was mainly the basic skills of using Qi to control the sword to let Cheng Ying get a feel for it.

She was pregnant now and couldn't move too much, but the basics couldn't be neglected.

Xue Jian sat on the bamboo mat, grabbing a bamboo flute in her hands and blowing hard.

After blowing a muffled sound, she was startled and stared blankly at the flute in her hand.

Lu Wushuang rushed out from the room and scooped her up: "Don't cry, don't cry, Auntie is here."

Yang Yuan stood to the side, watching Lu Wushuang clumsily coax Xue Jian, a smile on his lips.

In the afternoon, Yang Yuan sat alone on the reef by the sea.

He closed his eyes and circulated the Nine Yang Manual.

The Bottleneck of the fifth layer had already been reached, and the mass of Yang Qi in his Dantian was becoming increasingly solid.

Given another two or three months, he would definitely be able to achieve a Breakthrough.

He opened his eyes and looked at the distant sea.

It was calm and sparkling.

But the storm would come sooner or later.

The Mongols were gathering troops in Xiangyang, Li Mochou was looking for him in Jiaxing, and that mysterious aura on Zhongnan Mountain was also watching him.

He had to become stronger as soon as possible.

For Cheng Ying, for Xue Jian, and for the child in her womb who hadn't been born yet.

He stood up, patted the sand off his pants, and walked back to the small courtyard.

The sounds of Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang laughing and talking drifted from the courtyard, mixed with Xue Jian's babbling.

The sunlight shone on everyone, warm and cozy.

(End of Chapter 31)