Pregnant with the Immortal Venerable's Child After Divorce - Chapter 19(1.2)

Chapter 19(1.2): I’ll Go With You in the Future.

Despite the striking resemblance between A Fu and Wen Sucheng, Yan Zhu had never connected the two people.

His A Fu, though also a loner, would laugh and get angry, would act spoiled and throw tantrums with him. He was completely different from that block of wood, Little Senior Brother.

In the long days on Burning Snow Peak, A Fu had given him so much company and happy memories.

But that patch of snow, that single sword strike—that was beyond his A Fu’s capability.

Only Wen Sucheng.

Only Wen Sucheng could use that sword strike to cleave the secret realm and, in doing so, sever the relationship between him and A Fu.

It turned out that the one who had been with him all along was only Wen Sucheng.

At that moment, he couldn’t articulate his feelings: whether he wanted to get to the bottom of things or run away from them.

The secret realm seemed to understand his confusion, swallowing him whole, but instead of confining him with Wen Sucheng, it cast him into absolute darkness.

Yan Zhu could feel his body, but he couldn’t see anything. He could only hear what sounded like people conversing in the darkness.

He tilted his ear slightly, unable to make out the content or the voices, but he could discern the direction.

So he followed the sound, getting closer and closer until he could hear the voices clearly.

“When he grows up, I’ll personally teach him sword techniques. He is bound to become famous throughout the world!” The man’s smiling voice fell on his ear—a voice Yan Zhu disliked.

Yan Zhu froze for a moment, squeezed his eyes shut tightly, and when he opened them again, his vision seemed to flash. The surrounding scenery changed. A familiar face appeared before him, but this face was younger than he remembered, full of youthful pride and not very pleasing.

“You’ve got it all planned out before he’s even born,” the woman responded with a laugh, her voice full of tenderness. “Maybe he’ll want to practice spells with me.”

Yan Zhu turned his head towards the voice and saw a face he hadn’t seen in a long time, also younger than in his memory, beaming with smiles and looking very happy.

Yan Zhu instantly understood what was happening.

This was an illusion created by the secret realm—a reflection of the shadows in his heart.

But even knowing this, he couldn’t stop his eyes from reddening. He softly called out, “Mother.”

Yan Zhuiyun couldn’t hear his words. She only smiled and lowered her head, touching her slightly swelling belly, as if greeting her unborn child.

The man sitting opposite her laughed: “My son will naturally be a genius in the way of the sword.”

Yan Zhuiyun playfully scolded him: “Even if he’s not, he’s still our treasure.”

“Yes, yes, yes, hurry and drink the medicine,” the man said with a hearty laugh, holding a bowl of herbal soup to Yan Zhuiyun’s lips. “It will get cold if you don’t drink it soon.”

“Why didn’t you make it into pills? It’s so bitter,” Yan Zhuiyun complained, yet still took the medicine and drank it in one gulp.

Yan Zhu stood beside her, watching her drink the medicine. He quickly reached out to grab the bowl but grasped only air.

The sunlight seemed to be broken by his touch. The brightly lit palace instantly darkened. Yan Zhuiyun, who was sitting in front of him, also disappeared, replaced by painful screams from a bedroom and the frantic shouts of the midwife yelling, “Heavy bleeding!”

The sudden change made Yan Zhu pause, then he subtly frowned, raising a hand to touch the gourd at his waist.

He remembered reading in a book that breaking such an illusion was simple: one only had to find the “eye” within it.

This eye was usually the most important thing in a person’s heart, the thing they could least let go of.

Yan Zhu glanced at the man standing outside the door, his fingers slowly clenching.

The man’s face showed no trace of worry, only joy and anticipation.

Every genius must undergo some suffering at birth. Didn’t this precisely prove that the child in Yan Zhuiyun’s belly was a peerless genius?

The woman’s painful screams lasted for several days. A normal person would have died long ago, but cultivators had robust constitutions. Sustained by elixirs, her life was barely maintained until she finally gave birth to the child in her womb.

But she heard no baby’s cry.

A wave of panic rushed through Yan Zhuiyun’s heart. She wanted to see the child, wanted to ask her husband, but she was too tired, too tired to even open her eyes. She could only faintly hear the crying of an apprentice.

It sounded like weeping at a grave.

Yan Zhu walked in from outside, looking at the youthful-looking Senior Sister, and then at himself, who had a faint breath at birth. He frowned.

How did he manage to survive?

“Thankfully he survived,” the man held the child fearfully, not even properly tidying the swaddling clothes. He impatiently ordered the apprentice beside him: “Go fetch the spiritual root testing artifact.”

Yan Zhu heard this and reached out to touch the infant in the man’s arms. He expected to miss, but unexpectedly, he actually touched him.

The moment his fingertip touched the delicate skin, his vision blurred. When he recovered, he was looking at the roof of the palace, with beams of wood standing all around, like a small cage.

Outside the cage, his mother was crying.

Yan Zhuiyun covered her face, her voice thick with pain: “How could this happen! Is it so hard for his body to even survive?”

Hearing this, the man’s face was etched with sorrow, and his tone was equally distressed: “Sustained by elixirs, he can always be kept alive, but he won’t be able to cultivate.”

Yan Zhuiyun cried out: “It’s all my fault! If only I had been more careful during pregnancy!”

“It’s not your fault,” the man sighed deeply. “You suffered so much for this child, even your cultivation level dropped. You have done your best. This is his destiny.”

“Cultivation can be practiced again, but this child…”

Before she could finish, she heard the child’s breathing beside her weaken again. She quickly turned, patted his chest, and channeled spiritual power into his spiritual veins to protect his candle-like life.

As if feeling the spiritual power circulating in his body, even knowing it was an illusionary effect, Yan Zhu still called out to the artifact spirit that was floating towards Yan Zhuiyun: “Pear Blossom, wait a moment.”

Pear Blossom gave an “oh” and floated back, stopping by the small bed, watching the tiny child with him.

“Give him a name,” Yan Zhuiyun said softly, also looking at the child.

The man was silent for a moment, then said: “I will play for him with the harmony of yin and yang, and illuminate him with the brightness of the sun and moon*. Let’s take the character Zhu (燭, candle/illuminate).”

With so many characters to choose from, he chose one that was not a particularly auspicious character. Yan Zhuiyun was stunned for a long time before she said: “But this name…”

“Easy to raise,” the man explained.

Yan Zhuiyun frowned, her lips moving, seemingly wanting to say something, but she looked at the weak child. Thinking of something, she still gave a gentle nod: “Then let it be this. Wen Zhu.”

“No, you carried him for ten months and gave birth to him at the risk of your life. He should naturally take your surname, Yan Zhu,” Wen Tianren’s voice was gentle, as if steeped in love.

But Yan Zhuiyun clearly saw a fleeting look of dislike in his eyes.

She didn’t want to dwell on it. Looking at the small sleeping life in the cradle, she hesitated for a long time, eventually only patting his chest softly and calling out: “Little Zhu.”

Hearing this, Yan Zhu wanted to reach out and hold her hand, but he was merely an infant trapped in an illusion, powerless to do anything.

He stared at the roof, watching the colors constantly change, the sun rising and setting. Time passed quickly, like shaking tree shadows falling to the ground.

Wen Tianren rarely appeared here after that.

Outside, people said that Yan Zhuiyun’s cultivation level had dropped after giving birth, her potential was lost, and Wen Tianren was traveling everywhere, seeking heavenly treasures to heal his beloved wife.

When disciples spoke of how caring Sect Master Wen was towards his wife in front of Yan Zhuiyun, she would only smile. The happiness she used to have when mentioning Wen Tianren was gone from her eyes. Only when asked would she reply, “He is indeed good to me.”

…

Until Yan Zhu was four years old, he suddenly developed a high fever. The small child burned like charcoal. No matter what elixirs he was given, the high heat in his body could not be suppressed. Yan Zhuiyun poured almost all of her spiritual power into him, but it still had no effect. Desperate, she lost her composure and could only send a message to Wen Tianren.

But Wen Tianren said he couldn’t leave and told her to hire a good physician.

Yan Zhuiyun could only dispatch an apprentice to the Seven Stars Sect to invite their Sect Master. However, before the person arrived, Yan Zhu’s high fever broke.

It was as if he had earned a second life after passing through the gates of hell. His frail body suddenly improved. At the same time, two small light clusters appeared beside him—these were naturally formed spiritual treasures that had yet to take shape.

Naturally formed spiritual treasures could not be forged. They only appeared with the birth of certain favored geniuses and grew with their masters, transforming into the form best suited for their masters according to their wishes. They were the best artifacts in the world.

And Yan Zhu had a pair of such artifacts.

Giving birth to a child with spiritual treasures was extremely damaging to the mother’s body. No wonder her cultivation level and potential had dropped.

Yan Zhuiyun thought this, yet she wasn’t sad. Instead, she was delighted.

Children born with spiritual treasures were all geniuses of extremely high caliber. When her child grew up, he would naturally be able to find more and better heavenly treasures for her. What did a little lost potential matter?

An apprentice’s voice came from outside. Yan Zhuiyun smiled, quickly picked up the child, and went out.

Yan Zhu quickly reached out to grab Yan Zhuiyun’s hand, trying to stop her from going.

But his hand passed right through Yan Zhuiyun’s body. He could only watch her carry him and hand him over to the hurriedly arrived Sect Master of the Seven Stars Sect.

Then she heard the man say that her child’s spiritual roots were completely destroyed and he would have difficulty ascending the immortal path.

“It must have been something he touched during pregnancy that shouldn’t have been touched.”

A single sentence made Yan Zhuiyun understand the man’s meaning.

The next time Wen Tianren appeared, she rushed up like a madwoman, grabbing his throat. The love of the past was gone from her eyes, replaced only by a venomous resentment: “You lied to me!! Those weren’t anti-miscarriage elixirs at all!!!”

Wen Tianren didn’t refute. He gently pushed her hand away and pulled his wife, whose cultivation was much lower than his own, to sit down.

“I only hoped this child could have a higher starting point. I never expected things to turn out this way,” Wen Tianren poured his wife a cup of tea, his tone still gentle, yet his words chilled Yan Zhuiyun to the bone: “Your body was also ruined because you gave birth to him. He’s just a child of mediocre talent. Why did he have to cost you half your life?”

Over the past two years, Yan Zhuiyun had already realized that Wen Tianren was somewhat different from the person in her memory, but at this moment, she felt as if she had never truly known this man.

She looked at Wen Tianren, almost grinding her teeth, saying each word clearly: “Say that again!”

Wen Tianren lowered his eyes but did not speak.

His avoidance only made Yan Zhuiyun laugh: “Wen Tianren, what are you afraid of?”

Wen Tianren didn’t answer, but Yan Zhuiyun already understood.

Having been husband and wife for hundreds of years, she knew Wen Tianren, just as Wen Tianren knew her.

“I want you to find medicine, for me and for Little Zhu,” Yan Zhuiyun said softly. “If you can’t find it, I’ll reveal the truth.”

Wen Tianren nodded: “Alright. Swear an oath.”

Yan Zhuiyun didn’t expect him to say that. She was startled, then sneered, raising her hand with him. They swore an oath just as they had during their marriage ceremony. Only then, her heart was filled with happiness. Now, there was only a chill.

After the oath, a smile reappeared on Wen Tianren’s face: “I took in an apprentice on this trip. Tidy yourself up. I’ll have him come and pay his respects to you.”

His tone also returned to his usual gentleness, as if the brief conversation just now hadn’t happened, and there was no rift between the couple.

Yan Zhuiyun looked at him woodenly. A moment later, she smiled faintly: “Alright.”

Then she met Wen Tianren’s new apprentice.

He was just a half-grown child, with a fierce and cold expression. When he saw her, his eyes were full of caution, and he barely spoke. Only when he knelt down to kowtow to her did he call out “Mistress.”

Wen Tianren’s apprentice was also half her apprentice.

Yan Zhuiyun handed him a prepared red envelope, gently touched his face, and asked: “What is your name?”

He said he was an orphan, had no name, and was given a name by his master: Wen Sucheng.

Surname Wen.

Yan Zhuiyun thought back to Wen Tianren’s expression and words when he named their son and suddenly understood the meaning of the character “Zhu.”

Wen Tianren wasn’t being considerate of her hardship; he simply didn’t want a son like that.

All he ever wanted was a son with exceptional talent.

And after four years of searching, he finally found the child before her.

This was the son he wanted.

Yan Zhuiyun’s fingers suddenly increased their pressure, leaving several deep, bloody marks on the young face.

Wen Sucheng saw her eyes turn completely black.

Yan Zhu also saw it.

He stood beside her like a ghost, trying to speak, wanting to call out “Mother,” wanting to call out “Little Senior Brother,” but no sound came out.

He was merely observing an event that had occurred in the past, within the illusion.

He could only watch helplessly the moment his mother succumbed to her inner demons.

From then on, his mother changed.

When she was well, she was very gentle with him. She would hold him to sleep, sing him lullabies, and teach him to read and write.

When she was not well, she was like a malevolent spirit. She would fiercely clutch his neck, saying he was just like his father.

The maidservants tried to intervene, but their cultivation was low, and they couldn’t stop her. They could only seek help.

Soon, rumors began to circulate that Yan Zhuiyun had gone mad after her cultivation level dropped due to childbirth and the severe blow she had taken. Sect Master Wen, concerned that his wife might hurt people, placed a restriction on the Glorious Peak, forbidding her to leave.

Yan Zhuiyun couldn’t defend herself.

She couldn’t break her oath and couldn’t suppress her inner demons. At first, some people were willing to listen to her, but after witnessing how she abused her young child, they no longer believed a single word she said.

The once-spirited Azure Lotus Fairy had vanished, leaving behind only a bird whose tongue had been cut out.

She became increasingly frenzied.

Yan Zhu was afraid of her.

But no one ever thought of taking Yan Zhu away from her.

They all said the bond between mother and son was strong, and that she was merely ill. Her child shouldn’t be taken away from her.

The young Yan Zhu didn’t understand. But as he grew older and looked at this scene again, he suddenly understood that his father didn’t want to bother, so others followed suit.

Did no one really notice that something was wrong?

Some did.

He once heard his Senior Sister and Senior Brother ask their master why he treated his wife that way. What did his father say back then?

Yan Zhu couldn’t remember, but he knew that nothing changed. In fact, it made his father warier.

He didn’t allow his favored “son” to see his wife, nor did he let him cultivate any affection for her. The two rarely saw each other, except for holiday greetings.

He made sure his little “son” remembered that his wife was crazy and would hurt him, so he should stay far away from her.

Yan Zhu didn’t know what Wen Sucheng thought, but as he grew older, he had come to realize that his mother wasn’t crazy.

His mother was the person who loved him the most in the world.

“Be good and take the medicine,” Yan Zhuiyun coaxed her son, who was unwilling to take the medicine. Her voice was as soft as water: “If you take it, our Little Zhu can live a long life.”

Yan Zhu grimaced. He hated those endless medicines, but he didn’t dare to say no. He could only pick up the bowl and sip it little by little, holding his breath.

Yan Zhuiyun watched and waited.

Waited.

Waited.

Gradually becoming impatient.

“If you don’t want to drink it, then don’t!” She suddenly reached out and slapped the bowl out of Yan Zhu’s hand. She pounced and grabbed Yan Zhu’s slender neck, her voice filled with sharp hatred: “If you don’t want to live, then die! I shouldn’t have given birth to you in the first place!! If it weren’t for you, how would I have fallen to this!”

Yan Zhu looked into those completely black eyes, knowing his mother was having an episode again.

He struggled to pry her hands away, but his strength was like an ant trying to shake a tree. It wasn’t until the maidservant brought the Immortal Binding Cord to restrain her that Yan Zhu could breathe fresh air again.

He gasped heavily, looking at his mother, who was confined by the Immortal Binding Cord but still screaming for him to die. He silently picked up the spilled bowl and handed it to the maidservant: “Please pour me a new bowl.”

By the time he finished the medicine, his mother had recovered.

Yan Zhuiyun looked at the Immortal Binding Cord on her body and understood what had just happened. Tears began to fall: “Little Zhu, Little Zhu, it’s Mother’s fault. Don’t be angry.”

Yan Zhu shook his head, walked over, and untied the Immortal Binding Cord on her. He said: “Mother, I’ve finished my book.”

Yan Zhuiyun was momentarily stunned. Then, a gentle smile spread across her face: “Alright, Mother will go get you a new one right away.”

Yan Zhu sat down with the new book.

He was always like this, quiet and still, content to sit with a book for an entire day, so quiet that Yan Zhuiyun sometimes forgot he was even there.

“Aren’t you going to play with the others?” Yan Zhuiyun asked him.

Yan Zhu shook his head.

Aside from his Senior Sister and Senior Brother, no one wanted to play with him.

They were all afraid.