Pregnant with the Immortal Venerable's Child After Divorce - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Smelled a faint scent of tea. …

Both of them had intended to sow discord against the other, but they ended up shooting themselves in the foot and felt a momentary pang of disappointment.

Kong Fu reacted slightly faster and immediately went along with Yan Zhu’s words: “Are the men outside better than me?”

“That’s different,” Yan Zhu said. “They’re new.”

Kong Fu: “…”

Seeing him stumped, A’Fu finally felt a little better. He lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, and turned to Yan Zhu: “I’ll look with Master too.”

Yan Zhu’s expression immediately stiffened when he heard this, and he quickly said: “Children shouldn’t be led astray.”

“I’m not a child anymore.” A’Fu held Yan Zhu’s hand, his head bowed. He didn’t say anything, but the posture conveyed a message.

Yan Zhu’s heart instantly softened, and his voice softened: “Alright, our A’Fu is not a child anymore. I’ll take you out to play, but no messing around.”

A’Fu nodded immediately, and Yan Zhu smiled and stroked his head.

Kong Fu watched from the side, frowning.

He thought Yan Zhu divorcing Wen Sucheng was a good signal, but then this little brat popped up.

He walked over, glanced at A’Fu, and said as if unintentional: “Have you been following Xiao Zhu for a long time?”

A’Fu glanced at him and ignored him. It was Yan Zhu who answered: “For a long time, about two or three hundred years, I guess.”

Hearing this, both of them frowned subtly.

Kong Fu said: “Demon cultivators also grow up after transforming into human form. How come you haven’t grown at all?”

Yan Zhu was about to answer when A’Fu snatched the words away: “Maybe it’s a natural defect.”

“No such thing.” Yan Zhu immediately said, “A’Fu will grow up.”

His tone was still gentle and coaxing, the tone used for a lovely disciple, and also the tone used for a lovely cat.

Kong Fu immediately smiled upon hearing this: “I’m somewhat skilled in medicine. Shall I take a look at you?”

But A’Fu didn’t play along, refusing indifferently: “No need. ‘Somewhat skilled’ means half-baked. Senior Martial Uncle has already asked the best medical cultivator to examine me.”

Kong Fu narrowed his eyes: “One more person to look means one more hope. The methods of the Demon Realm are always a little different from yours.”

But A’Fu still refused, even hiding a little behind Yan Zhu.

Yan Zhu immediately said: “If you don’t want to see one, then don’t.” He glared at Kong Fu, sending him a message via spiritual sense: “A’Fu is already upset enough about his natural defect. Don’t talk about it.”

Kong Fu instantly felt a heartache.

He had previously thought of A’Fu as a rival in love, but now he suddenly felt a familiar sense of having his crush remarry with a child, but the child didn’t like him.

Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered something and asked Yan Zhu: “I remember you said you don’t use a sword. He used it quite well just now.”

Yan Zhu nodded: “Senior Brother taught him.”

From this, Kong Fu understood.

It turned out he was still attached to his birth father and didn’t want a stepfather, acting as a spy here.

While Kong Fu was pondering how to deal with this, the scenery in front of them had already changed.

Hearing Yan Zhu exclaim “Wow,” both of them looked forward and saw a white, lush green mountain forest behind the pervasive demonic energy. The two sides seemed to be separated by something, one side being a fairyland and the other a hell, growing distinctly apart, which was very strange.

Yan Zhu was excited: “This island is too great! You can grow anything!!”

He happily stepped across the dividing line. As soon as he entered, he was choked by the rich spiritual energy, but it was only for a moment. Soon, he was like a little mouse who had fallen into a granary, digging here and foraging there.

A’Fu had to remind him: “Just put the island away.”

Yan Zhu realized this, put the spiritual plants in his hand into the Qiankun ring, and rushed toward the center of the island.

Although the island was big, they could run quickly with a little spell. The three quickly arrived at the very center of the island, where there was actually a pool of spiritual spring water.

Yan Zhu’s eyes immediately lit up. He ran over and tasted it, nodding: “Good stuff, very suitable for brewing wine.” As he spoke, he took the gourd from his waist and threw it. With a “bang,” Lihua appeared.

It first flew to Yan Zhu’s shoulder, rubbed its cheek against his, and then called out softly: “Xiao Zhu, Xiao Zhu.”

Yan Zhu nodded and pointed to the spiritual spring: “Put it away.”

Lihua immediately said “Oh,” floated above the spiritual spring, and raised its hand.

What appeared this time was not a gourd, but a topless square box. If one looked closely, they could find a handle on one side of the box.

It was a drawer.

Lihua scooped the drawer into the water, filled it with water, and presented it to Yan Zhu, calling out softly again: “Xiao Zhu, Xiao Zhu.”

Yan Zhu reached out to take it, but before he could touch it, the drawer disappeared with a “thump.”

Seeing Yan Zhu stunned, Lihua immediately covered its belly and laughed. Its laughter wasn’t a human “haha” sound, but a “guji guji” sound, like a small bird or a freshly made rice cake.

Yan Zhu reached out and pulled its face, and its face was stretched long like a warm rice cake.

Lihua’s two hands immediately flapped like small wings, retreating frantically, but with its cheek held, it couldn’t escape. It simply transformed back into a tiny pendant with a “bang,” falling into Yan Zhu’s palm.

Yan Zhu shook the pendant and didn’t bother with it anymore, hanging it back on his waist and taking out the artifact Wen Sucheng had given him.

Kong Fu immediately said: “I’ll go. I guarantee I’ll do it well for you.”

“I’ll do it myself…”

“No need,” A’Fu interrupted. “This kind of spiritual spring is uncomfortable for demon cultivators, right?”

Kong Fu smiled: “I’m not those inexperienced younglings with no cultivation, who can’t stand a little spiritual energy entering their bodies.”

A’Fu frowned at him: “Are you hinting at me?”

Kong Fu was speechless: “No…”

“I’ll go down,” A’Fu said, no longer bothering with Kong Fu. He took the artifact and jumped into the water with a “plop,” ignoring Yan Zhu’s protests.

Yan Zhu immediately turned to look at Kong Fu: “Why did you suddenly provoke him?”

Kong Fu: “…”

While he was frantically explaining, Wen Sucheng in the Mingxin Sect breathed a sigh of relief.

Placing the artifact was easy work and didn’t require monitoring.

He took this opportunity to approve the few more troublesome documents on hand. Only then did he look up at the four disciples who were arguing. They weren’t from the same peak, but they had formed a small team to go out for training together. A while ago, they had a conflict over resource allocation in a secret realm. It wasn’t resolved at the time and was left alone, so the conflict escalated, eventually leading to two of them fighting within the sect, which brought them here.

This kind of thing violated the sect rules, but mediation before punishment was part of his job. However, the four clearly had no intention of reconciling, and they started arguing again when they arrived at the main hall.

Wen Sucheng listened, his gaze falling on the person trying to mediate. He was short, and his speaking voice was soft. The force he exerted while pushing the two apart in the middle was negligible. One moment he was saying to the person on the left, “Senior Brother has the highest cultivation and contributed the most among us, so it’s normal to get a little more. However, Senior Sister uses a lot of materials for refining pills, and taking a little more material can save a little money. It’s understandable that she doesn’t want to yield.” The next moment he was saying to the person on the right, “The elixirs Senior Sister gives us are all high-grade. Even if sold in the market, they wouldn’t be cheap. Senior Brother eats them like candy because he doesn’t know any better. If Senior Brother knew, he definitely wouldn’t compete with Senior Sister for those two immortal fruits.”

Then the two people argued even more fiercely, completely ignoring the person who contributed the least but benefited the most.

Wen Sucheng looked thoughtful.

When A’Fu emerged from the water, Yan Zhu was already waiting on the shore.

He looked up at the array after array unfolding above the floating island. After making sure there were no problems, he jumped onto the shore, transforming into a cat the moment he landed. He shook his body vigorously, shaking off the water, and his whole body puffed up like a pincushion.

Yan Zhu immediately reached out, his palm infused with spiritual power, stroking the cat from head to tail. The damp little cat was instantly dry and became fluffy and soft.

Yan Zhu stroked him a couple of times, then picked up the cat, kneaded his head, and praised him: “You did very well, but little kittens shouldn’t go into the water anymore.”

A’Fu rubbed his head against Yan Zhu’s chin and said, “The spiritual energy in this spring is too abundant. Even if Kong Fu has high cultivation, it will still have some effect on him. He can’t go. How can I, as a disciple, let Master go?”

Kong Fu’s eye twitched. He frowned and glanced at the cat in Yan Zhu’s arms, feeling a faint scent of ‘tea’ in the air.

He walked over, smiled, and put his hand on Yan Zhu’s shoulder: “Congratulations on getting an island you like so much. If you like this kind of thing, I will…”

Before he could finish, a furry paw reached out and knocked his hand away, immediately replaced by a furry head.

Kong Fu looked at Yan Zhu, who was still coaxing the cat in a high-pitched voice, feeling a lump in his throat.

This little cat brat.

Kong Fu did want to win him over, but for a cat, besides fish, he couldn’t think of anything to bribe it with for a while. And he really didn’t have any fresh produce on hand. So he rummaged through his Qiankun ring and finally found a beautiful bell. He held it up to the pair of golden cat eyes and shook it.

As the “ding-a-ling” sound rang out, Kong Fu leaned in with a smile, also in a high-pitched voice, and asked, “Want to play?”

A’Fu immediately clung to Yan Zhu’s neck, turned his head, and let out a soft “meow.”

Yan Zhu glanced at the bell and frowned: “Why are you giving him a soul-capturing object to play with? He’ll be scared. Put it away quickly.”

Kong Fu was truly at a loss. While putting the bell away, he sent a message to his subordinates, telling them to prepare all kinds of river and sea delicacies—anything a cat might like.

As for now, since he couldn’t please this prickly cat, he had to refocus on Yan Zhu.

Kong Fu was one of the more good-tempered among the Demon Venerables. He was gentle, witty, and generous. Many cultivators liked him, and he knew very well how to manage the distance, being ambiguous without making the other party dislike him. He kept talking to Yan Zhu like this on the way back.

Sure enough, Yan Zhu was well-adapted to his deliberate closeness, but that cat brat was very annoying.

When he “accidentally” touched Yan Zhu’s hand again, A’Fu finally transformed back into his human form, standing between the two like a shield. Every time Kong Fu tried to reach out, A’Fu would beat him to it. If he went for a hand touch, A’Fu would hold Yan Zhu’s hand. If he went for a shoulder touch, A’Fu would pat the petals off Yan Zhu’s shoulder. When he tried to touch Yan Zhu’s hair, A’Fu simply pulled Yan Zhu away.

And Yan Zhu treated all this as the natural playfulness of a little cat throughout the whole process.

Whatever the little cat did was right.

Kong Fu was furious.

This farce only stopped when they returned to the edge of the island and saw Qi Ranyin.

Before the three could get close, a spell with killing intent struck Kong Fu. Kong Fu knew who the other party was, and it was hard to fight back, so he could only dodge. But he wasn’t fast enough, and a long bloody cut appeared on his arm.

Yan Zhu was startled and quickly spoke up to stop him: “Ran Yin! He’s one of us!”

Qi Ranyin did not put away his jade fan but didn’t attack again. He said warily, “How did you get mixed up with him?”

Yan Zhu had to briefly explain the situation.

Qi Ranyin had naturally heard that Yan Zhu had saved a demon cultivator, but he didn’t expect this person to have such a powerful background. He could only inwardly scold Yan Zhu for his recklessness while apologizing to Kong Fu: “It was rash of me.”

Kong Fu waved his hand, looking at his arm helplessly, and said, “It’s just a small injury.”

Yan Zhu was also a little embarrassed and quickly said: “Ran Yin was just worried about me.” As he spoke, he took out a bottle of medicine from his Qiankun ring and handed it to Kong Fu, “Here, take this. It’s made from the Seven Ghost Flower you gave me. It’s very effective.”

Kong Fu’s eyes held a smile. He took the bottle of medicine, thanked him softly, and then glanced at A’Fu. Seeing that his face was completely dark, he felt even better.

However, seeing Yan Zhu’s concerned and apologetic look, he regretted it a little. He should have endured the blow just now. Maybe Yan Zhu would have come to support him?

He suppressed this thought after a few breaths.

Because as soon as the few of them got on the boat, A’Fu reminded Yan Zhu to put the island away.

Yan Zhu didn’t react: “Didn’t we set up the formation? Now others won’t be able to just go up.”

A’Fu said: “You still need to acknowledge it with your divine soul.”

Yan Zhu: “I haven’t done that.”

A’Fu took his hand and drew a small cut on his index finger: “Use bl00d as the guide.”

Yan Zhu understood what he meant. His realm wasn’t high enough, so he couldn’t split his divine soul. He could only use this method. So he obediently activated his primordial spirit and followed A’Fu’s movements to draw a formation in the void.

The moment the last stroke was completed, the formation above the floating island seemed to respond to the call and glowed.

The light spread outward at an extremely fast speed until it enveloped the entire island, turning it into a giant ball of light. Only then did it gradually shrink, until it became a fist-sized ball, slowly flying toward Yan Zhu.

Yan Zhu reached out his hand, and the ball slowly settled in his palm. The light covering it also disappeared bit by bit, revealing the appearance underneath.

A miniature floating island was sealed inside the transparent glass ball. If one looked closely, they could even see every detail of the island, the flowers, the trees, and the clear spiritual spring water.

Yan Zhu’s eyes sparkled: “Senior Brother is amazing.”

Seeing him so happy, A’Fu also curved his eyes and explained: “Senior Martial Uncle researched it for a long time before he made it. It’s the only one of its kind in the world.”

Kong Fu’s eyebrow also twitched. He had been so preoccupied with that little cat brat that he forgot about this biggest enemy.

Even if the two were truly incompatible as Yan Zhu said, Wen Sucheng was a respected figure, rich enough to rival a nation, and most importantly, he was extremely strong.

Although it was mundane, people always admired the strong, and Wen Sucheng’s strength was even hard to match.

An artifact that could contain an entire floating island required not only skill in formations but also a tremendous amount of patience and effort, as well as an unimaginably vast amount of spiritual power. Wen Sucheng had probably been preparing this for a long time, just to make Yan Zhu happy.

As could be seen from Yan Zhu’s current expression, he genuinely, genuinely loved this thing.

And this item was extremely difficult to replicate.

It was a gift that belonged only to Wen Sucheng—at least, only Wen Sucheng could make it right now.

Kong Fu now suspected that the cat brat had accepted benefits from Wen Sucheng and was specifically here to keep an eye on Yan Zhu.

A terrifying opponent.

But Yan Zhu still decided to divorce him.

Thinking of this, Kong Fu’s mood brightened again. Just as he was about to go over and say a few words to Yan Zhu, he saw Qi Ranyin directly pouncing on him.

“Xiao Zhu, this is too amazing!” Qi Ranyin immediately hooked Yan Zhu’s arm, and with the other hand, he pinched Yan Zhu’s cheek, his tone intimate, “I’ll be your maid of honor when you remarry the Immortal Venerable. With so much money, you probably won’t be able to spend it all.”

Yan Zhu smiled and pushed his hand away: “Stop talking nonsense. Let’s go inside first. We’re going to Lingxi Town to play for a few days.”

Hearing that name, Qi Ranyin rolled his eyes: “It’s just a gimmick. You’re not expecting to find a second husband there, are you?”

“Let’s just go have some fun. I’ve never been there,” Yan Zhu said, pulling him back into the flying boat.

Kong Fu followed closely, looking at the luxurious cabin and then at the two people whispering intimately in front of him. This scene, which was so much like love, made him fall into deep thought.

No wonder Yan Zhu was so accepting of his “unintentional” ambiguous little actions. He had thought he had a chance, but now he understood—

Those small actions were not ambiguous to Yan Zhu.

Compared to Qi Ranyin’s intimate gestures, which involved constant hugging and rubbing, his small actions were practically polite. The only one who cared throughout the whole thing was that cat brat.

And… could Wen Sucheng really tolerate Yan Zhu having such an unrestrained friend?

Seeing Qi Ranyin’s movements, which were close enough to kiss Yan Zhu, Kong Fu’s brows furrowed tightly. He even wanted to rush over, pull the person off, and replace him with himself.

But he hid this emotion very well, only revealing a little of it when Qi Ranyin smiled and put his arm around Yan Zhu’s waist—

Which Qi Ranyin caught in his eye.

Qi Ranyin leaned on Yan Zhu’s shoulder as if he had no bones and asked softly, “Does Kong Fu like you?”

Yan Zhu said “Huh?” and hesitated, then shook his head: “Just a little favorable impression, I guess, because I saved him.”

Developing a favorable impression because one was saved was very common in storybooks. Yan Zhu didn’t find it strange or consider it a special emotion.

“Then why do you let him follow you?” Qi Ranyin said, “Aren’t you afraid of his little intentions?”

“There are so many people who like me. I can’t possibly chase them all away,” Yan Zhu smiled. “Besides, Senior Brother won’t get angry.”

Qi Ranyin raised an eyebrow: “Then are you not chasing him away because of Wen Sucheng, or because of yourself?”

His question was vague, but Yan Zhu understood what he meant. He just couldn’t answer.

When he first married Wen Sucheng, he did consciously avoid suspicion, turning away everyone who showed him affection. But later, Wen Sucheng told him that he didn’t have to do that.

They were fundamentally different from Dao Companions who came together out of love.

Yan Zhu understood this logic himself, but he still stubbornly guarded that line for a long time—the line he believed a husband and wife should uphold.

But he didn’t know when, that line gradually became blurred.

Qi Ranyin was asking him if part of the reason he was doing this was to deliberately provoke Wen Sucheng.

Yan Zhu couldn’t say for sure, but he didn’t think so.

Wen Sucheng wouldn’t be unhappy over such trivial matters.

Or more accurately, Wen Sucheng had never been unhappy about anything he did.

Perhaps in Wen Sucheng’s heart, he was always just a Junior Brother for whom he had to take responsibility.

“Stop gossiping.” Yan Zhu pushed Qi Ranyin away and beckoned to A’Fu. After he changed back into a cat, he carried him back to the room.

But without Qi Ranyin, the gossip enthusiast, there was still the curious A’Fu. He lay in Yan Zhu’s arms and asked him: “Does Master hope Senior Martial Uncle gets angry?”

Yan Zhu looked down at him: “Why are you, a little cat, asking these things?”

“Learning,” A’Fu explained, “To learn a lesson when I have someone I like in the future.”

Yan Zhu was amused by this and placed him on the table. He reached out and stroked his furry head, saying softly: “Having your smooth-talking mouth is enough.”

A’Fu rubbed his head against Yan Zhu’s palm and then stood up, pawing at Yan Zhu’s clothes with his front paws, pressing the question: “Then does Master hope Senior Martial Uncle gets angry?”

He was always like this. As long as Yan Zhu didn’t show resistance, he would pursue the question he asked until the end.

Yan Zhu was already used to this habit.

With a cat, the more you hide something from it, the more it cares.

So Yan Zhu had to explain: “I really can’t say for sure. I only know that if Senior Brother gets angry, it means he’s jealous, and jealousy is a sign of caring.” As he spoke, he suddenly curved his eyes and poked A’Fu’s pink nose with his finger, “Just like how you, little cat, keep looking for trouble with Kong Fu.”

Caught off guard for his little action, A’Fu froze for a moment, then nudged his chin with his furry head.

Yan Zhu was immediately amused. He pinched his ear and coaxed: “Alright, I won’t talk about Kong Fu anymore, okay?”

Only then did A’Fu withdraw his head and continue staring at Yan Zhu.

Yan Zhu looked back in confusion, but after a few breaths of eye contact, seeing that he had nothing else to say, he just took it as a cat’s whim and ignored it, turning to change his clothes.

A’Fu crouched on the table, continuing to stare at the person behind the screen.

He actually wanted to ask Yan Zhu if he didn’t think a man who got jealous over small things appeared petty and small-minded, but he didn’t need to ask to know Yan Zhu’s answer.

Yan Zhu never cared about these things.

He seemed to only see the good qualities of the people around him. Everyone with whom he had a good relationship seemed flawless in his eyes. Even unappealing traits like this could be explained differently in his eyes, turning into a cute and pleasing aspect.

But bad is bad.

A’Fu lay on the table and closed his eyes to sleep.

When Yan Zhu came out dressed, he was sleeping as if he were in a coma. Even poking his butt didn’t elicit a reaction.

So he picked up the cat, placed him in the nest by the bed, and then went out to find Qi Ranyin.

Lingxi Town was some distance from the Mingxin Sect. They spent six days on the flying boat before arriving. As soon as they landed, they smelled a burst of peach blossom fragrance.

Although it was called Lingxi Town, its size was comparable to a city. It was filled with pink peach blossoms and draped with pink silk ribbons. Even the signs of the various shops were painted in a tender pink, as if trying to give everyone who came here a psychological hint through the color, making them feel an impulse to find a companion as soon as they stepped inside.

As soon as Yan Zhu entered the town, seeing the pink everywhere, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Is this the Matchmaker Town? It’s so pink!”

The moment his words fell, he was surrounded by several men and women, each holding a bunch of peach blossoms and handing them to him.