Perhaps it was the fear of separation by life and death, but these past few days, Nangong Li had been clinging to Luo Laya, insisting on producing an imperial prince before anything else.
"Luo Laya, I wish I could be with you every day. What should I do? I find I can no longer leave you."
Within the mandarin duck quilt.
Nangong Li held Luo Laya very tightly, as if afraid she would suddenly disappear.
His usually roguish tone was remarkably serious at this moment.
He looked at Luo Laya's smooth, silken jade shoulders, which he had already nibbled at several times.
He lowered his head and, with satisfaction, kissed her luxuriant hair.
At this moment.
Luo Laya was in a daze.
Her mind was filled with the clear, cold eyes of Nangong Mo.
Had he discovered her?
Back then, she had hastily handed the dagger in her hand to Nangong Mo, crying and begging him to save Gu Qianyin.
With that, Nangong Mo shouldn't suspect her, right?
Her heart was in turmoil, and she hadn't heard what Nangong Li had said.
Seeing Luo Laya's prolonged silence.
Nangong Li lifted her chin with his finger, his face etched with confusion. "What are you thinking about?"
Her thoughts interrupted, Luo Laya snapped back to reality, batting away Nangong Li's hand and concealing the sharp glint in her eyes.
She raised her arms and wrapped them around Nangong Li's neck, her smile sweet. "I was thinking about how many imperial princes we should have in the future. One? Or five? Or..."
"You wicked woman, aren't you afraid we won't be able to manage so many children? Right now, I'm not in Dong Sheng Kingdom, I don't have much real power, and I'm very poor. Can you, my wife, have so many children, and I'll be able to afford them?"
Nangong Li laughed and lightly flicked Luo Laya's nose.
He added, "But although I'm poor, my Ninth Imperial Uncle is rich! I believe no matter how many children we have, he will take care of them."
The thought that his Ninth Imperial Uncle had regained his senses made him exceptionally happy.
"Enough!"
Suddenly.
Luo Laya interrupted Nangong Li's words with a cold expression.
Her demeanor startled Nangong Li.
"You wicked woman... you...?"
"You are you, and he is he. Nangong Li, if, in the future, your Ninth Imperial Uncle dies, will you also die with him?"
Luo Laya glared at Nangong Li with cold eyes.
Her shoulders were exposed, and the faint candlelight illuminated her face, her gaze ferocious.
Nangong Li had never seen Luo Laya like this before.
He was stunned for a moment.
He had never seen such an unfamiliar Luo Laya.
"Luo Laya, you... you... what madness is this? What do you mean by that?"
"It's nothing, I was just worried about you."
Sensing her loss of composure.
Luo Laya quickly retracted her gaze.
She lay down again, nestled in Nangong Li's embrace.
"I'm tired, let's sleep."
Saying this, Luo Laya closed her eyes.
That day, however, Nangong Li couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He suffered from insomnia.
A few days later, Gu Qianyin finally stopped being drowsy. She woke up and got out of bed.
After a few days of recuperation, her complexion had improved considerably. Apart from the absence of her cultivation and demonic power, her mental state was much better.
Precisely because she had no cultivation, Nangong Mo, the Flood Dragon A Mu, and others often looked after her, ensuring her safety.
The Flood Dragon A Mu's eyes had also been healed by Gu Qianyin after she woke up, and he could finally see.
Later, Gu Qianyin carried Wu Yangxuan's head up the mountain, and on this day, Lu Zhu also followed.
Wu Cheng was barely clinging to life, and Lu Zhu took one last look at him.
Looking at Wu Cheng, who was now just a head, Lu Zhu's mind was filled with memories of their time together.
Finally, Lu Zhu ended Wu Cheng's suffering.
As they descended the mountain, Gu Qianyin used Wu Yangxuan's head to mourn Wu Zhiruo.
Watching the flames ignite in the flowerbed.
Gu Qianyin used Lu Zhu's sword to cut off a few strands of her hair and threw them into the inferno.
"The world says that when parting with a loved one, cutting off one's hair and gifting it to them alleviates the pain of longing. Between you and me, there is no romantic love, but there is familial affection and friendship. Zhiruo, from this day forward, you are my sister."
The wind was strong on the mountaintop.
She stood at the summit, her red robes fluttering in the wind. Even without her demonic power, her aura remained formidable.
Her fox tail had disappeared.
Her red eyes had also vanished.
Only the head of red hair remained.
After descending the mountain.
Gu Qianyin met Nangong Mo.
Nangong Mo had been waiting for her halfway up the mountain.
If Gu Qianyin hadn't insisted on him not following, he wouldn't have let her go up alone. Fortunately, Lu Zhu was with her.
"Are you tired?"
Nangong Mo carried Gu Qianyin to the carriage in a princess carry.
Gu Qianyin's favorite snacks had already been prepared in the carriage.
Nangong Mo fed her personally.
Gu Qianyin wanted to feed herself, but he wouldn't allow it.
"Wife, just open your mouth."
Gu Qianyin: "..."
Lu Zhu drove the carriage from the front.
Inside the carriage, Gu Qianyin leaned comfortably in Nangong Mo's embrace.
They talked.
Nangong Mo also touched Gu Qianyin's belly from time to time.
"Wife, when will this little fellow come out?"
Gu Qianyin played with Nangong Mo's fingers and casually said, "Ten months of pregnancy, and it's already five months along. What do you think?"
Having lost her spiritual energy and demonic power, she was now like a cripple.
She felt a little frustrated.
But she had no regrets.
As long as her friends and the one she loved were safe.
Perhaps thinking of something, Gu Qianyin sat up, turned around, and looked up at Nangong Mo, without speaking.
Perhaps guessing what she wanted to ask.
Nangong Mo smiled, reached out to pinch Gu Qianyin's nose, and pulled her back.
Gu Qianyin leaned against his chest, waiting for him to speak.
The atmosphere was somewhat quiet, and they could both hear the birds chirping on the branches outside the carriage.
After an unknown amount of time.
Nangong Mo spoke.
"Wife, I want to see him. After we rescue Ouyang Qinglin, let me see him, okay?"
Gu Qianyin quickly realized who "he" referred to.
Bai Xianhua!
Nangong Mo's elder brother?
Where was the Ten Thousand Layered Hell? What dangers it held, she knew nothing about.
If Nangong Mo went, could he return safely?
Or perhaps, this departure would be... a final farewell?
Her palms were covered in sweat.
Gu Qianyin remained silent.
Nangong Mo held her tighter, his sharp chin resting on her shoulder and her red hair that fell upon it.
"Wife, don't worry, not now. For now, I just want to protect you well and do what you want to do."
Nangong Mo placed his hand on Gu Qianyin's swollen belly.
"After this little rascal comes out and can protect his mother, I'll go then, alright?"
The Ten Thousand Layered Hell, a land of destruction, where gods and ghosts entered, and life and death were dictated by heaven.
He feared that if that day ever came and he didn't return, he hoped his child could protect his mother in his stead.
Bai Xianhua was his eternal pain and his unresolved issue.
He wished to resolve this issue and no longer owe Bai Xianhua.
He stroked her head.
However, he would fight with all his might to live, not for himself, but to return and continue to care for his "silly girl."
Little did he know, many years later... she still was...
Just then, the carriage suddenly stopped.
A woman blocked Lu Zhu's path. She knelt before the carriage, on the edge of the uneven dirt.
"Miss Gu! It's me, your servant!"
The woman's dress was stained with dirt, and her hair was somewhat disheveled.
Lu Zhu stopped the carriage and looked at the person kneeling before her.
Through the carriage curtain, she reported, "Miss, it's the maidservant of Miss Qiu Ling."
Lu Zhu had seen Qiu Ling'er and her servant before.
At this moment, Qiu Ling'er's personal maidservant, though her appearance was dirty and somewhat difficult to discern, Lu Zhu still recognized her.