Chapter 47: The Agony of Labor

"Sister-in-law, if it hurts, just scream out."

Seeing beads of cold sweat dotting Zhu Lingling's forehead as she bit her lower lip fiercely, Chunnuan felt her heart ache. "If you bite any harder, you'll break the skin. It will feel easier if you let it out."

Zhu Lingling shook her head.

Her upbringing forbade her from wailing and shouting; no matter how bitter, tearful, or aggrieved she felt, she always wept in silence, and the pain was no exception.

"Sister-in-law..."

Clearly a pampered young lady, yet she was stubbornly resilient.

Meanwhile, the expressions of the numerous divine clan disciples and elders shifted slightly. Although the Heavenly Profound Taoist Sect was visible, it was still hundreds of thousands of miles away, yet Lin Chen's voice sounded as if it were being spoken right beside their ears. Every cultivator perceived it with the exact same clarity, making it easy to imagine just how truly unfathomable his cultivation realm was.

Just as he reached the courtyard entrance, Ni Yehan caught sight of a commotion, with the disciples inside rushing about in anxious circles.

She had naively believed that Ren Jingshu truly had her best interests at heart, never imagining that the sister she trusted most intended to use her as a stepping stone to achieve her own ambitions step by step. Ren Jingshu had gone mad with the desire to soar to high branches.

"I'm going too! The little girl is cooking, so her master's wife has to go supervise!" With that, she set the plate down on the veranda and hurried off, leaving a single plate of food "crying" out on the corridor.

Grand Scholar Wu remained his usual self, and without waiting for the discussions of the others to die down, he began critiquing Yan Tianyou's poetry.

As for the First Prince Yin Tian, relying on his noble status as a prince, he had practically "monopolized" the entire Fragrant Pavilion, spending all day in the company of Lady Ruji—sometimes appreciating flowers, sometimes playing the zither and chess, and sometimes singing, dancing, and drinking.

When Jiang Yuanhe went outside, the man had already passed out. Judging by his appearance, he was around forty years old. Since they had run into him, there was no reason not to save a life, but Jiang Yuanhe worried he might be carrying a plague, so he had everyone cover their noses and mouths with white cloths before carrying him into the side room.

Yin Hu almost spewed a mouthful of blood, thinking to himself that she practically treated a sword as a mere decoration rather than a lethal weapon meant to take lives. He wanted to open his mouth to say something, but then he saw the Immortal King speak.

Ding Nian had no choice but to try resetting the position first, but a long time passed and he still failed to correct the fetal position, beads of sweat beginning to break out on his temples.

Indeed, the eight-headed giant snake had broken down, and in its eyes, Yun Chen had also risen to the level of a freak.

Yet shortly afterward, his shame was replaced by annoyance. Why had he come to this point? Wasn't it because the imperial government was unfair and the court was blind? Otherwise, given his talent and current age, he should have long since secured a prominent position in the imperial court; how could he have ended up a lackey of the Mongols?

At that moment, a muffled roar seemed to echo from the abyss of the earth, followed by the ground splitting open to reveal a sinister, chilling fissure. From within flew a lion, looking precisely like a living stone lion from the doorway of a mortal household, with a string of large black beads hanging around its neck, its entire body glowing an eerie green, faintly wisped with gray smoke.

This Fawn-Greeting Tower was the highest-tier welcoming pavilion of the Shen clan, one that remained unopened for a century. Yet despite its high status, its decoration and structure were entirely mundane, resembling a five-story mortal circular tavern built entirely of wood, hollowed out through the center all the way to the top. Not a single antique vase could be found inside; the only decorations were potted plants.

Qi Hao and Qi Yaoyang actually shared one similarity: both enjoyed torturing Guo Xiangling's nerves. It was just that Qi Yaoyang brought Guo Xiangling unpleasant feelings, while Qi Hao always left her's mind spinning with wild imaginations.

"I'll give you two choices. First, let go of Elena and be thrown out by me. Second, I will kill you both and then throw you out! You only have one minute to consider," Yun Chen said indifferently, looking at Kelly.

Sun Yuan still cared quite a bit about the safety of his companions. He wasn't very familiar with Reimi, but at least they were on the same front now, and Sun Yuan didn't have the habit of abandoning his comrades.