Dan Chen

In the courtyard, the sunlight was warm and gentle.

The restlessness within the academy did not disturb the tranquility of the courtyard.

Cai Lin leaned against the corridor, her hand gently resting on her still flat abdomen.

It had been several days since she took the Dragon Phoenix Fusion Blood Pill, and she could clearly feel it.

That faint trace of life within her womb was growing stronger day by day, like a seed buried deep in the soil, quietly unfurling its roots.

She looked up. By the stone table not far away, Shen Wen was quietly explaining a Medicinal Pill diagram to Dan Chen.

His fingertips occasionally tapped the diagram, his profile appearing focused and gentle in the light.

Dan Chen listened attentively, nodding gently from time to time, her earlobes faintly pink.

Cai Lin's lips unconsciously curved upwards, her smile imbued with an unprecedented softness and tenderness.

She instinctively stroked her lower abdomen again, as if she could feel the surging warmth through her clothes.

"Sister Cai Lin, you're touching your belly again!"

A clear voice interrupted her thoughts.

Zi Yan had approached at some point, her amethyst-like eyes full of curiosity, and she too peered at Cai Lin's abdomen.

"Is the little baby inside? Why isn't he coming out yet?"

Cai Lin withdrew her hand and looked at Zi Yan's innocent face, a little amused: "It's not that fast. He's only just started to grow."

"Oh..." Zi Yan nodded, half-understanding, then suddenly remembered something and asked with sparkling eyes.

"Then how do you get a little baby? Is it like the Medicinal Pills Shen Wen gave you, that you get one after eating them?"

"Cough..." Cai Lin was caught off guard by the question, and a rare blush surfaced on her cold and beautiful face.

She glanced at Shen Wen in the distance, who didn't seem to be paying attention to them, then lowered her voice and vaguely explained, "It's not just Medicinal Pills... it requires two people, whose hearts are connected, to become husband and wife, and then... it's naturally possible to conceive offspring."

She spoke evasively.

But Zi Yan became even more confused, her brows furrowed: "Hearts connected? Like me and delicious Medicinal Pills? I get very happy when I see delicious Medicinal Pills!"

Cai Lin was choked by her analogy. Looking at Zi Yan's utterly bewildered expression, a hint of helplessness crossed her Heart-Nature.

She recalled Shen Wen's future plans and, seeing Zi Yan's childish Heart-Nature, a thought suddenly stirred within her, and a faint, slightly teasing smile curved her lips.

"Zi Yan," her voice grew even softer, as if sharing a secret, "then what do you think... of Shen Wen?"

"Shen Wen?"

Zi Yan blurted out without thinking.

"He's great! He gives me delicious Medicinal Pills, and he smells good, which makes me feel comfortable. Hmm... he's a really good person!"

The smile on Cai Lin's face instantly faltered, turning into a soft sigh.

Indeed... this child's Heart-Nature had not yet awakened to matters of love between men and women.

Even that girl Qing Lin, who seemed to be of similar age, was actually delicate in thought and had already understood much. It seemed, as her husband had thought, that she should first be helped to Breakthrough to Dou Huang, resolving the hindrance caused by the Form-Shifting Grass. Perhaps then... As she was pondering, Dan Chen on the other side seemed to have mustered her courage.

She suddenly looked up, her cheeks flushed, her hands unconsciously clutching her sleeves, and her voice, as thin as a mosquito's buzz, clearly asked:

"Brother Shen Wen... I, my Soul problem, can you really solve it? Only when I'm close to you do I feel at ease, and that urge to devour others' Souls subsides..."

Her voice grew lower with each word, her eyelashes trembling, "So... so, Brother Shen Wen, do you... do you like me?"

The air seemed to still for a moment.

Shen Wen's explanation stopped.

He looked at Dan Chen. The young girl's delicate face was filled with shyness and unease, yet her eyes held an unmistakable anticipation and nervousness.

He froze for a moment, then awkwardly raised his hand and ruffled Dan Chen's hair, his actions gentle and comforting.

"Your Soul is special. I will find a way."

He avoided the direct question, his voice steady.

"First, you need to be able to live freely like an ordinary person, no longer troubled by it. Then we can talk about other things, alright?"

The blush on Dan Chen's face instantly faded, turning somewhat pale. Her lips trembled slightly, and a layer of moisture quickly welled up in her eyes: "Brother Shen Wen... do you not like me? Because of my Soul...?"

"No." Shen Wen interrupted her, sighing, his tone softening, "Dan Chen, matters of affection are not that simple. Even... even if we were to talk about it, it would have to be on the basis of you being able to control yourself and live peacefully. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair to you."

He looked at Dan Chen's hurt eyes and added, "Right now, what you should be thinking about is how to steadily step into the threshold of a Seventh-Rank Alchemist. This is your foundation for standing tall."

Dan Chen lowered her head, staring at her fingertips, and said nothing more, just a soft "Mm."

Shen Wen withdrew his hand and stood up.

"You should carefully consider the Fusion points I just mentioned." He turned, his gaze directed towards the quiet room on the other side of the courtyard, his tone becoming serious, "I should also go prepare... Xiao Yi Xian's poison pill cannot be delayed any longer."

After he finished speaking, he walked towards the quiet room, his steps steady but with an undeniable focus.

By the corridor, Cai Lin took in the entire scene and gently shook her head.

Zi Yan was still blinking her eyes, looking at the departing Shen Wen.

Then she looked at Dan Chen, who had her head down, her face full of the confusion of "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Cai Lin patted her shoulder, her voice returning to its usual coolness, but with a hint of undetectable softness: "If you want to know about the baby, I'll tell you slowly later. Now, hurry up and Cultivate. When you didn't have good things to eat before, you were searching everywhere for food."

"Now that you have good things to eat, you've become somewhat lazy in your Cultivation."

Upon hearing Cai Lin's words, Zi Yan stuck out her tongue and quickly went off to Cultivate.

Cai Lin sat next to Dan Chen and said with a smile, "Don't overthink it, my husband has his own plans."

"Look, even that true favored daughter of heaven, Xiao Xun Er, my husband didn't fall for her, did he?"

"Since you can stay by his side, he naturally has intentions. My husband just wants you to understand your own feelings, not because he can suppress your special nature."

"And feel like you can't live without him."

Dan Chen listened to Cai Lin's words.

After a long while, she took a deep breath, reopened the Medicinal Pill diagram in front of her, her fingers gently tracing the complex patterns, and her eyes gradually settled, becoming focused and resolute.

"Sister Cai Lin, I understand."

Dan Chen nodded... On the other side, Shen Wen and Xiao Yi Xian strolled along the academy's path. Students they encountered along the way respectfully bowed to Shen Wen.

"Elder Shen!"

"Elder Shen!"

...Xiao Yi Xian said with a smile, "It seems my husband, you have quite high prestige among the students."