19: Chapter 19 The Storm is Brewing, the due date is approaching

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Over these three days, Luoyun Town remained calm; the gates of the Wang Family residence were tightly shut, with no further movement.

It was as if the conflict at the rice shop and the confrontation last night had never occurred.

However, Gu Yan knew clearly in his heart that this by no means meant the Family Head had given up.

A venomous snake that has had its tail stepped on will often choose to retreat into its hole for a while, patiently waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal strike.

However, Gu Yan did not care.

What he needed most right now was time.

Since the Wang Family was willing to be a turtle hiding in its shell, he was happy to take advantage of the leisure to seize every opportunity to improve his own strength and expand the Family.

The gap in cultivation was like a chasm lying before him.

All he could do now was wait.

Wait for the other side to make their move, and also wait... for his unborn child to bring him the hope of breaking the deadlock.

The third day, night fell.

The sky was terrifyingly gloomy.

Thick, dark clouds, like a massive block of lead, pressed heavily over Luoyun Town.

There were no stars, no moon; the world was pitch black.

At dusk, a fierce wind howled, whipping up dust and fallen leaves from the streets, sounding like ghosts crying and wolves howling.

Immediately after, bean-sized raindrops fell from the sky without warning, pattering against the roof tiles, quickly forming a curtain of rain that shrouded the entire world in a clamor of rushing water.

The Gu Family residence had long since locked its gates.

All the servants and guards had been arranged by Gu Yan at various points along the courtyard walls, their expressions vigilant.

The atmosphere inside the residence was suppressed to the extreme.

Gu Yan stood alone under the eaves of the front hall, watching the flowers and plants in the courtyard being battered and tossed by the storm, his face as still as water.

He knew that this kind of weather was most suitable for... killing.

Just then, beneath the pitch-black night, in the alleys outside the Gu Family residence, black ghostly figures were silently gathering from all directions, braving the torrential rain.

Their movements were agile and silent, like leopards in the night.

Leading them was the bandit Chief of the Black Wind Stronghold, Chief!

His tower-like frame could not be fully concealed even by a large straw raincoat.

Rainwater slid down his fleshy face, and in his eyes, a glint of bloodthirst and greed flickered.

Behind him were dozens of fierce bandits carefully selected from the Black Wind Stronghold, each one a desperate criminal who lived by the blade.

"Listen well, all of you!"

Chief commanded in a low, cruel voice, "Tonight's target is the Gu Family!"

"Kill the men!"

"Keep the women!"

"Loot all the wealth you want!"

"If anyone dares to let even one person escape, I will twist off their head and use it as a chamber pot!"

"Roar!"

The fierce bandits behind him let out a suppressed, beast-like growl, their eyes filled with excitement and cruelty.

Chief nodded in satisfaction.

He raised his hand, looked at the night, and was just about to give the order for the total assault.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the corridor behind Gu Yan.

A maid responsible for serving Bai Linger, holding an umbrella, ran over with a panicked expression, her face full of anxiety.

"Old... Old Ancestor! It's bad!"

Gu Yan's heart sank: "What is the cause of this panic?"

"The... the Second Madam... her stomach hurts terribly, and the midwife said... said... she is likely going into labor!"

What?!

Gu Yan's heart jumped violently.

Bai Linger's due date was clearly still nearly two months away, how could this...

He didn't have time to think and turned to rush toward the backyard.

He knew clearly in his heart that it must have been the oppressive atmosphere in the residence over the past few days, combined with the harsh weather tonight, that had disturbed the pregnancy and caused the premature labor!

When he arrived at Bai Linger's courtyard, it was already in chaos.

Several maids were carrying hot water basins in and out, their expressions panicked.

The midwife's loud commanding voice and Bai Linger's irrepressible, painful groans intermittently drifted out from behind the tightly closed door.

"Madam! Push! Give it another push!"

"Uh... ah—!"

Every painful groan felt like an awl piercing Gu Yan's heart.

He paced anxiously outside the door, his heart instantly split in two.

One half hung inside the delivery room, worrying about the safety of his wife and child.

The other half hung outside the residence, vigilant against the lethal crisis that could arrive at any moment.

He was now trapped in an unprecedented dilemma.

Should he rush out, actively engage the enemy, and buy time for the residence?

But the enemy had an expert at Qi Refining Level 5, and with his cultivation, rushing out would be like throwing an egg against a rock; he would be crushed in an instant.

Or... stay here and pin all his hopes on the child about to be born?

But when would the child be born? When would the System reward arrive?

And how much time would the starving wolves outside leave him?

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Gu Yan's forehead.

He forced himself to calm down, his brain working at high speed.

"Someone, come here!" He ordered the steward behind him in a deep voice, "Close all the gates! Everyone, retreat to the inner courtyard! Archers, get on the walls! No matter what happens outside, without my orders, no one is allowed to go out!"

"Yes, Old Ancestor!"

The steward immediately took the order and left.

Soon, the entire Gu Family residence was like a hedgehog encountering danger, contracting all its defenses.

After doing all this, Gu Yan once again cast his gaze toward the tightly closed door of the delivery room.

This was the biggest gamble since his Transmigration.

He was betting that his child could arrive in this world before the enemy broke down the door!

He was betting that this time, the System would not fail him!

Outside the residence, the rain poured down.

Chief watched as the lights of the Gu Family residence suddenly went out in large numbers, and seeing the silhouettes of archers looming in the wind and rain on the courtyard walls, he couldn't help but grin hideously.

"It seems we've been discovered."

"That's fine."

"This way... it's more interesting!"

He slowly raised his right hand, then, swung it down heavily!

"Smash... open the gates for me!"