188: Chapter 188: Believe in the power of women.

Fen Tian hovered in front of Yan Qing.

"Follow me!"

He said only those three words before turning around and flying back the way he came.

By the time he had flown back over Dragon Valley, he turned his head only to see that Yan Qing and Lang Lie were still just tiny dots in the distance.

Gritting his teeth, he transformed into a medium-sized Beast Form.

In the blink of an eye, he flew beneath Yan Qing.

"Grab onto my feathers."

Yan Qing and Lang Lie shifted into human form, their hands just landing on him.

In an instant, the three of them landed at the cave entrance.

Tang Ruan's screams of pain echoed from inside the cave once more.

Without waiting for Fen Tian to speak, Yan Qing and Lang Lie had already rushed inside.

"Tang Ruan!"

"Yan Qing..."

When Tang Ruan saw Yan Qing, it was as if she were seeing a savior.

As long as Yan Qing was there, she feared nothing.

As long as he was there, he would arrange everything.

Tang Ruan reached out toward Yan Qing as if grasping for a lifeline.

Halfway through reaching out, she suddenly spotted the silver-gray-haired figure behind him.

"Lang Lie!"

Tang Ruan nearly sat up from the bed.

"Mistress!"

"Tang Ruan!"

Hu Che and Yan Qing hurriedly held her down.

"Lang Lie! Waaah... Lang Lie!"

Tang Ruan sobbed uncontrollably.

She even momentarily forgot the pain in her belly.

Her eyes blurred with tears, she reached out toward him, struggling with all her might.

Yan Qing and Hu Che gently pressed on her shoulders to keep her from moving recklessly.

She felt like she was—like a zombie right now.

"Lang Lie, you're awake... waaah..."

"Lang Lie—Lang Lie—"

Lang Lie hurried to her side, knelt down, and pulled her tightly into his arms.

"I'm here."

"Lang Lie, I thought I'd never see you again."

"I'm here," Lang Lie said, his eyelashes damp.

"Lang Lie, I missed you so much, I really missed you..."

Tang Ruan's arms wrapped tightly around him.

It was as if he would disappear the second she let go.

"Lang Lie, don't let her get too excited," Yan Qing said, his eyes rimmed with red.

"I won't leave again."

"Be good, don't cry anymore," Lang Lie said, gently patting her back.

"Keep your word. If you leave again, take me with you..." Tang Ruan choked out, struggling to catch her breath.

"Alright, I promise you anything."

Lang Lie pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

Feeling this long-awaited kiss, Tang Ruan finally quieted down a little.

Hu Che wiped away a tear.

He ran to the cave entrance and tugged on Fen Tian, who was standing there in a daze.

"I'll go with you!"

Only then did Fen Tian snap out of the scene before him.

So, it wasn't that A-Wu didn't rely on him; she just didn't love him that much...

"If you keep spacing out, we won't have a Mistress anymore!"

Hu Che's fierce voice finally startled Fen Tian out of his grief.

...

Before long, Fen Tian returned to Dragon Valley with Hu Che and a dozen Witch Doctors.

He had flown too fast.

More than half of the dozen Witch Doctors had fainted along the way.

A few more had legs so shaky they couldn't stand once they reached the cave entrance.

In the end, only one Female Witch Doctor, under Fen Tian's threats, stumbled into the cave.

Hu Che felt a bit of regret.

Even if he had let them into the space, they might not have been this terrified.

When the Female Witch Doctor entered and saw Yan Qing, she felt slightly relieved.

She was about to bow.

Yan Qing said, "Skip the formalities, come here quickly!"

She hurried over.

After the diagnosis.

It was undoubtedly a difficult labor, but the current size of the egg wasn't impossible to birth...

She pressed her head against Tang Ruan's lower abdomen and listened intently for a while with furrowed brows.

"Beast King, the egg has reached the proper position for birth, but it isn't moving at all.

If this continues for too long, it might damage the Goddess..."

The implication was that the egg still had to be destroyed.

Yan Qing's gaze suddenly fell on Tang Ruan's hand.

"It's the ring."

He removed the purple ring from Tang Ruan's hand.

"This ring can suppress the absorption and release of Energy..."

He paused, seemingly reminded of a bad memory.

"Because of the lack of Energy, the egg will be born prematurely, or it will fail and be absorbed by the Female Beastman."

Hu Che turned to look at Yan Qing.

So, this ring wasn't meant to stop the egg from growing larger at all.

It was meant to kill the egg inside the womb.

Yan Qing's father's original intention had been to kill him.

However, because his rank was so high, he had actually survived.

Meanwhile, Fen Tian glared at Yan Qing in fury.

No wonder this snake had handed it over so readily.

It turned out he had intended to harm his Cub from the very start!

Fen Tian took a step forward, about to confront him.

He suddenly heard Yan Qing say, "The father of this egg has Energy that is too high; the Goddess might not be able to withstand it.

That's why I didn't intend for her to give birth to it from the beginning.

The egg is certainly precious, but the Goddess is more important."

Tang Ruan could hate him.

But he would rather she hate him than not put her safety first.

Fen Tian stopped in his tracks.

He hadn't expected this snake to admit it so openly.

But he was right; A-Wu was the most important.

"This egg has developed very well."

The Female Witch Doctor's words surprised everyone.

"As long as it is birthed, it will surely hatch into a healthy Cub.

Only—"

Before the Female Witch Doctor could finish.

As if the egg were anxious to express itself.

In an instant, it absorbed all the Energy from the surrounding crystals.

The room full of crystals instantly turned dull and lusterless.

The Female Witch Doctor said in terror, "Quickly, put it back on her!"

Yan Qing hurriedly put the ring back onto Tang Ruan's hand.

"How can this egg absorb Energy from outside the mother's body?" This was simply unheard of!

"A-Wu's Supernatural Ability is absorbing and releasing Energy," Fen Tian said suddenly.

Yan Qing looked at the terrified Witch Doctor. "The egg may have inherited the Goddess's Supernatural Ability."

"So that's how it is..."

The Female Witch Doctor's brows were tightly knit.

"When a female gives birth, she must push according to the sensation of labor.

But once the Goddess pushes, the Energy is absorbed by the egg, leaving her with no strength at all.

If she wears this ring, while it controls the egg's absorption, it also restricts the female's ability to push."

Hearing the Witch Doctor's words, Yan Qing thought of his mother.

The Snake Tribe all thought his mother had died from a difficult labor.

They didn't know that his mother, without her knowledge, had her strength constrained by this ring.

She had no strength during labor, so to give birth to him, she had poisoned Yan Qing's father unconscious and cut open her own womb to retrieve the egg.

Thus, in his father's eyes, Yan Qing was the murderer who killed his mother.

Fortunately, Tang Ruan was afraid of pain.

Before Yan Qing's thought could settle, he heard Tang Ruan ask, "Is a C-section the only way?"

Shock appeared on the Witch Doctor's face.

"C-section? You mean cutting open the belly to take the egg?"

"No!"

All the Male Beastmen present spoke in unison.

Fen Tian: "If it can't be born, then I don't want this egg!"

Yan Qing: "Witch Doctor, the Goddess's safety is the priority above all else."

Hu Che looked at Tang Ruan: "Mistress, if it hurts too much, we can have children later, okay?"

Lang Lie: "Listen to me, forget about it!"

Tang Ruan shook her head desperately.

No, she felt she could still try.

If it really didn't work... then they could talk...

Hearing them say this, the Witch Doctor finally felt relieved.

"As long as the Goddess can overcome this egg, she should be able to give birth to it."

"Overcome?" Yan Qing asked.

"Since you say this egg's Supernatural Ability is the same as the Goddess's—absorbing Energy—"

"Then as long as the Goddess competes with it for this Energy and wins, she will be able to give birth."

The Witch Doctor's words enlightened Tang Ruan.

Earlier, as soon as her belly hurt, her whole body went weak; she had thought it was just a natural reaction to labor.

She hadn't thought about mobilizing her Supernatural Ability to compete with the egg for Energy. She hadn't even known how to exert force.

"All of you, get out! Find a few females to help. You must believe in the power of females."

Several people were ushered out.

Sister Niu and another Female Witch Doctor who had recovered went inside to help.

The sun slowly moved westward from overhead.

Outside the cave.

Fen Tian, Yan Qing, Lang Lie, and Hu Che stood in a row.

They had never felt a day could be so long.

Suddenly, Tang Ruan's long, drawn-out scream came from inside the cave.

The Female Witch Doctor's voice rang out in pleasant surprise.

"It's born!"