Chapter 393: Pregnant
Chapter 393: Chapter 393: Pregnant
When Yu Mingche heard Ning Xuan’s words, his eyes instantly reddened. He looked her over from head to toe, examining her carefully. Seeing that she had no obvious external injuries, the anxious weight in his chest eased slightly.
"Xuanyuan, that was an SSS-level Star Sky Beast! How could you just run up to it? Don’t you know a single breath from it could have burned you to ashes? How can you be so reckless with your own life? If anything had happened to you, what would I... what would *we* do?" Yu Mingche had seen the combat footage of Ning Xuan flying toward the Starry Sky Beast. Before that colossal beast, Ning Xuan had looked as small and weak as an ant. His heart had clenched the moment he saw the video.
"Things were pretty desperate, okay? I’m fine now, aren’t I, Ming Che? That Exotic Beast had already been crippled by Lan Xin. If it were at full strength, I wouldn’t have dared to go near it either." Ning Xuan nuzzled against Yu Mingche’s chest. For some reason, she sensed an aura from him that felt incredibly dear and familiar.
"Even crippled, it was still extremely dangerous! You were gambling with your life," Yu Mingche said, still fuming at the thought.
"Ah, HSS..." Ning Xuan suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head.
"What is it? Xuanyuan, what’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?" Yu Mingche asked anxiously.
Ning Xuan felt dizzy, a vast emptiness inside her Spiritual Sea. Looking inward, she discovered it was completely desolate, her spiritual power barely a flicker.
Ning Xuan then remembered. Though the Starry Sky Beast hadn’t caught her, she had faced its attacks head-on. Her Spiritual Sea had been damaged even without direct physical contact.
But she hadn’t realized it at the time. Instead, she had sent her spiritual power, the very energy that should have been nourishing her own Spiritual Sea, through the Spiritual Link Channel to help Lan Xin kill the Starry Sky Beast.
Normally, that alone wouldn’t have been a huge problem. After all, spiritual power regenerates on its own, and Ning Xuan’s recovery rate was faster than that of an average Spirit Controller. However, Lan Xin’s brainwaves had been abnormal earlier, and to treat him, Ning Xuan had opened the Spiritual Link Channel again, allowing their spiritual power to flow freely between them.
That was exactly why she had felt so exhausted and had fallen into such a deep sleep.
Lan Xin’s Spiritual Sea was severely damaged and his spiritual power was completely depleted. The connection between him and Ning Xuan accelerated his recovery, but it caused her own spiritual power to become unstable.
Yu Mingche had rushed over the moment he saw the video of Ning Xuan confronting the SSS-level Starry Sky Beast. On the way, he had sensed her unstable spiritual power, and he had been on the verge of breaking down.
"I’m just a little dizzy. It’s nothing. Treating Lan Xin just wore me out a bit." Ning Xuan took a bottle of Spirit Power Enhancement Potion from her Space Button, downed it in one go, and then gave Yu Mingche a weak smile.
"This servant caused my Contractor to be injured. Lord Yu, I ask for punishment." Lan Xin had also woken up when Yu Mingche pushed the door open.
He was still in his tattered armor, but the burns on his body had already healed.
Given his injuries, he should have had to endure the agony of feeling like he was being burned alive for at least seven days before he could slowly recover. But Ning Xuan had used the Golden Needle Acupoint Technique, given him several top-grade Recovery Potions, and even shared her spiritual power for healing through the Spiritual Link Channel. All of this had greatly accelerated his recovery.
Lan Xin quickly put the pieces together, realizing why he had recovered so fast. He remembered it was Ning Xuan who had saved him from that searing agony. Seeing her so weak now, he was filled with self-reproach.
Though Lan Xin rarely returned to the Qingluan Mountain villa after enlisting, he kept up with household news. He knew Yu Mingche had the authority to discipline the other Contractors. He had even once secretly felt it was unfair to General Ying because of this arrangement.
"Xuanyuan, I’d like to speak with him alone. Is that all right?" Yu Mingche said to Ning Xuan.
"Er, of course. Take your time," Ning Xuan replied, wisely taking her cue from the look on Yu Mingche’s face.
Ning Xuan didn’t know why she felt this way. She hadn’t done anything wrong. So what if she took a risk? It wasn’t like she hadn’t done dangerous things before. But facing Yu Mingche this time, she couldn’t shake the feeling of a guilty conscience, as if by risking her life, she had somehow wronged him.
"Um, Ming Che, I’ll wait for you. We can eat together later. Don’t wear yourself out, okay?" Ning Xuan said with an appeasing smile before leaving the treatment room.
Ning Xuan didn’t know what Yu Mingche wanted to discuss with Lan Xin, but she knew he was furious. ’It’s probably for the best to let him blow off some steam,’ she thought. In any case, now that Lan Xin was awake, his internal injuries were no longer a major concern.
Yu Mingche didn’t emerge from the treatment room until three hours later. When he came out, his expression was much calmer, and his gaze toward Ning Xuan had become gentle again.
Lan Xin, of course, did not come out with him.
"Ming Che, is something wrong?" Ning Xuan asked cautiously.
She felt that his mood had been unusually volatile since they’d met this time. He was never like this; his emotional state was usually rock-solid. But this time, he had actually cried the moment he saw her.
She had been in his arms when his tears fell onto her face, scaring the daylights out of her. For a second, she’d thought he’d been body-swapped!
Hearing her question, a blush crept up Yu Mingche’s face, and a smile played on his lips. He took her hand and placed it on his own abdomen. "Here, feel this. Notice anything different?"
"You’re... you’re not... pregnant, are you?!" Ning Xuan stammered, her hand on his slightly firm abdomen, her other hand flying to cover her mouth.
Yu Mingche’s long lashes trembled. He looked up at Ning Xuan, a hint of displeasure in his eyes. "Xuanyuan, what kind of reaction is that? Are you saying you don’t welcome her?"
Yu Mingche’s expression shifted, his gentle gaze turning sharp.
"No! That’s not it! I do, I welcome her! Heh heh," Ning Xuan babbled, thrown completely off balance by his rapidly changing moods.
’I know pregnant women are affected by hormones, making their emotions complex and volatile,’ she thought, ’but does it happen to pregnant men, too?’
A cold sweat broke out on her back. ’I’m a little scared,’ she thought. ’What am I supposed to do?’
’I knew that in this world, male Spirit Controllers could become pregnant through technological means, but I’ve never actually seen it happen before!’
"I know you’re still young, that you might not be ready to be a mother. But I’ve been looking forward to her for so long. You can’t not welcome her," Yu Mingche said, his eyes turning red again.
"I didn’t, I didn’t! Ming Che, I haven’t said anything! Please, don’t be like this. Ah, my head!" Ning Xuan felt a massive headache coming on from the stress of it all, and right on cue, a sharp pain lanced through her mind, making her cry out.