The day had gone by rather quickly, and nighttime was already on top of them. With darkness descending into the world, the stars and moon became the world's lighting guide. After everyone left the room, Lan Shuyao realized that Cai Xue had remained behind. She looked over, curious. 'This girl must be Yasenia's maid, right?'
Yasenia glanced out of the window once and then approached Cai Xue. "Help me prepare a medical bath with these herbs and change into clean clothes. I do not want to sully Lady Lan Shuyao's bed."
Cai Xue bowed and extended her hand so that Yasenia could pour the herbs into her Spatial Ring. After receiving them, she left to prepare a bath.
Meanwhile, Yasenia looked over at Lan Shuyao and sat at the edge of the bed. "Lady Lan Shuyao, is there something you wanted to speak about with me privately?"
Lan Shuyao shook her head, her face cold and indifferent. "There is nothing. As I've said, I was just comfortable with your warmth, so I wanted to spend more time with you."
Yasenia looked at Lan Shuyao with a curious look. She knew with extreme levels of confidence that this woman was not trying to search for any deep relationship with her. There was no way that a senior like Lan Shuyao would take a fancy to her in that regard when the culture of this world was so traditional.
But strangely, this made Yasenia feel much more confused. After all, if it wasn't to do something with her or speak about something, she was utterly clueless as to why Lan Shuyao would keep her behind.
Lan Shuyao didn't mind Yasenia's confusion. Contrary to what Yasenia was thinking, she was truly just keeping her behind because she felt comfortable around Yasenia. There were no other ulterior motives or reasons.
Since Lan Shuyao didn't speak, Yasenia didn't try to pry into her intent. Therefore, she just stayed at the edge of the bed and looked out of the large balcony. At night, the landscape that could be seen was nothing but magical.
In the distance, gorgeous glowing plants created abstract patterns of greenish-white light. Meanwhile, fireflies were flying around nearby bushes, illuminating the bluish leaves with their colors.
From time to time, a large beast would fly over the distant forests, while the night breeze moved the nearby trees, creating a rustling and pleasant sound.
"It is quite beautiful."
Lan Shuyao answered lightly. "It is but… I am tired of looking at it. In around ten seconds, there will be a beast that appears from that corner. It is patrolling the area and searching for food."
Yasenia looked over, and exactly ten seconds after Lan Shuyao spoke, a furry beast with eight legs ran out. Lan Shuyao glanced to another corner and commented. "Sadly, that beast has chosen the wrong night. Five seconds later, it will probably be eaten."
And five seconds later, a gargantuan bird swooped down from the sky and majestically grabbed the giant furry beast, flying off into the distance. This stumped Yasenia. "Is… everything pre-planned?"
If it weren't, Yasenia would honestly be slightly too scared to understand how she could so accurately predict such random events.
"No." Lan Shuyao spoke lightly. "I just understand the patterns of the forest after observing it for so long. I was bored, so I've been keeping track of all the beasts that I can see. It was fun for around two centuries to accurately predict nature. Then, it became as boring as everything else."
Yasenia was silent, honestly not knowing how to react. Thankfully, Cai Xue arrived at this time. "Young Miss, the bath is prepared."
"On my way." Yasenia nodded and smiled at Lan Shuyao. "I'll be right back, Lady Lan Shuyao."
"Mhm."
After Yasenia left, Lan Shuyao glanced at Cai Xue. When she saw her entering the bathing room together with Yasenia, there was no strangeness in her eyes. After all, maids serving their masters was nothing out of the ordinary. Lan Shuyao also had some maids who specialized in caring for her. Today, because of Yasenia's arrival, they were missing, though.
It took only twenty minutes for Yasenia to soak in the bath and change to a comfortable white robe. Once she walked outside, Lan Shuyao's indifferent face broke down a bit, her face showing a trace of surprise. "You are… pregnant?"
Yasenia's current robes didn't have the ability to hide her big belly. So, the cloth was pushed out around her belly area, revealing her pregnancy.
Yasenia smiled faintly. "Yes, I am."
Lan Shuyao noticed a pleasant scent of medical herbs carried by Yasenia as she climbed onto her bed.
"While I do not understand the reason for Lady Lan Shuyao's intention of having me here, please don't shy away from asking me about anything. I am currently your doctor, so I have some responsibility."
Lan Shuyao laid down by Yasenia's side and approached her. "Child, there is no reason for me to speak lies. My intention is truly as simple as wanting to feel your warmth for longer."
This sentence finally pierced Yasenia's doubtful heart. She glanced at Lan Shuyao for a few seconds, and then smiled. "I… understand. I didn't know that my body was warm enough to make Lady Lan Shuyao feel better."
"Hm." Lan Shuyao nodded, agreeing with Yasenia. Now that they were closer, she looked down past Yasenia's large mountains and glanced at her belly. "How… long?"
"Hm?"
"Pregnancy. How long has it been?"
Yasenia got thoughtful. "It's been over 40 years already. It seems that this baby does not want to come out soon."
Lan Shuyao smiled faintly. "It must be comfortable, then. Still, as a Dragon, 40 years is not that long, right? I've seen dragons of your same strength have pregnancies lasting for hundreds and even thousands of years."
"Well… I do not know about others. I am, after all, the first of my species. So, any details will be something new for me."
"You are a Progenitor?"
Yasenia smiled. "That I am."
Lan Shuyao hummed, looking at Yasenia's faintly glimmering golden eyes. Then, after hesitating, she asked. "Can we… embrace?"
"Huh?"
Lan Shuyao clarified before Yasenia misunderstood. "A hug. Excuse me if I am being a bit too presumptuous, child. It's just that my body yearns for close contact with you, and I don't really want to disobey it."
Yasenia was surprised, but she didn't reject her. 'Well, I can't sense a single ounce of lust or evil intent from her. I guess a simple hug would not be bad.'
So, after thinking it over, she approached and used her arms to gather Lan Shuyao in her arms. Her tail moved, coiling gently around her as she pressed their bodies together.
The medicinal scent blended perfectly with Yasenia's natural floral scent, creating a refreshing, calming fragrance. Lan Shuyao took in a deep breath as her body sank in pure softness. Being smaller than Yasenia, her body fit snugly in her arms, and all the curves were magnified by feeling.
Even then, Lan Shuyao stayed still and didn't have a single lustful thought. The only sensation around her was… comfort.
Meanwhile, Yasenia was doing her best not to shiver. The coldness of Lan Shuyao's body was truly too high. A single hug with minimal skin-to-skin contact was making her body almost shiver. For Yasenia, who also controlled the Moon Attribute, this was something that had never happened before.
She had felt cold things in the past, but something that made her want to shiver was a first. "...Your poison is truly terrifying."
Lan Shuyao kept her eyes closed, her face buried in Yasenia's upper chest as she was embraced. "I am accustomed to it. It has also helped me advance my heavenly comprehensions."
Yasenia looked down at the head full of red hair with mixed emotions. She was awed and impressed at this woman's resilience, while also feeling a bit of pity. A human who should have stood tall and mighty above the masses was confined to a single room due to someone's scheme.
Thinking as such, she used her tail and arms to pull her closer. Lan Shuyao could even feel Yasenia's pregnant belly touching her own. "Child, your stomach. What if the cold affects the child?"
Yasenia blinked and pulled her hips back a bit. She was confident that nothing wrong would happen, but just in case.
After that, neither of the two spoke, and the night passed quickly. Yasenia didn't sleep. Her energy constantly circulated to dispel the cold and also analyze Lan Shuyao's condition.
'During the night, her Yin Poison becomes almost five times as strong. No wonder she wanted me to stay back. If I could relieve a bit of that pain, I would do the same.'
When the first rays of light descended, Yasenia felt the sleeping woman in her arms stirring awake, but she didn't let go. Instead, she used one hand to caress her back very slowly. Now that the coldness had begun to weaken, Yasenia decided it would be best to start treatment right away.
Lan Shuyao opened her eyes, her vision filled with soft flesh. '...I fell asleep? That's unexpected.' It had been several centuries since she had last slept this comfortably, which refreshed her mind greatly.
"Lady Lan Shuyao, should we start our treatment? I feel that starting in the morning is the best way to go about it."
Lan Shuyao looked up from the abundant and soft flesh, and saw the gorgeous lady looking down at her with a motherly feeling. Even when Yasenia was a junior, she felt momentarily dazed. Still, with her experience, it was just a fraction of a second before she recovered.
"Have you thought on how to do the treatment?"
Lan Shuyao smiled faintly as she asked, the heavy coldness having reduced greatly. Yasenia didn't miss the change, but she didn't point it out. Instead, she nodded and explained a bit of what she had planned.
"Our routine would go as follows. Early in the morning, I will prepare a medicinal bath for Lady Lan Shuyao. If your doctors have something prepared already, we can use that. If not, I will create one that fits my needs."
Lan Shuyao nodded. "Mhm."
Yasenia continued after she saw her nod. "After the bath, I will give Lady Lan Shuyao a massage. I would recommend a full-body massage, but if Lady Lan Shuyao feels uncomfortable with junior touching your private parts, I will refrain from them. The effectiveness change will only deviate around 10%, so it is not a problem to deny it."
Lan Shuyao nodded again. "We'll go with the full-body massage."
Yasenia smiled, pleased. "Good. Finally, after I give the massage and stimulate the blood flow and internal heat, I will use my acupuncture to create a Yin-Yang resonance between us. My Yang Energy is powerful, so I can greatly enhance its effectiveness."
Lan Shuyao blinked. "Yang Energy?"
Yasenia smiled. "I have both Yang and Yin Energy."
This surprised the senior, and then she looked at Yasenia weirdly. "So… You can Dual Cultivate with females?"
Yasenia laughed. "I can, but do not worry. I won't use this method with Lady Lan Shuyao."
Lan Shuyao's face relaxed a bit. While she would probably be willing if it were a chance to get rid of this hellish poison, she would honestly not be comfortable. As long as there were other methods, she would choose them over Dual Cultivation.