Sometime later, Bai Jing woke from a sudden sharp pain in his abdomen.
"Ah..." His fingers immediately clutched his stomach.
The pain came again, becoming stronger and stronger.
Bai Jing curled forward, his forehead pressing against the edge of the table.
His fever had returned even worse than before. His entire body alternated between burning hot and unbearably cold, while his exhausted limbs refused to cooperate.
"What… what's happening to me?..."
Another cramp struck, and Bai Jing gasped. His knees gave way, and he slipped from the chair onto the floor.
"Why does it hurt so much… Ye Cheng… Ye…"
There was no one to answer him. The house was empty.
Ye Cheng still hadn't returned.
Bai Jing curled himself around his stomach, trembling violently.
He had already been sick. He had spent the previous nights sleeping on the cold floor, and instead of properly recovering today, he had exhausted what little spiritual energy remained in his body. His body simply couldn't endure anymore.
Tears gathered in his eyes. Life is so unfair to him! He never asked for any of this.
He didn't ask to be struck by lightning, and to be killed just when his original life had finally begun improving.
He didn't ask to be transported into another world. And he certainly hadn't asked to wake up pregnant in the body of someone who had already been driven to suicide.
Since coming here, he has tried his best. He accepted the child, and the marriage.
He accepted being driven from a wealthy family into a poor village. He never complained. He fetches water, gathers food, cooks, and finds ways to earn money.
Even after being blamed for something he hadn't deliberately done, he still tried to make things right.
So why did he have to endure one painful thing after another?
"What did I even do...?" His voice broke: "What did I do wrong again?"
A sharp sound suddenly rang inside his mind, as the system interface began flashing with red lights.
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!...]
Bai Jing froze. This is the first time he heard the system's voice. Usually, it's all branches of text.
[The host's physical condition has reached a dangerous level. Severe spiritual energy depletion detected. High fever detected. Abnormal fetal instability detected.]
[WARNING: Imminent miscarriage.]
Bai Jing's mind went blank: "...Micar…What?"
His hand immediately covered his abdomen: "No…"
Another painful cramp tore through him. Bai Jing cried out and curled tighter.
"No, no... please. You can't do this to me."
The resentment and self-pity from moments earlier vanished completely.
Only panic remained.
"System! Save the baby!" He commanded as his voice trembled violently.
[Emergency treatment available. Your body might not be able to bear it.]
"Just use it! As long as the baby is safe. Whatever it costs, use it! Take all the money!"
"
Bai Jing didn't care whether his body could bear it or not. He didn't even wait to hear the price.
His breathing became increasingly ragged: "If it's not enough, give me credit! I'll pay it back! I'll do anything anyway to pay you back!" His tears fell uncontrollably. "Just save the baby."
The system remained silent for several seconds, before a small medicinal bottle suddenly dropped onto the table.
It rolled toward the edge.
"No!"
Bai Jing desperately stretched out his hand. His fingertips barely touched it and the bottle fell. Luckily it wasn't made of glass.
He scrambled after it, ignoring the pain twisting through his abdomen. His trembling fingers finally closed around the small bottle.
Bai Jing didn't even inspect what was inside. He pulled out the stopper and drank everything. The medicinal liquid was strangely warm.
For a moment, Bai Jing thought the pain was disappearing. Then an even more violent wave struck.
"Ahhhhh!"
His entire body curled. The bottle slipped from his hand.
Pain spread from his abdomen throughout his entire body. The system might have been right, his body really can't handle the medicine.
Bai Jing bit his sleeve to suppress his cries. His eyes became red and swollen from crying. Sweat soaked through his clothes, and his hair stuck messily against his forehead.
Another wave came. Bai Jing rolled onto his side. His fingers dug against the wooden floor: "Please… Please be okay…"
He no longer cared about himself. He only wanted the child to survive.
...
It was already deep into the night when Ye Cheng finally returned to Longxu Village.
He had spent the past two days away, partly because of matters concerning the Refinement Guild and partly because he hadn't known how to face Bai Jing after what happened.
He knew he shouldn't have struck him. No matter how furious he had been about the manual, Bai Jing was pregnant.
Ye Cheng had told himself countless times that he would return after calming down. Yet half a night became two days.
When he finally reached the familiar bamboo gate, the house was still illuminated.
Ye Cheng frowned. Why was Bai Jing still awake this late?
He pushed open the gate: "Bai Jing?"
There was no answer. Ye Cheng pushed open the house door. As soon as he entered, his entire body froze.
Bai Jing was lying on the floor.
His clothes were soaked with sweat. His face was flushed unnaturally red, his eyes swollen, and both arms were wrapped protectively around his stomach. His entire body trembled repeatedly as he sobbed.
"Bai Jing!" Ye Cheng rushed forward and turned him over, shaking his shoulders as he called out: "Bai Jing, wake up! What's wrong?"
There was no reaction. It was as though Bai Jing couldn't hear him.
Ye Cheng's expression changed completely. He crouched and touched Bai Jing's forehead and immediately removed his hand.
Bai Jing's forehead was burning: "Why are you so hot?"
Bai Jing only whimpered weakly: "...Ye Cheng, the… the child wants to leave me…"
Ye Cheng's gaze fell toward the hand clutching his abdomen. His heart dropped: "The child…"
He didn't waste another second. He slipped one arm beneath Bai Jing's knees and the other behind his back before lifting him from the floor.
Bai Jing was frighteningly light. His head fell weakly against Ye Cheng's chest.
"Bai Jing."
Ye Cheng called him again. But Bai Jing didn't respond to him. He kept crying that his baby wanted to leave him.
For the first time since arriving in Longxu Village, He Cheng panicked. He carried Bai Jing out of the house and hurried through the village.
At this hour, almost every household had already gone dark.
Ye Cheng remembered Lan Zhu mentioning that his grandfather owned the ox cart used to transport villagers into town.
He headed directly toward the Lan residence.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Open the door!"
Lights appeared inside moments later.
Old Man Lan opened the door while hastily throwing a coat around his shoulders: "Who is it at this hour?"
He stopped immediately after seeing Bai Jing unconscious in Ye Cheng's arms.
"What happened?"
"I need your ox cart. My wife has a high fever, and his stomach hurts. I need to take him to town right now."
Lan Zhu, who had awakened from the noise, hurried outside. His face immediately paled when he saw the unconscious Bai Jing.
"Brother Bai!"
"He was already sick yesterday, but the medicine should've lowered his fever!"
Old Man Lan said: "Bring him in. I'll prepare the cart."
"I'll come too," Lan Zhu said quickly.
"No, you stay back and go to sleep." His grandfather immediately stopped him.
"But…"
"You still have work tomorrow, and crowding around won't help him. I'll take them." Old Man Lan fastened his outer robe and pulled the ox cart.
Lan Zhu looked anxiously at Bai Jing. He wanted to argue, but his grandfather's expression left no room for discussion.
"...Then tell me what happens when you return."
"I will."
The ox was quickly harnessed. Ye Cheng climbed onto the cart while still holding Bai Jing against his chest.
Old Man Lan took the reins: "Hold him tightly. The road is rough."
Ye Cheng lowered his gaze. Bai Jing's face was still twisted in pain.
Without realizing it, Ye Cheng tightened his arms around him.
"Go."
The ox cart hurried into the darkness.
...
By the time they reached town, it was even darker than before.
Ye Cheng jumped down before the cart had completely stopped.
"Where's the nearest clinic?"
Old Man Lan pointed down the street: "Two streets ahead. There's a physician who treats emergencies at night."
Ye Cheng didn't wait for anything else and ran down the street. Bai Jing remained limp in his arms, occasionally trembling whenever another cramp struck.
"Hold on." Ye Cheng's voice was low.
Whether Bai Jing could hear him or not, he continued: "We're almost there."
The clinic's doors were closed when he arrived. Ye Cheng kicked against them heavily: "Physician!"
Bang!
"Open the door!"
A light appeared inside. "What lunatic is making noise this late…"
The door opened.
Ye Cheng immediately stepped forward with Bai Jing in his arms: " Please save him."
The physician's irritation disappeared the moment he saw Bai Jing's condition: "Bring him inside!"
Ye Cheng carried Bai Jing through the doorway without hesitation.
For the first time since their marriage, Ye Cheng felt regret.
He sat outside in the cold wind as the physician took care of Bai Jing. The night after the slap was heavy and suffocating.
He pressed his temples with both hands, his mind replaying the incident two nights ago again and again. The shock in Bai Jing's eyes, the way his small body trembled under his blow, and the desperate apologies spilling from his lips.
Ye Cheng's jaw clenched. He had endured so much humiliation at the guild, so much bitterness from the Ye family, but never once had he struck another in anger. Yet that night, he had lost control and hit on his wife.
Even though he blamed Bai Jing for making his life difficult, he never planned to abuse him.
"Pathetic," Ye Cheng muttered to himself: "Even my temper is a chain I can't break."
"..."