Ye City.
After Xiao Li and Medusa returned to Ye City, they only rested for one day before heading back to Tianbei City.
They had been out for a long time this trip; whether in Ye City or participating in the Pill Gathering, nearly two months had passed in total.
Little Fairy Doctor and Green Scale were waiting in Tianbei City, and Xiao Li needed to return.
Tianbei City.
"Xiao Li, you're back!"
Han Yue and Han Xue quickly came out to greet them.
Their bellies had already begun to show.
"Yes, we're back."
Little Fairy Doctor and Green Scale also came out when they heard the sound, their faces full of joy upon seeing Xiao Li return.
However, their bellies were already very large, and their due dates were approaching, so they couldn't move around much.
Xiao Li comforted them, then recounted the events of the Pill Gathering, his successful championship win, and the Three Thousand Yan Flame.
The Little Fairy Doctor and the other women listened, their eyes gleaming with delight.
Xiao Li achieving such success was also great news for them, naturally worth celebrating.
That night, Tianbei City held a grand celebration banquet to properly commemorate the occasion.
Xiao Li did not stop them.
Some matters required discretion, while others could be appropriately publicized.
His becoming the Pill Gathering champion was already known throughout the Central Plains; it was impossible to keep a low profile.
Therefore, rather than not using such a good identity and reputation, it was better to use this title to add prestige to Tianbei City and attract some talents...
Soul Hall.
Bang!
Soul Hall Master slammed his palm, shattering an innocent table beside him.
The reason was none other than the news brought back by his subordinates: Elder Mu Gu, whom he had arranged to participate in the Pill Gathering to cause trouble, had been killed!
"Who did it?"
Soul Hall Master's voice was laced with an icy chill, making his subordinates tremble slightly as they hastily replied,
"It was someone named Xiao Li... He killed Mu Gu in front of everyone."
"Xiao Li..." Hearing this somewhat familiar name, Soul Hall Master's gaze gradually turned cold.
"Find out where this Xiao Li is. This Hall Master will personally go and settle the score with him!"
If it were just an ordinary Soul Hall member, he wouldn't be so angry.
But Elder Mu Gu was no ordinary person.
He was a dignified Eighth-Grade Alchemist and the chief Alchemist of the Soul Hall, holding a very important position.
Soul Hall Master needed Elder Mu Gu to refine many elixirs.
Originally, if the plan to merely release the Three Thousand Yan Flame to cause trouble for the Pill Tower had failed, it wouldn't have mattered.
But now Elder Mu Gu had been killed; he could not swallow this insult!
This grudge must be avenged, otherwise, where would the Soul Hall's dignity stand?!
"Yes!"
The two subordinates quickly left.
"Xiao Li... This Hall Master will definitely find you and make you pay the price!"
...After the celebration banquet in Tianbei City, Xiao Li was set to depart again the next day.
There were still a few days until the birth of Hu Jia's child, and Xiao Li definitely had to go back.
Knowing this reason, Little Fairy Doctor and the others were not reluctant, generously letting Xiao Li go back to take good care of Hu Jia.
Jia Nan Academy.
"Hu Jia, you're about to be a mother, why are you still eating indiscriminately? You need to be careful."
Looking at Hu Jia, who was heavily pregnant and still eating and drinking heartily, Hu Gan was also full of helplessness.
He had told her many times, but this granddaughter just wouldn't listen to a single word.
She was clearly about to be a mother, yet she acted like a petulant child.
"It's precisely because I'm about to have the baby that I need to eat more, so I can get more energy. Grandpa, you just don't understand." Hu Jia gave him a disdainful look, then brushed aside a few strands of hair in front of her face and continued eating various nourishing foods.
She could feel that the baby in her belly was about to be born, so she needed to eat more to give the baby more security.
"And that Xiao Li, too. He's been gone for half a year, and you're almost giving birth, yet he hasn't returned. He's so irresponsible." Unable to scold Hu Jia, Hu Gan could only grumble about Xiao Li.
Since Xiao Li wasn't present, he could say whatever he wanted.
"Dean Hu Gan, saying that... makes me almost too embarrassed to come out."
An awkward voice came, making Hu Gan and Hu Jia immediately look towards the door.
They saw a dashing young man standing at the doorway, a gentle smile on his face.
Hu Jia was instantly stunned, her hand holding food frozen in mid-air, momentarily at a loss.
"Hu Jia, I'm back."
It wasn't until Xiao Li walked over and wiped away the food crumbs from the corner of her mouth.
Hu Jia finally reacted.
But she didn't show the excitement other women might when seeing their beloved return; instead, she pouted and whispered,
"You didn't even say you were coming back. Appearing here so suddenly, if you scare the baby in my belly, what will you do?"
"Cough, cough, it's my fault."
Whatever Hu Jia said now was right; Xiao Li dared not refute a single word.
Hu Gan, however, immediately broke into a smile on his aged face.
"Xiao Li, you're back."
Just a moment ago, he was complaining that Xiao Li hadn't returned once in so long.
Now that he saw Xiao Li, he didn't dare utter a single complaint.
Such double standards, completely so.
Xiao Li nodded: "Yes, I knew Hu Jia was due soon, so I specifically rushed back from the Central Plains."
"Rushing back from the Central Plains must take a lot of time, right?" Hu Jia asked with concern.
Although she had never been to the Central Plains, she had heard of it.
She knew that the Central Plains was very far from Jia Nan Academy, and a round trip would take at least two months.
"It's alright, it doesn't take too long."
Normal travel would indeed take a very long time.
But Xiao Li had already left a fixed spatial teleportation marker here at Jia Nan Academy, allowing him to teleport directly back from the Central Plains, a speed more than ten times faster than a regular spatial teleportation array.
This time, he only spent one day and one night to rush back from the Central Plains.
"How have you been? Has the baby been bothering you?"
Xiao Li gently placed his palm on Hu Jia's belly, feeling the pulsation of the little life.
"It used to bother me often, but recently, perhaps knowing it's about to come out, it's been much calmer," Hu Jia said.
"Perhaps it knows its father is back, which is why it quieted down," Xiao Li said with a smile.
"Shameless..." Hu Jia rolled her eyes at him... Hu Jia's due date was very near.
On the fifth day after Xiao Li returned, her due date officially arrived.
Hu Gan found several famous midwives from the Black-Corner Region to assist with the delivery.
On this day, the entire Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy became much quieter.
In the courtyard, several maids, under the midwife's arrangement, moved in and out methodically, replacing various hot water and clean cloths.
Xiao Li had already experienced such scenes several times and was experienced.
But hearing Hu Jia's cries from the room, he was still a little nervous.
Finally, with a long, drawn-out cry of pain, the baby's loud wails began...