Fortunately, they were not completely unprepared. Whenever they arrived at a place, they would make arrangements with the local medical clinic. However, when the time truly came, the two were still caught off guard, flustered and panicked.
Hua Yan bit her lip as she lay in Lu Chengsha’s arms, sweating profusely from the pain. Lu Chengsha quickly rushed her to the medical clinic, where a prepared birthing room awaited in a secluded, warm courtyard, with a stove burning.
Lu Chengsha intended to follow her inside, but was stopped by the doctor. Only two midwives hurried into the inner room.
“It’s not appropriate for a man to be present during childbirth. This gentleman should wait outside.”
Although no one could stop him if he insisted, Lu Chengsha was extremely nervous and cautious at this moment. He hesitated and stayed outside.
It wasn’t long before he heard sudden cries of pain from inside.
Lu Chengsha’s heart tightened instantly.
Hua Yan hadn’t expected giving birth to be so painful!
The pain came in waves!
Just when she felt a bit better, the pain started again. A midwife supported her back, helping her sit up, wiping her sweat, and urging her to push. It was absurd—she was in such pain that she began to regret it.
Her mother never told her it would hurt this much!
Could she still change her mind now?
Hua Yan tried to distract herself, but the pain persisted. Eventually, even the midwives were shocked, watching the sweat-drenched, seemingly weak woman yell with a powerful voice, “… Lu Chengsha, I’m not having this baby!”
“Damn you, Lu Chengsha! It’s all your fault!”
“It hurts so much!”
“Wuwuwu… you bastard! I’m not having kids with you anymore!”
Ming Qi, upon hearing the shouting as he arrived, found the scene both awkward and comical.
He had been dragged along, resigned to brewing medicine, driving the carriage, and acting as a servant, with the intent of learning. He had often studied childbirth with Lu Chengsha, but the two men, despite reading numerous medical books, lacked practical experience.
Ming Qi had vaguely seen childbirth in the valley and knew it would be painful and last long, yet hadn’t found a solution. However, it was clear Lu Chengsha was unaware of this.
He stood at the doorway, his expression frozen, a mixture of stiffness and heartache showing on his face.
Ming Qi wanted to comfort him by saying that all women went through this during childbirth. However, Lu Chengsha suddenly charged inside without saying a word, startling the doctor who was guarding the door.
“—Sir, this is absolutely unacceptable!”
“It’s unclean inside, you can’t go in!”
Ming Qi knew it wasn’t appropriate for a man to go in and quickly joined in to stop Lu Chengsha, persuading, “Young Hero Lu, going in won’t help. You can’t give birth for her… uh, you can’t be of much help in there…”
Lu Chengsha’s voice was deep, “I can be with her.”
Childbirth for women, with all its blood and mess, was traditionally considered unlucky, surrounded by taboos to avoid bringing bad luck or misfortune. Despite the lack of evidence for these beliefs, it was customary, and most families wouldn’t want to defy tradition.
But Lu Chengsha was not like most people.
As the incoherent cries and curses from the woman inside grew louder, the aura of menace around Lu Chengsha intensified.
The doctor who had dared to stop him earlier now trembled and released his grip, feeling that this man was more terrifying than any evil spirit, as if he could take lives.
Even though Ming Qi had been with him for some time and was somewhat familiar with him, his hands still trembled as he tried to dissuade him further. However, Lu Chengsha pushed past him and entered the room.
Thinking about it, Ming Qi decided to let it be. After all, these two had once defied the greatest taboos of the world, so what did mere customs and etiquette matter?
Upon entering, the two midwives were stunned. They had never seen a husband dare to break in like this—relatives usually stopped them, and propriety kept them from being so reckless. Yet, he barged in without regard for the mess, grabbing Hua Yan’s hand.
Hua Yan, already crying from the pain, felt even more aggrieved when she saw him. Her large eyes blinked, and she cried even more uncontrollably, hiccuping between sobs, “It hurts so much! What do I do! I don’t want to give birth! Can I stop now! Wuwuwu…”
Her pain made Lu Chengsha even more anxious.
He grasped her wrist, trying to channel his internal energy to alleviate her pain, but it only made her sweat more without much effect.
The two midwives were stunned for a while, only snapping out of it when the cold eyes of the black-clad man glanced over. They hurriedly resumed the delivery, but no one dared to ask him to leave, so they had to continue with him there.
The black-clad man kept asking, “When will it be over?”
Childbirth could take varying lengths of time, how could they know?
One of the midwives carefully replied, “That depends on the lady’s efforts…”
Hua Yan didn’t want to put in any more effort!
She just wanted to bite Lu Chengsha. When she raised her arm, he misunderstood and leaned down to kiss her. Hua Yan immediately turned and bit Lu Chengsha’s shoulder. After a while, she got angry, “Your shoulder is too hard!”
Startled, Lu Chengsha rolled up his sleeve, raised his arm, and offered it to her.
His arm was indeed softer. She opened her mouth and bit down.
Normally, she couldn’t bring herself to bite Lu Chengsha, but now Hua Yan felt incredibly unbalanced, and the pain in her lower abdomen was excruciating. She just wanted to bite him.
She bit hard, soon leaving bite marks that started to bleed. Lu Chengsha, however, didn’t utter a word, even soothingly patting her sweat-drenched head and wiping her sweat with a cloth.
Hua Yan was suffering, and so was Lu Chengsha.
They changed several basins of hot water. No one knew how much time had passed until finally, with the cry of a baby, Lu Chengsha breathed a sigh of relief.
The midwife cut the umbilical cord, wrapped the baby up, and wanted to show it to Lu Chengsha. “Congratulations…”
But he didn’t even look, instead trying to help Hua Yan lie down. Another midwife stopped him, looking a bit awkward. “…Sir, please wait a moment.”
Lu Chengsha’s face darkened.
The midwife, clearly nervous, stammered, “…It seems it’s not over yet.”
About the time it takes to burn a stick of incense later, she came out with another baby.
Lu Chengsha: “…!”
Hua Yan, exhausted, also: “…!”
This time, the midwife’s expression was genuinely congratulatory. “Congratulations, sir, congratulations, madam. It’s a double blessing, both children are healthy, and they are a dragon and phoenix pair.”
Hua Yan’s body relaxed, and she collapsed weakly. Lu Chengsha immediately caught her.
His arm, after several hours, was now covered in bite marks and blood. As Hua Yan’s tension eased, she started to feel a bit sorry for him, but before she could speak, Lu Chengsha was already gently kissing her pale cheeks and sweaty forehead.
His voice was calm, “It’s over now, we won’t have more children.”
Hua Yan, regaining her senses, threw herself into his arms, wanting to cry again.
The midwife hesitated, “Wait, the two of you, don’t you want to look at your children?”
The group from the Zhengyi Sect arrived in the latter half of the night, followed by people from Tingjian Manor. The small medical clinic quickly became crowded, with people from both sides exchanging awkward greetings. However, Hua Yan, exhausted from childbirth, had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Lu Chengsha, covered in blood and with his arms soaked in it, looked as if he had just returned from a battle.
Everyone was stunned, watching him as he nonchalantly went to change his clothes.
With nothing else to do and knowing there were two children, both sides began a somewhat unfriendly discussion about who would raise the children and how.
When Hua Yan groggily woke up, she heard the commotion outside. She had been changed into clean clothes and, though still in pain, felt more comfortable.
Lu Chengsha, also in clean clothes, was sitting beside her. Hua Yan then remembered she hadn’t seen the children yet.
No wonder it had become so difficult towards the end! There were two of them!
“Let me see!”
Lu Chengsha understood.
The firstborn was a boy, and the second was a girl. Perfect in every way, except Hua Yan thought newborns didn’t look particularly attractive.
However, Lu Chengsha said, “They are beautiful.”
Hua Yan retorted, “Don’t lie!”
Lu Chengsha felt wronged. He genuinely thought they were beautiful. Anything he liked was beautiful to him.
But after looking for a while, Hua Yan thought they didn’t look so bad after all.
They had already decided on the names. As the holy maiden of her mother’s lineage, Hua Yan’s daughter would take her surname, Hua. If they had a son, he would take Lu Chengsha’s surname, Lu. Both of them had no objections.
Now, with two children, it worked out perfectly—one would carry each surname.
Hua Yan had gone through many names of heroic figures from the martial world, preparing names for her children. But one day, on a whim, she touched her belly and asked, “Do you think our children should follow the righteous path or our sect?”
Lu Chengsha, with a gentle gaze, replied, “Either is fine.”
Hua Yan thought it over and agreed. Whether they followed the righteous path or the demonic sect, the children could decide for themselves! They wouldn’t force their children to grow up a certain way, unlike Lu Zhenxing.
When it came time to name them, she no longer wanted to use those heroic names.
After much thought, she heard Lu Chengsha say, “Wuyou.”
It was the name Lu Huaxian had given him, perhaps hoping he would grow up carefree.
Hua Yan repeated the two characters “Wuyou” in her mouth and suddenly found it very fitting.
Thus, they decided on the name. But having two children at once posed a dilemma: the son could be called Lu Wuyou, but what about the daughter? As Hua Yan was pondering, the noise outside grew louder. She listened closely and heard someone from Tingjian Manor say, “The son must come to Tingjian Manor to learn swordsmanship. What useful skills does your sect have aside from Tiancan Sword? The rest are all unorthodox. A man should…”
The tone was resolute, as if channeling Lu Zhenxing’s spirit.
Hua Yan, hearing this, angrily retorted, “What nonsense is Tingjian Manor talking! Dream on! Forget it!”
Once she felt better, Hua Yan took the two children and their father back to the Zhengyi Sect to recover, without any intention of setting foot in Tingjian Manor again.
Tingjian Manor sent people to negotiate, but to no avail.
They approached Lu Chengsha, hoping he would help negotiate the custody of the children. However, Lu Chengsha saw no need. He could teach Lu family swordsmanship himself, and more importantly, Hua Yan was clearly unwilling.
Lu Chengsha’s logic was simple: she endured the hardship of childbirth, so she had the right to decide.
Moreover, there was no need. The Zhengyi Sect had plenty of people to help take care of the children.
Hua Yan ate, drank, and recuperated. With her strong constitution, she was lively and active after half a month, except for… perhaps gaining a little weight. At first, she didn’t notice, and Lu Chengsha said nothing. One day, she picked out her favorite fitted lake-blue pleated skirt, only to find her waist no longer fit!
“Have I gained weight?” She looked at Lu Chengsha with a serious expression.
Lu Chengsha, confused, said, “Have you?”
Hua Yan exclaimed, “You didn’t notice!”
Lu Chengsha then carefully looked at her but still didn’t think she was fat. He noticed her chest had grown, but he didn’t mention it.
Hua Yan, feeling both sad and angry, decided to eat a little less, at least cutting out midnight snacks.
Lu Chengsha didn’t agree, thinking she should eat if she wanted to.
Seeing the chicken soup dumplings Lu Chengsha brought her at midnight, Hua Yan felt even more indignant. “Are you trying to fatten me up and then… then, um…” She got stuck, “abandon me and the kids?”
Lu Chengsha: “…???” After his initial shock, he seriously replied, “You’re not fat, you look good…”
In the end, Hua Yan still ate the dumplings. She thought it might be greasy to eat at night, but the oil had been skimmed off. The fresh and savory chicken soup paired with the small, bite-sized dumplings was surprisingly light and delicious, leaving a lingering fragrance in her mouth, making her want more.
Hua Yan thought, “Oh well, I am in my confinement period,” as she touched her belly.
***
One dark and windy night, a shadow slipped unnoticed into the Zhengyi Sect. With the New Year approaching, the defenses were lax, and no one noticed.
The shadow moved through the Zhengyi Sect, occasionally getting lost. Luckily, with exceptional martial skills, he avoided detection, listening carefully, and eventually found a quiet room in a courtyard.
Inside the quiet room, there was the sound of a baby crying, and two maids were softly soothing the children.
The shadow swiftly immobilized the maids by striking their acupoints. Then, he looked down and froze.
One baby was wriggling in its swaddle, waving its chubby little hands, while the other slept peacefully, eyes tightly closed, sucking on a round little finger. Both were adorable, like little white dumplings.
Suddenly, two more figures appeared. The shadow tried to escape but found his way blocked. He stood there with a righteous air, betraying no sign of being a night intruder, though the slight twitching of his mustache revealed his nervousness.
Hua Yan, arms crossed, went from tense to speechless in an instant. “You… could have just come through the front door. Why sneak in the middle of the night? Unless…” Her eyes turned cold, “You came to steal the children!”
Lu Zhenxing immediately denied it, “Nonsense!” He stiffened his neck, “I just came to see my great-grandson and great-granddaughter.”
“Then why come in the middle of the night and sneak in?” Hua Yan, holding one swaddle in each arm, didn’t believe him and protectively cradled the babies.
Even Lu Chengsha felt the awkwardness of the situation.
“Grandfather…” he said cautiously, “This is not appropriate.”
Lu Zhenxing, his mustache bristling in frustration, glared, “…!”
How could he explain! He really just came to see the children!
They refused to return to Tingjian Manor despite his efforts to persuade them! What else could he do! Could he walk openly into the demonic sect!
The two babies, awakened by the adults’ arguing, started crying. Hua Yan hurried to comfort them, and Lu Chengsha, ignoring his grandfather, turned to help Hua Yan soothe the babies.
Lu Zhenxing watched the affectionate family of four, hesitant, coughing awkwardly as he contemplated approaching.
…He had come all this way! Surely, they wouldn’t deny him the chance to hold the children for a bit!