Chapter 763: Fetal Movement Evil Spirit

"The baby is moving violently; it's definitely time to deliver. We can't delay any longer, Mr. Ji, what do you think?"

Master Moyun's words interrupted Ji Yuan's thoughts. The woman on the bed, though relieved of some pain by Ji Yuan's virtual acupuncture point sealing, was still covered in cold sweat. It was clear she shouldn't overthink things, nor could she be harsh with the fetus.

Even though Lady Li was about to give birth and both Ji Yuan and Monk Moyun were present, they couldn't simply wave their hands and make the baby appear. It was especially important for Lady Li's child to be born as naturally as possible, and no excessive magic should be used to stimulate her.

Outside the house, due to Master Moyun's methods, Li Ping, Old Madam Li, and others waiting did not hear the woman's screams from inside. They were currently unaware of the situation and didn't even dare to peek through the half-open doorway, fearing they might offend the Imperial Preceptor and Ji Yuan.

Just as everyone was wondering what was happening inside, a maid burst out of the room, pulling the door open with a *bang*.

"Master, Old Madam, the mistress is about to give birth! Mr. Ji and the Imperial Preceptor ask you to find the midwife!"

Before Li Ping could speak, an old woman standing among the servants waved her hand.

"Oh, I'm here, the midwife is here!"

For over a year, whenever Lady Li's condition worsened, this old woman would be summoned to the Li residence, often staying for days, just in case.

She had been paid handsomely for her frequent visits but had never actually assisted with a birth. The midwife was quite concerned about this, so upon hearing that the birth was finally imminent, she quickly stepped forward. Being from a farming family, she even forgot the Li family's strict rules she had originally memorized.

However, at this moment, even the strict Old Madam Li had no mind to scold the midwife. Li Ping, even more urgently, said:

"Then hurry inside!"

"Yes, and quickly prepare hot water, towels, a copper basin, scissors… bring everything immediately!"

Li Ping immediately looked at the servants beside him.

"What are you standing around for? Go prepare!"

"Yes, sir!"

The midwife and several maids entered the room together, while more servants scattered in a flurry to gather the necessary items.

Li Ping wanted to enter as well, but Old Madam Li, who had been sitting nearby, immediately held him back.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll go in too!"

"Don't you know the rules? From now on, that room is considered a 'yin chamber' [birth chamber]. The emperor specifically sent the Imperial Preceptor here, perhaps to reinstate your official position. You were already making progress, so you absolutely cannot enter now!"

Li Ping slapped his forehead, left to fret anxiously on the side. He lacked the composure to sit calmly on the corridor bench like his mother.

Before long, buckets of hot water, numerous towels, and clean scissors were brought into the room one after another, and the door was closed from the inside.

While those outside were anxiously waiting, those inside were equally tense, even terrified. Even the experienced midwife was considerably frightened.

Before them, Lady Li's belly was constantly rising and contracting, rising and contracting. Shapes resembling human hands and feet appeared, and a faint, eerie light emanated from within, allowing them to see the form of the fetus.

"This... this..."

The old woman, terrified, stood aside, afraid to approach. Ji Yuan nodded to her.

"Don't be afraid, midwife. Even if anything happens, both the Imperial Preceptor and I will ensure your safety. Try not to harm the mother or child. Do your best to deliver the baby!"

"Oh... I-I understand..."

The old woman braced herself and proceeded, first covering Lady Li's legs with the large red veil that had been prepared.

At that moment, Monk Moyun flicked his prayer beads, causing a piece of the bed canopy's gauze to tear off and fall onto the bed, opening to cover half of Lady Li's body.

The midwife first washed her hands in hot water, then began to comfort the laboring woman.

"Madam, bend your legs... don't pant so quickly. Take a few breaths, then hold your breath and push..."

"Ah..."

Lady Li screamed again, as if the fetus within her knew it was almost time. The midwife quickly helped Lady Li remove her nightclothes, and amniotic fluid was already flowing out rapidly.

"Ah..."

Amidst Lady Li's screams, a flash of red light shifted within her abdomen, casting a ruddy glow on the midwife's pale face.

"Pfft..."

A mist of blood spurted out. The midwife instinctively put up a hand to block it and closed her eyes, but her face and body were inevitably splattered. Even the gauze curtain that Moyun had enchanted to provide cover was stained red. However, the midwife seemed surprisingly unpanicked now.

"Quick, a towel!"

Seeing the maids paralyzed with fear, the midwife went directly to the basin herself to wring out a towel, then wiped the blood from the woman's lower body, and changed the towel again. The woman's personal maid nearby also came to her senses and quickly joined in to help.

"Ah..."

With a cry of pain from the woman, the jujube pit in her mouth almost flew out. Ji Yuan simply extended his hand and pointed into the air. The jujube pit shattered, and a stream of spiritual energy quickly flowed into the woman's mouth, while the shattered pit fragments floated out.

"With a clear and peaceful mind, observe freedom. Forget worries and anxieties, maintain a calm spirit. Stay serene in appearance, steady in form. Let the physical body be indestructible and the soul at peace..."

Master Moyun continuously turned his prayer beads, and the faint chanting echoed through the room, bringing calm to everyone, including the laboring woman. Ji Yuan then took another jujube, crushed it completely, extracted its spiritual energy, and sent it along with the pulp into the woman's mouth.

The Li family outside was already frantic. They could constantly hear the woman's screams from inside, and occasionally a maid would come out to empty basins of water, which were stained bright red with blood, making observers think the basins were filled entirely with blood. Many timid servants felt dizzy just by looking.

"It's coming, it's coming! Push, Madam!"

Seeing the baby's head emerge, the midwife quickly reached out to support it, then told the woman to keep pushing. Once a little more was out, she could assist.

"Waaah... waaah... waaah..."

The bloody infant suddenly began to cry loudly, its voice sharp and piercing, as if it would burst everyone's eardrums. However, Ji Yuan reacted even faster, almost instantly casting a spell to contain some of the sound's power. Consequently, even the closest midwife only felt a buzzing in her ears. Apart from the initial jarring cry, subsequent cries at most felt a bit noisy, causing no physical harm.

Yet, the very first cry, with its extremely penetrating sound wave, had already spread outwards, seemingly traversing the nine heavens.

"Rumble..."

A dull rumble of thunder sounded in the sky. Ji Yuan and Moyun both looked up, not at the ceiling, but as if their gaze penetrated the roof to the sky beyond.

Ji Yuan, however, was looking at the nine heavens, while Moyun focused more on the auspicious aura over the Li family mansion. In the old monk's eyes, the Li family's highly propitious aura was subtly shifting, becoming obscure and unclear, making it difficult to predict fortune or misfortune. However, it only confirmed that this child was truly extraordinary.

The Li family members outside also grew excited. From the sound, it was clear that the birth had been successful, or at least the baby was fine. However, no one immediately came out to report the news, so they didn't know if it was a boy or a girl.

Inside the room, everyone except Ji Yuan and Monk Moyun was startled once again. The midwife's face was pale, and her hands, cradling the infant whose umbilical cord had just been cut, trembled slightly.

The infant was clearly a boy, larger than an ordinary child, with a thick head of red hair, though it was unclear if it was stained with blood. He was born with his eyes wide open, which, combined with his blood-stained body at that moment, looked somewhat frightening. While crying, he unconsciously looked at everyone in the room. Crucially, the midwife also felt the baby in her hands fluctuate between hot and cold, changing strangely, almost as if it weren't human.

Everyone who met the infant's gaze, except Ji Yuan and Moyun, felt a chill run down their spines. Even Lady Li, the baby's mother, who finally felt relief after being tormented to within an inch of her life, felt not maternal love but fear when she saw her child looking at her.

"A young child is cuter when they sleep more."

Ji Yuan's calm voice resounded, and he gently placed a hand on the forehead of the wailing child.

The next moment, the child nuzzled his head, his cries began to quiet, and then he slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Even so, the midwife remained stiff for a while before slowly relaxing. After carefully performing a simple clean-up, when she placed the infant beside Lady Li, the mother visibly trembled. Having been tormented for nearly three years, no one understood the fear this child inspired more than she did.

Fortunately, a prominent family like the Lis would certainly have wet nurses, so Lady Li would not need to breastfeed herself.

Not long after, a maid rushed out of the room to inform Li Ping and Old Madam Li.

"The mistress has given birth! The mistress has given birth! It's a boy!"

"Born? A boy?" "A boy?"

"Excellent! Wonderful! Heaven has eyes!"

"This is wonderful..."

Those outside, having heard the infant's cries earlier, were already impatient. Upon hearing the news, their faces lit up with excitement. Li Ping immediately instructed:

"Tell the midwife to bring the child out for me to see!"

The maid nodded and went inside. A moment later, the midwife, looking slightly nervous, came to the doorway holding the baby, forcing a smile as she said:

"Congratulations, Master Li, congratulations, Old Madam Li, it's a boy..."

"Good! Good! You'll be handsomely rewarded!"

Old Madam Li's face wrinkled with laughter as she clapped her hands and exclaimed her delight. Li Ping was also somewhat excited, but as he reached out to take the child, a sudden chill shot from his arm throughout his body, making him shiver several times, followed by a surge of warmth.

"Master Li, please don't be anxious. This child was in the womb for three years before being born, so he is naturally extraordinary..."

Master Moyun's voice came from the doorway, where he had joined Ji Yuan. Ji Yuan looked at the child and said calmly:

"This child will be hungry soon. Quickly prepare food for him. It's best to prepare fresh milk and feed him with a bowl; do not let a wet nurse directly breastfeed him, or he will drain her dry..."

Ji Yuan tried to put it delicately, while the old monk Moyun on the side added bluntly:

"Lord Li, this child is not to be taken lightly. Allowing just any wet nurse to feed him could be fatal."

"Understood, understood!"

Li Ping did not dare to delay. He handed the child back to the midwife and instructed the servants to attend to the immediate matters. Meanwhile, Ji Yuan frowned as he looked at the sky outside. In his view, the aura of the Li mansion had become even more peculiar, and he could vaguely sense a restless aura on the horizon.

The sky began to darken as dark clouds rapidly gathered.

"Rumble..."

After another peal of thunder, heavy rain began to pour down.

"Crack..."

A bolt of lightning struck directly near the Li mansion, startling everyone within the residence. Master Moyun continued chanting Buddhist scriptures.

"Amitābha, Great Bright King Buddha. Mr. Ji, it seemed just now that this humble monk sensed both malevolent and spiritual energies converging... but upon re-examining, there was no change. Could it be that my spiritual cultivation is insufficient, causing me to have an illusion?"

Ji Yuan looked at the monk beside him.

"It was no illusion. This child naturally consumes energy, making no distinction between spiritual and malevolent. He gathers both malevolent and spiritual energies, which will attract spirits, demons, and monsters. And it seems an old acquaintance will be the first to arrive..."

Ji Yuan narrowed his eyes, looking up at the sky. Although he saw nothing concrete at that moment, his innate connection to heaven and earth allowed him to faintly foresee something. The Azure Vine Sword on his back was already trembling slightly.

"Hum..."

This sword hum was extremely low, yet it made Master Moyun's hair stand on end as if he'd been electrified.