The moonlight had always been a sickly pale.
It seemed oblivious to the slaughter unfolding beneath it, still hanging high in the sky.
Song Qingchao and Chang Pinghe’s clothes were already splattered with blood.
Everyone held their cudgels, retreating backward.
The instigator of this absurd fight, Elder Chang, however, cowered at the rear, unwilling to advance even a step.
He was furious, so furious his eyeballs threatened to pop out.
“Chang Pinghe! These are all your kinsmen!”
Chang Pinghe wiped the blood from his face with one hand. “I was merely defending myself.”
Song Qingchao twirled the paired crescent moons in her hand. “We didn’t advance a single step; you charged onto our blades yourselves. How can you speak so lightly?”
She glanced at the people writhing on the ground, clutching their wounds, without a trace of sympathy.
Just as Song Qingchao was about to raise her paired crescent moons to intimidate them again, she saw a man in white walk through the arched gateway.
He carried a medicine chest on his back, walking with hurried steps, and called out, “Miss Song.”
Song Qingchao was so startled she almost flung the paired crescent moons from her hand.
She quickly retracted them, hiding the blood-dripping weapon behind her.
She felt inexplicably embarrassed that Bai You'an saw her in this state.
But then she thought, what state had Bai You'an not seen her in?
It wasn’t as if this was her first time being so “brutal”...
Damn it, why did she care what Bai You'an thought of her?
“How is the situation?” Bai You'an stepped over the fallen bodies and came directly to Song Qingchao’s side, calmly checking first if she had any injuries.
Song Qingchao put away her weapon and then rubbed her nose. “I’m not injured, but I might need your help later.”
“Mr. Bai, you’ve come at the perfect time!”
Compared to Song Qingchao, Chang Pinghe was clearly more excited.
He wished he could carry the man directly into the house.
Song Qingchao gripped his clothes at his waist and gently pushed him forward. “I’m counting on you.”
Bai You'an nodded and then, with a flip of his wrist, grasped her hand. “I’ll do my best.”
However, he had only just reached the doorway.
The door opened from the inside.
Lin Tingwan appeared at the threshold, her body half-covered in blood.
Her appearance utterly stunned Chang Pinghe into speechlessness.
She glanced at Bai You'an. “Please, Mr. Bai, use silver needles to seal the pressure points to stop the bleeding. The mother’s condition is not good.”
She stepped aside, and Bai You'an immediately went inside.
Chang Pinghe, tense, wanted to follow but was stopped by Lin Tingwan.
“General Chang, I have another matter for you to attend to.”
She let out a sigh, as if she had made a momentous decision.
“If we delay any longer, both mother and child will be in danger. What I need to do now is a cesarean section to extract the child, but I’m not sure if Wanwan can make it through.”
Chang Pinghe tilted his head, asking dazedly, “You want to cut open Wanwan’s belly?”
He then broke down hysterically. “No! I want Wanwan! The child doesn’t matter, I beg you, let Wanwan live!”
Lin Tingwan hunched her shoulders, trying hard to break free from Chang Pinghe’s iron grip.
“This is Wanwan’s wish. Furthermore, Wanwan’s health was never good, and she became even weaker after contracting the plague. Now, she’s experiencing premature labor due to fright. If I hadn’t been here today, the child would certainly not have been saved.”
She tried to regain her composure.
But Song Qingchao could still hear the tremor in her voice.
“Chang Pinghe, pull yourself together. You only have the time it takes for one stick of incense to consider. If the child isn’t delivered soon, it’s very likely to suffocate.”
Song Qingchao looked anxiously at the dazed Chang Pinghe, then worriedly clasped his dangling arm.
Chang Pinghe uncontrollably tilted his head.
But finally, he croaked, “I’ll do as Wanwan wishes.”
“Good!”
Upon receiving his answer, Lin Tingwan turned and shut the door.
With a “bang.”
Chang Pinghe also collapsed to his knees with a clatter.
A man does not shed tears lightly, let alone a general forged in iron and blood.
He rested his forehead against the doorframe.
With every cry from inside the room, his face grew paler.
Song Qingchao could not bear to watch.
She didn’t know if her presence was helping Chang Pinghe or harming him.
“I’m sorry.”
Yet, she still decided to apologize to Chang Pinghe.
She tilted her head, watching Chang Pinghe’s trembling shoulders, and her heart tightened along with his.
Then she looked up at Elder Chang’s smug expression.
That look ignited a burst of anger within her.
From his expression, she knew exactly what Elder Chang was thinking…
But she had no energy to settle accounts with Elder Chang right now!
Soon, a weak infant’s cry echoed from the room.
The child’s cries grew louder, while the mother, Wanwan, gradually weakened.
The moment the baby cried, Chang Pinghe raised his head, attempting to rush into the room.
However, as he opened the door, Bai You'an blocked him.
Song Qingchao looked to Bai You'an for an explanation.
Bai You'an shook his head helplessly. “Let’s wait before going in.”
The two of them stood together, watching the increasingly frail Chang Pinghe.
Where was his once mighty presence now?
It was as if his hair had turned white overnight.
When Lin Tingwan emerged, her lips were pressed tightly together. “You can go in now. Wanwan is waiting for you.”
Upon hearing this, Chang Pinghe seemed to have found salvation, rising immediately and rushing into the room.
Lin Tingwan, meanwhile, swayed and began to fall.
Fortunately, Song Qingchao caught her quickly. “Are you alright?”
Lin Tingwan looked at Song Qingchao, her lips quivering, and then tears began to stream uncontrollably from her eyes. “If only I had been a little earlier, just a little earlier, I could have saved Wanwan. It was too late…”
Song Qingchao, her heart aching, embraced Lin Tingwan and gently patted her back, feeling her tremble.
Song Qingchao’s eyes also misted over, affected by Lin Tingwan’s distress.
She had never interacted with Wanwan, only learned of her through the conversations of others.
They said she was the kindest and gentlest.
So Song Qingchao had always looked forward to meeting her.
But she never expected such a tragedy.
Bai You'an stood nearby, watching the two girls embrace so tightly. The words of comfort were on the tip of his tongue, but he could not utter them.
He had done his best.
With such a frail body, carrying a pregnancy was already pushing the limits of her strength.
To have given birth to the child was already a miracle.
However, this sorrowful atmosphere was about to be disrupted.
Elder Chang, who had been sitting far away, hobbled over, leaning on his cane. “Is it the young master?”