Water rushed into his throat, depriving his organs of oxygen. Compared to the dragon in front of him, Shen Tanqi’s strength in the water was practically zero. He could clearly feel that the other party genuinely wanted to strangle him, but not out of resentment.
The smirk in his eyes was like toying with prey before the kill, excitedly watching Shen Tanqi gradually weaken in the water, forcing him to exhaustion until finally sinking his teeth into his throat to end it.
A servant rushed over, hoping to rescue Shen Tanqi from the clutches of this evil dragon, but was knocked unconscious by a single slap to the back of the head against the wall.
“Now, no one can save you.”
Countless bubbles floated before him, Shen Tanqi’s vision gradually blurred. The face was so familiar, he even felt that it was Yu Ce reaching out to strangle him.
But Yu Ce would never do such a thing…
“Let go.”
A soft, low voice suddenly rang out.
Shen Tanqi distinctly felt a slight pause in the grip on his throat. The sinister gaze fell upon his face, the voice cold and deep: “Who’s speaking?”
“Back off.”
That soft voice spoke again, daringly.
The other party actually loosened his grip because of this.
The water in the glassy water cell poured out, the water level gradually dropping to his legs. Shen Tanqi drank a lot and also vomited a lot, feeling extremely uncomfortable with his chest being squeezed.
He couldn’t even stand properly, staggering to kneel on the ground, coughing up water incessantly. The person in front of him looked down coldly, his gaze sweeping over him: “What was that sound just now?”
Shen Tanqi didn’t believe for a moment that the other person suddenly felt any hint of pity. He narrowed his eyes and whispered, “It was…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he turned and ran towards the water cell’s entrance.
His hand barely grazed the doorframe when Shen Tanqi heard a soft chuckle behind him. In the next moment, he easily fell back into the other’s grasp, except this time, the other person extended his hand and placed it on his abdomen.
“Oh…” The other person meaningfully traced his belly with their fingertips, wrapping an arm around him, and chuckled, “You’re with child.”
Human men having children was quite novel; he had thought such situations were exclusive to the demon race.
Shen Tanqi’s scalp tingled, jerking away from his touch, his voice cold as he croaked, “Don’t touch me.”
He had intended to rescue Yu Ce’s younger brother, but now, if he could save himself, that would be enough. The other person could easily break the water dungeon and kill the guards stationed here, indicating he wasn’t imprisoned here but rather… chose to stay!
The other person stood still, no longer stubbornly holding onto Shen Tanqi. He rubbed his chin, seeming suddenly troubled, sighing, “Why now of all times… a child…”
Shen Tanqi didn’t know what the other person was planning until he leaned down, smiling at him with a seemingly negotiating tone, yet it was unquestionable: “You’ll get rid of the child, won’t you?”
“…Seriously?”
Shen Tanqi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and said, “Can’t get rid of it.”
The other person pursed his lips, staring at him intently, a hint of confusion in his voice, “Why not?”
Shen Tanqi placed his hand on his own abdomen. He had just heard it, that sound came from here. He had a child, and he couldn’t die.
After a moment, his gaze firm, he spoke seriously, “Because it’s your brother’s.”
As his words fell, there was a momentary stiffness in the smirk on the other’s lips, and the casual indifference in their eyes quickly disappeared. Their gaze landed on him, seeming skeptical, as he reached out and touched Shen Tanqi’s belly.
Shen Tanqi calmly repeated, “It really is your brother’s.”
In an instant, that hand seemed to touch something scalding, trembling slightly before quickly retracting, then fiercely grabbing Shen Tanqi’s collar.
The person’s tone now carried a hint of gnashing teeth, gripping him tightly, “You better be joking with me.”
“No.” Shen Tanqi shook his head with absolute certainty, “Otherwise, how could you sense it so soon after I got pregnant? Human pregnancies take one or two months to show, unlike your Dragon race.”
His argument was logical, the evidence irrefutable.
Just now, they both heard something speaking from his belly, there was no mistake.
Shen Tanqi watched as the other seemed to grasp the key point, muttering something lowly in frustration. Then, with a violent kick, he shattered the glassy water cell stone beside him, yet still couldn’t vent his pent-up frustration.
After smashing everything breakable here, he returned to Shen Tanqi with a chilling demeanor, grabbing his collar and saying darkly, “I’ll take you out and find a way.”
Shen Tanqi was momentarily stunned, “Find what way?”
“A way to get rid of the bastard in your belly.” He took a deep breath, as if still not satisfied, reaching out to grip Shen Tanqi’s ear forcefully, pulling him close, questioning, “I used my dragon ball to send you to Rongyun Sect for cultivation, and this is how you repay me?”
Shen Tanqi raised an eyebrow, his ear stinging from the pull, a low grunt escaping him in pain.
The voice in his ear continued relentlessly, criticizing him, “Do you know how many years I’ve waited in this damned place? Let me tell you, if you don’t get rid of that child, you can forget about living.”
With that, the other person grabbed his waist with one hand, carrying him into his arms, and walked towards the water dungeon’s exit. Accidentally brushing against Shen Tanqi’s abdomen, he instinctively recoiled, unable to bear it anymore, cursing, “Useless thing, of all people, you had to get involved with my brother!”
The voice exploded in his ear, making Shen Tanqi’s eardrums ache a bit. Sensing the full anger in the other’s tone, he strangely remained much calmer, and spoke lightly, “You’re afraid of your brother, aren’t you?”
The person beside him paused for a moment, his eyes locking onto Shen Tanqi’s face like venomous snakes, suddenly curling his lips into a smirk, “I used to be afraid, but now, with his wife and child in my hands, what do you think?”
Shen Tanqi nodded slightly, glancing behind him, and analyzed lightly, “So, if your brother were here, you wouldn’t stand a chance against him.”
“Quit babbling.” Without hesitation, the other person covered Shen Tanqi’s mouth with his hand, grinning menacingly, “Even if he were here, what could he do…”
“Xie Chi.”
A calm, cold voice came from behind, low and steady.
In an instant, even Shen Tanqi, blocked from sight by being held in the other’s arms, keenly felt the terrifying sword aura spreading throughout the world. The entire water dungeon emitted a desperate buzzing, everything trembling because of it.
He saw Xie Chi in front of him freeze instantly, not even daring to turn his head.
After a while, the sword aura became even more fierce, as if it was about to engulf them. Xie Chi suddenly hugged Shen Tanqi’s shoulders, turning to face his long-unseen elder brother, forcing a dry laugh, “Brother, it’s been so long. Since we parted ten years ago, have I grown taller?”
Yu Ce stared at him expressionlessly, then glanced at Shen Tanqi in his embrace. “How did you end up here?”
Seeing his gaze shift to Shen Tanqi, Xie Chi quickly let go of him, earnestly explaining in a low voice, “Just met our sister-in-law. We hit it off immediately and were chatting about you.”
“Sister-in-law?” Yu Ce’s expression paused slightly, the sword aura strangely calming for a moment.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, Xie Chi’s smile deepened, “Exactly, I was chatting with our sister-in-law about the fun things we did in our childhood.”
Yu Ce fell silent briefly. He couldn’t recall any childhood antics with Xie Chi; back then, they were confined to the Hidden Dragon Valley, and Xie Chi often caused him trouble, that much was true.
Just as Shen Tanqi was about to expose Xie Chi’s lie, he heard Xie Chi’s whispered threat in his ear, “If you don’t cooperate, I’ll tell my brother about how you have been imprisoning me all these years and using my dragon ball to cultivate.”
Shen Tanqi: ?
He lowered his voice as well, gritting his teeth, and said to Xie Chi, “You stayed voluntarily, for me to use.”
Regardless of Xie Chi’s true intentions, the Shen family couldn’t possibly keep him locked up. If he wanted to leave, he could easily break the glassy water dungeon with a punch and leave. If he stayed, it was definitely because his plan to cultivate Shen Tanqi wasn’t finished.
Xie Chi looked up at Yu Ce, but then grinned mischievously and squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth to Shen Tanqi, “But if I don’t say anything, who would know?”
Shen Tanqi: …
Damn it, this bastard.
After a moment, Shen Tanqi and Xie Chi patted each other’s shoulders, pretending to be the best of brothers, and smiled at Yu Ce, “We were indeed just talking about you.”
Yu Ce’s gaze softened slightly, unsure if he believed them, and softly said to Shen Tanqi, “Come here.”
The water dungeon was muddy and filthy, with water still reaching up to their knees. Xie Chi didn’t dare to stop Shen Tanqi at this moment, fearing that if Yu Ce sensed something was wrong, he would strike with a sword. So, he could only watch as Shen Tanqi staggered towards Yu Ce step by step.
When Shen Tanqi reached Yu Ce’s side, the anxiety that had hung in his throat slowly subsided.
At least he could be certain of one thing: Xie Chi didn’t dare to kill him now, nor could he. After nurturing the original owner for so many years, he must have had another plan. Could it be that he wanted Shen Tanqi’s body to be his vessel?
So, it’s like those cultivation novels where someone tries to take over another’s body?
With that in mind, he found the reason behind Xie Chi cultivating this body. Moreover, because Shen Tanqi happened to be pregnant, carrying his brother’s child, if Xie Chi rashly killed Shen Tanqi, he would be burdened by Shen Tanqi’s child in his belly.
Furthermore, he probably couldn’t bear the thought of him having his brother’s child, hence he wanted Shen Tanqi to get rid of the baby first.
Shen Tanqi wiped the sweat from his forehead, piecing everything together, and gently tugged at Yu Ce’s sleeve, spitting out some water, and softly called, “Yu Ce.”
He was extremely weak now, almost powerless, so he could only cling to Yu Ce’s shoulder, leaning close to his ear, and whispered, “Xie Chi wants to kill me. He wants to kill me and the child.”
In an instant, Xie Chi’s pupils contracted slightly, pointing at Shen Tanqi, gritting his teeth and laughing, “You, Shen Tanqi, you’re good, really good!”
Unscrupulous, he was indeed the bastard he carefully selected from the Shen family!
He repeated ‘good’ three times in a row, trembling with anger, wishing he had just killed him earlier. But as he raised his eyes, he saw Yu Ce slowly drawing his sword from his side.
“Ten years ago, I said, if you fell to the demonic path, our brotherly bond would be completely severed.”
The long sword emitted a chilling sword aura as Yu Ce stared at him coldly, seeing through the faint demonic energy around Xie Chi. “It seems you haven’t learned your lesson at all.”
Xie Chi took a slow step back, memories of the countless horrors brought by the sword in Yu Ce’s hand flashing through his mind. His eyes, tainted with venom, locked onto Yu Ce as he said, “Ten years ago, you banished me from the Hidden Dragon Valley. We haven’t been brothers for a long time. As for Shen Tanqi—”
He slammed a heavy fist through the roof of the water dungeon. At the moment of escaping the water dungeon, he suddenly turned back, glaring at Shen Tanqi, gritting his teeth, “I’ll be waiting. I’ll wait until you give birth to that child. You better cultivate diligently for me and stop being useless! Do you hear me!”
Shen Tanqi: …
Just run away already, why is he still nagging at him like this.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
