“Blergh. Urp.” Ugh. Am I poisoned? It’s been two months since Lucia passed her tribulation. The gate is still in the sky, floating after her on two tribulation clouds. As for me, I’ve been living a very comfy life absorbing her impurities. In fact, I’ve proceeded to the sky-realm despite not planting any heart devils in this time. Maybe I ingested too many of Lucia’s impurities? They’re the only things I eat and drink. If I’m vomiting, it has to be due to the impurities, no? Not only that, but it seems like I’ve missed my period for two months already…. Perhaps I really have been poisoned. Could it be an aftereffect of drinking that soup Lucia made? Something that mystical should have had a downside.

I think I’ll visit the heavenly doctor. Sister Ilya managed to invite him here by allowing him access to all the books within her library. She’s storing every book and jade slip from the plundered sects into it. If her project, as she refers to conquering the continent, succeeds, she’ll have amassed all the knowledge in the world. Any scholar would be interested in the library she’s creating, even someone renowned for recognizing and curing any disease. The heavenly doctor should be in the library right now. Luckily, with my status, the guards won’t stop me at the door.

It didn’t take too long to get inside and find the doctor. He and his apprentice were the only people there. He seemed to be taking a break from reading, staring at the cup of tea resting on the table in front of him instead. His apprentice was hard at work, exploring jade slips and recording them onto paper once she was done. I cleared my throat and approached the doctor. “Soft Moonlight greets the heavenly doctor.”

The heavenly doctor turned towards me, his long white beard trailing after his body’s movements. He squinted at me before his expression softened. “How can I help you?”

“I think I might be sick.” Now that I’m saying it out loud, I think I might’ve overdone it by coming to the heavenly doctor. He’s able to cure life-threatening illnesses, and all I’m experiencing is a little bit of vomiting. “Recently, I’ve been feeling nauseous, and I’ve—”

“Come here,” the heavenly doctor said, not letting me finish. He stretched out his hand. “Let me take your pulse.” It’s probably faster for him to take my pulse than for me to explain what’s wrong. I placed my wrist into his hand, and his thumb pressed down on my arm. A moment later, he raised an eyebrow. “It’s nothing serious, just morning sickness.”

Oh. It’s just morning sick…ness?

“You’re pregnant.”

Wait. Pregnant? What?

“It’s interesting. I’ve never witnessed this for myself, only having read about it in an obscure manual before.” The heavenly doctor retrieved his hand, and my arm fell limp at my side. What does he mean by I’m pregnant!? “You’ve taken a virility pill, haven’t you?”

“Yes…, I have.”

The heavenly doctor smiled and nodded. “As I thought. Even though you’re a virgin, with the aid of the virility pill made from the core of a world tree, there’s a child growing inside of you.”

Sister Ilya did mention there was leftover energy from the virility pill within my body…. “Then, who’s the father?”

“You’re practicing some type of impurity-absorption technique, aren’t you? The father of your child should be the person you’re taking impurities from.”

Lucia? I’m pregnant with Lucia’s child? But we’re not even married! Lucia’s child…, if, if it’s hers, I don’t really mind…. Wait a minute, how does that even make any sense? “But Lucia’s a woman!” A woman and a woman can’t make a child!

“The virility pill is called a miracle drug for a reason.” The heavenly doctor stroked his beard and nodded at me. “It produces miracles, and what are miracles if not the impossible coming true? You should feel special. There’s only one other recorded instance of this situation in history.”

I’m pregnant with Lucia’s child…. Will anyone want to marry me after this? What would Lucia think? Would I be a good mother? Would Lucia be a good father? Would Lucia even be a father or would the child have two mothers? This is so overwhelming; I feel a bit dizzy. In the first place, do I even tell Lucia? I, I’m going to talk to my grandmother. The Shadow Devil Sect and Thousand Sect Alliance are migrating to the center of the continent to live in the Holy Beasts Sect’s previously owned area. It’s taking a while for everyone to come over because my grandfather insists on using the most efficient route in terms of teleportation gates and spirit stone costs despite the fact Sister Ilya said she’d pay for everything. If it wasn’t for my grandmother’s urgings, I think my grandfather would’ve insisted on taking a decade or longer to fly here by boat.

Maybe I’ll talk with Sister Ilya. Actually, that might be a bad idea. What if she traps me and performs strange experiments on me? I wouldn’t put it past her to do such things. However, I should definitely let Lucia know…. I’ll have to make sure she’s in a good mood before I do, and she can’t be drinking that turtle soup of hers that she still hasn’t finished. When it’s close to being finished, she adds more ingredients to it and tops up the soup with more ale. I’m not sure if it can even be called the same soup anymore. Either way, if she’s drinking it, then she’ll insist on me drinking some as well, and that won’t be very healthy for the baby. It’s true that my qi should protect it from negative effects, but there’s still a chance, and I don’t want to take any chances with this miracle baby. Perhaps this child will be the only one I have. After all, virility pills don’t grow on trees. Though, technically, they’re made from trees. Does that count? No, virility pills are expensive and rare, and I can’t count on getting another. I’ll protect this baby with my life.