Immortality Path: From the Blind Man at the Pharmacy
Chapter 175 - 115, 116. Despite the chaos, they do not move southward, Yune swallows ghosts, the beast with the fur comes to life (big Chapter - seeking subscriptions)

Chapter 175: 115, 116. Despite the chaos, they do not move southward, Yune swallows ghosts, the beast with the fur comes to life (big Chapter - seeking subscriptions)

After the New Year’s Eve dinner, Song Cheng, with Ting in tow, made his way to Madam Tong’s room.

Madam Tong had become pregnant in March of the previous year, and if all went normally, she was expected to give birth in about a month.

However, at this time last year, Miss An had suffered a brutal and near-fatal childbirth.

Therefore, Song Cheng was understandably worried that Madam Tong might face the same ordeal.

At the moment, he sat on a wooden chair by the window, lifting Ting onto his lap, while Madam Tong busied herself on the side with a concoction of strange incenses, claiming they could warm the body and fend off the cold, beneficial for a pregnant woman...

Song Cheng leaned forward slightly, letting Ting touch Madam Tong’s swollen belly, and whispered softly, "Inside is your little sister, or perhaps, your little brother."

Ting curiously poked around from left to right.

Madam Tong smiled and said, "Ting, in a couple of years, you’ll have a little shadow following you around."

Ting seemed to understand, giggling with baby talk, flailing his little short arms, and making incomprehensible soft, childish sounds.

Song Cheng pressed his ear to Madam Tong’s belly, feeling for a while, but he didn’t experience the feeling of "a baby kicking his face from inside the womb."

Whereas previously, on Miss An’s belly, Ting had given him a real "pummeling" with kicks and punches.

He remarked, "Not as mischievous as Ting."

Madam Tong asked, "What should we name the child, my husband?"

Song Cheng said, "Right now, all I wish for is the child’s safety. How about the name Song An?"

"Good, Song An, little An... it works for both a boy or a girl, may they have peace every year, every age, all through life." Madam Tong approved of the name, harboring her own fears of a difficult childbirth for the baby.

Song Cheng pulled Ting back, grabbing his tiny hand and pointing to the belly, saying, "Little An."

Ting laughed and babbled, visibly elated without knowing why, and soon yawned, calling out, "Sleepy, sleepy..."

Madam Tong enviously said, "Ting is really sensible, only a year old."

Carrying him, Song Cheng said, "I’ll take him over to Sister An’s place, and come back to keep you company shortly."

Madam Tong nodded gently.

...

...

As days passed by, Hanping Prefecture seemed like a giant island.

Calling it a small city would be less accurate than describing it as a vast region enclosed by passes, mountains, and rivers.

This was the unique advantage provided by the northern environment.

With Madam Tong unable to work at Pearl Mountain Taoist Temple, the head of Medicinal Human Hall, Chen Ji, temporarily took her duties, although he still had to report back on important matters.

During this period, Pearl Mountain Taoist Temple had essentially turned into "Farming Temple.

The Prefectural City slowed down on commerce and heavily promoted agriculture, aiming to be self-sufficient in the face of calamities. With its expertise in herbology, the temple naturally began to explore how to enrich the farmlands, grow bountiful rice, and ensure the grains were full rather than shriveled—new research challenges...

This research eventually yielded something.

Pearl Mountain discovered a type of Exotic Grass that, when planted along the edges of a field, deterred insects from gnawing on the rice crops.

However, they were still unable to solve issues like improving soil fertility, and enhancing both the quality and quantity of the rice crops.

But these concerns were no longer Madam Tong’s to worry about for the time being.

Song Cheng, on the other hand, had never bothered with such matters.

His days were spent by Madam Tong’s side.

Fortunately, everything was normal, and one morning in January, Madam Tong suddenly gripped Song Cheng’s hand tightly and said, "My husband, little An is coming..."

A look of joy crossed Song Cheng’s face as he hurriedly summoned help.

Soon a troop of midwives rushed in with a flurry.

Before long, a loud cry echoed from the room.

Song Cheng was truly beside himself with joy.

This time, surprisingly, nothing went awry!

Madam Tong experienced no chills, had no difficult labor, and the baby seemed to come right on time, and from the sounds of it, was healthy too.

Ying rushed out first, excitedly announcing to Song Cheng, "It’s a boy!"

Song Cheng rushed into the birthing room along with her.

Soon after, the baby was cleaned, swaddled, and quietly sleeping in Madam Tong’s arms.

An Chenyu, holding Ting, chatted idly by her side for a short while before leaving to let Madam Tong rest.

Song Cheng didn’t leave. He sat on the bedstead, and after a while, he quietly took off his clothes and climbed into bed, keeping the mother and child company...

Tending to an infant is much like waging a war.

It’s usual to cry at night: are they hungry, or do they need to urinate? That’s for you to guess.

But Ting had been okay previously; he had proven what it meant to be a "Gratitude Baby"—especially well-behaved at night, sleeping on schedule, and sleeping through until morning, feeding during the day...

It was precisely this sweet demeanor that had charmed Madam Tong.

Clearly, little An wasn’t quite as easy; after the initial "peace period," all sorts of trouble began to arise in the middle of the night...

Song Cheng too became flustered and frantic.

Perhaps finding him too clumsy, Madam Tong began rolling her eyes at him with increasing frequency.

Miss An came personally to take charge of the situation.

She left the well-mannered Ting with Song Cheng, then she along with Ying and Ling began to assist Madam Tong in caring for little An.

Song Cheng felt helpless. He realized that he was indeed awkward at fathering, but he believed that he could still manage to take care of Ting.

More than ten days later...

The Ouyang Family also received joyous news: Zhao Hua’s child was born, a girl named Zhao Lingxue.

It was an endearing name for a little maiden.

Despite the freezing weather, Ouyang Chuchu still brought her little daughter to visit the An Family, so that the two children, who were affianced to each other, could meet.

And this "meeting" simply involved lying side by side in swaddling cloths, each sleeping peacefully.

The An household became lively.

It wasn’t the kind of bustle driven by mercenary concerns, but a celebration of new life.

The spirits of everyone were lifted by these two children to such an extent that it seemed like all the chaos of the Human World, the Ghost Servants outside the city, and the Ghost Tide that might loom again, had become utterly inconsequential.