Chapter 1257: Chapter 317: Ling Yue’s Younger Brother

That strange tacit understanding between Ye Lingyue and Di Shen had only grown more obvious ever since they arrived on the Ancient Nine Provinces Continent.

Especially after they had been separated and then reunited, that feeling deepened a great deal, like an old married couple.

Sometimes, Ye Lingyue didn’t even have to speak before Di Shen understood her, and likewise, Di Shen was the same.

This kind of feeling, she had never had before, whether with Feng Xun or Wu Zhong.

But sometimes, Ye Lingyue would also feel that this familiarity was somehow...familiar in itself, as if at some unknown point in time, there had been someone else who shared this exact tacit understanding with her.

Who could it be?

Ye Lingyue furrowed her brow again and again, thinking until her head hurt, but no matter what, she couldn’t remember. In her mind there was only a faint, tall figure; she clearly wanted to drive it away, yet it stubbornly lingered.

A slightly rough hand came up to her brow and gently kneaded between her eyes.

When she focused, it was Di Shen smiling as he smoothed out the knot between her brows.

"Wife, don’t think about it. Whatever it is, you have me."

"I’ll go break through the Vajra Formation with you. I want to see for myself just how powerful a Vajra Formation refined through the Puppet Book really is."

Feeling the warmth between her brows, the shadow in Ye Lingyue’s mind grew fainter and fainter.

In the snow-covered Northern Realm, inside the Divine Hall’s imperial study.

Xi Jiuye’s brow was tightly knitted; in front of him, the desk was piled high with memorials.

This year, the Northern Realm was especially cold. Across the Divine Realm, a large quantity of crops had been buried under ice and snow; within the borders, the Divine Citizens were struggling to survive. Along the frontier, Desert Beasts were rampaging and attacking villages. He had petitioned the God Emperor to send a few Doctors over to treat the wounded, but his request had been rejected by people from Futu Heaven.

So much for "saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda." Futu Heaven, hailed as the gathering place of Divine Doctors in the Divine Realm, chose this moment to refuse his request—how could Xi Jiuye not understand the reason behind it?

Ye Lingguang...Medicine Buddha Yun Sheng and Eight Desolate Divine Sovereign Ye Beiming’s third son, the only one among Yun Sheng’s several children to inherit her medical skills, Ye Lingyue’s twin younger brother, and the one currently in control of Futu Heaven.

The Eight Desolates World finally couldn’t hold back and wanted to avenge that old grudge, did they.

"Heh, just a tiny Futu Heaven, and they really think that without their help my Northern Territory will be at a loss?"

Xi Jiuye threw down the memorial in his hand and paced inside the imperial study.

"Brother Jiu Ye."

Lan Chuchu walked in accompanied by a waitress. Her belly was already over four months along, her waist just starting to look a bit plump.

She wore an opulent cloak made of polar snow bear fur, her brows and features painted exquisitely.

With her status rising thanks to the child in her belly, ever since she took the Divine Elixir Xi Jiuye gave her, Lan Chuchu had been in high spirits, and her complexion had become quite rosy.

"Lan’er, what brings you here?"

Seeing Lan Chuchu, Xi Jiuye forced down the displeasure in his heart.

"I saw the plum blossoms in the Plum Garden of the Divine Hall are in full bloom. I wanted you to go admire them with me."

It had been several days since Lan Chuchu had seen Xi Jiuye. Ever since Xi Jiuye returned from the Heavenly Gang Palace, he’d seemed a bit off. But thinking of how the Divine Elixir refined from Ye Lingyue’s flesh and blood was already in her belly, Lan Chuchu decided not to dwell on it.

Admire plum blossoms?

At a time like this, how could he be in the mood?

Xi Jiuye felt a surge of irritation. Lan Chuchu was good in every way; she took meticulous care of his food, clothing, and daily life, but she simply didn’t know how to read the times.

The disaster victims of the Northern Territory were living in fire and water; what he needed now was not this kind of pretentious flower-viewing. He needed someone who could help him plan and strategize.

If it were before, when Ye Lingyue was still around...

Xi Jiuye’s heart clenched as he recalled many years ago, when he had just gained the right to rule the Northern Realm.

Back then, the Northern Realm’s conditions were a hundred times harsher than they were now. There had been someone wrapped in thin clothes, lips blue with cold, pressing their forehead to his as they discussed how to help the Divine Citizens of the Northern Territory survive the bitter winter.

At that time, he wasn’t a Divine Master yet; he didn’t even have a decent fur coat. All he could do was hold her in his arms and use his own Divine Power to warm her hands and feet.

Back then, he hadn’t even known she was a woman, and had even complained that she was so skinny and small. As a "man," how could she be so scrawny, like some delicate girl?

He even remembered that when he held her, he’d thought to himself, how could anyone smell this good?

He could still recall that he only needed to give a glance, without saying another word, and that person—whose mind seemed to be carved from crystal—would immediately understand what he meant.

So many years had passed. After she was gone, in all the winters since, he had never warmed anyone else’s hands and feet.

"Brother Jiu Ye, were you even listening to me? Huh? Brother Jiu Ye, why are your hands so cold?"

Just then, a warm, soft hand grabbed Xi Jiuye’s, cutting off his memories.

Lan Chuchu’s hands were warm, but no matter what, she couldn’t warm Xi Jiuye’s. A sudden bitterness welled up in his heart, along with a surge of inexplicable irritability.

"Lan’er, I’ve been swamped with state affairs these past few days. If there’s nothing important, don’t come looking for me. If you want to admire the plum blossoms, have the attendants go with you."

With that, he waved his hand, signaling Lan Chuchu to withdraw.

"Brother Jiu Ye, you’ll regret this."

Lan Chuchu’s eyes filled with tears. She stomped her foot and stormed out in a fit of temper.

She might be the God Emperor’s illegitimate daughter, but she had been pampered and spoiled from childhood, and Xi Jiuye was the man she loved. When had he ever spoken to her like this?

Watching Lan Chuchu hurry out in small steps, Xi Jiuye opened his mouth, but when his gaze fell on the stack of memorials on the desk, his face turned cold again and, in the end, he didn’t go after her.

Lan Chuchu ran a few steps, thinking Xi Jiuye would catch up, but as she walked and stopped, there was no sign of him. In a fit of anger, she gathered her strength and ran a few more paces.

The maid behind her cried out in alarm.

"Goddess, please be careful of your body!"

Lan Chuchu wouldn’t listen. She didn’t look back, ignoring the maid’s calls as she ran all the way to the Plum Garden.

The Northern Territory’s weather was cold, especially suited to plum trees. The plum blossoms in the garden were at their peak; red petals had fallen all over the ground, looking like splashes of fresh blood.

She walked a few steps, but there was ice built up on the ground and it was very slippery. On top of that, Lan Chuchu was wearing a heavy bear fur cloak; her foot stepped on the hem of her robe, slipped out from under her, and she fell hard to the ground.

With that fall, Lan Chuchu felt a sharp twist of pain in her lower abdomen and a sticky, hot sensation between her legs.

"My child... Hurry, someone, hurry and save my child!"

Lan Chuchu remembered that year when, because of the terrifying power Ye Lingyue unleashed right before her death, she had accidentally disturbed the fetus and miscarried.

She knew in her heart that she must have accidentally jolted the fetus again.

Could it be that this time, she was going to lose her child again?