Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

15: Chapter 15: Undercurrents and Glimmers of LightThe stifled sobs inside the Woodshed intertwined with the heavy scent of medicine. Liu Qingxuan’s tears fell like broken strings of pearls, striking the cold earthen floor and also striking her heart, which had been torn to shreds by fear and a sense of absurdity. Looking at her son’s pale, weak little face, then recalling the strange, rigid posture of the venomous snake in the mountain ravine and that fleeting tremor from the depths of her Bloodline that had flashed through her heart... a chilling thought lingered, refusing to leave.

Old Man Sun’s cloudy gaze pressed down like a heavy boulder, weighing on Liu Qingxuan, and also on Lin Mo and Su Muxue. He silently bent down and began to gather the scattered bloodline grass from the floor. His movements were slow and meticulous, as if he were sorting through tangled thoughts. On those dark green and crimson leaves, a few drops of nearly congealed, dark red snake blood were particularly glaring.

”It was a ’Ringed Viper’,” Old Man Sun’s voice was low and certain, breaking the suffocating silence. ”Deadly poison. Bitten by it, you die in three breaths. The fact that you came back alive means Heaven opened its eyes.” He paused, not looking at Liu Qingxuan, but emphasized his next words, ”And it means Mo’er’s fate is not yet sealed.”

This last sentence pierced Liu Qingxuan’s heart like a needle. She jerked her head up, her tear-blurred eyes fixed on Old Man Sun. Her lips trembled, wanting to say something, but her throat was blocked by immense fear. Old Man Sun’s meaning... could he have guessed? Or... did he also ’see’ something?

Old Man Sun placed the cleaned bloodline grass back into the Wicker Basket, straightened up, and fixed his gaze on Liu Qingxuan’s fearful and uncertain face. His voice carried a weariness and warning born of worldly insight: ”Some things, don’t ask why. Knowing is the root of disaster. Just remember, Mo’er is very weak now. He needs rest, and more importantly... medicine.” He pointed at the Wicker Basket. ”This bloodline grass is of acceptable quality, but it’s far from enough. As for the other main ingredient for the qi-boosting powder, the ’Crimson Sun Flower Stamen’, I truly have no stock left at all. You...” He glanced at the gradually darkening sky outside. ”...rest first. Mo’er just took medicine, he’s temporarily fine. For this girl’s (referring to Su Muxue) medicine, I’ll try to prepare a dose using this bloodline grass first.”

He didn’t press for details about Liu Qingxuan’s perilous encounter, nor did he explain the ’true’ reason for Lin Mo’s sudden collapse. His deeply secretive attitude only deepened the suspicion and fear in Liu Qingxuan’s heart. She watched as Old Man Sun lifted the Wicker Basket, lifted the curtain, and went out. His back, under the dim light, appeared particularly hunched and heavy.

Only the mother and her two children remained in the Woodshed. Su Muxue timidly nestled close to Liu Qingxuan. Tears still welled in her light green eyes as she looked at the unconscious Lin Mo, then at her distraught ’mother’. Her small hand tightly clutched the hem of Liu Qingxuan’s clothes.

Liu Qingxuan took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing her turbulent emotions. Old Man Sun was right! Now was not the time to dwell on those mysterious things! Mo’er needed her! Mu Xue needed her! She wiped the tear stains from her face, moved to Lin Mo’s side, and carefully gathered him into her arms. The small body was still burning hot, his breathing faint, but compared to the deathly pallor from before, there was finally a hint of vitality. She held her son tightly, as if trying to transfer her own life force to him. Her gaze then fell on Su Muxue. Seeing the worry in her eyes, her heart ached again.

”Be good, Mu Xue. Mo’er is fine now. Grandpa Sun gave him medicine. He’ll be better after a good sleep.” Liu Qingxuan tried hard to make her voice sound calm, forcing a smile for Su Muxue that was uglier than crying. ”How do you feel? Does your wound still hurt badly?”

Su Muxue nodded vigorously, then shook her head. Her small finger pointed to her left shoulder and right arm, then pointed at Lin Mo. The meaning was clear: she was in pain, but she was more worried about her little brother.

A sour feeling welled up in Liu Qingxuan’s heart. She gently patted the back of Su Muxue’s hand. ”Good child, you lie down and rest too. Mother will watch over you both.”

Night, like thick ink, gradually swallowed Black Stone Town. There was no lamp in the Woodshed, only the thin, bleak moonlight seeping in through the door crack and the broken window. Holding Lin Mo, Liu Qingxuan leaned against the cold wall, wide awake. The cold, vertical pupils of the venomous snake from the ravine during the day and Old Man Sun’s deeply secretive gaze flashed alternately in her mind like a revolving lantern. And the faint yet abnormally burning hot temperature of her son in her arms... All of this pointed towards a vortex she could not understand, yet could not escape.

---

Lin Mo’s consciousness was sinking in a boundless darkness and searing pain.

The light of the chaos dao seed had dimmed to an extreme, like a candle flame in the wind. Each faint pulse brought Soul-rending agony. Forcibly urging his Origin to cross space and release its pressure had cost far more than he imagined. This wasn’t just a backlash of power; it was an overdraft of his very life’s Origin. He felt like an old, dilapidated furnace that had been hollowed out and then forcibly ignited, on the verge of complete collapse at any moment.

[Warning! Host’s Life Origin severely overdrawn! Dao Seed (seed) nearing collapse!] [Warning! Operation of ’Lesser Body Tempering Technique’ interrupted! Qi and blood disorder intensifying!] [Warning! Detected injection of unknown, pure Profound Yin energy. Dao Seed initiating forced absorption... Conversion efficiency 0.0001%... Insufficient to compensate for deficit...] The cold, intermittent voice of the System echoed deep within his consciousness, like a countdown to death.

Amidst this despairing darkness, a trace of warm, gentle energy quietly flowed in. It did not originate from the Dao Seed itself, nor was it like Su Muxue’s pure yet icy Profound Yin Qi. It was mild, mellow, carrying the vitality of plants and a trace of faint spirituality. It was the bowl of medicinal decoction Old Man Sun had fed him!

Although this medicinal power was weak, it was like timely rain. It precisely seeped into his depleted Meridians, nourished his cells on the brink of collapse, and attempted to fill that immense ’emptiness’. It couldn’t shake the fundamental deficit of his Origin, but like a tough membrane, it temporarily coated the inner walls of the furnace about to shatter, delaying the speed of collapse.

At the same time, Lin Mo clearly ’perceived’ that he was being held tightly in a warm embrace. The aura of that embrace was so familiar—carrying the faint earthy smell, the saltiness of sweat, and a deep-seated, unreserved worry and love—it was his mother, Liu Qingxuan!

This warmth and sense of protection, originating from blood ties, seemed to become the only anchor in the darkness, pulling at his sinking consciousness. A faint yet incredibly tenacious will to survive stubbornly sprouted amidst the ruins of agony and depletion. He couldn’t die! He had promised to protect Su Muxue! He had sworn to guard this mother who loved him with her life!

[Detected strong protective will! Dao Seed (seed) survival instinct activated!] [Initiating forced sorting of disordered Qi and blood... Prioritizing repair of life-sustaining core...] [Guiding trace medicinal power... Absorption efficiency increased to 0.01%...] The System’s prompts seemed to carry an extremely faint... fluctuation? As if touched by this will.

Lin Mo’s consciousness struggled to coalesce. No longer passively enduring the pain, he began to actively, arduously guide the trickle of incoming medicinal power and his own remnant Qi and blood, circulating them according to the method of the ’Embracing Origin Stance’ from the ’Lesser Body Tempering Technique’. Each mental guidance was like walking on the edge of a blade, the pain piercing his heart. But with each tiny completed cycle, he regained a sliver of control over his body, and the dim light of the Dao Seed also seemed to... stabilize by an extremely faint degree.

This was a silent struggle, a race against death. Relying on Old Man Sun’s potent medicine, the warmth of his mother’s embrace, and his own unyielding will, Lin Mo, on the edge of the abyss of depletion, desperately clung to that thread of life.

---

As dawn just began to break, a light knocking sound came from the outer area of the medicine shop, shattering the quiet of the early morning.

Having barely slept all night, Liu Qingxuan immediately raised her head alertly at the sound. She carefully placed Lin Mo, who was still unconscious but whose breathing seemed a bit steadier, back onto the pile of dry straw. After reassuringly patting Su Muxue, who had been startled awake and looked bewildered, she dragged her exhausted, stiff body out, lifting the cloth curtain.

Old Man Sun had already opened the medicine shop’s creaky, broken wooden door. Outside stood two men dressed in coarse short jackets, with worn-out cleavers hanging at their waists, their faces fierce and thuggish. They carried a strong odor of sweat and cheap liquor. Their eyes, like vultures, swept over the small medicine shop, finally landing on Liu Qingxuan who had just emerged.

Old Man Sun, I heard you’ve got a new woman here with a kid in tow?

The leader, a man with a scarred face, spoke brashly in a grating voice.

And she brought a half-dead girl?

Where are they from?

Liu Qingxuan’s heart instantly leaped into her throat!

People from the Black Wind Stockade!

How did they find out so quickly?!

Old Sun’s cloudy eyes narrowed slightly.

He subtly shifted his stance, blocking Liu Qingxuan from view, and cupped his hands towards the scarred man, his tone flat.

Second Boss Wang, you jest.

It’s just a distant niece who was traveling with her child and fell ill in front of my shop a few days ago when the heavy snow blocked the mountain passes.

As a physician, I couldn’t just watch them die, so I took them in to recuperate in the Woodshed for a few days.

Once the snow melts and the roads clear, they will leave on their own.

A niece?

The scarred Wang Er snorted with disbelief, his gaze brazenly sweeping over Liu Qingxuan.

His eyes lingered on her weary yet still delicate profile and graceful figure, flashing with lust.

Old Man Sun, you’re a lonely old man.

Where’d you get such a fresh-faced niece?

Could it be... you found yourself a bed-warmer?

Haha!

His Minions behind him joined in the raucous laughter.

Liu Qingxuan was both humiliated and furious, her face pale, but she bit her lip hard and dared not make a sound.

The wrinkles on Old Sun’s face deepened, but his tone remained calm.

Second Boss Wang, please don’t joke about such things.

She’s just a coarse country woman, not worthy of your attention.

I’m an old man nearing the end of my days; I just want to run this medicine shop quietly to make ends meet and avoid trouble.

He paused, then pulled a small cloth pouch from under the counter and handed it over.

This is this month’s ’safety money’.

Please accept it, Second Boss.

Wang Er snatched the pouch, weighed it in his hand, and showed a flicker of dissatisfaction, but he didn’t press the matter about Liu Qingxuan further.

His gaze swept over the pile of freshly cleaned withered bone vine, still reeking of earth, and then glanced at the nearby vine basket holding the bloodline grass, which still bore traces of soil and dried, dark red stains.

A glint flashed in his eyes.

Oh?

Old Man Sun, business is good, eh?

Got so much withered bone vine?

And this bloodline grass... looks quite fresh.

Where’d you gather it?

He asked casually, but nudged the basket with his foot.

Liu Qingxuan’s heart plummeted!

Cold sweat instantly soaked her back.

Old Sun didn’t even lift his eyelids, answering slowly.

The withered bone vine was brought in by a few regular customers from town for processing.

The bloodline grass... I got lucky and dug it up near Old Crow Ridge some days ago.

There’s not much of it.

If you need it, Second Boss, please take it.

Consider it a bonus.

Old Crow Ridge?

Wang Er stared suspiciously at Old Sun, then looked at the basket on the ground, as if judging the truth of his words.

Old Crow Ridge and Heartbreak Ravine were in different directions, but both were far from the Black Wind Stockade’s core activity area.

Hmph, you can dig up such good bloodline grass in that godforsaken Old Crow Ridge?

Old Man Sun, who are you trying to fool?

A Minion behind Wang Er couldn’t help but interject.

Wang Er raised a hand to stop his underling, his face twisting into a mocking smile.

Old Man Sun, you know the rules of our Black Wind Stockade.

Everything within a hundred miles of Black Stone Town, every blade of grass and tree, is under our Great Boss’s control.

Gathering herbs... also requires paying a ’share’.

This basket of bloodline grass looks decent enough.

Perfect timing; the Great Boss needs some blood-activating, meridian-clearing herbs for his cultivation.

Consider this your ’herb share’ for this month!

With that, he waved a hand, signaling his Minions to take the vine basket.

Liu Qingxuan’s heart bled!

That was something she had risked her life for!

It was the crucial medicinal catalyst to save Mu Xue’s life!

Second Boss!

Old Sun’s voice suddenly rose a notch, carrying an unyielding firmness.

This bloodline grass is for me to prepare medicine to save that gravely injured girl’s life!

If you take it, you’re taking her life!

My duty as a physician is to heal the sick and save the dying.

I truly cannot stand by and watch you take this life-saving herb!

Could you please grant an extension for this ’herb share’?

I swear I will find other herbs to make up for it within a few days!

He stepped forward, placing himself in front of the basket.

His frail body in that moment exuded a faint, unassailable dignity.

Wang Er was momentarily taken aback by Old Sun’s sudden defiance, then a fierce light erupted in his eyes.

You old bastard!

You’ve got some nerve, bargaining with me?!

His hand went to the hilt of his sword.

The atmosphere instantly became tense as a drawn bow!

Liu Qingxuan was so terrified she almost collapsed.

She instinctively looked towards the Woodshed, her eyes filled with despair.

Mu Xue... Moer... Just then—

Waaah... Waaah... WAAAH—!

A loud, piercing, and agonizingly weak infant’s cry suddenly erupted from inside the Woodshed!

The cry was heart-wrenching, filled with the struggle of a life on the brink of death!

The sudden crying startled both tense parties.

Wang Er’s hand on his sword hilt paused, and he frowned, looking towards the Woodshed.

A sharp glint, however, flashed through Old Sun’s cloudy eyes!

He immediately seized the opportunity, his face instantly creasing with helplessness and urgency.

He repeatedly bowed towards Wang Er with clasped hands.

Second Boss!

Listen!

The injured girl hasn’t woken, and now the little one is... Ah!

I am truly... truly overwhelmed!

If you really take this bloodline grass, it means two lives!

I beg you, Second Boss, considering how hard it is for an old physician to make a living, please show mercy!

I will deliver double the ’safety money’ and the ’herb share’ within three days!

I beg you!

He lowered his posture completely, his tone full of pleading and desperation, masterfully portraying the helplessness, fear, and concern for his patients of a small medicine shop owner facing bandits.

The continuous, heart-rending infant cries became the most powerful ’plea’ at that moment.

Wang Er stared at Old Sun for a few seconds, glanced again towards the Woodshed, and listened to the genuinely irritating and unsettling cries that didn’t seem feigned.

His expression shifted uncertainly.

Finally, he spat on the ground.

Pah!

What bad Luck!

Hearing this wailing first thing in the morning!

Fine, fine, old man, remember your words!

Three days!

Double!

If you’re short a single copper coin, I’ll burn this dump of yours to the ground!

Let’s go!

He shot a fierce glare at Old Sun and Liu Qingxuan, then turned and left with his men, cursing under their breath, not giving the basket on the ground another look.

The shop door slammed shut heavily.

Liu Qingxuan slid down against the counter as if all strength had left her, her back completely drenched in cold sweat, her body trembling violently.

The immense fear and lingering terror of a narrow escape left her almost breathless.

Old Sun let out a long, silent sigh of relief, fine beads of cold sweat also appearing on his temples.

He had just gambled, betting on a lowly thug like Wang Er’s annoyance at the persistent, painful cries of an infant, betting that he wouldn’t want the trouble of actually causing deaths in a place with little profit to be had.

Fortunately, he had won the gamble.

Inside the Woodshed, Su Muxue was panicking, holding the wailing Lin Mo, whose face was flushed red from crying.

Lin Mo wasn’t pretending; the struggle against exhaustion within the depths of his consciousness had reached an intense peak.

Severe pain broke through the stupor, manifesting as an instinctual howl.

This cry, through a strange twist of fate, became the ’weapon’ that defused an imminent crisis.

Old Sun rubbed his tired brow, glanced at the bloodline grass that had narrowly escaped disaster, then looked towards the Woodshed, his expression complex.

Beneath the surface calm of this small medicine shop, undercurrents were already swirling fiercely.

Could a single cry from a comatose infant really scare off bandits?

Did this coincidence hide some ineffable... Luck?

Or... was it an omen of even greater trouble yet to come?

He bent down, picked up the vine basket, and walked towards the backyard, his voice low as he spoke to Liu Qingxuan, who still sat slumped on the ground.

Get up.

Go tend to the child.

This bloodline grass... I’ll go prepare the medicine now.

Time... is truly running out.

Liu Qingxuan struggled to her feet, staggering back to the Woodshed.

Seeing Lin Mo in Su Muxue’s arms, crying so hard he was almost breathless, his little face twisted in agony, her heart felt as if being sliced by a knife.

Forgetting all shock and fear, she rushed over and tightly embraced her son.