Chapter 615
Chapter 615
Shen Lang carefully recalled the memories. After becoming pregnant, Mulan had indeed undergone significant changes. First, she had become more beautiful. She possessed a beauty that seemed to radiate light, far surpassing her original charm. Typically, when a woman is pregnant, some become even more beautiful. Their faces become fuller, their skin glows, and this usually happens to women pregnant with a daughter. But such a distinct change in appearance as Mulan's was extremely rare.
Not only that, but Mulan's senses had become incredibly sharp. Several times, she could sense Shen Lang's presence even from a great distance. She could even feel what the baby was thinking. Previously, Shen Lang had paid it no mind, thinking it was just a pregnancy symptom. But now, he saw that this was a very special situation.
As Shen Lang stared intently at the baby, the little one stopped crying loudly, stared back blankly, pouted, and wore an expression of grievance. This child was strange. Not only did he resemble Shen Lang in appearance, but even his expressions were strikingly similar. However, his facial features seemed to resemble Mulan's more, and he was truly a very beautiful baby.
'A bloodline mutation?!'
Shen Lang knew that bloodlines in this world were hereditary, but mutations did occur from time to time. Especially for high-grade bloodlines, the probability of inheritance was actually lower, while the chance of mutation was higher.
His mother-in-law, Su Peipei, spoke in a gentle, soothing voice.
"There, there. Our baby has quieted down. Let his father give him a name."
"Let's just call him Shen Pi!"
Before Shen Lang could finish speaking, his mother tapped him on the head.
"You can't blame the baby. He's still young and doesn't know any better."
"Then let's call him Shen Ye!"
The women thought the name was too carelessly chosen, but Shen Lang didn't want to think about it anymore. Poor baby. To think your father doesn't even want to think of a name for you. Look at your older sister. Your father thought for days, and even the king thought for days, to give her the name Shen Mi, a name with a good meaning that sounds pleasant. When it's our baby's turn, he thinks of the single character 'Ye' and stops thinking any further.
Shen Lang said.
"I think this name is fine. So it's decided!"
"Shen Ye, Shen Ye..."
Mulan murmured the name, thinking it was quite good. It wasn't because it had a good meaning, but because it inexplicably complemented Shen Lang's own name, reinforcing the bond between father and son. One is 'Lang'—unrestrained—and the other is 'Ye'—unruly!
"My love, I want to hold him too."
After speaking, Mulan slowly reached out her hands. Shen Lang's heart trembled. Because Mulan's voice was still weak, and she couldn't even lift her hands properly. Shen Lang approached Mulan, placed Shen Ye in her arms, and let him nurse. Then, he checked Mulan's temperature. The high fever had subsided, and her temperature was back to normal. Shen Lang checked Mulan's heart rate, breathing, and pulse, and noticed something was wrong. Her heartbeat and breathing had both weakened. Moreover, Mulan was continuously growing weaker.
'Is this possible? She had a smooth delivery and didn't lose a lot of blood. Why is she getting weaker?'
Shen Lang immediately gave Mulan ginseng soup, but it had no effect. Mulan grew limp, her eyes about to close.
"My love, don't sleep, you mustn't sleep..."
By this point, both Shen Lang's mother-in-law and his mother realized something was wrong. His mother-in-law, Su Peipei, dashed out and brought in the Snow Mountain Matriarch, Lin Shang. She immediately tried to inject her internal energy into Mulan's body to force her blood to circulate. But it was useless. After a full hour, the Snow Mountain Matriarch's internal energy was completely depleted.
Shen Lang changed Mulan's clothes, then called for Sword King Li Qianqiu to desperately inject his internal energy into her. Following that, nearly all the experts from the Count of Xuanwu's Estate were mobilized, along with all the masters from Lin Shang's Snow Mountain Palace. Like a relay race, they continuously injected internal energy into Mulan's body. In this world, one couldn't use their inner power to heal wounds, but they could use internal energy to forcefully make the blood circulate. But it was still no use. Mulan's heart beat slower and slower, and her breathing grew weaker and weaker.
Shen Lang tried every method he could think of. He even used stimulants and injected several addictive drugs, but nothing worked. No matter what method he used, he couldn't stop Mulan from continuously weakening, her life force draining away. He felt as if his entire world was turning dark.
* * *
Mulan held Shen Ye and looked at Shen Lang with eyes full of blind affection. Then, she closed her eyes, as if about to fall completely asleep. For several long hours, despite the full efforts of Shen Lang and the entire Count of Xuanwu's Estate, they couldn't prevent Mulan from falling into a deep slumber.
Finally, she fell into a long sleep. She was breathing and her heart was beating, but it was so, so faint that it was almost inaudible. Mulan's brain, in a self-preservation measure, had put her into a long sleep, making her seem like she had become a vegetable. No, it would be accurate to say she was now in a vegetative state.
Shen Lang sat blankly by the bed, motionless. Half of his world had collapsed, and he had no idea why things had turned out this way.
'Giving birth should be a happy occasion. Why did it bring such a disaster upon Mulan?'
Shen Lang cried out through his tears.
"Take this child away. I don't want to see him..."
Reason told him he shouldn't blame Shen Ye, but his heart couldn't bear it. Shen Ye, who had just cried for a long time, burst into tears again. But his cries soon lost their strength, and his voice grew quiet. Su Peipei wanted to comfort Shen Lang, but she didn't dare say a word. Bing'er, with tears in her eyes, came over, picked up Shen Ye, and went to nurse him. Her milk supply was more than enough anyway, so much so that Shen Mi couldn't finish it all. Besides, Shen Mi had already started eating other baby food. However, Bing'er's milk might not be nutritious enough by now, so they would need to find another wet nurse in the estate.
His father-in-law, mother-in-law, father, mother, and Li Qianqiu stood behind Shen Lang, all of them shocked, worried, and grieving over Mulan's condition. But they were even more afraid that Shen Lang might do something rash. Shen Lang raised his head and said.
"I'm fine... Father, Mother. Whatever happens from now on, you must not interfere with me."
Shen Lang would no longer care about things like the Nirvana Army or the war situation in the Southern Ou Kingdom. From now on, he had to think of every possible way to wake Mulan. In his heart, Mulan was more important than matters of state or the State of Yue.
* * *
In the time that followed, Shen Lang tried at least a hundred different methods, but he could not wake Mulan. He had slowed the rate of her weakening, but he could still feel her continuously growing weaker. If she continued to weaken like this, the consequences were too terrible to imagine; not only would Mulan never wake up, but she would soon stop breathing in her deep sleep and die. For days on end, Shen Lang didn't sleep, trying to think of every possible solution, but nothing worked. No one could persuade him, so eventually, Bing'er entered the room, holding the hand of a toddling Shen Mi.
'Is the baby already walking? When did she start?'
"Papa, sleep. Papa sleep..."
Shen Mi said in a whining tone. Bing'er hadn't brought Shen Ye because she knew her husband didn't want to see him right now.
"Alright. Papa will sleep!"
Shen Lang returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep. He had to sleep. Because from a medical standpoint, it was already impossible to wake Mulan. He needed to approach the problem from a different angle, which required a clear head. Only after Shen Lang went to sleep did Bing'er bring Shen Ye over, place him in Mulan's arms, and say through tears.
"Sister, please wake up. If you don't wake up, my lord will be finished. If my lord is finished, this whole family is finished."
* * *
After sleeping for a full twenty hours, Shen Lang finally woke up with a new idea. Shen Ye had a golden bloodline, so he would have required an immense amount of energy to grow. Therefore, the baby had absorbed that energy from his mother, and in doing so, had devoured even Mulan's life force. As a result, after giving birth to him, Mulan's energy was completely depleted, causing her to fall into a deep sleep. It was fortunate that Shen Lang had pricked the baby with a needle at the end. Otherwise, the baby would have remained inside his mother, absorbing her life force until the very last moment.
Thanks to that, Mulan had only fallen into a deep sleep and had not yet completely passed away. So, to save Mulan, he had to return to the original premise and consider the problem of bloodline energy. More precisely, he had to change Mulan's innate bloodline to give her a powerful source of energy, which was the only way to revive her. Now, the only path left was to transform her bloodline, so he had to continue the experiments he had started before. Eagerly, Shen Lang drew Mulan's blood for testing.
He was thinking that after giving birth to a golden-bloodline baby, her own innate bloodline might have changed into a blank one. If that were the case, everything would be simple. However, the subsequent results were a huge disappointment. After giving birth to Shen Ye, Mulan's bloodline energy had indeed changed. When Shen Lang looked through his special vision, Mulan's bloodline energy factors were glowing. But now, that glow was incredibly dim, as if it could extinguish at any moment, and Mulan's innate bloodline remained unchanged. Her innate martial arts bloodline was still purple.
Shen Lang injected the lowest-grade golden bloodline parasites into Mulan's blood sample. As a result, the dim bloodline energy factors in Mulan's red blood instantly flared brightly, and then violently exploded. In an instant, the red blood boiled like water. It was still the same result as before. Other than those with a blank bloodline, no one could have their bloodline modified; any attempt would only result in their body exploding and dying.
Shen Lang was on the verge of exploding himself, but he calmed down again and began a new experiment. He was in a complete race against time. Observing the rate at which Mulan was weakening, after numerous calculations, he determined she only had about fifty days left. If Shen Lang couldn't find a way to save her within fifty days, he would lose her forever. If that happened, Shen Lang's spirit would completely shatter. Shen Lang's nerves were tough enough to ignore the deaths of tens of thousands. But his spirit was so fragile that if Mulan died, his inner world would completely collapse.
'I have to save Mulan. No matter the cost, no matter the consequences, I will save Mulan. Nothing else matters besides saving her!'