Awaited Day

A few days had passed since we had come out of Closed Door Cultivation, and I noticed instantly that my body had changed drastically in these long months.

My bones were stronger, my muscles firmer, and my body more fit, but still soft.

The pale skin that I had from years of self induced isolation had become supple and clear, free of any blemishes and almost milky white.

It was a deep contrast from Gao Chen's skin, which was made even more apparent when my wife made love to me.

The other changes were that my organs were stronger, improving my bodies functions and allowing better control over my Qi, whilst also retaining my lithe, petite physique... I think.

After all, my stomach was engorged by a baby, whilst my breasts had grown larger as they filled with milk, preparing for said baby to be born.

Besides that, interestingly enough, my voice had remained the same, the concurrent breakthroughs locking my vocal cords into the state they were in, meaning...

I was stuck with whispering for the rest of my life, unless I went out of my way to change it.

Other than the physical changes and my Realm increase, I felt calmer now, more at ease.

Maybe it was because I had reached a point that would make Gao Chen accepting of where I was at, or maybe it was the satisfaction of growing stronger, but I no longer felt stressed...

About my Cultivation, anyways.

I was still rather nervous about how the little one in my stomach would feel coming out, whilst also worrying about their future.

Then there were the thoughts that Gao Chen would still toss me aside when I lost my novelty, a thought that made my heart darken with both fear... and anger.

Maybe my recent breakthroughs had bolstered the confidence I had so severely lacked in recent years, but I was determined to make my stance on our relationship clear sometime soon, to let her know that I wanted her to look at me and me alone.

Whether or not she would respect my decision was another story...

Anyways, these recent days had been spent carefully going from medicinal meal to medicinal bath, before moving to a Inscription to funnel Qi into the baby, before repeating that.

Then I would go to sleep with Gao Chen beside me and do it all over again.

Since I was due for any day now, Mother Ai was present inside the Shimmering Palace, as was the studious looking concubine, Tan Yunxian, who was a cultivator who specialized in healing techniques, alchemy, and acupuncture.

With both Mother Ai and Tan Yunxian beside me, I eventually went into labor, Gao Chen waiting outside as she listened to my pained gasps and screams.

Under the guidance of an experienced Mother and a profound Doctor, I endured the torturous hours of labor as I gave birth to my baby girl, a baby that had been forced into me, but a baby that I had grown to care for over these months, a baby that I wanted to see thrive where I had failed.

Hours upon hours passed by, gruelingly slow as I tried my hardest to push an entire baby out from my rather narrow hips...

Yeah, I don't honestly recall most of those hours as they were spent in pain, but I do remember feeling like time was stretched out, to the point that a minute felt like days and an hour felt like years.

And I was there for multiple hours...

When it had all finally ended, and I was rather loopy from the various pills Tan Yunxian had given me, I exhaustedly laid against the soft pillows and stared down at the little girl in my arms.

She looked...

Exactly like Gao Chen.

Tanned skin, black hair with an obvious tuft of gray, and she even had an orange eye.

I say 'orange eye' because the baby in my arms inherited one physical trait from me; a singular, arctic blue eye, making her heterochromatic.

Mother Ai gushed over her as she sat beside me, staring down at the confused baby with a wide grin as she gently poked her cheek, which made the girl pout.

Tan Yunxian softly wiped down my brow before cleaning the rest of me off, her measured, calm movements reassuring as she finished up, before she began to pack her tools and medicines away.

"You can come in now."

Her clear voice reached out of the room, and Gao Chen stepped inside, her eyes honing into the small girl in my arms.

Striding over to me, she looked me over for a moment before turning back to our daughter, her orange eyes filled with surprise as she met the dual colored gaze looking up at her.

Reaching forwards, she gently lifted her from my arms and held her, all whilst the rest of us remained silent.

Watching Gao Chen hold our daughter was... interesting.

I wanted to snatch my girl back and hold her close, to give her the love I never once received, but I was also captivated by the sight of the tanned baby being so close to Gao Chen...

"Did you both settle on a name yet? The sooner you address them by their name, the better..."

Mother Ai's voice was calm and soothing, though the excitement was noticeable in her eyes as she stared at her granddaughter with a smile.

Gulping, I glanced at Gao Chen again, wondering what she wanted to name our daughter.

We... hadn't spoken about it again, and after that first time where she told me I had a voice in the matter, we never discussed it again.

Whether that was on purpose or not was to be seen...

"Li..."

Licking her lips, Gao Chen sat down beside me and continued to stare at our child, before she glanced towards the window Tan Yunxian opened.

Seeing the beautiful moons hanging languidly in the sky, and after looking at our daughters eyes, Gao Chen said "Li Yue, since she was born under the night sky, and her eyes resemble the moons above. Hopefully her talent outshines the moons themselves, and the stars add to her beauty."

I smiled at those earnest words, muttering "Little Yue..." as Gao Chen handed her back to me.

She had cried initially, but after a few minutes out of the womb, she had quieted down, turning from pained to curious as she looked around, but...

Rubbing my cheek against hers, I chuckled as Li Yue reached up to grab a strand of my black hair, inspecting it.

Hopefully I could protect this innocent curiosity better than mine had been...