"Miss... Miss...!" Mei Niu cried out anxiously upon finding her leader lying powerless on the ground. With deft movements, she pressed several acupoints on Bai Lang Mei's body and transferred as much of her own spiritual energy as she could muster.
Mei Niu's gaze flickered to Bai Lang Mei's now-flat stomach, and in an instant, she understood what her mistress had done. A single tear traced a path down her cheek as she shared in the profound anguish Bai Lang Mei had been forced to endure.
Slowly, Bai Lang Mei's eyes fluttered open. "Mei Niu..." she called in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Miss... how are you feeling now?" Mei Niu asked, her concern evident.
"Help me sit upon the ice stone," Bai Lang Mei requested, her voice exceedingly weak. Mei Niu complied immediately, carefully assisting her into a cross-legged position on the stone, where the concentrated cold energy could accelerate her healing.
"Miss, what happened to your baby?"
Bai Lang Mei shot a sharp glance at Mei Niu before finally responding, "From this moment on, you are never to mention my child again. Understood?" Her command was firm and absolute.
"Understood," Mei Niu replied promptly. Seeing that Bai Lang Mei had closed her eyes once more, Mei Niu quietly withdrew from the ice cave.
Bai Lang Mei sensed Mei Niu's departure. Realizing she was alone again in the silent cavern, she broke into heart-wrenching sobs, remembering the son she had only been able to hold for a few fleeting seconds. Her spiritual power was now diminished by half. When she had forcibly extracted the child from her womb, Bai Lang Mei had channeled fully half of her remaining spiritual energy into her son, sealing it within the white wolf tattoo.
In the future, when her son reached eighteen years of age, the seal would release on its own, granting him more than enough spiritual strength to protect himself. Bai Lang Mei keenly felt the sacrifice of bestowing such power upon him now; this act had left her dangerously vulnerable.
In a time of war such as this, she should have retained her full strength. But as a mother, she could not allow her son to exist in the world without protection. Bai Lang Mei had also ensured his location was shielded by layers of her own magic, making it impossible for anyone to trace him.
Now, it was time to fulfill her duty as the leader of the White Wolf Clan. First, she would recover her strength, and then determine the next course of action.
---
The Human World
"Mrs. Huang, please come in!" said the nurse on duty in the prenatal examination unit. Huang Jia Li offered her charming smile upon hearing her name. An assistant holding her bag stood and followed as Huang Jia Li entered the examination room.
"Mrs. Huang, please have a seat," greeted the doctor who would examine her. As the wife of a major shareholder in this hospital, Huang Jia Li was accustomed to being treated with the utmost respect by the staff.
"Doctor Ang," Huang Jia Li greeted politely. Her beautiful oriental features, with her petite, sexy lips, sharp nose, and heart-shaped face, made Huang Jia Li appear incredibly alluring. Coupled with her graceful and gentle demeanor, it was no wonder the staff never hesitated to praise Mrs. Huang. "I see Mr. Gu isn't accompanying you again this time," Doctor Ang remarked conversationally.
"The doctor knows how busy my husband is. For matters like this, as long as an assistant can accompany me, it is more than sufficient," replied Mrs. Huang, not seeming the least bit offended by the question. As the wife of a tremendously successful entrepreneur, it was an accepted risk that he could not always be by her side; there would always be important meetings requiring his attendance. After many years of marriage, Mrs. Huang had grown resigned to this aspect of her fate.
Her hand gently caressed her stomach, which had begun to show a slight swell. She was now six months pregnant. Mrs. Huang had longed for this pregnancy for what felt like an eternity. They had been married nearly ten years without conceiving a child, despite trying every method available. Just when Huang Jia Li had surrendered hope, she finally became pregnant. The happiness she felt was indescribable.
"Let's begin the examination. I hope the results are as satisfactory as the last time," Doctor Ang said, inviting Huang Jia Li to lie down on the examination bed. A nurse assisting the doctor deftly applied gel to Mrs. Huang's abdomen. Doctor Ang switched on the ultrasound machine and began the examination. Her eyes suddenly widened in surprise at the image displayed. She moved the transducer again, trying to confirm what she was seeing. "How can this be?" the doctor muttered, confused.
Noticing the troubled expression on the doctor's face, Huang Jia Li immediately felt a spike of anxiety. She gripped the edge of the bed. 'There can't be anything wrong with my baby,' she thought desperately. "What is it, Doctor?" Huang Jia Li asked, striving to keep her voice calm even as her heart pounded with dread.
The doctor turned to look at Mrs. Huang with disbelief. "In all my years of practice, this is the first time I've encountered something this strange!"
"What strangeness?" Huang Jia Li pressed, her anxiety growing.
"The baby... there are now two," Doctor Ang muttered, still moving the probe and double-checking repeatedly. She worried there might be an error with the machine, but that was improbable—all equipment in this hospital was state-of-the-art.
"Two? Twins?" Huang Jia Li repeated the doctor's words softly.
"Hmm... it appears so. But how is it possible?" Doctor Ang asked Huang Jia Li, which made Mrs. Huang let out a small, incredulous laugh.
"You're the doctor. If you ask me, then whom should I ask?" The doctor's face flushed red with embarrassment. "The previous examinations clearly showed only one baby. Is it possible the other baby was hiding for six months?" the doctor mused, more to herself.
Huang Jia Li, however, was unaffected by the doctor's bewilderment. Perhaps this was a miracle, the fruit of her long patience—instead of one baby, she was blessed with two at once. "Are both babies healthy?" Huang Jia Li asked, voicing the most important question to her.
"Eh? Yes, they're healthy. Both heartbeats sound very strong," Doctor Ang answered.
"Is the baby's sex still male, or has it suddenly changed to female?" Huang Jia Li asked, half-joking with the doctor.
"Mrs. Huang enjoys joking with me. Of course, the babies' sexes are..." After deeming the examination complete, Huang Jia Li sat up, tidied her clothes, and resumed her seat facing the doctor.
"So, I'm having twins?" Huang Jia Li asked, a broad smile spreading across her face.
"It appears so. It's just... this is very unusual," the doctor muttered again. If Mrs. Huang were only two months along, she might accept this peculiarity. But Mrs. Huang was six months pregnant and had been undergoing routine examinations all along. Doctor Ang would stake her medical license on the fact that for six months, there had only been one baby in Mrs. Huang's womb. So where did this second one come from?
Huang Jia Li politely said her goodbyes and scheduled her next appointment. In her mind, perhaps the doctor had simply made an error before. If she was having twins, she would only be happier to welcome the additional baby.
In the following months, every time Huang Jia Li came for a check-up, Doctor Ang would inevitably mutter to herself. From that day forward, every scan showed two distinct fetuses. Huang Jia Li grew increasingly delighted with this certainty. When she told her husband, however, he reacted with his usual indifference, remarking lightly that it was probably a diagnostic error—something that happened commonly these days.
Once she knew she was having twins, Huang Jia Li deftly set about preparing the nursery. She immediately doubled every item she had already purchased. Her husband had given her free rein to decorate the baby's room; money was no object. Even though her husband was rarely home to accompany her, Huang Jia Li was inundated with limitless wealth from him.
Thus, Huang Jia Li now stood in the center of a very large and luxurious nursery. Two blue cribs, identically decorated, stood side by side. Huang Jia Li touched one of the cribs, already able to imagine her two babies sleeping soundly there. "We will meet soon, my sons. Do you like this room?" Huang Jia Li asked softly, slowly rubbing her stomach.
She chuckled feeling a gentle kick from within. At nine months, the two babies had become very active. Huang Jia Li could always feel them moving. Especially when she hummed softly, one of the babies seemed to adore her singing voice and would move more agilely, making Huang Jia Li laugh aloud at this precious bond between mother and child.