The Looming War and a Pregnant Pause

The weather gradually warmed, and her belly, nearing seven months, had grown even rounder.

Lately, Su Xiaoxiao had felt increasingly lethargic. Compounding this, Xiyue’s visits had become infrequent.

The scarcity of their meetings had instilled a sense of weariness in Su Xiaoxiao. She now preferred to stay indoors, sleeping rather than venturing outside the Demon Palace.

However, Su Xiaoxiao noticed an increase in the Demon Soldiers guarding the gate of her small courtyard.

Gu Yan visited Su Xiaoxiao daily. Su Xiaoxiao would sit on a lounge chair beneath the crabapple tree in her courtyard, the chair draped with a white plush blanket and a matching small quilt.

On a small table beside her, alongside water and a few books, an assortment of fruits, melon seeds, and pastries was arranged.

Basking in the rare sunlight, Su Xiaoxiao felt drowsy, perpetually lacking energy.

Upon seeing her languid state, Gu Yan couldn’t help but feel concerned. “You’ve been confined to this small courtyard for several days now,” she remarked.

Su Xiaoxiao rubbed her eyes, slowly sat up, and reached for a piece of fruit to eat.

With a hint of dissatisfaction, Su Xiaoxiao questioned, “Xiyue has more than doubled the Demon Soldiers guarding outside. Is she afraid I’ll run away?”

Her brows furrowed as she spoke, clearly displeased.

As a physician, Gu Yan was well aware of the significant mood swings experienced by pregnant individuals. She chose not to argue with this particular ‘little ancestor.’

Gu Yan simply stated, “War is imminent. Many other races have arrived in the Demon Realm recently, and the Venerable One is also concerned for you. That’s why the guards were increased—not to stop you, but to protect you.”

Gu Yan knew that it was impossible to keep anything from Su Xiaoxiao, so it was better to tell her everything.

“War? A war?!” Su Xiaoxiao stopped eating the fruit she held. Just moments ago, she had been lounging languidly, but now, upon hearing the news, she sat bolt upright.

Gu Yan nodded, picking up a clean handkerchief from the small table nearby and offering it to Su Xiaoxiao to wipe her hands.

Su Xiaoxiao took it, but her brows remained tightly furrowed, and her heart pounded much faster.

“It’s really going to happen…” she murmured.

Gu Yan responded noncommittally. Su Xiaoxiao then asked, “What about our Mermaid clan?”

Gu Yan paused, then simply replied, “I have no knowledge of the intelligence from the Immortal Clan’s side.”

Seeing Su Xiaoxiao so worried, Gu Yan added, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you; it’s simply that I have no interest in such matters.”

Such worries would only harm the fetus, bringing no benefit. Gu Yan also knew Xiyue was a muddled demon, clearly fond of this ‘little fish’ in her heart, yet stubbornly refused to admit it.

Wishing to bring them together, Gu Yan then suggested, “Once the Venerable One returns, you should properly confront her and ask her about it.”

Upon hearing Xiyue’s name, Su Xiaoxiao grew visibly displeased. She mumbled, “She won’t say anything, and I don’t want to waste my breath asking.”

This was to avoid another argument with Xiyue, whose temper was notoriously unpredictable. Given Xiyue’s formidable power, any suffering would ultimately fall upon Su Xiaoxiao and her little fish-cub.

Gu Yan fell silent for a moment before returning to the main topic. “You can’t always be so gloomy. Now that your body is heavy and the Demon Realm is bustling with many eyes, it’s best not to go out.”

“Just take leisurely strolls within the Demon Palace; consider it a way to clear your mind.”

While Xiyue had indeed put great effort into making the courtyard exceptionally comfortable for her, she had also confined Su Xiaoxiao too severely. Gu Yan feared that staying there would lead to excessive mental stress.

After lying idle for several days straight, Su Xiaoxiao herself felt bored. Her little fish-cub was likely to inherit a restless nature, and she had grown increasingly irritable over the past few days.

Su Xiaoxiao was unaware that this agitation stemmed from her little fish-cub not receiving Xiyue’s spiritual energy for nourishment.

In fact, she hadn’t even realized her own carelessness and muddled thinking.

Regarding the fetus in her womb, Su Xiaoxiao certainly cherished it deeply. However, she lacked experience and had no elders from her own clan nearby.

She only knew to protect the fetus, but in reality, many matters remained muddled to her.

Xiyue, conversely, understood more than she did. Yet, Xiyue was a demon, naturally disinclined towards offspring.

Initially, she had viewed the demonic fetus in Su Xiaoxiao’s womb as a threat, but after several of Su Xiaoxiao’s antics, she had gradually calmed down.

“I understand…” Su Xiaoxiao agreed with Gu Yan.

Later, during dinner, Su Xiaoxiao ate more than usual, her stomach uncomfortably full. A walk to aid digestion was certainly a good idea.

Coupled with Gu Yan’s words that day, Su Xiaoxiao supported her waist and headed outside.

She was not under house arrest by Xiyue, so the Demon Soldiers guarding outside her courtyard naturally dared not stop her. They were simply surprised that Su Xiaoxiao had actually come out.

After exchanging bewildered glances, they respectfully saluted Su Xiaoxiao.

“Venerable Queen.”

Su Xiaoxiao had grown accustomed to this title recently. She nodded, motioning for them to rise, and then slowly continued her stroll outwards.

Chitang followed behind her. A Demon Soldier stopped them, asking, “Does the Venerable Queen intend to leave the Demon Palace?”

The Demon Soldiers did not obstruct her. Curiously, they also did not send anyone to inform Xiyue.

This was despite the Demon Lord’s standing orders to report such movements.

In truth, from the moment Su Xiaoxiao stepped out of her courtyard, she could feel it.

The atmosphere within the Demon Palace, typically unnoticed, now felt significantly more oppressive than before. The demons, too, were moving with an unusual urgency.

Su Xiaoxiao turned to ask Chitang, who was following behind her, “Have you demons received guests?”

Chitang honestly replied, “Yes, kings from other races have arrived recently to discuss important matters with the Venerable One.”

“What important matters? Isn’t it just about fighting the Immortal Clan?”

Su Xiaoxiao felt little for the Immortal Clan, beyond her concern for Elder Yunjie’s predicament and for Xihe, the little dragon girl born to Elder Yunjie.

She was well aware of her limitations: a three-hundred-year-old little mermaid, now imprisoned in the Demon Realm by Xiyue, stripped of her cultivation, and heavily pregnant. She couldn’t even protect herself.

Any one of the high immortals from the Immortal Clan would be far stronger than her.

While she wished to help the little mermaids, she harbored no strong feelings for the Immortal Clan. Ultimately, her only concern was for Elder Yunjie and her daughter, both of her own kind.

Su Xiaoxiao feared her digestion would not settle. Xiyue had never restricted her movements within the Demon Palace; Su Xiaoxiao could even visit the forbidden cold springs in the back mountains.

Unimpeded and unchallenged, she unexpectedly found herself outside the training grounds where Xiyue drilled her soldiers.

From a distance, she spotted Xiyue standing with other races, including a flower demoness. This alluring female demon was dressed in vibrant, revealing attire.

Despite the cold of the Demon Realm, she wore such scant clothing. Standing close to Xiyue, her ample bosom, a generous display of ‘spring scenery,’ seemed almost pressed against Xiyue’s arm.

Su Xiaoxiao glanced over, immediately feeling a discomfort in her eyes. She turned her head, looking down at her own chest.

‘Hmm… I can’t see my toes,’ she mused, thinking, ‘These two fleshy mounds of mine have grown so large without me realizing it. They feel heavy and uncomfortable.’

As she watched from outside the training grounds, and not being a demon herself, she was mistaken for someone with suspicious intentions.

She was promptly seized by the Demon King’s subordinates and escorted inside.

Su Xiaoxiao was naturally slender. As the weather hadn’t fully warmed, she, being sensitive to cold, wore many layers of clothing.

Paradoxically, beneath her loose robes, the roundness of her belly was barely discernible.

Su Xiaoxiao herself was stunned. As she was seized and dragged inside, she hadn’t even fully registered what was happening when a sharp pain shot through her shoulder.

She was brutally forced to her knees on the filthy ground.