Evolution - Chapter 170
Chapter 170
The little one’s name had been decided long ago. Her surname was Yu, her formal name was Yu Anbai, and her nickname was An'an.
Ji Changqing grinned from ear to ear when she heard the name, feeling utterly giddy. Songbai changqing—pine and cypress, evergreen. Get it? It meant Yu Zhiyao loved Ji Changqing!
The joy of welcoming a new life lasted less than two days before their lives descended into chaos.
When the baby was first born, she had absolutely no concept of putting herself to sleep. Her sleep schedule was astonishingly chaotic. One moment she would be whimpering and crying softly, the next she’d be whimpering twice and wailing loudly.
And she was incredibly stubborn, insisting on being with her mother at all times!
The moment she was carried away from Yu Zhiyao, losing that familiar scent, she would cry her heart out, making Ji Changqing look like some villain tearing a mother and daughter apart.
But as soon as she was near her mom, her face would light up with a smile as she did her best to be adorable.
The problem was her chaotic sleep. Ji Changqing could patiently endure it with her, adjusting her schedule bit by bit. But Yu Zhiyao’s postpartum recovery was also crucial. Listening to this little ancestor whimper and wail every so often made it difficult for her to rest, let alone recuperate.
In the end, for the sake of a good night’s sleep and some peace of mind, Yu Zhiyao put up a silencing barrier around herself. No matter how much the little demon in the crib next to her cried, the sound couldn’t reach her ears.
Besides, Ji Changqing was quite reliable; she wouldn’t fail to take good care of the child.
So Ji Changqing patiently endured the sleepless nights with the little one, day after day. She went from waking up and crying every half hour, to every hour, to every two or three hours… Whenever she woke up crying, Ji Changqing would gently hold and soothe her, or change her diaper, wash her bottom, and feed her with a bottle. In short, she solved all the little ancestor’s problems, tended to her every need, and then coaxed her back to sleep.
After nearly three months of this, Yu Anbai grew rounder, fairer, and more tender. At night, she could sleep for almost four hours at a time, waking only once before sleeping soundly until morning.
Ji Changqing, however, was mentally and physically exhausted.
After all, she had to care for both Yu Zhiyao and Yu Anbai during the day, and Yu Anbai alone at night. Although she had a nanny-type intelligent robot to help, so things weren't frantic, her sleep was still insufficient. If it weren't for her cultivation, Yu Anbai might have driven her to depression and irritability.
How else could she still be cheerfully cooing back in baby talk and showing her all sorts of brightly colored, jingling toys?!
At first, Yu Anbai would stare intently and curiously at the various objects dangling in front of her, occasionally stretching out her little hands and kicking her legs vigorously, trying to grab them. But when Yu Zhiyao walked over, everything changed! She would turn her head with exceptional sharpness toward her mother, babbling “Ah, ah, ah, ah” for attention, her smile radiant.
It was as if she had instinctively mastered the art of vying for favor, knowing exactly who was at the top of the family food chain.
Yu Zhiyao leaned down and kissed her fair, tender cheek. The baby giggled so hard that drool trickled out as she reached up to touch her mother’s face.
Ji Changqing wrapped her arms around Yu Zhiyao from behind. After giving birth, Yu Zhiyao had undergone a subtle change that secretly delighted Ji Changqing. She was like a ripe peach—plump, juicy, sweet, and soft. Mixed with the faint, milky scent that naturally clung to her, she was utterly irresistible, making it impossible to let go. “Are you done with your work?”
“Mhm.” Yu Zhiyao straightened up, relaxing into Ji Changqing’s embrace.
Giving birth to Yu Anbai had taken a huge toll on her body. It took three months of recuperation to recover even half of her strength. Her cultivation level had dropped from the late stage of mid-Nascent Soul all the way to the initial stage of early Nascent Soul, now just a little lower than Ji Changqing’s mid-stage of early Nascent Soul.
Fortunately, Ji Changqing was now a full-time stay-at-home mom and insisted that she rest and recuperate, wishing she could just lie down all day. She’d say that even broken bones took a hundred days to heal, let alone the ordeal of childbirth. A month or two of postpartum confinement was completely insufficient; at least three to six months of quiet rest were necessary.
Yu Zhiyao had no choice but to listen. Aside from breastfeeding personally for the first two days, she later pumped her milk into bottles and stored them in the cooler, making it convenient for Ji Changqing to feed Yu Anbai on schedule. Having received ample rest and excellent postpartum care, she showed no signs of the so-called “pregnancy brain.”
But that made sense. Wasn’t the saying “a pregnancy costs you three years of your wits” just a result of mothers being run ragged, caring for a baby day and night, managing the household, and having everything fall on their already fragile shoulders? Such exhaustion, without proper rest and care, would naturally drain the body and mind.
She was still on maternity leave, but she hadn’t completely detached herself from her work at the Academy of Sciences. For the past two days, she had started handling some official business from home, though it wasn’t much—about one or two hours a day was enough.
Chu Ci had told her not to rush back into cultivation, but to wait until she had recuperated for a while longer. In truth, she wasn't in a hurry at all. This situation was the result of her own careful planning; waiting another eight or ten years was a small matter. Besides, it was a buy-one-get-one-free deal: she had achieved her goal of lowering her cultivation for her big baby, and she got the little baby Yu Anbai as a bonus.
It was a great bargain.
Feeling ignored by her two parents, Yu Anbai let out a loud wail of protest, feeling incredibly wronged.
The two parents had no choice but to sit down. Ji Changqing still held Yu Zhiyao, who sat right next to Yu Anbai’s exclusive throne. The baby clutched her mother’s finger tightly, rocking it back and forth as she stared at her mom, babbling “Ah, ah, ah, ah” as if talking to her.
She didn’t spare a single glance for Ji Changqing, who had just spent half the day playing with her.
The differential treatment was stark.
By the time Yu Anbai could move and crawl, she was constantly staging dramas of overcoming all obstacles, crossing mountains and rivers just to crawl to Yu Zhiyao’s side.
Her love for her mother was truly profound.
It was just that this love… soured due to gourmet food when Yu Anbai finally graduated from bottles and baby food to three regular meals a day!
One day, Ji Changqing went to great lengths to catch a few small but incredibly delicious spirit fish. She divided them into two portions, first making a small bowl of fish paste for Yu Anbai, then a rich, savory fish soup for Yu Zhiyao where the meat had completely dissolved.
Yu Anbai’s special fish paste was ready first and brought over. Not yet two years old, Yu Anbai sat in her exclusive high throne, drooling and sniffing the air. She clutched her small spoon, ready to enjoy the delicious meal all by herself.
But out of nowhere, Yu Zhiyao took the bowl and tapped her little nose. “Let it cool for a bit, don’t burn yourself.”
Yu Anbai grinned widely at her, swallowing her saliva as her eyes remained fixed on the bowl of fish paste in Yu Zhiyao’s hands. It smelled so fragrant and looked so delicious.
Then, she watched as Yu Zhiyao, claiming to be testing if it was still hot, took a bite, then another, and another… and ate her entire special bowl of fish paste!
Yu Anbai froze for a moment, staring at the empty little bowl, before bursting into a howl. Mommy was so mean!
Yu Anbai, who could already speak but not very fluently—only managing one word at a time, as long sentences would be drowned out by drool—slammed her little hands on the table and yelled furiously at Ji Changqing, who was still busy in the kitchen: “Ahhhhhhh!”
Aren’t you going to do something about your wife?! She ate all my fish paste!
Yu Zhiyao watched with amusement as Yu Anbai wailed her heart out, hoping to summon Ji Changqing to seek justice for her. She reached out to wipe away the tears and drool covering the little girl’s face. Do you have any idea how much of your baby food Ji Changqing used to sneakily eat? she thought. And you want to complain to her?
But Yu Anbai still loved her. After being fed a small spoonful of Yu Zhiyao’s special fish soup, she tilted her little face up and smiled sweetly again, laying it on thick. “Mommy, I love you the most.”
She was hoping to trick her into giving her another bite of the soup, which was so delicious it made you want to swallow your own tongue.
All she got in return was a loving kiss from her favorite mother.
As Yu Anbai grew up bit by bit, she finally moved past the high-need baby stage. She was no longer a little demon, but a little angel.
After her three-year maternity leave, Ji Changqing returned to work, beginning a life of beating people up at work and raising a child at home.
Yu Zhiyao’s work schedule was much more flexible. She could often spend half a morning or afternoon at home with Yu Anbai. Occasionally, she would be gone for several days, and the little one would be sent to stay with others on Lingyun Peak.
Everyone doted on the little girl. Yu Anbai’s favorite place to be was with Shen Guiqing, where the air was always filled with the mouth-watering aroma of food. Besides Shen Guiqing, she loved Chu Ci the most. The moment she saw her, she would leap into her arms, demanding to be tossed high in the air and flown around.
Ten years passed in a flash. Yu Anbai was now nine years old and already sharp-tongued enough to talk back to Ji Changqing.
Ever since she could move and crawl, she had been steadfastly walking the path of competing with Ji Changqing for affection. She was like a little queen of hearts, with Lingyun Peak as her fish pond. Before her true love, Yu Zhiyao, appeared, she showered her affection on everyone equally, with her backup, Ji Changqing, ranking the highest.
But the moment Yu Zhiyao returned, her number one backup, Ji Changqing, became her strongest rival in the competition for affection, often leading to family wars.
The problem was, Yu Zhiyao always seemed to be on her side, staying with her every night before bed, but every morning when she opened her eyes, her mother would be gone again!
This meant the little queen of hearts never got to fully experience the joy of victory!
When she was six, she was tested and found to have dual spiritual roots of metal and fire, both of good purity. Ji Changqing then dragged her to participate in the Lingyun Peak entrance examination and mercilessly rejected her small request to be a day student so she could come home for dinner with her mom every day. She cruelly demanded that she live on campus like everyone else, only coming home occasionally, all to achieve her ultimate goal of having Yu Zhiyao all to herself.
The little queen of hearts hugged Yu Zhiyao and cried, “My life is so hard,” but it couldn’t save her from her impending difficult fate.
When Ji Changqing was transferred again and had to leave Blue Star, the little queen of hearts thought she should be overjoyed that no one would be competing with her for her mother’s affection anymore. But when Ji Changqing was leaving, she still cried, showing a rare and intense reluctance to part with her other mother.
Unfortunately for her, her two shameless parents only had eyes for each other. They were too busy kissing and bidding a reluctant farewell to comfort her deeply wounded young heart.
With tears in her eyes, Yu Anbai thought, Do I have to become a soldier like Ji Changqing to get that kind of treatment?
Hmph, she could definitely do it! One day, she would surpass Ji Changqing and become her mother’s most beloved treasure, bar none!
This time, Ji Changqing would personally lead a team, joining forces with the cultivation world to eliminate the various off-world fiends that fed on humans. This was also the first time the Alliance’s ABO system would be involved in a large-scale racial war at the systemic level of the cultivation world. It was a massive test of the fruits of two hundred years of cultivation technology development, as well as a major examination of the combat capabilities of the special forces soldiers trained with Chu Ci’s help.
She had made a promise to Yu Zhiyao. After this war, she would surely be promoted to Five-Star General. Once Blue Star had a Five-Star General to protect its interests and status, she would apply for early retirement and come back to focus on dual cultivation.
After that, unless a major war broke out, she would basically never leave her side again. Once they both ascended to the Spirit Transformation realm, they would leave Yu Anbai behind and travel the worlds together. The magic system, the cultivation system, the fantasy system, the sea clans, the demon clans… they would visit them one by one, fully appreciating the charm of each world.
This beautiful vision filled them both with infinite anticipation.
The racial war was exceptionally fierce, difficult, and cruel. Facing off-world fiends that fed on humans, there was often only a list of casualties, but no bodies to recover.
Intense battles would often cause the spiritual energy in the area to become chaotic. Once the spiritual energy became chaotic, a cultivator’s spiritual power would be almost completely sealed, putting them in grave danger. Their forces were always organized into mixed teams of cultivators and special forces soldiers who could support each other. When spiritual energy was stable, the cultivators were usually the main damage dealers, with the special forces providing support. When the spiritual energy became chaotic, the cultivators would fall back to protect themselves and provide support, while the special forces, who were not dependent on spiritual energy, would take the lead in the assault.
On such a rapidly changing battlefield, every inch of victory was won through the sacrifice of countless lives.
On land irrigated with blood and life, they pushed the front line forward, bit by bit, until the equally devastated off-world fiends were completely driven out of the realm. Then, they began to rebuild the realm barrier, piece by piece.
As the commander of the Alliance’s ABO forces, Ji Changqing herself had been in perilous situations several times. Each time she teetered on the edge of life and death, her intense will to survive caused her to erupt with power, allowing her to lead her troops out of encirclements and narrowly escape with her life.
After all, even if Yu Zhiyao had placed a tracking system on her with her divine soul, if there were no remains left, she couldn’t very well search for a corpse across thousands of miles, could she?
Thanks to two hundred years of development in cultivation technology, they now had powerful weapons that could function normally even when spiritual energy was chaotic. They also had a large number of comrades-in-arms whose combat strength remained formidable in such conditions, soldiers to whom they could entrust their backs. This war lasted less than thirty years, with casualties down by nearly a third compared to previous conflicts, yet the results were glorious.
This was the first time the off-world fiends had been completely driven out of the realm, rather than a strategic truce after a wave of mutual attrition where the enemy culled their weaker members and gained a large amount of blood food. In the past, they would retreat to recuperate and gather strength, only to return, treating this place as their hunting ground, launching a major hunt every decade or so.
When the realm barrier was repaired and re-established, a warm, gentle light fell upon the living on the battlefield, dissolving the off-world fiends that hadn’t managed to retreat in time. The battlefield fell silent. After a long while, a sob broke the silence, gradually swelling into a chorus of wails. They vented their relief and joy at having survived, and mourned for the countless comrades who had fallen here.
The stalemate of mutual hunting and slaughter that had lasted for over a thousand years was finally over.
After receiving her Five-Star General insignia on the Capital Star, Ji Changqing became Blue Star’s first Five-Star General. What stunned everyone next was that this newly minted Five-Star General, despite her long lifespan, immediately submitted her official retirement application at the fastest possible speed.
Before the great integration of the cultivation system and the Alliance’s ABO system, her age would indeed have been the right time for retirement. But now, wasn’t it a bit too early?
However, Ji Changqing was resolute and promised to return to service at any time if needed.
Having successfully retired, Ji Changqing returned to Blue Star. Yu Zhiyao was there to pick her up. From a distance, she watched her walk quickly, getting closer and closer.
Under the sun, amidst the crowd, the love of her life was as dazzling as ever. The moment she appeared, she captured all of her heart and soul.
As she was once again pulled into that familiar, bone-deep embrace, and as Ji Changqing’s warm kiss landed, their lips and tongues gently intertwining, tears streamed down Yu Zhiyao’s face.
No separation had ever been as agonizing as this one. She knew Ji Changqing had been fighting on an unprecedentedly dangerous battlefield, suffering countless injuries. She also knew that she had narrowly escaped death several times, breaking through her limits in the crucible of life and death to repel the enemy again and again.
Just seeing that Ji Changqing’s cultivation had now stabilized at the late stage of mid-Nascent Soul was enough to tell her how desperately she had fought on the front lines.
And no reunion after a long separation had ever brought her such peace of mind.
Because her Alpha, this time, had truly come back—back to her side.
From now on, they could be inseparable, together day and night.
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