'Cipher' had more or less expected Xuanquan's reaction.
It was within reason.
Still, watching her respond like that, 'Cipher' found herself more curious about what, exactly, Xuanquan had done earlier to make her ability "settle" into this particular result.
So she decided to ask outright.
"General Xuanquan, when you took that little one out, how exactly did you introduce them to others?"
Snapped out of her wandering thoughts, Xuanquan looked at 'Cipher', assuming she was worried about where the child had ended up.
She smiled and explained, "I told them the child was a continuation of my bloodline. That way, no matter what happens, they'll be protected under me, the General. No one would dare cause trouble."
"…You just said it like that?"
"Of course."
"..."
'Cipher' was at a loss.
Now she understood why the Authority of Trickery had been calculated into this outcome.
So it was Xuanquan herself who had openly acknowledged it.
Once the General had spoken, of course everyone beneath her would believe it…
"But wouldn't that make the little one your actual offspring? Is that really appropriate? If you'd told me earlier, I wouldn't have used that cute image in the first place…"
"It's fine, it's fine. Yes, it's a bit cute, but those Vidyadhara traits can't be faked. I don't mind."
Xuanquan looked completely unconcerned.
'Cipher''s expression, however, grew subtle.
"Of course, some people misunderstood and thought the child was ours—yours and mine. But I've already clarified things at the Seat of Seiche Queller and the General's Manor. I won't let strange rumors damage your reputation."
"…Well. Thank you for the trouble."
'Cipher' opened her mouth, but in the end, that was all she managed to say.
At this point, what else was there to say?
It wasn't like she could revoke the ability and start over.
The news had already spread. How could she redo it now?
Remembrance wasn't something to be abused recklessly.
As for Ruan Mei—
She was off to the side, lips pressed together as she tried not to laugh.
She knew a bit about the inner workings of the Authority of Trickery.
She also had a rough idea of what kind of ability 'Cipher' had intended to construct through lies.
But judging by 'Cipher's' face, this definitely wasn't the result she'd wanted—an ability that let the Vidyadhara get pregnant on the spot.
Ruan Mei personally didn't think it was a big deal, but 'Cipher''s expression was priceless. Especially with General Xuanquan sitting across from her, wearing a look that practically said, I've already cleared things up for you.
From an outsider's perspective, Xuanquan had handled it quite reliably.
She'd given the special little one a solid identity to ward off ill intent, and she hadn't burdened 'Cipher' with anything extra. But 'Cipher' was never one to play by common sense.
What had started as goodwill had turned into something that left her feelings… complicated.
And she couldn't even blame Xuanquan. If she stated things too directly, there was a chance the lie would be exposed, causing the ability to collapse entirely.
So Ruan Mei lowered her head and pretended to think, when in reality she was smiling to herself.
Xuanquan wasn't close enough to Ruan Mei to notice, but 'Cipher' could tell at a glance.
That woman was absolutely laughing at her.
Outrageous.
'Cipher' wanted revenge—but for the moment, she couldn't think of how.
Mostly because her dynamic with Ruan Mei wasn't like her constant back-and-forth sparring with Herta.
Fine. Better focus on General Xuanquan.
"About the experiment we mentioned earlier…"
"I'd like to confirm something first. Will this experiment harm the subject's body in any way? For example, will it draw nutrients from her, and how large will the egg be?"
The moment the topic turned serious, Xuanquan's expression sobered, and she went straight for the most crucial question.
After all, this involved gestating an egg inside the body. The level of impact on the mother absolutely needed to be confirmed.
Ordinary Vidyadhara eggs were the size of half a person, sometimes larger.
If something that big had to grow inside someone's abdomen, wouldn't that be disastrous?
"There's no need to worry. Think of it like how ordinary lifeforms reproduce—providing the appropriate nutrients. The size won't be outrageous, and there won't be any irreversible damage."
'Cipher' wasn't entirely sure what the exact size would be, but based on her sense of the ability, it wouldn't verge into the grotesque.
"One last question, then. How many times will this experiment need to be conducted?"
Xuanquan wore such a serious expression while asking that it nearly made 'Cipher' choke.
"Cough—wait a second, General Xuanquan. You're not planning to conduct multiple trials—all on yourself, are you?"
"Would the process take a very long time?"
"That's not the point. No matter what, repeating it on the same person over and over isn't appropriate. Even from an academic perspective, the sample size would be severely lacking."
"…That's true."
Watching the General accept that reasoning, 'Cipher' sighed inwardly.
Was this General perhaps a bit too… earnest?
"If you don't mind, General, we can attempt the first trial today."
"…Very well. But I'd prefer it if only you and I were present."
Xuanquan had steeled herself, but this matter was both important and somewhat embarrassing.
If possible, she would feel more at ease with only the two of them there.
'Cipher' glanced at Ruan Mei. The latter simply gave a slight nod, indicating it was fine.
With the monitoring equipment recording data, there was no need for her to witness it in person.
'Cipher' nodded. "Of course."
"Then there's no time to waste. Let's begin."
General Xuanquan led 'Cipher' to an empty room. Though she didn't want a third person present, she allowed several monitoring devices to be set up nearby.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Xuanquan asked awkwardly, "What should I do?"
"Um… just relax…"
Seeing her like that made 'Cipher' feel awkward too.
Fortunately, nothing complicated was required.
'Cipher' only needed to borrow a sliver of the Path's power. Then, placing her palm over Xuanquan's lower abdomen—through the fabric of her clothes—she activated the Authority of Trickery.
Very quickly—
Both of them felt a faint current of power flow along 'Cipher''s arm into Xuanquan's body.
Soon after, Xuanquan felt streams of warmth gathering in her abdomen.
Her flat stomach began to swell ever so slightly—not enough to notice at a glance.
Before she could process much more, 'Cipher' withdrew her hand and straightened.
"It's begun. The gestation process should last half a day to a full day while it draws sufficient nutrients. After that, it will separate from the body and grow on its own."
"That fast? And… aside from feeling something gathering in my abdomen, I don't feel much—oh! I can touch it. It's soft. Round."
Xuanquan curiously pressed against her stomach, gently probing.
Through the thin barrier of flesh, she could feel the gradually forming egg within.
'Cipher' watched the scene, unsure whether to call it absurd or impressive.
Soon, however, Xuanquan stopped exploring.
Her stomach growled loudly.
Even with the power of Permanence sustaining the process, constructing the egg required actual matter.
There was only one solution.
Eat.
Thankfully, 'Cipher' had come prepared. The moment Xuanquan's stomach began rumbling, she laid out the various foods she'd bought from the street.
After that, there wasn't much to say.
Xuanquan ate heartily, and with nutrients replenished, the egg formed smoothly.
Roughly half a day later, her lower abdomen had gradually rounded out, while the egg inside still felt soft to the touch.
Then, at a certain moment, Xuanquan felt it.
Blushing, she reached to draw the bed curtains, intending to handle the delivery in private—
Only to sense the egg suddenly glowing.
At her lower abdomen, it simply… squeezed out of her body in a burst of light.
"…?"
Xuanquan froze.
She had braced herself for something entirely different. Why had it come out like that?
The glowing mass hardened and expanded rapidly upon meeting the air. The light gradually faded, revealing an egg about the size of a basketball—similar to an ordinary Vidyadhara egg.
Seeing her confusion, 'Cipher' explained, "Strictly speaking, this egg is just the fusion of the powers of Permanence and Propagation. It borrowed some matter from you along the way, but it only truly solidified after separating from your body. Before that, it was merely a mass of energy."
"I see…"
Xuanquan let out a breath, her emotions complicated—unsure whether she felt relieved or faintly disappointed.
But soon she looked at 'Cipher' again, puzzled.
"If that's the case, was there any necessity to gestate it inside the body at all?"
If you ask me, who am I supposed to ask?
'Cipher' fell silent.
Wasn't this all because you insisted on declaring it blood kin?
You should be grateful it didn't follow the traditional method outright. And now you're questioning the logic?
If she had the choice, she would have preferred it form entirely outside the body too, but while she grumbled inwardly, she still forced herself to come up with an explanation.
"In essence, it strengthens the connection between you and the new individual. If it were purely shaped by hand outside the body, would you truly accept it as your descendant?"
"…That's true. Something that comes from one's own body does feel different."
Xuanquan nodded thoughtfully.
"Then about this step of infusing the power of Propagation—can others accomplish it?"
"…For now, not really. There are very few Pathstriders of Propagation in this world. And as for using a device—what, am I supposed to catch an insect and stuff it in so you can line up to siphon power from it?"
'Cipher''s reasoning was sound.
Even if it was the same power of Propagation, the difference between receiving it from her and extracting it from a random insect was vast.
Xuanquan blinked.
If that was the case…
Did that mean Madam Bai Ming would effectively count as half a mother to the Vidyadhara in the future?
"So this egg—should I take it to the Ancestral Sea to be settled?"
"Better to leave it here. First, I can't yet confirm whether it will develop properly. Second… as a Xianzhou General, falling ill and having children several days in a row would be somewhat inappropriate."
Xuanquan looked faintly embarrassed.
At the same time, she began to reflect.
The entire process hadn't been as… primal as she'd imagined.
The time spent accumulating inside the body was short. The size hadn't been large. Even its departure had simply been a burst of light before solidifying outside.
Perhaps she'd overthought it.
And aside from passively sharing some Path power and eating a great deal, she hadn't suffered any other loss.
In that case…
Those people from the Xianzhou Luofu and Xianzhou Zhuming—
Why not bring them over as test subjects?
Wasn't Jing Yuan curious? Rather than reading reports or listening to secondhand descriptions, wouldn't experiencing it firsthand be far more straightforward?
With that thought, General Xuanquan rose from the bed.
"Madam Bai Ming still needs more test subjects, correct?"
"Yes. I can't guarantee that eggs conceived through this method will have no issues. We need additional control groups."
'Cipher' emphasized this point again.
If something went wrong after the character card expired, she'd at least need an excuse.
"I understand. Then I'll head out again and find a few volunteers for you both. Oh—and here, a supplementary token. One for each of you."
With that, General Xuanquan produced another token and handed it to 'Cipher'.
Only after she accepted it did the General stride away.
As for where she intended to find these "volunteers," that was anyone's guess.
'Cipher' stepped out of the room and saw Ruan Mei already immersed in her work, likely analyzing the data they had just collected.
She walked over, glanced at the results—and naturally joined in.
--+--
Meanwhile—
General Xuanquan, having left 'Cipher's' residence, headed straight to where Lingsha and the others were staying.
"Greetings, General Xuanquan."
"There's no need for formalities. I know why you've come."
Xuanquan's tone wasn't especially polite. Lingsha's expression didn't change, but Qingzu looked a little tense.
"We all care about the future of the Vidyadhara. So I'll show you what you wish to see. You may even experience firsthand how a new Vidyadhara is born."
Lingsha's eyes sharpened slightly. "General… are you suggesting that we…?"
"Precisely. I've personally undergone the experiment, so I can judge it to be safe. However, we require more comparative samples at this stage. Since you're curious, I thought you might volunteer. If not, I won't force you."
Qingzu and Lingsha exchanged a glance.
General Xuanquan was known for her integrity and her hatred of wrongdoing.
They didn't suspect her of deceiving them. And based on her words, that new Vidyadhara earlier was likely an experimental product.
So her claims were credible.
Even so—
Being suddenly asked to gestate new Vidyadhara…
No matter how one looked at it, it felt strange.
There had even been rumors that the new Vidyadhara involved Madam Bai Ming as well.
Even if she was a woman—
When one connected those dots, the whole matter became undeniably peculiar.
It was only because Qingzu had met Bai Ming before and had some idea what kind of person she was, that she didn't let her imagination run too far wild.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL