Chapter 484: Lan Lan Is Pregnant?!
The room was finally quiet after An Mo bolted out with the protesting cubs.
Xuan Long stepped closer to the bed, his large hand resting on Su Qinglan’s shoulder to ground her.
Su Qinglan nodded softly at Xuan Long’s words. She didn’t want to explain much more.
She knew that in this timeline, An Mo didn’t remember the alley, the blessing, or the sixty years of her misery.
But in her heart, she made a quiet vow. Even if he was immature and annoying now, she would slowly pay back her gratitude to him throughout this life. She would make sure he was always safe, just as he had ensured she was whole.
Han Jue, who had been watching her pale face with concern, stepped forward.
"Lan Lan, you have been asleep for a week. You must be starving, right? Let me go to the kitchen and cook something light for you. You need your strength back."
He started to turn away to head for the door, but Su Qinglan’s hand shot out. She grabbed his wrist, her grip surprisingly firm.
"Han Jue, wait," she said, her voice small but clear.
The warrior stopped and looked back at her, confused. Hu Yan, Rong Ye, Xuan Long, and Shi Feng all turned their attention toward her.
"I have something to tell you," she said, her eyes sweeping over each of their faces. "All of you."
She took Han Jue’s large, calloused hand, the hand that had held hers through the cold forest in that other life, and slowly placed it against her soft stomach.
"I am carrying cubs," she whispered.
The entire room fell into a deadly silence. It was so quiet that the only sound was the faint crackle of the fire outside.
Su Qinglan blinked, her heart racing. She felt like they hadn’t heard her. Were they not happy? Did they not believe her?
"I’m... I’m pregnant," she repeated, her voice a bit louder this time.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
It was as if her words had turned into stone and dropped into a bottomless abyss.
Then...
Han Jue’s entire body went rigid.
His hand, still resting against her stomach, trembled slightly. His usually sharp, decisive eyes went completely blank, as if his mind had been struck by lightning and forgotten how to think.
"...Pregnant?" he repeated hoarsely.
The word sounded foreign on his tongue.
Behind him, Hu Yan’s golden eyes widened to their absolute limit. His tiger ears shot straight up, every strand of fur standing on end as if he had just been struck by a bolt of heavenly thunder.
"...Cubs?" he whispered.
Rong Ye, who had been leaning lazily against the wall just seconds ago, froze mid breath. His usual playful, teasing smile immediately froze.
"...Wait," he said slowly, widening his eyes as if trying to process something impossible. "Did I hear that right... or did I finally lose my mind?"
Xuan Long, on the other hand, went utterly still.
His cold, unreadable gaze dropped from her face to her stomach, then back to her eyes again. His pupils shrank into thin slits, his entire aura turning dangerously quiet.
Shi Feng blinked once, twice, then a third time very slowly.
"...Say that again, Lan Lan," the lion muttered, his deep voice unusually stiff.
Su Qinglan swallowed nervously under their intense stares, her fingers tightening slightly around Han Jue’s wrist.
"I... am carrying cubs."
This time, the silence shattered.
The quiet stone room didn’t stay quiet for long.
It exploded.
Five men surrounded the bed as if Su Qinglan had just announced the arrival of a divine treasure instead of, well, possibly multiple tiny, chaotic disasters growing inside her.
The air buzzed with excitement, confusion, and a very dangerous level of curiosity.
"Whose is it?" Hu Yan was the first to break, his golden eyes practically glowing as he leaned in far too close. "Is it another tiger? Or maybe a wolf this time?"
"Or fox cubs?" Rong Ye immediately inserted himself, elbowing Hu Yan aside without shame.
He squinted at her stomach like it was some kind of mysterious artifact. "Lan Lan, you can feel them, right? How many? Tell me there’s at least one fox in there."
"Move aside, you two." Han Jue’s deep voice cut in, though he didn’t actually move them aside. He just leaned over them instead, making the situation even more cramped.
"Lan Lan, do you feel uncomfortable? Are they moving? Is everything alright?"
Shi Feng hovered at the edge, trying to look calm but failing miserably as his eyes kept darting toward her stomach like it might suddenly burst open and reveal answers.
And Xuan Long...
He stood slightly behind them all, silent, his expression unusually serious. His sharp gaze remained fixed on her belly, as if he was already trying to unravel its secrets.
At the center of it all, Su Qinglan blinked.
Then she laughed brightly, a full, bright, uncontrollable laugh.
"You all need to calm down!" she said, pushing Hu Yan and Rong Ye’s faces away with both hands as they tried to lean even closer. "I don’t know anything at all! You’ll have to wait until they’re born."
Five disappointed expressions instantly fell.
She tried, she really tried not to laugh again, but it was impossible.
"I can’t tell how many are inside," she continued, still smiling. "Back in the tribe, the old female was the one who guessed there were two tiger cubs, but even she didn’t realize there was a snake egg too until the very end."
"...Huh?" Rong Ye repeated slowly.
Hu Yan’s ears twitched. "You’re saying even the old female got it wrong?"
Han Jue frowned. "So it’s... impossible to predict?"
Shi Feng’s expression turned complicated, and Xuan Long’s brows furrowed slightly deeper.
They all arrived at the same terrifying conclusion.
A mixed pregnancy was completely unpredictable.
Rong Ye clicked his tongue, clearly dissatisfied with such unreliable people. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned and jabbed Xuan Long in the arm.
"Hey... Snake."
Xuan Long glanced at him.
For once, Rong Ye didn’t look like he was trying to start a fight.
"Can’t you figure it out?" Rong Ye asked, his voice unusually serious.
"You’ve got the strongest senses among us. Just check. Smell them or something. At least tell us if there’s a fox cub or I really can’t sleep..."