Binding the Dragon for the Empress Chapter 99

Delivery

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When the two guards changed shifts and returned from dinner, they passed by Xuan Long's cell, and one of them, who was thin, looked inside and said, "Eh... Do you think that demon is really that good? The Emperor comes so often and doesn't mind him being dirty..."

Another tall, burly jailor followed his colleague's gaze in:

"Who knows, there must be something special about him. Haven’t you noticed? He's so bloody and yet he doesn't smell of blood at all, instead there's a cool scent, which smells pleasant."

The lean jailor hemmed and hawed, "It smells good, but he's got such a big scar on his face, it's really ugly, how good must he be to make the Emperor come back for more..."

"Why don't we try it too?"

The tall, burly jailor frowned.

The lean jailor had a sharp face and a lecherous smile, "Since the Emperor has locked him up here and tortured him like this, can he still be released?"

“It'll be fine... he is in a coma, how can he know who did it to him. If you don't say anything, who will?"

The tall, burly jailor frowned and didn't say anything, but the lean jailor turned around and took the key from his waist and opened the cell door in a hurry: "I'll go first, you watch for me, I'll replace you when I'm done."

Since Yan Yuan had left this morning, Xuan Long had not woken up from his coma until now.

The man was leaning against the wall, covered with a light cyan quilt, a lot of dried blood stuck to his scattered black hair, and his face as pale as paper, looking like a dead man.

The jailor knew the demon would not die so easily, so he gingerly walked over to him and knelt down in front of Xuan Long, carefully lifting the bedding from his body, his eyes lighting up as he swallowed his saliva.

As the bedding lifted to the man's elevated abdomen, the lean jailor felt a cold gaze shooting from above his head, and he held his breath as he looked up to meet a pair of erect, gold-lined turquoise pupils, as deep as an abyss.

"Get out."

The lean jailor was so shocked that he sat down on the ground, his heart beating like a drum. Having never looked closely at the demon's eyes before, he had never thought they were actually very different from human ones.

What kind of eyes are those...

It was so cold that the mere sight of it sent shivers down one's spine. As beautiful as an emerald, the man was supposed to be an extremely strong being, yet he was bound by a tiny human being, and his vulnerability was obvious.

After the fear had passed, a fire burned up from his lower abdomen and the lean jailer rose to his feet, bravely raising his hand to touch Xuan Long's face.

Before he could touch it, his hand was clasped by the tall, burly jailer who came over quickly: "Are you crazy? He's awake and you still want to..."

The lean jailer pulled his hand back and rubbed his sore wrist, "It's just a bit of fun, what's all the fuss about? The Emperor loves the Empress, so who cares how a prisoner is treated?"

If the Emperor had any regard for this demon, he would not have kept him here half dead.

The lean jailer was burning with lust, wanting nothing more than to taste Xuan Long. He urged the tall, burly jailer to go out on guard duty and smiled evilly as he tugged at Xuan Long's clothes, breathing heavily.

Xuan Long felt a sickness in his chest and his chains struggled violently, his prison clothes fell loose and were soon untied, revealing his towering belly. The jailor then wanted to take off his pants. Xuan Long didn’t know where the strength came from, but he bent his legs and kicked the person out with one kick.

"Get lost."

The lean jailor fell to the ground in disarray, screamed in pain, then got up and walked over with a fierce look on his face, raising his foot to kick Xuan Long's body.

"You're fucking looking for death!"

"Ugh..." The kick hit him squarely in the abdomen and Xuan Long instantly lost his strength, dragging his chains and covering his stomach as he leaned down.

The lean jailer was about to move his foot when the tall, burly jailer ran over to stop him, "That's enough, if you make a mess, the Emperor won't spare us."

The struggle had caused blood to gush from Xuan Long's shoulder, and he was now lying motionless on the ground. If the demon were awake, it would be difficult to do anything about it, so the lean jailer cursed and followed his colleagues out.

It was not long before he returned and crouched in front of Xuan Long.

"If you don't want me to do it, it's okay for me to pluck one of your nails, right?"

The jailer remembered his revenge for the kick, and grabbed Xuan Long's limp hand, the tip of his knife aimed at his thumb and stabbed down sharply. The blade pulled off his fingernail with the blood and flesh in one crooked motion. Xuan Long whimpered lowly and drew his hand back, trying to hide, but the jailer squeezed it tightly and crushed it hard on the injured area.

“I have all the time in the world, when the Emperor is tired of playing with you, I will come back to pamper you..."

The jailer laughed heatedly, exhaled, got up and went out.

Xuan Long instinctively curled his hands up. Something seemed to be falling down in his belly, he tried to get up but didn't have the strength.

The Imperial City was shrouded in the moonlight, and snow was falling heavily in the sky.

Chen Yan followed Yan Yuan with his umbrella. Seeing him coming out of Luanfeng Hall and going to the Heavenly Prison, he advised in a low voice, "Your Majesty... counting the months, it is time for Master Han to give birth..."

"Take pity on him, don't toss him around, wait until the baby is born..."

Yan Yuan face was cold, and there was a lingering gloom coiled between his brows: "I'm waiting for him, who will save A'Yu?"

"I've been waiting for him for a long time."

"I want to see who will finally be the first one who cannot hold out and will surrender."

Chen Yan, who had just received a slap on the wrist half a month ago and had been lying down for half a month before he recovered, did not dare to persuade him, even if he had a million words in his heart.

Winter had arrived.

When Yan Yuan went out, he wore a black cloak and a silvery white fox velvet brocade robe, which was extremely thick. Even so, the oncoming cold wind still made people feel the biting cold.

When he was almost at the Heavenly Prison, Chen Yan spoke with caution: "Your Majesty... the days are cold, and it's cold and gloomy in the prison. This servant is afraid it will be even harder to survive, so let this servant add two braziers for Master Han."

Yan Yuan pursed his lips: "How can a prisoner be qualified to use a brazier? He is so ungrateful, having a quilt is already a gift."

Without waiting for Chen Yan to say anything, he stepped out from under the umbrella and let the wind and snow fall on him. When the guards saw that Yan Yuan had arrived, they opened the door swiftly and Yan Yuan entered the prison with the cold air.

If he wanted Ning Zhiyu to wake up, the only way was to obtain the inner elixir. In this prolonged battle, the underdog was obviously Xuan Long, and even though Yan Yuan was defeated, he was still determined to obtain the inner elixir.

Before entering the cell, he saw Xuan Long lying motionless on the ground. After waiting patiently for the jailer to open the door, Yan Yuan walked towards Xuan Long and stood next to him, lifting his toe and kicking him in the shoulder not too gently but not too heavily.

"Don't play dead, get up for me."

When Xuan Long didn't respond, Yan Yuan just assumed he was sleeping again, so he called for someone to come in and set him up against the wall and poured a basin of snow water over him.

This method always woke him up easily, and this time was no exception. Xuan Long slowly lifted his eyelids, and Yan Yuan crouched down to level with him, grabbing him around the neck.

"What exactly will it take for you to compromise?"

Xuan Long coughed, and a mouthful of blood splashed onto Yan Yuan's cheek, it was hot and different from his cold body.

Yan Yuan froze, withdrew his hand to wipe his face, and heard Xuan Long call down to him, “A'Yuan..."

It had been a long time since they had broken up, and Xuan Long's voice was so soft that Yan Yuan thought he had heard him wrong: "What did you call me?"

Xuan Long wasn't looking at him, his eyes passed over him to look at the snowflakes falling in the middle of the prison cell. There was a square opening at the top, where the wind and snow could fall in.

"It's snowing outside..."

Yan Yuan was momentarily confused as to what Xuan Long wanted and frowned, "En."

Xuan Long's eyes were empty: "It's snowing again..."

He had always hated rain and snow because the nights he was kicked out by his mother were too long, and squatting in front of the house was too cold, and it was even colder when the wind blew and snow fell.

Yan Yuan pinched his cheek: "Do not change the subject, do not think that if you spit blood I will be soft-hearted. Hand over the inner elixir, or else I will pluck out another piece of your heart."

"Uhn..." A muffled grunt spilled from Xuan Long's throat, his eyes drooped, his abdomen suddenly trembled violently, his pale lips slightly opened, and he panted heavily, as if he was about to drown.

His body was covered in blood and cold sweat soaked through his clothes, but Yan Yuan still sensed that something was wrong and said alertly, "What's wrong with you?"

"Don't pretend."

Xuan Long had previously heard Hua Niang talk about the symptoms of labour. When a child was about to be born, the amniotic fluid would first break, and he felt a lot of hot, puffy stuff gushing out from beneath him, but he didn't know whether it was amniotic fluid or blood.

The pain of contractions in his abdomen was intermittent, occasionally accompanied by the sensation of a heavy weight falling down, and his pubic bone seemed to be splitting open, which started after he had been kicked, so he was probably about to give birth.

But the baby was not yet at term, only a little over eight months old.

Xuan Long remembered what Hua Niang had explained, but he didn't know how to deliver the baby, he had no more strength.

"It's... too cold here."

Yan Yuan spoke impatiently, "Since you know it's cold, why don't you behave yourself and hand over the inner elixir, then I will allow you to live back in Qiankun Palace."

Xuan Long leaned against the wall quietly, panting as sharply as he had before, he dragged his chains and grasped his hands into the straw beneath him, “Hmm..."

The cold fragrance in the prison was getting stronger and stronger. Yan Yuan looked at Xuan Long like this and lifted the quilt on him as an afterthought, finding that his white trousers were permeated with blood and the originally dry straw had become wet.

In this situation, it was either a miscarriage or labour.

Xuan Long had been pregnant for more than eight months, so it was impossible for the baby to have fallen, and there would not be that much blood shed in labour, so it must be a difficult delivery.

Yan Yuan's pupils tightened slightly: "... You are about to give birth?"

Xuan Long's body was too weak. A healthy woman giving birth to a child would have one foot in the door of the ghost, not to mention the fact that he had barely been properly nourished when he was pregnant, and he was fed and clothed in the worst way possible, there's no way in hell he could have a safe delivery.

His consciousness was in chaos, Xuan Long saw Yan Yuan's lips moving, but he could not hear what he was saying, he only felt pain and coldness.

The space around him twisted and shifted. He saw his mother walking hideously towards him with a whip, he saw Yan Yuan stabbing him in the heart with a knife, he saw Yan Yuan speaking coldly to him and saying bad words.

Yan Yuan could not wake Xuan Long in any way, and only then did he become completely panicked: "Someone!!!"

"Someone!!!"

"Go and summon the flower spirit!!!"

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: October 11, 2022