RPS – Chapter 96 It’s Happening…

“Is the baby out yet? What’s happening?” Bu pressed his ear to the door, nearly frantic. That last scream from Li Feng had been too heart-wrenching, and Nuo’s following cry of alarm even more terrifying. But they couldn’t go in—they could only pace helplessly outside.

“Another basin of hot water, quickly!” Nuo opened the door just long enough to bark the order at Bù, thrusting out two blood-filled basins. Towels dipped once turned the entire basin red. At this rate, Nuo worried the blood would run out entirely.

Bu snatched the basins and ran, while Kǎ anxiously asked, “How is it? Born yet?”

“Not yet!” Nuo snapped, slamming the door shut before rushing back to the bed.

He wrung a towel and handed it to Lì to wipe the sweat from Li Feng’s brow, while he kept pressing and massaging the swollen, rigid belly. The child still hadn’t come out. That terrible scream earlier had only managed to push a little of the head through.

“Is Li Feng awake yet?” Nuo asked urgently, still pressing on the belly to help the child descend. Earlier, when Li Feng fainted, they were scared half to death. But he had warned them it might happen, that they shouldn’t panic—he’d wake up again. Remembering his words gave Nuo a sliver of reassurance.

Lì, however, had gone pale as a sheet. He had been pale since the birth began, but now his face was ghostly white. He clutched Li Feng in an iron embrace, jaw clenched so tight it seemed his teeth might shatter. He said nothing, only holding him tighter and tighter, as if trying to fuse him into his body.

“Mmm…” Li Feng woke with a groan of pain, just like when he first transmigrated. The stabbing agony in his lower body, his shoulders, his arms—all of it dragged him back from the darkness. “The baby…”

“Ah, you’re awake! Quick, push again, the baby’s head is visible now—just one more effort and it will be out!” Nuo exclaimed, relieved. Li Feng’s voice was faint, almost too weak to hear.

“Li Feng…” Beside him, Lì’s voice carried unrestrained joy. Li Feng grabbed his hand, wanting to say something—but before he could, another wave of brutal pain surged through him. The baby seemed unwilling to wait any longer, forcing its way down. His belly felt like it would explode, the tearing at his opening unbearable.

Lì didn’t know how to speak sweet words. He had always been a man of few words, usually it was Li Feng who teased him into talking. Now, watching his beloved suffer, he was at a loss. His own heart was breaking apart. He bit down so hard on his teeth that his gums bled, his mouth filling with the metallic taste of blood, mingling with the heavy stench of it in the air.

“Li Feng, don’t be afraid. I’m here. I’ll always be here, by your side. I’ll stay with you. With the baby. With the child inside your belly. Just a little more strength, and the baby will be born.” He repeated the words again and again, lowering his head to kiss Li Feng’s sweat-drenched forehead, wiping at his damp hair with gentle care. His eyes brimmed with love, worry, and panic, though his hands remained tender in their touch.

“Yes, Li Feng, just a little more! The baby’s almost out!” Nuo encouraged too, though his voice trembled from exhaustion and nerves, his whole head slick with sweat. He had no time to wipe it away.

To Li Feng, it felt as though years had passed. Still no baby. “I… can’t… can’t do it… I have no… strength left… it won’t… come out… I’m going… to die!” That last push had drained him completely. His body felt like jelly, powerless, while the pain kept crashing over him in waves, impossible to resist. He truly felt like he was dying. “I… don’t… want… to do this anymore… ahhh—” His final word stretched into a wail. He never wanted to give birth again. This was too much. Worse than death. At this moment, more than ever, he wished he could return to the modern world—he’d rather take a scalpel and be done with it.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Li Feng, you can do this, you definitely can. You won’t die, I’m right here with you. An is waiting outside too. He hasn’t seen his little brother yet. Didn’t you always say you wanted to give him a little brother? An loves lying on your belly talking to his brother the most, don’t you remember?” Li kissed Li Feng’s lips, pale and bitten bloody by himself, while coaxing him. Since Li Feng cherished the children deeply and spent far more time with them than with him, using them as encouragement worked far better.

“An? Baby… brother…” Li Feng’s mind kept circling around Li’s words. Yes, An wanted a little brother, his little brother who was in his belly. That brother was about to be born now… but he no longer had any strength. His lower body was so numb he couldn’t feel a thing.

Warm blood mixed with amniotic fluid kept flowing from between his thighs. Nuo was growing more and more anxious—this had dragged on for almost an entire night, why hadn’t the child come out yet? Was the baby too big? Li Feng had been eating very well during pregnancy… could it really be that the baby had grown too big? Nuo sighed. Helping Li Feng deliver like this, he guessed he would forever fear childbirth afterward. He even thought, if only he could give birth himself, that would be better. But now he realized—thank heavens he couldn’t. Li Feng was truly suffering too much.

Time ticked away. Li had fed Li Feng some water to let him gather more strength to push. The torches in the room flickered weakly, the brazier had swallowed charcoal several times already, yet the baby still stayed inside Li Feng’s belly. The head could already be seen, but just wouldn’t come out. Nuo was so anxious he felt he’d break his own hands from wringing them. Li was even more frantic, like an ant on a hot pan, but he could do nothing except hold Li Feng, giving him comfort, letting him know he wasn’t alone—that he’d stay by his side, and that their child would be born safely.

Li Feng was in the worst shape, his whole body soaked as if he’d just crawled out of water, dripping with sweat. His hair clung wet to his skin. He opened his mouth wide, gasping like a fish out of water. His whole body was limp, strengthless. He wanted to push the child out, but his body refused to obey.

No one knew how long had passed when the baby inside began moving less and less. Nuo grew increasingly terrified. Li Feng himself could clearly feel the baby weakening inside him, its breath becoming fainter with each passing moment. A stabbing ache split Li Feng’s heart—perhaps fatherly love, perhaps blood-deep responsibility, perhaps both—whatever it was, it spurred him on. He clenched his teeth hard. He had to push this baby out. If not, the child might truly be in danger…

“Li Feng!” Nuo’s hand was about to reach into Li Feng’s body to pull the baby out. He felt the child weakening, his face pale with horror, and shouted urgently: “Hurry! If the baby doesn’t come out now it’ll be too late, hurry, hurry…” Nuo was nearly frantic.

“Ah—!” Stimulated by his words, Li Feng somehow summoned a final surge of strength. Every ounce of power in his body rushed downward. His hands clenched the blanket beneath him tightly. With a desperate push, the tearing pain made his mind go blank, but he had no time to think—only one thought filled his mind: he must get the baby out! He felt the baby slide out from behind him, and with that release his heart lightened—finally, the child was born. Immediately after, he passed out.

When Li felt Li Feng’s head slump against him, that sense of lifelessness nearly killed him with fear. He lowered his head quickly—Li Feng’s eyes were shut tight, lips pressed together, face deathly pale. Li clenched and unclenched his bloody hands, nails having pierced his palms without him even noticing, then carefully placed his trembling hand under Li Feng’s nose. In that instant, he felt his own breathing stop.

A faint breath. Still alive! Relief nearly made his legs give out. But before he could fully exhale, Nuo suddenly cried out. Li looked up to see tears pouring down Nuo’s face.

In Nuo’s arms was the blood-slicked newborn. He had already cut the umbilical cord. But why was Nuo crying? The baby had been born, hadn’t it? Unless—

“Wh… what’s wrong?” Li’s voice shook uncontrollably, almost choking.

“The baby… the baby won’t move. No… no breath!” Nuo sobbed, clutching the tiny body.

“What? What did you say?” No breath? Dead? Impossible! Just moments ago the baby had been so lively inside Li Feng’s belly, how could it be dead now? After all Li Feng’s agony, nearly trading his life to bring this child into the world—how could it possibly be gone?

Looking at the unconscious Li Feng on the bed, Li’s vision swam. His heart felt frozen like the snowstorm raging outside, chilled through and through. He couldn’t bear to imagine—if Li Feng woke up to find out… what then?

Suddenly he leapt from the bed. “Give it to me, give it to me!” He snatched the baby from Nuo’s arms.

The newborn hadn’t even been cleaned yet, its whole body still covered in amniotic fluid, blood, and feces. After all, the baby had come through the intestines; though Li Feng’s belly had somehow formed a womb, the intestines weren’t made for childbirth, so filth was inevitable. Soaked in amniotic fluid, its wrinkled red skin made it look like a little monkey, a tiny old man.

“What are you doing?” Nuo asked quickly, watching Li lay the baby on the bed and bend over it.

Li ignored him—or perhaps didn’t even hear. His entire being was focused on this fragile newborn. The child wasn’t breathing, chest still, and Li’s tears poured freely down his face, but he didn’t stop to wipe them. Instead, he grabbed a hot towel and quickly cleaned the baby’s nose and mouth.

Then, pinching the baby’s tiny nose with one hand and prying its little mouth open with the other, he bent down, covered its lips with his own, inhaled deeply, then turned aside and blew out, spitting out the filthy mixture of fluid and waste.

Nuo gasped, covering his mouth. Bu and Ka had already rushed in—Bu had been about to call Nuo while carrying hot water, but when the door opened just a crack, he’d heard Nuo cry that the baby wasn’t breathing. Terrified, they’d charged in. Now seeing Li bent over “kissing” the newborn, they were struck speechless, until they realized he was sucking out the filth.

“How is the baby?” At that moment Li Feng suddenly stirred awake. Opening his eyes, he saw the room full of people. Li was gone from his side. He hadn’t heard a baby’s cry. What was happening? Weren’t newborns supposed to cry right away? In his daze, he seemed to have heard someone say the baby…

Fear consumed him. Seeing Nuo sobbing into his hands, he tried to sit up, searching for Li—but his body was as weak as a noodle, he couldn’t even move a finger. “The baby… how… is the baby?”

“The baby isn’t breathing. Li’s saving him.” Ka had just spoken when Li Feng swayed, and before he could say another word, his head lolled and he fainted again.

His mind had caught only the first half: the baby isn’t breathing. The second half never reached him. That one sentence kept echoing in his head as darkness took him. Already gravely exhausted and weak, grief upon grief crushed him into unconsciousness.

Nuo and the others rushed to tend to him, while Nuo hurriedly began cleaning and treating Li Feng’s torn and bloodied body. When the baby was born, all their attention had gone to the infant, leaving Li Feng’s injuries untended.

“You two go out. If we need you, we’ll call. Just keep the hot water coming!” Nuo ordered Bu and Ka out. He had to focus on cleaning and stitching Li Feng’s badly torn lower body, where blood still poured without stopping.

As for Li—he paid no mind to the outside world. All of him was fixed on saving his child. Their child. This baby must not die. He kept bending down and lifting up, again and again performing mouth-to-mouth. Finally, after several tries, the baby’s mouth was clear of filth. A faint breath, a weak heartbeat—Li nearly jumped for joy. But he forced himself to keep going. Artificial respiration. He pressed on, just as Li Feng had once taught him in case of emergencies.

Back then, Li Feng had worried he might faint during labor, so he taught Li this method. Li had been very interested, especially when he learned it could save lives. He practiced with great enthusiasm, often seizing chances to “practice” with Li Feng until the practice turned into endless kisses. Many times Li Feng almost couldn’t breathe, chasing him angrily afterward—artificial respiration? This was murder!

But who would’ve thought—Li Feng himself hadn’t needed it, but now, in the most critical moment, their baby did. Because of all that “practice,” Li’s technique was precise. Seeing the newborn’s purpled face, he thought desperately of Li Feng’s lessons, praying it would work.

And it did. Once he sucked out the filth, the truth became clear—the baby had been stuck too long in the womb, swallowing amniotic fluid mixed with waste into its mouth, blocking its airway. Luckily, Li Feng had pushed him out at the last moment. Luckily, Li remembered. Luckily, he acted fast. Fortune upon fortune.

After several breaths, the baby finally let out a soft “waa…” Though the sound was faint, to Li it was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. Never again would he think a baby’s crying was noisy—this was the sweetest sound in the world.

Tears streamed down his face again. With a crash, Nuo dropped the basin he was holding, water splashing everywhere. He seemed not to notice, only crying harder. At first it was quiet sobs, then he broke down wailing like the baby. “Too good, it’s too good… the baby’s fine! The baby’s alive, the baby’s fine, wuu… the baby can cry…”

“Yes, the baby’s fine. Don’t cry. Wash him first—I’ll take care of Li Feng!” Li scrubbed his face roughly, wrapped the baby to keep him warm, and handed him back to Nuo. His big clumsy hands weren’t fit for bathing such a fragile thing. Better to let Nuo do it.

Nuo nodded, still crying and laughing all at once. When Bu entered with more water, he nearly jumped at the sight of Nuo cradling a loudly crying baby—but finally, relief settled in. This long night had been sheer torment for everyone waiting outside.

Nuo and Bu carefully bathed the newborn. The filth had dried on his skin, and they didn’t dare scrub hard, only slowly washed him. The hot water softened everything quickly, and the baby, revived by the warmth, wailed even louder. Truly, Li Feng had nourished him well in the womb—this child was much heavier than An had been at birth. Back then, An had been tiny, like a little kitten, so small he looked premature. Frail, weak, with no milk available, he survived only on chilled fruit juice. Nuo remembered how Li always brought yellow fruit back from hunts, how small An had looked then, even his cries like a kitten’s.

Li Feng had fretted endlessly, painstakingly raising him. Only once their lives improved did An finally get milk and grow plump.

“Bu, look, the baby’s so chubby! An took two or three months to get this big! Truly, it’s because Li Feng ate so well this time. See how big he is? No wonder Li Feng had such a hard labor!” Nuo laughed through tears, holding the now-clean baby out for Bu to see. The baby was swaddled in soft cloth clothes and a thick fur wrap—snow was falling outside, after all, the cold biting.

Bu nodded in agreement while warming some milk. Indeed, Li Feng had suffered long and hard because the child was too big. Just from the weight, this one wasn’t light at all.

“The snow stopped! It’s dawn!” Ka came in, bringing a gust of icy air.