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Mi Xue lowered her head and tearfully wept.

This departure of Mi Xi might very well be a final farewell.

She understood that better than anyone else.

Yet Mi Xi never said an extra word.

Gu Xiaoxi returned home with the box.

Quan Shaoqing had been busy for three days and had not come home.

When she arrived, she saw the man holding the baby, talking to Song Xu about something with happy smiles on their faces.

Upon seeing Gu Xiaoxi enter, Quan Shaoqing immediately handed the child to Song Xu and walked up to her, his hand taking hers with concern, "Where have you been? You didn’t ask anyone to accompany you."

"I had some things to take care of!" Gu Xiaoxi gripped his hand in return and pulled him along with a serious tone, "Come upstairs with me, I have something to tell you."

Seeing her very solemn expression, Quan Shaoqing let her pull him obediently upstairs.

Song Xu just glanced at them and then cheerfully soothed the little baby, "Xiao Ling, look how good your daddy and mommy get along. In the future, our family will also be alright."

"Wah wah wah!" Quan Jinling squinted his big eyes and started crying aimlessly, as if responding to the elder’s words.

In the room.

Gu Xiaoxi pushed Quan Shaoqing into the room, closed the door, and then strode toward the balcony of the bedroom.

"Just say what you need to say!" Quan Shaoqing knew in his heart that many things couldn’t be hidden from Gu Xiaoxi, even though she stayed at home every day and rarely ventured out of the house.

Gu Xiaoxi walked to the table, poured two glasses of water, picked them up, and casually handed one to Quan Shaoqing.

He quietly accepted it.

"Tell me about the recent situations outside. I want to know if I can wait for the day when you will take me down the aisle." Gu Xiaoxi said this with her back to Quan Shaoqing.

She didn’t want to see any expression on his face; she only wanted to hear the truth from him.

Quan Shaoqing paused for a moment, then walked up beside Gu Xiaoxi and stood shoulder to shoulder with her.

"The situation is indeed a bit complicated.

Over the past six months, not just in our country but in many places abroad, the crime rate has been continuously increasing.

I suspect someone is manipulating things behind the scenes.

Of course, this is just my speculation. As for what will happen in the future, I am even less certain now.

" Quan Shaoqing took out a cigarette from his pocket, but considering her presence, he put it back again.

"Do you need my help?" Gu Xiaoxi turned her head, her gaze firmly locked onto his expression.

In truth, although they had been living together for a year.

Most of the time, it was just her waiting alone at home, as his work was very busy, and he was rarely at home.

Even when she was giving birth to the child, he was abroad attending an important conference.

Quan Shaoqing knew that he had fallen short in the emotional aspect, especially now that they had a child, and she never asked for any payback from him.

He stepped forward, enveloped the woman by his side into his arms, and with a voice of resignation whispered in her ear, "I will protect you, and you don’t need to help. All you need to do now is to stay happy with Lingling."

"Then, are you confident in defeating the Nascent Soul?" Indeed, this has been Gu Xiaoxi’s ongoing worry.

That’s why she wanted to have the child without considering the future or caring whether he loved her.

She was afraid they wouldn’t have that chance in the future.

As a soldier, Quan Shaoqing had his own missions and duty.

Setting aside his spell, just his identity alone was fraught with dangers.

Although he had been intentionally avoiding her and not coming home previously, she knew that he must have been injured.

Now, at this juncture in their lives, there was a metaphorical sword hanging constantly over their heads.

She had thought about them both quitting the military, becoming ordinary people, taking care of the child, and living a good life.

It didn’t matter even if the foundation of their togetherness was just a sense of responsibility.

But, that was not the reality.

Society always needs some people to make sacrifices.

How can one secure their family when the country is not secure?

Without his contributions and protection, where would the safety and health of her and the child come from?

So, she was so resolute in wanting to bear him a child.

Now, Mi Xi had brought her Immortal Herbs, which could heal her injuries.

If her abilities could recover...

From now on, she would fight alongside him.

Even if they were to die on the battlefield, there would be no regrets.

For she had left behind the crystallization of their love, to accompany her parents.

"Shaoqing! Let me go back! I want to be with you." Gu Xiaoxi clenched the box in her hand. If she had to go to the battlefield, she wanted to join him, no matter how dangerous it might be, so she could share some of his burden.

Quan Shaoqing, however, grasped her hand in return and made her lift her chin to meet his gaze.

His deep eyes were filled with refusal, "Protecting the homeland and fighting wars are a man’s duty. All I want is for you to stay home and protect Lingling. Just wait for my return!"

Gu Xiaoxi felt a stifling discomfort in her chest upon hearing his words.

Three months ago, Quan Shaoqing hadn’t come home for a whole month. It was precisely when she was about to give birth. If he hadn’t been seriously injured, he wouldn’t have hidden it for so long and would not have been absent at such a critical time.

She feared that one day she might not wait for him to return at all...

"I’ve already decided to go back!" Gu Xiaoxi pushed away Quan Shaoqing’s hand, picked up the box, and looked at the Immortal Herbs inside, saying, "I’ve obtained the second Purple Crystal, and in a few days, I’ll break through to the Spiritual Realm.

If you really care about me, let me be with you.

I don’t want to be at home and one day receive bad news. "

Quan Shaoqing hurried forward, grabbing her wrist and staring at the Immortal Herbs in her hand in confusion, "Who gave this to you?"

"Mi Xi injured me, and this is his compensation to me. Once I consume this, I will regain my former cultivation, and perhaps even grow stronger." Gu Xiaoxi had no intention of hiding it from him and met his gaze with a serious tone.

"If it can restore your strength, that’s good. However, I’ve already planned for you to be discharged from service," Quan Shaoqing released her, hands in pockets, with an air as if he was casually instructing a subordinate to pour a cup of tea.

"What do you mean?" Gu Xiaoxi coldly returned his look.

It was he who had forced her into the military, and now he was telling her to discharge? Would she just agree?

"If this war is inevitable, my being there alone is enough. I don’t want you to be in danger, nor do I want our child to one day be left alone and helpless," said Quan Shaoqing cryptically, yet the implication was clear.

If they were to go to war, if one was to die, he alone sufficed.

He did not want her to join him in danger, to let their child lose a father and then a mother as well.

"No one can decide anything for me, and if you still wish to marry me, then we must face everything together, to live and die as one.

I am a soldier, and these years in the service have taught me the conviction of a military person.

Now what reason do you have to stop me?" Gu Xiaoxi looked up at the sky in the distance.

The setting sun marked the end of a beautiful day.

The sunlight made her gaze even more resolute.

Her thinking was simple, having a child meant having no regrets.

Even if the Love-Forbidding Curse couldn’t be lifted, even if they were to die on the battlefield.

She wanted to be with him.

He was to hold on to his beliefs and protect the country.

And she would stick to her own beliefs, to guard him, so that one day, he could dote on and love her like before, and they could live happily for the rest of their lives.

Quan Shaoqing’s lips thinned, and for a moment he didn’t know what to say.

Gu Xiaoxi took the box and turned around, solemnly saying as she walked away, "I’ll give you a day to think about it. If you don’t agree to let me join you on the battlefield, I will take Lingling and leave on my own."

She wasn’t threatening him. She was rationally informing him of her decision.

Leaving with the child was merely to find a safe haven for the child.

And she, would stay by his side in her own way.

Quan Shaoqing clenched his fingers, feeling a heavy discomfort in his heart. Indeed, nothing had gone well in the past six months, with someone stirring trouble behind the scenes, and the prolonged battles had left him no time to spare.

For her, he tried to restrain himself from liking her.

To say he had no feelings for her would be a lie.

No matter how much he restrained himself, with such a delicate wife by his side, his cold heart would eventually warm.

He would often wake up from terrifying nightmares.

The deeper the love, the more he wanted to do something for her.

But in the end, he found that he simply couldn’t.

The only way to protect her was to have her leave.

If, in the future, the enemy was defeated and peace reigned, and he was still alive,

He would spend his life accompanying her and protecting her.

If, in the future, he died, he hoped she would live a good life with their child.

His love for her was without regret, hoping she could understand.

Gu Xiaoxi took the box and went out the door, then, standing in the corridor, she placed the herb in her mouth.