308: As Perfect as It Can Be

As Perfect as It Can Be

His body was pressed so closely to mine, the heat of our skin blending into each other. I melted in that blissful sensation. Clasping my hands around his arm, I closed my eyes to ride out the residual tremors pulsing through me, and that was when our baby girl kicked again.2

"…"

The perfect timing made Bai Ye laugh. "She has learned." His breath tickled my cheek. "Such a good girl. She made everything flawless for us today."

I chuckled at that comment. "I see you still remember how everything ended the first time when she wouldn't stop protesting," I said, my voice still a bit unsteady.

We had come a long way learning to deal with an extra person in the bedroom. Neither of us could forget that night when he felt the baby kick for the very first time … while he was on top of me. It had shocked him so much that he called off everything at once, fearing he was hurting the baby, and I could barely sleep for the rest of the night with his unrelieved hardness perpetually prodding from behind me.

He groaned at the somewhat embarrassing memory I brought up. "Don't provoke me with that, Qing-er." He nibbled the back of my neck, his tone turning a little dangerous. "Otherwise, I'll be making up for it today … Even if she doesn't cooperate."

Those words made my body throb again, though I knew he was only bluffing—his palm was rubbing small circles over the swell of my belly, so gently as if he was trying to put the baby back to sleep. He wouldn't go that far to keep her cradle tumbling for another round.

So I placed my hand on top of his, joining him in that soft caress. "She'll stay good for us," I said. "She'll help us keep everything going easily and smoothly … tomorrow as well."

He paused. After a brief moment of silence, he rolled me back to face him. A light kiss brushed over my lips. "Are you still sure you want to come with me tomorrow?" he asked softly.

Tomorrow … was the day that we would finally summon the ritual to fully cleanse the lingering demonic power out of him. Over the past six months, we had studied those ancient texts over and over again, experimenting with every possible method to perform the ritual and preparing for every possible outcome. Now, we were finally ready, and tomorrow would be the time when we'd put everything to test.

"You don't need to be there," he continued, gathering me back into his arms and casually stroking my hair. "I've already sealed all the power I need into the symbol, and I can awaken the swords that way without your help. Nothing needs to be done directly by you anymore, so you can just rest at home and wait for my good news."

He had said the same things to me many times already. I couldn't blame him for the cautiousness—even though I was able to fully control the power of Twin Stars now, he didn't want me to use it again and risk anything unexpected happening to me or the baby. If not for my persistent protests, he would've preferred to wait till the baby was born before trying the ritual. But having seen things changing for the worse at the last minute too many times already, I couldn't convince myself to risk his life either, so we spent weeks debating. It wasn't until I came up with the idea to offload my power into a symbol ahead of time that he finally conceded.

"You already said you don't need anything from me to summon that ritual," I argued using his own words. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I smiled. "Since there isn't any effort required from me, what's the harm in me coming with you? I'll be doing nothing except watching and cheering for you."

He sighed. "I knew that would be your excuse." He pinched my bottom in a habitual gesture of grudging agreement.

I chuckled. "If you're still worried, you can always set up a guarding spell for me when we're ready to start. But let me at least be there with you. We've gone through so much to come this far … It's not an option for me to miss this last step."

He nodded somewhat defeatedly. "Just remember what you promised me. If anything goes wrong, keep yourself safe. I'm in no rush to fix the demonic influence on me. We have time."

"I remember. Don't worry." I pecked his lips in a promise. "But nothing will go wrong. We've practiced so many times before already, and it's nothing more than a routine ritual to us at this point. Besides …" I gave him a mysterious look. "Do you remember what day it is tomorrow?"

A blank confusion crossed his eyes, telling me the answer.

"It's Mid Autumn. You need to get better at the festival dates now that we are living in the commoner's world." I winked. Unlike him, I had been spending too much time with our neighbors preparing osmanthus wine and mooncakes to forget about the holiday. "It's the day for the families, Bai Ye. I picked this day on purpose, to let Qingling join us and witness the end to all our troubles. She'll be watching with me, and we'll make sure everything goes smoothly. We'll have the blessing that the heavens bestow on all families on this day … It'll be the time when all our wishes and hopes come true at last."

He listened quietly, and a bright twinkle slowly emerged from the depth of his eyes. He smiled when I finished, raising a hand and lighting cupping my cheek. "You picked the best time indeed," he said softly. "This is the first Mid Autumn we spend together as a family. We'll have our blessings … and we'll make everything as perfect as it can be."

He leaned in, pulling me into another lingering kiss.

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