The fourteenth eruption this month, bursting forth on the second day! The first update is delivered! A desperate need for Zhui Ji Lian!

Dugu Wudi blinked open his eyes, staggered speechless, his fingers trembling, muttering, "You, you, you…" He managed the word 'you' for a long time, but no further sound came out. Suddenly, with a thud, he tumbled off his horse, landing sprawled awkwardly, the picture of utter wretchedness. Yet, he kept his neck stiff, his eyes fixed on his daughter, filled with absolute disbelief.

Jun Moxie, watching from the other side, was equally startled, his eyes nearly popping from their sockets!

What in the world was this situation? What was happening?

As for the three brothers, Dugu Chong, Dugu Shang, and Dugu Qian, their eyeballs looked ready to burst as well!

There stood Dugu Xiaoyi, supporting her belly with both hands, walking over slowly and cautiously. Her figure was unnaturally swollen, resembling a woman heavily pregnant and nearing her delivery date. Walking was an agonizing effort for her.

If one looked from above, one likely wouldn't even see her toes anymore!

This girl was slender as a gust of wind could blow her away just yesterday. How could her stomach have grown so large overnight? This speed was preposterous! Even a woman truly nine months along, ready to give birth, might not carry such a massive belly. Never mind that there was absolutely nothing between us—even if there had been something, and even if it had been a direct hit, it couldn't have happened this fast! This girl is too ferocious!

For a moment, Jun Moxie didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

So, this girl had finally deployed this tactic!

Amidst his amusement, Jun Moxie was suddenly touched.

The young girl’s action was undoubtedly a stunt, but it demonstrated her absolute, sincere devotion to him, a love so deep she was past caring about anything else!

At any cost! I like Jun Moxie, and I will marry Jun Zhenxie!

This singular act possessed a strange kinship with the Elder Young Master’s own nature. The Elder Young Master was always self-directed, never caring what others might see or say. And now, for the sake of the man she loved most, the girl ignored all external scrutiny. Though not identical, their paths converged in spirit!

To pull this off before the thousands of troops, right outside the gates of Tianxiang City, one could only imagine what the young girl would have to endure! As a scion of a great family, the only girl among the third generation of the Dugu lineage, her reputation was paramount! The girl wasn't foolish; she wasn't unaware of the consequences. Yet, she proceeded resolutely.

Though somewhat farcical, it signaled her firm resolve to face the barrage of rumors and public opinion concerning Tianxiang alongside him! This ridiculous maneuver was tantamount to declaring to Jun Moxie: Whatever you suffer, I will endure with you. You will not be alone. Absolutely not alone!

Because you still have me!

The ruthless curve of Jun Moxie’s lips suddenly softened into a tender line. At this moment, his heartstrings were truly and deeply plucked by this somewhat foolish, somewhat innocent young girl, Dugu Xiaoyi!

Such profound, devoted affection. For such a young girl—what more could he ask of her?

"Xiaoyi, you, you, you…" "I, I, I…" "Damn it, damn it all! What in my ancestors' names is going on!" Dugu Wudi smashed his head against the ground repeatedly, thump, thump, thump. The dignified Great General of a nation wept torrentially, calling out to heaven and earth to no avail.

"Father, don't be like this." Dugu Xiaoyi immediately grew anxious, completely forgetting her current state of "pregnancy." She darted toward her father, her legs moving swiftly. The young girl herself possessed considerable cultivation; closing those few steps at full pace meant she would arrive in an instant.

"Stop! You, you… don't move!" "Oh dear, you silly girl, are you trying to court death…" Dugu Wudi was aghast. He leaped up, forgetting his sorrow, spreading both hands wide, his voice tight with tension: "Don't, don't move that fetus! Ahhhh…"

Dugu Xiaoyi suddenly realized she was in a "delicate situation" and couldn't run or jump wildly! She halted her rapid rush instantly, carefully cradling her belly with both hands, terrified it might suddenly drop. She swayed backward, walking with a waddle like a penguin, sweetly saying, "Daddy… please don't be angry. Your daughter is unworthy, but… I'm going to be a mother! You're going to be a grandfather… You should be happy, not angry…"

"I’m not angry, I’m not angry, I should be happy, happy, hoo…" Dugu Wudi gasped for breath, his eyes turning blue from sheer frustration, hammering his chest anxiously. Only then did he force down the explosion of rage ready to erupt, pointing a finger at his daughter’s stomach, speaking with a harsh tone laced with a hint of excitement: "Whose is it?"

General Dugu himself was a father to several children and was accustomed to seeing pregnant women. He shouldn't have been so bewildered. His daughter had only been away for a few months. No matter what, she couldn't possibly have grown this large so fast. However, the notion that his daughter had been "taken care of" had preempted all other thoughts, causing the Great General to completely overlook the reality!

"Uh? What?" "Whose?" Dugu Xiaoyi asked back, stunned, her large eyes wide open.

Dugu Wudi nearly spat blood. Trembling, he stared at Dugu Xiaoyi and roared with a pain that pierced his very soul, "I'm asking about the baby inside there! Whose is it?!"

"Inside there?… Oh… this one?" Dugu Xiaoyi lowered her head shyly, whispering softly, "Besides Brother Moxie, whose else could it be?"

"Hrr… hrr…" Dugu Wudi gasped violently. Although he had somewhat prepared himself mentally, seeing his precious daughter suddenly appear before him with such a huge belly made the Great General’s vision swim. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and roared up at the sky: "Jun Mo… I will definitely castrate you!"

Jun Moxie, among the ranks, shivered violently.

What? Castrate me? On what grounds? Your daughter drugged me, putting me through hell, and you still want to castrate me? Is there any justice in this world?!

"Daddy, what are you saying!" Dugu Xiaoyi stamped her small foot, her face flushed, covering her ears with her hands and puffing out her cheeks. Though the young girl was somewhat knowledgeable about matters of the sexes, she clearly understood the meaning of "castration," and she was extremely displeased.

"Don't stomp your feet… don't stomp!" Dugu Wudi jumped up anxiously, wildly scratching his scalp: "Aiya, aiya, aiya… My little ancestor, you are carrying two lives now, you can't handle big movements, be careful!"

Just then, the Imperial Envoy, holding the Imperial Edict, finally arrived, panting heavily. He waved his whisk toward Jun Wuyi, announcing in a peculiar eunuch's tone, "The Imperial Edict arrives! Marshal Jun Wuyi, receive the decree!"

"Receive your grandmother's mouth!" Dugu Wudi exploded in a fit of rage. Unable to vent the suffocating anger in his chest, he suddenly heard this strangely intoned call. The Great General, already clouded by fury, hadn't clearly registered what the eunuch had shouted. His volcano erupted! He charged forward and kicked the envoy into a somersault: "May the ancestors of your eighteenth generation descend to the depths of hell! Haven't you seen your old man is busy?! With your cuckoo voice and yellow smoke pouring out of your anus, you shout and shout! Shout all you want about your damn mother!"

The old eunuch tumbled out, squeaking unintelligibly, performing over ten difficult somersaults before landing with a wet smack on the ground like a dried fish, instantly and thoroughly unconscious.

The Imperial Edict he held flew from his grasp, coincidentally landing with a splat right into a puddle of water. Water cares not for Imperial Edicts; it instantly surged over the parchment, blurring the writing into an inky smudge.

Eyeballs began bouncing wildly across the ground!

From ancient times till now, no one had ever dared to assault an Imperial Envoy so brazenly, let alone one arriving to announce a royal commendation! Furthermore, the torrent of abuse hurled by Great General Dugu was executed with such fluid intensity that it took several mental turns for people to decipher what he had actually cursed about.

And this Imperial Envoy was truly unlucky. He knew well that the rewards for Jun Wuyi this time were substantial. Full of dreams of getting rich from a heavy purse from the Marshal, he never expected to receive a savage kick to the head, falling unconscious without understanding why. He didn't even know which deity he had offended.

Jun Wuyi, seeing the envoy approach, was just preparing to straighten his robes and receive the decree, when he witnessed the envoy roll past him like a ball at incredible speed.

This forced him to swallow the phrase, "Your subject, Jun Wuyi, receives the decree," midway. He stared blankly at Dugu Wudi for a long time before sighing, "Brother Dugu, you have courted serious trouble this time!"

"I courted trouble? Jun Wuyi, hah, hah, hah, you aren't a good guy either!" Dugu Wudi completely ignored what Jun Wuyi said, glaring and roaring, "You condoned your nephew's violence, his plundering and robbery—your crimes are heinous! I will stand opposed to you! Where is that little beast Jun Moxie? Get out here! If you don't show yourself now, and I catch you, I’ll kill you with one punch!"

Clatter, clatter, clatter—a series of crisp hoofbeats sounded as the Elder Young Master Jun strode forward. Red-lipped, white-toothed, handsome, and graceful, radiating charm like an elegant jade tree in the wind, a heavenly youth made manifest!

"Jun Moxie! You little beast!…" "Ahhhhhh!" Dugu Wudi lunged forward, eyes blazing as if intent on devouring him. Jun Moxie swiftly darted up the flagpole, which he himself had doubled in height, scaling it with a few swift moves to reach the top, dozens of zhang high, shouting loudly, "What are you doing? This whole thing has nothing to do with me! You investigate clearly before you speak! If you're going to throw a fit, find the right target first."

The flagpole was too high. Although Great General Dugu’s martial arts were still decent, he truly couldn't jump that high. Climbing it was impossible with his robust frame lacking that much agility. Hearing Jun Moxie’s words, Dugu Wudi became even more incensed, boiling with rage: "What! Nothing to do with you? Whose business is it then! Damn it, you want me to clarify? My… my daughter… is like this, and you think you can just take what you want and deny responsibility?! What am I supposed to clarify?"

Dugu Wudi trembled violently, staring at Jun Moxie in explosive fury. He wrapped both hands around the flagpole and shook it with all his might. Jun Moxie on top immediately began to spin wildly back and forth like a human gyroscope.