Chapter 1: The Birth of a Beloved Daughter, Receiving the Dao Fruit

Dajing, Yunzhou, Feilei City.

A night of heavy snow had turned the entire dilapidated city into a silver world, the cold penetrating to the bone.

The sky was gray, the cold wind like a knife, cutting through the bones.

Li Che tightened his thin cotton coat, holding a carp frozen as hard as a board, which he had spent a lot of money to get in the winter.

To nourish his pregnant wife.

He rubbed his stubble, exhaled a puff of white mist into his palms, and braved the cold wind, stepping through the snow, hurrying down the wide streets of Feilei City toward home.

It had been nineteen years since he had crossed over to this world, from a newborn baby to a poor commoner struggling for survival. Li Che had given up on the fantasy of having a golden finger.

Skyscrapers and neon lights had long become a dream, a memory that could never be returned to.

This world was similar to ancient times but even more dangerous, with natural disasters, human calamities, and evil spirits rampant, making life for the common people very difficult.

After accepting his fate, Li Che only wanted to protect his wife and children, to live a stable and peaceful life, to live a second life well.

According to family arrangements, he married at eighteen, and on their wedding night, he succeeded in conceiving. Now, his wife was ten months pregnant and about to give birth.

Feilei City was vast, divided into the inner city and the outer city. The inner city was said to be where the noble families and officials lived, with wider streets, luxurious living, and stricter security.

Only those with status could enter the inner city.

As for the outer city, it was where the vast majority of the hardworking people lived.

After walking several miles down the long street, he turned into a small alley, and in front of him were rows of low, black-tiled mud houses.

His hurried footsteps made a crunching sound on the soft snow.

"Brother Che! Oh, Brother Che, you're finally back from work!"

"Your wife is about to give birth, hurry back and check on her!"

"You're going to be a father!"

In the distance, neighbors who knew Li Che called out to him.

Li Che was startled.

Anxious, he quickened his pace, running toward his mud house, the snow flying behind him.

The sky was already slightly dark. Li Che arrived at his door, the old wooden door open, and from inside, he heard the soft cries of a woman in pain and the urgent encouragement of the midwife.

"Back already?"

In the small courtyard outside the mud house, an old scholar sat on a broken bench, wearing a cotton jacket and a tattered scholar's robe, smoking a pipe.

This scholar was Li Che's uncle, Li Liang.

When Li Che was eight, his parents died of illness, and he was raised by his uncle's family, growing up smoothly, getting married, and having children, with his uncle's family helping a lot.

"Don't worry, Aunt Lei is the best midwife for miles around. Xiao Ya will be fine, definitely mother and child safe." The old scholar said, holding the pipe.

Having lived two lives but being a father for the first time, Li Che was naturally nervous.

Holding the frozen carp, he paced back and forth in front of the mud house.

This made the old scholar somewhat impatient, "What are you pacing for, you're going to be a father, you should be more composed!"

"Can you put down that frozen fish first?"

Li Che glanced at him, not responding, not putting down the fish, but stopping his pacing.

Because suddenly, a loud cry came from inside the house!

Li Che's eyes narrowed, his heart feeling as if it was being tightly gripped.

The old scholar Li Liang also immediately stood up, extinguishing his pipe, staring at the house.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound like a distant thunder echoed in the dark sky!

The old scholar was startled, muttering to himself.

Li Che instinctively looked up, faintly seeing a dragon-like figure rolling in the sky.

Born with an omen?

Do you think this is a fantasy novel?

Li Che didn't think about it that way. Following the midwife's call, he hurried into the house.

Inside, the charcoal stove provided warmth, dispelling the cold.

The midwife held a red-faced baby, looking at Li Che, "Congratulations, Master Li, it's a lovely daughter."

Li Che's face lit up with joy, the hand holding the frozen carp not knowing where to put it, only able to keep saying, "Thank you, thank you..."

After hurriedly thanking the midwife, he finally threw away the carp.

Carefully, his hands trembling, he took the baby and examined it closely.

At first glance, he felt a sense of blood connection, though the newborn's skin was wrinkled, and it was hard to tell if she was beautiful or not.

But Li Che felt that this treasure was the most beautiful child in the world.

Because she was his daughter, Li Che's daughter!

Just as Li Che was filled with joy, staring at the little treasure non-stop.

The scene before his eyes suddenly blurred, as if a hallucination appeared, like a vast, empty land where the earth cracked, stones flew, and a jade-green sprout grew, rising rapidly.

In an instant, it became a towering tree with lush branches and leaves!

"What..."

Li Che was bewildered.

Then he saw that on the towering tree, countless leaves trembled, reflecting light, forming a scene of him hearing his daughter's first cry outside the mud house.

The scene flashed by, then rapidly contracted like a vortex, finally condensing into a crystal-clear, seven-colored fruit on a branch.

...

[Congratulations on the birth of a daughter, bond formed]

[Daughter born, Dao Tree bears fruit]

[Your daughter was born safely, you have obtained a Dao Fruit]

...

Li Che suddenly came to his senses, his daughter still crying.

"Husband, let me see the baby..."

A weak voice came from the pale, delicate woman on the bed. Li Che quickly and carefully brought the baby over.

"Wife, look, our baby!"

Li Che couldn't help but smile, his joy radiating.

As for the Dao Fruit... he didn't have the heart to think about it right now, his mind was full of thoughts of his wife and daughter.

His wife, Zhang Ya, his other half, a woman who was willing to entrust her life to him in this chaotic world.

"Husband, the baby's nose really looks like yours, it's very straight." Zhang Ya's face was weak, but she was also full of joy, extending her slender fingers to touch the baby's nose.

Li Che looked at his wife with gentle eyes, "Wife, are you in pain?"

Zhang Ya pressed her pale lips, smiling and shaking her head, "Not in pain, happy."

"Husband, what will we name our child?"

Zhang Ya asked expectantly, but then seemed to think of something, her gaze passing over Li Che and subconsciously looking at the uncle scholar standing at the door.

Li Che glanced at the old scholar, seeing him frown, unusually not showing off his literary talent or vying for the right to name the child.

Li Che knew what he was thinking.

But he didn't mind, holding his wife's cold hand, he said softly, "I've been thinking about it for a while."

"This winter is extremely cold, I just hope our little one can stay warm, so let's name her Li Nuanyi..."

"Warm like the morning sun, dispelling illness and pain, growing up safe and happy."

Li Che said softly.

Zhang Ya smiled, "Nuanyi, it sounds so nice..."

The baby in Zhang Ya's arms seemed to hear her name, stopping her crying and showing a smile.

But after a moment, she started crying again.

The midwife hurried over, "The baby must be hungry, it's time to feed her..."

Li Che and the old scholar quickly left the mud house.

...

...

In the courtyard, snowflakes fell from the sky.

The cold rose, the winter was harsh.

Li Che's smile never left his face. Being a father felt like this, a sense of responsibility to protect his family rising in his heart.

However, the old scholar seemed somewhat unhappy, picking up his pipe and smoking again.

Smelling the smoke, Li Che frowned, "Uncle, put it out, the baby is here."

The old scholar sighed, extinguishing his pipe, but pouted, "Just a girl, why isn't she a boy, our Li family..."

Li Che couldn't help but laugh, "Boy or girl... does it matter?"

"Is our Li family going to inherit the throne?!"

The old scholar, though not easily swayed from his preference for boys, remained silent, muttering to himself.

Li Che shook his head, not saying much more.

He picked up the frozen carp and went to the kitchen, planning to make a hot carp and tofu soup for his wife.

While cooking the soup.

Li Che finally had time to study the Dao Fruit that had appeared with his daughter's birth.

(End of Chapter)