The evening air was crisp and cool. The sun dipped behind the emerald mountains, casting long shadows across the forest below. Shen Jiu soared silently on his sword, cutting a graceful figure against the darkening sky.
His green robes flowed in the wind. His sharp eyes scanned the path ahead with practiced calm. The mission had been tiring, but it was done. He looked forward to returning to Qing Jing Peak, even after everything.
Still, the thought of seeing Yue Qingyuan's face made his chest tighten. He sighed and decided he would deliver his report in the morning. He could not deal with Yue Qingyuan's pity tonight.
Then, breaking the silence, a soft sound rose from the forest below. Faint but clear. A baby's cry.
Shen Jiu's sword slowed, then descended smoothly through the trees. He landed with quiet grace and stepped off his sword, eyes sharp and alert. The crying grew louder as he moved closer.
Under a large tree, he spotted a small bundle on the ground.
It was a baby girl.
She looked no older than a few months. Her cheeks were red from crying, her arms flailing, her tiny body trembling. When she saw Shen Jiu, her cries softened. She reached her arms toward him as if recognizing someone safe.
Shen Jiu frowned. His expression twisted with surprise and discomfort. But something in her eyes pulled at him.
He knelt and carefully picked her up. The baby stopped crying for a moment, curling against his chest as if she belonged there.
Then she squirmed. Her face pressed against his chest. Her mouth opened and tried to suckle.
Shen Jiu's face turned red.
"This is not... I am not..." he muttered, stiff and stunned.
The baby grew frustrated and let out another cry, mouth still at his chest.
Shen Jiu's ears burned. He sighed.
"You must be hungry," he said, gently shifting her in his arms. "Fine. Let's go. The women at Warm Red Pavilion can feed you.''
He wrapped the baby tighter in his robe and stepped back onto his sword. As they flew, the baby calmed, but her head still rested against his chest, drooling and dampening his robe.
When he landed at the back entrance of the brothel, he knocked three times.
The door creaked open. A young woman peeked out, then her eyes lit up.
"Gege! You..." She froze. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of Shen Jiu holding a baby.
More shocking was the fact that the baby's mouth was pressed against his chest, dampening the front of his robe.
The woman stared. "Gege... are you breastfeeding?"
Shen Jiu gave her a deadly glare. "Do I look like someone capable of that?"
Another voice called from inside. "Who is it?"
A moment later, the madam of the pavilion stepped out and gasped. "Ah? Didi? And... a baby?"
"Let me in," Shen Jiu said flatly.
They led him inside. Questions flew from every direction as they walked down the hallway.
"Where did you find her?"
"Is she yours?"
"She's so small!"
"Did you steal her?"
"She tried to nurse from him!" said the young woman from earlier, grinning.
"Enough," Shen Jiu snapped, but it lacked its usual sharpness.
He followed the madam to a guest room, one he often used when he stopped by. The baby was still fussing.
The madam gently took her from his arms.
"She's cold and hungry. Xiao Mei, go warm some milk."
An older woman ran off. Others gathered around, cooing at the baby and giggling as they glanced at Shen Jiu's flustered face while he tried to hide his damp chest.
"Didi, where did you find her?" asked Madam Wei, a woman in her forties who managed the pavilion.
"She was under a tree in the woods," Shen Jiu said. "Abandoned, all alone."
The women grew quiet. They knew someone had thrown this baby away and if Shen Jiu hadn't found her, she would have died.
"How cruel," another young woman commented. The others nodded in agreement.
Then Xiao Mei came back with warm milk. After the baby drank it, the madam changed her clothes and let her fall asleep on the bed, wrapped in warm blankets.
The madam turned to Shen Jiu. "From her clothes, she's been well taken care of. The fabric and the blanket are of high quality."
Shen Jiu nodded, having noticed the same. He wondered why they had abandoned her now.
"Maybe someone kidnapped her, and her family is still searching for her," the youngest woman said.
Shen Jiu nodded thoughtfully. "That's possible. Did any of you hear anything?"
"No," Madam Wei replied. "If a noble house's child were missing, we would have heard about it, but so far, nothing. Maybe she's from another city."
"I will look into it," Shen Jiu said firmly as he looked at the sleeping baby.
The madam looked at him. "So... what now? Will you leave her with us?"
Shen Jiu was silent for a moment, remembering how the baby had reached for him first.
"She chose me, so she'll remain with me until her family is found," he said gently. "For now, I'll raise her as my daughter."
Gasps filled the room.
"You'll what?" one of the women asked, wide-eyed. "But Gege, you hate noise."
"You hate people," another woman added.
"You hate everyone except us," said a third woman.
Shen Jiu ignored them. Then the same young woman who had opened the door spoke again. "Gege, are you ready to be a mother?" asked Lianhua, a playful smile on her lips.
Shen Jiu glared at her teasing. "I will be her father."
"But Didi, she chose you as her mother. She was trying to breastfeed from you," Madam Wei teased.
Shen Jiu flushed. "Not you too, Madam Wei," he said.
All the women cooed and embraced him, gathering close where he sat. Shen Jiu remained still at first, stiff and silent, but as their arms wrapped around him and their warmth surrounded him, something inside slowly began to soften, and his nerves started to settle. He lowered his head slightly into Madam Wei's arms, resting his nose against her neck, and let out a quiet breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Their presence was comforting, as always, and like always, he felt safe.
When Shen Jiu first arrived at the pavilion, he asked for nothing from them, no services, only a peaceful place to sleep without fear and their companionship. He treated them with respect and never looked down on their profession. Over time, they came to understand that he was like them in many ways, carrying his own pain. This understanding brought them close, forming a bond like family, and in his quiet way, he began to care for them deeply. He taught them how to read, write, and manage their finances so that when their contracts ended, they could leave this life behind with dignity.
They gently pulled away from him, and Madam Wei asked, "What will you name her?"
He turned to look at the sleeping child. Her tiny hands were curled into fists, and her face was peaceful.
"Shen Yuexin," he said at last. "Yue, for the moon. Xin, for heart."
One of the women sighed softly. "That's beautiful."
"She suits it," said another. "Little Yuexin."
Over the next few days, Shen Jiu stayed at the pavilion. The women taught him how to hold her, how to bottle-feed her, how to change her clothes and soothe her when she cried.
He listened, awkward at first, then quiet and focused.
They teased him constantly.
"She's trying to breastfeed from you again!"
"Gege, are you sure you're ready for this? Motherhood suits you... maybe too well."
"She's got you wrapped around her tiny fist already."
Despite their teasing, they guided him with care. And Shen Jiu, though proud, accepted their help.
One night, after Yuexin fell asleep, Shen Jiu sat beside her. He watched her tiny chest rise and fall. Something inside him felt... still.
He didn't know what it was.
When morning came, Shen Jiu returned to Qing Jing Peak.
He walked with Yuexin wrapped in soft silk, held carefully in his arms.
The moment he appeared, disciples whispered behind their sleeves.
"Did you see?"
"Shen shibo has a baby!"
"Is that his child?"
"Where did it come from?"
"Does that mean... shizun is a father?"
Shen Jiu heard every word but ignored them. His steps were steady. His eyes were cold.
He walked toward his bamboo house with quiet purpose, Yuexin sleeping peacefully in his arms.
From a distance, someone else watched.
It was Luo Binghe.
Young again, only fourteen, but with a soul that remembered everything.
He frowned as he stared at the baby in Shen Jiu's arms.
"In my past life... Shizun had no child," he muttered.
"What's going on?"
The air in the sect shifted. Gossip spread.
And this small baby, this unexpected life, would change everything.