A Former Police Officer Who Died And Get A Second Life!

Chapter 399: A Daughter’s Birth

"Leander..."

"I know. I know."

Qiong Xing had been carrying a fear for a long time.

It was not the same fear Leander had about the baby not being born.

It was the fear of what might happen after the child was born.

"It’ll be alright. It has to be, right?"

"Yes."

Hours passed as Qiong Xing fought through wave after wave of pain.

Not only Qiong Xing, but everyone watching over him was beginning to show signs of exhaustion.

Then at last, a baby’s cry filled the room.

The child was apparently a girl who resembled Leander.

Leander carefully lifted the newborn baby and showed her to Qiong Xing.

But for some reason, his vision had become blurred.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not clearly see her face.

"Just like you said, Qiong Xing. Though I’m happy she’s a girl too... Qiong Xing?"

"..."

He wanted to see her.

He wanted to see how beautiful she was.

Yet he could not speak.

His mouth would not move.

Leander’s voice calling his name sounded strangely distant.

"Fenrir..."

With the last of his fading consciousness, Qiong Xing called for help.

Somewhere nearby, he heard the sound of something crashing violently against a door.

Then everything went dark.

It’s alright.

Everyone is here.

"Qiong Xing! Qiong Xing!"

Leander called his name over and over as Qiong Xing’s eyes drifted shut.

But no answer came.

The worst possibility Qiong Xing had feared had come true.

Earlier, he had warned them.

"If there’s too much bleeding, be careful. If it doesn’t stop, use this."

He had handed them a recovery potion in advance.

Without hesitation, Leander poured the potion into Qiong Xing’s mouth.

The moment he did, a tremendous crash echoed through the room, as though someone had nearly kicked the door off its hinges.

Fenrisúlfr burst into the room carrying Lian gently in his mouth.

"Lian, please."

"Okay!"

There was no time to explain anything to the stunned Elias and the others.

Leander quickly beckoned Lian over.

Lian hurried forward and grasped Qiong Xing’s hand tightly.

"Mama, get better. Make the hurt go away."

Leander believed the recovery potion had been administered quickly enough, but the anxiety lingering in his chest refused to disappear.

At a moment like this, Lian’s presence was more comforting than anything else.

Eventually, the bleeding stopped.

Qiong Xing’s breathing gradually steadied.

Only then did everyone finally begin to relax.

"Did he know this might happen?"

"He thought it was possible. He was hoping it wouldn’t, though."

Leander gently brushed Qiong Xing’s disheveled hair back into place as he slept.

Elias who seemed to have pieced together most of the situation quietly spoke up.

Qiong Xing had likely sensed something was wrong from the severe dizziness he had experienced during the pregnancy.

That was why he had entrusted the recovery potion to Leander beforehand.

He had even explained things to Lian and told him what to do if something happened.

Leander truly could not compete with him.

"...Did he deliberately keep it from me too?"

Joa lowered his head, his face pale.

Leander knew exactly what he was thinking about.

"If he’d told you, you would’ve been useless. Worst case, you might’ve tried to stop him from giving birth altogether. Besides, he figured this was the fastest way for you to overcome it."

"Seriously... that’s way too hard on the heart."

Qiong Xing had remembered the story Joa once told about how Vita had died during childbirth.

Apparently, he had wanted to do something about that lingering pain.

If something similar ever happened again, he did not want Joa to be crushed by grief and regret.

Instead, he wanted him to remember this as one of many memories.

There was no changing what had happened to Vita.

It was simply a tragedy.

But because of that experience, Qiong Xing had prepared in advance and planned for the possibility.

He had refused to let Joa’s memories of Vita end only in sorrow.

In a way, her existence had helped save Qiong Xing today.

"Thank you for fighting so hard."

Leander pressed a gentle kiss against Qiong Xing’s forehead.

From the bottom of his heart, he was grateful that he had met him.

...

How long had he been asleep?

Qiong Xing had exhausted himself completely during childbirth and apparently fallen unconscious.

His sense of time felt distorted.

He had no idea what day it was anymore.

"Leander."

He called out experimentally.

No answer came.

Thinking everyone might be elsewhere, he tried to get out of bed.

The moment his feet touched the floor, however, his legs gave out beneath him and he collapsed right beside the bed.

"Huh?"

"Qiong Xing!?"

For some reason, Qiong Xing’s body had no strength in it.

Unable to support himself, he collapsed onto the floor.

Tilting his head in confusion, he wondered what had just happened.

At that moment, Leander burst into the room, having apparently heard the noise.

"Lea..."

"Are you hurt!? Did you injure yourself anywhere?"

Before Qiong Xing could answer, Leander effortlessly lifted him up as though he weighed nothing.

Like an anxious parent checking on a child, Leander examined his head, shoulders, and the rest of his body.

Qiong Xing smiled reassuringly and rested his head against Leander’s shoulder.

"It seems I slept for quite a long time. Where is my treasure?"

The exhaustion from childbirth, the anemia caused by blood loss, and the lingering headache all seemed to be telling his body that it still needed rest.

But he had yet to see that precious, irreplaceable little life.

"Please let me see her."

Even though it was a selfish request, Leander only smiled wryly.

"You’re one tough Mama."

With that, he carried Qiong Xing over.

"You were right, by the way. But I’m happy she’s a girl."

"..."

The moment Qiong Xing finally saw her, tears naturally welled up in his eyes.

No matter how many children he gave birth to, the joy he felt at this moment never changed.

No matter how difficult or painful everything beforehand had been, seeing his child safely born always made him think it had all been worth it.