A Mother’s Love
by M1zushi[Minmin, you need to rest.]
The same scene played out in Cecilia’s dreams at that moment. She embraced her beloved Minmin as if she wanted to melt her into the most tender and vulnerable part of her heart.
However, dreams were usually to be more twisted and fragmented than reality, often infused with the dreamer’s subconscious desires, yearnings, or hidden darkness.
[Lia, you’ll stay with me, won’t you?]
[You’ll always, always stay with me, won’t you?]
But instead of falling into a peaceful sleep, the Minmin in her dream suddenly grabbed Cecilia’s arm and began to question her.
[But why… why did you betray me?!]
The Saintess cried, her once gentle ocean-blue eyes now bloodshot with anguish. Her face, once so beautiful, was contorted in rage and pain.
[Why, Cecilia?! Why did you betray me?!]
[Didn’t you love me? Weren’t you the one who loved me the most?!]
Cecilia stood there, frozen, her lips trembling as sheer terror and agony filled her gaze.
[No, Minmin, it’s not like that…]
She shook uncontrollably, closing her eyes tightly, unable to bear looking at Minmin’s face.
[Lia is not…]
But before she could finish, the woman’s hysterical screams abruptly stopped. Cecilia opened her eyes, only to find the dream had shifted completely.
She was now standing in a cold, sterile laboratory, surrounded by corpses and blood scattered everywhere—all of whom were believers of the Church.
Dazed, she looked down to see that she was holding a severed head in her hands.
[Lia… Lia…]
—It was the Saintess, crying out her name.
It was as if a switch had been flipped inside her. Cecilia frantically threw away what she was holding and started running towards the sound of that voice.
In dreams, running was completely inconsistent with the physics of reality. She ran and ran, seemingly endlessly, yet she couldn’t find her.
Until, suddenly, Cecilia felt her wrist being gripped with crushing force. She looked down to see her beloved Minmin, her face twisted in agony and tears. The Saintess was no longer beautiful in that moment. A horrific Holy Stigmata merger with her features, warping her delicate face.
But the worst part was not that. The Holy Stigmata had spread to her swollen belly, looking as if it was about to pierce through at any moment.
[Lia… please…]
Bai Min clutched Cecilia’s wrist with a death grip, her nails digging deep into flesh, drawing blood. She held on as if it were her last lifeline.
[Please, Lia… save my A-Ci, save my baby…]
[I can’t do it… I can’t give birth…]
At that time, Bai Min was not even eight months pregnant. There was no way she could give birth naturally. So, in her desperation, she could only desperately shove the dagger into Cecilia’s hand, begging her over and over again,
[Dig him out… please, Lia, dig him out…]
[Quickly… dig him out…]
No!
No, I can’t!!!
Cecilia was on the brink of insanity.
She couldn’t do it!
Even though she wasn’t a trained doctor, Cecilia could clearly understand that in this condition, forcibly removing the baby would likely kill Bai Min.
Her beloved Minmin would die.
How could that be?!
How could that be?!!!
Cecilia’s love for Bai Min was not romantic love. It was the kind of love where Bai Min was her entire world—
A love like that of a devoted follower worshipping their deity.
Bai Min had always wanted to be friends with Cecilia, not knowing that Cecilia had always viewed her as the Saintess, and Cecilia, the apostle, existed solely for the Saintess.
[No, Minmin… I can’t…]
But in that moment of mental collapse, Cecilia still tried to comfort her beloved Saintess,
[It’s okay, it’s okay, Minmin, there must be another way…]
But the truth was—
There was no other way.
There really was no other way.
Because, in the end, it was Bai Min who, with her last strength, grabbed Cecilia’s hand and cut open her own stomach.
She then pulled out the small, curled up, blood-soaked baby.
It was as if, in that moment, the mother poured all of her remaining life into that tiny child.
For just as Cecilia heard the infant’s first cries, she watched as Bai Min took her last breath right before her eyes.
Her beloved Minmin, who had longed so dearly for this child, never even got the chance…
To see her precious A-Ci.
Splash!
Cecilia jolted awake, sitting up abruptly in bed, drenched as if she had just emerged from water. Her silk nightgown clung to her, completely soaked with sweat.
“…Lady Cecilia?”
—it was He Zhun’s hesitant voice.
But the woman ignored him. She swiftly rolled out of bed, stumbling in her haste, and dashed into the bathroom, where she began furiously washing her hands over and over again.
“Blood… so much blood…”
Read at Mizushi Novels
Visit Mizushi Novels
“Why can’t I wash it clean…?”
Support the original translation
Click.
One hand pressed the switch on the water flow.
Read on Mizushi Novels
Don't scrape
He Zhun gently dried her hands with a towel.
Don't copy
Read at Mizushi Novels
This was an obvious attempt at manipulation.
Visit Mizushi Novels
Support the original translation
Because she really needs to calm down.
Read on Mizushi Novels
Don't scrape
The traumas of her past had left her not only with a deep-seated hatred and fear of alphas, but also unable to have physical desires for anyone.
Don't copy
Read at Mizushi Novels
He Zhun finally removed his glasses. His features were not as delicate as an omega’s; his short hair had a natural curl, and his amber eyes were warm rather than striking, exuding a soft and gentle aura.
Visit Mizushi Novels
Support the original translation
It wasn’t just about the physical or the sexual contact—it was the subtle invasion through everyday interactions.
Read on Mizushi Novels
Don't scrape
—He Zhun was well aware of this.
Don't copy
Read at Mizushi Novels
Cecilia said, her gaze fixed unflinchingly on He Zhun.
Visit Mizushi Novels
Support the original translation
Jiang Ci was cold on the outside but warm inside, appearing sharp and ruthless but with an incredibly kind and soft heart. Meanwhile, He Zhun was warm on the surface but cold within, capable of smiling kindly at everyone while harboring a heart as icy as a winter’s night.
Read on Mizushi Novels
Don't scrape
He Zhun looked up at her, the increasingly intimate nickname indicating he was further testing her boundaries.
Don't copy
Read at Mizushi Novels
“Weeds, huh? I’d say what’s sown alongside roses is more like poppies.”
Visit Mizushi Novels
Support the original translation
“They’re alright.”
Read on Mizushi Novels
Don't scrape
He Zhun gently blew on her wound and whispered,
Don't copy
Read at Mizushi Novels
“You sly little fox, using me as an excuse when it’s clearly your own desire.”
Visit Mizushi Novels
Support the original translation
“Shhh—”
Read on Mizushi Novels
Don't scrape
He Zhun pursed his lips.
Don't copy
Read at Mizushi Novels
Then who could it be?
Visit Mizushi Novels
Support the original translation
He gently held her hand and lightly kissed the back of it.
“I was merely wondering if you might want to rest a bit longer.”
“—No.”
Cecilia pulled her hand away, and in that brief moment, golden Stigmata appeared on her arm, instantly healing her wounds.
“Xiao Zhun’s care is too expensive, I’ll handle it myself next time.”
She gave a soft chuckle, turned, and swayed gracefully as she walked away.
He Zhun lowered his gaze, coldly glancing at the medicine box beside him, and pursed his lips silently.
As expected, Cecilia was far more challenging to deal with than Leinster.
However—
The young man blinked slowly, feeling as though he had uncovered another of this woman’s secrets.
Perhaps Cecilia had not intended to dig Jiang Ci out of the Saintess’s womb.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have behaved like that just now.
So, what could have forced her to make such a drastic decision?
He Zhun rhythmically tapped his finger on the table, slowly piecing together new clues.
One thing was clear: the Saintess held significant weight in Cecilia’s life.
She called her “Minmin.”
This meant that Jiang Ci was also special to Cecilia.
He Zhun had found a new breakthrough.
But this led to a paradox: back in Bright City, the moment Cecilia heard Jiang Ci’s name, she rushed over without hesitation. Yet thirteen years ago, when Jiang Ci was kidnapped, Cecilia did not appear at all.
That didn’t make any sense.
Why?
What could have held her back?
He Zhun thought of the child everyone was so intent on protecting. He whispered his name softly, unsure of what he felt:
“A-Ci…”
“My darling A-Ci.”
Bai Min’s voice echoed in the warship’s resting quarters. Jiang Ci stared blankly at the image of his late mother.
“…It’s still not working,”
Bai Min turned around, nervously smoothing her hair, looking both aggrieved and disappointed. At this point, her belly was visibly swollen. She appeared exhausted, like someone constantly on the run.
“My voice is a bit hoarse and the recording doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s okay, no rush. This parenting system is still in the testing phase.”
Jiang Jinsheng approached her, though his face didn’t appear on camera due to the angle.
“I’ll tweak the audio settings tomorrow to make it sound better.”
“…Okay.”
Bai Min still seemed uneasy, and she grabbed Jiang Jinsheng’s hand.
“Lia seems unhappy lately… If only… he were still alive.”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but Huo Xianfeng understood what she left unsaid. She meant that with Huo Chao dead, there was no one left to protect them.
The video cut off there.
The secret videos from the compressed file marked “Xiao X” were all fragmented like this.
—This was the last one.
So, that was it.
All that remained of his mother were these brief moments.
Jiang Ci had thought the “Xiao X” archive would hold some hidden secrets, but in reality, all he saw were his mother’s hopes and love.
When he was young, Jiang Ci never understood why his father had programmed an AI parenting system with such a personality for him. But it turned out that the system’s character was based on Bai Min herself.
She had expressed a nearly infinite motherly love in front of the learning AI, which led to Xiao X’s overwhelming affection.
She always called him “my darling A-Ci” so Xiao X continued to call him that, too.
Xiao X wasn’t a tool for hiding the Forbidden Abyss but rather a gift carefully prepared by his parents since the beginning—a gift that was tinkered with even during their most difficult days on the run.
“…”
Silence filled the room.
Jiang Ci couldn’t describe what he felt at that moment—perhaps it was the realization that he had indeed been a child deeply loved by his mother.
But by the time he finally understood this, it was far too late.
—He had lost it all from the moment he was born.
have a belated happy new year with this angst
jjwxc comments! bcs I want to suffer :haha:
Reader 1:
This chapter is so heartbreaking to read, but fortunately, I stocked up on the fluff to read today’s and the next chapter, otherwise I might have had a hard night. It was Bai Min who gave her life to A-Ci, and it felt like she had given up everything at that moment to become a mother.
It is heartbreaking to know that Xiao X’s out of tune voice is a clumsy imitation of Bai Min’s motherly love. Bai Min didn’t leave a word for Jiang Ci, their lives happened to be separated, but she left a very abstract maternal love, so although she didn’t seem to say anything, she said everything. Love the plot and stories like this. You can only sigh why fate is so cruel~
Reader 2:
ahhhhhh
At first, you may think that Cecilia is a complete female yandere, with a twisted love for the saintess, and unscrupulous means
to become stronger, but with gradual contact, we can feel her complexity, and her feelings for the saintess are not so much love, but like the imprint phenomenon on the first person after the young bird has just broken out of the shell, and is more admiration and attachment (I personally feel that the so-called crazy, the so-called desire to become stronger, is no longer a cheap excuse, but it has more thought
There is no absolute black, there is no absolute white, everyone is dark or light gray, and everyone can also exist as an independent protagonist, this is probably the charm of excellent novels.
Reader 3:
It’s so sad, but I like it so much, I really like this book so much, I can feel the author’s love for A-Ci and Xiao Huo from the author’s words, and I can feel the warmth of the words from the author’s pen, whether it is the first few chapters of A-Ci and Xiao Huo confiding in his heart, or this chapter of Bai Min and Jiang Jinsheng full of love and expectation for A-Ci’s birth.
I like the author’s character development so much, this chapter is a complete creation of Cecilia’s character, every character in this book has a soul. What impresses me the most is the chapter where Xiao Huo’s identity was exposed and he recorded in detail Xiao Huo’s possible initial settings, and it is really great to choose this setting that connects the Zerg King three hundred years ago and three hundred years later!
There is also the fact that I like the author’s interpretation of A-Ci too much, A-Ci is hope, while everyone is still stuck in the predicament of three hundred years ago, A-Ci represents a new life, a forward, bright hope and future.
Ahhhhh, I don’t know what to say in the middle of the night, but I really like this book too much, I like the author’s words that can make us feel warm!
0 Comments