Right now, the air was so tense you could cut it with a knife. Liam Willow was absolutely stunned by Ivy Shen’s words—she was going to deliver the baby?! Was she serious, or was this some kind of cosmic joke?!
"But... but do you even know how?" Liam Willow looked worried, but still obediently took off his outer robe as Ivy instructed.
"Stop babbling! From now on, just do whatever I say!" Ivy quickly laid the woman on the grass and ordered Liam, who had just undressed: "Go find two big tree branches, quick!"
"Oh, okay!" He didn't know why Ivy wanted the branches, but right now she had this kind of magical authority—he couldn't help but obey.
Meanwhile, Ivy bit off a strip of cloth from her own clothes, dashed to the pond, soaked the makeshift towel, and hurried back.
"Here you go, wife!" Liam Willow quickly handed Ivy his robe and the branches, leaving himself in just a thin white undergarment.
Seeing this, Ivy propped the branches on either side of the woman, draped Liam's robe over them as a curtain, and instructed, "Use this wet cloth to wipe her sweat, and hold her shoulders so she doesn't thrash." Then Ivy knelt, looked the woman in the eye, and said, "From now on, listen to me. Trust me—I promise you and your baby will be safe." Her sincerity made the woman nod almost involuntarily.
"Okay, let's do this!" With everything ready, Ivy shouted, "Inhale! Exhale!"
"Ah... it hurts..."
"Again! Inhale! Good—now push, push!" Ivy was already drenched in sweat. She wasn't a doctor and had only seen births on TV, but she refused to let a double tragedy happen, so she put all her effort into helping.
"Come on, push! Push a little harder!" Ivy Shen shouted, her voice ringing out.
"You can do it, miss! Keep going!" Even with the curtain blocking his view, Liam Willow could tell Ivy was frantic, and he was just as anxious.
"Keep going, breathe in—wait, I think I see it!" Ivy called out, excited. "Push a little more, the baby is almost here!"
"Nnghh... ahhh..." The woman screamed, using all her strength to push whatever was inside out.
"Ah, this... this..." Ivy's eyes went wide with disbelief. She forgot how to breathe. She'd braced herself for the worst—even if it was a snake, she was ready to help deliver it!
But... but can someone explain—why, after all this effort, did I deliver... an egg?!
Yep, what came out was a big, white snake egg. It was soft and stretched from all the squeezing, but as soon as it hit the air, the shell slowly hardened and turned round again.
"Miss, is the baby out yet?" Liam Willow couldn't help but call out loudly when Ivy went silent behind the curtain.
Hearing that, Ivy's mouth twitched as she shakily handed the newborn—well, the egg—to the woman. "Here, your... egg. No, wait, your child!"
Seeing this, the woman burst into grateful tears. "Thank you, thank you, you're a lifesaver!" Her weakened legs slowly morphed into a serpent tail, which knocked over the makeshift curtain and curled around itself. She placed the egg in the center of her coiled tail, took off her own outer garment, and gently covered it.
Uh... what exactly are you doing?
"The baby needs to be hatched before it can come out," the woman said with a gentle smile. Ivy felt like she'd been struck by lightning—what?! Not only do they lay eggs, but they actually have to sit on them and hatch them like mother hens?!
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