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Chapter 236 Abortion Spring Water
The palace of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom, though magnificent and ornate, was shrouded in an indescribable, heavy gloom.

There was no trace of masculine energy in the palaces and pavilions; all those who moved about, stood guard, and served were women.

At this moment, in the heart of this deep palace, in the main hall, the atmosphere was so heavy it was almost suffocating.

The Queen of the Women's Kingdom sat regally on her phoenix throne, clad in a magnificent phoenix robe and adorned with a dazzling pearl crown. Her beauty, usually captivating, was now shrouded in an overwhelming sorrow. Her brows were furrowed, and her fingers unconsciously pressed against her temples. Below her, a female prime minister in a deep purple court robe bowed low, her voice heavy with grief as she reported on the recent state of the kingdom.

"Your Majesty, I truly cannot bear to speak of this again, but the affairs of the state are dire, and this is a thorn in my side; I must speak out." The Prime Minister's voice trembled slightly.

"The spring water of Jieyang Mountain has been increasingly controlled by the demon who seized it. The offerings he demands can no longer be satisfied with gold and silver. He even wants the blood essence of the women of Xiliang as a catalyst. How can we possibly comply with such demands? The spring water supply has been cut off for nearly a month."

She paused, took a deep breath, and continued with difficulty.
"The situation in the city is not optimistic. The Zimu River is overflowing, and anyone who gets even a little bit of water in it will become pregnant. Now, women in the city, from the oldest old women to the youngest girls, will become pregnant if they accidentally drink the water. They will be unable to abort the child and will have to give birth to the child."

The prime minister's voice choked with emotion, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"If it's a girl, I can keep her with me; though it's painful, at least I have a way to survive. But if it's a boy," she cried, closing her eyes in anguish, then opening them again.

"According to ancestral custom, within three days, the animals must be placed in bamboo baskets and thrown into the swift and icy Tongtian River under the cover of night, left to fend for themselves. Countless mothers have watched helplessly as their flesh and blood are swept away by the river, their hearts breaking with grief."

“Your Majesty, every day when I patrol the city, all I see and hear are white-haired old women with huge bellies walking unsteadily, and young girls curling up and wailing because of stomach pain. Now my women’s nation is depleted, the fields are barren, and resentment has reached the sky.”

As the Queen listened, her face grew paler, her body leaned forward slightly, and her hands gripped the armrests of the phoenix throne tightly until her knuckles turned white. Every word was like a knife stabbing into her heart.

The Prime Minister suddenly raised his head. "Your Majesty, I dare to speak boldly! If things continue like this, the fall of Western Liang and the extinction of its people will be imminent. Rather than throwing the baby boy into the Tongtian River and letting others benefit from him, it would be better for us to defy fate and keep the boy in the city, or dispose of him on the spot!"

"Silence!" The Queen abruptly stood up from her throne.
"Prime Minister, have you gone mad? Have you forgotten the ancestral precepts? Have you forgotten those bloody and shocking lessons from the past?"

The Queen's chest heaved violently.
"For over a thousand years, since the founding of our Western Liang Dynasty, this has been our fate, this curse! Do you know that during the Yongtai era of the previous dynasty, the Yongtai Queen, known for her fortitude, listened to similar advice? She ordered that any woman who gave birth to a male infant should be drowned on the spot. The female officials and soldiers who carried out this order, and even the mothers who drowned their own flesh and blood, were all punished without exception!"

The Queen's voice lowered, "They all died suddenly within a few short months. Their deaths were gruesome, blood flowing from their seven orifices, their bodies festering, their agonizing cries lasting for three days and three nights. Queen Yongtai herself, on her imperial bed, turned white-haired overnight, becoming emaciated. This is not a plague, not a natural disaster, this is a curse! A curse rooted in the blood of my Western Liang. Prime Minister... tell me, can we afford such a price?"

She slumped back into the phoenix chair, her voice hoarse and weary.
"I have perused countless palace records, and all the accounts and deductions point to the same destiny: our Western Liang Women's Kingdom is a place where the Taiyin (the primordial Yin) gathers. The Taiyin is isolated, the Shaoyang (the lesser Yang) is missing, Yin and Yang cannot rotate, and Heaven and Earth cannot be in harmony. This is the ailment of our lifeline."

"That's why the waters of the Mother-Child River are so domineering towards us women, and that's why we have to endure this endless suffering of childbirth. This is the fate we can only accept!"

She spoke the last four words with immense weight, filled with an overwhelming sense of despair.

As the prime minister listened to the queen's account, his face turned deathly pale.

"It was in my moment of panic that I spoke out of ignorance."

A deathly silence fell over the hall, broken only by heavy breathing. After a long while, the Queen wearily raised her hand and gently waved it.
"Enough, this is fate, not your fault. Prime Minister, I have heard that a Buddhist monk named Xuanzang, who has come from the Eastern Land of Tang to retrieve Buddhist scriptures from the Western Paradise, is currently resting at an inn in the country?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Prime Minister quickly composed himself and replied respectfully, "I have already sent someone to investigate that Master Xuanzang. He is indeed a highly virtuous monk, with a dignified appearance and extraordinary demeanor. He is currently recuperating at the post station."

"Hmm," a faint glimmer seemed to appear in the Queen's eyes, only to be quickly swallowed by deeper sorrow. She hesitated for a moment, then said...

"Since he is a holy monk from the Celestial Empire, according to etiquette, our Women's Kingdom should treat him with the highest national honors. Go and make arrangements to invite Master Xuanzang to the palace for a meeting on a chosen day. Perhaps this is a predestined connection."

Her words carried a faint hope that even she herself didn't quite believe.

"Your subject obeys the decree." The Prime Minister bowed and accepted the order, preparing to withdraw and handle the matter.

"Wait..." The Queen's voice rang out again, stopping the Prime Minister who had already turned around. The Prime Minister immediately stopped, turned back, and bowed his head.

The Queen's gaze drifted towards the distant Jieyang Mountain outside the palace, her voice so soft it was as if she were afraid of disturbing something.
“Send someone to Jieyang Mountain and Luotai Spring again.”

She paused, as if choosing her words carefully, or perhaps gathering her courage.

“Tell them that my Kingdom of Women is willing to offer all the tributes they demand, and my Western Liang is willing to devote the entire nation's resources to it. I only ask that they have some mercy and share a little bit of the spring water.”

Her voice began to choke up, "Even if it's just enough to save a few of the most critical pregnant women, save those elderly women having difficult childbirths, save those underage children, they really can't hold on any longer."

The Queen's voice grew softer and softer, until it was almost a whisper, "Let's ask again, maybe this time there will be a turning point."

The plea was so pale and powerless that even she knew it was nothing more than a futile sigh in the abyss of despair.

The Prime Minister felt as if a huge boulder was pressing on her heart, an unspeakable sorrow welling up inside her. She bent over deeply, almost burying her head in her chest, her voice heavy and filled with compassion.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will personally select a capable person and plead with you again."

She slowly and with great difficulty straightened up, and walked heavily out of the hall. Her back seemed to bear the weight of the entire Kingdom of Women's suffering, each step treading on the edge of an abyss of despair.

Inside the hall, only the Queen remained. She sat alone on the phoenix throne, a symbol of supreme power, gazing at the vast, empty space below.

The sunlight filtering in from outside the palace could not dispel the chill and despair that permeated the deep palace. She slowly raised her hand and pressed hard on her brow, which seemed about to crack.

Just then, a slight commotion and the clinking of weapons came from outside the palace. Immediately afterward, the female general guarding the palace gate strode in, knelt on one knee, and said in a wary voice, "Your Majesty, four... no, five people suddenly descended from the sky outside the palace. The leader claims to be Chen Guangrui and says he wants to see Your Majesty. We could not stop them, and they have already arrived at the palace."

The Queen and the Prime Minister were both startled. Descending from the sky? The Queen forced herself to remain calm, a flicker of surprise crossing her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure. "Let them in. The guards are on alert, but do not act rashly."

Soon, Chen Guangrui and his entourage entered the main hall. Pleiades Star Lord subconsciously straightened his back, quickly and precisely adjusting the seven-inch-high golden pheasant crown on his head, and smoothing out even the slightest wrinkles on his official robes, striving to maintain the perfect demeanor of a celestial official under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Nezha crossed his arms, hovered about an inch off the ground on his Wind Fire Wheels, glanced at the female guards on guard inside the hall, and curled his lips.

Tang Sheng curiously tiptoed around, looking around. Ever since he came to the Kingdom of Women, he was like a wolf among sheep, especially after arriving at the palace. He looked around, but being short, it was hard to tell where he was looking from below.

Sun Wukong remained calm, but when his golden eyes swept over the Queen and the Prime Minister, there was a hint of insight in them.

The Queen looked at the composed, scholarly-looking man before her, and at his various distinguished companions, each with an extraordinary presence. Her vigilance reached its peak.

"Who are you? What brings you into my palace?"

Her words maintained a regal air, but her taut knuckles betrayed her inner tension.

Chen Guangrui nodded slightly, his tone calm, "I am Chen Guangrui. I heard that your country urgently needs abortion spring water, and since we happen to have some on hand, we brought it with us."

"The Abortion Spring Water?" The Queen's pupils contracted sharply. She forcibly suppressed the shock in her heart, her tone filled with deep doubt.
"Is what you say true? The Abortion Spring is controlled by demons who demand it insatiably. How could you possibly obtain it?" she asked.
I don't believe in free lunches, especially not such a timely one that concerns the fate of the nation.

"Try it and you'll see." Chen Guangrui didn't explain further. With a flick of his wrist, an ordinary jade bottle appeared in his palm. The bottle was warm and smooth, and it contained a clear, cool liquid.

The Queen stared at the jade bottle, torn between her own conscience and the temptation. The allure was too great, and the risk too great. She glanced at a female general beside her, whose eyes also held doubt and uncertainty; she couldn't tell whether the spring water was real or fake.

However, it's easy to tell whether this abortion spring water is real or fake. The Queen instructed her trusted lady-in-waiting beside her.

"Go and bring the concubine from the back palace who is suffering the most severe abdominal pain and is showing signs of hemorrhage."

Soon, two strong female attendants practically dragged a young woman, her face ashen and her belly swollen, to the front of the hall. The woman groaned in pain, cold sweat beading on her forehead, dark red bloodstains visible beneath her skirt, and she was barely breathing. A faint stench of blood filled the hall. All the female officials and guards held their breath, their eyes filled with both pity and a hint of fear.

"Give it to her." The Queen's voice was decisive, but also trembled slightly.

Chen Guangrui handed the jade bottle to the female official. The official carefully helped the maid up and brought the bottle to her lips. The maid seemed to have almost no strength left to swallow, and only instinctively sipped a few mouthfuls of spring water.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All eyes were fixed on the maidservant.

Time passed slowly. Half an incense stick's time felt like an eternity.

Suddenly, the maiden's body arched violently, letting out a agonizing scream that was not human. Immediately afterward, her whole body convulsed violently, and her face turned from white to blue. A thicker aura of blood instantly spread out.

The female general and officials turned pale, almost gasping for breath. The Queen gripped the armrests of her throne tightly, her knuckles white.

Just as everyone's hearts were in their throats, the maid's convulsions gradually subsided. She gasped for breath, and the pained, contorted expression on her face slowly relaxed, replaced by an incredulous bewilderment and relief.

Immediately, a gurgling sound came from her stomach, and she felt like a deflated balloon. Her swollen belly visibly flattened out, and a dark red, shapeless mass of flesh was mixed in with the blood and grime beneath her.

"The child... is gone?"

Cai Nu weakly raised her hand and touched her flat stomach. Her voice trembled with relief and bewilderment, and then tears streamed down her face, a mixture of sorrow and joy.

"It's done! It's really done!" The oppressive atmosphere in the hall was instantly broken. The female officials and guards couldn't help but let out low gasps of surprise, their eyes filled with awe and gratitude as they looked at Chen Guangrui and the others.

The Queen let out a long, long sigh, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She was now certain that the Abortion Spring was real, and it seemed that the person before her had subdued the Ruyi Zhenjun who guarded the Abortion Spring.

Her tense body relaxed slightly. She stood up and bowed deeply to Chen Guangrui, saying, "Thank you, Immortal! We, the women of Xiliang Kingdom, will never forget this kindness and virtue!"

Chen Guangrui accepted the bow calmly and said...
"Your Majesty need not be so polite. The Ruyi Zhenjun who occupied the Abortion Spring and his accomplices have been brought to justice, and the Abortion Spring is now unguarded. Your people can use the spring water as they please, and will no longer have to suffer the pain of being extorted and forced to make offerings."

"He's been brought to justice?"

The Queen and the female general beside her were once again shocked. The long-standing threat that had plagued Western Liang for years had been resolved so easily? This news struck them like a thunderbolt, leaving them momentarily stunned. After the initial joy, a deeper bitterness welled up in their hearts.

The Queen slowly sat back on her phoenix throne, the excitement fading from her face, replaced by an overwhelming sense of sorrow and a fatalistic helplessness. She shook her head with a bitter smile, her voice low and weary.
"The Immortal's great kindness has relieved the urgent crisis of Xiliang. However, this is only a temporary solution and cannot cure the root cause. Our Xiliang Women's Kingdom is trapped by the isolation of Taiyin and the lack of Shaoyang, and the bloodline curse follows us like a shadow. Even with the Abortion Spring, it can only delay the endless cycle of painful reincarnation."

"The source of the Zimu River still exists, but the imbalance of Yin and Yang remains. Countless mothers still have to endure the pain of pregnancy, and countless male infants... still have to be thrown into the Tongtian River. This is our destiny."

Her words were filled with resigned despair, as if the curse was etched into her very bones, something she could never escape.

The brief joy brought about by the spring's effectiveness in the palace froze instantly, replaced by a heavy gloom. The Prime Minister and the others thought of the baby boys thrown into the river and the sisters who died in childbirth, and all bowed their heads in sorrow, leaving only a depressing silence in the palace.

Just then, Chen Guangrui's voice rang out clearly, breaking the deathly silence. He didn't look at the sorrow on the Queen's face; his gaze seemed to pierce through the palace dome, looking at the invisible shackles of fate. His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty.

"What if I told you I could change this so-called destiny?"

(End of this chapter)