Yu Lin had faced many threats in her life.
Zombie hordes, traitorous cultivators, starvation in plague-infested wastelands.
But nothing not even mutated beasts with six heads prepared her for this:
Facing a furious man cradling a newborn baby.
"Don't come near me!" Mo Chen snapped, clutching the small bundle to his chest. His silver hair, still damp from sweat, clung to his cheeks, and his sharp violet eyes glared at Yu Lin as if she'd committed a grave sin.
Yu Lin froze mid-step.
"I wasn't going to…" she mumbled, unsure if she should raise her hands or bow or roll on the ground in apology. What did people do when their... husband was mad after childbirth?
"You don't even recognize your own child," Mo Chen hissed. "You didn't hold me once. Not even a word of comfort."
Yu Lin blinked. "You were… giving birth. I passed out."
"Excuses," Wen Yu muttered from behind. He was seated by the window, arms crossed, sharpening a dagger that definitely looked ceremonial but was probably functional. "You didn't faint when you killed that wild boar barehanded last month."
"That wasn't me," Yu Lin said dryly. "That was... the old Yu Lin."
Three pairs of eyes turned to her.
Oops.
She cleared her throat. "I hit my head, right? That's probably why I don't remember anything."
"Convenient," Wen Yu muttered.
Xian Lei stepped in smoothly, ever the peacekeeper. "What matters now is that the baby is healthy, and Yu Lin is alive. Let's not stress anyone further."
Yu Lin glanced at him gratefully. At least one husband wasn't trying to strangle her with emotional guilt or actual blades.
Mo Chen huffed and looked away. "I'm going to name him Liwei."
Yu Lin's brows lifted. "What does it mean?"
"Beautiful strength," Mo Chen said coldly. "Since I had to find it alone."
Ouch.
Yu Lin sighed. "Look, I know I've been… acting strange. But I'm not heartless. I just don't remember how we... got here."
Mo Chen gave her a long look, something flickering in his eyes. "Do you remember what you said before our wedding?"
"…Probably not."
"You said you'd never leave me. That I'd be safe."
Double ouch.
Yu Lin took a slow breath. Her chest tightened in a way she hadn't felt in years. Not from fear but from guilt. Foreign, heavy guilt. And not the survival kind. The kind that came with attachment.
"Then I'll stay," she said, voice quieter. "I don't know what kind of person I was before. But I can promise you this I don't break my word."
Silence.
Wen Yu looked away first, jaw clenched.
Mo Chen sniffled and turned his face, hiding the glimmer in his eyes.
Xian Lei only smiled. "You might not be the same Yu Lin, but perhaps... that's not a bad thing."
---
Later that night, Yu Lin sat alone in the courtyard, staring up at the moon. Her hands were covered in calluses again though this body had never held a sword.
"This world… is so soft," she murmured.
In her old world, a soft heart meant death.
But here? Softness was strength.
And somehow, that terrified her more than any zombie.