Song Kiro followed Song Horo's orders. He retrieved a cloth from his bag and wrapped it around Naro, but he quickly found that the cloth was too thin.
The medicine man struggled for a moment to secure Naro, as the infant squirmed and flailed around. Eventually, Song Kiro managed to get him under control, wrapping an arm around his torso and swaddling him properly.
With a slight bow, Song Kiro left the luxurious bedroom.
The antechamber to the bedroom was adorned in a simpler fashion, with plain furniture and few embellishments. It was smaller than the bedroom, merely containing a few side rooms for servants, and a receiving area for guests. The main door led out to the front hallway.
In the receiving area, there were a handful of servants, those who typically waited on the bedroom needs of the manager and his wife, along with three of Song Kiro's assistants.
Seeing Song Kiro exit the bedroom, the servants looked down out of respect, while the assistants stepped forward to take orders.
At a glance, it was obvious what was required from them. They immediately prepared to receive the infant.
One of the assistants pulled out a bucket that was already filled with warm water, while another unwrapped a fresh swaddling cloth in his hands. The remaining two assistants stood at attention.
Seeing their attentiveness, Song Kiro nodded in approval.
Before figures like the Third Manager and the representative, he maintained a subservient posture, but in front of his assistants, he exuded an authoritative air.
"Wash up the child, and prepare it for the Mo Family," he said.
The assistants nodded. "Yes, Master."
After a moment's thought, Song Kiro thought to give a warning. "Be careful not to drop it. For a newborn, it is unusually active."
"Yes, Master."
In his hands, he could feel that the infant was still squirming around. There was no sign that it was getting tired.
Towards this matter, Song Kiro felt some disbelief.
It did not seem to matter what was happening around it. The sky could fall, and the infant would continue kicking and waving its hands.
He felt curious, despite himself. He wondered what sort of boy would have grown out of the little writhing baby. Even without an immortal fate, he felt that it would have had some achievements in life.
These thoughts passed in a moment.
The assistant with the swaddling cloth stepped forward, and Song Kiro deposited the kicking infant into his hands.
The assistant bowed his head, and stepped back towards the bucket. With the thicker swaddling cloth muffling the movements of the infant, he did not have any trouble handling it.
Song Kiro was finally free of the burden. He examined his own clothes, seeing a few spots of blood. Some of the mess was from the delivery, but the majority was from his attempts at testing the squirming baby.
He chuckled inwardly.
It was the messiest birthing he had ever conducted.
Song Kiro heard footsteps. He looked up and saw that one of his assistants was approaching with a stack of cloths. The woman's eyes were averted, perhaps because she thought that Song Kiro's disheveled appearance reflected poorly on him.
He looked over.
The assistants had already begun cleaning the baby. The method they used was routine, one that had been conducted hundreds of times.
A rag was dabbed in the water, and then applied to the infant's body. The infant was kept in the swaddling cloth throughout the cleaning. The water used was warm, and the baby was never immersed, all to minimize its discomfort.
It was the standard method, and yet, Song Kiro could already see that they were having difficulty. He could hear hushed sounds coming from the assistants.
"Sit still, little demon! Sit still!"
"Stop it! Stop it!"
The infant's antics were creating trouble for someone else. Song Kiro suppressed the urge to chuckle again. Instead, he took the stack from the female assistant and entered one of the side rooms wordlessly.