ABRIWMTHM Chapter 31

A moment of silent confrontation, Shi Xing’s words and actions once again took Tan Shao by surprise.

Shi Xing: “It seems you know.”

Shi Xing: “And you don’t want him to know you came.”

Tan Shao’s expression turned cold. “I thought we could start this conversation peacefully.”

Shi Xing shrugged. “It seems that was just what you thought.”

Tan Shao: “……”

With her brows slightly furrowed, she suddenly changed her tone, smirking casually, “The Emperor still doesn’t know about your situation with Lu Lu, does he? Do you want him to know?”

She was advancing rather than retreating.

Shi Xing was all too familiar with Tan Shao’s various tactics.

If he didn’t know the other party, perhaps her words might have some use, but unfortunately, to a certain extent, he felt he knew her better than Lu Lu did.

Hearing this, Shi Xing moved past Tan Shao, standing in front of her, turning back to glance at her, leaning slightly, adopting a posture that suggested he might leave at any moment. “If you want to meet my superior, I don’t mind taking you over to let you tell him yourself.”

“I’m also curious about what you mean by Lu Lu’s situation before, besides being classmates. What else is there?”

Shi Xing’s body leaned slightly forward, taking a half-step, pressing further, “Do you need that?”

Tan Shao fell silent.

In the next moment, Shi Xing turned around and directly began to walk away.

Tan Shao instinctively reached out, “Don’t—”

As she spoke, Shi Xing paused, his back to her, revealing a mocking smile.

Tan Shao realized she had shown a flaw, lost her momentum, and after clenching her teeth for a moment, she quickly calmed down.

Realizing that Shi Xing was not the naive twenty-something Blue Star human she thought, Tan Shao simply lowered her stance and softened her tone, “You’re right; I don’t want to see the Emperor.”

“From beginning to end, I’ve only wanted to see you.”

“Shi Xing, right?”

Shi Xing turned around again, facing Tan Shao directly, “Didn’t I say I could leave?”

Tan Shao ground her teeth but no longer sparred with him, stating more directly, “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

Nodding, Shi Xing glanced around and suggested, “Let’s go sit in front and talk.”

His relaxed attitude made Tan Shao’s slightly anxious heart feel even more unsettled.

For some inexplicable reason, with Shi Xing’s mindset, she felt it would be difficult to take control of this conversation.

And indeed, it turned out to be the case.

When Shi Xing suggested sitting down, it was on two long benches spaced apart, with both of them sitting at a considerable distance to talk.

At least ten meters apart, it wasn’t just hard to see each other’s expressions; the benches were also poorly placed for conversation.

Tan Shao frowned. “Are you sure you can hear me when I talk?”

Shi Xing: “Just speak louder.”

“You…”

Shi Xing: “If you don’t want to talk, I’ll leave. After all, I’m not looking forward to this conversation at all.”

Tan Shao fought to suppress her temper.

It was tricky. Very tricky.

For a long while, only Tan Shao’s breathing was heard. Shi Xing leaned against the bench, calming himself and feeling the soothing mental power of the Mother Tree. During her silence, he even hoped she wouldn’t speak at all.

Shi Xing’s posture was entirely one of indifference.

Tan Shao’s chest rose and fell several times as she steadied her breath, lowered her expectations, thought for a moment, and opened with a gentler tone, “You said you and Lu Lu are classmates, so you’ve been classmates, right?”

Shi Xing: “Of course.”

No matter how many messy entanglements there were between them, their classmate relationship was indisputable.

Tan Shao continued, “Lu Lu has been coming to the Nest to stabilize his mental power. From the first time he was allowed to come, it’s already been four or five years.”

Shi Xing calculated it and found it was about right.

Tan Shao: “To be fair, Lu Lu hasn’t wronged you, has he?”

A brief silence followed before Shi Xing replied, “No.”

Tan Shao: “Those crystals he brought from home, the gifts he brings every time, and the trendy items from the capital, they are all for you, right?”

Shi Xing responded truthfully, “Most of the crystals were for me; the gifts and some crystals were shared with other classmates.”

Tan Shao was certain: “But the main intention was to give them to you.”

Shi Xing didn’t deny it; this was the truth.

Tan Shao: “That one time when your mental sea was unstable and you had a high fever, he rushed a doctor from the capital overnight, checked you out, and even got cutting-edge medical drugs from the lab before they were on the market. It was all for you, wasn’t it?”

Shi Xing lowered his gaze.

Tan Shao: “That time, you were nearly dead.”

For Blue Star humans, an unstable mental sea accompanied by fever was a very dangerous signal. There had been numerous cases of Blue Star humans who died from this symptom before and during their maturity period, and after over a hundred years of research, the Empire still hadn’t found the physical change point, making it a puzzling condition.

It was a malady that once appeared and began to worsen, whether one could survive depended on fate.

Tan Shao: “It’s not to say that everything Lu Lu did for you was particularly helpful; he’s the main reason your temperature lowered and your mental power stabilized, but he did so much, and surely there must be some labor involved.”

Shi Xing closed his eyes.

Yes, there was effort involved even without tangible contributions.

If it weren’t for that time, he wouldn’t have firmly chosen Lu Lu.

He thought…

He was still too young back then.

Tan Shao felt that after saying so much, Shi Xing should have some reaction, but what she got was still very flat and unsatisfactory.

When Shi Xing opened his eyes again, he asked her calmly, “And then?”

“He sent me gifts, sent me crystals, and worked hard to find ways to help my illness; I know his feelings for me.”

“You mentioning these makes me wonder what you want to say?”

“You can’t be trying to reminisce, can you?”

The rhythm once again returned to Shi Xing’s hands, and Tan Shao felt a bit irritated, with no choice but to continue:

“Lu Lu participated in the matching banquet because of you.”

“I know, but that wasn’t me forcing him; it was his choice.”

Tan Shao sensed Shi Xing’s stubbornness and frowned for what she felt was the umpteenth time, “You did not choose him.”

Shi Xing: “Are you accusing me?”

Tan Shao was quiet for a moment. “No, I actually understand your choice; that would be best.”

Shi Xing interrupted her, “Don’t use that tone like you understand, even though you don’t want to see it; I know you don’t want me to choose Lu Lu at all.”

Tan Shao paused.

Shi Xing hastened the pace, “Can we get to the point without more preamble?”

Tan Shao: “……”

Tan Shao: “Lu Lu is obsessed with you.”

Tan Shao: “He crashed the matching banquet for you and even wanted to break into the Nest today.”

Shi Xing’s expression finally changed slightly. Tan Shao noted it, “Don’t worry; outside the Nest, I’ve already found someone to knock him out and take him back.”

If Lu Lu had entered today, she didn’t know what would happen to him.

Tan Shao: “I couldn’t dissuade him.”

“I want to ask you to consider the past relation and meet him once; it doesn’t matter what reason you use, just completely refuse him and let him give up.”

Shi Xing’s pupils constricted, not expecting that after so many years, Tan Shao would still be so… merciless.

Yes, merciless. Tan Shao was a ruthless person, even when it came to her beloved son.

As his thoughts drifted, despite his efforts to control them, those deeply rooted emotions within his memories bubbled up uncontrollably.

After his talent awakened, Tan Shao insisted on sending him back to the Nest, but Lu Lu believed he could take care of him.

At that time, Shi Xing’s talent was assessed at S-rank.

Tan Shao’s words were reasonable.

What Lu Lu said couldn’t be considered wrong either.

His situation was perhaps at the borderline of what Lu Lu could manage, yet it would be quite taxing.

However, these were not the key points. The essential fact was that they were not machines; they were in love and chose each other. If it couldn’t be done, then so be it, but surrounded by all those challenges, how could he and Lu Lu so easily give up when they had overcome so much?

Then Tan Shao and Lu Lu started arguing, refusing to provide crystals or help find beast cores.

Wanting to force Lu Lu to send Shi Xing back.

But Shi Xing himself couldn’t rely on S-rank beast cores for too long; he needed higher-tier energy. After a complete fight with Tan Shao, Lu Lu bit the bullet, bringing Shi Xing to the boundary line to flee to his older brother.

Far away from the prince’s mansion, everything began to improve, and they quickly grew.

His older brother and his medical partner never lacked crystals for Shi Xing.

During that brief time together, Shi Xing learned that Lu Lu’s older brother, Lu Li, had risked his life for his partner not once but twice.

The first time, Tan Shao, as a mother, scared after that incident, felt that with Wen Xi just arriving by Lu Li’s side, the Third Army didn’t need to have just one therapist. Lu Li’s rank was too high, and therapists in the nation were too few; Tan Shao wanted Lu Li to give up his matching rights and send Wen Xi back.

But sending him back was impossible; not only did they not do that, but Lu Lu also volunteered to stand at the boundary line all these years. Even though Wen Xi had long past his maturity period, he never accepted the arrangement to return to the capital.

He and Lu Lu were like a replica of Lu Li and Wen Xi.

But Shi Xing’s rank was higher than Wen Xi’s, and the dangers Lu Lu might face were…

After listening to this past event, Shi Xing finally understood Tan Shao’s resistance.

Not every senior officer in such a hierarchy wanted to advance further for more military merit and glory. Perhaps some, like Tan Shao, would be satisfied just to hold onto their existing honor.

Of course, Lu Li had his own ideas, which Tan Shao couldn’t control.

At that time, Shi Xing thought he and Lu Lu would also end up like his older brother and Wen Xi, that the process would be difficult but the conclusion would be good.

But he, like Shi Ran, encountered a tide of beasts on the boundary line.

It wasn’t just one, but a swarm— a group of mutated high-level star beasts.

This routine inspection was expected to last three to five days, but by the time they found natural places to conceal energy fluctuations, their team had already lost more than half its members.

Shi Xing knew the crux was himself. After discussing, they decided to let Lu Lu and the team break through, leaving Shi Xing hidden.

Actually, at that time, Lu Lu had suggested keeping one or two team members with Shi Xing, in case they waited too long and Shi Xing ran out of mental power.

Shi Xing feared Lu Lu would perish under the star beasts’ claws and refused.

In fact, they were both right; in the end, only Lu Lu’s protected battleship managed to break through the encirclement.

Unfortunately, Lu Lu was injured during that battle, and by the time Lu Li and the others found him, he had already fainted from blood loss.

Tan Shao rushed to the boundary line as soon as she received news.

Shi Xing did not wait for Lu Lu.

Or rather, he did wait, but it was too late.

When Lu Lu found him, Shi Xing’s mental sea had already run dry. The star beasts, unable to sense Shi Xing’s dispersed mental power anymore, gradually left, and when Lu Lu returned with the others, Shi Xing was keeping warm by the fire using the knowledge he had learned at the military academy.

On that day, Lu Lu held him, and the tears cascading down his neck were scorching.

After returning to the capital, Lu Lu thought of numerous ways to attempt healing him…

The substantial financial expenditure eventually gave Tan Shao leverage over Lu Lu.

Much later, Shi Xing learned through happenstance that the Empire’s repeated investigations into the Lu family found that it was because Tan Shao had tacitly acknowledged Shi Xing’s death, fearing that Lu Lu would not be able to withstand awakening. During treatment, she instructed doctors to slightly increase the dosage of sedatives…

Perhaps without the increase in sedatives, Lu Lu wouldn’t have been late.

This uncertainty was unpredictable. Therefore, this point ultimately was not used as evidence of negligence against the Lu family in the court.

But with the increase, Shi Xing couldn’t help but fantasize about the “what if.”

What if he had been able to make it on time?

By the time he came to know, Shi Xing’s condition had already declined, and he didn’t have much time left. It was his maid who felt he was simply too pitiful and eavesdropped on Tan Shao, who had accompanied Lu Lu, mentioning in a relieved tone and secretly telling him.

From that day on, Shi Xing suddenly realized that Tan Shao was an insurmountable presence between him and Lu Lu.

He also could not be healed.

He didn’t know what Tan Shao’s second marriage took from Lu Lu in exchange; it should be something, but… it was also Lu Lu’s own choice.

As someone who was about to die, what Shi Xing needed was not a miraculous cure but peace.

If this process of decline was irreversible, he hoped to leave quietly.

Unfortunately, Lu Lu didn’t understand, or perhaps he had traded away too many things for himself and could no longer turn back halfway.

The past was chaotic and long, yet in reality, it only spanned a few seconds.

Shi Xing detached himself, shaking his head.

He didn’t want to recall too much about those things he had already let go.

To Tan Shao, it looked as though Shi Xing was deep in thought.

She believed she had lowered her stance significantly, and this request wasn’t excessive; Shi Xing… should agree, right?

Just as Tan Shao was repeatedly contemplating and finding no issues, Shi Xing finally spoke.

However, it wasn’t the answer she wanted.

Shi Xing: “I won’t meet him.”

“I’ve already rejected him once, and the words were very clear; there won’t be a second time.”

“I won’t meet him.”

Before Tan Shao could speak, Shi Xing broke it down: “Besides, you can’t dissuade him.”

“Princess Consort, your thinking is meticulous; if you truly want to handle your son, how could you not manage it? It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to fall out with me and Lu Lu.”

Shi Xing smiled mockingly, a sarcastic laugh, “The eldest and himself are estranged, the second doesn’t listen to advice and insists on joining the military; only the youngest son is closest to you. You don’t want to hurt this last bit of mother-son relationship…”

Pausing, he then spoke coldly, “But what does that have to do with me?”

“If you think I owe the Lu family crystals and medications, I’ll have my superior compensate you.”

“Beyond that, I don’t owe your family anything.”

“I won’t get involved in your family’s affairs.”

Tan Shao’s heart tightened, not having the leisure to delve into why Shi Xing knew about the Lu family’s matters, she blurted out, “Lu Lu himself has problems with his mental sea; if he doesn’t let go of you, how am I supposed to have him seek other therapists for treatment?!”

“Don’t forget, it was because of you that Lu Lu didn’t take a single Blue Star human away!”

Yes, the crux of Lu Lu’s situation lay in his mental sea problem.

It was also the fundamental reason Tan Shao had to come here.

She couldn’t just watch her youngest son fall apart.

As for this point and Tan Shao’s persistence, Shi Xing had actually anticipated it.

Moreover, he had thought of a solution.

After all, this was all interlinked; as long as Lu Lu remained obsessed with him, the problem with his mental sea would never be resolved. Tan Shao worried about Lu Lu, ultimately, would still find herself, and he had already rejected her… this had become a deadlock. Either break it open from the middle or create a disturbance before Chi Yao.

But the prince treated him well and was very busy; if possible, Shi Xing didn’t want the other party to be disturbed by this troublesome matter.

He wanted to be as obedient as possible; although it was impossible not to trouble the other during the maturity period, he wished to avoid dragging the other down as much as he could.

Shi Xing: “Lu Lu was injured in his mental sea when he was a child. The difficulty of treatment lies in the fact that there are too many intricate problems at the bottom of the mental sea, which has nothing to do with the level of the therapist. It takes time, and once treatment starts, it takes at least a year and a half to completely heal.”

And there were very few therapists who could free up a year and a half solely to serve Lu Lu.

Thus, Lu Lu wanted to find a Blue Star human, and Tan Shao did not stop him, as this was also a method of treatment.

Otherwise, they’d have to send Lu Lu to the boundary line to be with Wen Xi.

This was something Tan Shao didn’t want.

The boundary line was dangerous, and her relationship with Wen Xi was not good.

“I have a way to shorten the treatment period to half a year.”

Tan Shao was taken aback; shortening it to half a year…

If the treatment period could be shortened and not occupy so many medical resources, then… Lu Lu’s issues would relatively become easier to resolve!

Realizing what this meant, Tan Shao quickly asked, “What are your conditions?”

Clearly, she wouldn’t think it would be free.

“S-rank, refined and downsized beast cores.” Shi Xing thought of Chi Yao’s words to protect himself and momentarily raised the price, “Five pieces.”

Tan Shao: “You want to treat Lu Lu?”

Shi Xing was speechless for a moment. “If I treat him, I’m afraid the cost won’t just be this.”

Moreover, he wouldn’t treat Lu Lu.

This price wasn’t cheap.

Not including treatment, it was higher than the fees of S-rank therapists.

Tan Shao had not yet made up her mind, her eyes darting, biting her lip, rapidly weighing this deal.

Shi Xing, however, was far more indifferent than she thought. “If you think it’s expensive, then never mind; I’ve been out too long and need to return.”

After saying this, he really started to walk away.

Just a few steps out, he indeed heard Tan Shao’s exasperated voice calling after him, “Wait.”

“Do you really have a way?”

Shi Xing confirmed: “Cash and delivery.”

“Then…”

Before Tan Shao could come to a decision, Shi Xing added, “Oh, right, I also have a condition.”

In a resolute tone, he said, “I can provide you with a method, but you must promise that from now on, you won’t let Lu Lu haunt me anymore.”

“Of course, like you, I don’t care what methods you use, Princess Consort.”

Perhaps she’d never been sat down to be extorted in such a manner; after several seconds, Tan Shao finally squeezed out her voice.

Tan Shao’s voice was nearly squeezed out through her teeth, “Deal!”