ABRIWMTHM Chapter 60

That night, Shi Xing didn’t sleep well.

To put it precisely, he had difficulty falling asleep.

While he was pondering the condition of Chi Yao’s mental sea, he thought a lot and felt that he should increase the treatment intensity. Yet, he also knew that Chi Yao had not passed his maturity period, and his mental power was too weak; even if he increased the treatment intensity, it would be like a drop in the bucket. He tried to console himself.

On the other hand, after leaving the prince’s room, the soft touch at the tips of his brows felt as if it had branded his skin, clinging to his heart, making him think of it at random times, impossible to shake off.

Accompanying that were a jumble of distracting heartbeats.

Shi Xing didn’t know what kind of rhythm this was.

And he didn’t want to know.

After rolling around in bed again and covering his head with the quilt, Shi Xing sighed heavily and began to count sheep in his heart.

As one white sheep after another jumped through his mind, Shi Xing’s eyelids finally began to drift shut…

The next day, he woke up feeling dead tired. After a hurried wash-up, Shi Xing yawned his way to the breakfast table.

“Xing Xing, you…” While eating, Fei Chu seemed hesitant to speak.

Shi Xing: “?”

Fei Chu glanced at Chi Yao.

Chi Yao was placing a cup of warm milk in front of Shi Xing without raising his head, but it was as if he had eyes, as he said to Fei Chu, “If you have something to say, just say it. If you don’t want to speak, swallow it back.”

Fei Chu rubbed his hands, “Hey, you asked me to ask…”

Chi Yao: “I also provided the option to shut up.”

Fei Chu ignored Chi Yao’s last sentence and looked back at Shi Xing, his gaze darting between the two of them. “You guys didn’t have a fight last night, did you?”

Shi Xing’s action of biting into his bread halted.

Chi Yao casually replied, “Yeah.”

Shi Xing was stunned again.

Fei Chu’s eyes lit up, “And then what?”

Xu Jin facepalmed.

Chi Yao maintained a calm tone, “After arguing, we made up. Otherwise, would we be eating at the same table?”

Fei Chu: “.”

Xu Jin couldn’t help but ask Fei Chu, “What kind of expression is that?”

Chi Yao laughed, “What else could it be? Disappointment.”

Shi Xing choked and started coughing, while Yan Changyue next to him quickly patted his back. Afterward, Shi Xing’s face turned red. He didn’t know whether to speak or not, and he finally felt more alert.

In the end, he didn’t say anything.

Except for Fei Chu, the others were also curious but didn’t openly ask, which relieved Shi Xing.

In the morning, the new teacher Tang Mi took over Xu Jin’s work, starting to teach Shi Xing about the entire galaxy’s layout, focusing on the relationship between the Alliance and the Empire.

“The Alliance was originally composed of six main planets in the center of the Twin Star Galaxy. Since its establishment, it has expanded outward, and to this day, the six main planets have become part of history. This area, along with this cluster of planets, belongs to the Alliance.”

“However, within the Alliance, the highest status and the most influence still rests with those six planets that were established first.”

“The Prime Minister of the Alliance is elected every ten years, and for as long as anyone can remember, it has basically been the six major planets rotating their positions. The current Prime Minister is from Tian Yuan Star, and the officials here for diplomatic discussions in the Empire are also several officials from Tian Yuan Star.”

“The development of the Alliance and the Empire can be viewed as opposites. The Alliance is located in the center of the galaxy and is less affected by beasts, so it emphasizes trade, cultural development, and technological innovation in daily life, while the Empire, situated on the galaxy’s edge, emphasizes military strength. The Empire has the highest average mental power in the galaxy and excels in weapon development…”

Without being able to cover too much content in the morning, they passed through a city before heading back to the Imperial Capital. Shi Xing wanted to learn more. After communicating with Xu Jin, he asked Tang Mi to add an extra cultural lesson in the afternoon.

In the morning, they understood the galaxy’s layout, and in the afternoon, the focus shifted to internal affairs.

At noon, Chi Yao wasn’t present, leaving with Fei Chu and Fu Qing. This was very rare. After finishing their meal, Shi Xing still asked, “Is something happening?”

Before Xu Jin could respond, Tang Mi said, “It’s probably related to that matter with the Alliance.”

“This city is actually a sky port near the Imperial Capital. All incoming ships and warships must dock at nearby ports for inspection before changing course to enter the Imperial Capital.”

“They’re probably straining to accommodate His Majesty while dealing with the reception standards.”

Xu Jin affirmed, “That’s right.”

Shi Xing was confused, “What matter?”

He had been thinking about Chi Yao’s mental sea issue for the past few days, and aside from that, he hadn’t paid much attention to anything else.

Xu Jin hesitated to speak.

Tang Mi suddenly seemed to remember something, smacking his forehead in self-reproach. “Oh, I got so caught up in talking about history that I forgot to inform the young prince about the developments in this diplomatic matter.”

“It’s like this: Tian Yuan Star holds a relatively more outward position in the Alliance. In other words, while they might not be as adept at dealing with the beasts as the Empire, they still have to manage a fair number of them.”

“In recent years, there has been a subtle trend of beasts becoming more rampant…”

“I don’t know if His Majesty has mentioned it to you, but when the Empire initially signed the treaty with Blue Star, there was a time when…”

Shi Xing nodded; he was already aware of this, “It was mentioned that the Empire once considered joining the Alliance.”

“Ah, right, but that didn’t happen because the Alliance required the Empire to transplant the Mother Tree. That demand was first proposed by Tian Yuan Star. In recent years, all the Blue Star humans have been in the Empire, and Tian Yuan Star has been envious for quite some time. It just so happens that the current Prime Minister is from there, thus the old story resurfaced…”

Shi Xing: “?”

Tang Mi scratched his head, “They want the Empire to share the Mother Tree and export Blue Star humans.”

Shi Xing was taken aback, “Export? Do they want Blue Fruits or Blue Star humans that are still before maturity?”

Tang Mi paused for a moment, “They want therapists.”

This genuinely left Shi Xing at a loss for words. “Therapists? Just… directly give them?”

“Of course, they wouldn’t say it like that. Blue Star has already disappeared. While under the guise of rebuilding Blue Star, they are advocating for the legal rights of Blue Star humans and request that the Empire restore the personal freedoms of therapists within the interstellar range…”

In other words, they are attempting to bypass the Empire and invite therapists over in the name of the planets.

Shi Xing was also silent for a moment, “What’s the difference between that and openly robbing?”

The resources required to cultivate a therapist are substantial; from the crystals from childhood to the beast cores during their maturity period, it all comes from being fed energy bit by bit. Sometimes, Shi Xing even wondered who consumed more energy in a year, a therapist or a warship.

Shi Xing asked, “What about Blue Star humans before maturity? What do they say?”

Xu Jin smirked sarcastically, “Of course they would argue that there is a contract between the Empire and Blue Star. To prevent beast attacks and ensure the safety of Blue Star humans, it’s advised that those before maturity not leave the Empire.”

Shi Xing: “…”

Tang Mi confirmed, “There’s no difference.”

Changing the topic, Tang Mi continued, “However, at its core, it’s just unreasonable troublemaking. Originally, the negotiation about the border defenses wouldn’t have gone smoothly. They are simply probing the Empire’s bottom line; it’s just standard practice.”

Tang Mi showed foresight, “Right now, Tian Yuan Star is vocal in the Alliance. In a few days, they will come and say it was all a misunderstanding, urging the Empire to remain calm.”

Tang Mi’s words perfectly predicted the subsequent developments of this matter.

For a period, Tian Yuan Star established legal rights for Blue Star humans within the Alliance, and the Empire strongly stated that if the Alliance insisted, this negotiation would be canceled, and the Empire would not welcome any visitors from Tian Yuan Star for the time being.

After the Empire’s stance was published on the Star Net, the Alliance quickly changed its tone again, stating it was a matter of civilian organizations and had nothing to do with the official ruling planet of the Alliance.

This matter ended up fading away, and the Empire did not suffer any losses, but it was quite annoying.

As long as the Alliance’s attitude did not soften, the sky port would have to maintain a defensive posture, so to prepare for the arrival of Alliance ships and warships, Chi Yao, Fei Chu, and Fu Qing had even more military duties, making them busier.

One night during treatment, Shi Xing noticed that Chi Yao’s mental sea was less stable than usual.

Upon further inspection, it really was the case, causing Shi Xing’s heart to sink.

Chi Yao, on the other hand, seemed fine with it, “It’s like this every year. This year, my mental sea is relatively stable already. Er Ya will be here soon, which should be enough for her to make it.”

Shi Xing wanted to say something but held it back.

He simply increased the treatment time silently.

After the mental filaments had fully grown, in normal circumstances, he could reach the edge of Chi Yao’s mental sea, and if Chi Yao relaxed his state, the contract would occasionally help him lead his mental power into the inner layers. While Shi Xing was temporarily unable to treat the inner layer, he found that the contract seemed to absorb his mental power to stabilize the fragmented mental sea.

Thus, each time he felt the contract presence, Shi Xing would let it absorb a portion of his mental power.

But the changes in Chi Yao’s mental sea were even more intense than Shi Xing had imagined.

After feeling the instability the day before, by the next noon, his mental power overflowed once, yet it wasn’t destructive.

This wasn’t a good sign.

Everything indicated that the chaos cycle for Chi Yao was nearing its limit, and at any moment…

This worried Shi Xing greatly.

The night before heading back to the Imperial Capital, Shi Xing inexplicably thought of Xu Jin’s proposal. Initially, he hadn’t considered it, but after feeling Chi Yao’s overflowing mental power in the middle of the night, Shi Xing had no choice but to force himself to think.

The next day, the warships docked at the First Army in the Imperial Capital.

Chi Yao had already changed into his formal outfit. Shi Xing stood behind him, wearing the formal military uniform Xu Jin had prepared for him.

The thought of meeting all the officers of the First Army today, and later having an official meeting with the Elders Council after returning to the palace, made Shi Xing inexplicably nervous.

Shi Xing had treated several officers from the First Army, and upon meeting again, with Fei Chu beside him constantly introducing and guiding him, aside from initially being stunned by the solemn expectation of the military, he adapted and was fine afterward.

Lunch was served within the military, and the soldiers were much easier to get along with than Shi Xing had imagined.

Perhaps this was also related to his identity; the Empire’s soldiers were very friendly towards Blue Star humans.

The challenge awaited him in the palace.

Shi Xing was clear; so was Chi Yao.

In the afternoon, after parting with a group of officers, they took Chi Yao’s exclusive spaceship back to the palace, where Shi Xing once again saw the ship adorned with complex royal insignias that he remembered from his past life.

Now, Shi Xing understood that this was the royal family’s exclusive mark, indicating the ship’s ownership.

“Are you nervous?” Before arriving, Chi Yao asked Shi Xing.

Shi Xing looked at Chi Yao, feeling his breathing quicken.

Chi Yao’s eyes curved into a smile, “I suddenly want to ask an untimely question.”

“You can ask.”

Chi Yao glanced at the group of people gathered and discussing across the large spaceship before suddenly leaning in closer, as if not wanting others to overhear his words. He whispered in Shi Xing’s ear, “Are you afraid?”

His tone carried a teasing lightness.

As his breath brushed past Shi Xing’s ear, it felt slightly ticklish, and he was reminded of that soft sensation.

His heart raced, feeling that he had brushed against something, but it also seemed like it was just his own illusion.

Shi Xing instinctively covered his ears.

Not forgetting that they were about to arrive, he spoke with utmost seriousness, “A bit nervous.”

Pausing for a moment, he added firmly, “But not afraid.”

Chi Yao’s lips tilted into a smile, “Is that so impressive?”

Shi Xing: “…”

Shi Xing: “Your Highness, could you refrain from pouring oil on my fire and joking at a time like this?”

Even carrying a hint of supplication.

Chi Yao silently laughed heartily.

Shi Xing closed his eyes momentarily, trying to calm his wildly beating heart.

After a short while, the spaceship had arrived, stopping outside the palace.

Xu Jin checked everyone’s attire, confirming with the palace attendants that all the personnel outside the ship had arrived before addressing Chi Yao, “Your Majesty, we’ve arrived. You may disembark now.”

As the hatch opened, the first sight to greet Shi Xing was the ancient and majestic palace architecture.

Tall, solemn, and standing silently.

Its outer walls held the marks of time over the past millennium, representing one of the oldest architectural symbols of the Empire’s civilization.

Looking down, a large, dense crowd stood outside the palace. Remembering that the Elders Council was among them, Shi Xing took a deep breath. His throat moved, and his heartbeat accelerated again, though this time it was due to nervousness.

Chi Yao led the way off the spaceship.

Shi Xing closely followed behind.

The red carpet was laid out as Shi Xing marched in an orderly manner right behind Chi Yao.

As they approached the main entrance of the palace, Shi Xing recognized the two lead welcoming officials.

One was the chairman of the Elders Council.

The other was Chi Yao’s nephew, the young Prince Bi Zhou.

As they were only a few steps away from them, Chi Yao suddenly stopped.

Shi Xing was puzzled but also came to a halt.

Watching their group stop in unison left the chairman and Bi Zhou equally bewildered.

Until Chi Yao reached out his hand to Shi Xing.

Shi Xing was stunned, yet Chi Yao didn’t retract his hand, his ash-gray eyes looking at Shi Xing with utmost seriousness.

Shi Xing hesitantly grasped Chi Yao’s hand.

Receiving a shy smile from Chi Yao, he was then pulled to Chi Yao’s side.

They walked side by side, completing the last few steps back to the palace together.