ABRIWMTHM Chapter 68

Shi Xing looked at Chi Yao upon hearing the words.

Although they hadn’t had a chance to discuss their meeting with Elder Chang in detail during their journey, it was clear…

Shi Xing was surprised. “Wasn’t it not settled?”

This was evident not only to him but also to Yan Changyue and Tang Mi, who had been following Chi Yao closely for a long time, and they had already noticed.

“It wasn’t settled.”

Chi Yao did not deny it.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly asked Shi Xing, “You came back with that child; did you do something to him?”

Oh, this.

They had been discussing the restaurant and the places they visited today after boarding the aircraft, and Shi Xing hadn’t had the chance to mention it, but it wasn’t too late to bring it up now.

Shi Xing replied, “The child’s mental sea isn’t big; I felt I could treat him, so I went ahead and did it.”

Yan Changyue widened his eyes. “Many doctors and therapists were consulted about the old man’s grandson’s condition, and they all said it was hopeless. Xing Xing, you just…”

Yan Changyue swallowed hard, incredulous. “You… you cured him?”

Shi Xing hadn’t thought about this aspect and felt a little embarrassed, scratching his head. “I just saw the little kid looked quite unwell, and when I found I could treat him, I just handled it.”

Yan Changyue’s reaction made Shi Xing uncertain. “Shouldn’t I have treated him?”

Earlier, Chi Yao had already delegated the healing authority to Shi Xing, allowing him to decide for himself. While treating the child, Shi Xing had momentarily considered Elder Chang’s attitude, but he quickly set that aside. Since Chi Yao hadn’t used medical coercion to force Tan Baishan into supporting him, it made sense that he wouldn’t, nor should he, use the conditions of treatment to compel Elder Chang to support him.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Chi Yao shook his head.

And he clarified for Shi Xing, “Changyue is just amazed by your abilities.”

“You should treat him, and you did well. In a way, Elder Chang is also a stubborn man. If it weren’t for the treatment, he wouldn’t have temporarily changed his attitude and let us go back.”

Shi Xing’s eyes sparkled with hope. “So, will he change his mind?”

Facing Shi Xing’s bright eyes, Chi Yao chuckled, though reluctant, he still slowly shook his head. “Probably not.”

“When he was the President, he was famously impartial. If these tricks were effective, Elder Chang wouldn’t have received such high support in the Senate and the entire civil service.”

Seeing Shi Xing’s eyes dim, Chi Yao added, “But since he invited us back, it clearly isn’t without reason.”

“In any case, the situation can’t get worse, right?”

Shi Xing perked up again and nodded vigorously. “You’re right, Your Highness.”

Now that the situation was already the worst, any changes would only be for the better.

The group turned back.

In fact, Chi Yao’s judgment was exceptionally accurate.

After returning, the Chang family first expressed their gratitude to Shi Xing for treating Shu Ning. They promised to send three beast cores as medical fees, and their wording was quite skillful.

“Little Highness, treating Ning Ning is definitely worth much more than this, but the Chang family doesn’t have anyone in the military, and this is all we can offer. We hope Your Majesty and Little Highness won’t turn us down and accept this gesture.”

They lowered their stance significantly.

Shi Xing felt a bit embarrassed, but Chi Yao thought they were right. Shi Xing’s treatment was priceless, and compared to the conditions proposed by the Tan family, three beast cores could indeed only be considered a small gesture, a meager goodwill.

Later, Elder Chang expressed a desire to speak with Shi Xing alone, and Chi Yao agreed.

As expected, Elder Chang did not change his stance.

What he said to Shi Xing still carried the same meaning; due to a lack of understanding, he wouldn’t support immediately, but because of the treatment, his tone was not as resolute as when he faced Chi Yao. Instead, it felt apologetic as he refused again.

After formally expressing his stance, the conversation led to the most critical part.

“So, he told you that he couldn’t support you. What then?”

After leaving the Chang family, Chi Yao and Shi Xing headed to their scheduled restaurant as planned. While Yan Changyue and Tang Mi went to check the ingredients and dishes, Chi Yao casually asked Shi Xing.

The two were sitting close, with Shi Xing situated on the inside. Chi Yao rested his chin in one hand and leaned slightly toward him. Most of the natural light was blocked by Chi Yao’s body, causing Shi Xing to feel a fleeting sensation of being enveloped by him.

His pupils constricted, and his momentary daze was quickly pulled back.

Shi Xing seemed to avoid the intimate atmosphere, leaning back a bit and straightening his back. “Then, the old man said that if I encounter difficulties in government affairs, I can seek him out.”

“Even if he doesn’t actively support me, the Chang family owes me a favor.”

Chi Yao raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Anything else?”

Shi Xing replied, “I think that’s about it. After that, he asked about Ning Ning’s condition, how I treated him, and consulted on how best to reach me should Ning Ning have a relapse. Then he said some polite words, expressing how glad he was to meet me and hoping for more exchange in the future. That about sums it up.”

Chi Yao smiled.

Shi Xing keenly sensed something. “What’s wrong?”

“Can’t say it’s wrong.”

But he couldn’t say it was right either.

After finishing his laughter, Chi Yao lazily raised his eyes, the corners of his eyes curling slightly. “Now I understand why he didn’t want me as a listener.”

“Promising to return you a favor is the right thing to do, but the last few sentences, those weren’t just polite words. The implication of those words…” He intentionally elongated his tone, waiting for Shi Xing’s face to reveal an expression of anticipation, before continuing, “What he truly wants to say is that he might not support you now, but if he gets to know you better, perhaps he will change his mind.”

Chi Yao shook his head. “How long has Elder Chang’s presidency been over, yet he still carries such a heavy ideological burden? He won’t let me be a listener because he can manage to dodge around with flattery when you’re there, but with me around, he’d be found out in an instant, and that would be embarrassing for him.”

Shi Xing widened his eyes upon hearing this.

“What’s with that expression?”

Shi Xing said, “Didn’t expect it?”

Shi Xing was curious. “I thought the old man was quite open-minded and wouldn’t have such mundane troubles!”

Chi Yao looked down and began to laugh, unable to help himself. “That might disappoint you. The Empire, from top to bottom, is filled with mundane people. Once you interact with the Senate, you’ll gain a deeper understanding.”

With a subdued smile, Chi Yao looked at Shi Xing, his eyes filled with warmth that Shi Xing really liked.

“Forget Elder Chang; I’m curious about how you cured Shu Ning directly.”

Before entering the door, Chi Yao had informed Shi Xing that Elder Chang had a grandson with a problem with his mental sea. Even though they wouldn’t use treatment as a coercive measure against Elder Chang, it wasn’t out of the question to use it as leverage to gain support. Given Shi Xing’s intellect, Chi Yao didn’t believe he hadn’t thought of this.

After asking, their gazes met, and Shi Xing quietly said, “Actually, I didn’t treat him just for his sake.”

“On one hand, Shu Ning is quite young, and it didn’t require too much of my mental power to treat him, so he was worth treating.”

His gaze flickered slightly, and Shi Xing felt his words flowing from the depths of his heart, laid bare in front of Chi Yao.

“On the other hand, Your Highness, his mental power was chaotic, causing cracks to form at the bottom of his sea floor…”

The use of the word “also” was skillful; even if Shi Xing didn’t finish his sentence, Chi Yao understood his meaning.

The atmosphere became subtly tense, and Chi Yao’s expression darkened significantly. The next moment, he leaned closer, pulling Shi Xing nearer. With Shi Xing’s back against the wall, there was no way to escape.

“So, your treatment was aimed at attempting to repair the cracks in the mental sea?”

It was clear to whom the problem of mental sea cracking belonged without needing to explain.

Shi Xing was using Shu Ning as practice; what he truly wanted to heal was Chi Yao’s mental sea.

Chi Yao’s gaze was too straightforward; at such a close distance, Shi Xing could feel the other’s breath brushing against his face. His throat suddenly felt dry, and he turned his eyes away, daring not to look at Chi Yao.

After a moment, Shi Xing nodded in acknowledgment.

The corners of Chi Yao’s mouth lifted, leaning in closer again.

Shi Xing’s breath hitched. “Your Highness, you…”

“What about me?”

It was hard to say whether those three words were a rhetorical question.

But it worked well; after struggling to breathe, Shi Xing found his voice caught as well.

After a while, feeling that Chi Yao’s smile bore an increasingly profound meaning, Shi Xing steeled himself and spoke, “Your Highness, you’re too close.”

“Close? I’m not even touching you. Besides, is it forbidden to be this close?”

Shi Xing felt mentally stalled.

Chi Yao asked again, “Why aren’t you looking at me?”

Shi Xing: “…”

In despair, Shi Xing closed his eyes. Great, the heartbeat was going to get involved too. He had no doubt that in a while, Chi Yao would hear his chaotic heartbeat again.

Chi Yao’s light laugh echoed, and Shi Xing’s pained expression was evident. “Your Highness, if you keep this up, I will resist.”

“Then you can try. I’m curious about your way of resisting.”

Shi Xing: “…………”

Shi Xing raised a hand, accurately pressing on the service button.

Chi Yao was taken aback.

A moment later, a staff member entered, asking what service they required. Shi Xing requested an additional chair. When Yan Changyue and Tang Mi returned, they saw Shi Xing sitting alone on a chair, firmly refusing the seat beside Chi Yao.

“That side is too dim; I don’t like it. Let’s keep it like this.”

Shi Xing made an excuse.

Chi Yao attempted to salvage the situation, “I’ll sit there; you sit here?”

Shi Xing refused, “No!”

Chi Yao lowered his eyes, clicking his tongue, finding it quite amusing.

The day passed rather pleasantly.

When they were outside.

Chi Yao took Shi Xing to two restaurants, then in the afternoon to the largest holographic gaming hall in the Imperial Capital, followed by a scenic area where everything Shi Xing saw felt novel.

The itinerary was well-planned, without crowding or delays, making it a comfortable outing.

The competitive mood in the restaurant faded from Shi Xing’s mind after the meal. Chi Yao appreciated his personality and his lack of fussiness.

However, after returning to the palace, Chi Yao had a major outburst that night.

When Xu Jin spoke with Shi Xing in the living room, Fei Chu had already been eavesdropping outside the study.

As Shi Xing approached, he heard a cold and stern voice declare, “If you can’t do it well, then don’t do it at all. Fu Mu has been cultivated very well by Elder Chang. If you hand in your resignation tomorrow, I will approve it that same day! The Senate might be incompetent, but it cannot be ignorant!”

“This also goes for Ren Yan Yong; relay that!”

This was the first time Shi Xing heard Chi Yao speak with such a harsh tone, even more so than he did with Fei Chu. Shi Xing was bewildered and turned to Fei Chu, asking, “What happened?”

Fei Chu quietly replied, “Disagreements; they argued.”

“I didn’t hear the specifics. When I arrived, he was already lecturing someone. He just finished reciting the Imperial laws to the president, and now he’s forcing someone to resign.”

Shi Xing asked, “Who is Fu Mu?”

Fei Chu explained, “The next President in line, just like Xu Mi Rou in the Elders Council. Once the higher-ups step down, they will take over.”

Shi Xing wondered, “Your Highness wouldn’t genuinely let the President resign, right?”

Fei Chu pondered, “Hard to say. Wei Zhen is stubborn; it depends on whether he can come around. If he can’t change his mind…”

Seeing Shi Xing’s focused gaze, Fei Chu lowered his voice again, “It’s likely he really will resign.”

“Chi Yao holds military power, and the entire army trusts him. Besides, he is no longer the naive youth he was when he first took the throne; no one could oppose the things he insists on now.”

Tang Mi interjected, arriving surprisingly, “But the things that His Majesty insists on are all based on position.”

In other words, they are stubborn for a reason, and not purely subjective.

Tang Mi looked worried. “I hope the President doesn’t get fixated. Otherwise, if the Senate is provoked, and the civil service supports it afterward, it could lead to a complete overhaul of several major institutions, which would be too costly and detrimental to His Majesty’s reputation.”

The internal administration had already reached a turnover period; a smooth transition would be the best outcome. Being too forceful would inevitably hurt the elders’ feelings.

Fei Chu reflected, his focus strange. “If there’s a complete overhaul, that’s something Chi Yao might actually do.”

Chi Yao’s respect does have its limits; once crossed, there would be no room for negotiation.

The civil service might have long been under the Senate and Elders Council’s control, not directly facing Chi Yao, lacking in depth perception. However, the major armies had a profound understanding of Chi Yao’s temperament!

Shi Xing listened, trying to comprehend, but his primary concern was not this.

He was pondering when Chi Yao would calm down.

Maintaining a stable emotional state would be better for the special situation of His Highness right now.

Xu Jin clearly came to this realization too. Since Chi Yao wasn’t deliberately dampening the sound, after listening for a bit, Xu Jin brought in a plate of fruit cuts and knocked on the door, successfully interrupting the communication between Chi Yao and the Senate, bringing it to an early conclusion.

A while later, Chi Yao was with everyone in the living room, expressionless as he reviewed documents while others were relaxing on StarNet.

Shi Xing couldn’t tell whether he was happy or not.

After a while, Shi Xing stealthily sent Chi Yao a joke.

Seeing Chi Yao open it, he sent another one shortly after, and then another.

Ultimately, he got Chi Yao to laugh, shaking his head.

Suddenly, Chi Yao turned to Shi Xing. “Don’t you usually browse StarNet for entertainment while at the Nest?”

The question left Shi Xing in a daze.

Chi Yao waved at Fei Chu, showing him a joke. Fei Chu exclaimed in surprise, “Isn’t this the joke that was popular in the Capital when I was in elementary school? Impressive! Where did you dig these up?”

Shi Xing: “…”

Shi Xing’s toes curled, looking over the documents he found, bringing it to the top. Perfect, it was titled “Selected Old Jokes.”

He realized he had been lax in scrutiny.

Turning to see Chi Yao’s smiling face, the impact was achieved, but not in the way he had imagined.

After a while, Shi Xing felt too embarrassed to stay and turned to return to his room.

By the time Chi Yao came back to his room, Shi Xing had already crawled into bed and was asleep.

Listening closely, one could tell that he was lying on the bed but hadn’t slept.

Suddenly…

Shi Xing’s communicator rang; Chi Yao had sent him a joke.

Chi Yao sent him another one.

And then another one. Shi Xing could not help but laugh out loud, “Your Highness, where did you find these? Hahaha, they’re too funny!”

Chi Yao replied, “Like you, just copied and pasted from StarNet. They are old jokes.”

After sharing laughs, Shi Xing realized Chi Yao was playing around with him. He rubbed his nose and corrected, “You don’t have to do this; I just want to make you a bit happier.”

“Well, I do feel a bit better.” Pausing for a moment, Chi Yao said straightforwardly, “I sent them because I wanted you to feel happy too.”

Shi Xing’s heart raced for a moment.

“Your Highness, are you…”

Shi Xing’s pupils constricted, his lips parted slightly. The latter half of his sentence remained unspoken as he simply said, “Good night, Your Highness.”

“Good night.”

Yet this night was destined to be restless.

In the middle of the night, Shi Xing woke up from a startling link, sensing a high level of mental power in the room.

Reaching out cautiously, his expression changed slightly—there was aggression in the atmosphere.

Chi Yao was still asleep, and Shi Xing hurried over to wake him.

Reaching out to shake him, because of the darkness, his vision distorted, and he accidentally touched Chi Yao’s neck. Shi Xing’s hand jerked back quickly.

“Mm?”

Perhaps due to discomfort, his call managed to wake him.

After a brief moment of clarity, Chi Yao frowned, “My mental power is in chaos.”

Shi Xing asked, “Can you sit up?”

Chi Yao tested it and then said, “Can I not?”

A jolt ran through Shi Xing’s heart. He reached out to touch Chi Yao and felt that the energy accumulation beneath the skin had reached a terrifying level. He hesitated, unsure if he should touch him. His voice trembled a little, “Is it very painful?”

This level of energy, which a Blue Star human like him would find overwhelming from crystal sustenance, was already destructive to the bodies of Empire folks.

Yet the bodies of the Empire had strong recovery abilities; after being damaged, they would recover quickly.

Though it seemed there was little difference, the constant process of destruction and recovery was clearly painful.

Chi Yao’s throat moved as he uttered two words, “It’s fine.”

Shi Xing did not dare to think further.

After a pause, he asked urgently, “Can your mental sea stabilize this time, or is this entering a chaotic phase?”

The chaotic phase of the mental sea would last for a while.

During this period, mental energy would continuously or intermittently leak out, mostly with an aggressive nature.

The duration could range from a few days to several months.

Chi Yao wasn’t sure, “It depends on how it develops.”

If he could stabilize it on his own and re-consolidate his mental power, it would be a happy outcome.

But if he couldn’t, and the leaking mental power continued to become more chaotic, it likely meant he truly had entered a chaotic phase.

Shi Xing felt uneasy but was helpless. After a while, he asked Chi Yao, “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

After a moment of thought, he proactively suggested, “Like last time, lowering the energy intensity around you—would that help?”

Chi Yao replied uncertainly, “That might work.”

“Then let’s try.”

Before Chi Yao could figure out how to try it, he felt Shi Xing crawl into his blanket.

As Shi Xing pressed against him entirely, for a brief moment, Chi Yao’s body stiffened.

A moment later, Chi Yao allowed himself to wrap his arms around Shi Xing in return.

Shi Xing’s hand pressed against Chi Yao’s face, and with the movement, the hem of the coat lifted. Chi Yao could feel the delicate skin of Shi Xing’s waist through the embrace.

Shi Xing felt uncomfortable and muttered to himself, “You won’t be in trouble.”

Chi Yao turned to his side, burying his face in Shi Xing’s shoulder.

The breath brushed against Shi Xing’s neck, warm and burning. Chi Yao affirmed, “Mm, I have you.”