ABRIWMTHM Chapter 122

Chi Yao was taken aback by the sudden words, touching Shi Xing’s forehead. Leading the army for many years, his perception was keen, and he noticed that Shi Xing’s body temperature had indeed dropped slightly. Moreover… Shi Xing’s skin was no longer absorbing energy, and his body was no longer unconsciously dissipating energy.

But what he was concerned about was not this.

Chi Yao frowned, “Are you sure he’s okay?”

With so much energy rushing towards Shi Xing, Chi Yao subconsciously felt it was impossible.

Er Ya chuckled, “Can’t you just use your mental power to sense it yourself?”

Facing Er Ya’s teasing, Chi Yao remained silent and touched Shi Xing’s forehead again, releasing his mental power.

The moment he sensed that Shi Xing’s mental sea was calm and stable, the stone that hung in Chi Yao’s heart finally fell, but he still did not feel much more at ease.

“Hey, there’s a signal.”

General Ye Jun suddenly said.

“Your Highness, we can contact the main star now.”

“It’s a bit intermittent. Get someone to help me set up a signal amplifier; there’s probably residual mental power from that beast over there, so the signal isn’t very good.”

Ye Jun’s subordinate rushed forward, rustling about, and finally managed to secure a stable signal channel.

Ye Jun reported shortly after, “The forces stationed at the main star can’t reach us either and have been searching for our signal.”

“The search team over there has already set out looking for us. They didn’t find anything on the first round and are preparing to send more personnel.”

“Your Highness.”

Ye Jun looked towards Chi Yao.

Chi Yao scooped up Shi Xing, raising his gaze towards the obviously chaotic energy in the atmosphere of the barren star.

This was affected by Shi Xing’s abilities.

Even though Shi Xing had already passed the maturity period, Chi Yao was still uncertain if these energies would bring about any repercussions, potentially leading to another gathering of beasts.

With his gaze lowered for a brief moment, Chi Yao’s worried expression quickly turned resolute.

“Send the coordinates and have the search team come pick us up, escort us back.”

“Check the status of the mechs and warships; all severely damaged ones and those with destroyed energy compartments should switch to self-destruct mode.”

“This will be handled by Yi Zhenqiang and Ying Geng.”

“Ye Jun, check the damage to our equipment. Handle it the same way as the warships; take what you can and destroy what you can’t take with the warships.”

“Fei Chu is responsible for personnel deployment. We should be ready to depart in ten minutes.”

“Fu Qing, find a warship for me and Shi Xing; he will follow me.”

One command after another was swiftly issued, and the officers responded efficiently, the whole team busily organized.

Er Ya pulled a flashlight out from the medical pod and, after looking at Shi Xing’s pupils, remarked, “There is a contraction response in the pupils; if they say he’s in a coma, it looks more like he’s overextended and just fell asleep.”

Chi Yao replied, “One entire mountain of beasts has been annihilated, he’s overextended… isn’t that right!”

Er Ya glanced at Chi Yao with a raised eyebrow.

“The energy of the star where Shi Xing was born?”

Hearing these words carried a heavy irony.

Chi Yao pressed two fingers against his brow, realizing his tone was off. He shook his head and simply said, “No.”

Er Ya smiled with a hint of jesting, but did not pry further.

After all, this was just about the two of them as young lovers; any anger was not directed at her, and she didn’t want to be a bother.

Moreover…

Shi Xing was indeed a bit frightening this time; all in all, she was genuinely startled.

Bold, yet it was all to protect everyone, leaving Er Ya without any grounds for criticism.

Therefore, she decided not to interject in this thankless effort; Shi Xing had someone to care for him.

Thinking this, Er Ya’s expression momentarily stiffened, recalling a past she hadn’t thought of in a long time. She then chuckled and shook her head, feeling that these days were quite good, carefree, lacking nothing.

Though she sometimes felt something was missing in life, fate was inherently something that could only be encountered by chance.

Er Ya said, “After returning to the Empire, I should also head back to my own star.”

Her farewell came suddenly, and in Chi Yao’s line of sight, Fei Chu turned around, casting his gaze toward them.

Chi Yao said, “You’re still Shi Xing’s teacher, after all.”

“Then you can talk to him in person later.”

Er Ya nodded.

The small mothership and warships were ready; Chi Yao held him and boarded one that had been prepared for them, accompanied by a technician to facilitate communication.

“What? Are you sure?” Lu Li asked, astonished.

“I’m sure,” Qian Jue asserted after pulling up the data again.

“The group of beasts we detected lost track last night, and we can’t find them in the galaxy now.”

Qian Jue dragged the projection interface in front of Lu Li, who checked it over and confirmed that there were indeed no signals of beasts present.

But…

Lu Li found it hard to believe, “Over a hundred mutated beasts just vanished overnight?”

“Could they have gone through a wormhole, finding another route?”

Qian Jue replied, “No large wormholes were detected along the way; it’s more likely they utilized the spatial abilities of the mutated beasts.”

Lu Li frowned, “But if they were coming this way, their spatial abilities shouldn’t have prevented us from detecting their presence?”

Using spatial abilities would simply allow them to arrive faster; their destination would not change.

This was also a point Qian Jue couldn’t explain.

The officers from the First and Third Corps discussed it without finding a solution, ultimately leaving the decision to the First Corps to report to Chi Yao and see how His Highness would respond.

As it turned out, the decision was correct.

However, the response was hard to digest.

“Huh? They went to besiege His Highness and the others? Shouldn’t we send someone quickly…”

Before Lu Li could finish, Qian Jue interrupted him, complicatedly, “No need, His Highness said they have already resolved it.”

Lu Li was confused: “?”

Xiang Fei was equally baffled: “?”

Zhuang Yuanyin was astounded: “?!”

Other senior officers echoed the same sentiment: “??!!”

Xiang Fei queried, “What do you mean, resolved?”

“Didn’t His Highness only bring four teams? At most, they could handle thirty beasts; is… the resolution I’m imagining?”

Qian Jue sighed at his subordinate, “You’re correct; four teams indeed can’t handle that many beasts, and that many beasts cannot just be dealt with by the military.”

Everyone present was: “?!”

The events were increasingly veering into the fantastical!

Qian Jue clarified, “It was the young prince who resolved it; his second talent has been enhanced, enabling him to annihilate matter… so, there were no remains left behind from all the beasts.”

Qian Jue added, “The young prince’s use of mental power caused turmoil in the energy of the barren star, and His Highness asked us to lock onto the barren star and detect if any new beasts are approaching.”

Everyone’s first reaction was to confirm if they had misheard.

After confirming with Qian Jue’s serious expression that it wasn’t a hallucination, each person felt even more bewildered.

Qian Jue himself was a bit dazed, not caring about others, instead calling over Xiang Fei and immediately preparing to send some satellites and unmanned probes to release toward the barren star for follow-up detection.

Returning to the stationed star went smoothly.

Before reaching halfway, they rendezvoused with the warships sent to find them. They then relaxed, accepting the escort of the fleet, feeling at ease returning to the stationed star.

Back at the stationed star, the monitoring of the barren star, and everything that had transpired along the way, was explained by Yi Zhenqiang, Ying Geng, and Fei Chu to clarify matters for everyone.

Once the necessary matters were arranged, Chi Yao’s focus was entirely on Shi Xing.

Upon returning to the stationed star, his first reaction was to call for a doctor.

The second reaction was to call an attendant.

After all the hustle, they changed Shi Xing’s clothes, conducted all possible tests, and the data showed no discrepancies from what Er Ya and Chi Yao sensed. Moreover, the doctor confirmed based on his signs that Shi Xing had indeed passed the maturity period and become a therapist.

Xu Jin was overjoyed, “He has already passed the maturity period? That’s great! After returning to the Empire, we can jointly announce to the outside world about Shi Xing.”

Chi Yao was belatedly aware of a series of matters that now needed to be addressed.

Including, but not limited to, declaring Shi Xing’s identity to the public, announcing him as his partner, and organizing a formal wedding, etc.

However, for now, his greatest concern was how long it would take for Shi Xing to wake up.

It seemed that passing the maturity period made a real difference; Shi Xing didn’t sleep for days on end. After dawn, once all the support teams were in place and the main generals came to meet with Chi Yao, shortly after noon, Yan Zhangyue hurriedly found Chi Yao.

Before allowing him to speak, upon seeing the delighted expression on Yan Zhangyue’s face, Chi Yao suddenly stood up.

Indeed, Shi Xing had awakened.

Just awakened.

When Chi Yao returned to the mothership, he saw Shi Xing hugging Xu Jin, drinking the milk that Xu Jin had poured for him, looking a bit dazed.

“Your Highness?”

“Your Highness!”

As soon as Chi Yao appeared, Shi Xing’s face lit up with a smile, and he attempted to scramble up.

“What’s the rush?”

When Shi Xing tried to get out of bed, Chi Yao pressed him back down onto the bed with one hand on his shoulder.

Yet Shi Xing’s eyes remained glued to Chi Yao, those sea-blue eyes swirling like waves, making Chi Yao’s throat tighten, his mood complex and filled with an unspoken nuance.

Xu Jin, being observant, said, “I’ll go check the porridge prepared for Star.”

He took Yan Zhangyue with him as he left.

Once the attendants were gone, Shi Xing no longer behaved, instantly wrapping his arms around Chi Yao and reluctantly calling, “Your Highness.”

Chi Yao was momentarily stunned before placing one hand on Shi Xing’s back.

The person in his embrace was warm.

Alive.

“Your Highness, I thought I would never see you again.”

“Great, I’m back.”

To Shi Xing’s surprise, he thought Chi Yao would say a few words, but all he received was a low “mm.”

Finally recalling his actions on the mountain, Shi Xing felt a bit nervous. Driven by the thought of early death leading to early rebirth, he let go of Chi Yao, kneeling on the bed as if to make amends, lowering his head and softly asking, “You’re not angry with me, right?”

If Er Ya had come first today, Shi Xing would have probably received a very different answer.

Fortunately, the first to come was Chi Yao.

Chi Yao reached out his hand towards Shi Xing, who awkwardly took it. Chi Yao pulled him closer slightly.

Chi Yao’s gaze slid down from Shi Xing’s face, almost scrutinizing his entire figure. Amidst Shi Xing’s apprehensive waiting, Chi Yao shook his head.

Shi Xing froze.

After a few seconds of silent eye contact, Chi Yao was the first to curl his lips, “What? Still not well?”

“Do you hope that I’m angry?”

Shi Xing hastily shook his head.

Recalling a similar scene in his memory, he shook his head vigorously.

Seeing Chi Yao finally display a faint smile, he then pulled Shi Xing into an embrace.

This time, he didn’t dangle Shi Xing, nor did he have the energy for that; he explained directly, “If it were me, I would do the same.”

This answer left Shi Xing unsure whether to feel grateful.

Shi Xing whispered, “Perhaps, you could handle it more thoroughly?”

Chi Yao pinched Shi Xing’s cheeks, “You can be impulsive, but if it were me, I would hope to be thorough. Am I to let you take all the benefits?”

Shi Xing replied weakly, “Your Highness, that wasn’t what I meant.”

Chi Yao raised an eyebrow.

Alright, the fib was seen through.

Shi Xing climbed onto Chi Yao a second time, playfully saying, “Even if I think this way, it’s only natural. I care about you~”

In response, Chi Yao gave a light snort and replied, “That’s great; I think the same.”

Shi Xing: “…”

Though he said so, when it came to handling matters, Chi Yao was still more mature than Shi Xing, even if their ideas were the same, the one taking advantage would not be Chi Yao.

However, he simply understood this in his heart; Chi Yao wouldn’t voice it to his partner.

He didn’t want to give a certain someone, who was already quite vexing, any chance to take further advantage.

Chi Yao pinched Shi Xing’s cheeks again, causing Shi Xing’s skin to redden slightly, making him perturbed.

“Anyway, it’s mutual sharpening, let’s see who comes out on top in the future.”

Shi Xing felt troubled inside.

Fearing that saying too much might lead to a misstep, since Chi Yao hadn’t been angry before, he was now worried he might provoke him.

Not daring to speak, he impulsively kissed Chi Yao’s chin.

Delicate kisses like stars quickly turned into lips and teeth intertwining.

Perhaps because this encounter was too shocking, both felt the need to confirm each other’s real existence, and as they kissed, both crossed boundaries.

Chi Yao’s hand slid into Shi Xing’s clothing, reciprocating with the same action.

Shi Xing felt he’d forgotten something.

But Chi Yao’s presence was too strong; wrapped in his breath and warmth, his brain struggled to function.

Until Shi Xing started trembling in Chi Yao’s palm, looking into those ash-gray eyes, he suddenly came to his senses.

“Your Highness…”

“Your Highness, there’s something…”

Pressing down on Chi Yao’s hand, Shi Xing pushed him away slightly, both of them breathing in a frantic, disordered manner.

Looking up, he could clearly discern the emotion beneath Chi Yao’s eyes, but Shi Xing didn’t dare to hesitate.

Shi Xing directly said, “There’s something very important.”

Before Chi Yao could refuse, Shi Xing continued, “The king beast that was repelled by our star system during the last beast tide isn’t dead yet.”

“Your Highness, the one looking for me is that severely injured king beast from the Empire.”

The moment prior, Chi Yao had been passionate.

Yet in the next moment, after Shi Xing spoke, he saw the fervor in Chi Yao’s eyes rapidly chill.

“You know what you’re saying? Are you sure?”

His voice had also turned cold, and his expression was especially serious.

Shi Xing adjusted his tone, nodding, “I’m sure.”