CH 80

When the rescue team arrived belatedly, Xiao Jiali faintly showed signs of breathing, resembling a protagonist of a story destined for greatness, yet ultimately, he passed away on the way to the hospital. Within a mere ten minutes, his jet-black hair turned snow-white, and he aged more than fifty years in an instant.

He had exhausted his vitality completely, reluctantly taking his last breath. At the moment of death, his body resembled that of an elderly person well beyond his years.

On the evening of the next day, Si Chu gradually regained consciousness. In the fading glow of the setting sun, he slowly opened his eyes, meeting the fiery orange blaze of the dusk sky. The last rays of the sun were devoured by distant mountains. He turned his head slowly, the bright lights illuminating the quiet room. Ye Feiran’s head was slightly lowered, deeply asleep in the chair.

The peacock was the first to notice his awakening. It had been leisurely strolling around the room, but upon locking eyes with Si Chu, it swiftly dashed towards the bed. Its petite head just surpassed the bed’s height, and with a flutter of its wings, it leaped onto the bed, its blue-green crown feathers swaying with its movements.

Si Chu couldn’t help but chuckle softly, reaching out from under the covers to stroke the peacock’s head.

Ye Feiran was awakened by the commotion caused by the spiritual body. Then, pleasantly surprised, he exclaimed, “You’re awake! Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Feiran…” Si Chu lifted his gaze, surveying Ye Feiran’s body. “Are you alright…?”

“I’m fine, I’m perfectly fine.”

“That’s good.” Si Chu smiled again, asking, “What about the others, are they all safe?”

Ye Feiran poured a glass of water, supporting the back of Si Chu’s neck. “Here, have some water first.”

“What about the others?” Si Chu became anxious. “Little Uncle, what about Xiao Jiali!… and that, Duan Fei…”

“Duan Fei has lost too much blood and is still unconscious, but his condition is stable, and there’s no immediate danger to his life.”

“…,” This response clearly did not reassure Si Chu. His eyes widened, and he muttered in a daze, “Why did you only answer about Duan Fei? … Is it because everyone else, they’re all dead? … Little Uncle, is he also dead? What about my brother? Where is he?”

“Little Uncle isn’t dead, he’s just… missing,” Ye Feiran set down the water glass, reluctantly saying, “When the guild rescue team arrived, only you and Xiao Jiali were lying on the raised stone platform under the cliff. There were signs of struggle and dragging at the edge of the platform. Little Uncle must have fallen off… Only the body of a sentinel test subject was found at the bottom of the cliff, but Little Uncle’s body wasn’t found. Brother Di is still insisting on searching for him… As for Xiao Jiali,”

Ye Feiran shook his head, “He was also an MP test subject. He was transformed from an ordinary person into an S-level sentinel. Every bit of spiritual power in the test subjects burns their lives away. Xiao Jiali… has exhausted all his vitality.”

Si Chu remained in a state of shock, “Did my brother and Little Uncle know about all this?”

“They knew. The Chairman knew too,” Ye Feiran lowered his gaze, “We’re worried that Little Uncle might have been taken by people from the MP.”

“They’ll experiment on him!” Si Chu exclaimed. “Isn’t the abnormal recovery rate of his spiritual pool exactly what they want?”

“The remnants of the MP within the country have all been captured, and the guild is speeding up interrogations. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported yesterday’s terrorist actions to international peace organizations, and multiple countries will soon jointly pressure and sanction the government of Soren Land,” Ye Feiran hurriedly reassured, “You have multiple gunshot wounds all over your body, just lie down and don’t get agitated.”

“Oh, Xiao Nian…”

“After getting Brother Di’s consent, Uncle and Aunt have brought him back to your house, where he’ll stay until we find Little Uncle.” Ye Feiran’s eyes flickered slightly. “You… these past twenty days… were you really staying in Little Uncle’s basement? What exactly happened?”

“I don’t know.” Si Chu frowned. “I don’t know why Little Uncle suddenly imprisoned me in his basement after the kidnapping incident at the wedding… and kept saying things like… like…”

He shamefully bit his lip, glancing at Ye Feiran and catching his concerned gaze. He quickly looked down, feeling guilty. “Saying things like he liked me, loved me the most…”

Having watched the basement surveillance videos, Ye Feiran had mentally prepared himself, although initially, even he had a look of disbelief upon seeing the footage.

“He said I was his muse, that my brother was just a substitute he couldn’t have… then later said he loved both of us and couldn’t choose, hoping that my brother and I would serve him together, enjoying the benefits together.”

Ye Feiran: “… Alright, this impotent guy thinks he’s so lively.”

“But in these twenty days… he never once touched me or even kissed me.” Si Chu said. “I’m not trying to make excuses for him, and I don’t have Stockholm syndrome. It’s just… Feiran, I feel like Little Uncle is… contradictory, illogical in his actions… Have you noticed? He’s changed so much in the past year. I even saw him smoking during our escape, very skillfully.”

“Could it be that he’s being threatened, and everything is an act, a performance… to protect you?” Ye Feiran suggested.

“An act…” Si Chu licked his lips. “When you put it that way, it does seem… to explain Little Uncle’s behavior that doesn’t make sense. But why? Why confess to me as a response to a threat?”

“… For example,” Ye Feiran quickly proposed a hypothesis, “When Little Uncle was still inexperienced, he was once a member of the MP. In recent years, realizing the madness and hopelessness of the MP, he decisively decided to turn over a new leaf. The MP, out of nostalgia, spared him, but Little Uncle wanted them to spare the people around him as well. The MP adamantly said they could only spare you and your loved one, and everyone else must be eliminated. So Little Uncle, to save your life, disguised you as his loved one.”

Si Chu suddenly understood, even extrapolating further, “Maybe the MP also planted a bug under Little Uncle’s skin, so even when it was just the two of us, he had to act… This could also explain why my brother and Little Uncle were always in spiritual link, sharing thoughts, yet my brother didn’t know Little Uncle had kidnapped me. I clearly left so many obvious clues while imprisoned, but my brother turned a blind eye… because he was always in the know! To protect me, he silently overlooked Little Uncle’s actions!”

The pieces fell into place for Si Chu, his eyes red with emotion. “They’ve been trying to protect me in their own way, and I… misunderstood them…”

“Don’t cry, you are already dehydrated…” Ye Feiran quickly lifted the water glass again, helping Si Chu up. “These are just our speculations. Maybe… maybe Little Uncle is actually the villain?”

Tears flowed down Si Chu’s cheeks into the cup. He took a big sip of warm water, then stretched his neck, tearfully shouting, “Little Uncle is not a villain!”

Ye Feiran smiled gently. “It’s great to see you so spirited…”

Setting down the water glass, he leaned down and kissed Si Chu on the forehead. When he looked up, he saw Si Chu crying with a pout. Ye Feiran’s smile deepened, and he bent down to meet Si Chu in a bittersweet kiss.

As for the Little Uncle who, in Si Chu’s view, could never be a villain…

At this very moment, he lay in a hospital bed much like Si Chu, albeit in a different hospital, with different people by his side.

On either side of his hospital bed, Hedgehog and Si Di engaged in a heated debate over the feathers of the eagle that soared through the night sky—whether they were gray with black edges or white with yellow-gray shading toward black at the tips.

According to the unanimous description from the two S-class sentinels, last night when Xiao Zhenyun was dragged off the platform by a reckless sentinel who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, Hedgehog swiftly steered with Si Di out of the mountain road. The motorcycle raced almost at a 90° angle on the vertical cliff face, battling with roaring engines and the force of gravity. Yet, even so, they couldn’t match the speed of a true free fall.

However, at this very moment, an eagle swooped down from above at lightning speed, its piercing screech echoing through the deep valley. Its powerful talons grabbed Xiao Zhenyun’s clothes, and in the next second, as the clothes were torn, it decisively caught Xiao Zhenyun’s shoulder with a claw. The sharp claws pierced into flesh. It couldn’t fly with a grown man, but it could significantly slow down Xiao Zhenyun’s fall.

Simultaneously, Si Di completed an incredibly difficult maneuver. He leapt from Hedgehog’s motorcycle pillion, swooping to embrace Xiao Zhenyun in his arms. Rolling several times down the cliff and using a slender tree to halt their fall, he deftly wedged his dagger into a crevice, securing their position completely.

While Si Di stabilized, Hedgehog’s motorcycle followed the laws of physics and plummeted off the cliff, crashing into pieces, sacrificing itself as a makeshift barrier for Xiao Zhenyun and Si Di against Newton’s coffin board. Not far away, Hedgehog, like a monkey, hung on another tree, bowed his head in mourning for his long-time companion, his motorcycle. Then he immediately said, “Don’t forget the reimbursement.”

Xiao Zhenyun, lying on the hospital bed, silently touched the bandaged tear on his shoulder, feeling somewhat lost.

The debate between Hedgehog and Si Di had reached its conclusion. Regardless of which eagle it was, they ultimately both belonged to Xiao Jiali—one was a pet nurtured by Xiao Jiali, and the other was Xiao Jiali’s spiritual form. Xiao Jiali had played an important role in saving Xiao Zhenyun’s life before his demise.

And after Si Di caught Xiao Zhenyun, the eagle disappeared completely into the mountains, never to return.

If we say it was the spiritual form, Xiao Jiali’s spiritual form had clearly already perished. If we say it was an animal, how could an animal be so intelligent?

With Xiao Jiali’s death and the eagle’s departure, this became a complete mystery.

Taking advantage of Hedgehog’s absence, Xiao Zhenyun asked Si Di, “… When is Xiao Jiali’s funeral?”

“Are you going?” Si Di helped him tidy his long hair that hung limply over his shoulders. “It might not be convenient for you to show up.”

“But I have to go.” Xiao Zhenyun sighed, “At least to lay flowers at his grave… I still couldn’t save him in the end.”

Si Di thought of something and smiled, “Xiao Nian will be furious when he sees you.”

“I don’t care.”

“… Xiao Nian has been quite upset these past few days.” Si Di said, “After coming to my house, he locked himself in his room and refused to come out… He did have feelings for Xiao Jiali, but perhaps he really couldn’t do anything…”

Xiao Zhenyun sighed again, holding the hot water with a heavy heart.

Si Di silently watched him for a moment, then leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss. “Is your body getting better?”

“It will have to wait until the end of the whole novel.”

“…I suddenly thought of a question,” Si Di raised his head. “If the proposal of the Chairman is passed at the upcoming United Nations meeting in a few days, imposing military sanctions on the Soren Land government and the MP, how will the plot where Si Chu destroys the MP play out in a few years?”

“…That’s a good question,” Xiao Zhenyun replied.

The author has something to say:

Yun: Good question, I choose to self-shark.

4D: That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?

Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ