“You two know each other as well?”
Seeing the two staring at each other for a long time without speaking, Old Yuan stepped between them and asked suspiciously.
“Ah? We’re not familiar.”
Yuan Ling came back to his senses and gave a bitter smile.
They were indeed not familiar, but the impression was too deep. The last time they fought, he had taken nearly half a month to recover.
“I beat him up.”
Lian Qiguang calmly withdrew his gaze and continued looking at the seeds.
“What happened?”
Old Yuan narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze toward Yuan Ling.
“Nothing. It was just a misunderstanding.”
Yuan Ling shook his head and changed the topic.
“Grandpa, why did you call me here?”
“Can’t I call you here if there’s nothing wrong? You finally came back after so long, and you still can’t come see me?”
Old Yuan glared, unable to hide his anger.
“It’s not like that, Grandpa.”
Yuan Ling sighed helplessly.
“I have a mission.”
“What mission?”
“Can’t say.”
“Brat! Are you fooling me again?!”
“How could I!”
Yuan Ling dodged the slap Old Yuan swung at him and laughed.
“You know the military rules, Grandpa.”
“Hmph! I don’t care what rules you have.”
Old Yuan cursed, but he did not continue questioning.
“Ku Mu, look around first. If you find anything you like, have Little Bug pack it up for you.”
Old Yuan turned around and gestured toward Chong Jing before walking into the back room.
“You’re surnamed Yuan?”
Lian Xiaozhu tilted her head and looked curiously at Lian Kai.
“That’s right! My surname is Yuan. Yuan Liankai!”
Lian Kai raised his chin proudly.
“Hello.”
Yuan Ling walked to Lian Qiguang’s side and slightly nodded.
However, Lian Qiguang ignored his greeting completely and continued focusing on the seeds.
“About what happened that day, I’m truly sorry. I didn’t expect…”
“I’ve chosen.”
Lian Qiguang ignored Yuan Ling, took the shopping device, and turned toward Chong Jing.
Looking at Lian Qiguang’s straight back, Yuan Ling rubbed his nose and could not help but smile bitterly.
It seemed he really had offended this person badly.
But he had also been beaten up, and that little girl was fine. Why was he still angry?
Yuan Ling would never know that what happened to Lian Xiaozhu that time was not simply ordinary unconsciousness. She had truly been close to death.
If Lian Qiguang had not arrived in time, perhaps she really would have…
But even so, Lian Qiguang had suffered severe internal injuries because of it.
Because of those injuries, when he encountered the attack afterward, he had been unable to protect himself and nearly lost his life.
“Not staying a little longer? Keep me company and chat for a while?”
After handing the packaged seeds to Lian Qiguang, Old Yuan’s voice carried a hint of regret.
He still had many things he did not understand about that rose plant and wanted Lian Qiguang to explain.
“No. I will be leaving Blue Star in the next two days.”
“Hm? Going traveling? By calculation, you should be on vacation now.”
“Mm.”
Lian Qiguang nodded.
“Since that’s the case, I won’t keep you. Be careful on your journey.”
Lian Qiguang put the seeds into his spatial storage, nodded toward Old Yuan, and left the seed shop with Lian Xiaozhu.
“Grandpa.”
After Lian Qiguang’s figure disappeared from the shop entrance, Yuan Ling approached and asked curiously.
“What kind of person is he?”
“A friend. A rather mysterious child.”
Old Yuan withdrew his gaze and glanced at Yuan Ling.
“Just now he said he beat you up. What did that mean?”
“This…”
Yuan Ling clicked his tongue awkwardly.
“Grandpa! That person is bad! He beat up Big Brother!”
Seeing Yuan Ling stay silent, Lian Kai could not hold back and stepped forward angrily.
“Do you remember last time Big Brother came back injured?”
“Wasn’t it because he encountered defectors?”
“No! He did it!!”
“Xiao Kai!”
Yuan Ling shouted in a low voice.
“Yuan Ling, what happened?!”
Old Yuan frowned, his gaze sharp.
“Explain clearly!”
Seeing Old Yuan like this, Yuan Ling sighed helplessly. Knowing he could not avoid it this time, he could only tell everything.
“Grandpa, it’s like this…”
It took around ten minutes for Yuan Ling to explain the entire matter from beginning to end.
Seeing Old Yuan’s expression becoming increasingly unpleasant, Yuan Ling felt something was wrong and slowly stepped backward.
“You brat!!”
With an angry roar, Old Yuan kicked toward Yuan Ling.
“You’ve become capable, haven’t you?! A grown man actually bullied a minor! Do you know this is enough to send you to prison?!”
“Grandpa, I didn’t expect it to turn out like this!”
While dodging Old Yuan’s attacks, Yuan Ling explained.
“I really didn’t mean it!”
“Your ‘didn’t mean it’ my foot!”
Old Yuan grabbed a cup and threw it over, then turned his furious gaze toward Lian Kai.
“And you! You’re young but you don’t learn anything good! Bullying someone younger and weaker—you learned that perfectly!”
“She always scared me!”
Lian Kai complained.
“I only wanted Big Brother to teach that flower a lesson. Who knew she would be so weak?”
“You still dare talk back?!”
“Grandpa!”
Yuan Ling stepped forward and grabbed Old Yuan’s raised hand, frowning.
“Exactly who is that boy? Why are you so angry?”
“Hmph!”
Old Yuan shook his hand away angrily, glared at the two, then turned and sat beside the table.
“I don’t know! His name is Ku Mu. He is still a student. He has extraordinary knowledge of ancient plants. That is all I know about him.”
“Why not investigate him?”
“Can you?”
Old Yuan scoffed.
“He has a diamond-level star card.”
“What?!”
Yuan Ling’s eyes widened instantly, his face filled with shock.
“Think about it. Across the entire Blue Star, how many people possess a diamond-level star card?”
“……”
Yuan Ling.
“Right.”
Old Yuan lifted his teacup, took a small sip, and spoke seriously.
“What exactly is your business this time?”
“Grandpa, I…”
“Don’t give me any nonsense about rules. Don’t I know you?”
Old Yuan snorted.
“You refused to say it just now because you were guarding against Ku Mu, right? Quickly tell me the truth.”
“Cough!”
Yuan Ling coughed awkwardly, walked over, sat beside Old Yuan, and lowered his voice.
“I was ordered by Boss personally. I came here to hide things from others. Boss said if this matter became known, I would be the first one he kills and feeds to the mutants.”
“So mysterious? Could it be mutants have infiltrated the Third District?”
“It’s even more shocking than that.”
“Hmm?”
Old Yuan slightly raised his eyebrow and finally gave Yuan Ling a proper look.
Yuan Ling glanced around, coughed, and motioned for Old Yuan to come closer.
“Boss said he wants me to bring sister-in-law to Bu Luo Star for vacation.”
“Pfft!”
A mouthful of tea sprayed out.
Fortunately, Yuan Ling had been prepared and dodged in time. Otherwise, his entire face would have been covered.
“Sister-in-law? You mean Xiahou Shaoxuan’s civilian wife from the Third District?”
Old Yuan asked in surprise.
“Mm.”
Yuan Ling nodded.
“I heard long ago that Xiahou Shaoxuan became engaged to a civilian from the Third District. So it wasn’t fake?”
Old Yuan stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“But wasn’t it said that this civilian’s father once saved Xiahou Shaoxuan’s father’s life? That was why Marshal Xiahou agreed to the marriage after that man died. For Xiahou Shaoxuan to agree was already difficult enough. With his personality, how could he possibly pretend to be affectionate with him in front of outsiders?”
“The people who returned with Boss last time were An Yi, Xuan Lang, and Zhong Mu. They were the only ones who knew the truth, but they all kept silent about what happened that time.”
“No matter how much we threatened or bribed them, they were determined not to say a word.”
“Tsk. Now this is interesting.”
“This time I can’t stay home long. After I pick up sister-in-law the day after tomorrow, I have to return to Bu Luo Star.”
“That rushed?”
“Nothing can be done. Boss is eager to see his wife.”
“By the way, what was Xiahou Shaoxuan’s civilian wife’s name again?”
“Lian Qiguang.”
…………
“Does it hurt?”
After returning home, Lian Qiguang looked at Lian Xiaozhu curled up on the sofa.
Her face was pale, and her body was curled tightly from unbearable pain.
His brows slightly furrowed.
“I’m fine, Second Brother.”
Lian Xiaozhu raised her palm-sized face and forced out a smile.
“I’m used to it. Just endure for a while, it’ll pass soon.”
“……”
“Second Brother, don’t frown. It doesn’t look good.”
Lian Xiaozhu pouted.
But the sudden pain rushing through her body caused her to let out a muffled groan and curl up.
“Second Brother, I… I still prefer seeing you when you’re fierce.”
Looking at Lian Xiaozhu, who was clearly suffering yet still forcing herself to smile, Lian Qiguang felt a tightness in his chest.
He wanted to pick up Qian Ming and open her head to see what exactly was inside.
If it hurts, then say it hurts.
That smile looked terrible.
Lian Qiguang pressed his lips together.
He stepped forward and crouched down in front of the sofa.
One hand slowly covered Lian Xiaozhu’s head.
A faint green glow rotated in his palm and slowly merged into Lian Xiaozhu’s body.
“Second Brother…”
“Shut up. Properly receive this power.”
“Mm…”
Lian Xiaozhu closed her eyes.
The green light entered her body through her head and slowly fused with her flesh and blood.
The unbearable pain gradually faded away, replaced by a gentle warmth.
Her mind slowly became hazy.
Lian Xiaozhu’s consciousness began disappearing little by little, finally falling into darkness.
Looking at Lian Xiaozhu, who had fallen unconscious, Lian Qiguang closed his eyes and eased the dizziness in his mind before slowly standing up.
He gestured toward 009-A, who had been standing behind him the entire time.
“Take her back to her room to rest.”
After leaving those words behind, Lian Qiguang turned and went upstairs.
After returning to his room, Lian Qiguang’s body swayed.
He weakly leaned against the door.
After calming the heaviness and nausea in his chest, he opened his eyes.
He expressionlessly swept his gaze around the room, locked the door behind him, and with a flash of his figure, entered his spatial world.
Inside the space, Lian Qiguang stood on top of a tree, expressionlessly watching the lake water surrounded by blue light.
Although he had already confirmed that the lake water would not be fatal, Lian Qiguang still could not guarantee that other problems would not appear.
Because of this, he did not dare give it directly to Lian Xiaozhu.
Lian Qiguang took out half a bowl of lake water.
Looking at the blue liquid inside, he remained silent for a long time before diluting it to one-tenth.
Then he drank it all in one gulp.
Looking at the empty bowl, Lian Qiguang turned around and jumped down from the branch.
He found a slightly open area, lay down on the ground, slowly closed his eyes, and calmly waited for the power of the lake water to take effect.