The next day, before dawn, Xiahou Shaoxuan opened his eyes right on time, as he had done for many years. To avoid disturbing Lian Qiguang, who was still fast asleep, Xiahou Shaoxuan took his clothes to the bathroom and changed into the black military uniform he wore year-round.
Xiahou Shaoxuan returned to the bedside and crouched down, gazing at Lian Qiguang’s pale little face; it was absolutely impossible for him not to feel a pang of tenderness in his heart.
Free from the reservations he’d felt the first time, and fueled by Lian Qiguang’s passion, Xiahou Shaoxuan had completely lost control last night. He gave free rein to his long-suppressed desires, tossing and turning through countless rounds until, late into the night, Lian Qiguang finally collapsed from exhaustion. Only then did he release himself one last time, clean them both up, and finally fall asleep cradling Lian Qiguang.
Compared to their first time—with Xiahou Shaoxuan’s caution and Lian Qiguang’s excruciating pain—last night’s passionate encounter could be said to have fully satisfied both of them.
Lian Qiguang let out a soft moan, half-awake, and opened his eyes, staring blankly at Xiahou Shaoxuan beside him. He murmured softly, “What time is it?”
“It’s still early. Go back to sleep,” Xiahou Shaoxuan said softly, patting Lian Qiguang’s shoulder and tucking the blanket around him.
Lian Qiguang smacked his lips, pulled the blanket down a bit, and drifted back to sleep. Watching Lian Qiguang’s dazed expression, Xiahou Shaoxuan’s lips curved into a faint smile. He leaned over and gave Lian Qiguang a light nibble on the corner of his mouth.
“Sleep well. I’ll be back soon,” Xiahou Shaoxuan said. With that, he got up, picked up the jacket beside him, and turned to leave the room.
Perhaps he really was exhausted; Lian Qiguang slept straight through until late afternoon, when his empty stomach finally woke him up.
Lian Qiguang rubbed his eyes and climbed out of bed. The blanket slipped off his body, revealing his disheveled form—a mix of red and white that was incredibly suggestive. Lian Qiguang stared blankly at the silent room, his dazed little face clearly still half-asleep.
Lian Qiguang sat there in a daze; he didn’t know how long had passed, but his mind, which had been a jumble, slowly began to clear.
His stomach growled. Lian Qiguang pressed one hand to his stomach while reaching for the clothes beside him with the other, preparing to get up. But the moment his feet touched the floor—before he could even put any weight on them—his legs gave way, and he collapsed face-down onto the floor. A discomfort too embarrassing to mention radiated from his private parts.
Lian Qiguang pushed himself up with both hands, poked his head out from beneath the tangled blankets, and sat on the floor, dazed.
Just then, the door swung open. Xiahou Shaoxuan walked in carrying a meal, but before he could fully enter the room, he spotted Lian Qiguang sitting on the floor in a daze. Xiahou Shaoxuan paused, a look of surprise flitting across his face.
“My wife.” Xiahou Shao Xuan snapped out of it, quickly closed the door behind him, walked over to Lian Qiguang, and lifted him—blankets and all—onto the bed.
“Why are you on the floor? Did you hurt yourself?” Xiahou Shao Xuan examined Lian Qiguang from head to toe, his tone slightly anxious.
“…I’m hungry.” Lian Qiguang held out both paws, staring blankly as Xiahou Shao Xuan examined him.
“……” Xiahou Shao Xuan’s movements suddenly halted. Looking at Lian Qiguang’s dazed little face, she couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“After sleeping for so long, I knew you’d be hungry.” Xiahou Shao Xuan sat on the bed and picked up Lian Qiguang’s clothes from the side. “Put your clothes on first.”
Lian Qiguang narrowed his eyes and leaned listlessly against Xiahou Shao Xuan’s chest, letting Xiahou Shao Xuan fuss over him.
“Does it hurt?” After helping Lian Qiguang get dressed, Xiahou Shaoxuan watched him staring off into space. With a sigh of resignation, he helped him rinse his mouth, opened the lunchbox, and began feeding him with practiced ease.
“I have no strength,” Lian Qiguang said in a hollow voice, opening his mouth to bite down on the spoon Xiahou Shaoxuan held out to him. “It’s all your fault!”
“But you’re the one who tempted me,” Xiahou Shaoxuan leaned in and whispered. “Did my wife not feel comfortable last night?”
“……” Lian Qiguang chewed the rice in his mouth, tilted his head, and thought for a moment. “It was actually pretty comfortable.”
Xiahou Shao Xuan shook his head in exasperation. “Open your mouth.”
“When am I going back?” Realizing this, Lian Qiguang looked up at Xiahou Shao Xuan.
“My dear, do you really want to leave me that badly?” Xiahou Shaoxuan reached out and pinched Lian Qiguang’s cheek, sounding a bit displeased. “You ungrateful little rascal.”
“School’s starting.” Lian Qiguang opened his optical computer and showed Xiahou Shaoxuan the date displayed on the screen. “It’ll take several days by spaceship, and I’ll be late.”
“Stay with me. I can teach you more than the academy ever could.”
“……” Lian Qiguang remained silent, simply tilting his head back and staring expressionlessly at Xiahou Shao Xuan.
Xiahou Shao Xuan sighed in resignation and ruffled Lian Qiguang’s hair. “The spaceship leaves the day after tomorrow. I’ll come see you off then.”
“I have a gift for you before I leave.” Lian Qiguang took the lunchbox from Xiahou Shaoxuan’s hand and began shoveling food into his mouth.
“You sure do have a lot of gifts.” Xiahou Shaoxuan chuckled. “By the way, about going to Zone 1—I’ll contact Grandpa once you’re back on Blue Star, so don’t worry too much about it.”
“I’m Lord Darklight. Genealogically speaking, I’m practically his ancient ancestor. This is an order! You’re not allowed to refuse.” Lian Qiguang pouted, his face expressionless.
Xiahou Shaoxuan rolled his eyes. “Honey, if you’re my grandfather’s ancient ancestor, then what am I to you?”
“……” Lian Qiguang
“If he doesn’t let me go, I’ll just blow up the museum.” He buried his head in his rice, awkwardly changing the subject.
“Nonsense.” Seeing through Lian Qiguang’s poor acting, Xiahou Shaoxuan didn’t call him out on it, but tapped his forehead with a finger. Still, thinking about the generational hierarchy, Xiahou Shaoxuan felt a bit annoyed.
“That’s An Guang’s museum. I am An Guang—that’s my home. Is it wrong for me to blow up my own home?” He lifted his head, his face a blank mask as he stared straight at Xiahou Shao Xuan.
“You’re full of twisted logic.” Xiahou Shao Xuan felt utterly exasperated. “Hurry up and finish your meal.”
After finishing dinner with Lian Qiguang, Xiahou Shaoxuan helped him get dressed and took the dirty clothes he’d taken off to the bathroom. But when he came back out, Lian Qiguang was sitting barefoot on a chair, and the two-meter-wide double bed had vanished without a trace.
“Honey.” Xiahou Shao Xuan walked over to Lian Qiguang and leaned down over his head, her tone laced with a hint of menace. In the blink of an eye, he’d gone and pulled another one of his stunts.
“Where’s the bed?”
“It’s gone.” Lian Qiguang tilted his head back, staring blankly at Xiahou Shao Xuan through the hair hanging over his eyes.
“Where did it go?”
“I threw it away.” His expression was completely serious, showing no sign of guilt whatsoever.
Threw it away… Xiahou Shao Xuan felt a wave of exasperation.
“Honey, you threw the bed away. Where are we going to sleep tonight?”
“I told you I’d give you a present.” ” Lian Qiguang pursed the corners of his lips and waved his small hand. Instantly, a bed about two meters long appeared by the previously empty window. Crystal-clear and translucent, it was surrounded by a faint glow. Rich, pure energy instantly filled every corner of the room, invigorating everyone present and making them feel as though all their fatigue had vanished, leaving them with an extraordinary sense of comfort.
“What is this…?” Xiahou Shao Xuan was momentarily taken aback.
“This is the jade I told you about that time.” Lian Qiguang held out both hands. Xiahou Shao Xuan, understanding, stepped forward to embrace him and sat down on the jade bed. Immediately, a wave of coolness enveloped them, and the rich energy instantly replenished the supernatural power he had expended.
“I extracted those jade pieces from the raw stone, fused them together, and made you a bed.” Lian Qiguang lay down on the bed and rubbed himself against it contentedly. The interplay of the beauty’s skin and the white jade left Xiahou Shaoxuan momentarily spellbound.
“Look inside,” Lian Qiguang pulled Xiahou Shaoxuan closer and pointed at the jade bed. Xiahou Shaoxuan leaned in for a closer look and discovered that the jade bed was hollow, with blue lake water rippling within.
“Jade itself contains an extremely pure form of power. I infused the jade bed with lake water to make that power even more concentrated. Furthermore, I submerged the bed in the lake water and used my wood-elemental ability to transform the power within the water into fine threads, which gradually fused with the jade bed. Sleeping on this bed every night will not only make your cultivation twice as effective with half the effort, but it will also quickly replenish the elemental energy you expend each day.”
“My wife…”
“I have a spatial pocket, and there’s still plenty of lake water left inside it. ”As if not wanting Xiahou Shao Xuan to refuse, a water cup suddenly appeared in Lian Qiguang’s hand. She sat cross-legged on the bed, sipping the lake water from the cup.
“Wife, actually, what I wanted to say is that I’ve prepared a gift for you, too.” Xiahou Shao Xuan embraced Lian Qiguang and handed her a spatial artifact.
“I already have a spatial device; I don’t need it,” Lian Qiguang said flatly, looking at the spatial device in Xiahou Shaoxuan’s hand.
“Take a look inside,” Xiahou Shaoxuan whispered as he placed the spatial device into Lian Qiguang’s hand.
A look of confusion flashed across Lian Qiguang’s eyes, but he still took the spatial device from Xiahou Shaoxuan and used his psychic ability to inspect its contents. His eyes immediately widened.
Resting quietly inside the spatial device was a majestic black-and-red aircraft. Though called an “aircraft,” Lian Qiguang felt it looked more like a combat spacecraft—after all, he had never seen anything like it before. Inside the craft were various firearms, as well as some spaceship models that Lian Qiguang particularly liked.
“What is this…”
“Do you like it?” Xiahou Shaoxuan asked in a deep voice.
“Is this a flying craft?” Lian Qiguang asked, puzzled.
“It’s a military-grade flying craft. I had it modified to resemble a combat spaceship, so it’s equipped with both offensive and defensive capabilities.”
“…Where did you steal this from?” After a long silence, Lian Qiguang couldn’t help but ask.
“……” Xiahou Shaoxuan
“Honey, is that really how you see me?” Looking at Lian Qiguang’s innocent little face, Xiahou Shaoxuan gritted his teeth slightly.
“……” Well, yes—but Lian Qiguang didn’t dare say it out loud.
“This craft is for my personal use; I had An Yi help me modify it. The weapons inside are ones I’ve collected myself over the years. Take these for your own protection.”
“I don’t want it.” Lian Qiguang pushed the spatial craft back toward Xiahou Shao Xuan with a blank expression. “I don’t know how to drive.”
In the decades since the apocalypse, he hadn’t even learned to ride a bicycle.
“You little dummy.” Xiahou Shaoxuan pinched Lian Qiguang’s cheek and couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s voice-controlled. You just have to say where you want to go, and it’ll automatically search for the route and take you there.”
“I want it.” Lian Qiguang’s eyes lit up as he snatched the spatial device and clutched it tightly, afraid that Xiahou Shaoxuan might change her mind.
With this, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost anymore.
“There’s a spaceship drill at the base today. Do you want to go watch?” Xiahou Shaoxuan stood up, glanced at the time, and asked.
“Sure.” Lian Qiguang nodded with a blank expression, but his eyes sparkled even brighter.
“Put on your coat. I’ll carry you there.” Looking at his precious wife, Xiahou Shaoxuan’s heart melted completely.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Shaoxuan.”
“Mm?”
“Spaceships are so cool.”
“Mm.”
“Do you have a spaceship?”
“Mm.”
“Then can you give me one to play with?”
“……” Xiahou Shaoxuan
“…Honey, I really can’t just say ‘mhm’ to that.”
Amid the envious, jealous, and resentful curses of the single men at the base, the two of them gushed over each other, racking up hate points. But all good things must come to an end; no matter how reluctant they were, the day of parting would inevitably arrive.
Xiahou Shao Xuan helped Lian Qiguang change into his military academy uniform. With Yuan Ling behind the wheel, he carried the still-drowsy Lian Qiguang to the spaceship area.
“Honey, be extra careful once you get back,” Xiahou Shao Xuan instructed, pulling the button from his military uniform out of Lian Qiguang’s mouth.
“Mm-hmm.” Lian Qiguang nodded absently, curling up in Xiahou Shaoxuan’s arms and drifting off again.
“Listen carefully,” Xiahou Shaoxuan said sternly, straightening Lian Qiguang up. “Stay away from him. If anything happens, tell me immediately.”
“Okay.” His eyes wandered, then drifted to the rank insignia on Xiahou Shaoxuan’s military uniform.
“I’ll be back to see you soon. Wait for me.”
“Mm-hmm.” He nodded half-heartedly, his eyes fixed on the tiny, glittering star without blinking.
Xiahou Shao Xuan furrowed his brow slightly. Following Lian Qiguang’s gaze, he looked down and saw the gleaming gold rank insignia on his own shoulder.
“Want it?” Xiahou Shao Xuan ran his finger over the insignia on his shoulder and raised an eyebrow.
“Mm-hmm.” He nodded, clearly with a bit more force than usual.
“What do you want it for?”
“Just to scare people.” He thought for a moment, then added, “It can’t be replicated—it’s really beautiful.”
“That’s illegal. Do you want to go to prison?” Xiahou Shao Xuan chuckled. Scare people? He could actually come up with something like that. But he still gave it a firm tug, removed the general’s insignia, and handed it to Lian Qiguang.
“For me?” Lian Qiguang tilted his head.
Xiahou Shaoxuan smiled without speaking, pinning the general’s insignia to Lian Qiguang’s collar. “Go scare people with it. This is my imperial sword.”
Xiahou Shaoxuan had gone out of his way to look up the meaning of those four characters. If that sword was Lian Qiguang’s imperial sword, then his own imperial sword was probably nothing more than this little golden insignia.
“But what about you?” Lian Qiguang ran his fingers over the insignia on his collar, refusing to let go.
“Just say you lost it. It’s no big deal,” Xiahou Shao Xuan said casually as he straightened Lian Qiguang’s collar. “On the Starless Realm, we don’t have any of Blue Star’s lousy rules.”
Yuan Ling, sitting in the front row, twitched the corner of his mouth. ‘Boss, the Old Marshal is going to cry.’
“Does it look good?” Lian Qiguang tilted his head back and pointed at his rank insignia.
“It looks good.”
“Do I look like a general?” Lian Qiguang said, saluting Xiahou Shaoxuan.
“You do. You look just like one.” Xiahou Shaoxuan chuckled helplessly.
Yuan Ling, standing ahead, couldn’t help but curve her lips either, her eyes brimming with amusement.
“It’s no big deal.” Sensing Xiahou Shaoxuan’s half-hearted response, Lian Qiguang removed the rank insignia and tucked it into his pocket. “I may not have been a general back then, but I held the authority of a marshal.”
“Mm-hmm, you’re my field marshal.” Xiahou Shao Xuan patted Lian Qiguang’s head reassuringly, and in the same breath, shot Yuan Ling a cold glare that froze her confusion in its tracks.
“……” Yuan Ling
Pfft! Big deal. If you’re so tough, why don’t you try acting all high and mighty in front of my wife? You old rogue!!
The craft quickly reached the spot where Lian Qiguang had first arrived. By then, the spaceship had already arrived and was hovering in midair. At a glance, it exuded an imposing presence, casting a heavy, oppressive aura.
“I’m leaving.” Lian Qiguang turned around and looked at Xiahou Shaoxuan with a blank expression.
“Don’t shut down the computer—stay in touch.” Xiahou Shao Xuan bent down to give Lian Qiguang a hug, her heart heavy with reluctance.
“If you get scared, contact me. I’ll be there to talk to you,” Lian Qiguang said earnestly, patting Xiahou Shao Xuan’s back comfortingly.
“……” Xiahou Shao Xuan
“Yuan Ling!” Letting go of Lian Qiguang, Xiahou Shaoxuan turned to Yuan Ling standing nearby. “I’m leaving this to you. Don’t let anything go wrong.”
“Yes, sir! I guarantee I’ll complete the mission!” Yuan Ling stood at attention and saluted solemnly.
“Goodbye!” Lian Qiguang waved goodbye to Xiahou Shaoxuan and followed Yuan Ling to the base of the spaceship’s metal ladder.
“When I grow up, we’ll have meatballs!!!” Standing on the metal ladder as it slowly rose, Lian Qiguang suddenly shouted.
“He really is a total rascal!!” Yuan Ling silently grumbled to herself.
Watching Lian Qiguang’s figure gradually disappear, Xiahou Shaoxuan suddenly felt a twinge of hesitation—she wondered if it was still too late to go after him now.
The metal ladder retracted into the spaceship, which slowly lifted off the ground and soared into the sky. A fierce wind whipped up a cloud of yellow dust, stinging their skin. Xiahou Shao Xuan narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the spacecraft as it grew smaller and smaller, a sense of emptiness and loss slowly creeping into her heart.
“Sis-in-law, are you… okay?” Yuan Ling asked tentatively, looking at Lian Qiguang, who was curled up in the corner of the bed.
“……” Lian Qiguang kept her head buried in her hands, her small face tense. She muttered under her breath and waved at Yuan Ling, signaling him to leave.
“Sister-in-law, why don’t you take another dose of medicine?” Seeing how miserable Lian Qiguang was, Yuan Ling grew worried. He gritted his teeth and handed her the medicine he’d been holding all along.
“No, it makes me sick,” Lian Qiguang said hoarsely, clenching his teeth as he fought the churning in his stomach. “Get out.”
“Well then, Sister-in-law, get some rest. You’ll feel better once you fall asleep.” Seeing that Lian Qiguang really didn’t want to talk, Yuan Ling could only offer that much advice before stepping out of the room.
Lian Qiguang tossed and turned in bed, feeling truly miserable. Finally, she poked her head out from under the covers, reached out, and pressed the button by the bed to open the spaceship’s window. Gazing at the vast cosmic galaxies outside, she couldn’t help but recall how Xiahou Shao Xuan had silently kept her company on the optical computer back when they first set out.
Lian Qiguang lay in bed, wrapping himself up in the covers like a bundle with only his head peeking out, quietly gazing outside the spacecraft.
Thinking that they would reach Blue Star before long, Lian Qiguang’s mind drifted back to the man in black and the mysterious Qiu Limò.
He had kept the truth about Chou Limuo from Xiahou Shao Xuan. He knew that if Xiahou Shao Xuan learned of this “dangerous” presence, she would certainly have him eliminated—even if it meant making him angry.
The reason he kept Chou Limuo’s existence a secret was, first, because he needed to use Chou Limuo to lure the Young Prince out; as long as Chou Limuo remained by his side, the Young Prince would surely return to see him.
Second was…
Lian Qiguang lowered his eyelids and pursed his lips.
Having spent decades together in the post-apocalyptic world, the two had relied on each other in the darkness—they had only each other. To say he felt not a shred of pity for the Young Prince would be impossible.
If he were truly asked to kill the Young Prince, perhaps he really wouldn’t be able to bring himself to do it.
He was going to the museum in Zone 1 to view An Guang’s remains and confirm the suspicion in his heart—that was only part of it.
Secondly, no one could truly possess immortality; he needed to unravel this mystery and, moreover, uncover the Young Prince’s secret and find a way to kill him.
He couldn’t bring himself to truly kill the Young Prince—but only if the Young Prince still harbored even a shred of the bond between master and disciple toward him. If the Young Prince’s true target was him, he needed the ability to defend himself.
“Beep! Beep!” The beep of a message on his handheld lightbrain interrupted Lian Qiguang’s train of thought. Lian Qiguang looked down at the lightbrain’s display, and his face, which had grown somewhat cold and hard, slowly softened.
“Shao Xuan.” Lian Qiguang opened the lightbrain, and Xiahou Shao Xuan appeared on the virtual screen.
“Still feeling that bad?” Xiahou Shao Xuan furrowed his brow slightly as he looked at Lian Qiguang’s pale face.
“Mm.” Lian Qiguang nodded gloomily.
“Honey, next time you come visit, I’ll teach you how to pilot a spaceship. Then you can fly home on your own.” Xiahou Shao Xuan waved his hand imperiously.
“Buy me a spaceship,” Lian Qiguang said earnestly.
“Once you graduate and come to Buluo Star, after you learn how to fly a spaceship, I’ll give you your very own one.”
“I want the one with the big cannon.” Lian Qiguang was still thinking about that red spaceship with the big cannon from the last time the mutants rioted en masse.
“Alright, I’ll save it for you.”
“Shao Xuan,” Lian Qiguang lowered his eyelids and said quietly. “Do you trust your intuition?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know why, but I just feel uneasy—like something’s about to happen.” Lian Qiguang pressed his hand lightly against his chest, trying to quell the inexplicable anxiety.
“Honey, don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
“If something really bad were to happen, would you still be as kind to me as you are now?” Lian Qiguang looked up, gazing directly into Xiahou Shao Xuan’s eyes.
“Honey, I’ve told you before: for the rest of our lives, on this path, we’ll be together.”
“……” Lian Qiguang
“Get some sleep. We’ve still got a few days’ journey ahead of us. Get some rest.”
“…Mm-hmm.”
“I’ll keep watching over you.”
“Okay.”