Chapter 52

Pei Rui strode forward a few steps. With just a casual glance, he could tell what had happened—such incidents were common enough in the army—but he hadn’t expected it to involve Jing Chi this time.

Seeing Jing Chi’s sneaky, guilty expression, Pei Rui guessed the insect was hurt. The thought made the man’s face darken instantly.

The general’s furrowed brow, icy expression, and suffocating aura sent the military females—who had been watching the spectacle—scattering in an instant. In the end, only Jing Chi, Aokasi, and Yalman remained.

Jing Chi stood awkwardly to the side, gazing at the sky and the ground, but never at Pei Rui.

Meanwhile, Yalman quickly helped Aokasi to his feet.

“Aokasi, is this how I taught you? Starting fights with comrades during a mission?” Yalman’s gaze drifted lightly over the military female, but his tone was utterly cold.

Aokasi, who had just stood up, stiffened. He lowered his head sheepishly and muttered without much conviction, “Sorry, General.”

“Write a three-thousand-word self-reflection. Confined to quarters for three days. Do it again, and you’re off my team.”

Pei Rui announced Aokasi’s punishment with a blank expression.

It wasn’t a harsh penalty on its own, but that final remark drained the color from the military female’s face.

His lips moved, but no words came out.

When it came to Jing Chi, Pei Rui merely gave him a glance before ordering flatly, “Come with me.”

With that, he turned and left.

The difference in treatment was stark.

Jing Chi hurried after him without a second thought.

That left only Aokasi and Yalman behind.

“Why? I’m the one writing a reflection and stuck in confinement, while he gets off scot-free? The general even said that to him.” Aokasi fumed, his face twisted with resentment.

Yalman frowned at his words. “Aokasi, you were the impulsive one today.”

His friend’s response left Aokasi incredulous. “Yalman, even you think I was wrong?”

Before Yalman could say more, Aokasi shook off his hand and stormed away.

Yalman sighed helplessly. He knew that temperament would get the military female killed someday.

But in the end, he had no right to intervene.

Meanwhile, Jing Chi followed Pei Rui back to the camp tent.

The military females who had been discussing matters with Pei Rui earlier had already left, leaving the space empty except for the two insects.

Jing Chi spoke first with an apology. “I was wrong. Sorry.”

He knew Pei Rui had only been holding back earlier.

Pei Rui was angry. He had agreed to bring Jing Chi along only after assurances that he wouldn’t get hurt.

And yet, in no time at all, Jing Chi had come back with injuries—inflicted by one of his own subordinates, no less.

“Hand.” Pei Rui ordered, looking at Jing Chi.

Jing Chi promptly extended his uninjured hand. But when he met the military female’s cool gaze, he switched it out for the injured one.

“It’s really nothing.”

Pei Rui grew even angrier at the young man’s nonchalant attitude, but he couldn’t show it, lest he scare Jing Chi.

The spots of blood on the arm told him that, with a military female’s healing ability, the wound would close up in no time.

Even so, Pei Rui couldn’t help closing his eyes briefly, reining in the urge to scold Jing Chi. In the end, he simply stood and headed for the tent flap.

Before stepping out, he paused without turning back. “Don’t go anywhere today. I’ll have someone send supplies over later.”

He left without waiting for a reply.

Jing Chi let out a soft sigh and said to the system, “He’s mad, right? He must be mad.”

The system stayed silent.

Jing Chi sat quietly for a while. Then a faint pain crept up his arm. Earlier, with his mind elsewhere, he hadn’t noticed it much, but now the ache spread steadily.

He frowned and took off his shirt.

He had to admit, a military female’s claws in insect form were razor-sharp. Even through clothing, they had left a gash about ten centimeters long.

The bloodstains hadn’t been obvious before with the shirt covering it, but now exposed, Jing Chi realized it was somewhat serious—for a male insect like him, at least.

Military females could heal a wound like that in half a day, but for him, it would take at least three.

Moreover, due to the bleeding, a faint scent of pheromones permeated the air. It hadn’t been noticeable before, but as Jing Chi’s wound remained exposed to the air for longer, the aroma grew increasingly pronounced.

At that moment, a female insect’s voice called from outside. “Jing Chi, the General asked me to bring you something.”

Jing Chi hurriedly replied, “Just leave it at the door.”

If another insect caught a whiff of this potent pheromone scent, he would be in deep trouble.

The insect outside raised no questions and departed after setting the items down.

Only after the insect had gone did Jing Chi lift the curtain and swiftly retrieve the package.

Atop it lay a hemostatic agent and gauze, along with his daily ration of nutrient liquid.

Jing Chi carried the supplies to the small bed, certain that no one else would visit that day.

With a sigh, he first downed the hemostatic agent, then roughly wrapped the gauze around his wound.

After all, he figured it was nothing serious.

By the time Pei Rui returned that night, Jing Chi was already asleep.

The camp tent wasn’t pitch black; a small lamp glowed softly by the bedside.

The female insect treaded lightly as he entered, his gaze falling on Jing Chi, who slumbered soundly on the narrow bed.

He sat nearby, studying the youth’s peaceful sleeping profile.

Utterly unguarded, resting so serenely.

After a long moment, a trace of helplessness flickered in Pei Rui’s dark eyes, followed by a soft sigh.

He truly had no idea what to do with this insect.

His fingertip brushed ever so gently against Jing Chi’s cheek.

Jing Chi frowned in his sleep, sensing an itch, and swatted absently at his face.

The motion tugged at his unhealed wound. He drew in a sharp breath of pain and woke.

Blinking open his eyes, he found himself face-to-face with Pei Rui’s handsome features.

He blinked again, murmuring subconsciously, “Am I seeing things?”

Pei Rui’s brow furrowed as he fixated on the youth’s haphazard bandage.

Ignoring the words, he seized Jing Chi’s wrist and slowly peeled away the gauze.

Jing Chi had wrapped it so carelessly that it had adhered to the raw flesh, and removing it now left a gruesome, bloodied mess.

Jing Chi felt the grip on his wrist tighten.

He winced, then met Pei Rui’s eyes—deep and fathomless as ink—and promptly fell silent.

Jing Chi knew Pei Rui was genuinely furious this time.

A dark aura seemed to emanate from the female insect, the very mark of his rage.

Yet the female insect said nothing. He simply reapplied the medicine to Jing Chi’s wound and rebound it with careful precision, his touch far gentler and more expert than Jing Chi’s own clumsy effort.

Throughout the process, neither insect spoke a word, leaving Jing Chi increasingly on edge.

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. It was my mistake,” Jing Chi said, clutching Pei Rui’s clothing with his good hand. He looked up, lips pressed together in a pitiful plea.

He hoped to melt Pei Rui’s resolve, but this time, his ploy fell flat.

The female insect’s lashes lowered, avoiding Jing Chi’s gaze as he gently pried away the hand. In a voice devoid of inflection, he said, “It’s not your mistake. It’s mine. I never should have brought you here.”

Pei Rui scarcely knew how he had kept his composure while tending to the bandage. All he knew was that the sight of the youth’s wound ignited a fury within him—not directed at Jing Chi, but at himself.

He raged at his own selfish impulse that had dragged Jing Chi into this place.

He seethed at his habitual negligence toward the youth, which had allowed the injury to occur.

Above all, he loathed his daytime self for abandoning Jing Chi in a fit of pique, delaying proper care for the wound.

Yet amid the anger, a seed of doubt took root in Pei Rui’s mind.

A typical female insect’s wound like this would have healed within half a day, yet Jing Chi’s had not only failed to mend—it had worsened.

No female insect should possess such a constitution.

Moreover, after departing earlier, Pei Rui had questioned the other military females who had been present.

Jing Chi’s injury stemmed from Aokasi undergoing insect transformation, while Jing Chi had chosen not to.

He had won in the end, to be sure, but it begged the question: why forgo insect transformation and risk injury?

Setting aside the notion that Jing Chi genuinely believed his strength sufficient, could there be another explanation—that Jing Chi simply could not perform insect transformation?

And during the rebandaging, a subtle pheromone scent had wafted around Jing Chi. Pei Rui had distinctly felt his own mental power settle.

Could it be… that Jing Chi was actually a male insect?

Pei Rui was startled by his own suspicion.

But once the thought had taken root in his mind, various subtle clues that he had overlooked before suddenly became crystal clear.

His doubts grew heavier by the second.

After all, only a male insect’s pheromones could have that effect, and it provided the perfect explanation for all the signs he’d noticed earlier.

Yet Pei Rui chose not to confront Jing Chi directly.

For one thing, they were in the middle of a military camp, and raising the issue now would be far from discreet.

For another, it was only a suspicion. He couldn’t very well explain why a male insect like Jing Chi would have an insect mark on the back of his neck—something he’d seen with his own eyes.

Jing Chi had no idea that his cover was about to be blown.

His mind was entirely occupied with how to placate Pei Rui and keep him from staying mad.

But before he could come up with anything, Pei Rui stood up. The female insect looked down at him from on high.

Those beautiful eyes held a complex emotion that Jing Chi couldn’t quite read. Then he heard Pei Rui say,

“You’re not to leave this place for the next few days. I’ll come by tomorrow to change your bandages.”

Without giving Jing Chi a chance to respond, the female insect turned and strode away.

Jing Chi’s half-opened mouth snapped shut.

So, was he under house arrest now?

In the days that followed, Pei Rui grew increasingly busy. Their main mission here was to deal with the mutant energy beasts, after all.

Even so, no matter how packed his schedule, he never missed a bandage change for Jing Chi.

The only downside was that the guy was a master at the cold shoulder. Beyond the bare necessities, he didn’t utter a single extra word.

A week passed, and Jing Chi’s wound finally healed.

Had he not botched the initial bandaging himself, it would have closed up much sooner.

As usual, Jing Chi waited for Pei Rui, eager to share the good news and hopefully end the silent treatment.

But Pei Rui never showed. Instead, a different military female arrived to deliver his supplies.

Jing Chi grabbed the military female by the collar and demanded, “Where’s the general?”

The military female had witnessed Jing Chi’s strength firsthand. Pinned like that, he could only stammer in reply,

“Th-the general… took a squad out to engage the mutant energy beasts.”

He’d gone out into battle without even telling him.

Jing Chi felt a spark of anger.

Then a sudden realization hit him, and his expression shifted. In a serious tone, he asked, “Was Yalman with the female insects who went along?”

The military female had no idea why Jing Chi was asking, but he shook his head.

Jing Chi let out a breath of relief. At least it wasn’t this time.

“Thanks,” he said politely to the military female.

The military female nodded and hurried off, afraid Jing Chi might grab him again.

Three more days went by.

That morning, Jing Chi got up as usual, determined that when Pei Rui returned, he’d stick to the female insect like glue.

But suddenly, a clamor erupted outside.

Jing Chi faintly caught Pei Rui’s name amid the noise.

He rushed out.

A tense atmosphere hung in the air. Jing Chi seized a departing military female and asked urgently, “What’s going on?”

Panic was etched on the military female’s face. He looked at Jing Chi, his voice trembling as he forced out the words:

“The general… the general’s mental power has gone into outburst!”