Chapter 34: Disturbing Perception
“What are you thinking about? So engrossed?” Xia Feng extended a hand and waved it back and forth in front of Xu Xunyue, his movements completely different from his appearance in their vitality.
Xu Xunyue smiled slightly, organized his words a bit, but what he said was something else.
“Dean, Teacher, the research you’re doing was just a request from the Yi family using their family’s influence, right?” he confirmed again.
“Yes, but I always feel that the Yi family kid’s symptoms are more than just a rare disease.”
“Then don’t be in a hurry to report it. Don’t update the research progress to the outside world in real time either. It’s best not to show that you’re paying great attention and being on high alert… Trust me, don’t organize the information you have and send it to the palace.”
“Why?” Hearing these serious and clear words, and from Xu Xunyue’s mouth at that, Xia Feng’s expression became serious. “To be honest, I was indeed considering reporting it. I was planning to sort out the relevant information and write it into a document these few days, to be submitted to the Emperor for review through the special intelligence channel.”
The special intelligence channel was a reporting channel opened by the current Emperor after he succeeded the throne. It focused on various strange phenomena and new problems that had just emerged. Every document submitted through the special intelligence channel would be seen by the Emperor. When the special intelligence channel was opened, many citizens of the Empire praised the Emperor’s benevolence and diligence, and the Empire in the early days of the Cataclysm also benefited greatly from it.
Now, things were different. Yi Chengli’s problem was inextricably linked to the Emperor. Xu Xunyue couldn’t be sure if Xia Feng would suffer some “unexpected disaster” if he really submitted the document.
Although he wasn’t sure why the Emperor would make a move on Yi Chengli at this time, since he could make a move on a noble scion, a simple researcher like Xia Feng, who had no background and was oblivious to the outside world, would be even easier to deal with.
He had never told Xia Feng his suspicions before. One was that he didn’t want the other to worry too much. Xia Feng’s aging speed was visible to the naked eye. Now, he was no different from an old man with half a foot in the grave. Even if he knew something, long-term pretense would be very energy-consuming, and it would be easy for him to be seen as abnormal.
The second was that he was afraid that Xia Feng would not trust him that much.
The current Emperor’s reputation was extremely high. Many people believed that he was the most outstanding monarch in hundreds of years. This filter was particularly difficult to shake in the hearts of the older generation. Xu Xunyue couldn’t use his special feeling to convince others.
Whether it would work or not was another matter. First of all, he would put himself in a desperate situation. In the Poseidon Era, all nouns related to the Cataclysm—cataclysmic factors, cataclysmic creatures, cataclysmic beings…—were universally condemned. It was perfectly normal for soldiers to open fire on comrades who were transforming into cataclysmic beings and to stay away from comrades who might be contaminated with cataclysmic factors.
Perhaps it was precisely because the experiences of the fourteen-year-old Xu Xunyue and the four-year-ago Emperor were similar, both having been “contaminated,” that he could detect the abnormality in the other’s spiritual field.
This was a detail that other humans at this stage would never be able to discover. Xu Xunyue couldn’t prove it to anyone.
However, the situation now was different from back then.
Xia Feng’s spiritual power was decaying with time, but his spiritual power was getting stronger year by year. After Zhu Hui appeared, his use of his original abilities had even become more integrated.
If the dean, Teacher, didn’t believe him, then he would use spiritual power to guide and suggest. In any case, the current Xu Xunyue was confident that he could control the direction of things. He couldn’t let Xia Feng go and report to the Emperor.
“In the past year, the changes in the cataclysm zone boundaries have become more frequent than before,” he said calmly. “Something is about to happen inside the Empire.”
“You mean, don’t alert the enemy? But the special intelligence channel is for the Emperor—”
Xia Feng frowned and said halfway, as if he had realized something, his voice came to an abrupt halt.
The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense.
Xu Xunyue had already gathered his spiritual power. His ice-blue eyes stared at the white-haired old man sitting behind the desk, ready to respond at any time.
The incandescent lamp cast a shadow on the floor, its color darker than ever before.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Xia Feng took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
In these three seconds, he might have thought of many things, recalling many details that he had put in the corners of his memory, or he might have thought of nothing at all, just digesting the information he had just received.
Finally, he said:
“I believe you.”
At the main gate of the White Tower.
Two huge, slightly old-fashioned aircraft were parked on the left and right, painted with black and white paint respectively, corresponding to the classic colors of the Sentinel Academy and the Guide Academy.
Every year at the time of the outdoor practical activity, the two academies would each send a large aircraft, the kind with a small lifeboat attached.
According to the regulations, the students from both sides had to take their respective academy’s aircraft to the destination, land for final rest and status check, and then enter the practical area from the same place in the teams they had formed before.
The Sentinel’s status check was a bit more complicated. At this moment, they had already started to line up to board the aircraft.
However, near the Sentinel Academy’s aircraft, at the end of the long, shortening line, a young Sentinel in a black combat uniform was standing with his arms crossed.
He stood at the very end of the line. The shorter the line became, the further he was from the tail of the line, until the two completely broke into a line and a dot.
It seemed that he didn’t care about queuing at all.
The sound of hurried panting came from a distance. It was a few Sentinels carrying equipment, running wildly toward the aircraft. They were glancing at the time as they ran, as if they were about to be late.
The running speed of a Sentinel at full power was not to be underestimated. In a short while, the few of them had approached the end of the line.
And they came to a very tacit, screeching halt.
The military boots scraped harshly against the ground, making a piercing noise, but they had no time to care. There was only a helpless gaze, darting between the tail of the line and the expressionless Sentinel.
After a long moment, the few of them exchanged a look.
Is he queuing?
He’s waiting for someone, right?
This position shouldn’t be queuing, right?
Then you go in front of him!
I don’t dare, you go!
After several rounds of eye contact to no avail, it was finally the Sentinel standing with his arms crossed who suddenly put down his hands, breaking the posture that implied defensiveness and annoyance, and “flew” in the opposite direction, and the few of them breathed a sigh of relief.
On the other side, Xu Xunyue watched as the Sentinel, whose speed was so fast he was a blur, stopped in front of him, and couldn’t help but smile.
Just looking at the speed at which he had come over, he would have thought he would crash into his arms.
Although Zhu Hui certainly wouldn’t do that.
One second he was standing under the aircraft, with a pursed-lipped, arms-crossed, cool look of displeasure, and now he was leaning over with a smile in his eyes.
Then he unceremoniously pecked him on the cheek.
And that was it.
Xu Xunyue promptly pressed on the back of the Sentinel’s already-heating neck, pulled back the person who was about to retreat, and said with amusement, “Why didn’t you continue? Is that all?”
Without waiting for the other to speak, he directly kissed those thin lips, then easily entered and conquered, until a layer of mist covered the amber eyes, and the line in front of the Sentinel Academy’s aircraft was nearing its end.
Zhu Hui was released.
He looked down, his eyelashes trembling slightly with his breath. He licked his moist lower lip lightly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as if he were savoring the taste.
Xu Xunyue couldn’t help but smile again when he saw this.
“The queue is about to end,” he reminded him.
Zhu Hui was stunned for a moment, and his already red ears turned even redder.
It seems brother saw my little move just now.
It makes me look like I’m greedy for brother.
Although that’s how it is, brother seemed to have laughed just now.
It was clearly brother who kissed me like that first. Why is brother the one laughing?
Brother must have disturbed the perception of the people around… I was afraid before that brother hadn’t had time to use his spiritual power, so I only kissed his cheek.
It wasn’t because I was shy.
“The practical activity is for five days.”
In the final queuing time, Zhu Hui was like a nail on the ground in front of Xu Xunyue. Not only was he not in a hurry to go over, but he was also reluctantly rubbing against the Guide’s cheek, saying pitifully:
“I can’t see you for five days. I’ll miss brother.”
The aircraft had a detection system that allowed the accompanying teacher to monitor the students below, but for Zhu Hui, he really wouldn’t be able to get any information about Xu Xunyue for a full five days.
After all, contact was a violation of the rules.
All students participating in the outdoor practical activity would be issued a safety bracelet. Unless they used the bracelet to send a forfeiture signal, the teacher would not have any contact with the students for five days.
“I’ll miss you too,” Xu Xunyue knew that Zhu Hui could get to the aircraft entrance in a second. Seeing that he wasn’t leaving, he didn’t rush him either. Instead, he raised his hand and ruffled the messy short hair that was right in front of him, then smoothed it out with his fingertips. “I’ll be paying special attention to you.”
“Mm-hmm, you have to check my every move strictly. It’s best if you’re watching me all the time except when I’m sleeping.”
Zhu Hui stopped rubbing his cheek and started rubbing his hand.
The wind blew gently.
From beginning to end, from the moment Zhu Hui ran over to now, the few Sentinels who had been queuing had not let out a cry of surprise. Xu Mengwei, who was not far from Xu Xunyue, also looked straight ahead. The sun was not out, but it was not snowing either. Everything was calm.
After a while, Zhu Hui finally straightened up, but he conjured a large handful of leaves out of thin air, cupped them in his two hands, and handed them all to Xu Xunyue.
“Although brother is very amazing, I always feel it’s not enough when I’m not by his side. The memory leaves are a part of me. For now, let them accompany brother a little more.”
“I think I can make a leaf picture with these,” Xu Xunyue took them with a smile.
Before the Cataclysm, when the weather hadn’t become like this, there would be many different kinds of trees and various leaves in the streets and communities. And the schools at that time would assign some strange creative homework to the students, such as “find fallen leaves near your home and piece them into a picture.”
He had found it annoying as a child.
But now, green leaves were such a rare thing, and Zhu Hui had given him so many.
“Thank you for the gift.”
The more Xu Xunyue thought about it, the more he felt that making a picture was feasible, but he didn’t plan to tell Zhu Hui this idea directly.
I’ll show my Sentinel after I’ve finished it.
Zhu Hui kissed him one last time before boarding the Sentinel Academy’s aircraft right on time.
Soon, the black aircraft slowly ascended with the dull sound of machinery operating, and Xu Mengwei, who was not far away, looked over at this time and said with a hint of teasing:
“He waited for you for quite a while, and you two talked for so long just now. Why didn’t you get a little intimate before you separated?”
Xu Xunyue’s lips curled into a smile, his tone calm.
“We already did.”
