Chapter 55: The Only One
Xu Xunyue found that Zhu Hui was a little nervous.
Just a little, almost imperceptible, but it was definitely there.
When asked why, Zhu Hui whispered, “From what you said before, it feels like his family took good care of you, especially a few years ago when you just came out of the academy… Does that count as an elder?”
No matter what, he had just graduated. Having a lot of merits was one thing, but his time in service was certainly not long. The people he knew were mainly military Sentinels. The Minister of Finance had a good reputation, but he was not within his social circle.
Zhu Hui didn’t have any particular impression of Luo Mingxu, but the attitude toward a partner’s elder and a partner’s friend were different.
As if affected by his mood, the snow wolf, which had been sunning its back on the first-floor balcony, stood up, its ears flattened back, and it let out a long yawn, approaching with light steps.
When it got up, the black shadow on the ground also ran with it, a dark mass on the blanket, much larger than the wolf’s own shadow.
It was unknown when this habit had formed, but now every time they were in a relatively enclosed space and the two of them were alone, the spiritual bodies would become restless and spontaneously run out of the spiritual landscape to entangle with each other.
Zhu Hui’s ankle was rubbed by his spiritual body, but as if he had been reminded, he shrunk its size to about the same as a normal wolf in nature.
Xu Xunyue’s eyes curved into a smile. He hugged the Sentinel beside him and gave him one last kiss before entertaining the guests.
After being with Zhu Hui for a long time, his understanding of wolves had also become richer. For example, when a wolf yawns, this action not only represents feeling sleepy and wanting to rest, but can also represent feeling stressed.
What stress could a sunbathing wolf have? Of course, it came from the Sentinel himself.
“If we’re talking about elders, Dean Xia Feng is probably more like one. He thinks you’re very outstanding,” Xu Xunyue whispered in Zhu Hui’s ear with a suppressed smile. “Today is just a casual chat. Luo Mingxu is a shrewd person and will never let the conversation go cold. Even without me, he would be happy to connect with you.”
Zhu Hui nodded, his face a little hot, his attention already diverted to Xu Xunyue’s lips.
He suddenly felt like closing the door and refusing guests, so that they could just keep kissing.
When he opened the door, Luo Mingxu was standing in front.
“Time flies. More than a month has passed just like that,” he said with a kind and proper smile, greeting Xu Xunyue, then quickly looking at Zhu Hui. “I’ve heard so much about you. The youngest Chief Sentinel in the Empire. When I saw you at the summary conference a year ago, I had a feeling that you two would definitely be together in the future.”
Zhu Hui was stunned. He hadn’t expected Luo Mingxu to start with this, and the speech he had prepared was now stuck.
“…Hello,” he nodded with a slight hesitation. Looking at the friendly and smooth expression, typical of a government official, he actually curled his lips into a smile after a long moment.
Xu Xunyue glanced at his friend, who was indeed very good with words, and smiled as he put an arm around the Sentinel’s shoulder, taking two steps back to make way at the door.
The little boy behind Luo Mingxu tugged on his father’s pant leg, peeking out from behind, his eyes full of curiosity.
“Hello. I’ve seen your picture in the Imperial Capital Daily before. I admire you very much. I… huh?”
His barely mature tone suddenly broke. He stared straight at the large white wolf with small black spots on its ears, which was lying on the side of the entrance.
Its eyes were the color of gems, and its gaze was purely sharp, both aloof and not bloodthirsty. Its body lines showed that it was a fierce beast with strong combat power. Although its size had already been shrunk by a circle, it was still a large wolf for a child of his age.
The wolf heard the sound and stood up.
“Wow! So handsome! So cool! Such beautiful fur! Is this your spiritual body? It’s so amazing!”
The wolf’s ears began to twitch.
Zhu Hui turned his face away.
“Oh wait, is this a shadow? How come it’s out too? It’s rare to see it come out to play once a year. I’m so lucky today!”
The shadow separated a small wisp—it was really a very, very thin wisp—and danced a messy, slightly perfunctory dance on the entrance floor, then returned to the snow wolf’s shadow.
Xu Xunyue coughed lightly.
“Alright, come in and talk,” he ignored the noisy chattering of the two spiritual bodies in his mind and said, “I’ve made tea and also prepared drinks. There are some snacks on the table. Help yourselves.”
“Ah, okay. Then… can I pet this big white wolf?” The little boy’s gaze wandered between the two of them.
Xu Xunyue smiled and glanced at the person beside him, not expressing his meaning for Zhu Hui.
“The wolf is his. You can ask him.”
Zhu Hui thought for a moment about the little boy’s praise for him and his spiritual body, and decided to give him this chance.
“It said you can… yes, it won’t bite you, but you can only touch its fur, and you can’t touch its head. It still has to play with its friend.”
The little boy let out a cheer.
“Thank you! You’re so nice. You two are really a match made in heaven, a perfect match in the world…”
Xu Xunyue didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He quickly exchanged a look with Luo Mingxu, who was passing by the door.
Did you teach your son all this?
Half and half. What do you think, pretty good, right?
Not bad.
He pulled his Sentinel to the living room, thinking that Zhu Hui was very happy anyway. Although he was keeping a straight face now, that was just to maintain his image. His inner emotions were like a rising tide.
An hour later.
“So you two are really planning to enter a cataclysm zone again after some time?” Luo Mingxu asked as he enjoyed the aroma of the tea in his cup.
He was sitting on a single sofa, with Xu Xunyue and Zhu Hui sitting on the long sofa to his side. The little boy, who was not interested in the adults’ conversation, was not sitting here, but had gone to the playroom on the first floor to play.
This manor on the northern outskirts of the Imperial Capital had been bought by Xu Xunyue after he had established himself in the Imperial Capital. The small house had its own playroom, which had been vacant before. It was only in the past month that his spiritual body had liked to come out to play, so the room had been tidied up and put back into use.
Not to mention, besides pleasing human cubs, human toys could also please human spiritual bodies.
Xu Xunyue was not very thirsty and hadn’t had anything to drink for the time being. Hearing this, he said, “That’s right. But this time we’re in a team. Although I retired to avoid being sent out, it’s not like only military personnel can enter a cataclysm zone. There’s no need to give any reason for this, unless the higher-ups directly issue a targeted policy, restricting all people of my type from entering a cataclysm zone. If the Imperial Capital media were to report it, they would probably say that I don’t trust my Sentinel or something… In short, there won’t be any problem.”
“A team? So you’ve already found people?”
“Basically, but there are still a few who are not sure. We’ll continue to look for them during this period… or wait.”
His peripheral vision caught Zhu Hui putting down his teacup and reaching for a bubbly drink. Xu Xunyue gently touched his arm and added a thick protective shield to the Sentinel’s fragile sense of taste.
Zhu Hui smiled at him affectionately and said in a low voice, “Thank you, brother.”
Luo Mingxu, who was sitting on the side, had his pupils quake.
He quickly adjusted his expression and asked, “Then who’s in the team? Can you say?”
“According to the smallest combat unit of five, besides him and me, there are two students who just graduated from the academy this year. The last spot is not yet decided.”
“Oh… then do you want me to recommend a few for you to choose from? Don’t worry, they’re all good seedlings. I won’t screw over a friend,” Luo Mingxu said with a smile.
Xu Xunyue understood what he meant.
The Minister of Finance had to deal with information and requests from various forces in and out of the Imperial Capital every day. His network was intricate, and there were bound to be some families who wanted to find a good place for their younger generation. A team with Xu Xunyue and Zhu Hui would definitely not be bad.
Among all types of five-person squads, the support squads that roamed the borders of the Undeveloped Zones year after year were the worst for accumulating merits. Those squads that entered cataclysm zones with missions, or those that specifically went to cataclysm zones to collect supplies, still had a very promising future.
Luo Mingxu himself had also made it very clear that he wanted to do both sides a favor.
If it were normal, Xu Xunyue would 100% agree. After all, although the other party was recommending, he really wouldn’t screw over a friend.
But this last spot was for Qiu Ye, and Qiu Ye had not yet woken up.
Xu Xunyue didn’t give a definite answer.
“We’ll see. If we really can’t find anyone, I’ll contact you in a few days.”
“Alright.” It was just a casual question anyway. Not getting an immediate affirmative answer, Luo Mingxu didn’t mind at all.
“Then where are you planning to go? Have you thought about it?”
At this time, Xu Xunyue was drinking tea. Zhu Hui, who had been listening quietly on the side, took over the conversation.
“To Ghost Town.”
“Oh, so it’s—cough, cough, cough—wait, where? Did I hear you right? Ghost Town?” Luo Mingxu almost choked to death.
The Emperor had gone deep into that place four years ago and had lost many elites there. After he returned, he had successively sent a few more waves of troops over, but they had only gone to the more peripheral areas.
The troops sent out those few times had all returned in one piece, and it was said that they hadn’t encountered anything strange. But the evil reputation of Ghost Town was still deeply engraved in everyone’s hearts.
But there were still many people who went there to collect supplies, because there was a very advanced agricultural base there before the Cataclysm. There were bound to be agricultural tools and planting books that could promote the production of the current Empire. The Empire in the Poseidon Era needed these things very much.
As long as you found something good and handed it in, you could exchange it for a considerable amount of merit points. If you were lucky, you could even get a promotion or a position directly.
“You’re definitely not going there to collect supplies. There’s no need…” Luo Mingxu frowned and thought. “So you’re going there to explore its secrets? Then wouldn’t it be better to apply for some more manpower from the military?”
Xu Xunyue shook his head.
“It’s been a long time since the Emperor sent troops there. The most recent time was two years ago. The Emperor’s attitude toward the cataclysm zones is becoming more and more conservative. The last time the Endless Snow had an accident, the military hadn’t even approved it by the time Zhu Hui and I came out.”
Mentioning the Emperor, the three of them exchanged a sharp look, which quickly dispersed after a brief collision.
“During the time we’re away, please keep an eye on public opinion. A while ago, another cataclysm zone boundary expanded outward…”
To this, Luo Mingxu naturally agreed. Then he changed the subject and took out a sophisticated instrument from his pocket.
Xu Xunyue recognized at a glance that it was an instrument for testing compatibility lists. This was what he had asked Luo Mingxu to bring.
More than a month had passed since the last test, and his compatibility with Zhu Hui had also increased from 67.61% at that time to 85.23%.
Then now, had Zhu Hui’s compatibility list become what he had expected?
