Chapter 52: Sharing a Pillow
The Imperial Capital, West Suburb Manor, 11:00 PM.
The lights in the second-floor study were already out. Except for the master bedroom, all the other rooms and corridors were plunged into darkness.
The master bedroom door was ajar, the wheelchair parked in the corner. Wisps of light leaked out from the crack in the door, illuminating the back of the snow wolf lying on the carpet outside.
It was playing with the shadows on the floor.
It was unknown if it was because it had absorbed the contamination core, but the shadows were much denser than before. They could appear brightly even in the light. Their movements were more independent, and they could come and go freely even without the help of external shadows, making the snow wolf look like a gray wolf.
The sound of rustling fabric and conversation came from inside the room.
“You’re saying that Yi Chengli showed you goodwill at the banquet organized by the Minister of Intelligence?”
Xu Xunyue took off his hair tie, and his long hair instantly cascaded down, softening the contours of his face. Paired with the pajamas he had changed into after washing up, it was a completely lazy and comfortable home style.
“Yes…” Even though it wasn’t the first time he had seen it, Zhu Hui still found the process of taking off the hair tie extremely pleasing to the eye. He walked to the bed in a few quick steps and sat down. Before speaking, he first asked for a kiss, then said, “That’s right. According to the information we have so far, he might be trying to prove himself again through this channel? He took a leave of absence for about a month before, and in the past few days, he has indeed started to go back to the academy to pack his things.”
“I heard from Dean Xia Feng that he was back at school,” Xu Xunyue said. “When Yi Chengli first lost control, the Yi family even asked the research institute where the dean, Teacher, is to find a solution. I didn’t expect their attitude to change so much after a month.”
“I remember some students in our academy asked Yi Chengli what was going on. They didn’t get any useful information, but it’s also possible that my information channels are not good enough…”
“It’s true that you can’t get any information, because the White Tower research institute didn’t dig up the reason either.”
Zhu Hui nodded.
“No wonder… then it makes sense for the Yi family to shift their focus. At least they have a very good reason.”
The Yi family was an active noble family in the Imperial Capital. They were large and had a large business, unlike the Xu family, which was low-key and had a dwindling bloodline. In the perilous Cataclysm era, they would choose a reliable and stable one among the many fresh blood to invest their resources in.
Stability and combat power were the two major indicators for measuring the potential of a young Sentinel, and the former was even more important than the latter. In the history of Imperial psychiatry, the causes of a Sentinel losing control were nothing more than too much pressure and sensory overload. This was already troublesome enough. A case like Yi Chengli’s, where the cause could not be found, was an even bigger hidden bomb.
Even if he had recovered well and was in a normal state now, and could go back to the academy to handle the procedures after passing the evaluation of the Imperial Capital’s mental soothers, no one could guarantee that he wouldn’t have another episode in the future…
“His loss of control was very likely caused by the Emperor’s contamination.” Seeing Zhu Hui lost in thought, Xu Xunyue said directly, “The time he lost control and attacked you, I found something in your spiritual landscape that was consistent with the aura of the Emperor’s spiritual field.”
The Sentinel’s movement of shifting into the bed paused.
“In that case, aren’t the people in the palace living in crisis all the time?”
“No, don’t be nervous,” Xu Xunyue tucked in the quilt on Zhu Hui’s side, and the two of them began to chat while sitting on the bed. “The Emperor’s abnormality started four years ago when he returned alone from the center of Ghost Town. The longer the time, the stronger his abnormal ability will be. Perhaps it’s because he wants to do something now… have you noticed that he has rarely shown his face in recent months? It wasn’t like this before.”
“There are two reasons for wanting to do something. One is that the time is right, and the other is that there isn’t enough time. If he doesn’t show his face, he’s either preparing, or his body and mind are being deeply contaminated with the passage of time, and he can’t maintain a normal human state for a long time, so he simply has his confidants act as his agents.”
The contaminated Emperor and the malicious creature deep in the Endless Snow were of the same type, but Xu Xunyue only felt that the Emperor’s spiritual field was not right, and he couldn’t sense a corresponding intensity of spiritual fluctuation.
This meant that the Emperor was not completely contaminated, and if they really fought, his combat power had not yet reached the intensity of that malicious creature.
Of course, this was calculating personal combat power. His influence as the current ruler of the Empire was still very considerable. If something really happened, there would be no shortage of confidants and old-generation military officers to charge into battle for him.
“Then would it be better for me to keep in touch with Yi Chengli…” Zhu Hui was silent for a long moment, then looked at Xu Xunyue with some uncertainty.
This was a statement in his mind, but when he said it to Xu Xunyue, it became a question.
Zhu Hui himself realized this as soon as he finished speaking.
If he hadn’t met his brother, he would have definitely held on to the clue on Yi Chengli and racked his brains to figure out what was going on, using both soft and hard tactics.
Now that he was with his brother, he would confirm his thoughts with the other after thinking about it.
It seemed like a step back, because he had become less decisive than before. But it also seemed like a step forward, because asking like this represented that the other person was a being completely in sync with him.
Zhu Hui was indeed prepared to continue forming a team after graduation. In his plan, the focus of the team would shift from traveling around to provide support to exploring cataclysm zones and searching for effective old-world supplies. Putting Yi Chengli in would be equivalent to placing him relatively close to him.
He could indeed completely suppress the other, but he couldn’t possibly keep an eye on him all the time in a cataclysm zone. One member of a team would affect all the other members.
He had to be responsible for the others.
“Are you afraid of affecting the whole team’s situation?”
Without needing to say it explicitly, the telepathic connection brought by their bond allowed Xu Xunyue to instantly understand Zhu Hui’s thoughts. He smiled slightly.
“I have a way.”
“What?”
“It’s fine if you team up with the world’s most amazing Guide brother.”
“…Brother!”
Seeing Zhu Hui’s slightly red ears, Xu Xunyue reached out and pinched them, saying with a grin, “What’s the hurry? Didn’t you always say I was the most amazing Guide in the world?”
“Ahem, I’m not denying that. I’m just saying, wouldn’t that be too dangerous? The danger in a cataclysm zone is secondary. With your current situation, if you suddenly go to a cataclysm zone with me, won’t you be targeted and closely watched by the Emperor?”
Zhu Hui had not forgotten what Xu Xunyue had told him in the underwater city.
Three years ago, Xu Xunyue had pretended to be disabled and stayed in the Imperial Capital to avoid being sent out. Later, he had simply retired directly. Now, to suddenly pop up and want to go out…
Others might take it as a topic for after-dinner conversation and forget about it, but the Emperor would definitely notice.
“I know, but the probability of accidents in the Undeveloped Zones has skyrocketed in the past year. If we drag it on any longer, we might be put in a passive position. We’re not completely powerless on our side either. Xu Mengwei asked me this afternoon how Xu Yan’an really died. I told him about the strange things you didn’t mention at the time.”
“Then he—”
“He’s on our side personally. The Xu family is neutral and low-key, so they wouldn’t have been our enemies in the first place. Xu Mengwei is also the next head of the family, so he can mobilize some resources. As for the Minister of Finance, Luo Mingxu, you should have heard of his partner. He was one of the people who went to Ghost Town with the Emperor four years ago. I’m also on good terms with him. By the way, as for Qiu Ye…?”
Xu Xunyue still remembered that Zhu Hui had said before that he wanted to call Qiu Ye over to discuss it together. He had also seen the other person when he and Zhu Hui landed in the Endless Snow A1 zone.
But later, there was no news from Qiu Ye.
“His physical condition is very bad now,” Zhu Hui sighed. “Although he acted active and energetic, and was constantly flying around to rescue people when the Endless Snow incident happened, I think it was more like a kind of overdraft.”
“Once he withdraws from the busy, extremely tense atmosphere, he will fall into a sleep of unknown duration. He had already shown this symptom before going to the Endless Snow. It was the same after the Endless Snow incident. He hasn’t woken up yet. I left him a message.”
“If anything happens to him, Qiu Shuang will contact me. She’s his niece. Qiu Ye said he raised her, so she’s almost like his own daughter.”
Speaking of Qiu Ye, Zhu Hui’s mood was obviously a little low. He of course knew what this symptom meant for a Sentinel.
A short life.
In the current cruel and strange background, it was no different from being on the verge of death.
To be exhausted from losing a bonded Guide and being unwilling to accept treatment from other mental soothers was a common occurrence in the Poseidon Era. Everyone with common sense knew that the end of death was in sight.
In the face of this situation, well-intentioned lies seemed particularly pale.
Xu Xunyue stroked Zhu Hui’s head, then hugged his Sentinel in his arms and said, “He is a remarkable person. Although I am not familiar with him, I have heard of him.”
Qiu Ye was the Empire’s previous Chief Sentinel. The period when he was in his prime almost coincided with the era when the Emperor was fanatically revered for madly clearing out the cataclysm zones. He really didn’t have much interaction with Xu Xunyue, but this didn’t stop them from having heard of each other’s deeds.
Just as Zhu Hui had started to hear about Xu Xunyue from the year he entered the White Tower at fourteen, and Xu Xunyue had started to hear about Zhu Hui from the year he joined the army, people who had done real things would always be praised and thanked.
Being hugged like this by him, it was as if a switch for some sticky mode had been turned on. Zhu Hui began to wrap himself around Xu Xunyue like an octopus, rubbing his face and hair against him as he did so, as if he wanted to get more security and warmth by increasing the contact area.
The bedding on the bed thus became a mess.
Xu Xunyue didn’t move. He left one hand on Zhu Hui’s lower back and let him be, as long as the other wasn’t trying to flirt with him for a Level Three Bonding.
“…There’s another reason,” he added to what he hadn’t finished saying about “the Emperor’s suspicion.” “Actually, I don’t quite understand the Emperor’s purpose. Going out to explore openly with you is also a way to probe. I want to know if he will stop us.”
“What purpose?” Zhu Hui asked as he gently combed Xu Xunyue’s hair with his hand.
“For example, was he contaminated and wants to destroy the Empire, or does he want the Empire to continue? This is also something I just remembered recently…”
“Why on earth did he give that marriage contract in the first place?”
Zhu Hui’s movement paused.
He slowly sat up, but didn’t make any other moves. He was probably stumped by the topic Xu Xunyue had thrown out and couldn’t think of a logical answer that he could say out loud for a while.
They had no conflicts to begin with. Their respective abilities were top-tier among Guides and Sentinels, and they had both encountered strange phenomena and survived.
On the contrary, their bond had made them familiar with each other quickly.
Silence continued in the room for a while. Xu Xunyue patted Zhu Hui’s back and said, “Let’s go to sleep. This is just a question. Didn’t we agree to go take pictures and get the certificate tomorrow morning? We have to entertain the Luo Mingxu family in the afternoon. I told you a few days ago. As a good friend, since we had an accident a while ago, he wants to come and visit to show his concern.”
“Okay.” Zhu Hui obediently got into the quilt.
Xu Xunyue turned off the light, and the bedroom was instantly plunged into darkness.
“By the way, brother,” Zhu Hui suddenly said again, “I just remembered, the drink at the banquet tonight was so bad. Although it looked pretty, it was really, really, really—bad. Mmm, just telling you.”
“I know,” Xu Xunyue couldn’t help but laugh. “Actually, most good-looking drinks are quite stimulating. If you want to drink, just ask me. You should drink less when you’re alone.”
He also got into the quilt, and not even half a second later, he received the Sentinel’s body leaning over.
“Good night, brother,” Zhu Hui said in a low voice.
Xu Xunyue’s lips curled into a smile.
“Good night, darling.”
