Chapter 62: Binding
They stared at each other. Tang Yu’an reached out, touching his forehead. He wasn’t feverish, so why was he talking nonsense?
Zuo Tinghan, feeling the cool touch against his skin, froze.
Tang Yu’an, after a moment of thought, asked: “So… you’re willing to be bound to me?”
Zuo Tinghan nodded: “It would be my honor, but… I won’t force you, I’m not that despicable.”
Feeling like their roles were reversed, Tang Yu’an asked why he thought he needed to be forced to agree.
Making the victim sound like the beneficiary…
Zuo Tinghan, understanding his meaning, his eyes lighting up with excitement: “You… you mean, you agree to the procedure?”
Seeing his reaction, as if he had won the lottery, Tang Yu’an tried to correct him: “You should be the one refusing. I have nothing to lose, but you… I want you to trust me. If the binding is successful, I won’t use it to control you.”
He thought Zuo Tinghan would be relieved, but he saw a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.
Tang Yu’an: “?”
Zuo Tinghan, choosing his words carefully, his tone both aggrieved and dissatisfied: “Why… wouldn’t you command me? I swear I’ll obey any order you give.”
Tang Yu’an was now certain he was ill.
Who would willingly offer themselves up for servitude?
But these psychological issues could be addressed later. The priority was to eliminate the immediate danger.
“So, you agree to the procedure?”
Zuo Tinghan nodded eagerly.
That was all that mattered.
Tang Yu’an immediately contacted the therapists to arrange the binding ritual.
They were led to a white, empty room.
The therapist’s voice echoed, instructing them to relax.
Although he knew it should be safe, Wei Langxing still paced anxiously outside, watching the monitors.
A specific frequency resonated through the room, and Zuo Tinghan fell into a trance, but this time, he didn’t resist, embracing the sensation.
His mental energy fluctuated, but under Tang Yu’an’s influence, it calmed, like waves gently lapping at the shore.
He wasn’t aware of his actions, instinctively drawn to his “master.”
He heard a voice telling him to lower his head.
So he knelt, his forehead touching Tang Yu’an’s leg.
But his master avoided his touch.
He felt like a lost bird, unable to find its nest.
Had his master… abandoned him?
But then, his hand was held.
Tang Yu’an crouched beside him, holding his hand, gently releasing his own mental energy.
“It’ll be alright soon,” he said.
Like a raging river suddenly freezing over, then shattering, leaving behind a clean, empty expanse, only the roots of plants buried deep beneath the surface, clinging to the earth.
Zuo Tinghan, exhausted, fell into a deep sleep.
The binding was complete. Wei Langxing rushed in, pulling Tang Yu’an up from the floor: “Are you alright?”
Tang Yu’an: “…”
You should be asking Zuo Tinghan, who’s unconscious on the floor.
As expected, the protagonist’s recovery was rapid. Zuo Tinghan woke up within two hours.
He sat up, looking refreshed, like a soldier ready for battle, not someone recovering from an illness.
Seeing Tang Yu’an, his first words were: “Is the binding complete?”
The therapist confirmed it. Tang Yu’an, seeing his joyful expression, wondered if he had hit his head.
But that wasn’t enough. Zuo Tinghan insisted on a demonstration.
Tang Yu’an relented, asking the therapist to activate the audio frequency.
As the sound played, Zuo Tinghan’s eyes became unfocused, and he bowed his head to Tang Yu’an: “Master.”
Tang Yu’an thought that was enough, but Xie Cun, who was also present, disagreed, saying they needed to see him perform actions out of character to truly gauge the effectiveness.
He whispered to Tang Yu’an: “Make him bark like a dog!”
Tang Yu’an gave him a disapproving look. Xie Cun insisted: “I’m helping him! Anyone can say ‘Master’! Master, master, see? I can do it too!”
Tang Yu’an ignored him, instructing Zuo Tinghan to get out of bed and perform a few simple actions.
Zuo Tinghan became a puppet, obeying his every command.
Satisfied, Tang Yu’an deactivated the audio, releasing him from the trance.
He had expected disorientation, but Zuo Tinghan said excitedly that he had been fully aware, only his body controlled.
Tang Yu’an: “…”
Was that something to be proud of?
Zuo Tinghan even offered to run errands for him, like waiting in line, even without being commanded.
Tang Yu’an, assuming he was still delirious, simply humored him, then asked the therapist for a thorough checkup, especially a brain scan.
He assumed Zuo Tinghan would calm down and become more rational, but a few days later, he received a cufflink from him.
This was strange. Xie Cun was the one who usually gave gifts; Zuo Tinghan was more practical.
Zuo Tinghan explained that the cufflink contained a button that activated the audio frequency, for convenience.
Tang Yu’an: “!”
Who would willingly offer themselves up for servitude like this?!
He forced a smile, thinking Zuo Tinghan still needed time to recover.
To avoid hurting his feelings, he put on the cufflink.
Xie Cun, who was also present, scoffed: “What’s so great about being called ‘Master’? Does he think that makes him superior?”
Tang Yu’an paused, clicking his tongue, thinking Xie Cun was being sarcastic.
But he didn’t have time to address their rivalry, as Wei Langxing returned with news—
Chen Fei had arrived on the main star.
Tang Yu’an had complicated feelings about his childhood friend.
But he needed to see him.
From the Bureau’s records, he learned that Chen Fei’s father had been convicted of embezzlement, and he, as an accomplice, had been exiled, then encountered space pirates, his ship crashing, his fate unknown.
So he had been living on the Junkyard Planet all these years.
As a fugitive, he probably had nowhere else to go.
Sadly, a few years after his disappearance, his father’s name had been cleared, the real culprit arrested, confessing to framing him.
But the victim had already been executed, his son missing, the compensation unclaimed.
Tang Yu’an, holding the documents, went to see Chen Fei.
He had changed drastically, his clothes clean and neat, his injuries mostly healed thanks to timely treatment.
And his demeanor was different, no longer the boisterous, bragging Jinshan.
Seeing Tang Yu’an, he tensed up, standing abruptly, almost knocking over his chair.
Tang Yu’an told him to sit down, pouring him a glass of water: “Wei Langxing… must have told you about your father.”
Chen Fei nodded stiffly: “He mentioned it briefly.”
Tang Yu’an pushed the documents across the table: “This is all the information we can disclose. Take a look.”
Chen Fei scanned the documents quickly, perhaps not needing to read them, or perhaps unable to bear it.
After a long pause, he chuckled dryly, like a sigh.
I didn’t think this day would come, he said.
As his son, how could he not know his father’s true nature?
But the evidence had been irrefutable. He could only watch as his father was sentenced, then he himself exiled to the Junkyard Planet.
Tang Yu’an had expected him to ask about compensation, but Chen Fei didn’t mention money, only asking: “Captain Wei said you were in a car accident. What happened? Any lasting effects?”
Tang Yu’an’s family had moved to the main star when they were children.
And young Chen Fei… had decided to start his own business, to make a fortune and bring his father to the main star to live a good life.
He had even planned to include Tang Yu’an in his business, making him a partner.
But fate had other plans. His father was gone, and he was exiled, struggling to survive in the harsh underworld.
Naive and trusting, he had been quickly swindled out of his money.
Cold and hungry, unable even to afford a coat, he huddled under a bridge, praying for survival.
He swore that if he lived to see another day, he would take revenge on those who wronged him.
He survived, warming his frozen fingers with his breath, the faint light of dawn like a golden promise.
He gave himself a new name: Jinshan.
I’ll become rich, he thought. Only rich people are treated like human beings.
He went further and further down this path, his mind fracturing as he struggled with his past.
I’m Jinshan, but am I still Chen Fei? Or is this just an implanted memory, a trick by my enemies to drive me insane?
He knew the answer, but he chose to ignore it.
Let it be, he thought. I’m a successful man now, I don’t look back.
He hadn’t expected anyone to call him by that name again, the name he had tried so hard to forget.
