P.S.: Thanks to all readers for your concern and messages — Xiao Mo feels truly warmed.
It's been two days and three nights without food now. The doctor just came for rounds and told me I still can't eat today. In that instant I nearly broke down…
Yesterday I had a thirteen-hour IV drip, and today looks like it'll be just as long. The doctor says, based on my recovery, I'll need at least three or four more days before discharge. With the needle in my hand, typing is a pain. Once I'm out of the hospital, Xiao Mo will resume updates. These past few days I truly couldn't manage — please bear with me, dear readers.
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For nearly two months straight, Yang Kai and Xueyue had been hiding and dodging among the various dead stars of the Cold Dead Domain. Regardless of who had set the trap that destroyed the Trade Association's battleship, Yang Kai had thoroughly grasped just how cautious and careful that person was!
Wanderers continuously prowled the Cold Dead Domain, searching for something, but only a few days ago had they finally laid down their efforts and withdrawn entirely.
They had spent two months confirming that not a single person had survived that catastrophe.
"I have a feeling this whole affair was directed at me…" On a dead star, Xueyue mused thoughtfully.
"I think so too." Yang Kai nodded in agreement. If at first both of them had been uncertain whether the trap had been aimed at Xueyue or the Association's battleship, now they shared the same conjecture.
—The trap was targeted at Xueyue! It had been meant to bury her in that disaster.
"Oh?" Xueyue gazed at Yang Kai with a smile, deliberately testing him. "Why do you think that? Give me your reasoning — let's see if it matches mine."
Yang Kai didn't keep her in suspense. "The timeline. They spent far too long searching for survivors. There was nothing important on that battleship — no important personnel, no critical cargo. If the trap had been aimed at the Association, they wouldn't have needed this long to search. The fact that they were so careful and cautious, searching for two straight months, only proves they were afraid — terrified, even. Terrified of someone who might seek revenge. So this was targeted at you. The Association's battleship was simply caught in the crossfire."
As he spoke, Yang Kai fixed Xueyue with a burning gaze.
Xueyue's beautiful eyes brightened. Her red lips moved slightly. "Your thinking is remarkably clear. I underestimated you."
Yang Kai's conjecture was virtually identical to her own. She was surprised to find that he was actually quite the promising material. A faint, lovely smile bloomed on her face. "If someday the soul chain between us is broken, and I don't feel like killing you, would you want to stay by my side?"
"You're recruiting me?" Yang Kai stared at her, bemused.
"Something like that. Though it's entirely possible that the very instant the soul chain is severed, I'll kill you!" Xueyue spoke those chilling words in a voice soft as silk, her face beaming with a smile, as if there were absolutely nothing wrong with what she'd just said.
"Pass. I won't be under your thumb. If that day ever comes, I'll finish you off before you can make your move!"
"What big talk!" Xueyue pouted. "I'd like to see what you've got — whether you're actually capable of killing me!"
"You'll find out when the time comes." Yang Kai climbed out from their shelter. He turned, bent slightly at the waist, and extended a hand in a gesture of invitation. "But right now — shouldn't we get the hell out of this place?"
Xueyue pressed her lips together in a smile, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she emerged as well. She placed her jade-like hand into Yang Kai's palm and let him summon the Star Shuttle, carrying her along as it flew.
Two months had passed. No matter who you were, any injuries would have healed by now. Xueyue had also recovered to the peak of the Saint King Third Stage.
But she still chose to share the same Star Shuttle with Yang Kai.
She enjoyed the feeling of being cared for.
She had to remind herself over and over in the depths of her heart that this was merely a side effect of the soul chain. Under normal circumstances, she would never develop any feelings for this kind of man. But right now, any scrap of his concern and attention made her feel warm inside.
The Star Shuttle streaked like lightning. In short order, the two of them flew far from that dead star.
Out among the stars, Yang Kai halted and asked, "Where should we go now? Back to Shuiyue Star?"
"No. The journey back is too far — the Cold Dead Domain is a full month and a half of battleship travel from Shuiyue Star. Returning by Star Shuttle would take at least three months! Let's go to Rainwater Star. It's closer, and I was heading there originally. It's just that this whole situation has made things a bit troublesome."
"Fine!" Yang Kai had no objections. He was easygoing by nature, with no particular destination in mind.
"Let me think about where exactly Rainwater Star is. This damned Cold Dead Domain — you can't even see a single star. It's nearly impossible to get my bearings." Xueyue furrowed her delicate brows, looking left and right, trying to recalibrate her sense of direction. But even as she was grumbling, Yang Kai had already steered the Star Shuttle off in a specific direction.
"Do you even know the way?" Xueyue called out worriedly. "If you don't, it's easy to lose direction in the void between stars."
"It just so happens that my Star Shuttle has the star chart for Rainwater Star," Yang Kai said with a slight smile.
"That's wonderful!" Xueyue perked up, her worry dissipating.
The star charts inside Yang Kai's Star Shuttle had all been personally carved and transcribed by him — the optimal routes he'd found by studying that vast, intricate star chart above his spiritual sea. Now was the perfect time to verify whether they actually worked.
"What are you going to Rainwater Star for?" During the flight, Yang Kai's curiosity got the better of him, and he probed.
"My father sent me there to handle some matters," Xueyue replied offhandedly.
"What kind of matters could be so important that they needed you to go in person?"
"Don't ask so much…" Xueyue's pretty face twisted in a grimace. "I want to tell you, but you have to understand — this is Association business. I can't just blab it to anyone. Can you stop putting me in a difficult spot?"
She was actually pleading sweetly.
"Fine, fine, I won't ask!" Yang Kai's heart fluttered. He could hardly withstand it.
He had to admit — a woman like Xueyue, when she turned on the charm, was utterly irresistible.
Yang Kai had been thoroughly schooled in the depths of her allure. Spending these days at her side had been like treading on thin ice, each day a constant effort to remind himself, lest he accidentally fall at her feet.