Chapter 20: Keeping Them Safe

Within the spiritual sea of Feng Yanting, chaos reigned. Flames darted wildly, gold-tipped arrows erupted at will, and clumps of dark energy lurked everywhere. The dark energy would be scattered by the fire and arrows, only to coalesce once more.

The Vermillion Bird beast soul, tiny and curled into a ball, sat atop a small fire lotus. Whenever the rampaging flames drew near, they vanished instantly, while the golden arrows were blocked by a crimson protective barrier. This small patch of land—the space occupied by the fire lotus—was the only sanctuary the beast soul knew. This was their daily existence, every moment of every day. While the fire lotus could suppress the growth of the dark energy, it could not eradicate it completely; indeed, starved of nourishment, the lotus itself had nearly drifted into a slumber.

But today, a stream of pure, crimson energy slowly drifted into the spiritual sea and settled upon the fire lotus. As if revitalized by the finest nourishment, the lotus began to unfurl its leaves.

*Snap.*

The Vermillion Bird beast soul was nudged off its perch. Indifferent, it fluttered its wings and landed back on the lotus. As the lotus continued to grow, the creature was repeatedly pushed off, only to persistently climb back on each time. Fortunately, the growth was brief. Once it ceased, the pure crimson energy lingered, bathing both the lotus and the Vermillion Bird in its glow.

"Caw."

The bird ruffled its crimson feathers, feeling a sense of deep comfort.

Oblivious to these events, Ye Moxi and Feng Yanting remained immersed in their kiss. No longer content with just her lips, Feng Yanting’s tongue pried between her teeth, entangling with her own.

*Beep-beep!*

Suddenly, the blare of a harsh horn pierced the air. Ye Moxi’s eyes snapped open, and she pushed against Feng Yanting, who was leaning heavily over her. As his lips pulled away, a glistening, delicate thread stretched between them. Ye Moxi’s face flushed a deep crimson—how embarrassing!

As Feng Yanting sat up, he lowered Ye Moxi’s seat; he refused to let anyone catch a glimpse of her flushed, dazed expression. Once he was upright, his sharp gaze locked onto the culprit behind the noise.

It was Xiong Sheng again. Why had he developed a penchant for spying on others’ intimate moments?

They had parked in a secluded corner at an intersection, a place that interfered with no one. Yet, Xiong Sheng’s garish, flashy hover-craft was now hovering directly in front of them.

"Are we blocking the way?" Ye Moxi tried to adjust her seat back up, but Feng Yanting held her hand down.

"It’s Legion Commander Xiong Sheng."

"What does he want now? Or is he still insisting that I have some connection to that stolen Bodhi Lotus?"

"I’ll go down and see. Stay here and don't move."

Ye Moxi simply reclined in her seat and stayed put. Feng Yanting’s Beetle craft was equipped with anti-surveillance screens, but given the advanced state of interstellar technology, there were ways to bypass them. Typically, however, no one was bored enough to pry into another's privacy.

But Xiong Sheng was no ordinary person. Especially when the target was Feng Yanting, the "high-mountain flower" of the Empire—a man who would rather face genetic collapse and turn into a feral beast than lower his standards. He was a stark contrast to Xiong Sheng, a man known throughout the galaxy for his promiscuous ways.

Xiong Sheng had spent the night at a lover’s home. Everything had been going smoothly until, in the heat of the moment, his own "little brother" refused to cooperate. Frustrated and having slept only under his lover’s mental soothing, he had been in a foul mood. Seeing a young couple acting intimate in broad daylight, he had felt a surge of petty malice and pressed the horn. He had intended to pull a prank and leave, only to discover that one of the couple was Feng Yanting. Since the Xiong family had never recovered that Bodhi Lotus, Xiong Sheng’s spiteful nature took over. He wanted to cause trouble—and ideally, ruin Feng Yanting’s moment.

Both men stepped out of their vehicles simultaneously, slamming their doors shut.

"What is the meaning of this, Legion Commander Xiong?"

"Last time, I gave you face and didn't investigate that girl. But the Xiong family cannot just swallow the loss of a Bodhi Lotus..."

"I don't believe you truly don't know who ended up with that lotus!" Feng Yanting coldly cut him off. Who was he trying to fool with this feigned ignorance?

From the beginning, it had been the space pirates who acted, and the lotus had ended up in the hands of the pirate leader. Ye Moxi had merely been caught in the crossfire; was the Xiong family trying to pin the debt on them? Feng Yanting suspected Xiong Sheng was merely using this as an excuse to harass him, with Ye Moxi caught in the fallout.

"That person from the fringe star system who traded the Bodhi Lotus is said to have ties to the younger brother of the girl you protected that day..."

The fringe star systems were rife with illicit trades, leading to the creation of countless ghost accounts and ghost cards—one-time, unregistered payment chips. Because these cards lacked the complex approval processes of registered accounts, they were less popular, but they offered anonymity. After one bad experience, Ye Moxi had refused to use ghost accounts, insisting on ghost cards for every transaction. This meant she could never trade alone, as "black-on-black" theft was common in the safe zones. Consequently, their secrets could not remain secret forever, though they had not been overly meticulous, as they already planned to leave.

"Does Legion Commander Xiong wish to use us to contact the owner of the Bodhi Lotus? You and I both know that a treasure-grade medicinal plant like the Bodhi Lotus isn't exactly a common wildflower," Feng Yanting said. Otherwise, those pirates wouldn't have dared to take the risk.

Xiong Sheng raised an eyebrow. "Nothing is absolute. What if they have another one?"

"We will help pass on the message. But I must ask that you stop harassing my fiancée and her brother under any pretext."

"Fiancée?" Xiong Sheng glanced up, wondering what kind of spell that girl from the fringe system had cast on Feng Yanting.

"Legion Commander Xiong?" Feng Yanting insisted on a formal reply.

"Fine! But please also tell them that if they have any other rare treasures, the Xiong family is willing to buy them all at twenty percent above market price!"

Feng Yanting narrowed his eyes. Testing them, were they?

"Understood! If the Feng and Ye families cannot afford them, I will certainly notify the Xiong family!"

What if Ye Moxi and her brother did have treasures? Without a bit of cunning and skill, how could they have survived in the safe zones? Furthermore, the tuition for the military and talent academies was a massive expense; would they have dared to come if they hadn't been prepared? If Ye Moxi wanted to sell her treasures, the Feng and Ye families would naturally be the first in line, but if they chose not to sell, those families were more than capable of protecting them.