Chapter 29#

The Innocent and Naive Fool#

“Silver-white,” looking at the little merman’s large tail glistening in the setting sun, Lu Xing murmured in a daze, his eyes revealing a hint of obsession. “Even among merfolk, this is a very rare type.”

Seeing the expression on his face, Gu Xi’s expression instantly darkened, and he stepped forward to block Lin Xiaodong.

The adjutant, hearing the news, also caught up from behind and questioned sharply: “Even members of the imperial family are not allowed to enter the military compound without permission during non-war times. Your Highness the Crown Prince, may I ask what you intend by openly violating imperial regulations?”

Lu Xing looked at Gu Xi, who was shielding Lin Xiaodong completely, and couldn’t help but frown slightly.

He withdrew his gaze and gave the adjutant a faint smile: “Who said it’s non-war time?”

“Wha—”

Lu Xing opened the light brain beside him, and a star map projection popped up in the void, detailing the entire scope of the Empire’s power. He reached out and tapped, highlighting a region on the map in red.

The adjutant was puzzled: “What does this mean?”

Lu Xing turned his head and looked directly at Gu Xi, who had been silent until now: “NGC6531, an open cluster in Sagittarius, just sent an emergency distress signal to Central Planet, reporting the sighting of a Queen Bug in the star sector. Major General Gu, with the brainworm crisis now rampant in interstellar space, as a military commander, it would be difficult to justify not mobilizing at this time, wouldn’t it?”

“I am not the only Major General in the military,” Gu Xi calmly pointed out the flaw in his words. “And why me? NGC6531 is 4.25 kilolight-years from Central Planet. At such a distance, laser ships should be dispatched. I am responsible for medium-to-long-range starship fleets and supernova strikes.”

“True, but this is a Queen Bug,” Lu Xing said with a smile. “While you are not the only Major General, when it comes down to it, you are the youngest among them. Father has already agreed to award you the Marshal’s Medal in advance. Once you return victorious with the record of eliminating a Queen Bug, there will certainly be no controversy over the long-vacant position of Marshal in the military.”

Hearing this, even the adjutant couldn’t help but be moved.

The imperial family is really going all out this time, he thought.

The Empire has not had a Marshal for nearly twenty years. Especially the Marshal’s Medal—it represents not only the highest honor for a soldier but also means the recipient will henceforth hold the remaining half of the control rights for the Star-Destroying Cannon. Needless to say, the other half is in the hands of the direct imperial line.

Only when both the Marshal and the King agree to fire can the Star-Destroying Cannon actually be activated.

The medal Gu Xi had insisted on giving to Lin Xiaodong while heavily injured and amnesiac was the one from when he was awarded the rank of Major General.

It was also the iris control button for the starship’s main cannon. Although powerful, its lethality was not even one-tenth of the Star-Destroying Cannon, which could evaporate thousands of stars in a single strike.

But since the old Marshal’s death, that thing had become a trump card firmly held by the nobles. The adjutant really doubted if this group of cowards would really hand over such a weapon of mass destruction so easily.

While he was lost in thought, Lu Xing suddenly turned his gaze back to the book Lin Xiaodong was holding.

“The Little Prince…?” Upon seeing the cover, he was stunned for a moment. “You like this book too?”

What do you mean, “too”?

Lin Xiaodong’s first impression of Lu Xing was a deep-scheming, smiling-tiger pretty boy. So upon hearing his words, the little merman just hugged his book tighter and looked at him warily from behind Gu Xi.

Seeing this reaction, Lu Xing was speechless.

The youth lowered his eyes, and his expression soon returned to normal.

He said calmly to Gu Xi: “Since the order has been delivered, I will take my leave. Major General Gu, I hope you will consider it carefully. After all, this battle is entirely beneficial to you, and with the spread of brainworms worsening, any further delay will cause the common people of the Empire to suffer. Father and I will be waiting in the palace tonight for your good news. Please make your combat preparations as soon as possible.”

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Gu Xi said coldly.

After he left, the adjutant looked at the man who was frowning in silence: “Major General, are we fighting this war or not?”

Anyone could see the nobles were up to no good, sending Gu Xi out to battle right after his narrow escape. Especially since the military wouldn’t allow family members on the battlefield, what might happen to Lin Xiaodong left on Central Planet was a total unknown.

But if they didn’t fight, it would be equivalent to a complete break with the imperial family and nobles. The resulting chain reaction…

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

The merman typed this line on the light brain. After attracting Gu Xi and the adjutant’s attention, he continued typing: “Although that guy is annoying, Sagittarius is your home, isn’t it? I have no home left, but for you, there’s still time.”

Seeing this sentence, both of their faces showed very complicated expressions.

The adjutant shook his head and let out a pained sigh: “Major General, I’m truly impressed by you. Where did you find this little fool? Truly…”

System: “Ding! Good Person Card +1.”

Lin Xiaodong’s typing motion paused.

He looked up toward the adjutant. Xu Feng exchanged a look with him, thinking Lin Xiaodong had something to say to Gu Xi, so he sensibly took his leave first, giving them some private space.

Lin Xiaodong followed Gu Xi home. All the way, he used his peripheral vision to observe the man’s expression. Gu Xi’s aura was very low, and as soon as they entered, he went upstairs without a word.

The merman’s tail was not good for climbing stairs, so Lin Xiaodong could only sit on the sofa and wait for him. While waiting, sleepiness involuntarily surged up.

When he woke up again, it was already late at night.

Lin Xiaodong let out a yawn and rubbed his sleepy eyes, but stopped in mixed amusement and frustration when he saw a thin blanket covering him—wait, he’s a fish!

Even if the top half is human, what normal person covers a fish with a blanket while it sleeps?

He looked up and found a certain “normal person” sitting beside him, staring at a star map projection in the void, deep in thought. Hearing movement, Gu Xi said indifferently without turning his head: “Go to the kitchen and get some soup.”

Lin Xiaodong didn’t move.

He leaned crookedly against the sofa, clutching the blanket, and looked at the man with narrowed eyes: “Are you angry?”

“No.”

“You are definitely angry,” Lin Xiaodong affirmed.

He dissatisfiedly slapped Gu Xi’s back with his large tail, but the man’s sitting posture was as steady as Mount Tai; a few slaps were as inconsequential as a light drizzle to him. Lin Xiaodong huffed and decisively changed his strategy, squeezing his tail into the other’s arms, using his cool, cicada-wing-thin tail fin to tickle the man’s cheek every now and then.

Gu Xi, with a face full of tail: “…………”

He took the tail tip that was almost pressed against his face and held it in his arms, turning his head and saying helplessly: “I’m really not angry.”

“I don’t believe you,” Lin Xiaodong said. “And I feel you’ve been preoccupied lately. Have you recovered your memory?”

“Pretty much,” after a slight hesitation, Gu Xi admitted. “The doctor said it was temporary amnesia due to the impact. Once the bruising clears up, it should mostly recover. Although I haven’t remembered everything yet, the important things are still there.”

After a pause, he asked: “Do you have anything you want to ask me?”

Gu Xi thought Lin Xiaodong would ask about the circumstances before and after his amnesia and had already thought of how he should answer.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened his mouth, it was a classic “death trap” question.

“A question… there actually is one.”

Lin Xiaodong didn’t look like a fool at all right now. His eyes were fixed directly on the black metal ring on Gu Xi’s hand. Propping his chin up, he asked with a half-smile:

“Since you say you remember the important things, then this—you’ve remembered it too?”

It turns out that in this world, some questions cannot be asked carelessly.

Because if not answered well, disastrous consequences can easily occur.

Like now.

Gu Xi was silent for a long time, so long that Lin Xiaodong began to squint at him. Only then did the man slowly say: “I’m sorry.”

“Aha,” the little merman said expressionlessly, “I knew you had a problem!”

After speaking, Lin Xiaodong raised his large tail, angrily wanting to give him a good thrashing, but before that, Gu Xi quickly pinned him down: “Let me explain!”

“What?”

Seeing Lin Xiaodong stop, Gu Xi let out a sigh of relief for some reason.

The man had realized long ago that Lin Xiaodong wasn’t a fool at all when it came to worldly wisdom.

Most of the time, he was just too lazy to use his brain and was rather dull in matters that didn’t concern him.

He waved his hand to open the light brain in front of him. An image of a noble girl in a magnificent long dress appeared on the screen. In the picture, her high-held head and contemptuous narrow eyes seemed to look down on everything. Lin Xiaodong felt as if he were being despised just by looking at the photo.

“Who is she?”

“The Second Princess of the Empire, Lu Ying,” Gu Xi said. “My… fiancée.”

Under his explanation, Lin Xiaodong finally figured out what was really going on.

Back when the military and the imperial family hadn’t reached this point, the old Marshal had personally served as a guarantor, using marriage as a bargaining chip in exchange for Gu Xi’s promotion to Major General, successfully bringing the control of the starship main cannons under the military. But the marriage partner he had in mind wasn’t the Second Princess Lu Ying, known for her arrogance and overbearing nature, but the eldest princess at the time, Lu Jing.

After the eldest princess was removed from the imperial line, the choice was switched to the Second Princess Lu Ying.

But Lu Ying had a violent temper and ignored everyone except her brother. Even the old King couldn’t do anything about her. In the end, only a hasty engagement ceremony was held, and Gu Xi himself wasn’t even present due to a mission. In a fit of rage, Lu Ying had craftsmen make a special engagement ring—incredibly hard and difficult to cut. Moreover, once one tried to remove it by force, a clasp inside the ring would activate, locking it firmly into the flesh.

It was done specifically to spite Gu Xi.

But by the time the man found out, it was too late. Because of this series of events, the two, who had never met, had the worst possible impression of each other. And afterward, as relations between the military and nobles deteriorated, any talk of a wedding became even more remote.

“So where is that eldest princess now?”

Lin Xiaodong’s train of thought was unique, his focus rather strange.

Gu Xi let out a sigh.

“Didn’t you just see her today?” he said.