Fatty left with Xi Heyan.
For an intelligence talent like him, Xi Heyan planned to sell him... no, that was wrong. Recommend him to King of Spades.
After everyone had left, not long after, the empty rooftop welcomed another guest.
He stood where Dan had fallen earlier.
And below, the raging fire was still burning. Those shattered limbs had already turned to ash, leaving only a few scattered black feathers on the ground.
They were slowly lifted by the wind.
A fair, delicate hand covered in scars caught those black feathers.
A hand with distinct knuckles gently combed through soft, fluffy white feathers.
“Dad... that tickles a little...”
The snow-white little ball lay across the silver-haired sovereign’s lap. When the feathers on his little wings were touched, the tips trembled sensitively.
At this moment, Wen Yuzhi was receiving his father’s heavy love... no, his examination.
Although it could be seen through the livestream screen that the cub had not been injured, after returning, Mansendis still gave Wen Yuzhi a rather detailed examination from head to toe.
The cub who had been picked up looked like a kitten being held by the scruff by its parent.
After mewling for a while, he still obediently accepted the examination.
Wen Yuzhi lifted his small paw with pink pads, then perked up the tips of his fluffy ears.
He was turned over and back again.
Finally, Mu Luo even placed him on the scale and measured him.
“Little highness’s body has no issues. There are no external injuries either. All indicators are healthy, and his weight has even gone up a little compared to before.”
Mu Luo spoke with a face full of relief.
As a doctor, he naturally hoped the cub he personally cared for would stay safe and sound.
Mansendis glanced at Wen Yuzhi’s physical examination report, then recalled the way the cub had stood among all those survivors.
Among those disheveled, blood-covered survivors, only Wen Yuzhi had remained clean. The only bit of dust he had gotten on him had also been wiped away by Xi Heyan.
One could say that, set against everyone else, the fair, tender young man’s already top-tier beauty had become even more prominent.
Even someone as doting as Mansendis could not say his cub had suffered outside.
Where did the cub look like he had suffered at all?
He had even gained two pounds.
There was no need to think about it. This sudden increase in weight definitely had something to do with all those little cakes the cub had secretly eaten behind their backs.
Wen Yuzhi...
He opened his round eyes, tilted his head slightly, and looked at the silver-haired sovereign in front of him with a somewhat innocent expression.
What weight gain?
Zhizhi didn’t hear anything.
Mansendis lowered his head and met the cub’s gaze for a while. Under the cub’s increasingly guilty look, the silver-haired sovereign slowly said, “Dad is almost unable to hold you anymore.”
“!!!”
Wen Yuzhi’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Dad is lying!”
His current form had not even grown up yet. How could Dad possibly be unable to hold him?!
But then, looking at Mansendis’s calm expression, Wen Yuzhi could not help beginning to doubt himself.
Could it be...
Was he really that heavy?
Could it be...
Did he really have to eat a few fewer little cakes?
The snow-white little ball thought about it while worriedly propping up his round cheeks with his paws.
At this moment, anyone could see the tangled, doubtful emotions around the cub.
Mu Luo stood to the side and watched the entire process of how the silver-haired sovereign casually teased little highness into confusion with only a few words.
Of course Mansendis could not possibly be unable to hold the cub.
With Wen Yuzhi’s current weight, Mansendis could lift his little cub with one hand.
He even felt the cub should get a little fatter.
Otherwise, he was so light that whenever Mansendis held him, he worried this snow-white little ball might be blown away like a dandelion by a gust of wind.
The reason Mansendis said this was naturally because he hoped the cub would eat fewer snacks. Most importantly, he could not secretly eat them behind their backs.
Gaining weight was a good thing, but only if it did not affect his health.
On this point, no matter how much Mansendis spoiled the child, he could never indulge the cub too much.
The cub’s safety and health had always been what Mansendis cared about most.
And after being frightened like this, Wen Yuzhi also began considering whether he should eat a few fewer little cakes in the future.
...What if Dad really couldn’t carry him anymore?
When Mond brought Bai Yi over, what he saw was little highness in beast form, lying on the silver-haired sovereign’s lap and looking somewhat gloomy.
Mond first glanced in Mu Luo’s direction. The old chief affairs officer thought something had gone wrong with little highness’s health.
But Mu Luo calmly shook his head, indicating little highness’s body had no problem. As for why he was unhappy... perhaps, probably, possibly, maybe it had something to do with His Majesty.
After all, the once emotionless Saint Clan sovereign could now even make little jokes to tease his own child.
Mond had not been present just now, so he did not understand the cause and effect. But he could tell little highness was only a bit depressed, not truly upset with His Majesty.
When Wen Yuzhi heard Mond and the others come in, his attention was instantly diverted.
Bai Yi’s previous clothes had been stained with Dan’s blood and had already been taken away by Mond for disposal.
At this moment, he wore a set of Saint Clan traditional court attire.
Perhaps because of the Saint Clan’s love of battle, most royal-blood attire had a somewhat similar style.
And the advantage of this design was that it looked especially handsome and showed off the wearer’s figure.
Especially since Bai Yi was different from Wen Yuzhi, who was still in his youth. His body had already fully grown. He was tall, with broad shoulders and long legs, his proportions flawless from head to toe.
The dark court attire looked both noble and striking on him.
Strictly speaking, Bai Yi’s appearance was more similar to Mansendis’s.
Only the former still looked like a young man just beginning to reveal his sharp edge, while the latter was already an unshakably powerful sovereign.
Compared with them, Wen Yuzhi, still a fluffy little ball, looked especially tender and young.
He lay in his father’s arms, looked up at Mansendis’s indifferent expression, then looked at the silent Bai Yi. Wen Yuzhi somehow felt the atmosphere seemed a little strange.
But he could not quite say what exactly was strange about it.
Mond, however, knew why the atmosphere was so strange.
Salileno had a very strong sense of territory. This came from their powerful bloodline. Aside from little highness, almost every royal-blood could not avoid this coldness and rejection toward blood relatives.
Although Bai Yi had lived in a laboratory for a long time, what flowed in his body was still ultimately Salileno blood.
Therefore, he would also possess this subconscious aggression.
And because he had long lived in an extreme environment, Bai Yi’s aggression was even more intense than other royal-blood.
This was also why Dan had been certain Bai Yi would not be accepted by the Saint Clan.
The fact that Mansendis had killed so many royal-blood proved that he did not hold much affection for so-called kin of the same blood.
A royal-blood who had suddenly appeared might be nothing but trouble to him.
As for Wen Yuzhi, an undergrown cub, Bai Yi’s existence was a threat. Even if he did not act, Mansendis might choose to eliminate this threat in order to protect his child.
And their meeting was indeed rather unpleasant.
Almost the moment Bai Yi stepped into the sitting room, his gaze went straight toward the silver-haired sovereign sitting on the sofa.
It was like a young, hot-blooded male lion who had wandered outside for a long time entering a pride. The first thing he did was challenge the lion king’s authority.
The result was obvious.
—Trembling. Fear.
Every living creature had an instinctive warning toward danger, and what Bai Yi sensed from Mansendis was exactly this kind of power, one that seemed capable of freezing the blood in his entire body.
Clearly, the other man had not spoken, nor had he made any movement.
But that oppressive feeling, like staring into an abyss, was already making Bai Yi’s body tighten, his straight spine trembling faintly, his face turning slightly pale.
He could not kill him.
He could not even approach him.
This was the first time Bai Yi had so clearly felt such a vast gap in strength from another person.
...So this was the Saint Clan sovereign?
The Saint Clan tyrant who had ascended the throne after killing all the royal-blood.
Bai Yi gritted his teeth. Just as he was about to be unable to endure it and nearly shift into beast form, Wen Yuzhi moved.
The snow-white cub jumped down from his father’s arms and came to Bai Yi with light steps.
His fluffy little paw landed against that cold, hard boot with a pat.
In an instant, that suffocatingly powerful aura was withdrawn by the silver-haired sovereign.
Bai Yi’s expression blurred for a moment. But he did not lift his head. Instead, he could not help focusing all his attention on that fluffy cub.
That cub was truly too small, only the size of a kitten.
There were rarely such small cubs inside the research institute. Even when there were, they were protected very well by their mothers. No outsider could approach them at all, and the mothers guarding their cubs would drive away every danger.
Those protected cubs would hide behind their mothers and timidly observe the outside world with watery eyes.
And they all hated Bai Yi.
To a certain extent, every experimental subject in the entire research institute hated Bai Yi.
He was the most obedient dog under Dan’s hand. No matter what Dan ordered °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° him to do, he would obey very well.
To those experimental subjects who hated Dan, Bai Yi was undoubtedly the executioner who helped the tyrant do evil.
No one would like him.
Who would like a weapon that had no emotions and only knew how to obey orders?
They even hated Bai Yi’s coldness and ruthlessness. They were all experimental subjects, so why couldn’t he leave them a path to live?
“Get out! You lackey aren’t welcome here!”
“You have such powerful strength. Why won’t you resist? Wouldn’t it be better if we rebelled and escaped together?!”
“Ah!! You killed her! You... you’re a monster! You’re an emotionless monster!”
Voices full of accusation and furious curses lingered around his ears.
And Experimental Subject Number One only said in an icy voice, without any expression, “I’m sorry. I’m carrying out orders...”
Countless similar experiences had gradually taught Bai Yi that he was a hated, unwelcome existence.
No one liked him, and no one would be willing to get close to him.
But...
The soft touch against his leg brought Bai Yi back from those dark memories.
He saw that the cub, who had just been resting his paw on him, had now started climbing upward.
Almost in the blink of an eye, Wen Yuzhi had climbed into Bai Yi’s arms.
Bai Yi subconsciously reached out and held him.
His grip first tightened, but then he quickly lightened his movements, afraid his strength would hurt the weak cub in his arms.
Through his scent, he had already recognized that this cub was Wen Yuzhi.
Although Bai Yi did not understand why the young man’s beast form was so small, there was no denying that...
The first thought that appeared in Bai Yi’s mind the moment he saw him was—
Cute.
The young man’s beast form was very cute.
And when he picked him up, Bai Yi was visibly somewhat at a loss.
He had never held such a soft creature before.
Wen Yuzhi knew these Saint Clan members were all cold one by one, and normally they had little experience holding children or pets.
So the experienced cub found himself a comfortable position the moment he climbed up.
He placed his paws on Bai Yi’s hand.
Wen Yuzhi could feel the other man’s palm tremble for an instant.
And Bai Yi sensed a fluctuation of mental energy.
Soft, warm mental energy gently touched him, like a feather brushing over his body.
He did not know if it was his imagination, but Bai Yi felt the pain in his mental sea seemed to ease somewhat.
Reflected in his body, he began to relax a little, no longer as tense as before.
Wen Yuzhi had met many Saint Clan members. Aside from Mansendis, Bai Yi was almost the one with the most severe self-destructive emotions he had ever seen.
This was a Saint Clan member on the verge of collapse.
After Dan died, Bai Yi was like a hound whose collar had suddenly been removed. Although he was free, at the same time, enormous confusion and helplessness filled his heart.
He could not find his place, nor did he know what he should do next.
More importantly, although the research institute had been the existence that bound these experimental subjects, it had also given them a place to stay. Once they broke away from the research institute, the outside world felt unfamiliar to them, and made these monsters realize just how out of place they were.
Bai Yi’s emotions were not unfamiliar to Wen Yuzhi.
When he had first come to this world and met the Saint Clan, he had been just as lost and helpless.
He had not known where he should go, nor what he should do.
He had almost carefully curled himself up.
Only through daily life with the Saint Clan, after feeling everyone’s care and kindness, had Wen Yuzhi slowly opened his thick shell and timidly peeked out from within.
From his initial caution to now, when Wen Yuzhi could freely lie in his father’s arms and act spoiled, and even willingly run over to ask Bai Yi for a hug.
The cub’s personality had grown more and more lively.
This could not be separated from the patience and love Mansendis and the Saint Clan gave him every day.
Wen Yuzhi had experienced all this, so he also wanted Bai Yi to walk out of this confusion.
The cub returned to his young man form.
Wen Yuzhi held Bai Yi’s hand and led him around the palace.
“The palace on Emperor’s Heart is bigger than this. When we go back, I’ll take you to see it.”
“This is the kitchen. If you like eating anything, you can tell Gumu. Everything they make is really delicious.”
“Mm... this way is the study. Dad and the others often discuss things in the study, so when we pass by, we have to be a little quiet and not disturb them.”
“This is Awu’s room. Awu is a white wolf I raise. He’s very handsome. But Mond said Awu was taken to bathe, so he isn’t here for now. I’ll introduce him to you later.”
“........”
Wen Yuzhi took Bai Yi to visit every corner of the palace.
And the final place he showed him was his own room.
“This is my room.”
Hearing this sentence, Bai Yi, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly had a subtle shift in his eyes.
His expression visibly became much more focused than before.
Wen Yuzhi brought Bai Yi into his room.
The layout here was exactly the same as his room on Emperor’s Heart. The dolls he often hugged had also been brought over by Mond.
The moment Bai Yi entered, what he felt was a kind of warmth completely different from the coldness of the laboratory.
The cub was clearly someone full of enthusiasm toward life.
Every corner of his room carried traces of its owner’s life.
Stones found outside or pretty leaves would also be collected by Wen Yuzhi, then placed together with the gifts the Saint Clan had given him in various corners of the room, decorating the space.
Wen Yuzhi had Bai Yi sit down on the soft carpet.
Before Bai Yi could speak, the young man had already stuffed a little lamb plush into his arms.
The blank little lamb and Bai Yi’s expression at this moment were unexpectedly similar.
Both were expressionless.
Wen Yuzhi looked at the little lamb, then looked at Bai Yi. The young man’s brows and eyes instantly curved.
By now, Wen Yuzhi’s hair and pupils had already returned to their silver-haired, golden-eyed appearance.
Watching him smile, Bai Yi pressed his lips together. The wariness in his eyes seemed to lessen a little.
He felt the softness beneath his palm. This little lamb plush also had fluffy fur, but for some reason, Bai Yi felt that holding the cub was still softer.
So soft that even his breathing slowed.
“Um...”
Wen Yuzhi spoke first.
“Should I keep calling you Bai Yi? Or should I call you... older brother?”
Wen Yuzhi was not sure of Bai Yi’s age, but the other man looked like he should be older than him.
Since the Saint Clan royal-blood all originated from the blood bestowed by the Mother of Prosperity, even after so much time had passed, and even though the blood relation between royal-blood had already become very distant, there was still some connection between them.
Only, this connection was nearly equivalent to nothing for Wen Yuzhi and Mansendis.
After all, Mansendis and Tacia were Saint Clan members born from the Mother of Prosperity’s second bestowal of blood. So strictly speaking, only the first generation of royal-blood could be considered their true blood relatives.
Royal-blood like Brand, whose blood had been diluted by who knew how many generations, had no qualifications to claim a familial relationship with Mansendis or Tacia.
When Tacia called Brand younger brother, it was not because Brand truly was her younger brother, but because she considered Brand to be one.
By the same logic, Wen Yuzhi did not need to call Bai Yi older brother.
Judging from the fact that Bai Yi had been born in a laboratory, his bloodline most likely came from royal-blood like Brand.
Therefore, only Mansendis could be called Wen Yuzhi’s true blood relative.
But Wen Yuzhi did not understand these distinctions.
He still thought that, according to their relationship, Bai Yi should be some kind of cousin.
That was why he asked.
But clearly, the words “older brother” had an enormous impact on Bai Yi.
His pupils instantly contracted.
All his thoughts froze at this moment, and his mind was almost completely blank.
Looking at the young man’s bright eyes, Bai Yi pressed his lips together tightly. He did not know how to describe what he was feeling right now.
It was an unfamiliar emotion he had never felt before.
And this emotion...
The people in the research institute seemed to call it happiness.
So...
Was he feeling happy because of the young man calling him older brother?
Bai Yi thought, somewhat uncertainly.
