Free Web NovelAfter Blue Zither Star was occupied by the Saint Clan, every port on the planet was closed to the outside world. And according to the ownership markings on the star map, it had now officially been incorporated into Saint Clan territory.
So although Blue Zither Star used to welcome crowds of lively winter tourists every year, this year it seemed especially quiet.
After all, no race had the nerve to know the Saint Clan had taken this place and still come here for fun.
Without question, Wen Yuzhi and Mansendis—the most noble royal-blood father and son of the Saint Clan—had become the first guests of Blue Zither Star’s winter season.
When they stepped down the gangway, willow-fluff snow was drifting through the air, and a thick layer had already piled up on the ground.
The snow on Blue Zither Star was that fine, powdery kind, so soft underfoot.
When Wen Yuzhi held Daddy’s hand and jumped down from the last step of the gangway, his little boots sank straight in.
“Daddy...”
He looked to Mansendis beside him for help.
The silver-haired sovereign said nothing, but pulled the cub out of the snow like he was yanking up a turnip.
Wen Yuzhi seemed to find that very fun, so after that he deliberately sought out places where the snow was deeper to step in.
And every time, he wanted Daddy to rescue him.
Honestly, it was a very childish game.
But Mansendis was willing to spend the time playing this little game of you step in, I pull you out with Wen Yuzhi.
The white wolf was excited too. Its ears stood high, its tail wagged, and it rolled all over the snow, getting snow grains all through its fur.
Blackrock Star also had snow, but the white wolf lived year-round in the desert half of the planet and rarely went near the snowfields. So the moment it saw snow, it could not help going wild in it too.
When Wen Yuzhi grabbed a handful of snow and tossed it onto the white wolf’s head, it did not get angry. Instead, it stuck out its tongue and licked the taste of the snow.
Its earlier imposing, handsome look had vanished without a trace.
Playing all the way, they finally arrived at the palace on Blue Zither Star.
This palace had of course been built by the Saint Clan later on, and it stood in the most beautiful region on Blue Zither Star.
That area had once been specially enclosed, and only the upper ranks of the fire lizard people had been qualified to go there and enjoy it.
But now that place, along with all of Blue Zither Star, had become Wen Yuzhi’s private property.
If Wen Yuzhi logged onto the star map to check, he would find his own name written clearly beneath the ownership rights to this planet.
Mansendis lacked neither money nor planets. In terms of wealth and territory, he could be called the richest sovereign in the entire interstellar world.
And after taking this planet, he had chosen to register its ownership under Wen Yuzhi’s name. As for the planet’s star core, it had been set into Wen Yuzhi’s little crown.
By now, Wen Yuzhi’s crown already held several star cores, and half of them had been voluntarily delivered this time by those few races.
Who knew whether they would die of rage if they found out.
As for the Saint Clan, they wished there were a few more races like that, eager to come throw themselves at them, so they could pick out some more pretty star cores for little highness.
Unfortunately, races with that little sense were still in the minority. Most races in the interstellar world had enough self-awareness to know better.
Go to war with the Saint Clan?
What kind of joke was that?
No race was interested.
Everyone had settled down, and the result was that the major star sectors had returned to their former peace.
As for Wen Yuzhi and the others, they had moved into the palace as well.
Everything in the palace had been replicated from the imperial palace on Dark Tower Star, so after moving in, Wen Yuzhi felt no discomfort at all. If anything, it almost felt as though he had never left the palace in the first place.
But when he pushed open the window and saw the frost and snow blanketing the land outside, only then did Wen Yuzhi finally feel that he was truly somewhere else.
And since they had said they were here on vacation, Mansendis genuinely was treating it as a vacation.
For once, he set all official business aside and took Wen Yuzhi outside to build snowmen. Father and son also went mountain climbing together, and later took a boat out onto an ice lake and caught several plump, fat fish.
With no tourists coming to disturb them for half a year, those fish had been living very comfortably, stuffing themselves round and fat. You could toss in a hook almost at random and they would bite.
Even when they were finally hauled up, they still swished their tails in a lazy, unhurried way.
And that evening, every Saint Clan member in the palace got to drink a bowl of delicious fish soup. As little highness’s beloved pet, Awu ate three whole fat fish in one sitting.
Wen Yuzhi was especially happy during his days on Blue Zither Star.
He did not have to do homework, and he did not have to study. Today he could build a snowman with Daddy, tomorrow he could take Awu skiing in the snowfields, and the day after that he could drag those three or four personal guards of his into playing hide-and-seek in the snow.
Once he relaxed, the things Wen Yuzhi did these days really were like those of a child.
Watching the cub outside running wild with the white wolf, someone’s footsteps stopped.
That pause made the Saint Clan behind him stop as well.
They all saw the moment little highness smiled.
Mond watched with gratified eyes. “Little highness is having a wonderful time.”
As he spoke, Wen Yuzhi tumbled into the snow. But instead of getting up right away, he buried Awu under the snow instead. The white wolf was buried in the snow with only its head left sticking out.
Its head was even tilted to one side, staring stupidly at Wen Yuzhi in front of it, utterly unaware that at this moment it looked exactly like a dog’s—no, a wolf’s—head growing out of the snow.
The sight of the white wolf looking so silly made Wen Yuzhi burst out laughing.
His laughter carried all the way up to the second floor on the wind.
Mansendis lowered his eyes and looked at the smile on Wen Yuzhi’s face. In a low, quiet voice, he said, “Still just a child.”
Mond smiled at his side and echoed, “Little highness is still young.”
Not to mention calculating from the time he hatched— even if one added the years he had spent living among humans before that, Wen Yuzhi would still be underage by Saint Clan standards.
Every Saint Clan present was still looking at the youth playing below from the perspective of looking at a child.
Mansendis said nothing, but silently made up his mind to bring the cub out to play more often in the future whenever he had the time.
For a child, staying in the palace all day really was too boring.
But if that was the case, then Blue Zither Star alone was not going to be enough.
The Saint Clan standing behind Mansendis exchanged looks, inwardly wishing a few more foolish races would hurry up and appear.
Unfortunately, there were no more foolish races left.
This time, when the Saint Clan made their move, many races that had only known the Saint Clan through StarNet, or had never really understood the Ninth Star Sector, finally gained an incomparably clear understanding of just how powerful the Saint Clan truly were.
So many races united together and still could not win. In only two days, the allied forces had been beaten by the Saint Clan until they were crying for their fathers and mothers. It was clear that all those frightening stories on StarNet about the Saint Clan’s terror and strength had not been exaggerated in the slightest.
So not only did no foolish races appear to provoke them, but because of the peace that had settled over interstellar space during this period, the Interstellar Alliance took the lead in organizing a friendly conference and planned to invite every race to gather together.
Naturally, the topic of the conference was something along the lines of advocating peaceful coexistence.
And by pure chance, the chosen location for the conference happened to be on the planet right next to Blue Zither Star.
This really was a coincidence no one had expected.
After all, because the races living in the Fifth Star Sector tended to have gentle temperaments and were mostly peace-loving doves, many conferences large and small across interstellar space liked to hold their meetings in the Fifth Star Sector.
No one had expected that the time scheduled for the conference would happen to coincide exactly with Mansendis bringing Wen Yuzhi here for a vacation.
The Saint Clan did not conceal their movements.
A vast annihilation-class fleet had an overwhelming presence wherever it went.
The moment that fleet entered the bounds of the Fifth Star Sector, the races here already knew the Saint Clan had arrived, and around that same time the neighboring planet released its announcement that the conference would be held there.
...They could not very well change the location immediately, could they?
That would make it look as though they were afraid of the Saint Clan. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Of course, they really were afraid, but in public everyone still cared about saving face.
The Interstellar Alliance, which had taken the lead, urgently convened a small internal meeting. A whole group of races sat there discussing it for half a day before finally deciding not to change the location after all.
The conference was about to begin, and some of the races had already arrived on the planet in advance. Changing locations now would be far too troublesome.
In any case, after the Saint Clan fleet entered Blue Zither Star, they had made no further moves. They showed no intention of invading other planets, nor had they done anything arrogant or tyrannical.
So let the Saint Clan stay on the neighboring planet.
But once that issue was resolved, another new one followed immediately after.
This conference was meant to advocate all the major star sectors and all races sitting down together to discuss peaceful development. In principle, that meant every race ought to qualify to attend.
And this was not the first time such a conference had been held.
But in the past, because the Saint Clan lived so far away and no one had dared run to the Ninth Star Sector to deliver an invitation, and because of the Saint Clan’s fearsome reputation, whenever this conference had been held before, everyone had tacitly ignored the Saint Clan.
But today was different from the past.
Now the Saint Clan were right next door. If they held a lively conference here saying all races could attend, only for the Saint Clan alone to receive no invitation at all, then no matter how one looked at it, that would be hard to justify.
What if the Saint Clan found out afterward, got angry, and decided to go to war with them?
Who could beat those monsters?
Those bloody examples from half a year ago were still right there in front of everyone’s eyes. At a time like this, no one dared offend the Saint Clan.
But if they did invite the Saint Clan, the theme of this conference was peace, and as the most brutal race in the interstellar world, the Saint Clan did not seem connected to the word peace in any way at all.
Not to mention that putting aside whether they wanted to sit down with the Saint Clan and talk about peace, the simple question of who would go deliver the invitation was already a huge problem.
The moment they heard someone would have to go before the Saint Clan and serve as that messenger, all the race representatives in the Interstellar Alliance immediately refused.
They were not doing something that dangerous.
So they searched and searched. In the end, with no better option left, the person in charge of the Interstellar Alliance went straight to the Pachi people.
Though the Pachi people had done thriving business trading between planets, they actually had no real status in interstellar society.
First, their race itself was not strong. Otherwise, they would not have made a living by traveling everywhere buying and selling goods. Second, their temperament was not an aggressive one either. They only wanted to do business honestly, not get involved in politics.
So even though the Pachi people had made quite a lot of money, inside the Interstellar Alliance they could only be considered small fry, the kind who had to sit in the corner even when attending conferences.
The Pachi people knew very well where they stood.
When coming to this conference, the Pachi president had fully expected to continue serving as background scenery, only to unexpectedly find the Alliance leader personally coming to call.
And the other party was even extremely polite, saying there was something they wished to trouble them with.
It was the first time the Pachi president had ever received treatment like this, and he was rather flattered.
But the moment the Alliance leader explained that the conference wanted to invite the Saint Clan, the Pachi president fell silent on the spot.
How could the Pachi president not understand all the twists and turns behind this?
The Alliance races clearly wanted to invite the Saint Clan, but because of that vicious reputation, no one dared go. And since the Pachi had already traded with the Saint Clan a few times, they were the most suitable choice to act as messenger.
So... they had borrowed the Saint Clan’s prestige?
Otherwise, how could these lofty important figures possibly have come to see a tiny Pachi president like him, much less act so politely?
On the surface, the Pachi president humbly agreed along with them, but inwardly he was thinking that they had clung to this thigh wonderfully well.
Not only had their race earned back piles of ore and no longer had to worry about energy use for the time being, but now even the Alliance leader had come asking something of them.
After seeing off the Alliance leader, the representatives of the other bottom-tier races nearby all crowded around the Pachi president to ask for news.
They really wanted to know how it was that, when everyone here was equally small fry, this thick-browed fellow had somehow gotten the Alliance leader to come personally looking for him.
And the Pachi president did not keep anything to himself. Kind-heartedly, he told them, “The secret is that when you decide to cling to a thigh, make sure you cling to the biggest one.”
The other small-race representatives: “???”
While they were still standing there dumbfounded, the Pachi president had already taken a full ship of toys and headed for Blue Zither Star next door.
Probably because these Pachi people so often delivered all kinds of toys for little highness, the Saint Clan’s attitude toward them was considered fairly decent.
When they heard the Pachi had business with the King, even the Saint Clan soldiers patrolling the outer perimeter helped report the matter upward.
Passed from level to level like that, the news of the Pachi visit eventually reached Alvin.
He reported the matter to Mansendis.
At that moment, Mansendis was making ice lanterns with Wen Yuzhi.
Recently, the afternoons had generally become their father-child time, with Wen Yuzhi always dragging Daddy into making some kind of little handicraft together.
And today, what they were making was ice lanterns.
There was a tree outside the window of Wen Yuzhi’s room, and after moving in, Wen Yuzhi had felt it looked a little too plain. He wanted to add some decorations to it.
As he thought about it, he came up with ice lanterns.
Mond found containers, Wen Yuzhi poured water into them, and once the water froze, removing the core from the middle created the outer lantern shell.
But a smooth outer surface was not very pretty, so Mansendis took one look, picked up a dagger, and began carving the ice lantern.
Wen Yuzhi was currently leaning beside the silver-haired sovereign, watching Daddy move his hand a few times and carve out a lifelike... little beast?
Wen Yuzhi thought the little beast looked rather familiar.
“Daddy... is that me?”
Mansendis gave a quiet sound of assent.
He did not even need the cub to change back into beast form for reference, as though he had long since engraved his child’s appearance in his heart.
The silver-haired sovereign’s knife moved quickly, and with a few swift cuts, the outline took shape.
Very soon, a cute little beast appeared on the ice lantern, running with its fluffy tail held high.
After thinking about it, Mansendis also carved two words at the bottom of the ice lantern—
Cub.
Not Zhizhi. Cub.
A more intimate form of address, one carrying the perspective of an elder.
Holding the ice lantern, Wen Yuzhi very clearly loved it. He set a candle inside, and the bright light shining through the ice lit up the carved little beast as well, along with the word cub.
Whether because he had leaned too close and the candlelight was reflecting off him, or because he was simply too happy, Wen Yuzhi’s snow-white cheeks were flushed red, and his eyes looked as though they were filled with stars.
When the Pachi people arrived, this was the scene they saw.
An incredibly warm domestic scene.
The Saint Clan sovereign, called a tyrant by the outside world, sat there in a chair with a dagger in hand, fresh ice shavings scattered at his feet.
And his child sat beside his leg, holding a beautiful ice lantern, eyes bright and glittering.
A large white wolf lay nearby, its ice-blue eyes fixed without blinking on its little master.
The fireplace in the distance was burning brightly, and the room was filled with a sweet fragrance, the source of it coming from the lavish afternoon tea spread over the table.
No matter how one looked at it, the scene was warm.
It looked just like an everyday domestic moment one might find in any family.
The Pachi people were dazed for a moment, then turned their heads to look behind them.
This was the Saint Clan’s palace. They had not come to the wrong place. And yet...
Looking at the warm scene before them, the Pachi people could not connect it with the Saint Clan no matter how hard they tried.
And yet all of it was real.
Because the instant the silver-haired sovereign set down the dagger and lifted his eyes to look over, every trace of warmth on him vanished, leaving behind only a coldness that chilled people to the bone.
The Pachi president’s heart tightened, and those wandering thoughts snapped back into place.
Clearly, this icy Mansendis felt much more familiar. As for that good father from just now...
The Pachi president’s feelings about that were, without question, complicated.
He had never imagined that the Saint Clan tyrant could have such a warm side.
Even though they had already seen this father and son interacting before, witnessing with their own eyes that they would also spend an idle afternoon together making family crafts like ordinary people still left the Pachi deeply shocked.
At the same time, however, Mansendis was not in a good mood.
He had never liked being interrupted while spending time with the cub, especially not by a group of outsiders asking for an audience.
Even Mond was frowning slightly, the look in his eyes as he watched the Pachi making it seem as though they had broken the Saint Clan’s quiet, harmonious atmosphere.
Well, to be fair, their arrival really had interrupted the Saint Clan sovereign’s playtime with his child.
The Pachi president knew they were not welcome, so he did not bother with flattering pleasantries and directly explained that the Interstellar Alliance wanted to invite the Saint Clan to attend the conference.
The Saint Clan had never taken part in these things, nor did they wish to interact with other races.
Everyone knew the Saint Clan looked down equally on every race except their own.
And Mansendis had only come here to bring his child to ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) have fun. He had no interest in wasting time on some conference.
“A conference? Is this conference important?” a clear voice suddenly cut in.
The Pachi followed the sound and realized that the one asking was the Saint Clan’s little highness.
The silver-haired, golden-eyed youth was sitting on the soft carpet. One hand rested on the white wolf’s head, absently stroking its fur, while the beautiful ice lantern sat in front of him.
This was the first time Wen Yuzhi had learned that the various races actually sat down together for conferences too.
And because this Saint Clan little highness seemed easy to talk to, the Pachi president deliberately softened his tone and explained to Wen Yuzhi that many races had been invited to this conference, and that most of the well-known races in the interstellar world would be attending.
The moment he heard that so many races were going, Wen Yuzhi hurriedly lifted his head to look at Mansendis.
“Daddy, then are we going too?”
