Free Web NovelIn Xi Heyan’s impression, Wen Yuzhi’s dad seemed to be someone with a certain amount of status.
Not only was the family rich, he also had a lot of people under his command.
This “Dad” was busy every day, yet he treated Wen Yuzhi, the child he had only just gotten back, very, very well.
That much could be seen from their everyday chats.
Back when Wen Yuzhi was still with the Wen family, his emotions had always been repressed. He lived cautiously, and in his conversations with Xi Heyan, he would inevitably mention those people from the Wen family.
Between the lines, Xi Heyan could sense that Wen Yuzhi had not been living happily in real life.
So when Wen Yuzhi told him he was going to leave that home, Xi Heyan had been happy for him, glad that he could get away from those relatives who made him feel so stifled.
Later, Wen Yuzhi said he had found his biological father. Xi Heyan did not know what kind of person this biological father was, and could only hope that he was someone easy to get along with.
Fortunately, Wen Yuzhi really had met a very good family.
It was almost an obvious change.
After returning to that new home, Wen Yuzhi seemed to become more and more cheerful and lively. Every time he mentioned that new home or those family members, his tone was happy.
And the one he mentioned most often was that biological father of his.
As time passed, Xi Heyan could not help growing a little curious about this “Dad” too.
...What kind of person was he, exactly?
And the moment the subject turned to Dad, Wen Yuzhi’s mood immediately rose, and he became more talkative.
[My dad is really, really good to me. He’s a really good person.]
Wen Yuzhi used really good three times in one breath. In his eyes, Mansendis practically had no flaws at all.
As a father, Mansendis might still have had some things he was not yet skilled at, but the love he gave Wen Yuzhi far surpassed that of most people in this world.
When Wen Yuzhi had first arrived among the Saint Clan, faced with this new world, this new environment, and the biological father who had suddenly appeared, his heart had been full of fear and unease.
It was Mansendis who told him not to be afraid.
Even now, Wen Yuzhi still remembered his first day on Dark Tower Star. Faced all at once with the gazes of countless Saint Clan members, it was Mansendis who had taken the initiative to hold his hand.
The broad, powerful palm of the adult Saint Clan member wrapped around him.
That airtight sense of safety had pulled Wen Yuzhi out of that confusion and helplessness just in time.
From then on, every day of Wen Yuzhi’s life had an imposing figure by his side.
He cared about him, looked after him, tucked in his blanket in the middle of the night, and taught him what to do whenever Wen Yuzhi felt lost.
He had even personally sewn little clothes for him and built snow beasts with him.
They had done so, so many things together. Throughout that process, Mansendis had slowly nourished this sensitive, uneasy cub with love.
So much so that when Wen Yuzhi wanted to tell Xi Heyan how good his dad was, he almost had too many examples to finish listing.
From Wen Yuzhi’s words, what Xi Heyan came away with was the image of someone powerful, responsible, and deeply loving toward his child.
A father who was practically perfect.
Just as Xi Heyan was thinking that, Wen Yuzhi’s next sentence made him fall silent at once.
[It’s just... some people out there don’t seem to like my dad very much.]
Wen Yuzhi was talking about how other races across the interstellar world evaluated Mansendis.
[They say his methods are really ruthless. They think he’s cruel. They also say Dad is an emotionless monster.]
When he got to this point, Wen Yuzhi was obviously a little troubled.
He could more or less guess why those people said such things, because when he had first met Mansendis, he too had been intimidated by that cold, overpowering aura around him.
But after getting to know him, Wen Yuzhi had gradually realized that Mansendis did have feelings too, and was not as frightening as the outside world made him out to be.
Dad was obviously very gentle too.
It was just that he could not really talk to anyone else about this trouble.
After all, who would believe that the gentle, considerate father who treated Wen Yuzhi so well was actually the Saint Clan’s tyrant?
If Wen Yuzhi said it out loud, people would probably think he was making the whole thing up.
Naturally, Xi Heyan had not connected Wen Yuzhi’s dad with the Saint Clan ruler either.
Looking at words like ruthless, cruel, and monster, he was only one step away from picturing some hideous being with a blue face, fangs, and three heads and six arms.
Still, Xi Heyan also knew that rumors were not necessarily true. A lot of them were exaggerated.
So he comforted him: [Maybe they’re saying that because they hate your dad.]
Wen Yuzhi nodded.
Actually, he understood too.
A lot of people did not know Mansendis, and did not understand the Saint Clan.
A great many people had probably never even seen a Saint Clan member with their own eyes in their entire lives.
Most of what they knew about the Saint Clan came from clips deliberately cut out by people with ulterior motives, and among those clips, the ones selected were all scenes showing the Saint Clan at their most out of control.
When they saw those hideous, terrifying “monsters” in the footage, they would instinctively feel fear.
And beneath that fear, rejection would grow.
Only Wen Yuzhi knew how adorable those Saint Clan members really were.
[If we ever get the chance to meet in the future, I’ll take you to meet my dad and my new family.]
Xi Heyan was his only good friend, and Wen Yuzhi wanted him to be a little less afraid of the Saint Clan too.
And simply describing them in words made Wen Yuzhi worry that Xi Heyan might not believe him, so he thought that if Xi Heyan was not too resistant to the Saint Clan, he could find a chance in the future to invite him to Dark Tower Star as a guest.
...Meet.
Xi Heyan stared at those two words and froze for a moment.
He had not expected the other party to suddenly offer to meet.
They had known each other for so long, yet had almost never talked about meeting in person. Their relationship had always remained at the stage of being nothing more than online friends.
For some reason, Xi Heyan suddenly saw in his mind the boy’s exquisite, doll-like face.
But very quickly, he came back to himself.
[Okay.]
Wen Yuzhi kept chatting with Xi Heyan until it was almost time for bed. Mond had already come over to remind him for the second time.
“Your Highness, it’s time for you to sleep.”
Only then did Wen Yuzhi realize it had gotten very late.
He could only hurriedly say good night to Xi Heyan before shutting off the light-brain.
Then he obediently went into «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the bathroom to wash up.
When he came out of the bathroom, Mond was still waiting outside.
“Would Your subject like me to comb out your wings a little?”
Wen Yuzhi shook his head. It really was too late today, and he did not want to keep troubling Mond.
“You should go rest too. I have to get to sleep early, or I won’t be able to get up again tomorrow. I promised Dad we’d do a video call every morning.”
As he spoke, Wen Yuzhi quickly lay down in bed and pulled the blanket up high, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.
The cub blinked over at him like that and called out in a soft, fluffy voice, “Good night, Mond.”
Mond felt his heart soften a little at the sight.
“Good night, Your Highness.”
After that, Mond turned off the light for Wen Yuzhi.
And just as Wen Yuzhi was about to fall asleep, he had no idea that somewhere very far away, someone was also mentioning him at that very moment.
The palace on the capital star was still guarded as tightly as ever.
Patrolling guards came in wave after wave, with security so strict that not even a fly looked as if it would be allowed through.
And yet Bernard, lying in bed, still jolted awake from a dream.
In the dream, he had been seated on the throne, enjoying the sight of everyone bowing before him.
But all of a sudden, those court officials lifted their heads.
Those familiar faces had turned into the faces of the Blackstone Legion.
They looked at him with expressions as cold as stone, like lifeless statues.
Back then, Bernard had ordered Xi Shixiao executed on charges of treason and colluding with the enemy. He had intended to take over the Blackstone Legion in the process, only to find that those people would rather die than betray Xi Shixiao.
In the end, Bernard had no choice but to kill them all.
Later, it had taken a full two days just to deal with the bodies.
Bernard had seen every one of these faces, more or less, at Xi Shixiao’s side. He had thought that after so many years, he had long since forgotten them.
But the moment he saw those uniforms again, Bernard still felt fear.
He woke from the dream with a start.
Bernard was still shaken. Just as he was about to call for an attendant to summon the doctor, he realized there was already someone standing beside his bed.
“Dan?!”
Seeing that he was awake, the other party even gave a light laugh and offered a greeting.
“Our Majesty is finally awake.”
Bernard nearly failed to catch his breath. Forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart, he demanded in an icy tone, “How did you get in here?”
Dan lifted a brow and smiled. “I have my ways. You only said you wanted to see me. You didn’t say where we had to meet, or how.”
Hearing Dan’s almost teasing words, Bernard’s face darkened even further.
His bedchamber was the most heavily guarded place in the entire palace. Every guard stationed there without exception was one of his trusted people.
And yet now, an outsider had entered with ease and was standing directly beside his bed...
Did that not mean that if Dan wanted to, he could kill him at any moment?
That had obviously touched the most sensitive nerve in Bernard’s mind.
Dan, however, seemed to see straight through him. In an offhand tone, he said, “Relax. I’m not interested in your throne.”
“I’m only here because I want to know about Xi Yuelin.”
A throne destined to decline was something only Bernard would treasure like gold.
And if Dan’s experiment could succeed, then in the face of a long lifespan and immense power, what was a petty throne worth?
Bernard clearly also knew what Dan and the people behind him had been working on.
The only reason he had sought Dan’s help was because, in his current state, Dan was the only one who might still be able to help him.
Even if he had to become a monster, he still wanted to live.
Thinking of this, Bernard fixed his gaze on Dan.
“Let’s make a deal.”
“If you can keep me alive, then I can tell you everything you want to know.”
Dan said nothing. He seemed to still be weighing whether Bernard’s information would actually be of any use to him. freewebnøvel.com
But Bernard could no longer wait. Every word he spoke was terribly strained.
He could feel that he did not have much time left.
This meeting with Dan might well be his last chance.
So Bernard no longer bothered to hide it.
“I’m guessing you might be interested in the power of healing?”
