Chu Rong’s keen senses alerted him to the unusual energy in the air. With a quick movement, he opened his eyes and sat up, only to be astonished by the sight of a complex magic circle made of vines appearing beneath Qiao Zhiya.
His brow furrowed in concern as he reached out to pull Qiao Zhiya out of the magic circle, only to find his hand passing straight through Qiao Zhiya’s body.
The scene was too horrifying, his heart squeezed in his chest, and he quickly reached out again, only to pass through Qiao Zhiya’s body once more. At the same time, the magic circle began to rotate slowly, a faint green light rising to envelop Qiao Zhiya’s body, which then started to become eerily transparent bit by bit.
“No!”
He furrowed his brows, his body tense, a surge of killing intent and spiritual power bursting forth as he attacked the magic array beneath Qiao Zhiya. He firmly held onto Qiao Zhiya’s body, his expression stern and icy, veins bulging on his forehead as he spoke in a deep, resolute voice, “No one can take him away from me, no one!”
“Boom!”
The sharp spiritual power fiercely spread out, causing the jade beneath Qiao Zhiya to instantly shatter into powder and scatter. However, Qiao Zhiya remained lying peacefully, his body still transparent. The magic array beneath him suspended him steadily, emitting waves of gentle green light.
Chu Rong, upon seeing the jade shatter, stood firmly on the ground, his heart sinking even further. He continued to attack the magic array with his mental power while enveloping both himself and Qiao Zhiya with his spiritual strength, substituting his body with his mind. Once again, he attempted to reach out and embrace Qiao Zhiya.
This time, he finally touched Qiao Zhiya’s body, but he couldn’t feel any warmth emanating from him. It was as if he was embracing not a living person, but an illusory projection.
Ignoring everything else, he quickly tightened his embrace and bent down to lift Qiao Zhiya again. However, the magic array, which had previously been rotating slowly, seemed to sense the threat and suddenly accelerated its speed. A gentle but extremely dominant force surged towards him, while the green light around Qiao Zhiya intensified, firmly trapping him within the array.
“Go away!”
Like a wild beast whose territory had been invaded, he grunted heavily, resisting the oppressive force with all his might, inching Qiao Zhiya slowly towards the edge of the array.
The rotation of the magic array accelerated once more, and the light surrounding Qiao Zhiya turned into bands, wrestling away all control over Qiao Zhiya from Chu Rong.
The power within the magic array was too overwhelming. Chu Rong grunted, his eyes turning red. His rage matched the ferocity of the unleashed spiritual power, which raged through the room, relentlessly attacking the magic array and shattering everything in its path.
A sharp piece of jadeite flew towards him. It cut through his wrist – which was holding Qiao Zhiya – causing his blood to drip.
Qiao Zhiya within the array seemed to sense something. His eyelashes fluttered slightly, and at the same time, the green light, as if wary of something, suddenly dimmed a bit, beginning to coil back around Qiao Zhiya’s body, soothingly swirling around him.
Chu Rong keenly noticed this subtle change, his gaze sweeping over his own wrist, which was bleeding. Without hesitation, he took out a short dagger and fiercely slashed at his arm.
Blood splattered and fell in the array.
The green light suddenly dimmed, and Qiao Zhiya began to struggle anxiously. Chu Rong seized the opportunity to increase his spiritual power output and forcefully pulled Qiao Zhiya outwards. The magic array spun uselessly for a few seconds, then the green light suddenly brightened before dispersing and disappearing into the air.
The sudden power struggle began and ended abruptly. Chu Rong, due to inertia, fell back against the ground, causing a shower of jade powder to scatter throughout the room. With his arms outstretched and blood dripping from his wrist, his white hair disheveled, and his entire demeanor emanating a terrifying aura as if he were a messenger from hell, he held Qiao Zhiya tightly in his arms, who had once again fallen into a peaceful coma.
Chu Huai and the others, who had been unable to enter despite sensing the commotion, finally burst through the door and rushed in. Seeing Chu Rong in this terrifying state, covered in blood, their hearts skipped a beat. They quickly approached, wanting to take Qiao Zhiya and help Chu Rong bandage his wounds.
“Don’t touch him!”
With a sudden surge of killing intent, Chu Rong glared fiercely at the approaching medical staff. Despite his bleeding arm, he held onto Qiao Zhiya tightly, his spiritual energy fluctuating unstably, repelling anyone who tried to come near.
The medical staff were frightened stiff, taking several steps back in a very timid manner, avoiding his threatening spiritual energy.
Chu Huai also sensed Chu Rong’s very unstable spiritual power. He took a glance at the chaotic scene in the room as if a major battle had just taken place, gestured for the medical staff to leave, then instructed Chu Yan to close the door. Once only the members of the Chu family remained in the room, he cautiously approached and gently advised in a soothing tone, “Lao Er, Qiao may not be comfortable sleeping like this. Ease up on your power for now. Let’s discuss this again when we get home.”
‘Home?’
Chu Rong’s overheated brain finally calmed down a bit. He lowered his head to look at Qiao Zhiya, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms, gently kissed his forehead, felt the normal temperature returning to his body, bent down to cradle him horizontally, and strode out.
‘——Yes, go home. Only home is safe.’
In the asteroid belt, a primitive planet, in a forest of giant trees.
The slender man with long blond hair suddenly shuddered, and the magic array under his feet suddenly collapsed. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he leaned against the ancient tree behind him.
“Qiao Yi!” A brown-haired woman in green robe, who was waiting nearby, was startled and quickly rushed over, anxiously supporting him. She looked up and asked, “Are you okay?”
The man referred to as Qiao Yi raised a hand to wipe away the blood from the corner of his mouth. His thin lips moved slightly as his beautiful phoenix-like eyes lifted to gaze at the seemingly normal sky. His emerald green eyes, identical to Qiao Zhiya’s, gently turned, meeting the worried gaze of the stocky woman. He reached out to comfortingly embrace her, his voice soft and graceful but with a hint of icy elegance, as he replied, “Someone has tainted my array with their blood… But it’s okay, they will pay the price. Anyone who tries to control Qiaoqiao deserves to die.”
The breeze blew through his long hair, covering his delicate and gentle eyebrows, as well as the cold killing intent in his eyes.
Gu Yan’an woke up refreshed before lunch, looking rosy-cheeked and full of energy, with no signs of injury whatsoever, as if she had just woken up from a normal nap. However, back at the Chu residence, Qiao Zhiya experienced another spike in fever, and his powers suddenly became violent, with emerald-colored vines almost covering the entire main house.
Zhuang Yu hurried over earlier to check on Qiao Zhiya, but she soon realized that the one who needed to be examined wasn’t Qiao Zhiya. It was Chu Rong, who was unwilling to leave Qiao Zhiya’s side for even a moment.
“Sir, just addressing the wound on your arm like this won’t be sufficient; it needs to be stitched. Also, your mental state is quite unstable and requires systematic treatment. Qiao’s examination can’t be this simple either. You—”
“Get out.”
Chu Rong interrupted Zhuang Yu’s words. Since he was with Qiao Zhiya, he has gradually improved, and he has no patience for his illness to rise again, and he is totally unwilling to listen to the advice of others.
Zhuang Yu was clueless on what to do. She glanced at Chu Huai on the other side, pleading for help.
Chu Huai frowned and stepped forward, but before he could speak, Chu Rong forced them out of the room with his spiritual power, then slamming the door shut.
Now that both individuals in the room were injured, Chu Huai and Zhuang Yu dare not insist, so they can only reluctantly be “driven away.”
Upon returning home in haste after receiving the news, Gu Yan’an’s first sight was of them standing amidst the vines strewn across the floor, being pushed out of the room. Holding her belly, she hurriedly approached and asked anxiously, “What’s going on? What happened to Qiao? And Xiao Rong, how come I heard he got injured too?”
Startled by her hurried approach, both Chu Huai and Zhuang Yu were taken aback. Chu Huai quickly moved forward to support her, while Zhuang Yu hurriedly fetched a calming device. After ensuring that she stood steadily without showing signs of discomfort, they relaxed a bit. Chu Huai replied, “No one knows exactly what happened last night. The surveillance in the ward was damaged. Marshal Chu’s condition is indeed worrying. As for Qiao, you can see from these vines; his power has become uncontrollable again.”
Gu Yan’an frowned, patting Chu Huai reassuringly, then stepped forward to knock on the door, raising her voice to say, “Xiao Rong, are you there? How’s Qiao now? I want to see him.”
The room was quiet for a moment, and then Chu Rong allowed her to enter with a mild tone.
Chu Huai breathed a sigh of relief, wanting to go in with Gu Yan’an, but she refused. She insisted on going in alone, closing the door behind her, blocking Chu Huai’s view.
Chu Huai could only sigh in resignation, standing guard outside with Zhuang Yu.
Inside the room, everyone assumed that Chu Rong had lost his composure, but in reality, he was incredibly calm. He knew that Qiao Zhiya’s condition had stabilized, and what was happening now was just a normal release of power. He was simply feeling a bit anxious and didn’t want anyone else to come in and disturb Qiao Zhiya’s rest.
After entering, Gu Yan’an immediately sensed that Chu Rong’s spiritual power, intentionally restrained but not fully suppressed, lingered in the air. Her worry deepened, though she didn’t show it on her face. She approached to inspect Qiao Zhiya’s condition, finding him with a good complexion and sleeping soundly, which eased her concern a bit. Her gaze swept over Chu Rong’s hastily bandaged arm, but she didn’t touch him. Instead, she cautiously reached out to hold Qiao Zhiya’s hand lying beside him.
Chu Rong paused. He didn’t stop her, but moved his body backwards, so his unstable power wouldn’t touch her.
With a gentle gaze, Gu Yan’an drew closer and placed Qiao Zhiya’s hand on her own belly. She bent down to stroke Qiao Zhiya’s forehead and softly said, “Qiao, thank you for protecting the baby. Please wake up soon. The baby is waiting to say hello to you.”
In his slumber, Qiao Zhiya seemed to hear her voice. Though his body remained still, a vine that had been hanging down on the ground suddenly extended, gently brushing against her belly, expressing a joyful and expectant demeanor.
Gu Yanan couldn’t help but show a smile and touched the vine.
Chu Rong saw that the aura on the youth’s body eased slightly. He bent down and kissed Qiao Zhiya’s forehead.
“Xiao Rong, Qiao will be worried if he wakes up and sees your unstable condition. Besides, your state might affect his rest,” Gu Yan’an took the opportunity to speak gently, offering comforting advice.
Chu Rong frowned, and touched Qiao Zhiya’s forehead again. He glanced at her, then nodded.
Seeing him take heed of her advice, Gu Yan’an felt relieved and didn’t linger any longer. She turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Then, she waved dismissively at Chu Huai and said, “Go do what you need to do. You have me at home. Don’t burden Xiao Rong with everything. He’s under a lot of pressure, and you, as his older brother, are really not helpful at all.”
In handling this incident, Chu Huai did feel that he was completely useless. He listened to her honestly, and followed her to drive them both to their home.
Seeing this, Zhuang Yu widened her eyes in surprise, glanced at the closed door, hesitated for a moment, and then left as well.
Qiao Zhiya’s bout of uncontrollable power only occurred once and then subsided. Afterwards, the high fever decreased, and his condition gradually stabilized. Finally, the next morning, he woke up at his usual time as if nothing had happened.
Chu Rong, who had been guarding him, relaxed his tight body. He leaned down and kissed the sleepy-looking youth, holding him in his arms.
Qiao Zhiya was held tightly by Chu Rong, his arms and legs almost immobilized, making it difficult to breathe. Just as he was about to raise his hand to struggle, he caught a whiff of blood. His ears twitched, and his magic spread out as he asked, “Are you injured? Why do I smell blood?”
Chu Rong’s reaction was even more intense than his. He immediately raised his hand and pressed it against Qiao Zhiya’s forehead, using his spiritual power to suppress Qiao Zhiya’s strength, preventing him from releasing it. Then, without hesitation, he stood up and swiftly removed the roughly wrapped bandage from the wound, unhesitatingly reopening it and smearing a bit of blood onto Qiao Zhiya’s body.
The scent of blood became even more pronounced, leaving Qiao Zhiya stunned by this strange turn of events. His instinct prompted him to reach out and grasp Chu Rong’s injured wrist, his mind racing to grab the medical kit to bandage him. However, his body stiffened, immobilized, and he stammered, “What… what are you doing? You… you…”
Due to his extreme shock, he found himself unable to articulate properly.
Chu Rong, however, disregarded his own injury completely. He clasped Qiao Zhiya’s hand tightly, while his other hand cupped his face, forcing him to look into his eyes. He spoke earnestly, “Qiao, starting from today, don’t use your magic, and don’t draw any magic circles. Promise me.”
Qiao Zhiya was stunned by his fierce expression. He was baffled for a few seconds before saying, “But …”
“There’s no ‘but’,” Chu Rong leaned in closer, his hands enclosing Qiao Zhiya’s ears, his tone carrying a hint of madness even he hadn’t realized, and said heavily, “If there’s another time, I’m afraid I will have to lock you up.” He was willing to pay any price.
His tone was too frightening, his gaze serious enough to scare Qiao Zhiya, who trembled involuntarily. Suddenly, his forehead heated up, and with a pop, a small bump formed.
