Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 17

The ward was quiet; not a single sound could be heard.

Ping Zong sat on the bed, as if turned to stone.

A second felt like it had stretched to a century, making everyone experience the feeling of time dragging on endlessly.

“Mirror.” Ping Zong, seemingly petrified, suddenly spoke.

No one moved.

“I want a mirror,” Ping Zong repeated firmly. Ling Xiao helplessly sought assistance from Yao Tai, who gestured to the medical staff. Shortly, a mirror was presented to Ping Zong.

Staring at his reflection, Ping Zong was taken aback. Even though only the color of his eyes had changed, it seemed like he had become an entirely different person.

Under the stimulation of the truth, memories gradually returned: the intense fight, the sweet scent of blood, and the slowly fading gray in Lan Sheng’s eyes. The events of the previous night replayed. Ling Xiao didn’t deceive him, he had won. The loser was Lan Sheng.

“I want to see him,” Ping Zong said, pulling back his blankets to get off the bed.

“He won’t want to see you.” Yao Tai finally spoke. “Given his current mental state, he’s not seeing anyone.”

Disbelief filled Ping Zong’s dark eyes. “But I am not just anyone.”

“I assume the last person he wants to see right now is you. There’s no more time for you to ponder,” Yao Tai stated gravely. “What I am about to tell you is extremely important. Please listen to every word.”

Before he could recover from the most significant blow of his life, Ping Zong was forced to attentively grasp new information.

“After the coming-of-age ceremony, the Qizi releases a surge of hormones, affecting their brain and causing emotional turmoil. I know the outcome of your ceremony was unexpected, which led to him secreting several times the normal amount. Based on our instruments, in the next 72 hours, he will experience intense anger, irritability, panic, or feelings of despair. Currently, no drug can treat or control these negative emotions.”

“How can that be?” Ping Zong inquired anxiously. “How do others get through this?”

“The Qizhu is the only one who can soothe the Qizi. Usually, after the ceremony, we encourage the Qizhu to spend as much time with the Qizi as possible. However, looking at Lan Sheng’s current state, he won’t allow anyone, including you, to be close.” Yao Tai’s voice deepened. “This means you must quickly learn how to control your Qizi.”

Ping Zong’s eyes widened. “Control?”

“Exactly. Many Qizhu spend months or even a year mastering this, but you might not have that much time. Lan Sheng’s mental assessment has reached a high-risk level. Historically, the mortality rate for such individuals is up to 50%.”

Ping Zong tensed up. “I will learn.”

“Focus and try to infiltrate his mental realm. Do whatever it takes, even if it means forcefully controlling his mind. Believe in your ability to dominate your Qizi. Remember, you’re not equals. You are controlling him, and this is a forceful measure. Any pity or soft-heartedness will cause a failure in the mental connection.”

Ping Zong closed his eyes, visibly straining in his effort. Yao Tai watched him for a moment before leaving, with Ling Xiao and the others departing the ward to give Ping Zong a tranquil environment.

Outside, Zhi Shang hesitantly asked, “What do you think?”

Yao Tai shook her head. “Not optimistic. That boy still can’t fully accept his identity as a Qizhu. He’s emotionally sensitive, which might hinder him from breaking through the mental barrier.”

Simply put, he was too compassionate. The colder one was, the faster they could master this ability. Clearly, Ping Zong’s feelings for Lan Sheng were overwhelming.

Zhi Shang shook his head in disbelief. “This is my fault. Like the student said, I deceived them.”

Yao Tai silenced him. “It’s not your fault. Even if you hadn’t said those things, they would’ve faced this phase.”

“But I gave them hope.” Zhi Shang’s guilt wasn’t alleviated. “I painted a dream for them, only to find out it was a nightmare. If they knew it was a nightmare from the beginning, they would’ve been prepared and wouldn’t have been shattered.”

Yao Tai stayed silent for a while, finally offering him a silent embrace.

The communication light on Yao Tai’s terminal lit up. “Dr. Yao, the student in the intensive care unit is awake.”

Ending the brief hug, Yao Tai quickly made her way upstairs. By the time she and another person arrived, Ling Xiao and his classmates, who had been informed in advance, were already waiting outside the observation room. Ling Xiao’s fists were clenched tightly against the glass window, trembling constantly, as if he were using all his strength to restrain himself.

Yao Tai had anticipated such a scene, but now she had no time to consider the feelings of others.

The medical staff came forward to report Lan Sheng’s condition. “His body is recovering at a rapid pace, but his mental state is very concerning. He’s showing signs of overexertion. If this continues, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks free from the restraints.”

Yao Tai somberly approached the window. In the center of the room was a lone chair, to which Lan Sheng was tied. Both his hands and feet were shackled. He was struggling fiercely, and by reading his lips, it seemed he was screaming, but the sound was cruelly blocked by the walls. His eyes were fixed on a spot on the wall, as if something there was deeply loathsome that he wanted to pierce through.

Ling Xiao closed his eyes, pressing his forehead weakly against the cold glass, unable to bear the sight. Behind him, two of his classmates’ eyes began to redden unwittingly. This was their first lesson in their coming-of-age ceremony, and it was already brutally overwhelming.

Lan Sheng’s strength grew, causing even the chair bolted to the floor to tremble. His wrists rubbed fiercely against the handcuffs, quickly becoming stained with blood.

“Give him a sedative,” Yao Tai ordered.

Soon, a nurse entered with a syringe, quite long and thick, and injected a clear liquid into Lan Sheng from behind his neck. Only then did the person inside gradually calm down, slowly bowing his head, motionless.

“Do you really want to stay here?” Yao Tai asked Ling Xiao, who had turned into a statue.

Ling Xiao seemed not to hear and remained motionless.

Yao Tai sighed softly and called the two classmates over.

“Who in your class can handle Ling Xiao?”

The two looked at each other. “Probably only Ying Feng…”

“Call him over. Watch him, don’t let him cause trouble or get close to the person inside. It’d be best if you can take him away,” Yao Tai said with a rare look of exhaustion. “There are many others who’ve completed the coming-of-age ceremony these days. We have too many to care for and can’t spare hands for unrelated individuals.”

One of them hesitated. “But Ying Feng probably won’t care about others.”

“Just tell him I said so.” Yao Tai’s tone was firm, brooking no refusal.

Ying Feng did come. When he arrived, Ling Xiao was torturing himself by standing outside the ICU. The person inside was motionless, and so was the person outside, as if they were mirroring each other.

“Ying Feng,” the classmate said nervously as he saw him approach, “We’ve been trying to persuade him for ages, but he refuses to leave.”

Without a word, Ying Feng grabbed Ling Xiao by the collar and started walking him downstairs. Surprisingly, Ling Xiao didn’t resist and seemed lost in thoughts as he was dragged down.

“No.” Ling Xiao seemed to snap back to his senses near the entrance. “I don’t want to go.”

Ying Feng stopped and stared at him.

“I want to stay.” Ling Xiao, whose eyes always shone with confidence, was now filled with bewilderment and confusion. “They are my friends. I can’t just leave them here.”

After a brief pause, Ying Feng pulled him in the opposite direction until they reached a bench in the hallway.

“Can you at least sit and wait here?”

Ling Xiao didn’t struggle much and was pressed down by Ying Feng. Then, Ying Feng himself sat next to Ling Xiao. They both sat silently side by side without speaking.

As night fell, the surroundings became eerily quiet. The deafening silence became unbearable.

“Ying Feng.” Ling Xiao’s voice sounded like a stone dropped in a quiet pond, breaking the silence. Ying Feng slightly moved, signaling he heard.

Ling Xiao called his name but seemed unprepared for what to say next. After a pause, he said, “You don’t have to stay here.”

He spoke these words with such insincerity. The other two classmates had already left, and he had never felt so alone and in need of someone by his side before.

Ying Feng glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Although he usually paid little attention to others, this version of Ling Xiao was something he hadn’t seen in ten years.

The Ling Xiao he remembered was always aggressive, always looking for reasons to provoke him, and never showed his vulnerabilities. But today’s Ling Xiao radiated vulnerability that seemed so out of character for him.

“I promised Dr. Yao,” implying, ‘My staying here has nothing to do with you’.

Ling Xiao didn’t know why Dr. Yao wanted Ying Feng to stay, but upon hearing this answer, he truly breathed a sigh of relief.

The atmosphere became quiet again. Ying Feng subconsciously took out a peach pit from his pocket, slowly rubbing its rough surface. This had evidently become a habit. Whenever he did this, he felt at peace.

Ling Xiao noticed his movement and looked at him curiously. Once he saw, he couldn’t take his eyes off it. “What’s that in your hand?”

Ying Feng didn’t answer, but Ling Xiao became more interested in the item. “Can I have a look?”

Ying Feng hesitated for a moment but handed it over. As Ling Xiao took it, a flash of blue light appeared for a fleeting moment.

“Did you see that?”

“What?”

“There was light inside.”

“I’ve had it for nearly ten years, and I’ve never seen any light.”

Did I see it wrong? Ling Xiao examined the peach pit closely, and from any angle, it just seemed like an ordinary peach pit.

“What did you say earlier? You’ve had it for almost ten years, which means you’ve had it since shortly after you woke up?”

Ying Feng simply replied, “Mm.”

“Why do you carry it with you?”

Ying Feng hesitated for a long time before answering. “I found it in my energy chamber.”

Ying Feng had never told anyone about this secret, including the base staff. It seemed that tonight’s atmosphere was even making secrets want to be shared.

“You mean, it’s been with you since you woke up? How’s that possible? Souls reincarnate, leaving no memories, so how can they leave objects?”

“I want to know why even more than you do.”

Ling Xiao thought for a while but couldn’t come up with a logical explanation. He had visited the base and knew the staff there wouldn’t carelessly drop a leftover peach pit into an energy chamber.

Could past lives truly leave traces in this way?

“So, you’re desperately trying to find your lover from a past life because of this?”

Ying Feng didn’t deny it. “The first time I saw it, I felt it belonged to someone else. I’ve always felt there’s a connection between them. If I can find them, this mystery will be solved.”

Who was the other person? Ying Feng didn’t specify, but Ling Xiao understood. Suddenly, the peach pit in his hand felt hot, and he quickly returned it, his heart in turmoil.

“The universe is so vast; how do you plan to search?”

Ying Feng silently took the pit back. “I have a feeling they’re close by—very close to me.”

“And what if you never find them?”

“I’ll keep searching.”

……

Even in the longest nights, dawn would always greet them. When Ping Zong came out of his room, he saw the two usually conflicting individuals sitting together on the bench outside the door, with Ling Xiao’s head resting on Ying Feng’s shoulder, both of them deeply asleep.

Ying Feng, ever alert, was awakened by Ping Zong’s gaze. This was the first time he saw Ping Zong after the coming-of-age ceremony. There was a moment of discomfort in Ying Feng’s eyes as they met.

His slight movement woke Ling Xiao, who rubbed his eyes and jumped up anxiously upon recognizing the person in front of him.

“How did it go?” he asked eagerly. Ping Zong looked like he hadn’t slept all night, with dark circles under his eyes.

“I still couldn’t do it,” Ping Zong said frustratedly. “He resisted fiercely. As soon as I got close, he started screaming. The sound was piercing. I could sense how painful it was for him when I invaded his mental realm. I couldn’t bear it.”

Ling Xiao didn’t know how to respond, so he just comfortingly placed his hand on Ping Zong’s shoulder.

Just then, a short and long alarm rang from the medical building. The three of them looked around in surprise.

Medical staff from the first floor ran out of their offices, all looking anxious. This included Dr. Yao.

“Dr. Yao!” Ling Xiao called out to her, “What happened?”

Dr. Yao turned off her communicator, looking grim. “Lan Sheng is missing, and his personal items are gone.”

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