Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

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

---

Chapter 107

Fu Yao rushed into the blaze, only to see Ying Feng standing alone. Aside from an unrecognizable corpse that clearly wasn’t of the Tianxiu people, no one else was present.

“Ying Feng! Where’s Ling Xiao?” Explosions resounded around them. Fu Yao shouted over the noise.

Ying Feng stood still, seemingly deaf to both the explosions and Fu Yao’s voice.

Another loud bang was heard as debris fell nearby. Fu Yao knew they couldn’t stay there for long. He needed to get Ying Feng out first.

“This place is going to be destroyed. Let’s move!” He tried to pull Ying Feng but couldn’t move him.

Seeing Ying Feng’s despondent look, as if he wished for death, Fu Yao cursed under his breath and struck Ying Feng, knocking him unconscious. Carrying him, Fu Yao dashed out.

Burning obstacles fell in their path. Fu Yao waved his hand, extinguishing the fire in front of him, paving a path of ice and snow.

Supporting Ying Feng, Fu Yao sped out of the starship. Nie Yun, piloting a spacecraft, quickly came to their rescue. They had just escaped the danger zone when a massive explosion destroyed the starship, which looked like a grand firework before it faded.

This starship, wanted by the military for decades, had finally met its end.

Long Yin looked at the recovered Ying Feng. He had awakened from unconsciousness yet remained silent and looked lost, like a wandering soul.

It was the most profound loss Long Yin had ever experienced in his life. None of his campaigns over the years had ended in such a disastrous defeat.

Everyone waited for his instruction. Long Yin sighed. “Return to the surface, to the command center.”

“I want to go back to school.” Ying Feng, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

His subordinates looked at Long Yin uncertainly.

“I want to go back to school,” Ying Feng repeated.

Left with no choice, Long Yin could only wave his hand helplessly. “Take him back.”

The military fleet landed at the Royal Sky landing pad. Ying Feng, holding Xiao Hui, disembarked from the spaceship alone.

“Is it okay to let him go back alone?” Nie Yun asked worriedly from behind.

Fu Yao, watching Ying Feng’s departing figure, had a complicated expression. “Let him have some time alone.”

The long night had passed, and dawn was breaking. Ying Feng bent down to put down Xiao Hui. As he looked up, the first rays of the sunrise met his eyes. Instinctively, he raised his hand to shield them from the dazzling light.

Though it was early, there were students exercising on the campus. As Ying Feng walked, a student running towards him shouted:

“Ying Feng! Ling Xiao has caused trouble again. Go check on him!”

Ying Feng paused. “What did you say?”

Thinking he hadn’t heard clearly, the student repeated louder. “I said why are you up so early today. Walking your dog?”

It took a few seconds for Ying Feng to realize he had misheard. He walked away in a daze.

The student who greeted him looked back, puzzled. What’s wrong with Ying Feng today?

Returning to the dormitory he once shared with Ling Xiao, a large photo on the wall served as a constant reminder of Ling Xiao’s presence. Ying Feng slowly sat on the bed, gazing at the picture. He then reached into his chest pocket.

Where he once kept a token from his past life lover, he now felt a small metal box. He opened it to reveal two rings. He took out one, engraved with a date from a year ago.

Xiao Hui struggled to climb onto the bed. Usually, it wouldn’t dare to do so when Ying Feng was around, but today Ying Feng didn’t stop it. It rested its small head on Ying Feng’s leg, its light gray eyes filled with a sorrow mirroring Ying Feng’s.

Sunset followed by sunrise, the time outside was changing, but the time inside the house seemed forever frozen on that day. Outside, there came loud knocks on the door, intermingled with Red Head’s shouts:

“Ying Feng! You’ve been inside for three days and nights. If you don’t open the door, I’ll break in!”

Inside, there was complete silence. Red Head exchanged a glance with Bing Can, then teleported into Ying Feng’s dorm room, quickly opening the door for Bing Can and the others.

“Ying Feng! How long do you plan to mope in here?” Without waiting for a response, Red Head stormed into the bedroom. The abrupt change in lighting caught him off guard. Even though it was bright outside, thick curtains inside blocked all light, turning the room into perpetual night, seemingly never to see dawn again.

Ying Feng sat motionless with Xiao Hui beside him, the creature having neither eaten nor drunk for three days.

Seeing this, Red Head felt a mix of sorrow and anger. He stormed to the window, ready to pull back the curtains.

“Don’t open them.”

The petrified Ying Feng suddenly whispered.

Red Head’s action paused midway. A sliver of the curtain was pulled back, letting a shaft of sunlight stream in. The beam of light, trying its best, illuminated the dark room. Standing by the window, facing outside, the sun’s warmth hit Red Head’s face, yet his hands gripping the curtains trembled.

Bing Can, having observed everything, sighed and softly said, “I know you’re grieving, but you must think of Xiao Hui. If you continue to neglect yourself, it will die.”

His words stirred Ying Feng. Lowering his gaze, he saw Xiao Hui, weak and almost lifeless. Yu Ji extended his hand. “Give it to me.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Ying Feng handed over the frail creature. In just three days, Xiao Hui had lost so much weight that Ying Feng could feel its bones.

Watching Yu Ji take Xiao Hui away, Bing Can crouched again. “Of all the people I’ve met, you have one of the strongest spirits. It’s time to pull yourself together. We all hope for you to heal. Losing a friend has already saddened us enough; we can’t lose you too.”

“Do you remember? During the entrance exam, Ling Xiao said you were his pride. I believe Ling Xiao wouldn’t want to see his pride like this. He was such a bright, positive person. Please remember him that way and choose to live on with vigor.”

Having said that, Bing Can stood up and signaled to Red Head. “Let’s go.”

Only then did Red Head turn around, tear streaks evident on his face.

Quietness returned to the room, and after what felt like an eternity, the person inside finally began to move.

……

Fu Yao looked at the person in front of him. Even though he had tried his best to groom himself, the signs of exhaustion were undeniable.

Ying Feng didn’t speak, waiting for Fu Yao to decide his future.

“After discussing with other instructors,” Fu Yao finally broke the silence after a while, “you can transfer to the Combat Command Department, or any other specialty in Royal Sky that interests you. You don’t need to make a decision now. When you’ve made your choice, let me know.”

Ying Feng nodded calmly. “Okay.”

Seeing him like this, Fu Yao felt even more distressed. He walked over to Ying Feng, raised his hand, and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“I’m truly sorry,” he said.

Ying Feng turned ninety degrees, gave him a military salute, and left without looking back.

Someone was waiting outside his dormitory. Seeing Ying Feng return, he immediately stood straight.

“Ying Feng, you’re back. I knocked earlier, but you weren’t here. Your classmates told me you went out.”

Ying Feng glanced at the slightly nervous Heng He and gave a brief greeting. “What are you doing here?”

“I…” Heng He lowered his head awkwardly. “I heard about Ling Xiao. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

This was the second time in a short while that Ying Feng had heard similar words, and he felt somewhat numb.

“Thank you for visiting,” Ying Feng replied succinctly.

“There’s also…”

Heng He hesitated, pulling out a small chip from his pocket. “This is Ling Xiao’s keepsake. I thought it best to give it to you.”

Ying Feng took it with two fingers and realized it was a holographic storage card.

“What’s on this?”

“…You’ll know when you watch it.”

After Heng He left, Ying Feng returned to his room and plugged the storage card into the player. The beginning of the video was blank. He went into the bedroom to take off his coat when a familiar voice echoed from the living room.

“I’m about to undergo treatment. After this treatment, I might lose all memories from the past three months…”

Ying Feng, dropping his coat, stumbled back to the living room. In the center of the room, a figure sat, speaking earnestly, “…To me, these memories are precious, so I chose to record them. Even if I forget them someday, they won’t truly be lost.”

Ying Feng slowly approached the holographic figure in disbelief, trying to touch it. But as he reached out, his hand passed right through, drawing a defeated arc in the air.

Xiao Hui also ran out, seeing Ling Xiao’s image. It excitedly tried to pounce on him but passed right through and landed on the ground. Undeterred, Xiaohui turned and pounced again and again, repeatedly passing through Ling Xiao’s holographic image without being able to touch him. Yet, it persisted in its attempts, all the while its nostrils flaring strongly, showing its confusion at not being able to detect Ling Xiao’s scent.

The projected Ling Xiao gazed in the direction of the camera, looking past Ying Feng to the wall behind.

His voice continued, “…He took me to the seaside for our honeymoon. We dove in bubbles, turned seawater into hot springs, and made wishes upon shooting stars… He drew a portrait of me, which I’ve stored in my secret stash along with other gifts he gave me…”

A secret stash…?

Recalling something, Ying Feng dashed back into his bedroom, frantically searching. After a thorough search, he found a black box under his bed, which Ling Xiao had never let him see.

Holding the box, he hesitated to open it, recalling a sentence Ling Xiao had told him long ago—

If I ever die, open it and take a look.

It felt like an eternity before he finally opened it. The first thing he saw was a fragment of fabric. Ying Feng recognized it—it was the piece of sleeve torn off when Lan Sheng fell from a building, the one he had personally given to Ling Xiao.

It was that day when Ling Xiao, holding onto the fabric, vowed in front of Ping Zong’s portrait never to become anyone’s Qizi. Yet, he ended up becoming his own—until just a few days ago.

The first drawing he made of Ling Xiao was placed underneath the fabric piece. In the drawing, Ling Xiao was depicted with contentedly squinted eyes, with an aura of happiness that seemed about to burst from the paper.

Ying Feng picked up the drawing, revealing a plastic bag beneath. The pink bag radiated a shy hue, and on it was an image of a little girl in a magical costume. He carefully examined it for a long time, finally recalling that it was the packaging for the strawberry bread he had once bought for Ling Xiao. Surprisingly, Ling Xiao had saved the packaging, and the gift he referred to giving Ying Feng was this.

Ying Feng carefully extracted each bag, one by one. For a box of bread with 24 packs, there were 24 wrappers. He counted each, none missing, none left behind. However, after taking the last pink one, he found another bag at the bottom, but it wasn’t pink.

With trembling hands, Ying Feng picked up the yellow bag adorned with a banana pattern. The once naive and penniless figure who couldn’t even afford food was confidently striking a combat pose in front of him.

It’s not yet determined who will bully whom. By the way, I prefer the taste of banana over strawberry.

If the person standing in front of you now was your lover from your past life, I don’t believe you’d dare do to him what you did to me yesterday!

You’re truly amazing, and I’m proud of you.

If I had to make a wish, instead of gaining, I’d wish not to lose.

Ying Feng, I’ve liked you for a very long time. It feels so good to say this as an equal.

Tears dropped on the bag, blurring its design. If they could start over, if he had known Ling Xiao’s feelings earlier, would his current regrets not be so overwhelming and all-consuming?

Ling Xiao’s voice came softly from the next room, as if it had traveled through a thousand years to reach him.

“…But if I truly forget and the memories restored aren’t as beautiful as they are now, I wouldn’t regret the decision I made today. Because only he knows the efforts we’ve made together. It’s unfair. This feeling, obtained after enduring countless hardships, I want to share it with him, no matter what…”

……

Four and a half years later.

“See that? On our left, most are Qizis, and as you move to the right, there are more Qizhus. Those of us standing in the middle represent the dividing line of the school. That’s because the Joint Combat program is the only major where the ratio of Qizhu to Qizi is always maintained at 1:1,” someone explained to the freshmen.

“Really?” The newcomers looked around, and suddenly one of them pointed at a man in a deep blue Qizhu uniform and asked, “Hey, isn’t that odd? There’s a solo Qizhu up front. Why is there no one beside him?”

The person looked at the upright figure ahead and was instantly filled with sympathy. “Him? He used to be a student in our program, but his Qizi met with an accident, so he transferred to the Command Program midway. But for every entrance and graduation ceremony, he returns. The spot next to him is always vacant.”

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed. Ying Feng completed his final term at Royal Sky. Before leaving, he went to bid farewell to Fu Yao. Even though he was no longer his student, Fu Yao had always taken good care of him over the years.

“Made up your mind then? Not joining the military department?”

“Yes,” Ying Feng replied.

“I’m a bit disappointed, but I respect your decision. If you ever change your mind, you can come to me anytime.”

Ying Feng saluted, bid him goodbye, and departed.

The priest was watering plants in the churchyard when a yellow sports car pulled up, quietly parking outside. A figure stepped out, wearing sunglasses, dragging a suitcase, accompanied by a large, majestic gray wolf.

In the five years since Ling Xiao’s departure, Ying Feng had frequently visited here. The priest had become very familiar with him and occasionally let him stay overnight in the room once occupied by Ling Xing.

“You’ve graduated.”

“Yes.” Ying Feng nodded. “May I stay here?”

“Of course,” the priest replied with a smile, stepping aside. “As long as you don’t mind the small room, you can stay as long as you like.”

Ying Feng nodded in gratitude and, accompanied by Xiao Hui, entered the church’s main door.

<End of Royal Sky Arc>

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>