Chapter 44: Old Acquaintances part 1
When Ichi heard Ning Yunyi’s opening remarks, he found the request utterly inconceivable.
Never mind the Marshal’s strict principles; even if he were secretly in love, he wouldn’t agree to such a thing.
But as the next two sentences came out, Ichi’s eyes went wide, and his mind screamed only three words: Agree to him!
What are principles? In the face of an energy stone capable of suppressing the Marshal’s spiritual rampage, they weren’t even worth mentioning.
Everyone in the Interstellar knew how powerful the Marshal was, so one could only imagine how potent an energy stone would need to be to suppress his rampage.
Ichi didn’t think this Mr. White would lie. If he dared to deceive the Marshal, he would face far more than just a settling of scores afterward.
Moreover, this Mr. White had deep dealings with Elder Xun, Elder Tang, and Dean Gu; he was by no means an ordinary person.
Ichi looked at Zong Hao with excitement. “Marshal…”
Because the Marshal was so powerful, the world knew how dangerous the accompanying spiritual rampage could be. Yet now, someone dared to say they could suppress it.
Even without seeing the physical object, it was worth a try.
What if it really worked?
After all, with so many planets in the Interstellar, many of which were still undeveloped, perhaps such a special energy stone really did exist.
The energy stone Ning Yunyi spoke of naturally didn’t exist on the current market, nor was there any ordinary stone capable of suppressing high-level spiritual power.
But his spiritual energy was the exception.
Ning Yunyi could find a non-existent type of energy stone and infuse his spiritual energy into it. Then, this ordinary stone would naturally become a treasure capable of suppressing a spiritual rampage.
Opposite him, Zong Hao gazed back calmly, seemingly unmoved by his proposal.
Ning Yunyi was momentarily unsure of Marshal Zong’s actual situation. Could it be that the great opportunity the Marshal encountered meant he no longer needed to suppress his spiritual rampage?
But that was unlikely. If he had successfully suppressed it, he wouldn’t be staying away from the Capital Star at such a critical time.
Ning Yunyi quietly looked back. “Marshal Zong, do you agree to this transaction? For Marshal Zong, it is merely using your pass card once. Lord Ichi will be present the entire time. I guarantee I will not use the pass card to do anything detrimental to the Marshal.”
Zong Hao finally spoke, “I hope you keep your word. However, you can keep the box of 3S-level energy crystals; I only require the energy stone that suppresses spiritual rampages.”
Ning Yunyi breathed a sigh of relief. This hurdle was crossed.
The projection disappeared again. Ning Yunyi looked at Ichi, who was staring at him with burning eyes. “Lord Ichi, Marshal Zong said you have full authority. I wonder when it would be convenient for you?”
Ichi straightened his expression. “That depends on when Mr. White can fulfill his promise.”
Ning Yunyi: “How about tomorrow? Same time. Lord Ichi brings the pass card, and I will disguise myself as your attendant to enter the military base. You only need to claim there is top-level military intelligence requiring a meeting with Professor Ning. Once there, you just need to ask a few routine questions. After seeing Professor Ning, I will naturally hand the energy stone over to you.”
“That simple?” Ichi had assumed the other party wanted to meet Professor Ning in his own identity.
In that case, he would inevitably have to find a way to wipe the traces of his visit to the base.
Otherwise, if the other party wanted to enter openly, he wouldn’t have traded such a rare energy stone for this opportunity.
Ning Yunyi nodded. In reality, it wasn’t simple for him.
If he applied to see Professor Ning with this fake identity, given Professor Ning’s special status, the higher-ups would conduct a detailed investigation into the fake identity while reviewing the request.
If the fake identity were exposed then, not only would he fail to see Professor Ning, but he would also implicate everyone involved.
That was why he had gone through such a roundabout way to ask Marshal Zong.
It was also his good luck that he happened to encounter Marshal Zong showing his face while coming to stop Zong Ling from becoming the family head.
Ichi had no reason to disagree. Just for an energy stone that could suppress the Marshal’s spiritual rampage, let alone once, taking him in and out several times would be no problem.
With Marshal Zong’s pass card, he could freely enter and exit not just the military base, but even the Imperial Palace.
Ning Yunyi and Ichi left the room. Elder Xun breathed a sigh of relief seeing him safe and sound.
Not far away, Duke Clay, who hadn’t left with the Third Prince, watched this scene with profound meaning. Fanning himself, he approached. “This Mr. White looks terribly familiar. Would I have the honor of inviting Mr. White to lunch?”
The moment Duke Clay spoke, everyone’s expression froze.
Mu Jiayi’s face turned ashen. Aside from targeting Marshal Zong as his primary goal, his second target was precisely this Duke Clay.
Duke Clay was the only son of the old Duke, inheriting the title at a young age.
But Duke Clay had an eccentric personality and was moody, acting entirely on his own whims. The first time Mu Jiayi approached this Duke at a banquet, he happened to catch him in a rage, staring at him as if he wanted to strangle him on the spot.
Mu Jiayi had been terrified at the time and fled in panic.
Yet now, Clay was actively hitting on a small underground city lord he looked down upon?
Not only was he just an acting city lord, but it was also only F District.
Even if he was a city lord, that was just the trashiest district of the Capital Star.
Zong Ling had regained his composure, eyes lowered, deep in thought. Following Mu Jiayi’s gaze, he sneered, “Don’t dream. Duke Clay would be interested in you? If you want to get rid of me, you might as well ruin your own reputation; I might even respect you more for that.”
Mu Jiayi mocked back, “Are you any better? You’re clearly Marshal Zong’s nephew, yet he’d rather hand the acting authority to Ichi, an outsider, than give you charity. You aren’t even as good as an outsider.”
Zong Ling seemed triggered, veins popping on his temples from suppressed anger before he slowly tamped it down.
Suppressing it too quickly made his expression grotesque. “Is that so? That’s still better than you actively climbing into beds to become the family head’s wife back then.”
Only it was a pity—bad luck and poor eyesight meant he climbed into the wrong bed.
Mu Jiayi’s chest heaved violently with rage. He wanted to explode but was afraid of being overheard, so he simply shoved Zong Ling hard and hurried away.
Zong Ling was already ruined; there was no need for him to stay in the Zong family.
Ning Yunyi watched Duke Clay blocking his way, meeting the Duke’s undisguised appraisal. “Invite me to lunch? In what capacity is the Duke inviting me? As a friend? Or… as a suitor?”
The Duke was surprised by the other’s straightforwardness and laughed. “Mr. White is much more interesting than I thought. What if… it is as a suitor?”
The crowd was petrified: Good heavens, did we never know Duke Clay had such unique tastes?
This Mr. White looked older than Duke Clay, right?
Not to mention he was far from refined, with messy red hair. Didn’t Duke Clay once reject a red-haired noble, saying he hated red hair the most?
Duke, is it really okay to slap your own face like this?
Ning Yunyi smiled at Duke Clay upon hearing this. “Is that so? Then before accepting the invitation, there are some things the Duke might need to be clear about. If the Duke agrees, then I will accept the invitation. How about it?”
Duke Clay’s pupils narrowed slightly, his golden curly hair becoming even more dazzling. “Oh? Do tell.”
Ning Yunyi crossed his arms, looking Duke Clay—who was half a head taller than him—up and down. Rubbing his chin, he finally spoke slowly, “Speaking of which, Your Highness truly fits my appetite. But it’s better to clarify some things, otherwise, it would be bad if we clashed later.” He leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper only the two of them could hear, saying innocently, “I’m the one on top. If Your Highness is willing to be the one underneath, I don’t mind. In fact… I’d look forward to Your Highness’s invitation.”
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thanks for the chapter! 🤣❤️