Part 4
Suddenly, as if realizing something, he looked at Mu Jiayi, whose eyes were bulging, his face purple and blue as his mental power overflowed. He suddenly stepped forward and grabbed the Crown Prince’s wrist. “Your Highness!”
The Prince was very dissatisfied with being interrupted and looked over. “What, you want to be like him too?”
Zong Ling hadn’t been stupid, after all; he could still be salvaged. But Mu Jiayi was stupid beyond cure.
Looking at Mu Jiayi, who had regained some semblance of a human form, Zong Ling lowered his head and touched his forehead against the Prince’s toe. “Your Highness, I know he is stupid… but his crime is not death. Now is the time to use people. Since Your Highness gave us such an important task, you must think we are useful. Although I no longer have the identity of a Zong family member, I was once a Zong member after all. My Young Uncle is kind-hearted; perhaps there will be a day when I can still be of use. I beg Your Highness… spare us this once. After all, we have nothing left and will be Your Highness’s most loyal… dogs.”
Zong Ling trampled all the dignity of his life underfoot. He did hate Mu Jiayi, but after so many years together, he couldn’t watch Mu Jiayi die like this before him.
Similarly, he was well aware that if Mu Jiayi died, would the Prince truly let him walk out of the palace safely?
Hearing Zong Ling’s words, the Crown Prince suddenly seemed to see the other for the first time. He suddenly gave a low laugh: “Haha, very good. I didn’t expect to have underestimated you. Casting aside these so-called morals and shame, Zong Ling, without the Zong family as a backer, you… have grown instead.”
He suddenly let go of his hand, sparing Mu Jiayi’s life.
But most of the mental power in Mu Jiayi’s body had been taken away. He now lay on the ground, silent and motionless, his entire energy and spirit gone.
Zong Ling’s forehead still pressed against the ground. “I am willing to work like a horse and dog for Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince watched this nephew who had grown up beside Zong Hao kneeling before him so humbly and without dignity, as if Zong Hao were also begging him so humbly.
An inexplicable pleasure surged into his heart, which was more joyous than at any other time.
He stared at Zong Ling, laughed, and resumed his gentle appearance. “For your sake, I’ll spare him today. But after this, you will lead among you, Mu Jiayi, and Little Lehman. But I’ll only give you three days to find a way to turn the public’s impression of you around. If you fail…”
He finished slowly, with a heavy tone of threat. Zong Ling agreed submissively.
The Crown Prince returned to his wheelchair and manipulated it to leave. Just before walking out of the door, he suddenly couldn’t help but laugh again.
Zong Ling kept his head lowered and maintained his kneeling position for a long time without moving, until his hands slowly clenched and then slowly relaxed.
Over the next two days, Zong Ling started streaming again. Facing the insults and accusations that flooded in, with the red-eyed Little Lehman sitting beside him, he stood up and bowed deeply in apology, sincerely apologizing for Mu Jiayi’s previous concealment.
“First of all, on his behalf, I say I’m sorry. He privately accepted a large sum of star coins from that person in charge to promote him. He indeed had selfish motives and has now been punished…”
[ How was he punished? The shifters he wanted to bid for are the ones who suffered terrible luck. ]
“Because he was so panicked when he turned off the stream for fear of being cursed, he accidentally tripped on the ground and hurt his head, damaging his sea of consciousness. His mental power dropped to C-rank, and his nerves were affected, leaving his legs unable to walk.”
The next sentence from Zong Ling left everyone who had been cursing at their peak stunned: ??
[ Holy crap, did the instant karma come this fast? It can’t be this quick, right? ]
[ Hahaha holy crap, that’s awesome! No, we don’t believe it, let us see. ]
Zong Ling then truly took them to a room, where Mu Jiayi lay, having lost a lot of weight in just two days and no longer looking like himself.
The test kit shown for mental power level did indeed show C-rank.
His legs were also tapped at the reflex zones, showing no response.
Everyone in the room went numb. For a time, they didn’t know whether to continue cursing, clearly not having expected the retribution to come so fast.
Only then did Zong Ling offer another explanation, looking sincerely at the camera and explaining that he had never known he was the son of a family retainer. Later, when the truth was revealed, he had already left the Zong family, but for the sake of face, he hadn’t announced it publicly; it was indeed wrong.
Since his identity had been exposed, he had no need to hide it anymore.
He had taken the wrong path before, but now… he only wanted the family of three to be together properly.
[ Ah, well, I can only respect and wish them well. ]
[ Say what you will, but this apology attitude is considered acceptable. Aside from hiding the identity of being kicked out of the Zong family, he truly is better than Mu Jiayi. ]
[ Mu Jiayi is like this and he hasn’t thought about running away; the devoted persona is the only one that hasn’t collapsed. ]
Zong Ling’s hour-long livestream, with the explosive tragedies of Mu Jiayi being crippled, his mental power decreasing, and having to face mental power collapses from time to time, dissipated most of the public’s anger.
The fan count dropped from ten million to over one million over these two days, and after this stream, it stopped falling.
Ning Yunyi hadn’t expected it when he found out. Ning Yunfeng frowned, feeling that Mu Jiayi had almost killed his brother and deserved this. “Could this Mu Jiayi be faking it?”
Ning Yunyi also watched the replay of the stream. Thinking of the look in Zong Ling’s eyes toward the camera, he shook his head. “It shouldn’t be. Mu Jiayi’s mental power should have been taken away by the Crown Prince, but it’s surprising he could survive from the Prince’s hands.”
After all, the Crown Prince was a ruthless man—ruthless to himself for the sake of an act, and ruthless to others.
Mu Jiayi’s move had ruined all his subsequent plans; letting Mu Jiayi die peacefully would have been the best ending.
Unless Zong Ling had done something at the time to save Mu Jiayi’s life.
Particularly given Zong Ling’s gaze, he had clearly undergone a blow and reconstruction. Ning Yunyi even had a suspicion—could Mu Jiayi’s tragic state upon tragic state be the work of Zong Ling’s hand?
Ning Yunyi soon couldn’t worry about Zong Ling’s side. A few days later, Ichi finally sent a message.
[ Ichi: Mr. Bai, I sent people to secretly scout that desert planet. There aren’t many people, but there aren’t few either. There are several star mines, so tens of thousands of people live there. Interstellar merchants go there from time to time to dig for good ores and energy stones. This time our people went disguised as merchants and found a desert island far from the Slum City. There is a very large desert island in the center. From its appearance, nothing can be seen, but there are clearly many people guarding the surroundings, and their levels are not low. ]
[ Ichi: Since these people are still guarding it, it must be there. It’s just that it changed from an island decades ago to being under the island… or an underwater castle. ]
Otherwise, if there truly were nothing left, it would be impossible to secretly guard it with so many high-level mental power experts.
[ Ichi: No one knows how many guards are hidden there. Our people were afraid of exposing themselves and ruining things, so they didn’t dare to go into the central area. Mr. Bai, what do you plan to do about this? The Marshal must go there; after all… what if she is still alive… ]
Ning Yunyi thought of the current situation. The Crown Prince clearly had murderous intent toward Marshal Zong.
Then it was very likely that even if Lady Zong could survive, she would soon be dealt with. Time waited for no one.
If left alone, a person like the Crown Prince would sooner or later extend his hands to all shifters.
They couldn’t escape either, because the cub was one too.
Ning Yunyi soon replied: [ Help me forge an identity as an Interstellar merchant. I will go to the desert planet. ]
[ Ichi: I will accompany Mr. Bai. ]
[ Bai Yanyu: No need. Your identity is special and will instead cause suspicion. ]
After Ning Yunyi finished replying, a furry paw was placed on the back of his hand. He looked sideways and met the big cat’s firm gaze. “Meow!” (I want to go too.)
Ning Yunyi’s heart was in knots. Seeing that the other was worried and planned to go with him in the big cat form, he was likely prepared to be exposed or even sacrificed if something truly happened.
If Marshal Zong went in his own identity, even if disguised, maintaining a human form required mental power. Once his mental power was exposed, given the Marshal’s level, he would likely be sensed.
But the big cat was different; the big cat had completely concealed its mental power.
After thinking about it, Ning Yunyi nodded. “Alright, I’ll take you with me this time.”
Zong Hao breathed a sigh of relief. This was originally his business, but he hadn’t fully recovered and couldn’t expose his mental power. Otherwise, once his level was leaked, it would likely make the Crown Prince suspicious.
But he couldn’t just let Ning Yunyi go alone. If any accident happened, he would never be able to forgive himself in this lifetime.
Then he could only follow. If they truly encountered danger, then… he would completely destroy that place, even if it meant dying together.
Zong Hao had been worried before, but with Ning Yunyi here, even without him, it wouldn’t cause too much of an impact.
Ning Yunyi was sufficient to replace him as the new Marshal.
Ning Yunfeng and Professor Ning were stunned when they heard Ning Yunyi would be leaving for a few days. They panicked. “Will it be dangerous?”
The last separation almost meant never seeing him again. If this time…
To comfort them, Ning Yunyi said directly, “No, Marshal Zong is going with me.” As he spoke, he glanced at the big cat. Even if he said so, the big cat wouldn’t think much of it, at most thinking he was coaxing Ning Yunfeng and the others to reassure them.
Sure enough, due to their trust in Marshal Zong’s combat power, the two Nings felt reassured.
The next day during his livestream, Ning Yunyi said he had matters to attend to and would stop streaming for a few days to study some research results in seclusion. He said there would be good news after he finished.
The good news was naturally the tree seedlings studied by Old Master Gu. He could use that as an excuse when he returned.
Everything else was arranged, but when it came to the kitten, Ning Yunyi was troubled.
Since transmigrating, he and the little fellow had hardly been apart. This time he would be away for many days, and he was truly afraid the little fellow would cry.
That evening, after washing up the little fellow, Ning Yunyi carried him into his room.
The kitten widened his eyes excitedly. “Waa, Father, can I really sleep here tonight?”
Ning Yunyi touched his little head. “Of course. It’s just that Father has something to discuss with Cub.”
The kitten immediately sat up, clenching his small fists as his eyes sparkled. “I know, I know! Grandfather said Father is going to be a hero and save many shifters like Aias and the others. But a hero cannot bring a little tail along, so I will wait here obediently until the day I evolve from a little tail into a hero too, so I can fight alongside Father!”
The little fellow was clearly very excited, even rubbing his paws as he thought about when he could become a hero.
The tenderness in Ning Yunyi’s eyes grew even more intense as he kissed the kitten’s forehead. “Cub is so great; it will surely happen soon.”
The little fellow puffed out his small chest. “Don’t worry, Father! I will cultivate well in the study!”
In the end, with beautiful expectations, the little fellow slept beside his father, feeling completely satisfied.
However, when it truly came time to part the next day, the little fellow’s eyes still turned red as he was held in his grandparents’ arms. He tried his best to sniffle. “I won’t cry. Father must come back early; Cub will be good.”
Ning Yunyi tried his best to control his emotions before waving his hand with a smile. “Wait for Father’s return.”
As he spoke, he turned and walked out with the big cat, who was also somewhat sad.
The little fellow couldn’t help but immediately bury his head in his grandfather’s arms, yet he was reluctant to look away, staring piteously at the direction his father had left.
Ning Yunyi didn’t look back for fear of being unable to leave. He pursed his lips and only after a long while felt his hand being rubbed.
He looked sideways and met the big cat’s worried eyes. He didn’t speak but pinched its pointed ears.
One person and one cat first successfully avoided those guarding outside the Ning residence. Soon they arrived at a location where Ning Yunyi changed his entire appearance, changing his hair and eye colors.
He had a head of black curly hair that looked like a ball, a large beard, and a pair of red eyes. His eyes had been modified to be very round, staring at people with a hint of savagery.
The big cat directly used a bionic lion head cover and fake fur, transforming into a maned King of the Jungle.
One person and one lion went through a series of transfers and itineraries, successfully landing on the desert planet three days later.
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thank you for the chapter!