Chapter 60: Face to Face part 1
Ning Yunyi held the grey-white rabbit, momentarily stunned by those two vastly different sounds.
He frowned, looking down at the sealed box.
It couldn’t be what he thought, could it? Earlier, while treating the grey-white rabbit, he had sensed something was wrong with the big catās box.
The mental power within it had been fluctuating wildly. He guessed it was likely due to the shifter mental power he had extracted in the baseās prison to create the decoy and deceive the Crown Prince.
The grey-white rabbit’s condition had been too dire back then, so he had no choice but to use the big catās.
During the time the cat had spent with him recovering, he had been nourished by spiritual energy and had mostly recovered, which was why Ning Yunyi had felt safe extracting a portion of his mental power.
He hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to be so deranged; just one extraction had caused the big cat to fall into this state. Clearly, the sudden loss of mental power had made his form temporarily unstable.
While it wasn’t a severe issue, the thought that Lady Zong had been forced to endure this periodically for years made his loathing for the Crown Princeāand the culprit who had originally established that placeāreach a peak.
Holding the unconscious rabbit, Ning Yunyi glanced around. This was the warehouse where the boxes were temporarily stored.
The clubās staff could arrive at any moment; they couldn’t stay here long.
Ning Yunyi tapped the box. “Donāt make a sound for now. Iāll take you back first. People will be here soon.”
Sure enough, the box immediately fell silent. Clearly, the previous sound had occurred because the inhabitant thought Ning Yunyi was about to fling the lid open.
If it were still a big cat inside, it wouldn’t matter. But if it suddenly turned into a man… an unclothed one at that…
Zong Hao had already decided to throw caution to the wind. Ever since seeing his shackled sister in the prison, he had resolved to confess everything to Ning Yunyi afterward.
With Ning Yunyi helping him to this extent, he truly couldn’t keep up the deception.
Telling Ning Yunyi was one thing, but appearing in such a manner was something even Zong Hao hadn’t anticipated.
To prevent them from both being haunted by this scene every time they met in the future, Zong Hao had to give a warning before Ning Yunyi opened the box.
He hadn’t disguised his voice. Though it was only a single syllable, his heart couldn’t help but pound.
Yet Ning Yunyi simply told him to stay quiet. Did this mean… he hadn’t recognized it?
Ning Yunyi didn’t have time to dwell on other things. He slapped an Invisibility Talisman on the box, held the rabbit in one arm, and hoisted the box onto his shoulder, departing just like that.
The moment he was hoisted up inside the box, Zong Hao fell into a strange silence.
Although Ning Yunyi had tampered with the box beforehand to make it lighter, the realization that he was currently quite literally being carried on Ning Yunyiās shoulder felt… rather peculiar.
Ning Yunyi carried the rabbit and the cat back to their hotel room under invisibility.
As he jumped through the window into the room, the sunlight was at its peak. It poured over him like a radiant god appearing, brilliant and dazzling.
The grey-white rabbit woke up at that very moment. She felt a sense of ease and freedom she hadn’t experienced in ages.
She didn’t know how many years it had been since she had seen sunlightānot the artificial glow from a sun-lamp, but actual, searing heat. That warm, fuzzy feeling on her fur made her think, for a moment, that she was in a dream.
When Ning Yunyi landed and turned to close the window, he looked down and saw this. He flashed a smile. “Lady Zong, youāre awake?”
He was about to close the curtains but noticed the rabbitās gaze and stopped. Instead, he pulled the other half open as well, letting the light flood the entire room.
The grey-white rabbit looked up at the bearded man who had just appeared. She remembered that this was the person who had saved her, the one who said A-Hao had sent people for her.
“Squeak…” (You…)
Ning Yunyi had already walked to the bed. He placed the rabbit gently upon it and then carried the box toward the bathroom. “Lady Zong, rest for a bit. I still need to treat the big cat.”
Although he had been careful when extracting the mental power back at the base to ensure the cat wouldn’t suffer a collapse, the sensation of being forced back and forth between forms was not pleasant.
He closed the bathroom door, set the box down, and deactivated the Invisibility Talisman. The moment the box was revealed, his heart felt a bit complicated.
Facing away from where the box would open, he unlatched a crack and tapped it. “Give me your hand.”
A deep voice vibrated from within the box: “Mm.”
Ning Yunyiās mood was a mix of emotions. He watched as a palm reached out. Because he had maintained the form of a big cat for so long lately and hadn’t seen much light, the human arm was inexplicably pale.
Ning Yunyi placed his fingers on the wrist, but soon, it transformed back into a furry paw within his palm.
Seeing this “big-cat-to-man” transformation with his own eyes made Ning Yunyi even more silent. It was… a bit strange.
He quickly channeled spiritual energy through skin contact to slowly maintain the big catās form. Once it was completely stabilized, Ning Yunyi let out a sigh of relief.
He looked at the paw in his hand and slowly let go. “There, that should do it. It was likely just a temporary instability caused by the sudden loss of a large portion of mental power. It shouldn’t happen again.”
The big cat stayed hidden in the box without speaking. His earlier response had been in Marshal Zong’s voice.
Ning Yunyi had met Marshal Zong and heard his voice.
They had even shared a dance not long ago. There was no way Ning Yunyi shouldn’t have been suspicious.
And yet, Ning Yunyi hadn’t even asked.
Either Ning Yunyi had never suspected his identity and didn’t find Marshal Zongās voice problematic at all, orāknowing Ning Yunyi was a meticulous and clever man after spending so much time by his sideāit could only be the other possibility…
Ning Yunyi had known he was Marshal Zong for a long time?
Hiding in the box, Zong Hao felt like he wanted to bury his head in the corner and never come out again.
But since he had already decided to be honest, he slowly poked his head out, his beast eyes staring straight at Ning Yunyi.
The moment their eyes met, Ning Yunyi silently turned his head away. Did he really have to force me to admit Iāve known he was Marshal Zong all along?
If Zong Hao wasn’t embarrassed, he certainly was.
As Ning Yunyi stood up, his sleeve was snagged.
He looked down and met the big catās firm gaze.
Ning Yunyiās heart stirred. “Are you sure?”
Zong Hao gave a low meow in response.
Ning Yunyi gave him another odd look before finally taking a set of large-sized clothes from his spatial storage.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, it was a fact that Marshal Zong was taller than him.
If he gave him his own clothes, the scene of the Marshal reuniting with his sister with exposed wrists and ankles wouldn’t be very graceful.
After thinking about it, he also thoughtfully took out a mask. What if he was overthinking it and Marshal Zong wasn’t planning to be fully honest?
Heād leave him a “bottom drawer” option so he could choose for himself.
Zong Hao waited for the bathroom door to close. He looked at the clothes, which fit perfectly once he put them on, confirming once again that Ning Yunyi truly had known for a long time.
His vision darkened for a moment, and his ears turned beet red.
Ning Yunyi emerged from the bathroom and looked at the grey-white rabbit sitting quietly and motionless. He sat down a short distance away and said, “Lady Zong, wait a moment. The big cat… he likely wants to explain everything to you personally.”
The rabbit was stunned. Big cat? Is it that shifter who was with this gentleman?
Soon, the bathroom door opened from within, and a tall figure walked out.
Ning Yunyi instinctively looked over and froze. He… wasn’t wearing the mask?
Zong Hao met Ning Yunyiās gaze. Seeing no surprise in his eyes only further validated his suspicion.
Zong Haoās face showed no outward emotion, but his reddened earlobes betrayed his true feelings at this moment.
Ning Yunyi silently looked away. “…” Brother, how are we supposed to look at each other after this? Whoās the one who should be more embarrassed?
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thank you for the chapter!