Part 5
Ning Yunyi hadn’t made food for Zong Hao; after all, who knew he would arrive so early? He just tossed him a few tubes of nutrient solution. To his surprise, Zong Hao actually ate them obediently, though he kept looking at Ning Yunyi expectantly and glancing at the little cub nearby.
Ning Yunyi saw through his little scheme. After breakfast, he pretended to pull an exquisite wooden box from his robe. He opened it, revealing a pearl necklace lying on black silk. The ends were fastened with a golden lock; it was exceptionally beautiful.
Zong Hao immediately straightened up and trotted to Ning Yunyi’s side, looking up and even stretching his neck out slightly.
Seeing his impatient look, Ning Yunyi couldn’t help but smile. “Why did you come over here? Stretching your neck so far… oh, wait, do you even have a neck?”
Zong Hao: “…………”
Ning Yunyi wasn’t done being heartbreaking. He closed the box again and spoke as if to himself: “This necklace is truly beautiful. It was worth my time to carefully select the most beautiful renyu pearls. Such a beautiful thing must be paired with the most beautiful… lady. Mother will surely love this gift.”
The light in Zong Hao’s expectant gaze vanished, but thinking that this was prepared for Mother Ning, he could only lie down again.
However, he couldn’t help but steal glances at the pearls on the cub’s collar and the little golden cat hanging from them.
As Zong Hao stared, a snicker suddenly came from nearby. He looked over and met the turtle’s smug gaze. [We’re even now. You tattled, and I’m laughing at you openly. How fair.]
Mother Ning loved the pearl necklace, and the little cub loved his too. One big and one small held hands and went to the attic to plant flowers.
Over the next two days, Ning Yunyi stayed at the Ning house, treating the renyu with lingli. As the number of treatments increased, he clearly felt the jingshenli surrounding the renyu growing stronger. At the same time, the sonic attacks produced by his voice became increasingly powerful.
Ning Yunyi exchanged a look with Zong Hao, knowing he would recover soon. At the very least, as his jingshenli increased, the renyu would soon regain his human form.
While things were progressing smoothly on Ning Yunyi’s end, things were not peaceful for the Crown Prince. Ever since the renyu was auctioned off, both the creature and the couple who bought him seemed to have vanished into thin air.
The Prince’s face was dark as he glared at his adjutant. “You can’t find them? What are you good for? You couldn’t find that high-level jingshenli user, letting him take the Banshouren Alliance members, and now you can’t even find a single renyu?”
The adjutant trembled with fear. “Your Highness, I’ve had men search almost the entire Capital Planet, but we find nothing… I suspect that couple might be related to the expert who rescued the Banshouren Alliance. He might have a secret base in a place we’d never imagine.”
Seeing his hesitant expression, the Prince asked with a dark face, “What are you trying to say?”
The adjutant said, “Actually, with so many places searched, there’s still one place we haven’t looked… There aren’t many experts of that level on the entire Capital Planet. Could it be… Marshal Zong?”
The Prince sneered. “He’s heavily injured and hasn’t recovered. Moreover, even at his peak, he couldn’t possibly kill two 3S-grade experts in seconds. However…” He narrowed his eyes. “You’ve reminded me. Although that expert couldn’t be Zong Hao, the Zong family estate is indeed a place that hasn’t been searched. He’s been away for so long; perhaps he really did meet some powerful expert.”
The adjutant’s eyes lit up, and he felt relieved as the Prince’s attention shifted. “Your Highness, how about we secretly infiltrate the Zong estate to investigate?”
The Prince shook his head. “No matter how discreet you are, as long as he’s in the Zong estate, he’ll know the moment you enter. I don’t want to break ties with him yet. Find a time when he’s not there to thoroughly search the Zong residence.”
The adjutant immediately agreed. As long as the Prince wasn’t angry with them, searching a mansion wasn’t difficult. “Then when does Your Highness think is a good time?”
The Prince looked at the armrest of his wheelchair. “Hasn’t Patriarch Hermann been coming to the palace frequently these past two days, wanting me to facilitate the engagement between Yousi and that Mr. Bai? We’ll use this opportunity. Go, set a banquet in the palace the day after tomorrow. Specifically inform Zong Hao that it’s to finalize the relationship between Yousi and Mr. Bai.”
The adjutant was puzzled. “What if Marshal Zong doesn’t come?”
Thinking about how Zong Hao had been paying close attention to that Mr. Bai, the Prince gave a meaningful smile. “No, he’ll come. Remember to notify the noble families to attend. Since this is the future Young Mistress chosen by the Hermann family, it should be a grand affair.”
The adjutant agreed and hurried off to make preparations.
On the other side, Zong Hao received the news and went to find Ning Yunyi, telling him of the Prince’s plan. “He’s doing this suddenly to test if you’re really going to get engaged to Yousi?”
Ning Yunyi glanced at him and said sympathetically, “No, he suspects you.”
Why else would he specifically have the adjutant inform Zong Hao? Unless the Prince was intentionally trying to get Zong Hao to the palace. If he wasn’t in the palace, there was no benefit to the Prince—unless the Prince wanted to lure Zong Hao away from the Zong estate to search it.
Zong Hao understood. “Why is he searching the Zong estate? Does he suspect I’m hiding someone?”
Ning Yunyi pointed at the renyu lying in the pool outside. When Mother Ning first saw the renyu, she was startled. Knowing his brain was injured and he was silly, she felt pity and not only braided his silver hair but also custom-made a robe for him. The robe was half-length, just enough to cover his upper body down to the start of the fish tail; it wouldn’t touch the water, but he wouldn’t be indecently exposed either.
Zong Hao looked over, his expression behind the mask complex. “He suspects I’m hiding the renyu?”
Ning Yunyi: “He’s probably turned the outside upside down these past few days. Since he can’t find anything, he can only look in places he hasn’t searched. He’s had people watching my place, and since no one enters or leaves, he won’t suspect me. but the Zong estate is so large, it’s a different story…”
Zong Hao: “Although he’s recovered quite a bit, he still hasn’t turned human. Should we delay?”
Ning Yunyi narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “No need. After two more sessions, he should be able to restore his human form. The Prince is so anxious to find the renyu, so we’ll give him a surprise that night. If he wants to see him, we’ll send him over… Since he wants to find the Second Prince so badly, he’ll probably be exceptionally surprised when we deliver him.”
I hope it’s not all shock and no joy.
On the afternoon of the banquet, Ning Yunyi and Zong Hao took the renyu to a room. This time, Ning Yunyi had absorbed a large amount of jade in advance. He transferred all that lingli into the renyu’s body through his palm.
As a layer of halo enveloped the creature, making every scale look as if it were glowing, the renyu initially closed his eyes and frowned tightly. In the next moment, his expression relaxed, and he lay obediently by the pool, letting Ning Yunyi’s palm rest on his head.
After an unknown amount of time, the renyu suddenly opened his mouth. His tail slapped the water violently, and a hum escaped his lips.
Before Ning Yunyi could withdraw his hand, his vision suddenly went dark. Zong Hao had covered the renyu with the blackout cloth with one hand while tightly covering Ning Yunyi’s eyes with the other.
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