Part 5
When Ning Yunyi and the others left the palace, quite a few aristocratic families and nobles came forward to greet them, far more enthusiastic than ever before. Although what the Second Prince had suggested was certainly impossible, his words reminded them of a point that had long been overlooked—Mother Ning was genuine royalty. Despite keeping such a low profile that she had almost zero presence, she undeniably possessed legitimate royal blood.
There was no telling what might happen in the future, so it was better to build a good relationship first.
Ning Yunyi’s family finally managed to avoid these people and returned to the Ning residence. He had sent Ichi a message the moment he exited the palace, so Ichi was currently waiting outside. Under the cover of concealment, Ning Yunyi handed Ichi a box. “Give this to your Marshal.”
Ichi was puzzled. “What is this?”
Ning Yunyi glanced at him. “Energy stones.”
Ichi’s eyes widened completely. Good heavens? Energy stones? A whole box of them? If anyone dared say the Marshal had no standing in Second Young Master Ning’s heart, he would be the first to disagree!
Ichi had originally intended to ask why Ning Yunyi hadn’t personally given the Marshal this farewell gift, but seeing this, he couldn’t care less about anything else. He immediately bolted out to personally deliver it into the Marshal’s hands before he left. In critical moments, this was an excellent life-saving item—worth seven or eight hundred times more than if he had tagged along himself.
Just as Zong Hao was about to leave, Ichi finally handed the box over, his eyes filled with an impassioned sense of mission. “Marshal, rest assured, I will swear upon my life to protect the Second Young Master.”
Zong Hao looked at the box in confusion. “What is this?”
Ichi said, deeply moved, “Energy stones! The Second Young Master told me to give them to the Marshal. It’s so touching. With these accompanying the Marshal, I can put my mind at ease.”
Zong Hao laughed out of exasperation. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Also, why did he give it to you instead of handing it to me himself?”
Ichi replied, “Probably… because I run fast?”
Zong Hao: “…”
Ichi put on an innocent face. “Then do you want it, Marshal?”
The response he received was Zong Hao snatching it into his arms. Looking off into the distance, his resentment grew even deeper. If only Ichi had spoken up a little sooner, he could have rushed over to see Ning Yunyi one last time. In the end… he turned heavily, and the hatch swiped shut right in Ichi’s face.
Ichi rubbed his nose. Tsk tsk, it really is different when an iron tree finally blooms. Even his temper is growing. Look how vibrant his personality has become. How wonderful.
After Zong Hao led his people away, the Capital Star returned to tranquility. After all, the border was a ten-day and ten-night spaceship journey from here. Typically, situations there wouldn’t affect the Capital Star.
Sure enough, the Second Prince did not appear at all for the ensuing period, evidently having been grounded by His Majesty.
Ning Yunyi wasn’t used to it at first. After all, when Zong Hao was around, he would occasionally turn into a cat and come over to scrounge for food. When eating late-night snacks, Ning Yunyi would turn around, never knowing when the big cat had appeared, lying not far away and staring at him longingly.
Big Brother Ning had also gotten busy, returning home much later than usual. Having seen Marshal Zong talking privately with his younger brother that day, and considering that while his brother hadn’t asked about it during this period, he still thought it over and specifically sought him out to offer comfort. “Yunyi, you don’t need to worry. Marshal Zong has fought this kind of battle countless times. There won’t be any unexpected accidents.”
Ning Yunyi knew Big Brother Ning was worried about him and nodded. “I know. When he left, I had Ichi deliver energy stones to him. I’m not worried. I’m just thinking about the Second Prince’s situation in the palace.”
Big Brother Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief. “The Second Prince’s situation shouldn’t be too severe. On the contrary, acting this way will actually reassure His Majesty. What His Majesty needs most right now is precisely someone like the Second Prince, who doesn’t care about the throne.”
Ning Yunyi had originally just wanted to change the subject, and upon hearing this, he smoothly carried the conversation forward.
Over the next few days, he quickly threw himself into his own affairs and gradually got used to it. After all, the big cat was the first pet he had ever raised, so it was always bound to be different. He would have to get used to it sooner or later.
That night, after finishing his cultivation in the study, Ning Yunyi headed back to his room. Passing by the little meow cub’s room, he originally just wanted to check if the little guy had kicked off his blankets.
He opened the door very softly, walked to the bedside, and bent down to look at the little guy, who was sprawled out fast asleep. His breathing rose and fell steadily; he was clearly in a deep slumber.
Ning Yunyi tucked him back in. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed the little guy having some sort of nightmare. First, he unconsciously mumbled something, then suddenly started waving his small hands and kicking his little feet wildly.
Seeing this, Ning Yunyi immediately turned back and picked the little guy up, gently stroking his forehead and coaxing him.
Ning Xiaomiao opened his eyes. In the darkness, he didn’t initially realize he had woken up, still thinking he was in the dream. Once he clearly saw it was his father, he suddenly pouted aggrievedly. “Father, scared.”
Ning Yunyi guessed he had a nightmare. Holding the little guy in his arms, he patted his back, his voice incredibly gentle. “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Father is right here. Nightmares are always the opposite of reality, so there’s nothing to be afraid of, okay?”
“Really? Are dreams really the opposite?” The little guy was still a bit listless, clearly thoroughly spooked by the nightmare.
Ning Yunyi stroked his forehead, wiping away the layer of anxious sweat that had broken out. “Of course. What kind of dream did my cub have?”
The little guy tried hard to think. “I dreamed about the cat. It was so scary. The cat suddenly just poof, disappeared. No matter how much I called him, he wouldn’t answer me. Father, how come the cat hasn’t come to play with me for so long? Does he have a new home now?”
Ning Yunyi was stunned, clearly not expecting the little guy to have dreamed about Zong Hao. It was strange—why dream about him out of nowhere? Could it be that because the big cat hadn’t appeared recently, the cub was thinking about him during the day and dreaming about him at night?
Ning Yunyi didn’t think much of it. He was just a child, after all, and children have dreams from time to time. He coaxed him for a while longer until the little cub truly believed it, cheered up again, and fell fast asleep.
Ning Yunyi watched the little cub tossing and turning intermittently. Afraid he might wake up with a start again, he simply carried him back to his own room.
There were no more nightmares over the next two days, so Ning Yunyi didn’t think much more about it. Until this morning, when Ning Xiaomiao woke up and groggily hugged Ning Yunyi’s waist. “Father.”
Ning Yunyi turned around and saw him constantly rubbing his eye. He grabbed his wrist. “You shouldn’t rub your eyes, or they’ll feel even more uncomfortable, and you might get dust in them. Your eyes will turn completely red.”
Ning Xiaomiao obediently put his hand down, but it still felt uncomfortable, and he kept blinking frequently.
Ning Yunyi leaned in to carefully examine the eye he had been rubbing. “What’s wrong? Where does it feel uncomfortable?”
The little meow cub pointed pitifully at his eyelid. “It keeps twitching. It feels so awful. Father, how can I make it stop twitching?”
Ning Yunyi leaned in closer for a careful look. Sure enough, the little guy’s eyelid kept twitching every so often. He heated up a towel and applied it to the eyelid. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the little guy felt it stop twitching, and he happily grabbed his rattan ball and ran out to the front yard to play with his grandfather, who was resting today.
Ning Yunyi watched the little guy’s bouncing and skipping silhouette. At first, he thought a child’s eyelid twitching might just be from lack of sleep. But Ning Xiaomiao had always been a deep sleeper, making such occurrences rare. Coupled with the previous nightmare, Ning Yunyi stood there with a furrowed brow, still clutching the slowly cooling towel in his hand, his lips pursed and motionless.
Twice in a row—was it truly just a coincidence? Or was this a hint from the Heavenly Dao?
In the book, something had happened to Zong Hao. But this time, because he met Ning Yunyi—an unexpected variable—he had survived. But what if… Zong Hao’s fate hadn’t actually been changed?
The little meow cub had never dreamed about the big cat before, yet he dreamed of him this time. Add to that the twitching eyelid…
Ning Yunyi had a deeply ominous premonition. Could this truly be some sort of omen stemming from a bloodline connection? Could something actually happen to Zong Hao?
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thank you for the chapter!