Chapter 64: Xie Qiang, I’m Sorry
晏辭 (Yan Ci): @Bai Zhi, how are things on your end? Can you keep up?
白芷 (Bai Zhi): Don’t worry, I won’t let you shake me off. Keep an eye on Qiangqiang and her brother. If you need me, I can board the vehicle immediately. By the way, @Lei Lie, make sure your men hold their ground. I have a feeling they won’t be able to last much longer.
With the Emperor’s arrest warrant, Xie Qiang had become a wanted fugitive. With the Emperor’s forces pursuing her openly and Lotia’s people in the shadows, they had to take their escape underground.
According to Yan Ci and Si Ye’s plan, they needed to leave the city first and then find a way to depart from the Imperial planet.
However, all starships entering or leaving the Imperial planet were regulated through the harbor. No ship could leave without a signed transit permit. If caught, they would be forced to stop for inspection or, if necessary, destroyed.
Yan Ci didn’t want to take any risks. Although he owned starships, the names of the four Sentinels and Xie Qiang had been blacklisted by the harbor authorities. No ship registered in their names was permitted to leave.
Furthermore, Yan Ci’s personal starships had been flagged and were under a no-fly order. They had to find another way to escape.
Xie Qiang didn’t know this yet, and even if she did, she wouldn’t have been able to help. Thus, Yan Ci hadn’t intended to tell her; he would handle these matters himself.
Xie Qiang had her own things to deal with.
In her customer chatroom, many people were asking where she was, while others were hurling insults.
Xie Qiang immediately blacklisted and kicked those people out of the chat before posting an announcement.
The announcement was simple: the dessert shop would be closed for the time being and would reopen once her name was cleared.
The remaining people in the chatroom didn’t dare to speak. It was hard to say whether they believed her or if they would betray her location.
In any case, Xie Qiang disconnected her terminal after posting the announcement to prevent being traced.
Bai Zhi, following behind, was actually quite tired. His hovercar lacked an autopilot feature, and its entire body was coated in stealth fluid. The driver’s seat was not comfortable.
But there was no choice. To ensure Xie Qiang’s comfort on the road, he had to take on the counter-tracking and tail-sweeping duties.
Even though he was alone in the car and had to remain fully focused, his spiritual connection with Xie Qiang never wavered.
Xie Qiang, in the vehicle ahead, was particularly concerned for him since he was the only one not in her car. She would occasionally check in through their connection: “How are you? Can you keep going?”
Bai Zhi comforted her: “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
For now, things were okay. The open pursuit was being held off at Xie Qiang’s house by Lei Lie’s soldiers.
As long as they couldn’t get inside, they wouldn’t be able to catch up in the short term.
“Tell me if you get tired. I can help you with the counter-tracking.”
This was the first time Xie Qiang had shown such individual concern for Bai Zhi. He was exhausted, but he felt a sense of sweetness.
Especially since, after their brief conversation, Xie Qiang had used the Spiritual Release Imprint to provide some spiritual comfort.
After Yan Ci and the others had each finished a rotation, they left the Imperial territory and entered a No-Man’s Land.
They didn’t need to rush here and could even stop to rest for a while. However, the person in the pilot’s seat had to remain vigilant; they could only rest during their shift change.
That evening, Si Ye brought some news when he entered the bedroom to rest.
“Lei Lie’s men couldn’t stop them. We need to leave the Imperial planet as quickly as possible. The standard routes are closed to us, but Yan Ci has contacted a smuggling starship. We can board it and head to Wind Path Star first.”
Wind Path Star was an unclaimed planet. Its atmosphere was perpetually surrounded by unpredictable storms. Getting there was dangerous, but once they successfully landed, they would be safe.
Xie Qiang didn’t know much about the different planets, so Si Ye had to give her a brief explanation.
However, she was worried. “Didn’t you say it was dangerous? Does that ship really dare to go? We won’t have an accident, will we?”
Si Ye smiled. “That’s where Yan Ci’s skill comes in. The captain of that ship has found a very winding path and possesses incredible piloting skills. Entering Wind Path Star is child’s play for him.”
So that was it. Xie Qiang felt relieved, but her trust in Yan Ci’s ability to manage everything and his calculated approach grew even deeper.
She looked up at the night sky through the skylight and patted the space beside her. “Aren’t you supposed to rest? Come and lie down.”
Although the bedroom was on a vehicle, the bed was a massive 2.2-meter wide mattress. Xie Jun only occupied a small part of one side. Xie Qiang lay in the center, leaving at least ninety centimeters on her right—plenty of room for a large man to lie down.
Si Ye didn’t overthink it and went over to lie down.
Xie Qiang knew they were tired, so she provided a little spiritual comfort while they rested.
She took Si Ye’s hand to soothe his mental landscape and pointed at the skylight. “I haven’t looked at the stars in so long. It feels like you can’t see stars this bright from within the Empire.”
Yan Ci had opened the skylight for her earlier when he came to rest, fearing she would be bored.
The starlight through the window was truly beautiful.
Each star was unique. Lying on the bed, she could see large ones with rings rotating around them and tiny ones no bigger than sesame seeds. It was far more beautiful than the stars she had seen in the countryside in her past life.
Si Ye likely hadn’t looked at the stars in a long time either. He seemed a bit dazed by Xie Qiang’s words.
Then he shared some knowledge: “The Empire uses light screens in the atmosphere to ensure the survival of its citizens. Those screens filter impurities from the air and reflect unsuitable light sources. After all, not all Imperial citizens have constitutions like ours. Did you see the people in the slums on the day we rescued your brother?”
Xie Qiang thought back to the people she had seen in the alleyway that night, as well as Ah Tao. She nodded. “Yes. Are they different?”
Aside from their tattered, thick clothing, they didn’t seem any different. They had two hands and ten fingers like anyone else; no one had a third eye.
“They are poor because they were born with genetic deficiencies. They can’t be directly exposed to the environment outside Imperial cities. If they walked around out here like we do, they would contract terrible diseases.”
Xie Qiang truly hadn’t known this. After all, the original host hadn’t cared about such things.
As for herself, she was likely benefiting from the original host’s body. She was lucky she hadn’t transmigrated into a person from the slums; otherwise, she would never have enjoyed such a peaceful period of time.
Si Ye noticed she had fallen silent, as if she were lost in thought. Suddenly, he spoke. “Xie Qiang, I’m sorry.”
Xie Qiang turned to look at him in surprise. “Why are you suddenly apologizing?”
Si Ye murmured something indistinctly.
“If you have something to say, say it louder. If you don’t want to say it, then don’t speak at all.”
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