Ye Yang’s hand, which had been about to reach for the food, was immediately pulled back by those three words. Somewhat flustered, he asked, “Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”
Shen Ming took a deep breath and spent a long time organizing his words. Ling She couldn’t stand it anymore and shook her head.
“Alright, alright, let me do the talking.”
“Little rabbit, we only found out when we got back yesterday that you went through another extremely dangerous mission. Shen Ming feels terrible. He thinks he should have been there with you.”
Shen Ming nodded heavily, grateful for once that Ling She was acting as his mouthpiece.
He was the slowest one of all. Perhaps because he had been a lofty god for too many years and had never truly immersed himself in the human world even after being injured, Shen Ming could hardly ever consider other people’s perspectives. To put it bluntly, even though Elder Li had reluctantly pushed him into the role of mentor, he had never truly seen himself as Ye Yang’s mentor.
It was only after spending so much time with Ye Yang, after watching Ye Yang get hurt time and again, that he suddenly realized just how irresponsible he had been. And yet, Ye Yang had always respected him as a true mentor. That was incredibly unfair to Ye Yang.
When he learned that Ye Yang had nearly died at Liu Chen’s hands again, his self-reproach reached its peak.
Ling She coiled her tail around Ye Yang’s calf: “Of course, I feel the same way. We had to apologize to you.”
So that was what this was about. Ye Yang had no idea about the complex emotions churning inside Shen Ming. He found it a bit ridiculous and touching at the same time: “Why say that? Didn’t I pass the assessment over half a year ago? I haven’t needed monitoring or protection for a long time. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for taking up so much of your time before.”
Shen Ming tried to say something, but Ye Yang spoke first: “I should also say thank you. A mentor is a mentor, not a babysitter. Professor Shen, Teacher Snake, you took me to the research institute, taught me so much, helped me save Little Crow. After the Mountain God incident, you accompanied me on several missions, always protecting me from the shadows. I know all of that.”
Scratching his head, Ye Yang continued: “You’ve already helped me immensely. Without you, I could never have become who I am today. Apart from the benefactor I’ve been searching for all this time, the two of you have shown me the greatest kindness. No matter what, Professor Shen, you never need to say sorry to me.”
Ye Yang had wanted to say these things to Shen Ming for a long time but had never found the right opportunity. Saying them all now made him feel significantly lighter.
The room fell completely silent. Ling She didn’t even need to turn around to know exactly what expression Shen Ming had on his face.
Shen Ming looked utterly astonished—the first time such a vivid expression had appeared on his face. It took him a long moment to open his mouth, his voice slightly rougher than usual, barely noticeably: “You… that’s really how you see it?”
Shen Ming knew full well how derelict he had been. In the beginning, he couldn’t be bothered with Ye Yang because it was too much trouble. Later, his own mistake nearly got Ye Yang killed. Even during those missions when he had provided covert protection, he felt he hadn’t done his best.
Yet this little sea hare held no grudges at all and thought so highly of him… He felt even more guilty.
Ling She’s tail, coiled around Ye Yang’s calf, whipped around wildly and nearly tied itself into a knot: “Little rabbit, you’re too good! I like you even more now!”
Ye Yang felt warmth in his heart and hugged the snake’s tail: “Mm, I like you too.”
He had to admit, this dark serpent was really nice to touch—cool and smooth.
Suddenly, the big tail vanished from his hands. Ye Yang’s arms came up empty, but immediately something was placed into them: a hard, fan-shaped black object.
“What’s this…?”
“It’s a scale from the Dark Serpent.”
Ye Yang shot to his feet. Had Ling She disappeared because… because her scale had been plucked?!
Shen Ming had no idea what rude thought had just crossed Ye Yang’s mind. He continued, “I refined this myself. It can automatically block one attack. It might not be as powerful as the Mingguang Lock, but it should still come in handy.”
“Ah! You made this especially for me?” Ye Yang took it joyfully. The scale was a glossy black with a few streaks of gold, showing a metallic sheen when turned slightly.
Shen Ming certainly had no use for such a thing himself, but he was too embarrassed to admit that. He only said, “I heard your Mingguang Lock was destroyed, and I happened to have this.”
As Ye Yang held the scale in his palm to examine it closely, Shen Ming suddenly reached out and placed his hand over Ye Yang’s. Ye Yang started and instinctively tried to pull his hand back.
“Wait a moment. It’ll be done soon,” Shen Ming said softly.
Hesitating for just a second, the large hand completely enveloped the smaller one.
Ye Yang held his breath, unsure what this sudden move was for.
Both being water-attuned, Ye Yang’s body temperature tended to run low. But Shen Ming’s hand was somewhat warmer. His broad palm wrapped around Ye Yang’s hand and wrist together—not tightly, but with an air of quiet authority.
His long fingers rested against Ye Yang’s forearm. The tip of his longest finger—the middle one—reached past the midpoint of Ye Yang’s forearm.
Ye Yang thought to himself: Was Professor Shen’s hand always this big?
“Done.”
The warm hand suddenly withdrew. The scale that had been resting in Ye Yang’s palm had also vanished.
“The scale has now merged into your body. You don’t have to worry about losing it.”
Professor Shen seemed a lot more animated today. Thinking this, Ye Yang said exactly that: “Professor Shen, you talked a lot today.”
The relaxed smile on Shen Ming’s face instantly disappeared.
He didn’t say a word. He simply opened the door and pushed Ye Yang out.
Ye Yang: “…” Alright, he had gotten too comfortable. He really spoke to Professor Shen without thinking. Professor Shen wasn’t angry, was he?
After Ye Yang left, Ling She, who had been confined within Shen Ming’s spiritual consciousness, finally managed to break free. Fuming, she scolded Shen Ming: “Why didn’t you tell the little rabbit how difficult that scale was to make? That was centuries’ worth of your cultivation! Turning it into a scale means you’ve wasted all these hundred years—how long will it take for your injury to heal now?”
“And another thing! The Mingguang Lock isn’t even worthy of being compared to my scale?!”
Shen Ming suddenly smiled: “It’s fine. Injuries can heal slowly. And aren’t you well aware…” No matter what it was, the little rabbit would surely treasure it.
Ling She looked as if she had seen a ghost. Having been symbiotically connected to Shen Ming for several millennia, she had no idea he could even smile like that!
·
After lunch, Ye Yang fed Little Crow and played with him for a while, then performed a routine check on Little Crow’s injuries before packing up to head back to school. Just then, his doorbell rang.
To his surprise, it was Bai Jun.
“Elder Bai?”
Bai Jun smiled politely: “May I come in?”
Ye Yang quickly stepped aside to let him in. Bai Jun had even brought his own shoe covers, and on top of that, he had brought drinks for Ye Yang.
He was carrying a large bag filled with pure tea, coffee, milk tea, fruit tea, juice… “I didn’t know what you liked, so I bought a bit of everything.”
Ye Yang was almost overwhelmed: “This is far too kind. Thank you.”
After sitting down, Bai Jun first delivered some good news: “Elder Su sent me to tell you that she has located Liu Chen. We have him trapped, and by now, he should have been captured and taken back to Luoyang City. You don’t have to worry about him coming after you anymore.”
“So fast? Elder Su is incredible!” Ye Yang exclaimed in admiration. No wonder Lu Xun had texted him today saying the director suddenly seemed to be in a great mood. So that was why—and today just happened to be the final deadline set by Luoyang City.
Bai Jun smiled, then hesitated for a moment before saying, “Actually, there’s another reason I came to see you today.”
“I’m here to apologize.”
Ye Yang: “Huh?” Elder Bai was apologizing too?
What kind of day was this? Why was everyone coming to apologize?
“I was supposed to protect you. When you were tracking that rogue cultivator, I was actually nearby. Even without the Mingruo Technique, I should have known your situation. But unexpectedly, you suddenly disappeared for a long time, and the Mingruo Technique failed entirely. I had never encountered such a situation before. I searched everywhere for you.”
Bai Jun sat up a little straighter, somewhat nervous, both hands resting properly on his knees. His obedient posture formed a sharp contrast with his wild white hair.
“I never expected you to be so capable—you managed to escape on your own. I only found out later from the other team members.”
“I said I would protect you, but in the end, I was completely useless.” Bai Jun touched his bangs, ultimately too embarrassed to admit that Elder Su had given him a thorough dressing-down.
Ye Yang scratched his head. He didn’t know Elder Bai very well, so he could only say, “Elder Bai, you really don’t need to do this. I’m perfectly fine. I wasn’t even hurt this time, and the mission was accomplished. Besides, Liu Chen has already been caught.”
“Be that as it may, I still owe you an apology. Now that this is over, I have to go back, and I won’t have a chance to make it up to you… How about this? There’s a banquet coming up soon. Will you come with me?” Bai Jun suddenly slapped his forehead as an idea came to him.
“This banquet has invited many celebrities, and there will be live performances. The host is the current second-richest person on the Fortune List. It’s the kind of event money alone can’t buy entry to.”
“How about it? Tempting, right? Don’t worry about anything—I’ll have a stylist come do your look, and I’ll buy your outfit too. Oh, and you’re free Tuesday evening, right?”
Ye Yang nodded, though in truth he had no idea how the conversation had pivoted to this.
He remained utterly confused even as Bai Jun stood up to leave. Since Ye Yang never paid attention to the entertainment industry, he was still dazed: “A banquet? Performances? Like a concert or something?”
·
Earlier on Sunday, in Luoyang City.
After his long-lost son finally woke up, Yingzhao received confirmation from the witch doctor that the little one was physically fine. Only then did he cast an investigative spell, thoroughly examining his precious son from head to toe, inside and out.
The little white cub twitched its ears and let out a soft cry, about to snuggle up to its father for some affection, when it was suddenly lifted by the scruff of its neck.
Yingzhao: “Are you sure nothing feels wrong? What exactly did that rogue cultivator do to you?!”
Startled, the cub curled into a tight ball. It had never seen Yingzhao like this before—anxious, furious, as if something terrible had happened.
Yingzhao let go, perhaps realizing he had lost his composure. He stroked the cub’s fur to soothe the frightened little creature and asked again.
After hearing that the cub had slept through the entire ordeal and knew nothing, Yingzhao’s frown deepened. Without another word, he left.
Hurrying toward the cell where Liu Chen was imprisoned, Yingzhao’s face was dark the entire way. His heart burned with rage and a faint, barely noticeable trace of fear—the key inside his cub’s body was gone!
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