Chapter 7
Before Tang Rong could even lift a hand to rub his eyes, a soft tissue was already pressed gently to his eyes and cheeks, wiping away the tear tracks there.
His little face became much drier, and his vision finally cleared again. Only his eyelashes were still damp and clumped together, and there was a faint, watery redness at the corners of his eyes.
Tang Rong blinked quickly and finally saw clearly that the person sitting by the bed and wiping away his tears was Butler Uncle.
Their eyes met. The butler lifted him from the bed, gathered him into his arms, rubbed his back, and asked, “Did you have a nightmare?”
Tang Rong was still feeling low. He leaned limply into the butler’s arms as though he had no bones, pressed his lips tightly together, and did not answer.
It was not a nightmare.
He had seen Grandma again in the dream—how could that be called a nightmare?
The little snow leopard and Grandma had both already left him.
He was just… just missing them too much.
Seeing that Tang Rong did not want to talk about it, the butler did not ask further. After holding him and coaxing him for a while, he took him to the bathroom to wash up.
Probably because he had cried in his dream, his fair little face had become scrunched and crumpled-looking. After washing his face, the butler thoughtfully applied a little baby cream for him.
Tang Rong was also rather quiet during breakfast that day, but he still followed his usual habit of sharing each item from his plate with the butler. Although he did not have much appetite, he still ate his breakfast cleanly without wasting a single bite.
The all-knowing system also kept comforting Tang Rong in his mind.
Even adults could not quickly break free from the pain of parting by life and death, let alone such a tiny child.
On the other side, the little fox, who had been watching the surveillance the whole time, was practically dying of anxiety. Its nine tails swished restlessly as it paced back and forth on the sofa that had just been repaired by the butler’s subordinates.
It had not touched a single bite of the diet meal beside it, not even the tiny portion of meat in it.
Something was obviously wrong with little brother’s mood.
It had to think of a way to cheer little brother up.
…
Fortunately, children’s emotions came quickly and also faded quickly.
After most of the day had passed, Tang Rong’s spirits improved quite a bit under the little fox’s playful teasing with tail shadows.
All the lights in the room had been turned off, leaving only one beam of light shining onto the little fox’s tails. The fluffy nine tails cast adorable shadows onto the wall.
As the little fox kept adjusting the positions of its tails, the shadows on the wall transformed into many fun shapes.
“This is… a little rabbit.”
“It’s a bird.”
“It’s a flower.”
Tang Rong’s attention was gradually drawn away by this novel little trick, slowly pulling him out of the gloomy mood brought on by the dream.
Watching the little fox work so hard to amuse the child, even the system could not help feeling a little emotional.
No matter what, Tang Hu really was a very good older brother.
Perhaps this time, when the host returned to the main planet, what awaited him might not necessarily be some dragon’s pool or tiger’s den.
At the very least, just the Tang family’s wealth alone would be enough for the host to live the rest of his life without worrying about food or clothing.
But no matter what, the host was allergic to fluff, and the host’s family members all possessed fluffy spirit forms, so they still had to keep some distance.
…
Two days later, under the watchful eyes of many parties, the ship arrived smoothly at the main planet right on schedule.
Before it had even landed, the starport had already been cleared by the imperial military to create an exclusive route. Media and other irrelevant people were not allowed to get close and could only crowd far outside, guessing at what was happening within.
Originally, Tang Rong’s return to the main planet had been kept completely secret. But one day earlier, news of it had suddenly leaked and almost instantly became the top headline on the stellar net.
There was definitely someone manipulating things behind the scenes, but no one had managed to uncover who it was.
Fortunately, the ship landed safely, and everyone on board was unharmed. No accidents had occurred.
The largest starport on the main planet had already been cleared by the military a day earlier. Everyone and everything entering or leaving had undergone strict screening, and a special passageway had been prepared specifically for the ship Tang Rong was on.
The ship came to a steady stop at the starport. The butler took Tang Rong into a hovercar that had long been waiting and headed straight for “Eden.”
As for the little fox, it was fitted with a rune-etched muzzle and placed inside an exquisite little cage before being loaded into the hovercar behind them.
People with unstable spiritual damage were not permitted to move around freely on the main planet—especially in crowded places—unless they wore specially customized restraints, shackles, muzzles, and similar suppressive equipment.
There had once been incidents of spiritual power running rampant, causing heavy losses. Many innocent humans had lost their lives, and many buildings had been irreversibly destroyed.
Gradually, the Empire issued related laws and regulations: people with damaged spiritual power had to live while wearing protective equipment, just in case.
Still, the number of people with spiritual damage was not large. Most could be healed by healers and only needed to wear such devices while recovering.
The Tang family was different.
For generations, the Tang family had served in the military. During a great war against extraterrestrial lifeforms a thousand years ago, their spiritual power was irreversibly affected. Most of the Tang descendants carried defects in their spiritual power—they were powerful, but extremely prone to losing control.
No matter what, the Tang family’s contributions to the Empire and to all humanity could not be denied.
By imperial decree, the Tang family was specially permitted to live in “Eden” on the main planet.
Every planet contained spiritual energy, and that energy influenced the growth of all things. Some planets had sparse spiritual energy, like the junk planet, while others were rich in it, like the main planet.
And on every planet there was a place of origin, something like a “spring source” of spiritual energy—the purest and most abundant place on the whole planet.
“Eden” was the place of origin on the main planet.
Ten thousand years ago, the Empire sent troops there to establish Eden. It was mainly used for breeding and preserving endangered species, providing healing grounds for severely injured patients, people with damaged spiritual power, special surgeries, and so on.
Eden lay far from the noise and bustle of civilization. There were hardly any inhabited buildings nearby at all. It was truly a secluded paradise.
To enter or leave the place, one had to pass through layer upon layer of approval and strict scanning. It was the safest place on the entire planet.
It served both as a form of isolated protection for the Tang family and as a safeguard for the lives and rights of everyone else on the main planet.
…
It was Tang Rong’s first time riding in a hovercar. Curiously, he pressed his little face to the glass window and stared at the scenery speeding backward outside.
The junk planet was always gray and bleak, desolate and cold.
This place was different. There were so many beautiful colors here, so many novel and fun things. “Clouds” descended onto the ground, and “islands” floated in the sky, just like in a dream.
“That’s Fountain Plaza. Every Saturday night, there’s a beautiful musical fountain there.”
“That’s Cloud Island, an artificial island suspended in midair. You have to take the sky ladder up, and there are lots of fun places up there.”
“That’s Stone Mirror Sea, a huge stretch of ocean. The temperature on this side of the sea is fine, but the other side is especially cold, with many floating glaciers. Across the whole sea, you can see lots of beautiful jellyfish.”
…
The hovercar moved very quickly. Every time they passed a notable landmark, the butler would introduce it to Tang Rong one by one.
Tang Rong’s eyes sparkled brightly. He wished he could get off the car and explore every single place at once.
The butler smiled as he looked at the fluffy back of his little head, barely restraining the urge to reach out and rub it, and said gently, “No rush. In the future, you’ll be able to visit them all one by one.”
There was a camera inside the hovercar, and on the other side, the old master, sir, and second young lady were all watching. If he secretly rubbed Little Young Master’s head, he would definitely be glared at sourly by several pairs of eyes afterward for quite a long time.
Suddenly, the butler’s optical brain received a new message.
It was from Old Master Tang.
[Why haven’t you explained to Xiao Rong yet why we didn’t come pick him up in person?]
The butler quickly stole a glance at the message, then helplessly shut off the optical brain and once again turned his gaze toward the fluffy little head pressed near the window.
It was not that he had not wanted to explain—it was just that Little Young Master had been so absorbed in looking at the scenery outside that there had never been a suitable chance.
Finally, the hovercar drove into a long tunnel, and the surroundings instantly darkened.
Tang Rong jumped in fright. Looking a little scared, he quickly pressed himself closer to the butler and lightly clutched the corner of his clothes with one small hand.
The butler immediately turned on all the lights inside the hovercar, soothingly rubbed his back, and simply explained to him what a tunnel was.
After hearing the explanation, Tang Rong finally felt less afraid. But outside was pitch black with nothing to see, so he stayed pressed tightly against the butler and did not move back toward the window.
Remembering the task his employer had assigned him, the butler seized the opportunity and slowly said, “Your family actually wanted to come pick you up in person, but they’re sick and not in good health. They’re at the hospital and can’t travel around.”
Tang Rong’s attention was instantly caught by those words. He looked at the butler with worry, his lips moving slightly. “Are they… very seriously ill?”
Back on the ship, he had already taken the initiative to ask Butler Uncle about his family, and the butler had explained everything to him one by one.
His mother had already passed away. The relatives he still had were Grandpa, Father, Eldest Brother, Second Sister, and Third Brother. None of them were in very good health, and even after he returned home, they would not be able to keep him company very often.
The butler gave a soft hum. “Somewhat serious.”
The Tang family’s spiritual damage could be said to be something that would never be healed in their entire lives.
Especially as they grew older, it became more and more uncontrollable. At times, they could hardly even maintain human form anymore, as if they had completely become a wild beast out of control.
Unless… they underwent a terrifying kind of surgery that periodically extracted almost all of a person’s spiritual power in order to suppress it—but at the same time, the person would become terribly weak.
Old Master Tang had undergone exactly that kind of surgery, after one day when his spiritual power suddenly went out of control and he accidentally injured the wife he loved dearly.
After the operation, he was often bedridden and rarely went out.
His wife had not actually blamed him, and she had not even wanted him to undergo the surgery, but she could not persuade him otherwise.
In that accident, her health had been permanently damaged. She was treated for a very long time, but it never improved. After she passed away, he became even more taciturn and silent.
At that time, his son had already come of age, inherited his legacy, and entered the military, becoming a renowned general while still very young, so there was no longer any need to worry over him.
Later, his son married, and grandchildren were born one after another. Only then did the old master recover somewhat, helping look after the children and accompanying them as they slowly grew up. At last, a little bit of a smile returned to his face.
Until the accident four years ago.
His daughter-in-law died, and his youngest grandson was lost. After hearing the news, the old master fell gravely ill, but he did not collapse. On the contrary, after recovering, he began mobilizing all kinds of contacts to investigate the matter and search for his little grandson’s whereabouts. That investigation lasted four years.
After hearing all that, Tang Rong lowered his little head.
A serious illness… probably like the Grandma who picked him up, someone who would die soon.
Before he had even had the chance to meet them, he was already about to face separation by life and death. Tang Rong’s mood was like the light inside this tunnel—dim and heavy.
The system saw all of this and wanted to explain something, but did not know how. After thinking it over and over, it ultimately chose to stay silent.
Its task was only to find a way to let the host pet fluffy things and earn points while keeping him safe. It really was better not to interfere too much in all the messy matters of the host’s family. At least, their lie—told out of kindness—was not necessarily a bad thing. It was far better than being unable to accompany the host and simply leaving him aside without a word.
In any case, the host had only misunderstood and thought their illness might kill them very soon. Once one year, two years… many years passed and they were all still alive and well, the misunderstanding would naturally clear up on its own.
On the surveillance screen, long curled lashes hid most of those beautiful pale green eyes. The little child sat properly in his seat, the exposed skin on his body so thin it seemed to have almost no flesh on it at all. He was obedient and adorable, yet heartbreakingly pitiful.
The three people watching from the other side of the surveillance all felt somewhat heavy-hearted.
If they could, they absolutely would have wanted to come pick Tang Rong up together in person.
But Old Master Tang had been angered sick by the Yun family—Tang Rong’s maternal family, the family of his mother Yun Jian—and was so furious that he had been admitted directly to the hospital. Even now, he was still on an IV. The doctor had sternly forbidden him from traveling any great distance and had even required him to use a wheelchair whenever he went out.
Mr. Tang’s spiritual power had still not settled down and remained in a violent state in beast form. He had no way to change back into human form and was not suited to leave Eden.
Eldest Young Master was still away on a diplomatic mission, fighting foreign enemies, and could not return directly to the main planet. He did not even have time to communicate through his optical brain.
Second Young Lady had been born with a stutter, was extremely introverted and socially anxious, and was even less good at getting along with children. She had felt deeply anxious about going alone to pick up little Tang Rong. Last night, she had been so anxious that she had not slept at all. Today there were dark circles beneath both eyes, and she looked utterly haggard, almost like she herself was ill. In the end, she was persuaded to stay home and wait until Third Young Master returned. Perhaps things would go more smoothly with Third Young Master by her side.
And as for Third Young Master—the little fox was currently curled up inside the small cage in the hovercar behind them, sleeping soundly. His optical brain was still set to flight mode from the ship, so he had not seen the many messages Grandpa, Father, and Second Sister had sent asking about Tang Rong.
By the time they reached Eden and he finally woke up, the family group chat had already moved on to discussing the best way to cook fox meat.
The little fox: “?”
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