Chapter 73
Ye Yumeng smiled faintly.
He looked at Shi Yichun, thought for a moment, and said, “If she can keep at it and truly learn something from it, it might help with Hanhan’s recovery.”
“Okay, okay!”
Shi Yichun nodded repeatedly. If he could really study medicine and master it, then of course it would help with physical health!
Ye Yumeng had a feeling he had misunderstood.
But he could not be certain this demon cultivation method would definitely help Hanhan either, so in the end he did not explain further.
He said goodbye to Shi Yichun and continued on to the cafeteria for lunch.
It was already lunchtime, yet there were not many people in the cafeteria. Only robots were moving busily in and out.
Though he found it odd, Ye Yumeng did not dwell on it.
After hurriedly finishing his meal, he carried the spiritual rice porridge back to the rest room in the spirit plant garden and fed little rabbit.
As usual, he drew the porridge into a syringe, then slowly squeezed it out bit by bit, feeding it to him.
As he watched little rabbit’s moist, pink tongue repeatedly poke out to lap at the porridge, he had only thought it cute before, but now…
Something strange stirred in Ye Yumeng’s heart.
He looked away, then could not help sneaking another glance. After pulling his gaze back, he stole yet another look, and in his mind he began unconsciously tracing out… another image.
Lu Nanzhou, however, did not notice.
Eyes closed, he focused on licking up the porridge. After Ye Yumeng moved the syringe away, he shifted all his attention inward, concentrating on his abdomen as he digested and absorbed the spiritual energy in the porridge himself.
Once he had digested most of it, he activated the voice machine. “More.”
Lu Nanzhou could clearly feel that his condition today was different from before. His body was craving more energy to repair itself, and this little bit of porridge was not enough.
He needed more food, more spiritual energy to nourish his body. It was no longer a burden on him. He needed more!
Ye Yumeng understood this as well.
Drawing spiritual energy into the body, expelling impurities, and improving the constitution was one of its innate benefits.
He patiently continued feeding him until every bit of the porridge was gone.
It was already half again as much as little rabbit usually ate, yet he had shown no adverse reactions at all.
Moreover, today Ye Yumeng had not used the Digestive and Fluid-Generating Technique. The entire process had relied on little rabbit’s own ability to digest and absorb it. That was an enormous step forward.
By the end, little rabbit could no longer hold on and drifted off to sleep again.
Eating really was hard work too.
Ye Yumeng then cast the Liver-Soothing, Spleen-Strengthening Technique to further reinforce his spleen function, and once again filled the Shadowstream Talisman with Little Spring Restoration.
Looking at little rabbit’s noticeably relaxed expression in sleep, he smiled faintly.
So cute.
“You need to get better soon,” he murmured softly.
After a while, Ye Yumeng left the room as quietly as possible.
Mo Yin had already gone to rest. He had been awake without sleep for two days and two nights, and even his body had finally given out.
Standing outside were Lan Fangyu and the newly arrived Lei Qi.
“I’m going to the core inpatient building. If anything happens, contact me anytime.”
Little rabbit’s side had stabilized for the moment. It was time to go check on the little animals in the activity room.
He had not gone for two days. They were probably getting anxious.
Just as Ye Yumeng was about to leave, Lan Fangyu called out to stop him, hesitating as he asked, “Doctor Ye, is Young Master really all right now?”
Seeing the worry in his expression, and then noticing that Lei Qi, too, wore a face full of things left unsaid, Ye Yumeng finally realized that he had not given them any details yet.
He smiled and nodded. “Little rabbit has successfully brought his bloodline power under control. He can already command that flame power now.”
“Although his injuries still look severe, the most difficult root cause of his illness has already been resolved. After this, recovery becomes much simpler.”
“So you can both relax.”
As they looked at the smile on Ye Yumeng’s face, both Lan Fangyu and Lei Qi stared blankly at him. In that moment, it seemed as though some kind of divine radiance was shining from him.
It was not until the young man waved at them and turned away that they finally came back to themselves.
Lan Fangyu turned to look at Lei Qi, only to find Lei Qi staring right back at him.
“Director Lei, I think I might’ve hallucinated just now,” Lan Fangyu said. “I could have sworn I heard Doctor Ye say that His Majesty has already brought the Mystic Flame under control and no longer has to worry about backlash…”
Lei Qi nodded blankly. “I heard it too.”
“So…”
Lan Fangyu looked toward Ye Yumeng’s retreating figure. At last, when the meaning truly sank in, his eyes reddened.
“Not only did His Majesty survive, he’s about to recover?”
Lei Qi’s mouth fell open so wide his jaw nearly hit the floor. He was still too deeply stunned to answer that question.
When Ye Yumeng arrived at the activity room in the core inpatient building, he discovered there were quite a few robots patrolling the corridor.
These robot guards usually inspected the outer districts and rarely entered the building itself.
The moment Ye Yumeng stepped out of the elevator, they noticed him.
However, after scanning his information, the robot guards did not trouble him. They even saluted him.
Ye Yumeng nodded in return and continued toward the activity room.
When the doors opened, he found it bustling inside. Besides the patients, there were more than a dozen doctors present.
When they noticed his arrival, obvious surprise appeared on the doctors’ faces.
When that burst of mental power had swept across the entire Royal Sanatorium two days ago, not only had patients fainted, but many instruments had malfunctioned as well.
The core inpatient building was closest to the spirit plant garden, so it had suffered the greatest impact. Luckily, Lu Nanzhou had not been in the top-floor ward at the time. Otherwise, the damage would only have been worse.
Because Director Lei and the several great medical masters had responded in time, and because the patients had been eating well and sleeping soundly recently under Doctor Ye’s treatment, their bodies had all grown noticeably stronger.
So this incident had not caused any deaths. Even the patients who had fainted recovered quickly.
And today was the day those great medical masters had come to the activity room to perform the patients’ final checkups.
When he saw Ye Yumeng appear in the doorway, Elder Cheng’s eyes widened slightly, while the mental “group chat” in the activity room exploded.
These people all knew at least a little of the inside story, and the terrifying pressure from two days ago had been so overwhelming that even an idiot could guess who it had come from.
And Doctor Ye had not appeared for two whole days…
Back when Ye Yumeng had still been a caregiver, it was not only the Blade Squad warriors who had seen him cry while holding little rabbit.
Then the very next day, he had been transferred away, later promoted to doctor, and on top of that possessed such miraculous medical skills.
Anyone in full possession of their intelligence could guess that Doctor Ye must have been transferred to His Majesty’s side.
Now that His Majesty had met with trouble, Doctor Ye must have been by his side helping to save him.
So if he was appearing here now, did that mean His Majesty’s condition had already stabilized? Or had things reached a point where his direct help was no longer needed, so he had managed to spare some time to come by?
The Blade Squad warriors, who knew that Ye Yumeng was Lu Nanzhou’s attending doctor, simply lit up the moment they saw him.
Doctor Ye is here—does that mean His Majesty’s fine now?
That’s great!
Actually, there’s another possibility. What if His Majesty…
Before little ferret could finish, his teammates jointly suppressed him.
Bah, bah, bah! Say something auspicious! Don’t say things like that!
But once he said it, the cheerful atmosphere sank all at once.
Should we ask Ah Yin?
He’s not replying!
There have been several assassination attempts by anti-royalist forces at the sanatorium lately. Even though they all failed, Ah Yin’s probably incredibly busy. It’s normal that he doesn’t have time to reply.
Ugh. Too bad Doctor Ye doesn’t have mental power, or else he could just ask directly!
Doctor Ye’s smiling, so it must be good news. Stop overthinking it!
The mental group chat buzzed with discussion.
The little fox quieted down and glanced at his older brother, Hu Yunjin, who was sitting beside his bed. These past few days, his brother had been coming every day to keep him company.
After the initial happiness wore off, he had gradually begun to sense that something was off.
As the future head of the family, Hu Yunjin was undoubtedly supposed to be very busy.
Their clan mainly dealt in interstellar shipping. After the war ended and routes began reopening one after another, the shipping business had become booming once again.
At first, when he heard his brother had come to visit, Hu Yunsheng had assumed he was merely passing through Medical Star and had stopped by to see him.
But now his brother had been on Medical Star for half a month.
Judging by the situation, this was not a casual stopover. He had come specifically to see him… or perhaps for some other purpose?
The little fox weighed this quietly in his mind, remembering the look Mo Yin had given him during that secret meeting.
Ah Yin never acted without reason…
The little fox turned his gaze toward the doorway, toward the young figure surrounded by the doctors.
His Majesty absolutely must not be in trouble…
“Doctor Ye!”
The first person to go greet Ye Yumeng was Chen Limin. Wearing a face full of urgency, he hurried up and asked, “Why did you come? Is… everything over there already settled?”
The question was phrased vaguely, but anyone who needed to understand it did.
Even Hu Yunjin, sitting beside the little fox, shifted his attention toward the entrance.
“Mm, things are temporarily settled over there.”
Hearing that answer, and hearing the ease in Ye Yumeng’s tone, with no sign of anything unusual, everyone’s tightly wound nerves loosened at least a little.
His Majesty is blessed with great fortune. He must be all right!
Exactly!
Little Doctor Ye must’ve worked so hard. He even looks a bit worn out.
When the little bear cub said that, everyone finally noticed Ye Yumeng’s complexion. Though he still looked far better than most of the doctors, he truly was less radiant than usual.
Ye Yumeng could sense the little animals’ mental activity. Though he could not distinguish their exact thoughts, he seemed to pick up on a very soft emotion.
Was it because after his breakthrough, his spiritual sense had grown stronger?
“Sorry. I’ve been a little busy these past two days and couldn’t come. I made you wait.”
Chen Limin nodded repeatedly. “It’s all right, it’s all right. Really, you don’t need to rush over. Your primary work is more important!”
At that moment, someone behind him gave a dry cough.
Chen Limin turned and saw that the one who had approached was none other than Elder Cheng, the leading figure among the medical grandmasters.
“Little Friend Ye, what a fortunate meeting.”
Now that he had their attention, the old man took the initiative to greet Ye Yumeng.
He had actually been very curious about this young doctor—not because he had entered His Majesty’s treatment team, but because of that “medical skill” of his involving assisted feeding.
Especially over the last two days, while examining the patients in the core inpatient unit, he had discovered that all of them had shown widespread improvement recently.
And the point at which they had begun clearly improving was exactly when Ye Yumeng had started helping them with assisted feeding.
“This is… Elder Cheng? A fortunate meeting, a fortunate meeting.”
Ye Yumeng recognized him as the medical master he had seen at the cafeteria entrance before, back when he had been surrounded by people. He still remembered…
His gaze passed over Elder Cheng and moved to the other three elderly men behind him.
One of them had merit light on his body so faint it was nearly gone. When he noticed Ye Yumeng’s gaze, he smiled and nodded, his expression gentle and warm.
Ye Yumeng glanced at the nameplate on his chest—Liang Yu.
He nodded, then looked back at Elder Cheng and asked, “Am I interrupting you?”
“No, no. We’re almost done here anyway.” Elder Cheng said, “Little Friend Ye, you came here because…?”
Ye Yumeng said, “I wanted to check whether the patients still needed assisted feeding. But… I think lunchtime has already passed?”
His gaze swept over the patients. “Everyone should be full by now, right?”
“They may be full, but they can still eat snacks!” a clear young voice rang out.
Ye Yumeng turned to look and saw that little silver mouse, Zhang Zhuyu, had somehow mixed himself into the crowd and squeezed all the way to the front.
Compared with when he had first resumed human form half a month ago, the difference in him was striking.
Not only had he put on weight, he had begun growing taller too. At his age, once the nutrition caught up, growth came quickly.
Though he was still small and skinny, compared to his former self, he had clearly grown quite a bit.
Ye Yumeng could not help placing a hand on his head and ruffling his fluffy hair.
Zhang Zhuyu smiled shyly.
That sentence, naturally, had not been his own. Someone in the activity room had asked him to translate it—
Clearly, not every regressed patient still possessed sufficient intelligence, so some of them, on seeing Ye Yumeng arrive, had immediately begun thinking of food.
Ye Yumeng smiled.
“I brought two lunch boxes. Anyone who still has room can sign up through Little Yu.”
He added, “But only those who obediently ate their nutrient meals these past two days can sign up. Those who were originally scheduled for these three days get priority.”
The moment Ye Yumeng said that, the activity room burst into excitement again.
Wow! Does that mean we get meat today?
Little Doctor Ye is so thoughtful!
Zhang little mouse, sign me up! I’m first!
Suddenly entrusted with such an important task, Zhang Zhuyu hurriedly began taking names.
However, with his photographic memory, he did not need any tools at all. He could remember everyone who signed up just fine.
Very soon, he told Ye Yumeng, “Other than Han Xiong, Hu Naonao… everyone else signed up.”
Then Zhang Zhuyu added, “Everyone did eat their nutrient meals properly over the last two days.”
Ye Yumeng looked over the list. There were around eighteen names, about half the room, which just so happened to match the quota for these three days.
What he found more noteworthy was…
All of the burn-injured little animals had refrained from signing up, as though they had all agreed in advance.
Ye Yumeng looked toward little ferret.
Originally hesitating in place, Bai Shuo, once he sensed Ye Yumeng’s gaze, hurried over and finally nimbly jumped onto his shoulder.
Ye Yumeng had initially meant to pat his little head, but then he remembered something and stopped halfway, asking instead, “Lele, you don’t want any either?”
The little ferret paused, then nodded with solemn righteousness.
Doctor Ye had obviously spent the last two days working himself to exhaustion saving His Majesty. If His Majesty could recover, then even if they never got meat again, he would have no objections!
“All right then.”
Ye Yumeng looked at little ferret’s all-too-human eyes and thoughtful movements and fell into thought.
These little ones must have learned about little rabbit’s situation, right?
If little rabbit was their boss, then… were they really all children?
Ye Yumeng studied little ferret, replaying his gestures and habits, yet he simply could not imagine him as an actual adult.
Then again, little rabbit had been impossible to imagine too.
Ye Yumeng remembered how, back then, he had mistaken them for pets and accidentally made them all angry.
If that were the case, then everything really did start to make sense…
Seeing everyone still watching him, Ye Yumeng stopped thinking further and simply said, “All eighteen patients who signed up today can receive assisted feeding.”
The moment he said that, the little animals who had signed up immediately let out cries of delight.
I can’t believe everyone who signed up gets a turn! I thought I’d been too late again and would have to wait until tomorrow.
Good thing I’ve been eating my nutrient meals these past two days…
The punishment for refusing nutrient meals had been too harsh—you couldn’t sign up, and you might even get “locked up”—and on top of that, the terrifying pressure from two days ago had left too powerful an impression. Even the most rambunctious patients had behaved themselves these past two days and eaten their meals obediently.
This, then, could count as a reward for following the rules.
The little animals were nearly as excited as if it were New Year’s, but Chen Limin looked worried.
He turned to Ye Yumeng and asked, “Won’t this be too tiring for you?”
Usually he only had to look after six of them. Today there were three times that number. Chen Limin was afraid Ye Yumeng might not be able to handle it.
This was Ye Yumeng’s exclusive technique. If he collapsed, no one else could step in. Chen Limin still felt it might be better to continue in the same orderly queue as before.
Yes, the young man’s skills were excellent, but you could not drain the pond dry in one go either, could you?
But Ye Yumeng just smiled and said, “Let’s try it. It should be fine.”
According to his previous experience, assisted feeding plus treatment for all the little animals here would require around three hundred and fifty strands of spiritual energy.
With his current spiritual reserves and the recovery speed of his spiritual liquid vortex, he could completely support that. However…
“Uncle Shi, could you open all the windows?” Ye Yumeng asked.
The spirit plant garden now had nearly two hundred spiritual plants. The spiritual energy they gave off had already begun diffusing out into the surrounding area.
The core inpatient building was the closest structure. If the windows were opened, some of that spiritual energy should drift in.
“Sure, I’ll open them.” Though puzzled, Shi Yichun still did as asked.
At that moment, Zhang Zhuyu had already organized the signup list into text form and sent it to Ye Yumeng’s communicator.
“Little Friend Ye, if we stand off to the side and watch, that’s all right, isn’t it?” Elder Cheng finally asked.
Faced with so many eyes full of curiosity, Ye Yumeng did not refuse.
After all, they were in the main hall, and the space was big enough.
“That’s fine, but please stay quiet,” Ye Yumeng said.
“Of course, of course,” Elder Cheng agreed.
Off in a corner, Mo Jingyun’s eyes widened in shock.
She had known Ye Yumeng was amazing, but she had never expected that even Elder Cheng—an elder of the highest standing in the medical world—would be so humble before him!
Back when they had gone to take part in the medical experiments, they had not even managed to exchange a single word with the old man…
Unable to resist, Mo Jingyun opened the group chat and shared her astonishment in the small private group.
[Chang Yingyin]: Why does this somehow feel normal to me?
[Chen Yu]: Wake up! That’s Cheng Yunfeng, recipient of Yaojin Empire’s highest honorary medical award!
[Ji Jing]: But if Doctor Ye’s calming sachets really can improve or even cure mental power rampage, then I think he could earn that highest award in the future too.
[Wang Yiyue]: Doctor Ye seems to be from the Xihe Federation, right? Has that award ever been given to a foreigner?
[Ji Jing]: Medicine doesn’t recognize nationality. If he really has invented something that benefits all humanity, then the Empire will absolutely do everything it can to keep Doctor Ye here.
[Gan Xiaoyang]: Go on. What exactly do you mean by “everything it can”?
Ji Jing had only said it casually, but since Gan Xiaoyang actually pressed for more, everyone started discussing it.
[Chen Yu]: Obviously promotion, a higher salary, and ridiculously generoustreatment!
[Chang Yingyin]: I don’t think Doctor Ye really cares about that. Even something as precious as the calming sachets, he’s been giving away to retired soldiers for free.
[Ji Jing]: Exactly! Even when sold to patients in the hospital, they’re only eight hundred Yaojin coins. That’s practically giving them away!
[Chang Yingyin]: Doctor Ye is young and soft-hearted. I feel like emotional appeals alone might be enough to make him stay.
[Wang Yiyue]: Emotional appeals? Are you saying that, besides promotion and salary, they might even resort to a honey trap?
[Chen Yu]: Hahaha, maybe! I wonder what type Doctor Ye actually likes. Xiaoyang, why don’t you find an opportunity to ask around?
[Gan Xiaoyang]: Hah, why would I ask that… Unless you all are seriously thinking of making a move?
[Chen Yu]: If Doctor Ye likes me, I’m in!
[Wang Yiyue]: Then I’m in too!
[Gan Xiaoyang]: Ugh. Gross!
The group chat grew lively with teasing and jokes, while Gao Hui, who used to pop up and sing a different tune, never showed up again.
In fact, Gao Hui had been transferred to another branch a week ago.
This was part of Mo Yin’s protection for Ye Yumeng—
Because Gao Hui’s posts and comments targeting Ye Yumeng on the Starnet and in staff groups had been collected by the AI and sent to Mo Yin.
After learning about the earlier conflicts between them, Mo Yin had transferred Gao Hui away without much hesitation.
Of course, outright dismissal would also have been possible, but it was safer to keep someone like that where he could be watched.
In any case, the branch Gao Hui had been sent to was the one farthest from the Royal Sanatorium, so even if he wanted to do something to Doctor Ye, his reach would never extend that far.
Ye Yumeng knew nothing about any of this. He had been so busy every day that he had already forgotten that man existed.
He glanced over the list, started directly with the first name, and Elder Cheng led the other doctors to stand several paces away, all craning their necks to watch him operate.
The patients who had signed up all looked at him eagerly too.
Little squirrel had rushed to sign up, but still had not made it into the first six. She had thought for sure she would not get a turn today, so when she found out there was yet another surprise waiting, her joy was beyond words.
Only she had also heard, when little silver mouse was reading out the names earlier, that her good friend had not signed up.
Yu Ke, why didn’t you sign up? she could not help lamenting on the little owl’s behalf.
The little owl looked at Ye Yumeng, who was preparing to assist-feed the little monkey, his eyes calm and gentle.
Though he did not know that Ye Yumeng was Lu Nanzhou’s attending doctor, he held the same thought as the Blade Squad warriors.
Doctor Ye had surely been exhausted these past two days. Better not increase his burden…
“Why isn’t Doctor Ye making hand signs today?” Huai Yebai muttered under his breath from within the crowd.
Ye Yumeng’s ears twitched slightly. Because the room was so quiet, he heard Huai Yebai’s question clearly.
Because of his recent training, he could now cast these routine techniques without hand signs…
He turned and glanced at the dozen or so doctors surrounding him. Looking at the bright curiosity in their eyes, he hesitated a little, then in the end reverted to using hand signs again.
After all, that was how he had done it before. If he suddenly changed methods, the doctors who had seen his work before would definitely start wondering.
Ye Yumeng could not be bothered coming up with excuses or explanations, so he decided to simply continue the old way.
The moment they saw him start forming hand signs, the doctors’ eyes all widened. Yes, that was it! Those were the very hand signs Huai Yebai and the others had tried to imitate!
Elder Cheng and the other medical titans visibly sharpened their focus.
Before this, they had only heard about it. Watching others describe and mimic the movements had felt suspiciously mystical and impossible. Now they were finally seeing the real thing with their own eyes!
They all fixed their attention on Ye Yumeng, and some had already begun secretly copying the motions themselves.
Chen Limin watched from the side and could not shake the feeling that the scene somehow looked… like the kind of thing he should be calling the police about.
—
At last, it was little squirrel’s turn.
She jumped right into Ye Yumeng’s palm, then sat down obediently. Her bright little bean eyes were filled to the brim with gratitude.
For Song Zi, this recent period had truly felt like a dream.
Because of the calming sachet, she had been sleeping soundly every night and could clearly feel her body getting better day by day.
Before, she had been so weak she could only lie in bed, not even able to turn over on her own.
Now, she could get up and move around, even bounce and hop, and the lightness of her body made her so happy she almost wanted to cry every time she felt it.
Most importantly, she had finally shaken off the shadow of death. She no longer had to fear that the illness would snatch away her life at any moment.
She had already shared the good news with her family, and they were on their way to Medical Star now.
Who knew? Maybe once everything stabilized, she would even be able to leave Medical Star with them and return to a normal life.
How could she possibly not be grateful to Doctor Ye for that?
Ye Yumeng looked down at the little squirrel sitting so obediently in his palm. She was just a tiny, fluffy bundle, with a tail even bigger than the rest of her body.
At first it hung softly over his wrist, but when he lowered his gaze toward her, the big tail shot upright and began to sway happily, not bothering to hide her joy in the slightest.
Truly adorable.
Ye Yumeng could not help reaching out a finger to pat her little head before giving her a nut.
Little squirrel had actually recovered rather quickly. Once the mental power disorder eased, her bodily functions had begun steadily returning.
According to the doctors’ assessment, she was already able to eat soft foods and semi-solid meals.
But little squirrel’s favorite was still nuts.
She clutched the pale golden kernel with both front paws and began nibbling away, cheeks bulging as she gnawed. She ate very carefully, and whenever a tiny crumb fell, she hurried to lick it up with her little tongue.
Crunch crunch—crunch crunch—
In the quiet activity room, everyone could hear the sound of her eating the nut.
It sounds so delicious… little white dog could not help swallowing.
Panda cub followed immediately: Right? Nuts are super good. Once you eat one, you want another. You can’t stop!
On this point, Ye Yumeng entirely agreed.
Earlier, when little squirrel had given him a small box of snacks, he had originally passed them along to He Jun. Who would have thought He Jun would later buy him a huge box in return?
When he was little in the cultivation world, Ye Yumeng had once picked pine nuts in the mountains and forests. He had needed stones to crack open the shells, and a lot of the time after tremendous effort he would only get a tiny bit of kernel.
But in this world, the nut snacks not only came already shelled, they came in all sorts of delicious flavors too. They were pure bliss for the taste buds.
Once he started on one, he always wanted a second. By the time he realized it, he would already have eaten two or three whole bags, and still not be satisfied.
Thinking of that, Ye Yumeng could not help feeling tempted.
Since Elder Cheng and the others were still staring at him, he could hardly just pull some out and start eating now. He told himself he would have He Jun buy more for him later.
After all, he had money now!
Unexpectedly, after little squirrel finished one nut, she actually hopped back to her bed, dug another nut out of the box by the head of her bed, then hurried back over and held it up to him with great effort.
Standing nearby, Zhang Zhuyu translated at just the right moment. “Sister Song says thank you for helping with her feeding, and she hopes you’ll try this nut she picked out especially for you.”
Even though Doctor Ye had not come the last two days, Song Zi had thought ahead, just in case, and made sure she had some ready every day.
The moment little squirrel saw Ye Yumeng looking a little tempted, she immediately seized the chance and brought out the nuts she had prepared.
After all, Doctor Ye was still a minor. It was totally normal for him to like snacks! And these were top-grade nuts her family had specially found. They were super fragrant!
Seeing the little squirrel holding out a nut larger than her paws, with her arms already starting to tremble, Ye Yumeng quickly took it from her.
Little squirrel immediately let out a bright, chirping little squeak, her delight impossible to miss.
“She says she hopes you like it,” Zhang Zhuyu translated.
Ye Yumeng felt warmth fill his heart. He did not stand on ceremony and simply popped the nut into his mouth.
The moment he bit into it, he felt something different.
This nut contained spiritual energy. It should have come from a plant king stock.
“Thank you. I really like it.”
Ye Yumeng once again patted little squirrel’s head.
The other little animals, seeing this, began grumbling inwardly.
Because of little squirrel giving Doctor Ye a gift last time, they had all prepared things afterward as well. But Doctor Ye had said, just as he had that day, that he would not accept gifts anymore, and so they had gradually given up.
Besides, they had had no idea Doctor Ye would come today, so none of them had anything ready.
And now this little squirrel had somehow succeeded once again, and even earned another round of good favor from Doctor Ye. What a schemer!
Little white dog Jiang Yufei could not help sending a message to his father, Jiang Quan.
[Jiang Taro Ball]: Dad, have you found the spirit plants yet? I want to give some to Doctor Ye!
[Jiang Taro Ball]: Little dog jumping around and wagging tail wildly.gif
[White Water]: …
Even though he had regressed into a puppy, he was still a wolf! A wolf!
Looking at his son’s message, Jiang Quan felt tired. But soon he sharply picked up on something.
[White Water]: You all got assisted feeding today?
That was actually a very clever way to phrase it. Anything directly involving “Doctor Ye” would be heavily monitored by the AI, but by wording it differently, he could still get the information he wanted.
[Jiang Taro Ball]: I’m not telling you. Give up already!
Jiang Quan: “…”
All right, the boy had indeed gotten smarter. Maybe he should feel pleased.
[White Water]: Why not?
[Jiang Taro Ball]: Little Moon said I shouldn’t.
Jiang Quan: “…”
Fine. Maybe he had celebrated too soon. But at least the kid now knew to ask his older brother first. That was progress.
Jiang Quan gave up on prying more information out of his son.
He went straight to find the prince instead.
For the past two days, the prince had been like a powder keg—ready to explode at the slightest spark, the complete opposite of the warm spring breeze he had been over the previous two months.
Jiang Quan had known immediately that something must have happened to His Majesty.
The prince’s emotions were still far too transparent. Though his capability was solid and his personality diligent, dutiful, and responsible, if he were ever to inherit the throne…
Jiang Quan, at least, was not optimistic.
Deeply troubled, he went to Lu Yuanqing’s office, only to find him handling official documents, expression calm. Yet there was an unmistakable brightness in his mood.
Did that mean… His Majesty had recovered again?
“Commander Jiang!”
The moment he noticed Jiang Quan’s arrival, Lu Yuanqing called out with a smile.
Jiang Quan froze. It had been a very long time since he had seen the prince smile like that.
It was a light, open smile, without shadows, the kind he had probably last seen when the prince had still been studying at the academy.
That sort of feeling, perhaps, was what it was like to know that even if the sky fell, someone else would still be there to hold it up.
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