Chapter 132
The Central Hospital in the capital was bustling with people. Li Sinian moved swiftly through the crowd, his steps hurried.
As the youngest Marshal in the history of the Tess Empire, Li Sinian’s fame was unparalleled. His face was as good as a universal pass on the capital planet.
But the icy and somber aura he exuded at this moment discouraged anyone who recognized him from approaching. Instead, people instinctively stepped aside to clear the way.
Li Sinian paid no mind to the people around him, his thoughts consumed by the phone call he had just received.
Ever since his wife had been gravely injured by their adopted daughter, she had remained in a coma. Although the cause was unclear, her bodily functions had been stable, giving him hope.
But today, her condition had suddenly deteriorated. He had rushed back from an off-world inspection but still lost time on the way…
Reaching the elevator doors, Li Sinian abruptly stopped.
With his abilities, he could have instantly arrived at his wife’s hospital room the moment he stepped into the hospital. But… he didn’t dare.
He was afraid to face the possible bad news.
Over the years, his wife, Yan Ya, had traveled extensively across the galaxy in search of their two children, greatly exhausting her body. She had only stayed home to recuperate after he had forcibly ordered her to stop.
A bitter smile crossed Li Sinian’s face. Finally, he took a deep breath and stepped into the elevator.
Uncertain of Yan Ya’s current condition, he headed to her previous hospital room first. As he approached the door, he encountered the nurse who usually took care of her.
The nurse was about to greet him, but he stopped her.
“Which emergency room is Yan Ya in? Can you take me there?” Li Sinian’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke.
But at his words, the nurse’s expression turned complicated. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but before she could respond, Li Sinian heard a sound from inside the room. He froze.
Slowly turning his head, he stood in stunned disbelief at the sight of the woman standing in the doorway.
She had a gentle and graceful demeanor, her figure slim and frail. Her pale complexion hinted at lingering weakness, making it clear she hadn’t fully recovered. But at least…
She was awake and whole, standing before him.
“Sinian, you’re here,” Yan Ya said, already dressed, her soft smile radiating warmth as she looked at her husband.
Li Sinian’s eyes instantly turned red. Ignoring the nurse’s presence, he stepped forward and wrapped her tightly in his arms.
“You’re okay… that’s wonderful!” His voice carried a faint tremor, and despite his best efforts to suppress his emotions, they spilled out in this moment of relief and joy.
Yan Ya hugged him back, her smile weak but filled with happiness.
“What’s going on?” Li Sinian asked once his emotions had settled. “I clearly received word that you were taken to the emergency room.”
At his words, Yan Ya’s face turned slightly red, and she hesitated before replying, “You might have misunderstood…”
“Yes, you must have misunderstood,” the nurse said softly, her voice laced with irony. “The one taken to the emergency room was Dr. Byrne.”
Li Sinian was startled. “What happened to him?”
“He was severely injured and barely survived,” the nurse explained.
Li Sinian frowned. Someone dared to commit violence in the Central Hospital?
He asked sharply, “Who attacked him? Where is the culprit now?”
Before the nurse could answer, Yan Ya, who looked as delicate as ever, lowered her head in guilt and timidly raised her right hand.
Li Sinian: ???
By the afternoon, Dr. Byrne had successfully been stabilized after emergency treatment. Emerging from the medical pod, he wasted no time before meeting with Marshal Li Sinian and his wife.
After Byrne’s explanation, Li Sinian finally understood the situation.
It turned out that when their adopted daughter Xue Wei’s bloodline power went berserk, Yan Ya’s own bloodline power was activated in the process of resisting her.
Her coma had been the result of her body absorbing and converting this newfound power, and once the power had stabilized, she regained consciousness.
“So, in short, the Marshal’s wife experienced a rare awakening of her bloodline power in adulthood. Her bloodline… is that of the Red-Tailed Lion,” Byrne explained.
“The traits of the Red-Tailed Lion bloodline are most evident in physical strength and speed,” he continued. “When she first woke up, driven by instinct, she attacked me while I was trying to examine her, which is how this morning’s incident occurred.”
Yan Ya looked mortified, but Dr. Byrne waved her off with a calm demeanor, clearly no stranger to such situations.
“The Marshal’s wife is now out of danger,” he reassured them. “With proper nutrition and rest, she’ll recover fully in no time.”
After all, the Red-Tailed Lion bloodline endowed her with a constitution far superior to that of ordinary people. In a way, this was a blessing in disguise.
Li Sinian hadn’t expected this outcome. Not only did his wife possess the powerful bloodline of the Red-Tailed Lion, but the crisis had also awakened it.
When Byrne mentioned that, without the protection of her bloodline power, Yan Ya might have died on the spot during the attack by the Moon Dragon Rabbit, Li Sinian felt a chill of fear run through him.
“Thank goodness… thank goodness…” he murmured, his hands trembling slightly as he held his wife’s.
Yan Ya gently patted the back of his hand in comfort. Once her husband’s emotions had calmed, she asked softly, “What about Wei Wei? Was she frightened? Please don’t blame her; she couldn’t control the awakening of her bloodline power.”
Li Sinian fell silent. After a long pause, he finally admitted with difficulty that he had sent the child back to the orphanage.
Yan Ya froze for a moment but didn’t blame him for his decision.
“I’m fine now. Let’s go bring her back, shall we?” she said gently. “Now that I’ve awakened the Red-Tailed Lion bloodline, with some training, Wei Wei won’t be able to hurt me again.”
Seeing his wife’s face, which was already more vibrant than when she had first woken up, Li Sinian felt his resentment toward their adopted daughter dissolve.
He nodded. “Alright, let’s bring her home.”
This time, he resolved to take all necessary precautions. He had already lost two children; he couldn’t bear to lose the person closest to him as well.
But when they arrived at the orphanage, they couldn’t find Xue Wei.
At first, the couple thought their decision to send the child back had caused the orphanage to blacklist them.
As they were contemplating how to fix the situation, the orphanage director spoke apologetically, “That child was sent to the Prison Star months ago. By now, she’s already…”
Bang!
The director’s words were cut short as he saw the Marshal’s wife, with her slender right hand, slam it forcefully on his desk.
The desk, made of the sturdiest stonewood, cracked—no, shattered—right in front of him.
The once soft-spoken, gentle-looking Marshal’s wife now resembled an enraged lioness.
And perhaps this wasn’t just a metaphor, as a pair of beast ears had indeed appeared on top of her head.
Her eyes transformed into vertical pupils, locking onto the orphanage director with an intense gaze. Her voice was low and steady, but it carried an undeniable growl, like the roar of a lion.
“You just said… where did you send my daughter?”
Though her tone was calm, the underlying lion’s roar reverberated, leaving the director too frightened to reply.
Sinian’s expression was also dazed.
Xue Wei… that child had been sent to the Prison Star. The image of the gentle, fragile girl flashed before his eyes, and he felt a sharp pang in his chest.
“Why didn’t you consult me before sending her away?” he asked, frowning deeply.
Under the weight of the couple’s combined aura, the orphanage director, an ordinary human, nearly fell to his knees. “M-Marshal, sir… You’re always so busy, I couldn’t get in touch with you…”
“I followed protocol… The Prison Star has a juvenile care facility that houses children like Xue Wei. She was too dangerous here—I had to ensure the safety of the other children…”
After hearing the director’s explanation, Sinian and Yan Ya eventually calmed down. Before leaving, they even compensated the orphanage for the broken desk.
Once back at the Lin family residence, Yan Ya didn’t bother resting and immediately began packing her bags, determined to leave for the Prison Star to bring Xue Wei home.
“Yan Ya, calm down,” Sinian urged. “Your body still needs to recover.”
“I can’t calm down!” Yan Ya said as she hastily packed. “The Prison Star is no place for a child!”
On the way back, Yan Ya had already contacted the director of the Capital Planet’s nursery school to inquire about the juvenile care facility on the Prison Star.
The orphanage director had mentioned that some childcare workers from the Capital nursery school had experience at the facility and could provide insight. The nursery director, eager to help, answered all her questions in detail.
Yan Ya had already been uneasy at the mention of the Prison Star, and after hearing the nursery workers’ descriptions, she was on the verge of collapse.
“The conditions on the Prison Star are terrible! The children only get nutrient solutions for their meals… When has Wei Wei ever endured such hardship?” Yan Ya’s eyes turned red as she spoke.
“And the children there even attack the caretakers! Several of the nursery workers ended up in the infirmary, and they still have nightmares about it!”
“You heard all of this just now, didn’t you, Sinian?” Yan Ya’s voice cracked as she shouted, her emotions spiraling out of control. “My Wei Wei was sent to a place like that!”
Sinian was wracked with guilt. He opened his mouth to suggest that with Xue Wei’s fierce beast bloodline, she might not be bullied. But before he could speak, his wife’s voice rose again.
“I’ve already lost two children. I can’t lose a third. Do you understand?” Yan Ya sobbed, tears streaming down her face. “I have to find her immediately! Wei Wei must be so scared right now. She’s so sensitive and delicate… I can’t even imagine how heartbroken she must be!”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t know things would turn out this way,” Sinian said as he embraced his wife, his face filled with anguish.
He had some knowledge of the Prison Star. In fact, many of his capable subordinates had served there.
Though they were ordinary humans without fierce beast bloodlines, their time on the Prison Star had awakened special abilities, which later proved instrumental in the Tess Empire’s battles against interstellar monsters.
At the same time, Li Sinian was well aware that the environment of the Prison Star was unsuitable for beast-blood warriors. There had been numerous cases of such warriors succumbing to berserk states, transforming completely into wild beasts.
For beast-blood warriors, that planet was incredibly dangerous.
And yet, a facility for housing beast-blood younglings had been established there. No matter how one looked at it, this was highly unusual.
Even more concerning was the recent information Li Sinian had received—conditions on the Prison Star had changed. Many soldiers stationed there were now requesting to return to the Empire.
Although he hadn’t fully investigated the situation, he knew that the Prison Star had become increasingly perilous, even for ordinary soldiers.
“I’ll leave immediately to bring her back,” Li Sinian said. “You should stay home…”
“No!” Yan Ya shook her head. “A round trip from the Tess Empire to the Prison Star takes months—nearly a year altogether! Li Sinian, that child needs me!”
Or perhaps, she needed that child.
“It won’t take that long,” Li Sinian replied. “The Empire’s newest warship is incredibly fast. It should only take about a month to get there.”
“But will His Majesty—”
“I lost two children because of him. It’s just one warship—does he dare to refuse?”
To the public, the disappearance of the Lin family’s two children had been declared an abduction by unknown assailants, but the Lin family and the Emperor both knew it was an act of retaliation by the rebels.
Back then, Li Sinian had given everything to support the new Emperor, ultimately securing his victory. But in doing so, he lost his two most cherished children.
Because of this, the Emperor of the Tess Empire felt a deep sense of guilt toward the Lin family. When Li Sinian made his request, the Emperor readily agreed.
That very night, a warship departed from the capital planet of the Tess Empire, setting course for the Prison Star.
*
Prison Star, Base 24.
The rain continued to fall. The light, endless drizzle drifted down from the sky, bringing a gentleness rarely felt on the Prison Star. Not just the younglings but even the adults at the base had never experienced such a soft and soothing rain.
When the blood rain alarm had sounded earlier, the younglings had been instructed by the caretaker robots to take shelter in their rooms.
For the first time, their windows had been opened, giving them a view of the sky as the blood rain approached. The ominous scene—thick, crimson fog gathering in the heavens, accompanied by thunder that roared like the cries of monsters—was deeply unsettling.
But just as they braced themselves for the storm, the blood-red mist suddenly dissipated, the sky cleared, and a gentle drizzle began to fall.
The nursery facility was equipped with greenhouse glass at the top, which shielded the rain from coming inside.
As the younglings watched the clear droplets gather on the glass, even those who rarely ventured out in extreme weather could tell that this rain was different—it wasn’t blood rain.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the base’s AI lifted the blood rain alert.
Little Lang Ze, who had been worried about the plants in the green space, immediately brightened up when the crisis was resolved.
He leaned against the window and pushed it open—the smart lock on the window automatically deactivated once the alert was lifted.
From his spot on the fifth floor, Lang Ze didn’t find the height particularly daunting. He climbed out of the window and jumped directly onto the windowsill of Room 403 on the fourth floor below.
Although the sudden appearance of Lang Ze might have startled someone else, the boy lying by the window of Room 403, Zheng Xing, wasn’t fazed at all.
He had sensed Lang Ze’s movements through his mental energy the moment Lang Ze climbed out onto the windowsill.
“Xing Xing, the blood rain is gone! Let’s go play!” Lang Ze crouched on the windowsill, entirely oblivious to the danger of his actions, and spoke joyfully.
After hesitating briefly, Zheng Xing nodded.
Lang Ze wasted no time scooping him up. With Zheng Xing on his back, he leaped to the windowsill of Room 404 next door.
Standing by the windowsill, Li Hua had already noticed the commotion. She wasn’t startled either but instead turned to Rong Heng with excitement. “Brother, let’s go play!”
“Hey, Xiang Yang, I dare you to jump from here like I did. Can you?” Lang Ze teased with a cheeky grin.
And with that, he jumped down without hesitation, calling out to the boy on his back, “Xing Xing, hold on tight!”
Using the rope net to break his fall, Lang Ze landed gracefully, his tail practically wagging with pride. But before he could fully savor his achievement, Rong Heng followed right behind, carrying Li Hua on his back.
The lion siblings landed smoothly, earning a scowl from Lang Ze, who put his hands on his hips and pouted. “Hmph! Next time, let’s see if you dare to jump all the way from the rooftop!”
Having just climbed off Lang Ze’s back, Zheng Xing frowned at his words, letting out a small, worried sigh.
Meanwhile, Li Hua tilted her head up to gaze at the rain above. After a moment of staring at the rain curtain, she suddenly pointed to the star vine on the rope net, exclaiming in delight, “Look! The fruits are ripe!”
Perhaps it was the rain’s influence, but the star vine was now adorned with clusters of bright red fruits.
