Chapter 68
Ever since he got the rose sun his boyfriend made for him, Yomi looked forward to dawn every single day. The moment day broke, there would be a brand-new sun to look at, because his boyfriend changed the petals daily. Different colors and different kinds of petals made the “sun” feel different each time.
For Yomi, who could only stay inside the cocoon and recover every day, it all felt wonderfully fresh.
Because their constitutions were different, their recovery speeds were also vastly different. Anxius healed much faster than he did. By the fifth day after waking, he was already able to move around as freely as he had before the surgery.
Yomi, meanwhile, dedicated himself to being a hardworking little cocoon worker. Every day he would pick the opening a little bigger. By the time Anxius was able to get out of bed, Yomi had already widened the cocoon sideways, turning the original small hole into a great big split across the upper half that could be flipped open.
When Yomi lay inside during the day, Anxius would pull the cocoon open. Every time that happened, Yomi imagined himself as some kind of clam spirit, and honestly, it was pretty fun.
The first time Karl saw the cocoon in that state, he deliberately looked him over in feigned surprise. “Has Yomi turned into a clam?”
Yomi brightened in delight: So even you can tell!
Karl kept teasing him, “This cocoon actually isn’t that big. I think it could be carried outside and put under the real sun.”
Karl had only said it casually. After all, Yomi still needed daily infusions and machine checks at the moment, so he could not be moved around recklessly.
He never could have imagined that Anxius would actually remember those words.
Anxius’s recovery speed was astonishing. A few days later, to Yomi’s utter shock, he got out of bed and transformed back into his original form.
The morning after turning back into a monster, Anxius picked up the entire cocoon—bed and all—and carried it outside to sunbathe.
Yomi had still been sleeping soundly inside at the time and knew absolutely nothing about it.
The first one to notice was Yexi. He was so frightened that his face changed immediately, and he hurried over to ask what was going on. In the end, when he learned that Anxius merely wanted to help Yomi bask in the sun, and had even moved the medical equipment out along with him, and then saw that Yomi had not even woken up during the whole transfer, he could not really say anything more.
And so, this time, Yomi really did wake up because the sun had warmed his butt.
At first he was still a little groggy. Squinting, he looked around for Anxius. The spot beside him was empty. Then the cocoon was opened, and a monster’s claw reached inside, skillfully wiping his face clean.
After a brief silence, Yomi looked at the claw in front of him, then at the light shining in through the opening, and exclaimed in shock, “…Where is this?!”
The monster replied, “I moved the bed into the farmyard. You can get direct sunlight this way. If it gets too hot, I’ll move you under the tree. In the evening, I’ll move you back in.”
? It can just be done that casually?
Sigh, when you’re strong, you really do have confidence!
Still dazed, Yomi looked up at the golden light beyond the crack. It felt warm and soft. He instinctively stretched one foot toward it, trying to touch the long-lost sunlight.
At that moment, Anxius finished wiping his face, then took a wet towel and wiped his little feet too. He fully propped open the top half of the cocoon, and the morning sunlight immediately spread over Yomi’s body.
Yomi’s complexion was no longer as pale as it had been right after the surgery. Bathed in sunlight, he closed his eyes and slowly breathed, like a plant carrying out photosynthesis.
Before long, Gousheng woke up too. First he slowly went to the bathroom, then went out and started his usual patrol in the vegetable patch in the distance. After only a few steps, his whole body suddenly froze.
Yomi spotted him too and quickly waved with a smile. “Gousheng, you’re up too?”
In the next instant, a little wolf cub came sprinting wildly toward the cocoon lying in the sunlight!
If Anxius had not blocked him, Yomi felt Gousheng would probably have jumped straight onto the bed.
“Awoo! Awoo!” Gousheng wagged his tail furiously, so excited he could hardly stand it.
“Gousheng, did you eat yet?” Yomi leaned out and asked with concern.
“Awoo!” He had. And even if he had not, he would still have to say he had—stubborn Gousheng nodded hard!
Yomi rubbed Gousheng’s head. Gousheng got so emotional from being rubbed that his eyes turned watery. Then, like a little adult, he walked around the cocoon a few times in inspection, raised his head to sniff, and when he did not smell any sign of infected wounds, he finally relaxed and trotted off toward the chicken coop.
In Yomi’s gaze, Gousheng rammed the coop door open in one go, drove the chicks outside, barked once in Yomi’s direction, then cheerfully went off to eat his jerky.
By then Anxius had finished setting up the machines. After a simple wash-up, he transformed back into human form and lay down inside the cocoon, hugging Yomi and kneading him all over, saying it was to help him get his body moving again.
Yomi enjoyed it so much he closed his eyes, and even the way his feet swayed carried a lazy softness.
So this was what recuperation and rehabilitation were like? So comfortable.
The little person being kneaded yawned blissfully, savoring the slow passing of time.
Another week went by, and under his boyfriend’s attentive care, Yomi recovered two days earlier than Yexi had predicted. On the day he was going to try using his skill, he looked at the roomful of people, then at the cocoon in front of him, and asked a little shyly, “Would it be more fitting if I turned into a butterfly and flew out?”
Everyone: ?
Naturally, that was only a joke. Yomi had just recovered, so he needed to use his skill lightly. He had never turned into a butterfly before, and for one thing, it was uncertain whether he could even do it. Even if he succeeded, it would consume more energy than simply turning back. It was like sprinting the moment you got discharged after surgery—his body would not be able to handle it.
As Bruel had taught him, Yomi closed his eyes and looked toward that golden ring when using his skill. What had once been only a tiny little circle was now several times bigger than before… Gathering all his strength, Yomi pushed his will into it. When he opened his eyes again, he smiled in satisfaction—the cocoon and all the silk had vanished completely.
His limbs, once bound by silk, were now clean, pale, and tender. Yomi regained the freedom he had missed for so long, and the moment he got out of bed, he threw himself into his boyfriend Anxius’s arms.
After everything that had happened with the symbiosis surgery, everyone present already understood perfectly well what their relationship was. So when they saw that scene, they were not surprised, though each person’s expression was different.
During their post-surgery recovery, Yomi and Anxius had stayed in a sunlit room upstairs in the villa. After being “discharged,” the two of them moved back into the bedroom they had lived in before.
The bedroom was very clean. It was obvious everyone had been helping clean and arrange it during this time. The vase in the room had even been filled with fresh flowers, so a gentle fragrance drifted through the air. It did not look in the slightest like it had been unoccupied for a long time.
Yomi was deeply touched. That very night, he held a little “discharge” party and prepared a gift for everyone—a heart-shaped sweet potato cake.
It was only a simple sweet potato cake, but everyone ate theirs completely.
For Yomi, it counted as a little cake, but for the others, it was really more like a cookie. One bite and it was gone, leaving them wanting more.
Yomi then also brought out the gifts he had received during this period and shared them with everyone. One bottle was red wine. He could not drink it for now, but it still served as part of the atmosphere while everyone else drank happily.
These days, Black Feather from Skull State and the nearby minor lords had been constantly sending him gifts. If one traced it all back carefully, it actually had to do with the earlier earthquake.
The story of the rescue during that disaster had spread very widely, and by the time it finished spreading, it had grown rather fantastical. One version even said that Sheep Asura had defeated the god who brought about natural disasters, and only then managed to pull those people back from the gates of hell.
But the more fantastical a story was, the easier it was to spread. After all, people loved hearing strange and exciting tales. In the end, whether the listeners believed it or not, one fact could not be denied: Sheep Asura had led people and saved countless Junk Star lives during the earthquake… Most Junk Star people feared natural disasters deeply, so when a savior appeared who did not fear them, people naturally began supporting him.
As Sheep Asura’s supporters increased, some of the nearby minor lords also began taking his existence more and more seriously. Hearing that Black Feather, lord of Skull State, kept sending gifts to Sheep Asura, they copied him and began doing the same.
Not for any lofty reason. They simply hoped that if something happened in their territories one day, they too might receive some help from Sheep Asura…
The lords’ motives were tied to self-interest, but the common people’s thoughts were much simpler.
Every year, Junk Star suffered countless natural disasters, and wherever disaster came, death came with it. No one had ever saved them before. In the past, besides trying to save themselves, the only thing they could do was wait to die. But now Yomi had given them a third option…
They could use mountain whales to build special rescue teams and resist disasters together.
The Junk Star people who had gone through that earthquake firsthand could never forget that day.
What Sheep Asura? He was clearly Sheep Angel!
On the first night after being “discharged,” Yomi was kissed by Anxius until his head spun. Clearly his boyfriend had not drunk any alcohol that evening, and yet he acted like someone drunk, clutching Yomi and kissing and nibbling him again and again, holding him so tightly he had nowhere to retreat. Teeth lightly ground over the skin of his neck, wanting to bite hard but unable to bear it, and his breathing was scorching. He kissed all the way upward, so close to sucking Yomi’s lips raw.
But every time Yomi whimpered, Anxius immediately softened his strength, blew gently on his mouth, and then kissed him lightly again… Yomi would sink into it too, but someone freshly “discharged” should not be staying up late. Ever disciplined, he reminded Anxius in time, “Darling, we should sleep. Continue tomorrow. Good night.”
“…”
Left hanging and unsatisfied, Anxius stared at his treasure, who had simply toppled over and fallen asleep, for a long while before finally calming down from that trembling excitement. He restrained himself and watched Yomi for a while longer. Once he saw that he really had fallen asleep, he could not help smiling. Then he kissed his cheek and fell asleep with his face pressed close to Yomi’s too…
A few days later, while strolling outside, Yomi ran into the dance ant he had not seen in quite a long time. According to the people on the farm, during Yomi’s recovery after surgery, this dance ant had come by a few times. After not seeing him, it gradually stopped coming. This time, it was probably only passing through, but when it suddenly saw its old friend again, it froze for a few seconds, then immediately performed a cheerful little dance for him.
Yomi was very happy too. He took out a piece of dried meat and placed it on the ant’s back, then chatted with it in that across-species way for a while. After watching it leave, he hummed a little tune and continued his walk~
A week later, Yomi’s body was finally completely well. It was also on that day that Anxius prepared to head to Pearl State, which had interstellar flights, and from there board a starship to Birdman Planet to meet an acquaintance there.
The moment he heard about it, Yomi instinctively shook his head. “If you show up in an interstellar terminal, your identity might be exposed.”
Anxius said, “Some time ago Bruel sent over a batch of human-skin suits. The items are in Pearl State. Once I put one on, no one will recognize me.” This had been planned long ago. Now that the symbiosis surgery was done and he had watched Yomi recover little by little, Anxius no longer had any lingering concerns.
Yomi had seen Bruel’s handiwork before. At the mention of the human-skin suit, the tightness in his brow eased a little. The two looked at each other, and just before Anxius leaned in to kiss him, Yomi suddenly asked, “Are you going alone?”
“Mm. The more people there are, the greater the danger. I’ve already made arrangements on that side, nothing will happen, so don’t worry.”
Not worrying was impossible, but things that had to be done still had to be done. So Yomi said, “Then let me take you to Pearl State?”
Anxius immediately shook his head. “No. Too dangerous.” He could stay with Yomi on the way there, but what about the return trip? Absolutely not. He would never let Yomi come back alone.
Yomi started playing sly games with him. “I’ve never been to Pearl State before. Can’t you at least take me there to have a look? Can’t you?” As he spoke, he shook his boyfriend’s arm and tried to act cute in a very unskilled way.
Anxius was weakest against exactly this side of him. After thinking it through, he finally said, “Unless Karl comes too… After I leave, you and Karl return together.”
“Deal!”
Early the next morning, the three of them said goodbye to the others at home, loaded up with provisions, and set out in the camper for faraway Pearl State.
The trip there took three days and two nights, yet Yomi did not feel tired at all. They had brought enough food for the road, and whenever they stopped and came across beautiful scenery, Yomi made sure to take photos. Even though he was supposedly sending his boyfriend off on a journey, the whole thing felt more like a pleasant and comfortable short trip. Anxius, too, was calm the entire way, and sometimes even helped Yomi find beautiful backdrops for pictures.
Karl, secretly taking photos himself: This is hardly a “business trip.” It’s more like a honeymoon!
The closer they got to Pearl State, the hotter the weather became. By the time they arrived, Yomi had already changed into a short-sleeved shirt. At the same time, there were now over a hundred new photos in his optical brain.
The lively Pearl State was completely different from Ghost State. It already had somewhat of a city feel. Cars were everywhere on the roads, and there were many more shops too.
Anxius drove the vehicle into a hidden little courtyard. When he came out again, he had turned into a completely different man—black hair, red eyes, like a vampire… If not for the voice, Yomi would never have dared recognize him.
When they got back into the vehicle, Yomi kept glancing sideways at his vampire boyfriend, feeling oddly thrilled, and sneaked peeks again and again.
They first ate a meal nearby. When they went to wash their hands in the restroom, Anxius could not restrain himself any longer. He cornered his boyfriend-baby inside a stall and bent down to leave a vampire-style “bite mark” on his neck!
Yomi lowered his head, blushing furiously. He did not dare look at Anxius’s face at all, because otherwise it somehow felt like he was cheating…
After the meal, the group drove to the interstellar airport.
Since Pearl State occasionally saw people from other planets, Karl also went into the back of the camper and changed into one of the human-skin suits Bruel had prepared for him, just in case. As for Yomi, he directly turned into a little sheep, planted his hooves, and sat obediently in the passenger seat.
Junk Star and Birdman Planet were very close. There were plenty of daily flights. Anxius was in no hurry to leave, wanting to spend a little more time with Yomi, so he deliberately took a detour.
As they passed a tall building, Anxius’s gaze suddenly changed. He immediately stopped the vehicle at the roadside.
“Baa?” Yomi, puzzled, followed his line of sight. Instantly, the bright black eyes belonging to the little sheep blinked. He quickly raised a hoof to rub one eye, then leaned even farther out to look through the window.
There, in front of the tall building, stood an enormous sign:
Human Artifacts Auction!
PS: Today only—includes an ultra-cute miniature coin bank made especially for humans!
