“What are you doing here?” Duan Chenhui was a bit surprised to see the merman prince, Sun Tu.

Sun Tu glanced at him and made up an excuse, “I heard your distress call.”

Duan Chenhui replied, “I didn’t send any distress call.”

“…” Sun Tu looked over at He Qing.

He Qing cleared his throat, “I was originally out sightseeing with His Highness, but we got separated along the way.”

Duan Chenhui looked at the two of them and decided to believe their lie for now. “This place is dangerous and not suitable for leisure. Please, Your Highness, come back with us.”

“Alright…” Sun Tu felt like Duan Chenhui was subtly threatening him. Sure enough, once he got on the ship, he was “softly detained,” forbidden to wander around. Duan Chenhui even used the excuse of “protecting diplomatic relations between the two nations.”

Sun Tu was fuming and vented to He Qing: [Look at what he’s done! And you, all weak and feeble now. But, since you’re like this, can I eat you?]

He Qing, resting on the bed to recuperate, replied: [No, you can’t.]

[What are you going to do then? Once you go back, there will be plenty of fairies who’ll want to eat you. Might as well let me have the benefit.] Sun Tu was scheming away.

He Qing let him chatter on: [I still have the General. I’m going to re-cultivate my technique.]

[Oh.] Sun Tu quickly lost interest. [So, what are you planning to re-cultivate?]

[I’m still thinking about it.] Just then, He Qing heard a knock at the door and said goodbye to Sun Tu: “Come in.”

Duan Chenhui entered, carrying food, and placed it on the bedside table. “Feeling better?”

“Much better,” He Qing said, though he didn’t feel like moving even a finger.

Duan Chenhui smiled and sat down. “It’s porridge. Do you want me to feed you?”

“… That won’t be necessary.” He Qing picked up the bowl himself, eating until he fished out a few lotus seeds from the bottom. Is this supposed to help treat me by the form of it? he thought, taking another bite, finishing the porridge soon after.

He had never lived as an ordinary person before. It turns out being an ordinary person made you feel hungry.

After finishing, He Qing put the bowl down and sighed. He needed to merge his true form with this body; then he wouldn’t need to eat anymore.

Seeing He Qing finish, Duan Chenhui took the bowl and said, “Get some rest. I have things to take care of.”

“Don’t worry, General. I’ll be fine soon.” He Qing waved him off, knowing that Duan Chenhui had only taken a brief moment to check on him because there were still Zergs outside.

Duan Chenhui nodded and left. After lying down for a while, He Qing got up, dressed, and walked out.

The hallway was mostly quiet, with only backup personnel and medical staff passing by. They nodded to him as he walked, and He Qing eventually made his way to the cockpit. There, a massive screen showed the outside view.

He Qing glanced at the scene—the mechs and Zerg were still fighting, with flashes of battle filling every corner. He then looked toward Duan Chenhui, who was seated in front, commanding the operations. His expression was far more serious than usual.

“General, the Zerg seem to be retreating. Should we pursue them?” a subordinate asked.

Duan Chenhui tapped the screen, opening a small display. “General Lin, General Li, we will pursue the Zerg from the front. You two flank them from both sides. I hope you can coordinate with us this time.”

General Li remained silent, while General Lin’s face darkened. “What do you mean, General Duan? Our ship did encounter some issues earlier, which caused the delay.”

“We never doubted you,” Duan Chenhui’s gaze never wavered from the screen, “but it’s no small matter that your ship had a sudden malfunction. Failing to check before departure was a dereliction of duty.”

General Li tried to smooth things over, “No one wanted this. Let’s focus on eliminating the Zerg first.”

Duan Chenhui nodded, “Let’s begin. Everyone, prepare.”

He Qing looked at the two generals and then back at Duan Chenhui. The General wouldn’t let this go so easily. He would definitely investigate thoroughly, even if it was just an accident. And if it wasn’t, Duan Chenhui would clear out any troublesome individuals.

He Qing watched for a while longer but didn’t disturb Duan Chenhui, turning to leave instead. Now that the red thread of fate between him and Duan Chenhui had reappeared, it seemed it still couldn’t be severed this time.

Unless one of them died.

This hesitation was why he hadn’t yet told Duan Chenhui that he was a fairy.

Returning to his room, He Qing pulled out the books from his spatial storage, flipping through them to find a better solution. However, after several days, he found nothing. He tried divining the future, but the mist before him was impenetrable.

Sighing, He Qing put the books back into storage. About a month later, the battles subsided temporarily, and the troops began their journey back.

One day, He Qing chose an auspicious day and took out his true form. Sitting cross-legged, his body was slowly enveloped by the branches and leaves of the lotus, which then exploded with a burst of light, merging into his body.

He Qing touched his chest and opened his shirt to find a lotus-shaped mark on his chest.

“??!” He’d never had that before. Wouldn’t Duan Chenhui see it?

He quickly checked his head, pulling out a mirror. To his horror, there was a flower sprouting from the top of his head. He Qing almost fainted on the spot.

Unfortunately, Duan Chenhui knocked on the door just then. “He Qing, we’ve arrived at planet X for a rest stop. Do you want to go out and take a look?”

Panicking, He Qing looked around and quickly grabbed a hat, pulling it on before running to open the door. “General, I’m ready.”

“Let’s go, then.” Duan Chenhui looked at the hat He Qing was wearing. It was a knitted cap.

“Alright.” He Qing adjusted the hat to cover his head more securely.

They got off the ship, and He Qing realized it was nighttime outside.

They took a hover car to the nearby Never-Sleeping City. The buildings lining the streets were a rare collection of ancient architecture, and red lanterns were hung high, lighting up the streets. It reminded He Qing of the cultivation world.

“The food here is pretty good,” Duan Chenhui said, pulling him along.

He Qing glanced around, feeling a sense of familiarity. “The General seems quite familiar with this place?”

“Mm…” In fact, Duan Chenhui had been here many times before. As they walked, he lowered his glasses and checked the messages in his family group chat.

[Bro, if you want to get back together with sis-in-law, take him on a date!]

[Yeah, yeah! Best to do it at night. The lanterns will make it super romantic.]

[I think you just need to be shameless! Once you get back, drag him to re-register your marriage!]

Duan Chenhui looked through the messages, then silently closed the family group chat. The real issue was that He Qing didn’t seem like the kind of person to take the initiative. Their relationship felt the same as it always had.

Duan Chenhui glanced at He Qing and noticed his hair was a bit messy. Reaching out, he straightened He Qing’s ponytail, feeling his silky white hair. It was very rare.

“Why is your hair white?” He had wanted to ask for a while. It seemed like the black hair must have been dyed.

“… I’m a mixed-blood of ten tribes.” He Qing recalled that the mixed-blood system was trending lately.

Duan Chenhui chuckled, “And your eyes?”

He Qing hesitated, then pointed ahead to change the topic, “General, there’s a goldfish scooping game. Let’s go check it out.”

Duan Chenhui didn’t press the issue further. They arrived at the goldfish scooping stall, where Duan Chenhui swiped his card. “Ten tries.”

“Alright, you two, good luck!” The stall owner handed them ten small, fragile paper scoops.

He Qing took five and handed the other five to Duan Chenhui. “Five tries each.”

Duan Chenhui watched as He Qing tried to scoop the fish. His technique wasn’t great, and the fish either broke the net or slipped away. He noticed He Qing still wearing the hat and asked, “Aren’t you hot?” As he spoke, he casually took off He Qing’s hat.

“… “ He Qing watched as another fish escaped his net. He quickly raised his hand to cover his head.

“… “ Duan Chenhui stared at the flower poking out from the top of He Qing’s head in shock. “What is that?” Could it be that He Qing really had plant tribe blood?

He Qing stood up. “It’s… a decoration.”

“Really?” Duan Chenhui raised an eyebrow, still half-doubting. “That’s one realistic decoration.” He couldn’t help but think the flower looked kind of cute.

“It’s a realistic imitation.” In fact, it was real. He Qing quickly put the hat back on. “I think it’s a bit too attention-grabbing.” From a human perspective, it might look like some kind of exhibitionism…

“It looks good.” That was Duan Chenhui’s honest opinion.

He Qing smiled and pointed at the goldfish. “I couldn’t catch any. General, you should try. It’s quite a skill challenge.”

Duan Chenhui was successfully distracted. He crouched down and, after breaking four nets, finally caught a small golden fish for He Qing. “This one’s golden. It’s prettier than the black ones.”

“… “ He Qing suddenly felt that the words sounded familiar. After thinking about it, he remembered Sun Tu once complained that his former master had found him too dark and unattractive, so they swapped him for a golden one. Sun Tu had ended up growing legs and leaving after that, grumbling that the master had no taste.

He Qing looked at the fish bag, feeling a bit troubled. “Do you think they’ll fight?”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Duan Chenhui pulled him along through the crowd. “There’s a lantern show up ahead.” He led He Qing toward the show, but midway, he realized they were being followed. He tugged He Qing to the side, saying, “Someone’s tailing us.”

He Qing was momentarily confused, as he hadn’t sensed anyone following them. It was a bit unsettling.

Duan Chenhui circled around to a more secluded spot and turned to face the pursuers. “Who’s there?”

“Hehehe, if you know what’s good for you, hand over the person next to you!” Several small, unidentified demons emerged. They either didn’t recognize Duan Chenhui or didn’t regard humans highly, shouting as they rushed forward to snatch He Qing.

He Qing chuckled and stepped back. “Good luck, General.”

Duan Chenhui glanced back at him and quickly dealt with the attackers in a few swift moves. Afterward, he called the police and then pulled He Qing away.

The little demons, still lying on the ground, groaned, “Don’t let us catch you out alone next time!”

He Qing shook his head, sighing. He was definitely not going out again anytime soon.

Duan Chenhui glanced back at them, “There’s something strange about those guys.”

“… Maybe they thought I was attractive and wanted to kidnap me.”

Duan Chenhui looked at He Qing’s face and smiled. He Qing certainly had the looks. “Too bad they ruined the mood.” He had originally planned to stay at a hotel, but now he had lost interest, so they headed back to the ship.

Once they returned, He Qing waved goodbye as usual when entering his room. “Good night, General.”

Duan Chenhui clenched his fist, placing his hand on the door. “He Qing, right now—”

“General! You’re back! How was it? Was it fun?” Subordinates voices suddenly called out from behind. “General, do you want to go to the bathhouse?”

“… “ Duan Chenhui’s face darkened as he looked at them. “No.”

“… “ What’s wrong? Did the General fail at his date?

He Qing: “… “ Does the General dislike bathhouses?

“… “ Duan Chenhui rubbed his forehead, glanced at them, and said, “It’s fine. Go take your baths or go to bed.” With that, he turned and went back to his room.

After taking a bath, Duan Chenhui sat on his bed and sighed before lying down, closing his eyes.