Chapter 47: Seclusion and Healing

A few days later, Shi Chan sent over the technology that Jugu requested, then truly secluded himself. Aside from when he needed to bring food to Xi Ming, he stayed inside the room with Xi Ming, not stepping outside at all.

Although Xi Ming told Shi Chan to focus all of his spiritual energy on healing himself, and to treat him only after Shi Chan had fully recovered, just as Xi Ming couldn’t bear to see Shi Chan suffer, Shi Chan couldn’t stand letting Xi Ming endure pain either.

Shi Chan also knew that only when his own wounds were fully healed and his spiritual energy was sufficiently restored could he better treat Xi Ming. So, unlike before, he didn’t use all his spiritual energy on Xi Ming. Instead, 90% went toward his own healing, and 10% was used to treat Xi Ming’s eyes, throat, and occasionally relieve his pain.

“Chan Chan…” Xi Ming’s voice was a little better than before; he could speak without coughing up blood.

“What’s wrong?” Shi Chan came closer, squatting in front of Xi Ming.

Xi Ming extended his hand toward the outside of the bed.

Shi Chan, with practiced ease, took his hand and placed it on his cheek. “Actually, I’m already healed, but I’m afraid my appearance will cause trouble, so I haven’t treated the wounds on my face yet.”

But Xi Ming ignored him, gently tracing the scars on Shi Chan’s face with his fingers.

Seeing this, Shi Chan lowered his gaze and changed the topic. “How do you feel today? Is there anywhere uncomfortable on your body?”

“No,” Xi Ming’s eyes had started to recover, but it was still like severe myopia from ancient times—he could only see blurry outlines, clear only for things close to his eyes.

Now, Xi Ming was carefully observing Shi Chan, who was close to him.

The clear, worried eyes were just like when they first met, still holding tiny sparks of starlight. But that unforgettable face was hidden behind two ugly scars.

The scars were unsightly, but Xi Ming carefully traced every inch with his gaze.

“Don’t look at it.” Shi Chan helplessly grabbed Xi Ming’s wrist. He had told him many times that he hadn’t healed it to hide his appearance. The injury wasn’t serious, but Xi Ming always stared at it. Sometimes, he would suddenly get angry and use his spiritual energy to attack himself.

Shi Chan finally realized that although Xi Ming had woken up, something seemed wrong with his spirit, and it was clearly related to him.

“Lie down with me for a while,” Xi Ming said, his eyes rarely leaving Shi Chan.

If it were anyone else staring at Shi Chan like this for so long, Shi Chan would have gotten angry, but because it was Xi Ming, Shi Chan could only feel helpless. “Okay.”

Lying beside Xi Ming, Shi Chan dared not lean too heavily on him, as Xi Ming’s body was still fragile, and any force could cause new wounds.

Earlier, when Shi Chan had treated some of Xi Ming’s wounds at the rescue station, on the night of their escape, Xi Ming suffered more injuries.

When Shi Chan saw the new wounds, he almost couldn’t control his emotions, but seeing Xi Ming acting as if nothing had happened, Shi Chan managed to hide his feelings.

“Chan Chan, where exactly are you from?” Xi Ming suddenly asked.

When Xi Ming had gotten used to pain and darkness, when he was climbing out of the low valley, he could endure not knowing everything about Shi Chan. As long as Shi Chan stayed by his side, he was content.

But now, Xi Ming could no longer control his concern for Shi Chan. He wanted to know everything about Shi Chan, to control everything about him. He didn’t want anything to separate Shi Chan from him.

Xi Ming knew that Shi Chan’s abilities were beneficial to him and that his life was almost entirely in Shi Chan’s hands. But he couldn’t keep bearing it. He eagerly wanted to know everything about Shi Chan and to get a clear answer.

Xi Ming wanted Shi Chan’s heart to be filled with him, to always think of him, and to never be able to leave him.

Shi Chan was silent for a while after hearing the question. “Actually… it’s not that important. No matter where I came from, I can’t go back. I’ll always be by your side from now on.”

But upon seeing the stubbornness in Xi Ming’s eyes, Shi Chan sighed helplessly.

“I am from the Empire. I awakened the memories of my past life when I was about ten.”

“Past life?” Xi Ming’s pupils trembled. Did they have the same past life?

“Yes. In my past life, in the dream, I wasn’t here. I was in a world where everyone wore ancient robes. People there had no ABO gender division, just men and women, and there were those who could bear children as men, called ‘Ger.’”

“In that world, there were mortals and cultivators. To mortals, cultivators could do anything—they could control the skies and seas, move mountains, and were no different from immortals. In my dream, I was a low-level cultivator…”

Since he no longer intended to hide it from Xi Ming, Shi Chan went ahead and shared his entire past life. “In the end, I failed my tribulation, and my past life ended.”

“Later, the dream became increasingly real, so I tried cultivating the methods from that world in reality, and to my surprise, I succeeded.” Shi Chan held Xi Ming’s hand, his gaze lingering on their intertwined fingers.

There was silence in the room for a while before Xi Ming slowly came back from the fantastical world Shi Chan had described. “You’re an immortal?”

There had been art in the Starry Universe about flying immortals, but everyone thought it was nonsense. Later, with the rapid advancements in mechs, when humans could fly and defy gravity, works about immortals had mostly disappeared.

Xi Ming had never thought that in another world, such legends were real. Humans could truly fly and move mountains with their physical bodies.

“I’m not,” Shi Chan shyly leaned closer to Xi Ming, quietly defending himself. “I was at the bottom in the world of cultivators, and I didn’t have the ability to move mountains or fill seas. I only know some small tricks and am stronger physically. My real power definitely can’t compare to you piloting a mech.”

After all, when he was a child, he had dreamt of Xi Ming piloting a mech to drive off evil cultivators for him.

“This is too weird to talk about. I never told anyone.”

Plus, with Shi Chan’s earlier mindset from the bloody and brutal world of cultivation, he always thought revealing he was a cultivator would make many people want to cultivate, and those who failed would regret it for life.

But after everything he had gone through in the Starry Universe, Shi Chan realized that revealing it wasn’t as big of a deal as he thought. The allure of cultivation might not be as strong as he imagined. After all, with his current level, an outstanding warrior piloting a mech could defeat him.

“Can cultivation give you immortality?” Xi Ming seized on the key point.

Shi Chan quickly shook his head. “No. Ordinary people’s lifespan there is about fifty years, and even most low-level cultivators, though their lifespan extends a bit, it’s still similar to ours.”

“Mm.” Xi Ming wasn’t sure if he believed it, but he asked another question. “Do people there have healing pheromones like you?”

“No. People there don’t have pheromones.” Shi Chan had wanted to say this for a while. “My pheromone smells like a healing pill I took during my tribulation, so it must be related.”

This meant that Shi Chan’s body in the Starry Universe was connected to his dream’s cultivation world.

Xi Ming thought about not having a past life like Shi Chan’s… He wondered if his rebirth and Shi Chan’s “arrival” were related.

---

Three months flew by.

Shi Chan had fully recovered to his pre-injury state, and his spiritual energy was once again plentiful.

“Ming Ge, starting today, I’m going to officially treat you.” Shi Chan pushed Xi Ming, who was sitting in a wheelchair, to the window.

Because Shi Chan had been using more and more spiritual energy on Xi Ming, his throat had healed a month ago, and his eyes were only fully recovered a few days ago.

Looking out at the ancient scenery, which was completely different from the Starry Universe, Xi Ming’s anxiety about his blindness gradually eased.

He didn’t turn around but precisely grabbed Shi Chan’s hand.

Shi Chan knew this was Xi Ming’s way of agreeing.

“Has it been too stuffy staying in the room?” Shi Chan asked, his gaze on Xi Ming. “Would you like to go out for a walk and get some sunshine?”

Xi Ming looked down at the wheelchair and thought he would be rid of it once his legs recovered. But now, not only had it returned, but other parts of his body were also showing problems.

“Let’s go out.”

Once Xi Ming spoke, Shi Chan pushed the wheelchair outside.

“It’s autumn now,” Shi Chan stretched out his hand to shield Xi Ming from the sunlight, waiting for him to adjust before retracting it.

Outside, the orange morning light bathed the scene. A sturdy tree stood tall, its branches and leaves swaying gently in the breeze, the golden leaves rustling and gracefully falling.

One of the leaves drifted slowly onto Xi Ming’s legs, and his gaze followed, stopping on the clear, heart-shaped golden leaf.

He picked it up and examined it for a while.

Shi Chan brushed off the other leaves about to fall on Xi Ming, smiling. “You’ve never seen this kind of leaf, right? Neither have I. It should be a local specialty.”

Xi Ming discarded the leaf and turned his gaze to Shi Chan. “It’s beautiful.”

Shi Chan was at a loss for words, his gaze locked with Xi Ming’s. Suddenly, he blurted out, “I’m about to go into heat.”

He had already gone through it a few times, but knowing Xi Ming wasn’t in good condition, he had suppressed his symptoms with spiritual energy.

The next heat cycle would come in a few days.

This time, Shi Chan didn’t want to suppress it anymore.

After a moment of silence, Xi Ming looked at Shi Chan. “Do you have a way to avoid being affected?”

Alpha pheromones had the ability to help Omegas through their heat cycles, but Shi Chan didn’t need it.

Xi Ming, who wanted to know everything about Shi Chan, felt as if Shi Chan was slipping further away from him.

Shi Chan could leave anytime with his abilities, but Xi Ming was just a crippled man, confined to a wheelchair…

“I can’t keep suppressing it.” Shi Chan wasn’t sure what Xi Ming was thinking but unwittingly alleviated his worries. “It’s not good for my body either.”

Xi Ming stared at Shi Chan for a while. With Shi Chan’s expectant gaze, he slowly opened his arms.

Shi Chan was embraced by Xi Ming again, closing his slightly heated eyes and quietly feeling Xi Ming’s presence.

Like before, Xi Ming placed one hand on the back of Shi Chan’s neck, gently massaging it.

“You still can’t leave me, right?”

Shi Chan’s ears tingled, rubbing against Xi Ming’s cheek. “Mm.”

Yes, I’ve long been unable to leave you.