After the attempted assassination, the culprit never returned, and when the king woke up, he immediately invited the esteemed guests for a seafood hotpot meal. Meanwhile, the Holy Grail had also arrived.

Upon hearing this, He Qing hurried over to take a look. The aliens who were delivering the Grail descended from their spaceship, and they were all bizarrely shaped.

After a while, a golden box was brought down, layered with multiple protective casings, making it nearly impenetrable.

Sun Tu suggested to He Qing, [You could just use telekinesis to take it.]

Right after Sun Tu said this, He Qing overheard the person handing over the box speaking to Duan Chenhui, “There’s a highly sensitive weight sensor inside. If anyone steals it, the alarm will immediately notify our terminals.”

“???” High-tech indeed. He Qing looked down and asked Sun Tu, [Do you know how much my lotus seed weighs?]

[How would I know?] Sun Tu clicked his tongue. [Looks like you’ll have to steal it the old-fashioned way.]

He Qing looked at Duan Chenhui, who took the box and said, “We’ll keep it safe until the competition is over.”

“That’s good. Everyone trusts General Duan, haha.”

“This way, please. We’ve prepared a banquet for you all at noon, and we’ll head to Capital Star tonight.”

“Wonderful, lead the way.”

Duan Chenhui led the foreign diplomats to the banquet hall, while He Qing walked alongside the box, feeling a strong connection to it. It was indeed his lotus seed, but frustratingly close yet out of reach.

Duan Chenhui suddenly turned back and looked at He Qing. “Mr. He seems quite interested in the Holy Grail.”

“I’ve never seen it in person,” He Qing replied, asking, “When will it be opened?”

Duan Chenhui glanced at the box, his expression unreadable. “If you’re interested, you could participate in the competition.”

“No, thanks,” He Qing smiled wryly. If only the intergalactic technology wasn’t so advanced, he could’ve pulled a switcheroo.

Sighing, He Qing returned to his duty of protecting their Beta king. While walking through the corridor, he bumped into the Merman prince. The prince was strikingly handsome, with an eerie yet gentle smile at the corners of his lips.

He Qing thought for a moment—this was the type of person you’d call a “smiling tiger.”

The Merman prince blocked his way. “How about a drink?”

“What should I call you?” He Qing asked politely, noticing others passing by.

“Zhang San,” the prince replied with a smile.

He Qing returned the smile, “Then I’ll be Li Si?”

The two exchanged a glance, and the dark cultivator, now disguised as Zhang San, smiled even more warmly. “Since we’re fellow travelers, let’s have a little chat.”

“Sure,” He Qing agreed, curious about what he wanted to say.

“Come to my room.” Zhang San turned and led the way.

He Qing followed him into a lavish room, taking a seat opposite Zhang San.

Zhang San poured him a glass of wine. “I think now isn’t the time for us to be fighting among ourselves. Do you have any way to return to the cultivation world?”

“No,” He Qing replied bluntly.

Zhang San was silent for a moment, studying him before speaking again, “About that egg. It’s mine, you should return it to me.”

He Qing remained unmoved. “There’s no evidence it belongs to you. You used a forbidden formation, what exactly are you trying to do?”

“That’s not something I can share. But the egg will hatch soon, and when it does, it will follow me,” Zhang San said confidently, knowing that He Qing wouldn’t harm the egg. His smile deepened. “I could also report you for hiding a Zerg egg.”

“You’re welcome to try,” He Qing replied, feeling the conversation was going nowhere. He stood up. “Goodbye.”

“Let’s talk next time,” Zhang San didn’t stop him.

As He Qing exited the room, he was surprised to see Duan Chenhui waiting outside.

Duan Chenhui looked at him. “It seems you and the Merman prince are acquainted?”

He Qing suddenly felt a bit guilty but kept his expression neutral. “We crossed paths during an adventure once.”

Duan Chenhui nodded, glancing at the prince’s room. “The king is looking for you.” With that, he turned and walked away.

He Qing silently followed behind, feeling that Duan Chenhui was a little upset. Perhaps it was because of what happened last night. After walking for a while, He Qing couldn’t help but ask, “Does the general have something to say?”

Duan Chenhui stopped and narrowed his eyes slightly. “No, or is there something you’d like to say, Mr. He?”

“No,” He Qing replied, clasping his hands together silently. He thought, perhaps this was for the best.

When they returned to the king, He Qing resumed tapping on his wooden fish. The king circled him for a while before He Qing couldn’t hold back and asked, “Does Your Majesty need something?”

The king sat down with a smile, pointing at the wooden fish. “What’s this good for? Could I have a craftsman make one just like it?”

“It’s for calming the mind,” He Qing nodded. “Your Majesty could certainly have one made.”

“Sounds good,” the king stood up and paced, his hands behind his back. “Having to constantly be on guard is quite stressful.”

He Qing paused his tapping. “Is Your Majesty still worried?”

“When we reach Capital Star, I’ll have soldiers ‘protect’ them all,” the king said seriously with a nod.

“…” He Qing lowered his head and resumed tapping. Amitabha.

After resting on the border planet, the group gathered and prepared to depart. He Qing watched as the aliens boarded the ship one after another. Each nation had over a thousand people, adding up to quite a crowd.

Once aboard, the king’s personal safety was much more secure. After all, with everyone on the ship, any assassination attempt would be easily exposed.

One day, He Qing was eating a salad in the cafeteria when he saw Duan Chenhui with a tray of food.

He Qing subtly tried to hide behind the large frame of the head guard, but the head guard obliviously called out, “General! Over here!”

“You’re here early,” Duan Chenhui said, approaching and glancing at He Qing, who was half-hidden behind the guard.

“…” He Qing slowly revealed himself. “We just got here.”

The head guard laughed heartily. “Come, General, take a seat! It’s rare to see you eating in the cafeteria.”

“Hmm, I just felt like coming today,” Duan Chenhui replied, setting down his tray with a clink. “It’s nice to eat out every now and then.”

He Qing glanced at Duan’s tray before quietly eating his own food. Midway through their meal, Duan Chenhui suddenly asked, “Will you continue working as a bodyguard after we return?”

“Probably not…” He Qing smiled. His main reason for coming was to check on his lotus seed, but now it was locked away in Duan Chenhui’s possession… Maybe using his He Qing identity would make it easier to get close?

“That’s a shame,” Duan Chenhui said, as if recalling something amusing. “Otherwise, I could introduce you to someone who looks a lot like you. He’d be quite surprised to meet you.”

“Long-lost brother, perhaps? Hahaha,” the head guard laughed, then suddenly realized what Duan Chenhui might be implying. Is he trying to find out if this He Qing is actually the same He Qing?

He Qing resisted the urge to stuff a carrot into the head guard’s mouth to stop his nonsense. He put down his fork and looked at Duan Chenhui. “If there’s a chance, I’d be happy to meet him.”

“Then I look forward to it,” Duan Chenhui smiled before returning to his meal.

He Qing sighed and took a sip of water.

The head guard, observing the exchange, suddenly had a revelation. Wait… are they talking about a threesome?

The guard’s jaw practically hit the floor as his imagination ran wild, but it took him a long time to calm down.

He Qing had no idea that the head guard had misunderstood the situation. For the next few days, the guard kept giving him odd, shifty glances. Luckily, the rest of the journey passed without incident.

Once they disembarked from the ship, He Qing bid farewell to the king and rushed back to the general’s residence. He removed his disguise and reverted to his true identity, He Qing, checking his appearance in the mirror. Then, there was a knock at the door.

“He Qing, are you in there?”

“?!” Duan Chenhui already returned?!

He Qing rushed to open the door, and sure enough, Duan Chenhui was standing there. “General, you’re back?”

Duan Chenhui seemed to be scrutinizing him, staring for a long time. “I thought you weren’t home.”

“I just got back,” He Qing replied with a smile. “Did your mission go smoothly?”

“More or less,” Duan Chenhui replied as he descended the stairs. “I brought the Holy Grail back. There shouldn’t be any issues.”

“!!” Duan Chenhui brought the Holy Grail home?! He Qing looked down from the second floor and saw the guards carrying in a box. He walked downstairs and stared at the box. “Shouldn’t we check if it’s the real deal?”

Duan Chenhui glanced at him for a moment. “Do you want to see it?”

“Hmm,” He Qing replied, adding, “If it’s inconvenient, it’s fine.”

“It’s not impossible,” Duan Chenhui took out a golden key and inserted it into the box’s lock. The box unfolded like a blooming flower—clearly very high-tech.

He Qing stared down at the golden Holy Grail, and inside, he saw his lotus seed.

Duan Chenhui looked down at it as well, a white, plump lotus seed nestled within. “This is the legendary thousand-year lotus.”

Yang Fan crouched down, marveling at it. “After over a thousand years, does it still have any vitality?”

“It’s been tested, and it does,” Duan Chenhui smiled. “The academy once successfully cultivated a lotus seed that was a thousand years old.”

“Amazing…” Yang Fan exclaimed in admiration.

He Qing gazed longingly at his lotus seed. Almost unconsciously, he reached out, but his hand was suddenly caught by Duan Chenhui. “You can’t touch this.”

He Qing withdrew his hand and asked, testing the waters, “I was just curious. How many grams is such a small lotus seed?”

“That’s a secret,” Duan Chenhui didn’t reveal the answer. After showing the seed, he locked the box back up.

“…” He Qing could only watch as Duan Chenhui locked away his true form once again.