The more He Qing thought about it, the more something felt off. As soon as he arrived at Capital Star, he hurried straight back.

Sun Tu even tried to warn him: “Why don’t you sneak back first and check things out? If it seems bad, you can make a run for it.”

“It should be fine. The general might just be a bit angry.” When He Qing arrived at the gate of the general’s residence, he still felt uneasy, so he peeked inside. The garden was full of life, and the koi fish were still swimming around, eagerly waiting to be fed. Everything seemed normal.

Taking a deep breath, He Qing swiped his card to enter. As he passed through the garden, he stopped by the pond to look at the koi. The koi were lively today. He took out some fish food from his pocket and fed them, saying, “Koi, koi, is the general still mad?”

The koi were too busy eating to bother with him. He Qing plucked a lotus flower from nearby and hesitated for a moment, trying to mentally prepare himself. After a bit of inner pep talk, he walked up to the door, swiped his card again, and with a “ding,” the door to the villa slowly opened.

Peering inside, He Qing saw two lines of soldiers standing in formation, waiting for him. At the far end stood Duan Chenhui, dressed in his military uniform, with Qiao Yi next to him, desperately winking and signaling for him to flee.

He Qing’s heart sank. Something big had definitely happened.

Seeing this setup, Sun Tu quickly urged, “Run! He’s here to capture you. All those messages before were just to lure you back. It’s a trap!”

“…I’m not a turtle.”

“Do I look like I’m joking with you?” Sun Tu was practically shaking with frustration.

Even He Qing felt a bit uneasy, but he still walked step by step towards Duan Chenhui, who remained expressionless.

When He Qing finally reached him, he held up the flower. “General, I’m back.”

Duan Chenhui looked down at him, making no move. After holding the flower for a while, He Qing’s arm started to get tired, and just as he was about to put it down, Duan Chenhui suddenly grabbed his wrist. “There are some things you need to explain. Come with me.”

He Qing’s heart tightened, and he glanced back, silently pleading for help from his mentor. What on earth was going on?

Qiao Yi simply gave him a helpless look, as if saying: “I told you not to come back! Coming back was bad enough, but you even had the nerve to pick a flower!” He almost burst out laughing.

He Qing thought to himself, he still didn’t know what was happening. Duan Chenhui led him to the master bedroom — Duan Chenhui’s room. The door closed behind them, and He Qing glanced back. He didn’t have a key to the general’s room. Was this really going to be a little black room?

Turning back to face Duan Chenhui, he watched as the man silently walked to his desk, pulled out a document from the drawer, and said, “Sign this.”

He Qing set down the flower, walked over, and took a look. His eyes widened slightly. Written in black and white was a divorce agreement, already signed by Duan Chenhui, and dated on the very day they got married…

So Duan Chenhui had been prepared all along.

Sun Tu was practically overjoyed. “Little Buddhist cultivator, hurry and sign! Once you sign, we can go back to the cultivation world. Even if he tries to lock you up, you can escape anytime! Oh, and don’t forget to use your powers to take that lotus seed with you.”

But He Qing didn’t hear Sun Tu’s words. He was staring blankly at the document in his hand. It really was a divorce agreement. He looked up at Duan Chenhui. “So the general had this ready from the start.”

“This is something you’ve always wanted,” Duan Chenhui said, looking down at him. “Sign it, and you’ll be free.”

“Why are you suddenly asking me to sign now?” He Qing frowned and slapped the document onto the desk, feeling a sudden surge of anger he couldn’t explain.

Duan Chenhui remained emotionless. “I don’t need a reason. Our agreement has come to an end.”

“I don’t want to sign right now.” He Qing turned to leave.

Behind him, Duan Chenhui suddenly said, “He Qing, we’re from different worlds.”

He Qing stopped in his tracks and turned around, meeting Duan Chenhui’s steady gaze. “Sign it.”

Sun Tu chimed in too. “He’s right. You’re a cultivator, he’s a mortal. In a few decades, he’ll just be a pile of ashes.”

He Qing stood there for a long time, then slowly walked back, picked up the divorce papers, and quickly signed his name with a few strokes.

“You’re right. The general should be satisfied now.” After signing, He Qing suddenly felt as though the red thread of fate connecting them had snapped. He forcefully set the pen down and glared at Duan Chenhui. “Can I leave now?”

“Not yet.” Duan Chenhui glanced at the divorce papers, clenched his fist, and put them back into the drawer. “You’ve been reported for hiding a Zerg egg. There are still some things that need to be investigated.”

“So you forced me to sign?”

“No, the divorce papers were prepared long ago.”

“Yeah, right on our wedding day, no less. Even I didn’t expect that,” He Qing muttered, thinking back. He really hadn’t expected that right after they signed their marriage certificate, Duan Chenhui would go and sign the divorce papers without missing a beat.

“Yes.” Duan Chenhui admitted frankly. No matter what happened in between, the divorce papers were to ensure the outcome wouldn’t go wrong. It was best for both of them.

“The general really does have foresight and a cool head.”

“Not as much as Mr. He, whose scheming skills are truly surprising.”

The two stared at each other, their gazes sharp and intense.

Sun Tu looked left and right, suddenly feeling the tension in the air.

After a moment of silence, He Qing turned and sat down on the sofa, staring at the lotus flower on the coffee table. “That’s not just any egg, and it’s not a regular Zerg egg either. You can test it.”

He took out the egg and placed it on the table. Unbeknownst to him, the egg had grown quite large.

He Qing frowned. That demonic cultivator had indeed reported him, all to force him to hand over the Zerg egg.

“We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Duan Chenhui took the egg and left.

He Qing looked around. He was essentially under house arrest now. He checked his terminal, but there was still no news online about him hiding a Zerg egg. The issue hadn’t blown up yet, but it probably would soon.

Sure enough, a few days later, someone “accidentally” leaked the information. Many people started attacking him and even Duan Chenhui, their hatred for the Zerg intense. Some aliens even tried to stir up trouble by smearing Duan Chenhui’s name.

“He Qing was hiding a Zerg egg? Is he a spy?”

“Does the general know about this?! What’s going on?!”

“The general will handle this fairly, right?!”

“How disgusting! He should be thrown in jail!”

He Qing skimmed through the comments and then turned off the screen.

Sun Tu clicked his tongue. “Public opinion won’t affect you anyway. I still think you should run.”

He Qing said nothing. “Let’s wait a bit longer.”

“Wait? Wait until you’re thrown in prison?” Sun Tu paced anxiously inside the golden bell shield. “I heard that the security in interstellar prisons is super tight. You’ll even have to wear handcuffs. Though, at least they didn’t drag you in for interrogation — I hear interstellar interrogations are pretty intense.”

—

Meanwhile, in the conference room, Dr. Qin was looking at the Zerg egg on the table. “There’s a strange energy protecting it, so we can’t scan what’s inside.”

“But the Zerg detector clearly shows that it’s a Zerg egg.”

“General Duan, shouldn’t you hand over the suspect for interrogation?” A senator stared directly at Duan Chenhui. “Relatives shouldn’t interfere in cases. I hope the general won’t protect the criminal.”

Duan Chenhui glanced at him. “We’re already divorced. How could I be covering for him?”

The moment Duan Chenhui said this, everyone in the room was shocked. No one spoke for a moment.

The king took a look at Duan Chenhui, then glanced at the person across from him. He sipped his tea and sighed softly. “In that case, we’ll wait for the egg to hatch. Let’s see if it’s truly a Zerg.”

“Your Majesty! It’s clearly a Zerg egg!”

“Your Majesty! He Qing might be a spy from an enemy nation!”

“Dr. Qin said the egg would hatch soon. We’ll broadcast it live when it happens. That’s the decision.” The king stood up. “Meeting adjourned.”

The attendees exchanged glances. Some, unwilling to let it go, gathered their documents. As they left, one of them said to Duan Chenhui, “I hope the general won’t let the suspect escape.”

Duan Chenhui smiled faintly. “I also hope those who kick a man when he’s down don’t resort to dirty tricks. I’ve ordered secrecy, so how did the information leak?”

The other person was momentarily speechless and turned to leave.

Duan Chenhui stood up, instructed someone to take the egg back to the research institute, and Dr. Qin quietly said, “The public opinion might turn against you.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Duan Chenhui picked up his files and walked out of the meeting room.

“What about your divorce…” Dr. Qin hesitated to ask.

“It’s real.” Duan Chenhui paused. “It wasn’t really because of this incident. This was just the eruption of deeper issues between us.”

Dr. Qin thought to himself, but it was this incident that made it all come to the surface…

—

He Qing stood by the window, looking outside. Crowds had already gathered around the general’s residence, protesting. Many reporters were also camped out there. If it weren’t for the residence’s protective shield, they might have stormed in by now.

He Qing glanced outside again before turning back. Sun Tu said, “The public is so easily manipulated. This must be the work of Duan Chenhui’s political enemies. If this keeps up, it’ll affect his belief power.”

He Qing sat down and stared at the green divorce booklet on the coffee table. When they got married, the booklet was red, but now that they were divorced, it had turned green.

Sun Tu glanced at it. “He really does intend to let you go.”

“Indeed.” He Qing repeated. “Once this is over, we’ll leave.”

Sun Tu nodded. “You’ve finally come to your senses. A few days ago, I thought you were going to lose it.”

“I wasn’t.” He Qing looked down at his terminal. The demonic cultivator had sent him a message: “Duan Chenhui is surprisingly protective of you. I told you that was my egg. Don’t blame me.”

The demonic cultivator was using a regular person’s account.

He Qing glanced at the avatar and asked, “What do you want?”

“Nothing. I just want my stuff back. Goodbye.” The other person didn’t say anything more. He Qing frowned and checked his other messages, which were from Zhang Yi and the others.

Shi Lei: “Holy crap! What happened? Were you framed?”

Zhang Yi: “This news is insane! Are you okay?”

Zhang Lin: “Looks like things are pretty serious.”

Chu Yan: “If you’re still alive, respond.”

He Qing replied: “I’m fine, but I can’t get out for now.”

The group: “…Got it. Take care.”

After replying to them, He Qing heard a knock on the door. He went to open it, but it wasn’t Duan Chenhui outside, it was the butler, bringing him his “prison food.”

“Thanks.” He Qing took it and glanced down the hallway. The place was filled with Duan Chenhui’s personal guards, as if they were worried he would try to escape.

He Qing closed the door. He hadn’t seen much of Duan Chenhui in the past few days. He opened the food box and started to take out the utensils, only to find a small note inside.

He Qing opened it and read: “Student He, if you can’t clear your name when the time comes, we’ll rescue you at the execution ground.”

He Qing instantly knew it was from Qiao Daosheng, who always loved making things more dramatic. He took out his terminal and sent a coded message: “Teacher, I’ve already turned in my homework. No need to come looking for me.”

“No, it needs to be rewritten. Do you want to fail?”

“Yep, that’s it. Take care, teacher.” He Qing thought to himself that he still needed to prepare for the worst. Who knew what dirty tricks that demonic cultivator might try next?