Chapter 22: Physical Issues

This time, it took longer than usual for Shi Chan to calm Xi Ming’s mental state. By midnight, Xi Ming’s condition had slowly stabilized, and by then, Shi Chan was so exhausted that he could barely lift a finger, feeling as though he could fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

Even so, when Xi Ming regained consciousness, he didn’t let Shi Chan stay in his room, instead sending him back to his own bedroom.

Shi Chan couldn’t even muster the energy to change clothes. He just lay down on the bed and fell asleep, only waking up the next morning to remember to ask Xi Ming why his mental power suddenly went out of control.

Over the past week, Shi Chan had been calming Xi Ming’s mental energy daily, keeping it in a relatively stable state. Without external stimuli, it shouldn’t have erupted again in the short term.

Xi Ming furrowed his brows. “I’m not sure either.” There were no signs before the outburst this time. His mental power suddenly became chaotic, and the radiation in his body became more active, causing him to lose control of his sanity.

“Think back carefully. What did you do or think before the outburst? Any little detail could be the trigger,” Shi Chan guided him. “We can’t overlook any small thing. If we identify it, we can prevent it from happening in the future. A sudden mental outburst is far too dangerous.” If he had been any later, the outcome could have been far worse.

Xi Ming thought back, following Shi Chan’s advice.

The night before…

A few days ago, Xi Ming had contacted a group of space pirates through the dark web and used some information from his previous life to help them avoid an ambush by another notorious pirate group.

The leader of the pirate group reached out to Xi Ming through the dark web last night, inviting him to join them. Since then, Xi Ming had been communicating with them.

Xi Ming wanted to take revenge on the Empire, and of course, he wasn’t going to just watch idly. After careful consideration, he decided to make contact with the pirate group.

Space pirates were usually a group of outlaws or criminals hiding from the law, causing trouble in places beyond the jurisdiction of the galactic law enforcement. However, some pirates, like the “Swift Eagle” group Xi Ming contacted, were former soldiers of the Federation’s military who were sacrificed during high-level power struggles within their own country. They had formed a pirate group to evade the Federation’s forces while restraining themselves from becoming true lawless criminals.

As a General in the Empire, Xi Ming knew a lot about the Federation. When he was stationed at the border, all the intelligence gathered by undercover agents from the Empire regarding the Federation would be presented to him, and the details of this pirate group were among the information he had reviewed.

Although Xi Ming wanted to take revenge on the Empire, he didn’t want to ally with the same pirates who had once been his enemies. After screening several groups, he settled on Swift Eagle, using the dark web to help them avoid an attack that would have otherwise wiped them out.

Because of this, Swift Eagle, who had been under pressure from both pirates and the Federation for years, was eager to recruit Xi Ming, whom they saw as a “strategic” talent.

Xi Ming accepted the invitation, though he told them that, for the time being, he could only assist them remotely. In exchange, Swift Eagle had to provide him with the materials, intelligence, and updates on pirate activities.

After finalizing the terms with the pirates, Xi Ming recalled that at that time, his body hadn’t yet shown any signs of abnormality. Later… it seemed like he had activated the listening device—through Shi Chan’s personal terminal, he could listen to the sounds around Shi Chan.

Xi Ming frowned. It seemed his condition had started to worsen from that point.

He couldn’t clearly remember what Shi Chan and the others had said at the time, only vaguely recalling hearing several voices praising Shi Chan and inviting him to go out.

When he heard Shi Chan’s response, a flood of suppressed emotions—displeasure, unease, and fear—erupted within him. His desire to possess Shi Chan grew stronger, and soon after, his mental power spiraled out of control.

Xi Ming couldn’t remember how long he had endured, only that at the most painful moment, someone entered the room. Their clear eyes didn’t mind his appearance as he was corrupted by radiation, nor did they mind his weak, crippled legs. They bent down and got close to him…

After that, his memory blurred again. He vaguely remembered feeling unable to control his desires and doing something excessive and impulsive. The person beneath him, however, was gentle and considerate, and that faint sense of acceptance lingered between them, leaving Xi Ming with an indescribable sense of beauty even now.

Oh, and he also remembered hearing Shi Chan’s soft “good” response. Although it was almost inaudible, Xi Ming clearly caught it, engraving it in his heart like a sweet imprint.

“I understand,” Xi Ming spoke, and when he saw Shi Chan’s puzzled expression, he turned his gaze away. With a cold tone, he said, “This won’t happen again.”

At the time, he had simply forgotten to control his emotions.

After the mental power issue, Xi Ming had been controlling his emotional fluctuations, but the comfort of the past week had made him lower his guard, and his impulsive emotions overwhelmed his rationality, affecting his mental power.

“What was it about?” Shi Chan still seemed worried.

“It’s nothing. I just thought of something unpleasant and couldn’t control my mental power,” Xi Ming didn’t want to go into further details. Changing the subject, he asked, “How was it yesterday? Did you order the clothes?”

He had listened for a while through the listening device, but due to the mental outburst, he couldn’t remember anything. Now, he wanted to hear it directly from Shi Chan.

Shi Chan noticed that Xi Ming didn’t seem to be pretending, and after some thought, he relaxed a bit. He began recounting his experience from yesterday.

Of course, he briefly mentioned things related to Xi Yi. Shi Chan hadn’t really cared, except for the two sarcastic comments at the beginning and the end, the rest of the time, Xi Yi was entirely focused on his gown design.

As long as no substantial harm had been done, Shi Chan didn’t bother to argue.

Xi Ming listened intently as Shi Chan spoke, and when he heard that Shi Chan had only ordered one dress, he interrupted, “Why didn’t you order more clothes?” This designer had quite a reputation, even Xi Ming, who had stayed at home for a long time, had heard of them.

“Well…” Shi Chan glanced at him and pondered for a moment. “I think it’s not worth it. The dress designed by that designer is only for one-time use, yet it costs a million star coins. For the same price, I could get a year’s worth of dresses from other less famous designers.”

Designers who made it into the top ten of the Imperial City were priced at ten times that of those with less fame, and Shi Chan wasn’t willing to spend money just for the “name.”

“If you don’t like it, then forget it,” Xi Ming said indifferently. “You can go to someone else for custom work, it’s your decision.”

“Yeah,” Shi Chan replied softly. However, he planned to book appointments with a few designers online, get his measurements done, and have the finished products mailed to his home so he wouldn’t have to go out.

That way, Xi Ming could accompany him.

Shi Chan hadn’t attended the Lu family’s banquet, but he received a lot of information about it—push notifications from the star network, messages and photos from his new friend Bai Wen, and bits of news he saw in the social circles.

It seemed like this event was indeed one of the top gatherings in the Imperial City, as every photo released conveyed the exclusivity and luxury of high society, making ordinary people feel out of reach.

However, Shi Chan just glanced at it and swiped past. The reason was simple: this world had gone through many years of war before reaching this relatively peaceful period. During the war, many histories were lost, and it seemed that the aristocratic families in the Imperial City had taken to a “retro” style to showcase their long history. The banquet’s theme was distinctive, but the rest of the decorations were all geared toward “ancient architecture” and “traditional styles.” As someone with memories of the cultivation world, Shi Chan was not interested in the “hodgepodge” of ancient styles at the event.

Shi Chan stayed at home quietly for a week. During that time, the aftershocks of the banquet continued to spread on the star network, as if the entire internet was discussing this rare top-tier gathering. Those who attended the event seemed to have been gilded, constantly showered with praise and envy. The celebrities who walked the red carpet at the beginning of the event became famous for several more days, and their fans seemed to take pride in attending the high society banquet, boasting about it for an entire week.

During this week, the little furball Xi Ming had given to Shi Chan—the “furball” finally left the incubator and settled into the soft bed that Shi Chan had prepared for it. The little creature now spent its days running around and exploring its “territory” in Shi Chan’s room. When it got tired, it would whine and demand to be near Shi Chan.

Shi Chan also learned from the care guide that the furball was naturally clingy, but he didn’t mind. Since the little creature was still too small, it couldn’t climb up higher spots, so Shi Chan placed a soft chair on the floor. When he entered virtual space, he would sit on the ground, and the furball, when tired, would crawl onto his lap.

Though it occasionally made a mess, Shi Chan didn’t scold it. Instead, he found the little creature’s confused yet affectionate eyes so endearing that he couldn’t bring himself to be upset.

One morning, after finishing his cultivation, Shi Chan received a message from one of the designers he had booked earlier. They asked to meet in virtual space at two o’clock in the afternoon, and Shi Chan replied with a simple “Okay.”

After washing up, Shi Chan took the little furball and knocked on Xi Ming’s door. When Xi Ming came out, Shi Chan naturally placed the furball on Xi Ming’s lap.

The furball, which had been squirming in Shi Chan’s presence, immediately quieted down on Xi Ming’s lap. It seemed to sense something intimidating about Xi Ming and stayed still, only turning its head toward Shi Chan, looking pitiful.

Shi Chan smiled softly, his eyes curving, and gently tapped the furball’s head a few times, “Be good. Let’s go eat now.”

Xi Ming’s gaze shifted from the little creature on his lap to Shi Chan’s face. Hearing Shi Chan’s soft tone, his heart stirred, and he suddenly had the urge to pet Shi Chan just like he did with the little furball.