Chapter 29: Arrival at the Destination

Xi Ming and Shi Chan’s destination was not the final stop of the starship.

When the starship stopped at a transit station, Xi Ming and Shi Chan had already restored everything in the small room and quietly left the ship. A few other passengers left with them, but there was no exchange between them. Everyone discreetly left the port.

Once they reached a more secluded area, Xi Ming looked at the prepared map and said, “Let’s first check out a place nearby that sells transport ships. We’ll buy a small flying ship and then head to another starport.”

“Buy one? But we can’t take it with us,” Shi Chan said, somewhat confused. “Isn’t that a bit wasteful?”

“Renting or using other people’s transportation would leave traces,” Xi Ming explained seriously as he looked at Shi Chan. “Buying a cheap one, we control it ourselves. We’ll drive it near the destination starport and then destroy the ship, which will help cover our tracks. We’ll do the same on the next few planets.”

Shi Chan had always used magic to travel before, so he never had to worry about destroying transportation tools. However, since Xi Ming had considered this, Shi Chan agreed, “Okay, I’ll follow your lead. I hadn’t thought of this.”

Xi Ming had expected this answer. After all, if Shi Chan hadn’t run away with him, as an omega from Capital, he would likely have lived a life of comfort and would never have encountered terms like “escape” or “wandering.”

“Don’t overthink it. I’ll take care of these things,” Xi Ming reassured. It was his decision to leave Capital, so he would bear the responsibility of staying hidden. It was his duty to think more about it.

“I roughly know where it is. But it’s up to you to continue controlling my legs,” Xi Ming said. Although he appeared to be standing, his legs had no sensation. Shi Chan was controlling them.

“It’s fine, I can hold on for a while longer,” Shi Chan said. Using magic drained his energy, but in the past few days, he had improved his cultivation by absorbing energy from Xi Ming’s body. His spiritual power had increased, and he could support Xi Ming for quite a while.

Soon, the two arrived at a nearby second-hand flying ship market. Rows of second-hand flying ships were lined up on the square, and many people were coming and going.

Starships capable of interstellar travel were expensive, and only a few people could afford them in remote areas. But flying ships for intra-planet travel, especially second-hand ones, were affordable for many families.

Shi Chan and Xi Ming walked among the crowd, stopping in front of various second-hand ships, listening to others discuss their performance and cost-effectiveness.

“Red Flow x789, seventy percent new, and the price is ridiculously high. For this price, I can buy a new one with a little more money. This is a scam!”

“Hey, the Red Flow series is meant to deceive outsiders. Don’t bother with it. Look at this Dark Leaf model, sixty percent new, and the price is almost halved. This one seems good.”

“No, it’s too plain. Half of our neighbors own Dark Leaf models. I want something different.”

“But Dark Leaf is durable and has more space. Alright, alright, you don’t want it, let’s look at something else.”

After the two people in front of them left, Shi Chan and Xi Ming exchanged glances and roughly decided on the brand of the flying ship they wanted to buy.

Shi Chan had heard the name Dark Leaf from several people. It was a local brand on the planet, a budget model that was still of good quality and occupied a large portion of the local market.

The trade review process here wasn’t strict. Xi Ming sat on a bench set up at the transaction site, waiting.

Shi Chan took the opportunity to use a small spell to change his appearance and anonymously purchased a second-hand Dark Leaf flying ship through an anonymous terminal. After driving the ship to a nearby parking area, he returned to fetch Xi Ming, and the two left together.

Using Shi Chan’s temporary ability to control Xi Ming’s movements, they jumped from one starport to another, hopping across several planets. It took about a week before they finally arrived at the poverty-stricken, low-tech planet they had initially chosen—K-453.

During this time, Shi Chan and Xi Ming changed their identities several times, and their relationship also shifted from fiancé and husband to uncle and nephew, then to friends.

At critical moments, Shi Chan continued to use the Concealment technique. He believed that even if people from Capital were looking for them, they would have a hard time tracing their steps.

Xi Ming was actually even more surprised than Shi Chan. Without Shi Chan’s help, Xi Ming would have spent much more time and energy misleading the authorities in Capital, and he would have had to bribe the starship owners to falsify evidence.

But with Shi Chan, everything had gone smoothly. After changing their identities and appearances a few times, they had left Capital without encountering any danger.

Meeting Shi Chan had truly been his luck.

When they arrived at K-453’s starport, it was nighttime, but since they had already slept on the starship, they were in good spirits and not tired at all. After changing their identities and finding a hotel, Xi Ming logged into the local network, intending to find a quiet and undisturbed place to settle.

As Xi Ming accessed the local network, Shi Chan began to think about Xi Ming’s condition.

His ultimate goal was to help Xi Ming fully recover, but it would take time. Shi Chan had set three stages for himself.

First, to eliminate the scattered radiation in Xi Ming’s body; second, to treat Xi Ming’s legs so he could stand again; and third, to fully heal Xi Ming and restore his health as much as possible.

Recently, Shi Chan had been constantly healing Xi Ming’s body, absorbing and refining the energy that had scattered in Xi Ming’s body.

The radiation intensity in Xi Ming’s body had already decreased significantly, and Shi Chan believed it wouldn’t be long before it reached normal levels…

“Shi Chan, come and take a look at this place.” Xi Ming’s voice interrupted Shi Chan’s thoughts.

Shi Chan leaned over.

Xi Ming pointed at the information he found on the local network. “This Hualin District. There are more than ten large waste sorting factories nearby. The people who have any ability have moved to other major cities, and they don’t come back for years. Those left behind are mostly the elderly with no ability to migrate, poor people from other places, star outcasts, and fugitives… These people either work in the waste sorting plants or live off what they scavenge from the trash piles.”

“Because the environment here is so harsh, the people who can leave don’t want to live here. Hualin District has become synonymous with poverty. Over the years, K-453 has been raided by space pirates nearly a hundred times, but it’s always remained untouched.”

“If we settle here, aside from the harsh environment, we won’t have to worry about anything else. Even if someone from Capital traces us here, investigating Hualin District would take a lot of effort.”

Shi Chan trusted Xi Ming’s judgment. “Then let’s settle here.”

“How long will it take for my body to stabilize?” Xi Ming’s eyes were dark and uncertain.

He would eventually come into contact with some anti-imperial organizations, but not yet. His disability and the radiation in his body would easily reveal his true identity.

Xi Ming had never been cautious about the Empire. After the incident with 823, his power had been completely wiped out, leaving him isolated, with enemies all around and a bad reputation.

Shi Chan placed his hand on Xi Ming’s abdomen, using his spiritual senses to check. “The radiation will drop to a mild level in about half a month, but I need to be by your side every day to treat you, or the radiation will increase again.”

Xi Ming placed his hand over Shi Chan’s and held it tightly, his voice deep with an unexplained meaning. “You’ll always be by my side, right?”

Shi Chan had already gotten used to Xi Ming’s occasional intimate gestures. He continued to use his spiritual senses to check Xi Ming’s legs, but his expression became troubled. “As for your legs…”

Xi Ming noticed Shi Chan’s change in expression and comforted him, “It’s fine. Just say whatever is on your mind.”

“I had planned to treat your legs after the radiation dropped and help you stand again, at least walk like a normal person. But… I may have overestimated myself.” Shi Chan withdrew his hand from Xi Ming’s palm and placed it on Xi Ming’s thigh.

Although Xi Ming’s legs no longer had any feeling, when Shi Chan touched them, he felt a sudden warmth and softness as if his legs had come to life.

Shi Chan squatted down and pressed his hands on the acupuncture points on Xi Ming’s calf. “I thought once the radiation dropped and the injury healed, you could stand again. But I’ve realized recently, besides the radiation and injury, your legs have already atrophied. Simply healing the injury won’t do much. We need to stimulate the growth of the muscles and re-establish the meridians…”

“Meridians?” Xi Ming, distracted from admiring Shi Chan, asked, puzzled.

There was no such thing as meridians in interstellar medicine. They believed that the enhancement of the body through genes worked on every muscle and cell, and most treatments focused on cellular vitality.

This method solved most diseases, but it didn’t work for Xi Ming.

Xi Ming had once been among the top in human strength, but after his injuries, his body had been ravaged by destructive energy, causing his cells to constantly die and regenerate. The vitality that supported cell regeneration had been exhausted over the years. Conventional cell therapies could only maintain the appearance of his legs, but to make him stand again in a short time was impossible.

Maybe after ten or twenty years of treatment, his legs would improve, but Shi Chan knew Xi Ming couldn’t wait that long.

Now, his injury had destroyed the meridians in his legs. Without reconstructing them, even if his cells regenerated, Xi Ming’s strength would be greatly diminished.

Even though the people here didn’t understand meridians, they still existed in everyone’s body, playing an important role, especially in powerful individuals like Xi Ming.

Shi Chan paused when the word “meridians” slipped out. When he saw Xi Ming’s questioning look, he didn’t explain further and changed the topic. “I’ll start using a special method to treat your legs from today. The results will take time to show.” Even if everything went smoothly, it would take at least six months for Xi Ming to stand again.

Xi Ming could sense that Shi Chan was hiding something, but he just gazed deeply at the omega in front of him, silently acknowledging his patience.

This would be a long road, but it was one they would walk together.