Chapter 61: Intimacy on the Journey

Early in the morning, Heng Qi came running in a panic.

“What’s wrong?” Shi Chan, who was assisting Xi Ming with his rehabilitation, turned his head.

Heng Qi’s face was full of fear and anxiety, but he didn’t dare to hide anything. With a pale face, he whispered, “That pretty brother is missing.”

Shi Chan repeated, “Missing?”

Heng Qi hurriedly recounted all of Tao Ruihe’s “unusual” behavior since yesterday, then looked at Shi Chan with guilt and terror. “He was still there last night, but when I woke up this morning, he was gone. I searched around outside but couldn’t find him either.”

Heng Qi was on the verge of tears. He had been entrusted with looking after this person, and now that he was suddenly gone, Heng Qi felt responsible.

However, he didn’t receive the scolding or punishment he expected.

After hearing the news, Shi Chan exchanged a glance with Xi Ming. Xi Ming nodded and said, “We’ll leave early.”

“…Leave?” Heng Qi looked at them in confusion.

“Yes, we leave in an hour,” Shi Chan instructed, sending Heng Qi off. “Go pack your things.”

They had already been preparing to leave. Scolding Heng Qi now wouldn’t fix anything, so it was better to focus on getting ready.

An hour later, everyone was ready to evacuate.

Xi Ming quietly led his people away from the outskirts of Nico State, heading toward a small space pirate base he had discovered two days ago.

Taking from one outlaw to grow another was a fast-track method of development.

The Jugu members had undergone nearly a month of intense mecha training and could now handle basic mecha combat. But Xi Ming didn’t need them for this operation—not even a single one of them.

By the time Xi Ming and his team arrived, the small pirate base’s dozen or so guards were all unconscious.

Liang Yongqing looked at the unconscious pirates in astonishment, his admiration for Xi Ming growing even stronger.

“Ignore them. We’re heading straight for the starship,” Xi Ming ordered decisively. “We’re going to the border between the Empire and the Insectoids, heading for planet LR-236.” Compared to the Federation, the Empire’s frontier was truly a place where strength ruled.

Besides… Xi Ming needed to find someone on that planet.

By the time the space pirates woke up, Xi Ming and his crew were already traveling through the stars aboard their newly acquired starship.

For the Jugu members and Heng Qi, it was their first time on a starship. They scattered around, exploring with curiosity.

Standing by the window, Shi Chan curiously asked about the pirate base, “Ming-ge, how did you make them all pass out?”

Xi Ming didn’t bother explaining to the others but didn’t hide it from Shi Chan. “I used Cottonwood Serum.”

Cottonwood Serum sounded harmless, but it was actually one of the banned substances in the interstellar world. “Cotton” and “sleep” were homophones—it was a powerful sedative, colorless and odorless, immune to many detection methods. If not for the extreme rarity and high cost of one of its ingredients, its widespread use would have brought untold bloodshed and crime.

The serum rarely appeared on the dark web, but thanks to his past life’s memories, Xi Ming knew exactly who had it and what information that person needed in exchange.

This knowledge had helped Xi Ming a lot.

After obtaining the serum, Xi Ming had remotely released a small dose into the pirate base, ensuring everyone inside succumbed to unconsciousness.

He stored the remaining serum in his space bracelet—it might come in handy in the future.

Xi Ming reached out and stroked Shi Chan’s soft hair, his gaze no longer carrying the righteousness of the past. “Chan Chan, do you think my methods are despicable?”

“Of course not,” Shi Chan replied without hesitation, his moral compass unbothered. “You didn’t kill them. You just took the space pirates’ ship.”

Besides, space pirates… even if they died, it would only be what they deserved.

Most space pirates lived extravagant lives by looting, murdering, and pillaging. They were greedy, cruel, and disregarded interstellar laws, mercilessly taking the lives of others.

Whether it was the Empire, the Federation, or smaller nations, they all shared the same stance on space pirates—hunting them down and eradicating them.

Shi Chan naturally despised such criminals.

Xi Ming smirked without commenting further. He hadn’t killed them, but once the rest of their pirate gang found out, those unconscious men wouldn’t escape death either.

Draining the last sip of his drink, Xi Ming casually placed the glass on a nearby table, pulled Shi Chan into his arms, and buried his nose in the back of Shi Chan’s neck. His voice was slightly hoarse. “…Let’s go back to our room.”

This journey would take three days. Xi Ming had no intention of standing around the whole time.

Thanks to Shi Chan’s tireless efforts, Xi Ming’s body had recovered to that of an ordinary person. Other than being temporarily unable to engage in high-intensity activities—like piloting mechas in battle—he had no trouble with normal daily life.

For the past two days, Xi Ming had been relishing the reality of reaching out and holding his omega in his arms. In the past, he had only been able to wait for Shi Chan to bend down and embrace him.

“Alright, let’s go back,” Shi Chan, as usual, took care of Xi Ming, his hands carefully supporting him.

Xi Ming didn’t refuse. However, once inside the room, he placed one hand on the back of Shi Chan’s head, pulling him into a deep kiss, transferring the faint taste of alcohol from his lips to Shi Chan’s tongue.

Surrounded by the dominant scent of an alpha, Shi Chan tilted his head back, maintaining the posture for a long moment. When Xi Ming finally lifted his head with a smile, Shi Chan suddenly remembered—Xi Ming had already recovered.

Just as he was about to say something, Xi Ming noticed two small creatures, one red and one white, staring at them without blinking. His words halted. “Why are they in here too?”

“They’ve been following me the whole time.” The plump bird was small and liked to flutter around Shi Chan, perching on his head or shoulders when tired. The fluffier one, Rong Feifei, was even more clingy, always sticking close to him.

“Let’s put them outside first.” Xi Ming had already planned for Shi Chan’s impending heat. He had prepared the room with inhibitors—Shi Chan wouldn’t be leaving for the next few days.

“Your heat is coming soon.” Xi Ming pressed Shi Chan onto the bed, his palm tracing Shi Chan’s nape, his gaze dark and intense. “Let Liang Yongqing take care of them for now.”

Shi Chan no longer had the right to refuse. He could only watch as Xi Ming grabbed the two small creatures and tossed them outside, locking the door.

Outside, the chubby bird flapped its wings a few times but, unable to enter, flew off elsewhere. Rong Feifei, on the other hand, took a few steps, then curled up by the door, wrapping its tail around itself.

Inside, Xi Ming ran his fingers through Shi Chan’s hair, looking at his obedient omega lying in his arms. His expression softened unconsciously. “Chan Chan…”

In the past, Xi Ming had been confused and frustrated about Shi Chan’s mysterious existence, but now, he knew everything—Shi Chan’s past, his reincarnation, and the fact that Shi Chan would never leave him. That knowledge gradually eased the turbulence in his heart.

“Mm.” Shi Chan responded softly, his luminous, gentle eyes gazing at Xi Ming as if they could accept everything about him.

That night, Shi Chan’s heat quietly arrived, while he was asleep.

Sweet and fragrant, mixed with a very light fresh astringency… Just like a timid child, it appeared silently and just quietly surrounded Xi Ming, as if seeking safety, or as if luring its pheromone partner.

Xi Ming woke up quickly, but his pheromones awakened even faster, and he couldn’t wait to wrap himself around Shi Chan.

Shi Chan’s face was slightly red in his sleep, his breathing was a little rapid, and he did not wake up in the strong alpha pheromone.

Xi Ming looked at Shi Chan, who was even more attractive than usual. His eyes deepened and he leaned down to kiss her.

Caught in the storm, Shi Chan felt that he was tightly bound. He suddenly struggled to wake up from his sleep, and then found that what he felt was not just a dream.

The ambiguous and charming voice echoed in the room. Shi Chan came back to his senses from his dream and raised his arms to hug Xi Ming, raising his fair and slender neck along the strength of Xi Ming’s palm.

No one spoke. The two of them just silently let their pheromones entangle with each other, letting the distance between them get closer and closer, without any barriers between them…

Shi Chan felt like a small boat on a rough sea. Fortunately, he could still cling to something and tightly grasp Xi Ming’s arm…

Shi Chan almost thought that Xi Ming was going to mark him permanently, but in the end Xi Ming didn’t do so and only made the temporary mark more and more severe.

…

Seeing Shi Chan looking tired as he rested his head on his arm, Xi Ming’s eyes showed pity as he gently rubbed the back of Shi Chan’s neck which was covered with bite marks with his fingers.

“Chan chan…” Xi Ming had a satisfied look on his face, his voice tinged with laziness, and his palms soothed Shi Chan again and again.

Shi Chan responded softly without saying anything else, relaxing and enjoying the warmth of the moment.

The starlight outside the window is quiet and bright, twinkling and flickering, silent and gentle.

Shi Chan held Xi Ming’s hand, turned it over and over, and used his fingertips to feel the thin calluses formed on Xi Ming’s fingers after training.

“What’s wrong?” Xi Ming asked above Shi Chan’s head.

Shi Chan shook his head, pulled Xi Ming’s hand to cover his face, rubbed it gently with his eyes closed, and said after a while, “At the beginning… I was most looking forward to dreaming about you.”

He dreamed that Xi Ming was driving a mecha and standing in front of him in the world of cultivation full of blood and sin, protecting him and extending his hand to him who was covered in scars.

Unfortunately, Shi Chan was not “dreaming” at that time, but was recovering his memory. Only very few dreams would be what Shi Chan wished.

But now, Shi Chan looked up at Xi Ming with uncontrollable satisfaction in his eyes. Xi Ming was his lover.