Chapter 133

Lu Yinghuai and Xia You followed the route indicated by the great white wolf.

They could have piloted an aircraft, but...

Xia You observed as Latiao dug out a bomb from a pit, playfully batting it around with its paws, she sighed, “How many did the Master actually bury?”

Yuan Yuan nudged Latiao aside, rolling the inert energy bomb with its paws to Lu Yinghuai's feet.

Lu Yinghuai stored the object in his spatial ring, mentally counting, "These must be the weapons from the energy stone mining site. The amount the wolves could have stolen is limited, and not very powerful. If I were the Master..."

Xia You's eyebrows twitched.

Lu Yinghuai paused, then solemnly added, "Factoring in the energy produced by a companion beast's self-destruction, we'd need at least five thousand more."

Xia You remarked, "...Isn’t the energy from a companion beast's self-destruction quite significant? It should be more than enough to blow up an energy stone vein..."

He recalled being informed about the dangers of a companion beast's mental energy explosion.

Lu Yinghuai shook his head, “This is Blue Star. The Master just wanted the Empire to face the issue of the energy stone vein, not obliterate it entirely. So, he would definitely try to control the energy of his self-destruction.”

The self-destruction of a deputy marshal's companion beast, targeting an energy stone mine of an imperial marshal, with their master-student relationship, would make for explosive news that the Empire could hardly suppress.

Xia You and Lu Yinghuai continued on, with a leopard and a tiger as their companion beasts, tirelessly unearthing the bombs. Xia You's mental tendrils followed, collecting the bombs and passing them to Lu Yinghuai.

Lu Yinghuai eventually attached two more spatial rings to the paws of the two companion beasts.

Xia You, unfamiliar with this type of bomb, initially held and examined it for quite some time.

Given the sensitivity of the energy stone vein, the weapons placed around the original mine were not triggered to explode, but rather driven to detonate by mental energy.

Xia You: “However, from what I've seen, the energy stone veins in the polar regions seem to yield fewer energy stones than other known veins. The Master's decision to destroy this vein probably took this into consideration.”

After a moment of silence, Lu Yinghuai said, "No, he simply didn't want to compensate."

Memories of his youth brought a smile to Lu Yinghuai's eyes.

“Back then, whenever the Master racked up a bar tab, it was under my name. When he got into brawls with nobles, I was the one who settled the disputes. At that time, my sister was on the border, I hadn't joined the First Legion yet. I was always right behind the Master, paying off his debts and cleaning up his messes.”

Amused, Xia You turned and began walking backward, teasingly asking, “Sounds pretty tough, huh?”

Lu Yinghuai thought for a moment, then shook his head, "It wasn't too bad. The Master's punches might be fierce, but they're cunningly placed. They don’t leave major injuries but they sure do hurt."

“Being by the Master's side taught me a lot.”

Xia You rubbed his chin, grinning knowingly, “So later, when His Highness dealt with the nobles, his moves were always ruthless yet flawless?”

He continued, “My sister's attitude has always been to dominate by force if challenged; a clear display of assertiveness. But His Highness has a different, more subtle approach... and, well, it's quite vexing.”

Lu Yinghuai calmly nodded in agreement.

As Xia You continued to walk backward, a small pit loomed behind him. Lu Yinghuai reached out to catch him, but Xia You, agile as if he had eyes on the back of his head, deftly jumped over it, winking at Lu Yinghuai.

After walking a bit further, Xia You suddenly stopped, looking around. His small psychic tendrils seemed to detect something, reaching out into the distance.

Lu Yinghuai gently pinched one of the tendrils, "It’s the grey wolves."

Xia You exclaimed, “They've been following us this whole time?”

Lu Yinghuai nodded, “They likely aim to protect us.”

Xia You looked more carefully and, sure enough, spotted the tips of two pointy ears peeking from the edge of a hillside. Almost immediately, another wolf's paw pressed them down.

Chuckles.

“The Master is better suited to be a legion leader than I am,” Lu Yinghuai remarked.

Whether leading humans or wolves, his unparalleled charisma and ability to unite are truly remarkable.

If not for his lack of a noble background, Fang Junye would certainly have become the most shining star in the history of the Empire.

Xia You understood Lu Yinghuai's intent but gently shook her head, "The responsibilities we bear are different. My mentor might prefer the atmosphere of the Fifth Legion than being a marshal constantly caught between the emperor, the Senate, and various military factions."

A smile played on Lu Yinghuai’s lips, his deep violet eyes brimming with warmth.

"Once we return, I must have a serious discussion with my mentor."

Xia You looked puzzled, "Discuss what?"

Lu Yinghuai replied earnestly, "To prevent him from setting his sights on my energy mines."

Xia You was at a loss for words.

"If the energy stones were not problematic, the mentor wouldn't think of detonating them," said Xia You with a playful smile. "Your Highness, since when did you become so possessive?"

As if waiting for Xia You's comment, Lu Yinghuai responded, both naturally and solemnly, "It didn't matter before, but now it does."

"I need to provide for my family."

Taken aback, Xia You huffed and then sped up, running towards Yuan Yuan. She playfully tackled the leopard, both of them tumbling together in the snow.

La Tiao, seeing this, excitedly joined in, causing Yuan Yuan, who had just managed to rise, to be knocked down again into the snow, eliciting hearty laughter from Xia You.

***

They arrived at the polar energy stone vein three days later in the afternoon.

Xia You had seen the topographical map of where the energy stone vein was located. Although this polar region was some distance from the place marked by Uncle Zhou where the insect queen was found, it was the closest energy stone vein within that circular area.

Xia You's sensitivity to the presence of energy stones was far superior to Lu Yinghuai's. She expanded her psychic energy, clearly "seeing" the energy stones quietly distributed below.

Just like the previous images of the energy stone vein exploration, this vein spread out densely from a central point, resembling a spider's web. Robots tasked with collecting energy stones were constantly digging and transporting. Containers filled with energy stones of varying shades moved in an orderly manner.

Xia You's lips quivered, a look of confusion on her face.

For some reason, she felt an overwhelming desire... to feast upon this energy stone vein.

It wasn't a particular allure, but rather a feeling akin to being hungry no matter how much one eats outside, only to feel ravenous upon returning home.

But this shouldn't be the case.

Given Xia You's current psychic level, these basic energy stones shouldn't have much influence over her.

Xia You conveyed her feelings to Lu Yinghuai, speculating, "Could there be higher-grade energy stones below?"

Lu Yinghuai appeared thoughtful. He activated his holo-computer and browsed for a while. Xia You observed him pull up a sequence number, then accessed the mining backend of the energy stone vein to search.

As expected.

Lu Yinghuai presented the holographic display to Xia You: "This energy stone vein belongs to the Lu family, but the high-grade energy stones were already mined out earlier."

Typically, when discovering a new energy stone vein, the primary goal is to locate its center, which facilitates sector-based extraction of varying grades of energy stones.

The closer one is to the center, the more intense the energy fluctuations, and the very center houses the high-grade energy stones.

Xia You, seeing the image of the high-grade energy stone glowing blue like an aquamarine on the screen, exclaimed, "Is it the same one Your Highness gifted me?"

That had been a birthday gift from Lu Yinghuai to Xia You. She cherished it deeply, but before leaving the protected zone, she consumed the high-grade energy stone for the first time to rescue the White Tiger, Ah Jie. She even ran a fever for several days afterward.

"Ah Jie originally possessed this energy stone. It was later given as a betrothal gift to my brother-in-law. After Ah Jie's incident, during my investiture, my brother-in-law embedded it into the prince's scepter and presented it to me."

Initially indifferent to the preciousness of the scepter, and intrigued by the sparkling gem atop it, Lu Yinghuai had pried it out for his personal collection. After arriving on the Blue Star, he even set it at the center of the ceiling of his gem collection room.

Subsequently,

Lu Yinghuai chanced upon a dusty yet beautiful gem. He removed his once treasured energy stone from the collection room's ceiling, placed it in the velvet box that once held his marshal's medal, and gifted it to Xia You.

Xia You stared intently at the energy stone vein below for a long time. Something flickered in her eyes as she softly said, "Your Highness, I wish to see it up close."

"To see the place where that high-grade energy stone was extracted."

Bearing the Queen's seal, both of them and their two cats easily passed through the entrance scan to enter the mining zone.

Upon entering, Xia You and Lu Yinghuai immediately felt an indescribable sense of oppression.

Yuan Yuan and La Tiao instinctively extended their sharp claws, their throats emitting a deep purr.

Xia You gently caressed the two big cats, circulating her psychic energy within them, pacifying Yuan Yuan and La Tiao somewhat.

Lu Yinghuai looked visibly distressed.

Xia You stood up, grasping Lu Yinghuai's hand, her eyes seeking answers from him.

Instead of answering Xia You immediately, Lu Yinghuai closed his eyes, furrowing his brow in deep thought. After a moment, he uttered gravely, "It... despises the aura here."

Xia You was taken aback, slowly realizing that Lu Yinghuai was referring to the crystallized spirit of the insectoid queen sealed deep within his psychic sea.

Even after its demise long ago, the intense loathing it felt for this place was evident, influencing even Lu Yinghuai— the insectoid queen must have been here before.

A thought stirred within Xia You.

Could it be...

The next second, Xia You's hand was seized by Lu Yinghuai, his grip nearly causing her pain.

"Let's move together. Send the companion beasts out first."

Lu Yinghuai could sense his companion beast's extreme stress in this environment, feeling ripples of disturbance in his otherwise calm psychic sea.

La Tiao was about to growl, but Yuan Yuan quickly pinned him down, baring his teeth and letting out a low roar.

Xia You agreed with this decision— even though she had just been contemplating suggesting that His Highness should also leave.

Knowing she couldn't persuade Lu Yinghuai now, she gently stroked La Tiao's head, softly whispering, "La Tiao, you are the heir to the empire."

La Tiao's struggle halted, and he gazed deeply into Xia You's eyes with his amber orbs.

Xia You tenderly rubbed La Tiao's ears.

Letting out a soft whimper, La Tiao affectionately nuzzled Xia You's fingers, appearing somewhat dejected, but he didn't insist on staying with them.

The robots moving about nearby strictly followed their pre-set mining commands, paying no heed to the actions of the two humans and two cats.

As they watched Yuan Yuan and La Tiao depart, Xia You intertwined her fingers with Lu Yinghuai's. Channeling her psychic energy into his mental realm, she began to soothe his turbulent spirit.

Lu Yinghuai didn't resist. He understood that maintaining stability in his psychic force was paramount to ensuring Xia You's safety in these moments.

The mine was filled with cold, rigid metal storage boxes and rails, devoid of any traces of human life. A vast expanse of silver and white painted a chilling, inorganic purity.

Xia You lifted her gaze towards the mine's center.

She sensed it.

That feeling of psychic force being drawn in.

It was guiding him.