Chapter 50: Giving it all, unable to resist

Chapter 50: Pushing to the Limit, Yet Unable to Resist

Both the candy giver and receiver remained perfectly calm.

The tiny white puffball stood at attention, stretching as far as it possibly could with the candy wrapper clamped in its teeth. Its unused little wings flapped uselessly behind it.

True, it hadn't fully transformed back into human form—

But kiddo, can't you fly?

Xiao Chuzao changed back to human form, still standing on tiptoe with the candy wrapper in his mouth.

The little cub took the wrapper in his hands and blinked at Amos.

He mumbled dopily, "Algae forgot."

One look at candy and Algae forgot everything else.

Can't blame the little guy—he rarely flew in human form, so it hit him like a surprise—oh right, Algae can fly!

Amos was totally charmed.

He scooped the child up, letting him plop onto his lap.

The ghost bear that the cub had been hauling around settled back into his arms.

Amos signed off on the document, the virtual screen vanishing as he glared at Finn standing nearby.

Warning him: "Keep your funky fashion sense to yourself and stay away from Algae. Scram—I'll deal with you later."

Finn: ...?

Wait, Bro, didn't you already deal with me?

Seriously??

With Amos as his protector, the cub nodded eagerly, already unwrapping his sweet surprise.

Xiao Chuzao nibbled the candy, a small bulge puffing up his soft cheek.

His golden eyes reflected Finn's growing struggles.

For that moment, the dark cloud hanging over the Crown Clan—whether Morlo still suffered—lifted slightly.

They still had time.

Though uncertain about finding Morlo or getting answers, they neared their journey's end.

Xiao Chuzao finished his treat.

The contaminated zone loomed close now.

Hale remained in medical, getting sedated.

The other Crown Clan members crowded outside Amos' room.

Though unspoken, you could feel the tension.

Ever since the pollution hit and the Aberrant Beast Legion began attacking everything around, the Crown Clan has been swamped, with the royal family members wielding even greater power being even busier. It had been ages since they’d all been together like this.

As the eldest brother, Frey wasn’t the strongest in ability, but he was emotionally steadier. He was going over the situation with Amos.

An Ya and Fei Man stood by the corridor, checking the time anxiously, occasionally glancing back at the little cub and talking about Hale’s condition.

Hale was in really bad shape.

His spiritual aura had been forcibly stabilized by the little cub, but his emotions had completely shattered.

Morlo leaving the first time had already crushed Hale—this second time was even worse.

They were figuring out how to handle Hale when the moment came.

Xiao Chuzao had finished his candy and perched on the soft stool Amos had set out for him. He hugged his ghost bear, tiny wings slightly spread, the little halo above his head flickering faintly with unease.

Too young to chime in, he just blinked his big eyes, watching the adults talk.

Only one guy was sulking in a dark corner, tugging at his hair in frustration.

Finn, after getting chewed out one too many times, had been banned from getting near Xiao Chuzao.

His bearded face twisted up a little as he clung to the wall, staring at the cub.

Finally caving in, he stepped forward—this time keeping a safe distance—and jabbed a finger at his own face indignantly.

"You sure you won’t change your mind? Zao Zao, take another look?"

Finn had always marched to the beat of his own drum. Even when clan members ragged on his taste, he blew it off. Besides, the clan didn’t have any other cubs anyway, and the Saint Casians even hyped him up, calling him ruggedly handsome!

Egged on by the Saint Casians, who worshipped the Crown Clan, Finn had dove headfirst into some weird fashion choices—a path he’d probably never stray from.

But he never saw Xiao Chuzao wrecking him this hard coming.

Amos shot Finn a look as he got closer.

When the cub didn’t flinch, Amos stayed quiet.

He watched Finn flip his hand and then make a grabbing motion.

*Whoosh—*

Dark ash seeped through his fingers, instantly forming a massive longbow.

Unlike Xiao Chuzao’s delicate Cupid’s Bow, Finn’s weapon was rugged and fierce, with a deadly seriousness that Amos didn’t have.

This guy—the Crown Clan’s second-strongest warrior, who’d once strolled into the Aberrant Beast Legion grinning and taken out its commander from miles away—was now trying to win over the cub with his flashy weapon.

*Look, Zao Zao, we’ve got the same kinda weapon!*

*Shouldn’t that mean our tastes kinda match?*

But the cub wasn’t paying attention to that.

Xiao Chuzao slowly widened his eyes.

The cub was blown away by how cool the longbow looked. He peered down at his own palm, then mimicked Finn’s motion—flipping his hand and clenching it.

And just like that, Cupid’s Bow popped into his grip.

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

The little one tilted his small head—

Not impressive at all.

Do it again!

The little guy raised his hand and flipped it—

Swish—

It appeared again, still not impressive—

The little one was successfully distracted.

Even starting to pick up some useless moves.

Finn reached out, about to intervene. He also heard Amos's footsteps.

But then he thought—

"Why have power if you don't flaunt it?"

The little one's eyes went round: Is... that so?

Finn took a smack on the head from Amos.

Clutching his head and hugging his spirit bow, he whined in the corner.

The others just stared at Finn.

When it comes to unreliability, you win.

"We're almost there—"

Frey smirked and looked away, then turned his gaze in a certain direction.

"Probably less than half an hour left."

"Yeah."

Fei Man responded.

"Later, An Ya and I will watch over Mr. Hale. The contaminated zone is complex, teeming with beasts. Be ready to handle things, and the accompanying troops can't just venture out—"

For humans, contamination is lethal, leading to countless sacrifices.

"Honestly, it's pointless."

Finn, who had been whining in the corner, suddenly spoke up.

The emotions in his eyes abruptly calmed.

"It's inevitable death anyway. This is just futile."

The others looked at him.

Finn continued. "Back when contamination spread across the galaxy, entire sectors were fractured. Who knows if they were completely consumed or hanging on somewhere? Back then, even Crown Clan members vanished. Planets once under Saint Cas were lost, their crowns were broken. We never learned the truth, but centuries later, their outcome was sealed."

Finn lowered his gaze, hiding the madness beneath his emotions. When he raised his eyes again, he let out a hollow chuckle.

"Ah, but that's just talk. The moment I got the news, I still sent people to investigate right away. Logic is one thing, feelings are another."

A lie.

Finn was merely playing along based on how he expected the other Crown Clan members might act.

He truly thought all of this was pointless.

Amos clearly understood what Finn was thinking.

But he stayed silent.

More than that, Finn was curious about something else—

Before reaching the heavily contaminated zone.

A longbow was suddenly shoved in front of the little one.

Finn's psychic weapon was among the largest in the entire Crown Clan.

For Xiao Chuzao, it was like having a yummy crunchy treat pressed right to his lips—except it was too big to eat.

The toddler instinctively widened his eyes and pushed it away with tiny hands.

No way—

Amos had already scooped up the startled baby and carried him off.

Then came Finn's pleading voice.

"Brother Amos tastes like strawberries. Zao Zao, sample my psychic energy and see what flavor it is, huh? I’m really curious. I tried tasting it myself but couldn’t tell."

Never mind why he kept mentioning Amos' strawberry flavor—just focus on the rest—

What the hell?

Finn’s usual antics were already crazy enough.

But now he’d topped himself with something even more ridiculous.

"Wait, hold on—"

Anya stared at Finn, looking as horrified as when she’d first seen Xiao Chuzao yank off his halo to attack him.

"Third Bro, what did you do? You actually tried tasting it yourself—?"

After failing to rip off his halo and knocking himself silly in the process, Finn had blown the Crown Clan’s minds yet again.

"Yeah."

Finn looked up.

"Just one little bite, please?"

Xiao Chuzao, cuddled in Dad’s arms with his chin on Amos’ shoulder, watched Finn holding the bow’s other end.

The little one couldn’t resist either.

"Papa."

"Huh?"

Amos at least seemed unbothered, as if nothing this guy did would surprise him.

Then Amos heard the little one mumble quietly.

Not used to badmouthing others, the little one instinctively fluffed up his tiny wings to shield his small body.

"So weird... Third Uncle’s really weird—"

Amos couldn’t help but twitch a smile.

Well, the Crown Clan had finally given the unique Zao Zao a dose of Crown Clan reality.

"Ignore him."

Frey sighed, rubbing his eyes.

Even Amos had needed a long time to recover after the little one bit into his psychic energy before the baby could finally chew on Amos’s Psychic Sword safely.

Only someone with Finn’s weird logic could come up with something like this.

"Just one taste, really!"

Finn wasn’t backing down.

"Can’t anyone humor me with this tiny request? Come on, think of poor me (referring to recklessly destroying various instruments on the starship) fighting through hell and back (referring to his misfortune of constantly crashing into beast lairs), going through all that trouble just to reunite with my family—and now, such a small request can’t be granted?"

He laid it on thick.

But—who would believe him?

An Ya mumbled to herself—he brought most of that on himself, didn’t he?

Then she saw the little one pause, thinking, before leaning forward—*crunch*—and taking a bite.

Huh?

The little one clearly had no actual need to consume psychic energy at the moment.

Puffing out his chubby cheeks, he tilted his head, chewing slowly before finally swallowing.

The baby squirmed in Amos’s arms, wanting to be let down.

Amos set him down, and they watched as the little one waddled over to Finn.

The baby was so small, so soft.

Finn, too stunned to react, had frozen, face blank. His crimson eyes had been fixed on the tiny tooth mark left on his bow, but when the little one approached, he finally looked up.

He was crouched on the ground, and though he’d noticed before, it hit him again—just how small this little Crown Clan was.

This baby was way too tiny for him—a Little Crown Clan just beginning to grow.

Finn knew how over-the-top his act was. He was mostly just curious, his emotions usually muted, relying on exaggerated antics to mask himself. Yet this little one had actually believed him.

And to the baby, Third Uncle really had returned very late. Daddy had said that Third Uncle had gone through a lot on his journey back—and even brought news of Mr. Hale’s partner.

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

The little guy really responded better to sweetness than harshness.

He was a unique Little Crown Clan member, so his heart softened almost instantly.

Before Finn could react, the little one took a deep breath, eyed his uncle's big beard, made up his mind, and gave Finn a tiny hug.

"Uncle."

The child's voice was tender and soft.

"Zao Zao just tried it - kinda sweet and kinda bitter, but Zao Zao's never had anything like this before—"

The little one was still too young, having had a tough life. Candy was something he'd only recently encountered for the first time.

So many tastes were still new to him.

All the Crown Clan members turned their gazes, watching Finn's body stiffen abruptly as they listened to the child's sweet, baby-talk words.

"But even though Zao Zao hasn't had it yet, Zao Zao will definitely try it in the future. Then Zao Zao will tell Uncle."

Was the path ahead uncertain?

It doesn't matter. As long as you keep moving forward, the unknown will fade.

Finn's eyes widened bit by bit.

This was no act.

A warm little ball of fluff had just pressed against him.

With the sweet candy scent still on him.

He himself was like living candy.

Finn always believed he was different from the rest of the Crown Clan.

So when he got the news about the child from Amos, he never truly took it to heart.

He didn't care. In his life's journey, those things held no meaning.

But now—

Finn was beginning to understand why An Ya and Fei Man had been fussing over this little guy all along.

How could he be so small, so soft—holding him felt like cradling something boneless—ah, Amos was truly lucky, getting to carry this little bundle around all day.

Finn tried his hardest.

Yet his hands still slowly lifted, gently embracing the soft little form.

But in the end, Finn couldn't resist his tough heart softening bit by bit.

Until the child couldn't hold back any longer—with a sudden transformation, he turned back into a fuzzy puff and slipped right out of Finn's arms, leaving him holding nothing.

This time, he remembered his tiny wings, fluttering them as he flew back into Amos' embrace, snuggling up with the Ghost Bear Amos was holding for him.

Though Xiao Chuzao's Ghost Bear was still made from Amos' clothes, it had been fixed up special to look more like an adorable little bear. Now Amos held one white and one black bundle, making even tough Amos seem softer. Two little white paws lifted, busily licking and rubbing his cheeks, while the glowing little crown atop his head wobbled cutely—

Every Crown Clan member looked over, instantly realizing what the little one was trying to convey—Ouch, it stings! Third Uncle's beard is stabbing Zao Zao to death!

Zao Zao tried his hardest, but he couldn't resist.

Everything went quiet for a second.

Finn was stunned once more, while An Ya turned her face away, letting out a quiet laugh—"Fine, keep your scraggly beard."

Just then, Amos's comms device blared to life.

"Your Majesty! We’ve spotted the Third Army’s starship. Interstellar corruption readings and energy spikes are going wild. Should we proceed?"

They were here.

Holding the little one in his arms, Amos didn’t hesitate for a second.

"Advance. Enter the contamination zone. Run power scans and pinpoint the weirdest energy hotspot."

"Copy that!"

Not long after, in the starship’s medical bay—

"Should we increase Hale’s sedatives?"

"Should we? Aren’t we in the contamination zone now? Bad idea, right?"

The members of the medical team frowned.

"What if—what if we find Morlo super fast?"

"But we might not find him for ages. By then, Hale would be way worse off..."

They balled their fists, tense.

None noticed that behind them, inside the medical pod, Hale—motionless, eyes shut—snapped them open. He looked anything but sedated or asleep.

He raised a hand, his fingertips silently pressing against the edge of the medical pod.

*

In another star sector—

A Hymn Organization strike team, having confirmed one of the Eight Knights' deaths, kept close watch.

The Hymn Organization couldn’t enter the contamination zone either. After snagging Lin Yuan’s footage by chance, they’d made multiple infiltration attempts—all failures. They’d retreated discreetly when San Cas’s Third Army arrived.

"San Cas’s troops have entered moderate contamination and are pushing toward severe. Should we intervene?"

"Best not. Keep our distance. For the holy ritual of god’s arrival, we need the organization intact. We can’t pull a Mercy and cozy up to Lin Yuan, just to get whacked by the Crown Clan."

Over the years, Hymn’s leaders had been caught and killed by the Crown Clan through sheer bad luck.

They craved the Crown Clan’s downfall and fueled it relentlessly, but most run-ins sent them scrambling.

"That vid’s six months old. Even if that Crown Clan member survived in some freak balance, he’s still doomed. Don’t waste energy here. Focus on recruitment."

"Our latest recruits are pretty lame. They’re barely cannon fodder, let alone org material. But one girl’s rising fast."

"Oh?"

"Ex-noble from the Bael Union. Her family got persecuted, hunted, even strong-armed by the Spirit Eye Clan—a Longlived race. They fled to a rogue planet. She’s got killer psychic skills, hates Longliveds, and’s crazy ambitious. With our help, she bounced back to the Bael Union fast and is now muscling in on power with her resources."

"Seems like a promising candidate. Let's observe her a bit longer. If there are no issues, we can share our beliefs with her."

"Indeed—"

The speaker was quite smug. Gazing at the starry expanse on the screen—since they dared not approach, they couldn't even see where Saint Cas's forces were—he spitefully crushed the cup in his hand.

"Crown Clan—why not just die off already?"

*

Even their custom-built starship struggled to advance through the polluted region.

Space pollution was deadly to living beings and corrosive to instruments, not to mention the countless mutated creatures lurking in the moderately polluted zones.

The pollution here was too intense. Even with Zao Zao's help, the Crown Clan dared not leave the starship lightly, forced to rely only on the ship's weapons. Their progress slowed drastically.

Yet the polluted region was vast, and they found nothing.

As Fei Man and An Ya were about to reach the edge of the heavily polluted zone from the moderately polluted area, they left the command deck and headed to the med bay.

At the same time, the command deck sounded an alarm—the small starship equipped on the main vessel had detached, destroying communication and tracking devices before swiftly departing. They ordered a check for deserters.

Amos sprang into action, ordering someone to trace Hale's signal before rushing to the med bay with Xiao Chuzao in his arms.

Along the way, he received reports from Fei Man and the command deck.

—Hale—who'd reassured them during their entry into the polluted zone—had disappeared from the med bay.

—Hale had disabled his own tracker.

"What is he trying to do?!"

An Ya pointed at the note Hale left on the screen in the med bay.

—This is likely the fate Morlo and I share. The Crown is broken. Morlo cannot survive. Or maybe it's a mercy—to reunite with him and die together.

"We should've stayed to watch him."

Fei Man frowned.

"We shouldn't have listened to Hale, letting him stay alone to cool off. The medical staff were just knocked out."

"Mr. Hale is an elite of the Crown Clan. His Byrd family are hereditary Imperial Tutors. If he wanted to evade us, we couldn't stop him."

Finn leaned against a nearby wall as he spoke.

"Mr. Hale and Uncle Morlo must've been close. And since Mr. Hale was the only one who escaped the heavily polluted zone back then, he probably knows where Morlo is."

He just didn't want to tell them—nor drag the little one into such danger.

Xiao Chuzao clung to Amos's neck. The little cub couldn't read yet—he hadn't learned enough—but he could sense the tension in the air. The little one scanned the room anxiously.

Zao Zao tried so hard, but... Zao Zao couldn't help—

Mr. Hale is going to die—

If Mr. Hale can be with his partner, he'll surely feel much better—whether it's the pain in his body or the bitterness of losing his beloved. Maybe this is the best ending.

But Mr. Hale said... whatever little Dwight gets, Zao Zao will too—

The cub felt guilty now—but... Teacher lied.

Here’s the refined translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

The little one's big eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"Papa, will there be no more Teacher Hale in the future?"

Was he about to lose the family he had gained?

Amos was momentarily speechless, gently patting the little one’s head.

Zao Zao’s tears dropped as he sniffled, his faintly glowing halo brightening: "But Zao Zao still wants Teacher Hale—Zao Zao hasn’t even helped him yet."

Though the teacher was strict, Zao Zao knew he had been in pain all along.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zao Zao glimpsed a familiar, trembling strand of spiritual energy.

Meanwhile, after reaching the location Hale had envisioned, he swiftly separated from Saint Cas’s team.

The starship hurtled forward, guided by his hazy, fragmented memories.

He was the Imperial Tutor of the Crown Clan—

He could not, and would not, allow his students to be dragged into the greater danger.

But he simply couldn’t hold on any longer. Forgive him for leaving without a word... the pain had become unbearable.

Time had lost meaning.

On the starship’s screen, amidst the churning dust, he spotted a pair of crimson eyes. "Do you hurt this much too, Morlo...?"