Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Norton was pulled back from the illusory shards of memory by Ye Mo's cry of "Mom."

Perhaps because the memory he had just witnessed felt too real, for a moment, Norton felt as if the Ye Mo in his arms seemed to overlap with the Ye Mo in his adoptive mother's embrace—the one whose body went soft and slumped.

Norton's body went rigid, moving as gently as possible, carefully pulling Ye Mo closer into his embrace. He stroked Ye Mo's hair and the nape of his neck to soothe him.

During psychic resonance, Ye Mo would subconsciously sense some of the memories seen. Norton wasn't sure if Ye Mo had recalled this memory again.

As the psychic resonance deepened, Norton completely calmed Ye Mo's psychic energy. His vast psychic power began to patiently separate into fine, thread-like strands, entering Ye Mo's psychic domain to perform psychic soothing.

Ye Mo gradually quieted down. He had been curled in Norton's arms, tightly clutching Norton's clothes. Now that the pain had suddenly vanished, his body relaxed, and his hands went limp, slowly releasing their grip. He slipped into a quiet sleep in Norton's embrace.

He fell asleep nestled against Norton's chest, the tear tracks on his face still clearly visible.

Norton frowned, tense, almost afraid to move. Ye Mo's breathing grew increasingly weak.

This reminded Norton of a pet he had raised as a child. After giving birth, it had brought its newborn to Norton. That tiny life lay in Norton's palm, its claws feebly and aimlessly scratching, so weak it couldn't even leave a mark. It was soft and fragile, as if it would get hurt at the slightest touch. For Norton, it had been a truly wondrous experience.

But now was different. The fragile life he held in his arms was his own flesh and blood.

Blood was still slowly seeping out, staining Norton's clothes. The scent of blood, sweet and metallic, was familiar to Norton—it had permeated his short few decades of life. But never before had it made him feel so unsettled. All of it was flowing from Ye Mo.

The tear tracks on Ye Mo's face made Norton feel somewhat uncomfortable. He clumsily touched the side of Ye Mo's face, using his thumb to wipe away the tears. He had never done anything like this before and seemed to have applied too much pressure. When he moved his finger away, the skin around Ye Mo's eye was reddened.

Norton pursed his lips, finding that patch of red particularly striking. By the second time, he had learned to gently brush it away with just the pad of his finger.

Arnold arrived at that moment. He burst in with a medical team—seven or eight doctors in white coats, carrying medical kits, quickly surrounding Norton and Ye Mo.

The bedroom, which wasn't particularly small, suddenly felt crowded.

Arnold stood to the side, anxiously waiting.

Norton also held Ye Mo out, making it easier for the doctors to examine him. At the same time, he concisely explained the situation: "He experienced a psychic outburst and took multiple doses of Psychic Tranquilizer. Multiple wounds appeared on his body, his skin became inexplicably fragile, and he previously suffered from severe, unexplained pain."

He paused, then added, "The pain was extremely severe."

He had cried from it—pain that could make a Grath, even an underage one, cry was undoubtedly severe.

The doctors laid out various medical instruments on the floor and, based on Norton's feedback, conducted a detailed examination of Ye Mo item by item. Then, they removed Ye Mo's pajamas to treat his wounds.

Several doctors present gasped sharply.

Norton's pupils contracted abruptly. Arnold, standing beside him, also saw. The atmosphere in the room instantly turned cold and murderous.

Thanks to the timely psychic soothing, there weren't many new wounds on Ye Mo's body. However, there were many more scars layered upon each other—some old, some new—concentrated on his torso, with very few on his limbs. Normally hidden by clothing, these scars might never have been discovered if not for this accident.

Norton easily recognized that the faintest among them were stab wounds from a dagger, all located in vital areas.

"Please step aside; we need to treat the wounds."

The doctors quickly moved Ye Mo from Norton's arms, transferring him to the bed nearby to begin treating his injuries.

Norton and Arnold both stood up and went outside, waiting by the door.

One of the doctors inside came out, holding a stack of documents while his colleagues remained inside to treat Ye Mo's wounds and conduct further examinations.

"Your Majesty, the preliminary examination results are in."

The doctor spoke with obvious nervousness as Norton and Arnold both stared intently at him.

"That—"

The doctor stumbled over the address for a few seconds before Norton supplied, "He is my child."

Arnold beside him quickly glanced at Norton before turning back.

The doctor didn't dwell on it and continued smoothly, "The young master has gone too long without psychic soothing. His psychic energy has been suppressed for an extended period, leading to a psychic outburst. Additionally, his psychic power is exceptionally strong, unconsciously forming Psychic Blades, which caused multiple wounds on his body. But please don't worry; this time, the treatment was relatively timely, and the wounds are much shallower than in previous instances—"

The doctor had served the Grath Family for many years and was well aware of the characteristics of their psychic energy. Their psychic power was immense, reaching S-rank after passing through the psychic development period.

If psychic soothing was not timely during the psychic development period, or if the intake of Psychic Tranquilizer was insufficient on any given day, a psychic outburst could occur.

However, the consequences of a Grath's psychic outburst were more severe than those of an ordinary one. After all, most adults needed materials that easily conducted psychic energy to form Psychic Blades for attack.

Young Graths could achieve attacks without any tools from a very young age due to their psychic strength. Since adult Graths kept a close watch, young Graths didn't experience many psychic outbursts. However, the few outbursts that did occur left the surroundings in disarray, and in severe cases, caused casualties.

Norton interrupted him, "He stayed in his room the entire time. He didn't cause any harm to the outside."

The doctor had also seen the condition of the room. Aside from the scattered medicine boxes and vials on the carpet, everything else was intact. This was the first time he had encountered a situation like Ye Mo's.

Grath's psychic energy was exceptionally violent, but even during a psychic outburst, while they might accidentally injure themselves to some extent, their attacks were primarily directed outward.

The doctor flipped through the newly obtained data. "We speculate that this might be due to his inherent personality or a gentler psychic attribute."

As he said this, he felt somewhat guilty. After all, this was a Grath. The word "gentle" simply didn't align with Grath.

Norton and Arnold exchanged glances for a few seconds before looking back at the doctor.

They were still staring at him, so the doctor continued nervously, "As for the fragility of his skin, we tested it. It's within the normal range of human skin strength. He hasn't reached adulthood yet, so having more sensitive and fragile skin is normal. Next time, perhaps you could use a lighter touch."

Arnold immediately shot a reproachful look at Norton. Norton didn't deflect; this was his first time raising a child, so he readily admitted, "My mistake."

Only then did Arnold let it go and pressed further, "He has been taking his Psychic Tranquilizer properly these past few days, and today he even took multiple doses. Could there be an issue with the medicine?"

By the end, Arnold's expression had turned fierce, as if he were ready to lead a search for traitors the next second.

The doctor swallowed hard. "N-no, the medicine shouldn't be the problem. This is actually the point I wanted to emphasize."

Speaking about his area of expertise, the doctor's voice noticeably rose.

"You mentioned he has been taking Psychic Tranquilizer these past few days, but the young master seems to be intolerant to it. He can only accept psychic soothing from his parents.

This means the medicine he took had almost no effect. Moreover, one shouldn't take more than three doses of Psychic Tranquilizer, as it places a burden on the body. Children in the psychic development period cannot go a single day without psychic soothing, especially with a psychic burden as heavy as that of a Grath—the demand is even greater. I don't know how he managed these past few days."

The doctor's tone turned serious. "You should also be aware of how many children in orphanages died from the pain of lacking psychic soothing before Psychic Tranquilizer was invented, and how many died by suicide. The debate over whether tying them to emergency beds instead of administering euthanasia constituted abuse at the time continues to this day."

The doctor became increasingly impassioned as he spoke. He rolled up the documents, placed his hands behind his back, and looked pained and earnest. "Not providing psychic soothing for a child—do you understand that this counts as abuse? How can you be so careless about something so important? Can't you be more attentive when raising a child?"

Norton and Arnold both responded with a firm "Hmm," their faces equally stern.

Norton spoke on behalf of the entire family, "There won't be a next time."

The tone he used when saying this was exactly the same as the one the doctor had heard in videos when Norton declared, "Raise the flags."

The doctor suddenly snapped back to reality, bringing his hands to the front and attempting to backtrack. His voice lowered again. "I mean, as parents, you should take on some responsibility... No, no, what I mean is, being parents requires paying attention to many things. Children are very, very fragile beings. You must be extremely careful. Any detail you might overlook could take their lives or cause serious consequences. When my wife and I were planning to have a child, we got several parenting books from the fertility center..."

...

Once everything was settled and the room cleaned up, it was already past midnight. Ye Mo nestled in the soft bed, fast asleep. The doctor had bandaged his eyes, saying it would make Ye Mo feel more secure.

The curtains around the four-poster bed were half-drawn, so from the outside, only his profile and the arm outside the blanket were faintly visible. His overly pale skin stood out strikingly even in the dim light.

Norton sat in a chair by the bed, leafing through a thick stack of notes. He was still engaged in psychic resonance with Ye Mo.

Perhaps because he hadn’t received psychic soothing for too long, these two sessions of psychic resonance lasted an unusually long time.

Like Norton, the memory fragments Ye Mo saw were also different from last time.

What he saw was a massive insect hive. Many of the insect species preferred to build their nests deep underground.

This hive was larger than any Ye Mo had seen in documentaries or when accompanying Arnold—so vast it seemed almost boundless. The bottom was pitch black, and the edges were steep, perilously thin. Norton Grass stood at the edge, on a strip barely a few centimeters wide. The wind was strong, but he held his ground, his right hand gripping a sword, pointing diagonally, his cloak flapping fiercely behind him.

Where Ye Mo stood was less precarious, with enough width to get a foothold.

An ear-piercing shriek came from the insect hive. Even though it was just a memory, Ye Mo couldn’t help but cover his ears. But Norton remained motionless. The surrounding ground began to tremble, and a massive maw slowly emerged from the hive.

Covering his ears, Ye Mo widened his eyes. If anyone had been there, they would have noticed Ye Mo’s gaze starting to blur and his body stiffening. At that moment, the ground shook more violently. Ye Mo lost his footing and slipped to the edge of the hive, falling a short distance. Fortunately, he managed to grab onto a protruding rock in time.

He could climb back up. Ye Mo wedged his hand into a crevice in the rock, holding on tightly.

Just then, a faint movement came from above. Ye Mo looked up and saw Norton’s figure.

His gaze passed over Ye Mo, focusing on the King Insect below, as he twirled the sword in his hand.

Suddenly, Ye Mo let go. As his body plummeted, the high-frequency shrieks from the insect hive intensified abruptly, as if thousands of insects were screaming in unison.

Norton was sitting in the chair, paging through a thick parenting book, when Ye Mo, lying in bed, suddenly whimpered. Norton immediately stood up and leaned over to check on Ye Mo.

Author’s Note:

What Norton experienced in Ye Mo’s memory: The Diary of a Little Crybaby’s Life

What Little Mo experienced in Father No’s memory: Extreme Survival Escape Game—Dad is scarier than the bugs, trapped between two threats with nowhere to run.