Chapter 227: Chapter 147: A Lonely Boat

On this particular evening, Duan Mingyuan finished his last task in Siyang City—repairing the broken nose bridge of an old hunter.

Having been trampled on by his own disciple like a rampaging zombie was not a flattering story, so in the end, the incident was simply reported as a work injury.

After saying goodbye to Zheng Liu and Xing, Duan Mingyuan did not stay in Siyang City. He booked a flight back to Yunlong City overnight, and Jiuyue insisted on coming to the airport to pick him up, regardless of the late hour.

The plane landed at three in the morning when the airport was deserted, with only a few people scattered around waiting to pick up arrivals.

In the waiting area, Duan Mingyuan searched until he found Jiuyue in a corner, curled up on a bench with her knees hugged to her chest, her fiery red tail serving as a makeshift pillow in her arms, her cheek resting upon it.

Next to her on the bench was a plastic box containing a thermal lunchbox, which held a homemade meal of three dishes and a soup that Jiuyue had prepared before leaving.

Jiuyue always kept a regular schedule and disliked staying up late. If there were no urgent matters, she would usually be under the covers in bed by ten o’clock.

In a generation where staying up late has become the norm, Jiuyue’s healthy habits stand out and are worthy of emulation by all young people.

Looking at Jiuyue’s relaxed brows in sleep, Duan Mingyuan always felt especially at ease, as if the fatigue and stress accumulated throughout the day had dissipated.

Suddenly, he recalled the idealist question posed by He Ya.

If all his past were merely an arbitrarily editable "backstory," then from which day did his real life truly begin?

According to this theory, it might be from the day his monotonous life underwent a change, encountering something that made him want to pause in his tracks.

Duan Mingyuan did not continue that line of thought.

The sleeping Jiuyue seemed to hear the noise, her pointed ears twitching atop her head.

After a few seconds, she opened a slit in her left eye, looking up in a daze.

Upon seeing that it was Duan Mingyuan standing before her, she revealed a radiant smile.

"Mr. Mingyuan, you must be hungry, right? I prepared some supper for you; it’s still warm. Come and try it!"

In that moment, Duan Mingyuan felt that the ancients had not deceived him.

The reputation of a virtuous fox wife was not fabricated but a conclusion derived from real-life experiences and research.

...

After returning to the academy, Duan Mingyuan was met with a lengthy week.

The students generally reported that although Professor Chen Chou was knowledgeable, he was short on patience and had a bad temper. When dealing with slow learners, he would transform into a shouting tyrant, seemingly about to explode with rage. The students didn’t mind being scolded now and then, but they feared angering Professor Chen Chou to death.

In an anonymous survey organized by the Yunhai Quintet, 72% of the students hoped that Professor Chen would retire soon, while the remaining 28% wished that caterpillars would infest his sweet osmanthus brew.

Since opening its doors to the outside world, the academy had adopted many advanced regulations.

The Yunhai Quintet took the initiative to perform the duties of a student union. Besides the routine curriculum, they meticulously organized elective courses. Currently, Teacher Jiuyue’s "Magical Monsters" course deservedly became the most popular elective course.

Jiuyue continued the system of the Hunter Association concerning the native monsters, encouraging the ones living on the mountain to interact more with the students.

One week after Duan Mingyuan returned to school, news arrived from the Third Prince of the Imperial Court.

Blue Star’s application to the Sixteen Star Summit had been formally accepted. At the upcoming summit, representatives from sixteen civilizations would vote on the issue. If the majority voted in favor, Blue Star would become a member of the Sixteen Star Summit.

However, despite having a baptismal recommendation letter, the task was still tremendously difficult.

Nearly a century had passed since the last planet joined the Summit.

The threshold for joining had become increasingly high, and all the applicants in this period were ultimately denied entry.

Beyond that, the Third Prince brought with him an important piece of information.

Considering the possibility of Blue Star joining the Sixteen Star Summit, they would also have a precious vote in hand, which was needed to cast a decision on the most important issue in the Summit.

And this issue was related to the two largest forces in the universe, Universe Company and Shanqi Commerce Association.

Universe Company and Shanqi Commerce Association showed tendencies to merge, which was not a good thing for the independent Sixteen Star Summit. A council member, in charge of passing the information to Blue Star, subtly expressed that he believed a tripartite balance of power was more stable, avoiding a situation where one had overwhelming dominance as much as possible.

If Blue Star obtained this precious voting right, he hoped that Blue Star’s representative would cast a valuable opposing vote.

Then came the news from early this morning.

The council member’s flagship was attacked by unidentified cosmic pirates on its way back. When the Summit’s rescue troops arrived following the signal, the council member and his crew had been reduced to cosmic debris, leaving only wreckage behind, with not even a complete body to be found.

This was the second Sixteen Star Summit council member to be attacked this month.

They had one thing in common: they publicly opposed the merger of Universe Company and Shanqi Commerce Association in public venues and harshly accused it of being a conspiracy by the Shan Clan People.

Blue Star had just liberated itself from corporate control, but the situation in the universe seemed to be much more dire.

The influence of the Shan Clan seemed to extend beyond companies and chambers of commerce, even infiltrating the Sixteen Star Summit with their spies, positioned high enough to track the movements of council members’ flagships with precision.

The entire universe was pervaded by the smell of gunpowder.

Although all evidence pointed to the notorious cosmic pirates, those with clear sight knew the truth.

How could so many coincidences exist in this world?

Yet the Shan Clan didn’t take the rumors and gossip to heart; it seemed they wanted to send a signal to the entire universe through these two incidents—they were no longer inclined to disguise and endure.

Even having eliminated two members of the Sixteen Star Summit council, the Summit was powerless against them.

In this vast universe, Blue Star was like a lone boat.

The Third Prince officially extended an invitation on behalf of the Imperial Court to the Royal Hunting Court and Yunlong Academy, hoping they could represent Blue Star at the upcoming Sixteen Star Summit.

He had made certain achievements on the path of "Ship Repair," and although the technology was still immature, the rebuilt flagship was capable of short-term interstellar travel.

"Mr. Mingyuan!"

At that moment, Jiuyue burst into the faculty office where Duan Mingyuan was.

The shrill and urgent BGM of a crime scene broke the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere of the afternoon.

"There’s been an incident at the Academy!"

"Speak plainly, turn off your phone’s BGM."

The teachers in the faculty office turned their heads one after another, their nerves also strained by this sudden melody.

"It emphasizes the urgency of the case!"

Jiuyue hit the pause button and said, "Li Hua is missing, I suspect it’s a kidnapping!"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read