Chapter 213: Wedding

Nearly half a month passed peacefully.

During this period, Yu Lanfeng had already issued orders for the other military bases to select a suitable number of patients whose conditions were relatively severe and who had accumulated the most military merit, then send them to Border Region One Military Base.

Those who knew the reason would secretly sigh in relief that these people could finally be saved.

Those who didn't know what was going on assumed that Yu Lanfeng intended to bring these people over so they could wait for death there, after which they would be buried in the martyrs' cemetery.

In fact, that was where many soldiers ultimately ended up.

Nan Yu had been overwhelmingly busy during this period.

The number of his patients had increased tremendously. He practically had to remain here at all times, otherwise there really might not be enough time.

By now, Nan Yu had lost count of how many soldiers he had successfully treated. There were at least several hundred, perhaps close to a thousand.

Of course, this number also included soldiers who had pushed themselves too hard while fighting on the front lines and eaten too much Ability Beast jerky to replenish their abilities, causing their Mental Contamination to reach S-rank.

If they only counted the patients who had previously been lying unconscious in hospitals, then Nan Yu had treated approximately three or four hundred.

These people couldn't casually appear outside and let others see them. Naturally, they couldn't contact outsiders either.

So they were currently gathered together in an area Yu Lanfeng had specifically designated for them.

Everyone there underwent rehabilitation training. Only after they could at least meet the minimum passing standard for the legion's regular special training would they be allowed to leave.

Naturally, Yu Lanfeng had a separate set of standards for those who wanted to retire or return to duty early, but implementing them was still somewhat difficult at the moment.

That was because nearly half of these people currently had difficulty even getting out of bed.

If they wanted to leave this place, they at least had to be capable of exercising normally.

The special-training standard merely represented the minimum threshold for returning to the battlefield.

Otherwise, even if they returned, they would only be going there to die.

Nan Yu wasn't merely helping these soldiers recover their health now.

Every day, he also set aside time to undergo special one-on-one training with Yu Lanfeng.

After all, his mental power was simply too powerful. If he truly went all out, no matter how many Ability Users came at him, they might not necessarily be his match.

So now he also needed to learn some basic hand-to-hand combat.

He couldn't simply use mental power attacks every time he encountered someone who wanted to harm or kidnap him and turn them into idiots.

That would make it far too easy to expose the unique nature of his mental power.

And that definitely wouldn't be a good thing.

Therefore, when Nan Yu brought up the matter this time, Yu Lanfeng agreed without hesitation.

Perhaps the incident at the hospital, where Nan Yu had nearly been successfully attacked and taken away, had changed Yu Lanfeng's mind.

He really was extremely powerful.

He really could protect a great many people.

But Nan Yu couldn't remain at his side twenty-four hours a day, every minute and every second.

Those people would always have opportunities to strike when Nan Yu wasn't beside him.

If that happened...

Yu Lanfeng had even considered the probability of Nan Yu being captured by them.

In the end, he calculated that the probability might be as high as thirty percent!

Of course, he knew that wasn't accurate.

Nan Yu's mental power wasn't something to be underestimated.

But concern clouded judgment.

In the end, Yu Lanfeng decided to put Nan Yu through fairly rigorous special training.

At the very least, Nan Yu had to be able to last three minutes against Yu Lanfeng's barehanded attacks before he would be considered qualified.

Because of this, Nan Yu went through an extremely difficult period.

Even now, he still hadn't passed.

So these painful days would continue for quite some time.

However, Nan Yu still had confidence in himself.

He would definitely succeed!

After finishing today's special training, Nan Yu collapsed directly onto the floor, gasping for breath.

His entire body was soaked with sweat.

He was so exhausted that he genuinely didn't want to move even a single finger!

Yu Lanfeng sat down beside him.

"Tired?"

Nan Yu gave two faint, miserable hums.

Yu Lanfeng picked him up in his arms.

"Come on. I'll take you back. Take a bath later and remember to go to bed early."

Nan Yu said, "I know. I'll go straight back to my room and sleep after my bath. Don't worry."

Yu Lanfeng shamelessly followed him into the bathroom and bathed with him.

In the end, Nan Yu was carried back to the room in Yu Lanfeng's arms and placed on the bed.

Yu Lanfeng tucked the bright-red Nan Yu under the blanket.

"Get some proper rest. I still have a few things to deal with in the office. I'll come back later."

Nan Yu lay silently beneath the blanket and ignored him.

Obviously, he was still angry.

Although they hadn't crossed the final line, Yu Lanfeng had done everything else he could possibly do.

Feeling a little aggrieved, Nan Yu rubbed his somewhat aching hand.

When he remembered the scene in the bathroom earlier, when Yu Lanfeng had asked him to help...

Really...

It was simply...

Nan Yu felt that if they actually went all the way, he would definitely be ruined!

He covered his face with his slightly reddened hands.

He was absolutely dying of embarrassment.

Yu Lanfeng seemed to notice [N O V E L I G H T] his small movements beneath the blanket. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly before he left the room.

Before leaving, he casually arranged several flames around the room that only he himself could sense.

Naturally, nothing would happen if Nan Yu triggered them.

But if it was anyone else, no matter who they were, they would be attacked.

Even Qin Wenxing was no exception.

Because...

Entering Yu Lanfeng's residence without his permission was equivalent to betrayal!

After all, this was the residence of a legion's Marshal.

If other people could casually walk inside and freely inspect the things within, wouldn't that be outrageous?

Therefore, the Marshal's residence was forbidden territory for everyone in the legion, even if there was nothing particularly important inside.

Yu Lanfeng returned to his office.

Qin Wenxing happened to be waiting for him there.

"Marshal, there's a communication request from Border Region Six. They said they need to speak with you. It's something extremely important and urgent. They're still waiting. Should I connect it?"

Yu Lanfeng hadn't intended to take the call at first.

But he hadn't expected them to keep waiting.

It seemed this wasn't some casual greeting or conversation. There really was something urgent.

"Connect it. Put it directly through to me."

The Ability Beast riot season was already approaching its end.

Most of the Ability Beasts had been killed, leaving only a small number still stubbornly resisting.

There hadn't been any other particularly abnormal Ability Beasts this year either, so everyone was relatively relaxed.

Moreover, after a series of upgrades to their weapons and defensive equipment, casualties had fallen drastically compared with previous years.

Could something else have happened?

"It's me. Get straight to the point."

"Marshal, Jiang Youjian came to report something earlier. Bai Shanzhou of the Bai family contacted him and asked him to bring his friend to attend a wedding. The wedding will be held in two months. According to Jiang Youjian's rotation schedule, he should be able to apply to return to the Capital Star in about half a month."

Yu Lanfeng said, "You're saying Bai Shanzhou asked Jiang Youjian to bring his friend Zhou Baichuan to the wedding?"

"Yes, Marshal. This matter..."

Yu Lanfeng said, "Have Jiang Youjian leave immediately for Border Region One Military Base. I'll take responsibility for this matter. You don't need to concern yourself with it."

"Yes, Marshal!"

After ending the call, Yu Lanfeng clasped his hands together on the desk.

He was thinking about why this had happened.

Why would there suddenly be an invitation like this?!

Yao Anyang, who had once had dealings and transactions with the Bai family, was already useless to them.

Even the suspicious personnel in Border Region Eleven Military Base had all been killed afterward.

So...

Inviting Jiang Youjian and Zhou Baichuan now, when the Bai family would undoubtedly regard the two of them as traitors who had sold out their information...

This invitation was obviously a trap.

As long as the two of them went, death would be waiting for them.

Yu Lanfeng had no doubt about that.

After considering it repeatedly, Yu Lanfeng ultimately decided to have someone impersonate the two of them and attend the wedding.

Hopefully, the Bai family wouldn't disappoint him.

It would be best if he could obtain one or two pieces of incriminating evidence against them.

Only then would this trip not be wasted.

As for who would impersonate Zhou Baichuan...

It wasn't particularly unusual for two people in an entire legion to resemble each other.

Sometimes, there were even two completely unrelated people who looked seventy or eighty percent alike.

There happened to be two such men in the legion who were around the same age. Later, they became closer than biological brothers and were now the most perfectly coordinated comrades in the legion.

Yu Lanfeng thought it over and ultimately decided to have Qin Wenxing search for someone who resembled Zhou Baichuan.

Whether he could find anyone suitable would depend on how extensive their legion's personnel pool was.

From beginning to end, Yu Lanfeng never considered Nan Yu.

Nan Yu and Zhou Baichuan were far too different in height.

Even their temperaments were completely different.

Most importantly, Zhou Baichuan was an Ability User. Their builds alone differed so greatly that Nan Yu simply couldn't disguise himself as him.

Any disguise might be exposed instantly.

However, Yu Lanfeng had no intention of hiding this from Nan Yu.

He had already decided before that he couldn't continue concealing things from him.

If he hid everything involving danger from Nan Yu, the distance between them might only grow greater and greater in the future.

By the time Yu Lanfeng finished dealing with the rest of his work and returned to the room, Nan Yu was already sleeping soundly.

After Yu Lanfeng lay down on the bed, Nan Yu familiarly rolled over and nestled into his arms.

Before long, he fell deeply asleep again.

Yu Lanfeng found this extremely satisfying.

Previously, when Nan Yu slept at night, his mental power would subconsciously remain wary of Yu Lanfeng's presence.

But now, not only was there no wariness, he had even developed a subconscious habit of relying on him.

For Yu Lanfeng, that was already extremely good.

So they really should have more intimate physical contact.

Only then could they naturally trust each other more and more.

He bent down and kissed Nan Yu on the cheek, then slowly said,

"Good night."

Unexpectedly, Nan Yu, who had already fallen asleep, opened his eyes in a daze.

He probably hadn't even realized that he had woken up.

He raised his head and kissed Yu Lanfeng on the chin.

"Good night..."

Less than two seconds later, he was asleep again.

Yu Lanfeng stared at him, unsure whether he should feel pleasantly surprised or speechless.

Feeling his body's reaction, he cursed himself internally for the first time.

"Only a few more months until he's an adult. Don't rush. Wait a little longer... just a little longer!"

Nan Yu learned about the matter the next morning, when the two of them were sitting at the table eating breakfast.

After listening to Yu Lanfeng's explanation, Nan Yu asked,

"Is it dangerous?"

Yu Lanfeng said, "For me, it isn't really dangerous."

Nan Yu thought about it.

That was true.

"As long as it isn't dangerous, then go. Remember to send me a message after you complete the mission. I'll go back to the Capital Star first and visit Dad and my brothers. I'm sure they've already spent all this time figuring out how they're going to lie to me. I'll go back and properly educate them."

Yu Lanfeng's expression became a little strange.

The way Nan Yu said that made it sound as though he himself hadn't once fallen unconscious because of a moment of carelessness.

However, very few people knew about that incident, so Nan Yu wasn't worried about it leaking out.

Yu Lanfeng decided to let him do as he pleased.

Otherwise, Nan Yu might lose his temper with him later.

Only after Jiang Youjian arrived at Border Region One Military Base did Yu Lanfeng finish his preparations for departure.

Qin Wenxing had already selected someone who closely resembled Zhou Baichuan.

Based on Zhou Baichuan's current build, personality, behavior, mannerisms, and other characteristics, the selected soldier would undergo specialized training during this period.

As long as no one recognized him, that was enough.

He didn't have to be absolutely identical.

Jiang Youjian, meanwhile, would remain confined inside Border Region One Military Base.

Yu Lanfeng himself would take his partner for this mission and travel to the Capital Star together with Nan Yu.

Naturally, Zhou Baichuan, who was far away on Fuling Star, had also been taken to a safe location on Yu Lanfeng's orders.

Until this mission ended, he absolutely couldn't have any contact with the outside world.

Zhou Baichuan didn't object.

On the contrary, he was extremely cooperative.

He probably knew that he and Jiang Youjian had made a serious mistake, so he behaved obediently throughout the entire process.

As long as something might result in lighter punishment for them, they were willing to cooperate.

Yu Lanfeng and the others didn't return as a group of only three.

They traveled together with a group of soldiers returning to the Capital Star for rotational leave.

This time, however, only Yu Lanfeng would go out on the mission itself.

His appearance had already been completely transformed.

He now looked one hundred percent like Jiang Youjian.

As for the man who would impersonate Zhou Baichuan, he was still wearing his own appearance for now.

He left the exit together with the group of soldiers and, according to their predetermined plan, returned home first.

He would appear later and rendezvous with "Jiang Youjian."

Nan Yu, meanwhile, had already changed his appearance and was picked up before leaving.

A special team was assigned to protect him and escort him back to the Nan residence.

The moment Nan Yu returned home, he saw Nan Yun, Nan Zhen, and Uncle Nan standing in the courtyard, looking around expectantly.

"Big Brother, Second Brother, Uncle Nan?!"

All three immediately brightened.

"Xiaoyu's back!"

Nan Yun said, "Quick, quick, let's go inside. We prepared all your favorite dishes!"

Nan Zhen seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly pulled Nan Yu inside.

"Right, right, they're really delicious. They're all your favorites, and Uncle Nan cooked everything himself. You can't say you don't want to eat."

Nan Yu blinked, then looked toward Uncle Nan.

Only after Uncle Nan nodded did Nan Yu happily say,

"Uncle Nan really made them? Then I definitely have to try everything. I can't eat Uncle Nan's cooking in the legion!"

Of course, he could eat Yu Lanfeng's cooking.

And Yu Lanfeng's cooking might even be more delicious.

But Nan Yu had grown up eating Uncle Nan's food.

That wasn't something other delicious food could casually replace.

So when he finally tasted Uncle Nan's cooking again, Nan Yu truly felt that he had finally come home.

And, unsurprisingly, Yu Lanfeng's cooking really was better.

But Nan Yu still happily ate the food in front of him.

"Thank you, Uncle Nan. Your cooking has improved so much recently. It tastes even better than before!"

Uncle Nan beamed.

"If Young Master likes it, then Uncle Nan will cook for you every day from now on. I'll make all your favorite dishes in different ways and never repeat them."

Nan Yu said, "Sure, sure!"

Nan Yu thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

But once they finished eating, it was still time to settle accounts.

His two brothers kept urging him to hurry back to his room and rest.

Nan Yu said,

"I already know what happened. Were you still planning to hide it from me?"

Nan Yun and Nan Zhen each covered their face with one hand.

They genuinely felt useless.

How had they failed to handle even such a small matter properly?

But they quickly admitted their mistake and told Nan Yu everything from beginning to end.

However, they had been unconscious the entire time after being abducted, so they might actually know less than Yu Lanfeng did.

Nan Yu didn't care about that.

"Are your bodies all right? They injected you with such large quantities of drugs to keep you unconscious. What did the doctors say during your previous examinations?"

Nan Yun said, "The doctor said it wasn't anything serious. Those drugs will naturally be metabolized by our bodies over time. The whole process takes about half a month. Your second brother and I are completely fine now. Don't worry, Little Brother."

Only then did Nan Yu let his two brothers off.

"All right. I'll believe you this once. But you have to be careful in the future. When dealing with people, leave yourself some room so you can still meet again later. If you really never want to see them again, you can deal with them ruthlessly on the spot. If they're still useful, then make other arrangements."

After talking with his family for a while, Nan Yu gave a small yawn.

Nan Yun said, "All right, you must be exhausted. Hurry up and sleep. Whatever else you want to say can wait until you wake up."

Nan Yu glanced at the sky outside.

It was already growing dark.

"Okay, I know. I'll go to sleep now."

He returned to his room and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

He placed one hand against the transparent glass and looked out at the night sky.

The Capital Star's night sky was beautiful.

Because environmental preservation was taken extremely seriously, the entire planet was beautiful.

Many forests remained undeveloped, filled with animals living naturally in the wild.

Some Ability Beasts were even raised in captivity, though releasing them into the wild was strictly forbidden.

The main reason was simple.

No matter how docile an Ability Beast's temperament might be, it could still eat people.

They were also extremely powerful and capable of using abilities, making them far too dangerous.

Therefore, no matter who it was, anyone who dared release a relatively docile captive Ability Beast into the wild would be committing a serious crime!

Ability Beasts didn't only attack humans.

They also attacked all kinds of other animals and recklessly used their abilities, destroying countless unrelated things in the process.

The next day, Nan Yu decided to first visit the headquarters of Yu Lanfeng's legion on the Capital Star and look for Yang Zhou.

Come to think of it, he hadn't contacted Yang Zhou in a very long time.

He had no idea how Yang Zhou was doing now, or whether his relationship with Yuan Qiyang was still continuing.

Or perhaps they had already broken up?

After all, that was a private matter between the two of them. Nan Yu didn't want to interfere too much.

He simply wanted to go see him.

The aircraft traveled all the way to the Capital Star military base headquarters.

When Nan Yu saw that they had reached their destination, he opened the door, stepped out, and walked inside.

He neither wanted nor was able to shake off the two bodyguards following behind him.

They were there to ensure he didn't encounter danger.

If danger did appear, they would be the first to rush forward and protect him.

Although that was their duty, Nan Yu still thought it was quite nice.

Of course, what he really meant was that Yu Lanfeng treated him very well.

Yu Lanfeng had personally assigned these two men to him and made Nan Yu promise that he would never let them get too far away.

Otherwise, Nan Yu really would have had difficulty even noticing them.

Nan Yu arrived outside the door.

He had already asked beforehand. Yang Zhou was still living here and was currently inside.

Nan Yu had deliberately come without warning because he wanted to surprise him.

He knocked on the door without saying anything.

Yang Zhou's voice quickly came from inside.

"Who is it?"

Nan Yu knocked again.

Still, he said nothing.

This time, Yang Zhou's voice became somewhat nervous.

"Who is it?!"

Nan Yu realized he couldn't keep frightening him, so he simply spoke.

"It's me, Yang Zhou. Open the door."

Yang Zhou was probably stunned.

For a long time, there was no response.

Nearly two minutes later, the door slowly opened.

Yang Zhou cautiously peeked outside.

Only after confirming that the person standing there really was Nan Yu did he fully open the door.

"It really is you, Nan Yu! Why are you back? Why didn't you tell me?"

Nan Yu grinned.

"I wanted to surprise you. Aren't you surprised?"

Yang Zhou said, "I'm definitely surprised, but when I heard your voice just now, my first thought was that someone had actually imitated Nan Yu's voice to trick me into opening the door! That's seriously impressive—and incredibly bold."

"I didn't expect it to actually be you. It really is you."

Nan Yu immediately felt something was wrong with that statement.

"What's going on? Do people often imitate my voice to make you open the door? Who? Did you catch them?"

"There aren't that many people who know my voice well, though there aren't exactly few either. But there should be even fewer people who would specifically learn to imitate another person's voice and tone. Shouldn't it be fairly easy to find them?"

Yang Zhou said, "Come inside first."

Nan Yu turned toward the two men behind him.

"You two wait outside. There isn't much room inside, and I want to chat with Yang Zhou for a while. We'll have a meal together later."

And then he shut the two bodyguards outside?!

Yang Zhou stared helplessly at the closed door.

Nan Yu grabbed him and pulled him farther inside before sitting down on the sofa.

Then he took a large box out of his spatial button.

"Everything in here is stuff I bought recently from various cities on the border planets. Take a look. A lot of these things aren't available on the Capital Star, but they're extremely cheap over there."

Yang Zhou opened the box.

It contained all kinds of different things.

They really were quite rare.

Yang Zhou had never even seen more than half of them before.

Even the smaller portion he had seen consisted of items that were extremely scarce within the Capital Star's aristocratic circles.

If they were taken out and sold, they would definitely fetch a high price.

But if these things were so common in cities throughout the border regions, why didn't they simply ship more of them out to sell?

Nan Yu hadn't understood that at first either.

But he soon learned the reason.

The Ability Beast riot period in the border regions lasted approximately one-third of every year.

During this period, the strength of all Ability Beasts increased dramatically.

If merchants happened to encounter an Ability Beast riot while doing business there, the legion wouldn't allow them to leave directly.

And even during ordinary periods, traveling there required considerable caution.

That was because the vast majority of cities on planets in the border regions were still occasionally attacked by scattered Ability Beasts.

The danger was extremely high.

As a result, very few people were willing to travel to border planets to purchase goods wholesale.

Those who occasionally made one or two trips generally intended to earn enough from a single journey to live comfortably for several years.

Therefore, after an entire trip, there might only be a few or perhaps a dozen units of the same item.

That wasn't nearly enough to satisfy demand.

Yang Zhou suddenly said,

"Nan Yu, if your legion started purchasing these things wholesale and selling them yourselves, wouldn't you make an absolute fortune?"