Dark Star Field [Interstellar]

★ Bai Yang quietly accepted this superficial kiss.

The two were very close, and the warm breath flowed between their lips, like an early summer breeze gently brushing each other's faces.

Xue Yelai received a strange fluctuation, as if a pool of still water was stirring slightly.That was Bai Yang's inner feeling.

This feeling spread round and round like ripples, gradually arousing the same fluctuations in Xue Yelai's heart.It was originally just a childish tease for a while, but there was an unexpected subtle reaction.Xue Yelai suddenly realized that they were so similar here and now: not a sage and a warrior, not a prince and a pauper, but two lonely individuals with anxiety and expectations for the future.

No, not two individuals.Through the link connecting each other's spiritual thresholds, they are combined into a soul community.

Xue Yelai's heart suddenly softened.At this moment, the person in front of him who can feel the breath and heartbeat of each other, share emotions and body temperature with him is more within reach than the home that is out of reach.

"I'm sorry." Xue Yelai stroked Bai Yang's face apologetically, "I've been thinking about myself for so many days and forgot that you worked harder than me. Can I help you relax? It should have been done long ago."

Bai Yang was silent, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Xue Yelai fumbled for the button of the curtain.The heavy curtains slowly closed towards the middle, blocking the last light from the sky outside.

After the curtains were completely closed, darkness as thick as night descended on the room.Xue Yelai slowly put Bai Yang down on the sofa, stroked his face with his fingers, and then lowered his head.

He recalled an excerpt from a textbook:

【…by these means, strife is prevented, and the order of the crowd is maintained. (※See the note at the end of this chapter for the source)]

He warned himself in his heart: he was just fulfilling his responsibilities as a sage, that's all.

Like a dog handler calming his hounds, that's all.

# # #

In the middle of the night, the chief housekeeper of the Xue family came quietly, holding a gold-encrusted box in his hand.The box is not big, but he seems to be holding a heavy object.

"Master, the master asked me to pass this on to you."

Xue Yelai's face changed, and he took it solemnly.Opening the lid of the box, there was a yellow gold emblem lying on the base of the red velvet cloth.This is the clan emblem passed down from generation to generation by the Xue family, and it also represents the status of the head of the Xue family.

The Xue family's family rules have always been strict and almost rigid.Members of the Xue family who legally hold this family emblem have unquestionable family authority, and can make decisions based on their own opinions in an emergency without the need for consultations by the elders.

Under normal circumstances, only when the patriarch takes over will the clan emblem be invited out to complete the handover between the two generations.

The housekeeper said in relief: "The master said that the young master is still young. This is not a formal handover, but just in case. The young master will keep it for a few days, and the master will take it back when this period is over."

Xue Yelai felt sour.How could he not understand his father's worry.He was well-clothed until he was 19 years old. Except for taking exams, he never dealt with a single thing alone, and a large group of people followed him when he went out for a walk.

Putting away his uneasiness silently, Xue Yelai said to the housekeeper, "Please tell my father that I will return this badge to him properly. Please take care of yourself and don't worry about me."

The housekeeper hurriedly said, "Then I will go back. The master said, I can't stay outside for too long. The master also confessed, please don't worry about family affairs during this time. When you don't know what to do, just think about it." Think of our family's inscription."

After the butler left, Xue Yelai looked at the box, thinking about what the other party said just now.He has memorized the Xue family's family inscription since he was a child, and it is an ancient and mysterious "Emerald Stone Inscription":

Ascenditaterraincoelum, iterumquedescenditinterram, etrecipitvimsuperiorumetinferiorum.SichabebisGloriamtotiusmundi.

(Rising from the earth to the sky, and then descending from the sky to the earth. If you have both the power of "up" and "down", you will have the glory of the whole world.)

At this time, his father specially reminded him to recall this inscription, what exactly does it mean? "Shang" should refer to the emperor.So, who does "down" refer to?

Although he still can't figure it out right now, Xue Yelai is sure that his father entrusted him with an important and secret matter by taking the opportunity of handing over the family badge.Moreover, he should know about this matter, but he has not been able to comprehend it for the time being.

After carefully putting away the box, Xue Yelai returned to the bedroom lightly.Bai Yang was lying on the bed, seemingly still in deep sleep.As the teacher in the school said, the double comfort of the sage to the warrior has a slight nerve anesthesia effect, allowing the warrior to be in a state of physical and mental relaxation for a period of time. ★

Looking at his face for a moment, Xue Yelai gently stretched out his hand, brushing away a strand of hair that fell in front of his eyes.What a pity.It is obviously such a beautiful face, but when it is awake, it always has an unapproachable sternness.

I wonder if Bai Yang, who is an orphan, still remembers his own family.If he did, would he miss them?If not, would he have imagined them?Would he have thought how different his fate would be if he hadn't been an orphan, if he hadn't been a dark warrior?

Amidst the chaos of thoughts, Xue Yelai also fell into a deep sleep wearily.

In the silence, the opposite pair of eyes faintly opened.Bai Yang's gaze stayed on Xue Yelai's face, and the color of ice emeralds quietly floated in the dark green pupils.

Early the next morning, Xue Yelai took the aircraft to visit the great elder of the Xue family.

The so-called "Xue family" is a very broad and complex concept.

The white Xue family mansion located on the green land is only the residence of the patriarch—that is, Xue Yelai's family.

With the mansion building complex as the core and radiating to the surrounding area, within a radius of more than ten kilometers, all gardens, residences, business districts, theaters, including public facilities such as roads, squares, artificial lakes, etc., all belong to the Xue family's private assets .

The Xue family in a broad sense is actually a city within a city.

From a certain angle, "Xuecheng" looks like a huge and magnificent cruise ship.Every night after nightfall, the music returns to the courtyard, and the lights come down to the stairs, even the adjacent royal buildings pale in comparison.

Along the periphery of Xue's mansion, there are [-] crabapple beds connected by winding bridges, which are as brilliant as clouds in the blooming season.Xue Ye came to celebrate a birthday, and his father built such a flower garden for him.

No. 19 has been surrounded by earth and rocks, and the construction stopped before it started. Weeds are overgrown and rubble is in a mess, which is in sharp contrast with the previous eighteen.

When the aircraft passed near Xue's mansion, Xue Yelai couldn't help but glance in the direction of home again.This glance made his heart feel even heavier.

[※Excerpted from "From the New World" ("New World より", Shanghai Translation Publishing House, written by Yusuke Kishi, translated by Tintin Chong, the first edition in April 2014) Volume 4 P1]