Mansendis had seen many scenes far crueler and bloodier than this.

On the battlefield, even Saint Clan members got injured and bled. Even Mansendis himself was no exception.

No Saint Clan member was afraid of bleeding or getting hurt.

After all, to them, physical pain was far less tormenting than mental energy falling into disorder.

The blood on Wen Yuzhi’s body looked horrifying, but on any Saint Clan member, that amount of blood would have been nothing.

Even with a severed arm or leg, as long as there was still one breath left, a Saint Clan member could keep fighting.

And yet when the same thing was placed on Wen Yuzhi, Mansendis realized he could not remain as calm as he had in the past.

The Saint Clan had extremely powerful recovery abilities, but Mansendis did not want his child to be hurt at all.

When he saw Wen Yuzhi lying there covered in blood, calling him Daddy, Mansendis only felt that every trace of blood was unbearably glaring.

And it was like a silent warning, reminding Mansendis that in places he could not see, his child had suffered a great deal and gone through many dangers.

This time, the reason Wen Yuzhi had not been hurt was because he had been lucky.

But if something really had happened...

Mansendis did not dare think about it at all.

He could only hold the boy tightly in his arms, feeling his warmth and scent, listening to his heartbeat and pulse, as if by doing so he could confirm it again and again—

His child was still all right.

The hug had come so suddenly that before Wen Yuzhi could react, he was already in the silver-haired sovereign’s arms.

But he was long used to hugs from Daddy.

Though a little surprised, Wen Yuzhi still lifted his arms and hugged Mansendis back.

He buried his face against the silver-haired sovereign’s chest, but the instant he pressed close, Wen Yuzhi realized that Mansendis’s body was trembling lightly.

“Daddy...?”

Only then did Wen Yuzhi realize that something was off about Mansendis’s emotions.

The silver-haired sovereign rarely let his emotions show like this.

Much less like now, when Wen Yuzhi could even sense faint signs that the mental energy around Mansendis was on the verge of slipping out of control.

Was Daddy... angry?

Wen Yuzhi was not entirely sure.

Even though he could not see the expression on the silver-haired sovereign’s face right now, Wen Yuzhi still subconsciously raised the hand that was still wearing the little rabbit puppet and gently patted Mansendis on the back.

Just like every time he himself had been afraid or upset, Mansendis would always lightly pat his back, soothing him that way. And now, Wen Yuzhi was using the same method, awkwardly trying to comfort Mansendis.

Daddy, don’t be sad.

Wen Yuzhi’s touch was not strong, but it instantly pulled Mansendis back from that nearly uncontrolled emotion.

“Would Zhizhi let Daddy hold you for a bit?”

Mansendis spoke, but his voice sounded slightly hoarse.

“Okay.”

There was not the slightest hesitation in Wen Yuzhi’s answer.

If Daddy wanted to hold him, then he would obediently nestle in Mansendis’s arms, like a soft, well-behaved oversized plush toy.

And Wen Yuzhi could roughly guess why Mansendis had “lost control.”

As he lightly patted Mansendis on the back, coaxing the grown-up in front of him, he softly tried to comfort him too.

“Is Daddy upset because of what happened to me? Actually, it wasn’t all that bad. I met a lot of very, very good people this time too.”

Wen Yuzhi felt that he had been lucky.

The little rabbit’s experiences this time had indeed been filled with all sorts of hardships, but along the way, it had also seen many things and met quite a few companions who had been willing to help it.

On Blackrock Star, he had met Uncle Chong, and Chong Fengxue and Chong Fengshuang, the siblings, as well as the people in the base. They had saved him, and even under conditions where food was extremely scarce, they had still been willing to bring him back to the base and give him a place where he could shelter and stay.

Later, he had even run into Xi Heyan, that online friend he had originally thought he would not get to meet so soon.

No one had expected the two of them to meet on Blackrock Star.

Perhaps because he had a familiar friend there, during the days he stayed with Xi Heyan, Wen Yuzhi had not felt much of that unease that came from suddenly landing in a strange environment.

On the contrary, Xi Heyan was very good at taking care of people. He arranged everything properly, and with him around, Wen Yuzhi had never gone hungry again.

It could be said that aside from the environment, the climate, and the rough local conditions, Wen Yuzhi had not actually suffered all that much on Blackrock Star.

Xi Heyan had taken care of all the everyday chores, Chong Fengxue and Chong Fengshuang handled matters in the base, and whenever he was bored, Awu would play with him.

Wen Yuzhi felt a little too embarrassed to tell Mansendis that while on Blackrock Star, he had actually put on a tiny bit of weight.

Xi Heyan’s cooking had been far too good, and Awu had been especially good at catching rabbits. Wen Yuzhi had practically tried every possible way of eating rabbit.

If not for the beast tide, Wen Yuzhi felt that if he had stayed a few more days, his weight probably would have kept climbing.

So, to Wen Yuzhi, it really had not been all bad.

The bad people would have been even better if they had not existed.

Thinking that, Wen Yuzhi picked out some of the things that had happened on Blackrock Star and told them to Mansendis.

Mansendis listened patiently.

But one name that Wen Yuzhi mentioned again and again still drew his attention.

Xi Heyan.

Wen Yuzhi’s explanation was, “Mm... he’s my friend.”

“A friend?” Mansendis’s tone was even.

“A very close friend...”

Wen Yuzhi answered a little vaguely. “If there’s a chance, I’ll introduce him to Daddy.”

Introduce him to meet him?

Something shifted in Mansendis’s gaze.

For once, the silver-haired sovereign found himself a little curious about this “friend” the cub kept mentioning.

But that bit of curiosity was still nowhere near enough for Mansendis to actually keep the person in mind. What mattered more to him was still Wen Yuzhi.

“Can Zhizhi tell Daddy the little rabbit’s story one more time?”

Mansendis wanted to know a few more details.

Wen Yuzhi did not hide anything. He recounted everything that had happened in complete detail, including the stray beasts, the laboratory, and Bai Yi.

And when Bai Yi came up, Wen Yuzhi was clearly a little hesitant.

“Daddy, do we have any of our own kind stranded outside?”

There was no doubt at all that Bai Yi was Saint Clan. Wen Yuzhi had seen that with his own eyes, and that was also the part that confused him most.

...If Bai Yi was Saint Clan, then why had he gotten mixed up with those bad people? And what had their purpose been in kidnapping him?

“In the past, some Saint Clan members did go missing.”

Mansendis showed Wen Yuzhi the records Selet had compiled.

Listed there were all the names of Saint Clan members who had disappeared over the years.

The list was densely packed. From Heimo to Ge De and Tas, there were records of disappearances in varying numbers.

It was Wen Yuzhi’s first time seeing this list.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of the Saint Clan member sealed inside the nutrient tank in the video from the laboratory on Blackrock Star.

And of the researchers in that video skillfully extracting Saint Clan genes, attempting to fuse them into gene fragments from stray beasts.

The large number of missing Saint Clan members, the Saint Clan appearing in laboratories, and those researchers using Saint Clan genes...

Linking all these things together, a terrifying guess began to take shape in Wen Yuzhi’s mind.

“Daddy...”

Instinctively, Wen Yuzhi wanted to tell Mansendis this guess.

But the silver-haired sovereign already seemed to understand what he wanted to say.

Mansendis lowered his eyes and gently smoothed Wen Yuzhi’s hair.

“I know.”

Then, under Wen Yuzhi’s stunned gaze, Mansendis spoke an even more frightening truth.

“There has always been a bounty for Saint Clan on the black market. These jobs do not only ask for living Saint Clan. Any part of the body will do.”

Hearing those words, even though he was right there in Daddy’s arms, Wen Yuzhi could not stop a chilling coldness from rising up along his spine.

In the past, Mansendis never would have told Wen Yuzhi things like this.

At that time, the cub had still been too young. Whether it was Mansendis, Mond, or the others, they had only wanted Wen Yuzhi to grow up little by little without worries, and as for matters outside, they had never spoken to him about them.

But now the situation was different from before.

Wen Yuzhi had already come into contact with such things, and he had also grown older. Since Mansendis had already said that before long he would make public Wen Yuzhi’s identity as heir, then as the heir, there were some things Wen Yuzhi ought to know in advance.

In that short time, Mansendis thought through a great many things, but in the end, he still chose to tell Wen Yuzhi.

The little rabbit’s experiences had already shown Mansendis that his child was not as fragile as he, Mond, and the others had once thought—not someone too delicate to weather even a little hardship, not someone who needed constant sheltering every moment of every day.

Wen Yuzhi had a resilient, courageous side to him. He could kill stray beasts without hesitation, and even in dangerous situations, he could calmly seek out a way to survive.

Very clearly, though Wen Yuzhi was still young and inexperienced, Salilaino blood truly did run through his veins.

He was not a weakling in need of protection. He was simply still young, his claws and wings not yet sharp enough, still needing time to grow.

And Mansendis, as the older blood relative guiding him, had both the time and the patience to slowly teach his child.

Choosing to tell him this was Mansendis’s way of warning Wen Yuzhi.

“If Zhizhi runs into them again in the future, you must stay far away from those people.”

That included Bai Yi.

“But isn’t Bai Yi...”

Wen Yuzhi still wanted to say that Bai Yi was Saint Clan, and from the attitudes of those researchers on the warship, it had also been obvious that they had not treated Bai Yi well.

But Mansendis said, “He is different from us.”

No matter whether Bai Yi was an experimental subject or something else, the fact that he had close ties to the researchers was beyond dispute.

Even if he was Saint Clan, in Mansendis’s eyes, someone whose attitude and position could not be confirmed, and who posed a threat to the Saint Clan or even to Wen Yuzhi, was not someone he would ever let go.

He had two bottom lines.

The first was the Saint Clan.

The second was Wen Yuzhi.

And the researchers’ actions had unquestionably touched a bottom line that Mansendis absolutely could not tolerate.

He would not let Wen Yuzhi have contact with such people again.

“The military has already submitted the full list of candidates. After we return, I’ll have Selet arrange a round of trials. At that time, you can go take a look and see whether there are any knights you like.”

In truth, the formation of the cub’s personal guard had been something Mansendis had proposed a long time ago.

The military had been selecting soldiers the whole time, and later Mansendis had even appointed Kasha and the others as instructors to train those candidates.

But at the time, the Saint Clan had not actually been in much of a hurry over the matter.

The cub had always stayed inside the palace, and in daily life Yiluo and Feier were already at his side as Ge De guards. So on the surface, there had not seemed to be any urgent need to add more personal guards.

But after what had happened this time, Mansendis realized that having only two Ge De guards at Wen Yuzhi’s side was still not enough.

He, Mond, Alvin, and the others could not remain with the child every moment. In times like that, the importance of a personal guard became critical.

The reason Bai Yi had chosen that moment to strike was because at the time, Wen Yuzhi had only had two Ge De guards with him. When both of them left, Wen Yuzhi’s side had briefly been left unguarded.

And that had created an opening for someone with ulterior motives.

So Mansendis decided that once they returned, the cub’s personal guard had to be formed as quickly as possible.

Wen Yuzhi, of course, had no objection to this.

When it came to his safety, he had always listened to the arrangements Mansendis and the others made.

It was just... 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Wen Yuzhi had one tiny request.

“Daddy... I was the one who told Yiluo and Feier to leave. What happened this time wasn’t their fault. Could they come back?”

Back when they had been cutting the cake, Wen Yuzhi had not seen Yiluo or Feier. He had not seen the two Ge De guards yesterday either.

Considering that when he had been taken away, only Yiluo and Feier had been nearby, Wen Yuzhi could roughly guess that, with Mansendis’s and Mond’s temperaments, the first ones to be held accountable after they discovered he was gone would definitely be those two guards.

So Wen Yuzhi wanted to plead on their behalf.

“As personal guards, if they failed to protect you, then they are at fault.”

The moment something happened to the cub, Mond had immediately had the two Ge De guards taken into custody and interrogated.

Of course, because the situation had been urgent, and because the entire Saint Clan had been frantically searching for the little highness, Mansendis had not immediately handed down punishment to the two Ge De guards right away.

But once the fleet returned, dismissal from their posts was something they definitely would not escape.

Mansendis knew that Wen Yuzhi wanted to plead for them, but if failing to protect a royal-blood was simply let go without severe punishment, the consequences would only be worse.

Having ruled as sovereign for twenty years, Mansendis understood very well that for a people or a state, following rules was extremely important.

And dismissal from post alone was already a light punishment. It already took into account the fact that the cub had been the one to send them away. Otherwise, what Yiluo and Feier would have faced would not have been mere dismissal. They would also have been subjected to military punishment.

Wen Yuzhi actually knew too that his plea would most likely be useless, but he still wanted to try.

He felt that he had let Yiluo and Feier down.

And when the silver-haired sovereign saw the cub looking so self-reproachful, he frowned slightly, but in the end still could not bear not to remind him.

“They’ve only been removed from the personal guard. Their military positions are still intact.”

In other words, Yiluo and Feier would return to the military. If they still wanted to become Wen Yuzhi’s personal guards, then they would have to work hard to become candidates. And even if they became candidates, they would still have to compete with the others.

Which meant that before, because Wen Yuzhi had favored them, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ they had taken a shortcut into becoming his guards. But now they had been put back on the starting line. Whether they could return or not would depend on their own ability.

After all, only those ranked near the top would qualify to be chosen by Wen Yuzhi.

And even if they failed to become personal guards, they could still continue serving in the military, where promotion depended only on military merit and strength.

And judging from the fact that Yiluo and Feier had been able to serve in the palace, their strength was by no means lacking. Whether they stayed in the military or competed for the guard, both were good options.

Once Wen Yuzhi understood that, his eyes lit up at once.

But before he could say anything grateful to Mansendis, the silver-haired sovereign added, “They were at fault and must be punished, but in this matter, you also have to take responsibility.”

So Wen Yuzhi would be punished too.

“Huh?”

Wen Yuzhi froze.

The little rabbit puppet slipped from his hand and landed on the floor with a soft plop.