Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top
Chapter 292: Cherish
Ning Xuan still found it somewhat hard to believe. Before transmigrating to this world, she had been a Cultivator. With her aptitude, as long as she cultivated diligently and worked to raise her realm, she could have an extremely long life. Moreover, the higher one’s Cultivation Level, the harder it was to have offspring. She was a person who pursued strength and longevity, so she had never even considered having children of her own bloodline.
"I also didn’t expect him to make such a decision," Ying Yaoshi said, his expression complicated.
For a man to make that choice, he had to pay a greater price than a woman; it could even directly affect his advancement in personal strength.
"So you really didn’t know?" Ying Yaoshi’s expression grew even more complicated when he saw that Ning Xuan wasn’t pretending.
"Anyway, I’ve been held up here for quite a while. I have other plans to get to. I’ll come see you again when I’m free," Ning Xuan said comfortingly, patting Ying Yaoshi’s head, which was buried against her waist.
Since who-knows-when, Marshal Ying had started making these coquettish gestures in front of Ning Xuan with such ease that it didn’t feel out of place in the slightest.
"Xuanyuan, you can go back, but don’t go anywhere dangerous. For the past decade, all the major Star Domains have been turbulent. Even the Star Domains with the lowest danger Level have experienced multiple anomalies like spatial rifts and spatial collapses. According to the predictions of Transcendents from the Myriad Phenomena Star River, anomalies like spatial collapses will become more and more frequent, and wormholes will appear more densely. So, try to stay away from the battlefields," Ying Yaoshi said, lifting his head to urge her.
"This place of yours is the battlefield with the highest danger level, and I came here all the same. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful," Ning Xuan said nonchalantly.
’I’ve already graduated, and I’m planning to travel around. I can’t just stay in a safe zone forever. After all, I still have to find a way to leave this world, and I need to ensure I have the ability to protect myself in dangerous environments.’
"That’s different. When you’re here with me, I’m confident I can protect you. If you go to other regions and run into trouble, I’m afraid I won’t make it in time," Ying Yaoshi said, strongly disapproving of Ning Xuan’s attitude.
"You’re confident? Without me, could you have resolved the crisis so quickly? Enough talk, we’re at the base." Ning Xuan’s expression turned joyful as the magnificent structure floating in space came into view.
She tapped on her Light Computer. Just as she expected, the signal at the base was stable, and her Light Computer’s communication functions were working normally again.
Opening her private inbox, she found many missed messages and calls from Chen Nan, Lin Mo, Yun Han, Lan Xin, and others. Ning Xuan tapped open the dozen or so messages from Yu Mingche. They had started ten days ago, with one message every two days at first, then one per day, and in the last few days, two to three messages a day.
Whenever Ning Xuan recalled what Ying Yaoshi had told her earlier, she had a strange feeling about Yu Mingche.
Ning Xuan went straight to Yu Mingche’s latest message and opened it. It was a message: "Contractor, I have arrived at Star AS525. This is the planet closest to the Ten Thousand Meteor Star Domain. I am waiting for you here."
’Normally, it takes about twenty days by Starship to get from the Central Star to Star AS525. A round trip for Yu Mingche would take at least forty days. It seems that after we parted ways on Star A739, Yu Mingche never went back to the Central Star at all.’
"Xuanyuan, you just got back to the base. You can’t leave right away. The base has already prepared a celebration party. You saved so many people, they’re even planning to put on a show for you," Ying Yaoshi said, wrapping his arms around Ning Xuan’s waist from behind.
"You don’t have to worry about Yu Mingche. I’ll send someone to pick him up right away and bring him to the base. That way, Xuanyuan won’t have to go over to Star 525 to find him," Ying Yaoshi said very considerately.
The reason Yu Mingche was waiting on Star 525 to rendezvous with Ning Xuan was, naturally, because the space base was not open to the public. Without Ying Yaoshi’s permission, no Starship could enter the base’s controlled territory.
"His health isn’t good, and who knows how long he’s been waiting out there. I..." Ning Xuan wanted to go see him in person.
Ying Yaoshi cut off the rest of Ning Xuan’s sentence and directly opened a holographic communication channel with Yu Mingche.
A holographic image of Yu Mingche appeared before the two of them. The moment he saw Ning Xuan, Yu Mingche immediately knelt. "Greetings, Lord Contract Master."
"Get up, quickly. There’s no need for such ceremony," Ning Xuan said hurriedly. After speaking, she shot a glance at Ying Yaoshi, her eyes seeming to say, ’Look at him, and then look at you.’
Ying Yaoshi did his best to ignore the obvious warmth in Ning Xuan’s tone, looking away.
"Didn’t I tell you to return to the Central Star? Why are you on Star 525? Its climate is frigid. Can your body handle it?" Before coming to the base, Ning Xuan had learned about the planets along the route. Star 525 had fairly abundant resources, but its climate was quite extreme and unsuitable for living.
"I only arrived on Star 525 three days ago myself. I’m currently staying in the dormitories of the mining district. Although it’s a bit cold, it’s... manageable." Yu Mingche shifted the camera’s view, revealing a thick layer of ice and snow outside the window.
"President Yu, I have already dispatched a ship to pick you up. It will arrive at Star 525 in about two days, and you’ll be able to see Xuanyuan very soon. Xuanyuan and I just returned from the Star Domain Battlefield and are about to attend a celebration party, so we can’t chat for long. We’ll hold a welcome reception for you when you arrive," Ying Yaoshi said to Yu Mingche with a smile.
"There’s no need to pick me up. It’s a restricted military area, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to go. I can just wait here for Lord Contract Master." Yu Mingche’s bright, affectionate eyes stared pleadingly at Ning Xuan.
Ning Xuan’s heart warmed, and she wished she could go to him that very instant. It had to be said that ever since she’d learned about the surgery Yu Mingche had undergone, her attitude toward him had changed drastically. A desire to protect him now came from the bottom of her heart.
"How could that be? With President Yu’s status, what Level of restricted military area could you not enter? President Yu, don’t refuse. Ning Xuan just took part in a major battle. She exhausted a great deal of energy to save me and isn’t fit to travel right away. But she’s also very worried about you. If you don’t come, aren’t you just forcing Xuanyuan to leave immediately to see you?" Ying Yaoshi said, wrapping an arm around Ning Xuan and looking provocatively at Yu Mingche.
"What’s with your tone? This is your territory, so it’s understandable that Ming Che is hesitant to come. I’m fine. Arrange for someone to take me to Star 525 immediately." Ning Xuan had picked up on the hidden barbs in their exchange. She slapped Ying Yaoshi’s hand away and commanded him.
Hearing Ning Xuan’s words, Ying Yaoshi felt his breath catch in his throat, and a pang of heartache struck him.
"Contractor, since General Ying has extended the invitation, it would be an honor to visit the space base of the Ten Thousand Meteor Star Domain. Please wait for me. I’ll come to you." Seeing that Ning Xuan was on his side, and also noticing that they had indeed just returned to the base, Yu Mingche grew concerned for Ning Xuan’s health and proactively took a step back.
"Ming Che, if you don’t want to come, don’t force yourself. I’m perfectly fine, so you don’t need to worry," Ning Xuan said quickly.