I Believe You

By evening, the medicine to treat Chen Yuanfei had finally arrived.

The people opposite them held the medicine aloft, intending to negotiate with Zhuang Hong. Yet with a casual hook of his hand, both vials instantly flew into his grasp, once again causing an uproar among everyone present.

Once again, what had happened exceeded the limits of this world's understanding.

Even Wu Miaomiao was briefly stunned.

Zhuang Hong began testing the medicine. Two drops of Matching Agent fell into it, and the medicine quickly turned red. Zhuang Hong finally let out a heavy breath of relief.

He turned to the emperor and empress. "Remember this: Wu Miaomiao is your friend. Take good care of her."

The two were overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. "Mr. Zhuang Hong, everything that happened today was a misunderstanding. We are still friends. No one will oppose you from now on."

Wu Miaomiao said, "Zhuang Hong, where are you going next? They won't let you leave."

The emperor and empress: "..."

Had everything they said been for nothing?

Zhuang Hong said, "Don't worry. I have a way out."

As he spoke, Zhuang Hong suddenly pulled a jade seal from his pocket and tossed it lightly before the emperor. "I'm taking this little seal with me. I'll trade it for the two of your lives. That's a pretty good deal for you."

The emperor's expression changed drastically when he saw the small seal in Zhuang Hong's hand. He patted himself down, only to discover that the Qilin Imperial Seal he always carried had somehow been taken by Zhuang Hong.

He panicked. "No, no! That is the symbol of imperial authority, a treasure passed down from the late emperor. It cannot be lost under my watch!"

Zhuang Hong said, "I have a use for this little seal. You can figure out how to deal with everything else yourself."

The emperor stamped his feet in panic, but there was nothing he could do.

Wu Miaomiao suddenly had a feeling that she might never see Zhuang Hong again. Her eyes reddened slightly. "Zhuang Hong, will I see you again someday?"

Zhuang Hong nodded. "If I have time, I'll come back to see you. I hope you'll be a little taller by then."

He turned and waved at Wu Miaomiao. "Miaomiao, goodbye."

Wu Miaomiao suddenly shouted, "Fuck your uncle! If you don't come back to see me, I'll make you regret it! And, Zhuang Hong!"

Zhuang Hong turned back and waited for her to speak.

Wu Miaomiao opened her mouth, but in the end, she only flashed him a huge smile. "Nothing."

Zhuang Hong paused, then smiled and waved. "I'm off."

With that, his figure flashed and vanished.

Everyone silently stared at the spot where Zhuang Hong had disappeared, as though he were still there, yet also as though such a person had never existed in this world at all.

From that moment onward, this world was veiled in mystery in everyone's hearts.

"What secrets does the universe hold?"

Wu Miaomiao felt inexplicably sad. Damn it, I couldn't even say what I really wanted to say... But even if you only meet some people once in a lifetime, it's already enough to make you happy. And I met him so many times!

Just as Zhuang Hong had told Wu Miaomiao, if he happened to think of her and had the time, perhaps he would come back to see her.

As for when he would return, even he could not say.

In any case, as long as everyone lived well, there would always be a chance to meet again in the future, along with a faint hope and longing for old friends to reunite.

He just did not know whether, many years later, when he happened to think of Wu Miaomiao, he would hesitate a little, or worry about disturbing her peaceful life...

After leaving Ji Ling Star, Zhuang Hong did not return to Earth directly. Instead, he went to the shop where he had borrowed the clothes, quietly returned them, changed back into his own clothes, slung on his backpack, and slowly left.

He had said he was borrowing them, so he had to return them. Running a business was not easy for anyone. They were just a little dirty and needed washing...

He took out the small seal carved with a qilin from his pocket, his face full of curiosity.

After evolving to the Blue Core Combination level, his senses had become sharper. Not long after approaching the emperor, he had detected the extraordinary aura of this small seal.

Before his evolution, he might have missed the seal entirely.

Zhuang Hong held the Qilin Seal in his hand. He had already determined that it was special equipment like the Dragon Tendon Whip.

But why did the emperor of Ji Ling Star possess something like this?

After thinking it over without finding an answer, he focused his attention on the Qilin Seal.

He rubbed his chin and guessed at what special function the Qilin Seal might have, then slowly fed a thread of source energy into it.

The Qilin Seal suddenly trembled, followed by a flash of white radiance.

"Buzz—"

The next moment, a transparent spherical barrier expanded from the Qilin Seal, enveloping Zhuang Hong before eventually stabilizing.

The spherical barrier was roughly two meters in diameter, emitting a faint white glow, with the Qilin Seal in Zhuang Hong's hand at its center.

Zhuang Hong's eyes lit up. "A Protective Shield? It feels like it's isolating all the surrounding space."

In other words, once the Protective Shield was activated, no one could attack Zhuang Hong directly from another space.

Zhuang Hong tested it more carefully, and the results matched what he had imagined. The Qilin Seal's function was to generate a Protective Shield with no spatial blind spots.

The strength of the Protective Shield was related to the amount of source energy he fed into the Qilin Seal. The more source energy he put in, the stronger it became; conversely, the less he put in, the weaker it was.

However, there was a maximum threshold. At its strongest, the Protective Shield could only block a casual strike from his Dragon Tendon Whip...

Even so, it was enough to make Zhuang Hong ecstatic.

As long as he kept the Protective Shield active, he would not have to worry about a sneak attack from a Void Spirit. That meant he might finally be able to get a good night's sleep.

He had never expected that kidnapping the emperor and empress to obtain the medicine would bring such an unexpected surprise.

As he laughed, his smile suddenly froze. "Huh? Why can the shield only last ten minutes? Doesn't that mean I can only sleep peacefully for ten minutes?"

He imagined having to wake up every ten minutes while sleeping to "recharge" it, and his eyelids twitched wildly.

After trying many more times, he was finally forced to accept a cruel fact: the Qilin Seal's Protective Shield really could only last ten minutes.

"Being able to sleep peacefully for ten minutes is still better than nothing. Heh, when I get sleepy later, I'll test what it feels like to sleep deeply for ten minutes first..."

This accidental discovery suddenly made Zhuang Hong realize that there might be many source energy devices with spatial properties hidden across different worlds. He simply had never found them before.

Zhuang Hong played with the Qilin Seal as he headed toward Earth.

When drowsiness swept over him, he immediately found a large rock to lie on, set a ten-minute mechanical alarm, activated the Qilin Seal, and eagerly closed his eyes.

Ten minutes later, Zhuang Hong rolled over and got up, expressionless. "I can't fall asleep at all..."

When he lived in the orphanage as a child, Zhuang Hong often heard Dean Nong snoring the moment he lay down. He had thought he could fall asleep instantly too.

Reality proved that idea far too naive.

After several attempts, he still could not fall asleep. Helpless, Zhuang Hong got up and continued his journey home.

When his feet once more stepped onto Earth, he could not help letting out a long breath. He immediately called Chen Yuanfei.

"A Fei, where are you now?"

"My coughing has gotten pretty bad lately. It's really uncomfortable, so I came to the hospital to ask Doctor He for some medicine to ease it. What's up?"

"I brought back the medicine to cure your illness. I'll bring it over now."

Chen Yuanfei was overjoyed. "Really? I'll send you my location in a moment."

Doctor He, who was prescribing medicine for Chen Yuanfei, overheard part of the conversation and asked in surprise, "Medicine to cure your illness?"

Then he said sternly, "Chen Yuanfei, you need to trust the hospital. There are many scammers outside these days, specifically targeting patients like you and selling you all kinds of miracle drugs. I can responsibly tell you that aside from taking your money and giving you a little psychological comfort, they do absolutely nothing! I've seen this sort of thing many times."

Chen Yuanfei nodded. "Thank you, Doctor He. I believe you."