Chapter 26 part 5
The word uncle made the young man immediately turn his back, leaving only a view of his messy hair.
Ning Yunyi had a soft spot for anything fluffy. Besides, as an elder, he had to act with dignity.
Ning Yunyi chuckled and spoke slowly, but with mischief in his tone, “Brother Bai, it’s fine. Nephew is young, he has a bit of a temper. As an elder, I understand.”
“Is Nephew feeling better today? Still having any uncontrollable episodes?”
“Will Nephew still sometimes involuntarily turn into a little—”
Before Ning Yunyi could finish his sentence, a voice from inside the house interrupted him, “Father!”
The young man’s voice, though trying to sound calm, betrayed his embarrassment. Ning Yunyi, satisfied, smiled and closed his mouth. Ah, youth.
Ning Yunyi once again suppressed Bai Shaozhu’s mental instability, using just enough spiritual power to keep it under control for the day.
He planned to wait a couple of days before lowering Bai Shaozhu’s mental breakdown level by one.
This would prevent any major surprises while keeping the situation manageable.
As usual, it didn’t take much effort for Ning Yunyi to ease Bai Shaozhu’s discomfort. The young man had been stubbornly maintaining his human form to avoid exposing his other shape.
But as the spiritual power began to take effect, the young man, who had been sitting with his back to Ning Yunyi, suddenly disappeared with a soft plop.
A small figure wriggled out of the pile of clothes, moving clumsily within the fabric. After a few moments of futile effort, it finally gave up, lying still with just one long ear peeking out.
Ning Yunyi looked at the little tuft of white fur, and his fingers itched.
Oh no, now he wanted to ruffle his own little Xiaomiao’s fur.
Bai Chengzhu, seeing his son’s predicament, couldn’t help but smile. However, to avoid further embarrassment, he led Ning Yunyi to his study.
Once there, Bai Chengzhu handed Ning Yunyi a familiar-looking box.
It was just like the one from yesterday, containing a 3S-grade energy crystal.
Ning Yunyi couldn’t deny that calling this man “big brother” a few more times wasn’t much of a loss, considering the crystal was real.
Bai Chengzhu got straight to the point. “Brother, if you trust me, you can tell me what you need help with. My son’s illness will take some time to fully cure, but in the meantime, I can assist you with anything.”
Ning Yunyi could tell that Bai Chengzhu genuinely wanted to help.
Since the man wasn’t afraid of losing out, Ning Yunyi had no qualms either.
He had asked the Xun family to help him investigate his brother Ning, but as much as he trusted Bai Chengzhu, he didn’t trust him completely.
Initially, Ning Yunyi’s request for Bai Chengzhu was something that wouldn’t reveal his identity.
What he wanted from Bai Chengzhu was to investigate Mu Jiayi.
Ning Yunyi spoke frankly, “Since Brother Bai is offering, I won’t hold back. This request has nothing to do with you or your son. It’s a personal matter of mine.”
“My first request is to learn everything there is to know about Mu Jiayi of the Mu family, one of the Seven Major Star Clans, from Star A.”
Bai Chengzhu was momentarily stunned when he heard the name "Shouxing" (First Star). He looked over in surprise. "The Mu family of Shouxing?"
His expression became a bit complicated and strange, and for a moment, he didn’t say anything further.
Ning Yunyi wasn’t in a hurry. "Yes, the Mu family. The one ranked at the top, aside from the three major families. Why? Is there something difficult about this, Brother Bai? Or are you afraid?"
Bai Chengzhu took a deep breath, as if making a decision, and explained, "It's not that I'm afraid... it's just... things are a bit complicated, or perhaps a little coincidental. I don't need to investigate to know some things about this Mu family junior."
Now it was Ning Yunyi’s turn to be surprised. "You've been investigating the Mu family of Shouxing?"
Bai Chengzhu slowly shook his head. "Not investigating the Mu family directly, just learning some things along the way."
Ning Yunyi looked at Bai Chengzhu deeply. "Have you been hiding here all these years because of some connection with the Mu family? Or perhaps with one of the major families intertwined with the Mu family?"
He had a suspicion but thought it might be too much of a coincidence.
Bai Chengzhu hadn’t expected Ning Yunyi to know more than he’d anticipated. "You..."
Ning Yunyi replied straightforwardly, "I guessed. Of course, if you ask me how I guessed, I won’t tell you."
The reason he suspected a particular family, and even pinpointed which one, was drawn from the clues Bai Chengzhu had just revealed.
It wasn’t that Bai Chengzhu had been actively investigating the Mu family. He had learned of them incidentally.
This meant that Bai Chengzhu had been keeping an eye on a family closely related to the Mu family.
The Mu family had a strong sense of superiority, looking down on families ranked lower than themselves, which narrowed down the possibilities.
The most obvious guess was one of the top three families.
And since Bai Chengzhu knew about Mu Jiayi, it meant that the family he was watching had recent dealings with Mu Jiayi.
In the original body's memories, there was indeed one event that involved both families.
Shortly after the original body had to take a leave of absence due to an incident, Mu Jiayi became engaged to the rumored next heir of the Zong family, the eldest young master of the Zong family.
Thus, Ning Yunyi suspected it was the Zong family.
Since he had thought of it, he said it out loud.
This time, Bai Chengzhu was thoroughly impressed. He sighed. "Since you’ve already uncovered Ah Cheng’s biggest secret, there’s no point in hiding it. When Ah Cheng was born, no one knew about it because his mother and I didn’t have time to get married. We had planned to marry once she returned, but who could have known... Later, the next news I received was about her tragic accident. Since you know about the Zong family, you’ve probably heard of the current head of the Zong family."
Ning Yunyi nodded. "I’ve heard the current head was the first to be granted the highest rank of Marshal in the interstellar system. It’s not that he couldn’t be promoted further; it's that he refused."
Even the original body had only heard bits and pieces about this legendary figure. The man was very low-key and mysterious, rarely making public appearances.
It was said that those who had met him described him as exceptionally handsome. Coupled with his prestigious background, position of power, and high combat prowess, he was the most formidable figure on Shouxing to date.
The eldest young master of the Zong family was this man’s nephew.
Bai Chengzhu seemed lost in thought, as though many years had passed in a blink. He lowered his eyes and sighed. "The reason I’ve been so focused on the Zong family is because, as it turns out, Ah Cheng should call him... ‘Uncle.’"
Ning Yunyi stared at him for a long moment before finally managing to speak. "??"
At the same time, back at the villa.
The big cat was lying by the staircase, occasionally looking up. The door to the little one’s room still hadn’t moved.
Normally, the little guy would have been downstairs by now.
The big cat wasn’t allowed upstairs without permission, so it could only continue to lie there.
After what felt like forever, Ning Xiaomiao finally came downstairs, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He was still half-asleep as he washed up, then walked to the table. Seeing the breakfast his father had left for him, he perked up a bit.
The big cat had been following him since he appeared, worried that the little one might trip.
Was he... still not fully awake?
Ning Xiaomiao hopped onto a chair, his little legs dangling as they lightly swung back and forth. He still felt tired and didn’t know why, but his tailbone and the top of his head had been bothering him all night.
This had never happened before. It wasn’t too bad yesterday, but it had been especially noticeable during the night.
He would have to wait for his father to come back and ask him.
He took a big bite of breakfast with a satisfied expression, enjoying the taste. But the next second, he let out a muffled sound, trying to control himself, but couldn’t help putting the food down and raising a small hand to rub his head.
His head itches—like something was trying to grow out of it.
But he wasn’t even trying to shift forms.
And yet, this time, it wasn’t like before. He clearly felt that something was off... but he couldn’t control it. His vision blurred.
The big cat, who had been watching him, immediately moved closer when the little one raised his hand to his head. It placed its front paws on the table, trying to get a better look at what was going on.
The next moment, the big cat’s beastly eyes widened in disbelief as it stared at what was happening in front of it. "??"
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