Chapter 99.2
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Thank you Esme for the ko-fi donations! I’ll upload the 3 bonus chapters tomorrow at Monday~
As they came back to their senses, they frowned and glanced at Ning Tianxing, who was unconscious on the bed, before leaving together.
After they left, everyone noticed that Chu Rong didn’t seem ready to leave work yet. They hesitated for a moment, and then the elder, who had been taken care of by Chu Rong several times that day, spoke up, “Marshal Chu, aren’t you going home to rest? You were just stimulated by mental lock earlier. You need some rest.”
Chu Rong stopped and explained, “I’ll go back after seeing one more witness. Thank you for your concern, and sorry for the trouble.”
The elder waved his hand, indicating there was no need to be polite, and didn’t ask further. He followed the guidance of the staff and left.
Other officials also bid farewell, expressing admiration and respect for Chu Rong’s conscientiousness in working late into the night.
Chu Rong listened to their flattery with a cold expression, then turned and headed to the area where the suspects with lower security levels were being held. After greeting the person in charge, he walked up to a slightly better-maintained holding cell and knocked on the door.
Indeed, he knocked on the door. The person inside this holding cell was actually free to leave, but he chose to stay of his own accord.
A few seconds later, the door was opened from the inside, and Ning Kongran’s figure appeared behind it.
He was wearing pajamas, obviously having been awakened, but upon seeing that it was Chu Rong outside, he greeted him with a faint smile as if he had been waiting for him for a long time. He said calmly, “Marshal Chu, my younger brother, Ning Kongze, died at the hands of my father, Ning Tianxing, when he was five years old. That same year, my mother was killed by my father while fleeing. Now, I request to undergo a mental search on myself to bring the culprit to justice using my memories.”
Chu Rong frowned, surprised that he would bring this up voluntarily. After scrutinizing his expression for a moment, he didn’t say much but simply asked, “Do you have any requests?”
Mental searches could potentially lead to degradation or damage of the spiritual power of the person being searched. It wouldn’t be a pleasant experience. By saying this, Ning Kongran had likely calculated that Ning Tianxing wouldn’t be easy to deal with and wanted to use self-sacrifice as a means to pin Ning Tianxing for the crime of killing his own son.
Faced with Ning Kongran’s stance, it was difficult for Chu Rong to remain strictly professional.
“Request…” Ning Kongran lowered his eyes, quietly contemplating for a long time. Then, he looked up at Chu Rong and said, “I want to see Qiao Zhiya after the mental search is finished.”
Chu Rong’s breath immediately tensed up, but he quickly relaxed. He looked at Ning Kongran deeply, then nodded and said, “Alright, after the mental search, I will bring Qiao to see you.” After that, he turned around and left directly.
Ning Kongran watched him leave, then closed the door and leaned against it, exhaling a relieved sigh.
‘The Ning family is finally finished. Ning Tianxing is also finished. It’s really good… it’s really… good.’
—
That night, Qiao Zhiya didn’t wait for Chu Rong to come home. Instead, he received a message from Fan Xiangnan, informing him that Chu Rong might be busy all night.
He fell asleep with worry, dreaming all night. During that, he felt that the vines pattern on his wrist burned hot.
As sunlight spilled over his eyelids, Qiao Zhiya’s eyelashes twitched as he slowly opened his eyes. He found someone lying beside him and turned his head to see Chu Rong sleeping peacefully, facing towards him. His eyes brightened, and he was about to snuggle closer when he noticed Chu Rong’s dark eyebags. His brows furrowed, he restrained himself and withdrew his body, releasing the wood-elemental magic to gently surround Chu Rong.
A soothing aura filled the room, and Chu Rong’s expression relaxed considerably. He curled his lips slightly, then carefully got out of bed from the other side, moving quietly.
Suddenly feeling a tightness around his waist, Qiao Zhiya’s body was pulled sideways and fell into a familiar embrace. Then, a familiar scent and a familiar voice reached him, accompanied by a gentle bite on his ear.
“So, this is how you sneak out of bed every day. Didn’t you say you will behave and won’t use magic?”
Qiao Zhiya looked up. He was met with Chu Rong’s lazy look – he clearly just woke up.
His face inexplicably reddened, and he struggled to sit up, but Chu Rong insisted on keeping him in his arms. So, he gave up and explained, “I only used a little bit. It’s okay. Did I wake you up?”
“No,” Chu Rong leaned back against the pillow, stretched out his arm to tuck him back into the blanket, hugged him tightly with satisfaction, and said, “I had just laid down not long ago.”
‘Just laid down not long ago?’
Qiao Zhiya glanced at the bright sky outside, furrowing his brows, and quickly said, “Then you should rest now. I won’t disturb you.”
Chu Rong bowed his head and kissed him directly.
“Mhhhm— mn….”
Chu Rong rubbed his ears as he grabbed the back of the youth’s head. Then, he rolled over, pressing Qiao Zhiya under him.
On this day, Qiao Zhiya didn’t get up to make breakfast. Gu Yan’an, who rarely had the chance to enter the kitchen, prepared breakfast under the disapproving gaze of the old butler. She chuckled and said, “How come you’ve been influenced by Qiao? I’m just pregnant, not disabled. There’s nothing wrong with making breakfast.”
“The smell of oil fumes and smoke might make you uncomfortable,” the old butler corrected with a stern face, spraying some air purifier in his hand again.
“Nonsense, I don’t have morning sickness anymore, so you can rest assured,” Gu Yan’an said. “And the kitchen utensils in the Chu family are top-notch. There won’t be any excess smoke or oil fumes. If anything, what drifts out is the aroma of food.”
The old butler glanced at her slightly rounded abdomen and stepped forward to help her carry the breakfast, saying, “I’ll take care of breakfast from now on. Huh? Why did you put these two servings of breakfast in the thermos?”
“Xiao Rong and Qiao probably need to stay in bed a little longer,” Gu Yan’an explained, glancing in the direction of Chu Rong’s room and sighing inwardly.
She hoped after these busy days, her family could finally settle down and rest.
Qiao Zhiya was dragged to sleep by Chu Rong. The Marshal was afraid that Qiao Zhiya would get hungry soon, so he thoughtfully fed him a nutrient solution.
By lunchtime, the two finally emerged from their rooms. Qiao Zhiya’s face was very red, while Chu Rong looked refreshed. Afterwards, they had lunch with Gu Yan’an, and then Chu Rong took Qiao Zhiya out.
“Where are we going?” Qiao Zhiya asked in wonder, before he knew where Chu Rong was going to take him out.
“The military headquarters,” Chu Rong set the route for the hover car and then sat back, pinching Qiao Zhiya’s ear. “Ning Kongran wants to see you.”
Qiao Zhiya sniffed, then nodded, and didn’t ask anything further.
Although Ning Kongran was a member of the Ning family, he hasn’t been involved in his family “affairs”. He even helped catch Long Ruifeng and the Patriarch You, which was a great achievement. So technically, he didn’t have to cooperate with this investigation. However, after coming down from the battlefield, he insisted on being treated the same as the other members of the Ning family and voluntarily requested to be detained.
During this time, Qiao Zhiya tried to contact him, but all the communications he sent were blocked by the information isolation device in the military suspect detention area. Now that Ning Kongran was requesting to see him, he might know about Qiao Zhiya’s attempts to contact him.
After arriving at the military headquarters, Chu Rong first arranged for Qiao Zhiya to rest in an empty room next to Ning Kongran’s detention room. Then, he led the investigation team into Ning Kongran’s room.
“Qiao is next door.” Chu Rong looked at Ning Kongran, who was sitting at the bedside desk.
Ning Kongran glanced at the room next door and stood up, saying, “I want you to conduct a mental search on me.”
Chu Rong nodded and motioned for the team members behind to help Ning Kongran wear protection.
In fact, even if Ning Kongran didn’t ask for it, he would’ve asked him to do the same eventually.
The experience of being subjected to a mental search wouldn’t be pleasant at all. Ning Kongran wasn’t a criminal; on the contrary, he was one of the heroes who captured traitors. Therefore, the operator conducting the search must be extremely cautious, ensuring not to harm Ning Kongran’s spiritual sea as much as possible.
After the protection was sufficient, the investigation team voluntarily left.
Throughout the search process, only one recording device would be present, capturing the footage for documentation. No one else would be allowed to observe, ensuring maximum privacy for Ning Kongran. Once the search concluded, Chu Rong would carefully edit out any memories that weren’t suitable as evidence, extracting only the relevant portions.
Before officially beginning, Chu Rong handed Ning Kongran a vial of Yellow Leaf Tree potion, indicating for him to drink it. Ning Kongran thought this was part of the normal procedure and obediently drank it. Then, he relaxed his control over his spiritual sea, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes.
Chu Rong stepped forward, trying to calm down as much as possible as he explored forwards using his own spiritual power.
Crying. Pleading for help. Various attempts to escape. Feigning serious injury and amnesia. Careful efforts to please others, persisting until he was smoothly brought back to the Ning family and became the legitimate young master of the Ning family. Step by step, he established his position within the Ning family, gradually building his own power and protecting his mother’s natal family.
Ning Kongran’s memory spread unreservedly, and Chu Rong tried not to touch most of the things unrelated to the investigation, but focused on searching for the parts related to Ning Tianxing’s human experiments.
The memories related to human experiments were very old, but they were crystal clear. It seemed that the owner of the memory was repeatedly recalling them so that he wouldn’t ever forget.
Before the age of ten, Ning Kongran’s memories were pale and fragmented — memories of his mother being imprisoned, the cold and clinical environment of being treated as a subject for experimentation, and regular examinations and experiments. Perhaps Ning Tianxing didn’t find what he was looking for in him, which allowed Ning Kongran to grow up safely.
Then his brother Ning Kongze was born, and this gifted baby was immediately the main research subject of Ning Tianxing.
He was a very pure and transparent child, with a gentle and kind nature. Even in the face of painful experiments, he always smiled innocently when facing his family, being considerate and adorable. When Chu Rong met the gaze of that child, his heart trembled fiercely. He was too similar. Those pure eyes were almost identical to Qiao Zhiya’s.
Before Ning Kongze was four years old, Ning Tianxing was more restrained in his research. After four years old, he probably felt that the boy was grown enough to have stronger tolerance. Ning Tianxing finally started to do crueler experiments on the small child.
At first, Ning Kongran didn’t know about this. He thought his younger brother went through the same experiences as himself. It wasn’t until one day when he broke free from the control and witnessed the horrific scenes of his younger brother being tortured.
After that came death — his brother’s death, his mother’s death, and the terrifying leftover bodies of the experiment subjects released everywhere. He ran, got caught, pretended to have amnesia after being seriously injured, appeased the devil-like Ning Tianxing to seek survival, and slowly sought opportunities for revenge.
In the final scene, in a corner of the dormitory building at the Intermediate College, a reckless teenager with partially damp hair rushed over. As he apologized, he glanced hurriedly in the direction of another person. The youth’s pure, clear eyes shone through. His pointed ears were revealed while he was running – together, they formed into a fresh splash of green in his dull life.
Chu Rong retracted his hand and watched Ning Kongran, who was quietly asleep under the influence of drugs on the bed. Finally, he reached out and turned off the recording equipment.
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Thank you Esme for the ko-fi donations! I’ll upload the 3 bonus chapters tomorrow at Monday~
As they came back to their senses, they frowned and glanced at Ning Tianxing, who was unconscious on the bed, before leaving together.
After they left, everyone noticed that Chu Rong didn’t seem ready to leave work yet. They hesitated for a moment, and then the elder, who had been taken care of by Chu Rong several times that day, spoke up, “Marshal Chu, aren’t you going home to rest? You were just stimulated by mental lock earlier. You need some rest.”
Chu Rong stopped and explained, “I’ll go back after seeing one more witness. Thank you for your concern, and sorry for the trouble.”
The elder waved his hand, indicating there was no need to be polite, and didn’t ask further. He followed the guidance of the staff and left.
Other officials also bid farewell, expressing admiration and respect for Chu Rong’s conscientiousness in working late into the night.
Chu Rong listened to their flattery with a cold expression, then turned and headed to the area where the suspects with lower security levels were being held. After greeting the person in charge, he walked up to a slightly better-maintained holding cell and knocked on the door.
Indeed, he knocked on the door. The person inside this holding cell was actually free to leave, but he chose to stay of his own accord.
A few seconds later, the door was opened from the inside, and Ning Kongran’s figure appeared behind it.
He was wearing pajamas, obviously having been awakened, but upon seeing that it was Chu Rong outside, he greeted him with a faint smile as if he had been waiting for him for a long time. He said calmly, “Marshal Chu, my younger brother, Ning Kongze, died at the hands of my father, Ning Tianxing, when he was five years old. That same year, my mother was killed by my father while fleeing. Now, I request to undergo a mental search on myself to bring the culprit to justice using my memories.”
Chu Rong frowned, surprised that he would bring this up voluntarily. After scrutinizing his expression for a moment, he didn’t say much but simply asked, “Do you have any requests?”
Mental searches could potentially lead to degradation or damage of the spiritual power of the person being searched. It wouldn’t be a pleasant experience. By saying this, Ning Kongran had likely calculated that Ning Tianxing wouldn’t be easy to deal with and wanted to use self-sacrifice as a means to pin Ning Tianxing for the crime of killing his own son.
Faced with Ning Kongran’s stance, it was difficult for Chu Rong to remain strictly professional.
“Request…” Ning Kongran lowered his eyes, quietly contemplating for a long time. Then, he looked up at Chu Rong and said, “I want to see Qiao Zhiya after the mental search is finished.”
Chu Rong’s breath immediately tensed up, but he quickly relaxed. He looked at Ning Kongran deeply, then nodded and said, “Alright, after the mental search, I will bring Qiao to see you.” After that, he turned around and left directly.
Ning Kongran watched him leave, then closed the door and leaned against it, exhaling a relieved sigh.
‘The Ning family is finally finished. Ning Tianxing is also finished. It’s really good… it’s really… good.’
—
That night, Qiao Zhiya didn’t wait for Chu Rong to come home. Instead, he received a message from Fan Xiangnan, informing him that Chu Rong might be busy all night.
He fell asleep with worry, dreaming all night. During that, he felt that the vines pattern on his wrist burned hot.
As sunlight spilled over his eyelids, Qiao Zhiya’s eyelashes twitched as he slowly opened his eyes. He found someone lying beside him and turned his head to see Chu Rong sleeping peacefully, facing towards him. His eyes brightened, and he was about to snuggle closer when he noticed Chu Rong’s dark eyebags. His brows furrowed, he restrained himself and withdrew his body, releasing the wood-elemental magic to gently surround Chu Rong.
A soothing aura filled the room, and Chu Rong’s expression relaxed considerably. He curled his lips slightly, then carefully got out of bed from the other side, moving quietly.
Suddenly feeling a tightness around his waist, Qiao Zhiya’s body was pulled sideways and fell into a familiar embrace. Then, a familiar scent and a familiar voice reached him, accompanied by a gentle bite on his ear.
“So, this is how you sneak out of bed every day. Didn’t you say you will behave and won’t use magic?”
Qiao Zhiya looked up. He was met with Chu Rong’s lazy look – he clearly just woke up.
His face inexplicably reddened, and he struggled to sit up, but Chu Rong insisted on keeping him in his arms. So, he gave up and explained, “I only used a little bit. It’s okay. Did I wake you up?”
“No,” Chu Rong leaned back against the pillow, stretched out his arm to tuck him back into the blanket, hugged him tightly with satisfaction, and said, “I had just laid down not long ago.”
‘Just laid down not long ago?’
Qiao Zhiya glanced at the bright sky outside, furrowing his brows, and quickly said, “Then you should rest now. I won’t disturb you.”
Chu Rong bowed his head and kissed him directly.
“Mhhhm— mn….”
Chu Rong rubbed his ears as he grabbed the back of the youth’s head. Then, he rolled over, pressing Qiao Zhiya under him.
On this day, Qiao Zhiya didn’t get up to make breakfast. Gu Yan’an, who rarely had the chance to enter the kitchen, prepared breakfast under the disapproving gaze of the old butler. She chuckled and said, “How come you’ve been influenced by Qiao? I’m just pregnant, not disabled. There’s nothing wrong with making breakfast.”
“The smell of oil fumes and smoke might make you uncomfortable,” the old butler corrected with a stern face, spraying some air purifier in his hand again.
“Nonsense, I don’t have morning sickness anymore, so you can rest assured,” Gu Yan’an said. “And the kitchen utensils in the Chu family are top-notch. There won’t be any excess smoke or oil fumes. If anything, what drifts out is the aroma of food.”
The old butler glanced at her slightly rounded abdomen and stepped forward to help her carry the breakfast, saying, “I’ll take care of breakfast from now on. Huh? Why did you put these two servings of breakfast in the thermos?”
“Xiao Rong and Qiao probably need to stay in bed a little longer,” Gu Yan’an explained, glancing in the direction of Chu Rong’s room and sighing inwardly.
She hoped after these busy days, her family could finally settle down and rest.
Qiao Zhiya was dragged to sleep by Chu Rong. The Marshal was afraid that Qiao Zhiya would get hungry soon, so he thoughtfully fed him a nutrient solution.
By lunchtime, the two finally emerged from their rooms. Qiao Zhiya’s face was very red, while Chu Rong looked refreshed. Afterwards, they had lunch with Gu Yan’an, and then Chu Rong took Qiao Zhiya out.
“Where are we going?” Qiao Zhiya asked in wonder, before he knew where Chu Rong was going to take him out.
“The military headquarters,” Chu Rong set the route for the hover car and then sat back, pinching Qiao Zhiya’s ear. “Ning Kongran wants to see you.”
Qiao Zhiya sniffed, then nodded, and didn’t ask anything further.
Although Ning Kongran was a member of the Ning family, he hasn’t been involved in his family “affairs”. He even helped catch Long Ruifeng and the Patriarch You, which was a great achievement. So technically, he didn’t have to cooperate with this investigation. However, after coming down from the battlefield, he insisted on being treated the same as the other members of the Ning family and voluntarily requested to be detained.
During this time, Qiao Zhiya tried to contact him, but all the communications he sent were blocked by the information isolation device in the military suspect detention area. Now that Ning Kongran was requesting to see him, he might know about Qiao Zhiya’s attempts to contact him.
After arriving at the military headquarters, Chu Rong first arranged for Qiao Zhiya to rest in an empty room next to Ning Kongran’s detention room. Then, he led the investigation team into Ning Kongran’s room.
“Qiao is next door.” Chu Rong looked at Ning Kongran, who was sitting at the bedside desk.
Ning Kongran glanced at the room next door and stood up, saying, “I want you to conduct a mental search on me.”
Chu Rong nodded and motioned for the team members behind to help Ning Kongran wear protection.
In fact, even if Ning Kongran didn’t ask for it, he would’ve asked him to do the same eventually.
The experience of being subjected to a mental search wouldn’t be pleasant at all. Ning Kongran wasn’t a criminal; on the contrary, he was one of the heroes who captured traitors. Therefore, the operator conducting the search must be extremely cautious, ensuring not to harm Ning Kongran’s spiritual sea as much as possible.
After the protection was sufficient, the investigation team voluntarily left.
Throughout the search process, only one recording device would be present, capturing the footage for documentation. No one else would be allowed to observe, ensuring maximum privacy for Ning Kongran. Once the search concluded, Chu Rong would carefully edit out any memories that weren’t suitable as evidence, extracting only the relevant portions.
Before officially beginning, Chu Rong handed Ning Kongran a vial of Yellow Leaf Tree potion, indicating for him to drink it. Ning Kongran thought this was part of the normal procedure and obediently drank it. Then, he relaxed his control over his spiritual sea, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes.
Chu Rong stepped forward, trying to calm down as much as possible as he explored forwards using his own spiritual power.
Crying. Pleading for help. Various attempts to escape. Feigning serious injury and amnesia. Careful efforts to please others, persisting until he was smoothly brought back to the Ning family and became the legitimate young master of the Ning family. Step by step, he established his position within the Ning family, gradually building his own power and protecting his mother’s natal family.
Ning Kongran’s memory spread unreservedly, and Chu Rong tried not to touch most of the things unrelated to the investigation, but focused on searching for the parts related to Ning Tianxing’s human experiments.
The memories related to human experiments were very old, but they were crystal clear. It seemed that the owner of the memory was repeatedly recalling them so that he wouldn’t ever forget.
Before the age of ten, Ning Kongran’s memories were pale and fragmented — memories of his mother being imprisoned, the cold and clinical environment of being treated as a subject for experimentation, and regular examinations and experiments. Perhaps Ning Tianxing didn’t find what he was looking for in him, which allowed Ning Kongran to grow up safely.
Then his brother Ning Kongze was born, and this gifted baby was immediately the main research subject of Ning Tianxing.
He was a very pure and transparent child, with a gentle and kind nature. Even in the face of painful experiments, he always smiled innocently when facing his family, being considerate and adorable. When Chu Rong met the gaze of that child, his heart trembled fiercely. He was too similar. Those pure eyes were almost identical to Qiao Zhiya’s.
Before Ning Kongze was four years old, Ning Tianxing was more restrained in his research. After four years old, he probably felt that the boy was grown enough to have stronger tolerance. Ning Tianxing finally started to do crueler experiments on the small child.
At first, Ning Kongran didn’t know about this. He thought his younger brother went through the same experiences as himself. It wasn’t until one day when he broke free from the control and witnessed the horrific scenes of his younger brother being tortured.
After that came death — his brother’s death, his mother’s death, and the terrifying leftover bodies of the experiment subjects released everywhere. He ran, got caught, pretended to have amnesia after being seriously injured, appeased the devil-like Ning Tianxing to seek survival, and slowly sought opportunities for revenge.
In the final scene, in a corner of the dormitory building at the Intermediate College, a reckless teenager with partially damp hair rushed over. As he apologized, he glanced hurriedly in the direction of another person. The youth’s pure, clear eyes shone through. His pointed ears were revealed while he was running – together, they formed into a fresh splash of green in his dull life.
Chu Rong retracted his hand and watched Ning Kongran, who was quietly asleep under the influence of drugs on the bed. Finally, he reached out and turned off the recording equipment.
Thank you Esme for the ko-fi donations! I'll upload the 3 bonus chapters tomorrow at Monday~As they came back to their senses, they frowned and glanced at Ning Tianxing, who was unconscious on the bed, before leaving together.After they left, everyone noticed that Chu Rong didn't seem ready to leave work yet. They hesitated for a moment, and then the elder, who had been taken care of by Chu Rong several times that day, spoke up, Marshal Chu, aren't you going home to rest? You were just stimulated by mental lock earlier. You need some rest.Chu Rong stopped and explained, I'll go back after seeing one more witness. Thank you for your concern, and sorry for the trouble.The elder waved his hand, indicating there was no need to be polite, and didn't ask further. He followed the guidance of the staff and left.Other officials also bid farewell, expressing admiration and respect for Chu Rong's conscientiousness in working late into the night.Chu Rong listened to their flattery with a cold expression, then turned and headed to the area where the suspects with lower security levels were being held. After greeting the person in charge, he walked up to a slightly better-maintained holding cell and knocked on the door.Indeed, he knocked on the door. The person inside this holding cell was actually free to leave, but he chose to stay of his own accord.A few seconds later, the door was opened from the inside, and Ning Kongran's figure appeared behind it.He was wearing pajamas, obviously having been awakened, but upon seeing that it was Chu Rong outside, he greeted him with a faint smile as if he had been waiting for him for a long time. He said calmly, Marshal Chu, my younger brother, Ning Kongze, died at the hands of my father, Ning Tianxing, when he was five years old. That same year, my mother was killed by my father while fleeing. Now, I request to undergo a mental search on myself to bring the culprit to justice using my memories.Chu Rong frowned, surprised that he would bring this up voluntarily. After scrutinizing his expression for a moment, he didn't say much but simply asked, Do you have any requests?Mental searches could potentially lead to degradation or damage of the spiritual power of the person being searched. It wouldn't be a pleasant experience. By saying this, Ning Kongran had likely calculated that Ning Tianxing wouldn't be easy to deal with and wanted to use self-sacrifice as a means to pin Ning Tianxing for the crime of killing his own son.Faced with Ning Kongran's stance, it was difficult for Chu Rong to remain strictly professional.Request Ning Kongran lowered his eyes, quietly contemplating for a long time. Then, he looked up at Chu Rong and said, I want to see Qiao Zhiya after the mental search is finished.Chu Rong's breath immediately tensed up, but he quickly relaxed. He looked at Ning Kongran deeply, then nodded and said, Alright, after the mental search, I will bring Qiao to see you. After that, he turned around and left directly.Ning Kongran watched him leave, then closed the door and leaned against it, exhaling a relieved sigh.The Ning family is finally finished. Ning Tianxing is also finished. It's really good it's really good.'That night, Qiao Zhiya didn't wait for Chu Rong to come home. Instead, he received a message from Fan Xiangnan, informing him that Chu Rong might be busy all night.He fell asleep with worry, dreaming all night. During that, he felt that the vines pattern on his wrist burned hot.As sunlight spilled over his eyelids, Qiao Zhiya's eyelashes twitched as he slowly opened his eyes. He found someone lying beside him and turned his head to see Chu Rong sleeping peacefully, facing towards him. His eyes brightened, and he was about to snuggle closer when he noticed Chu Rong's dark eyebags. His brows furrowed, he restrained himself and withdrew his body, releasing the wood-elemental magic to gently surround Chu Rong.A soothing aura filled the room, and Chu Rong's expression relaxed considerably. He curled his lips slightly, then carefully got out of bed from the other side, moving quietly.Suddenly feeling a tightness around his waist, Qiao Zhiya's body was pulled sideways and fell into a familiar embrace. Then, a familiar scent and a familiar voice reached him, accompanied by a gentle bite on his ear.So, this is how you sneak out of bed every day. Didn't you say you will behave and won't use magic?Qiao Zhiya looked up. He was met with Chu Rong's lazy look he clearly just woke up.His face inexplicably reddened, and he struggled to sit up, but Chu Rong insisted on keeping him in his arms. So, he gave up and explained, I only used a little bit. It's okay. Did I wake you up?No, Chu Rong leaned back against the pillow, stretched out his arm to tuck him back into the blanket, hugged him tightly with satisfaction, and said, I had just laid down not long ago.Just laid down not long ago?'Qiao Zhiya glanced at the bright sky outside, furrowing his brows, and quickly said, Then you should rest now. I won't disturb you.Chu Rong bowed his head and kissed him directly.Mhhhm mn.Chu Rong rubbed his ears as he grabbed the back of the youth's head. Then, he rolled over, pressing Qiao Zhiya under him.On this day, Qiao Zhiya didn't get up to make breakfast. Gu Yan'an, who rarely had the chance to enter the kitchen, prepared breakfast under the disapproving gaze of the old butler. She chuckled and said, How come you've been influenced by Qiao? I'm just pregnant, not disabled. There's nothing wrong with making breakfast.The smell of oil fumes and smoke might make you uncomfortable, the old butler corrected with a stern face, spraying some air purifier in his hand again.Nonsense, I don't have morning sickness anymore, so you can rest assured, Gu Yan'an said. And the kitchen utensils in the Chu family are top-notch. There won't be any excess smoke or oil fumes. If anything, what drifts out is the aroma of food.The old butler glanced at her slightly rounded abdomen and stepped forward to help her carry the breakfast, saying, I'll take care of breakfast from now on. Huh? Why did you put these two servings of breakfast in the thermos?Xiao Rong and Qiao probably need to stay in bed a little longer, Gu Yan'an explained, glancing in the direction of Chu Rong's room and sighing inwardly.She hoped after these busy days, her family could finally settle down and rest.Qiao Zhiya was dragged to sleep by Chu Rong. The Marshal was afraid that Qiao Zhiya would get hungry soon, so he thoughtfully fed him a nutrient solution.By lunchtime, the two finally emerged from their rooms. Qiao Zhiya's face was very red, while Chu Rong looked refreshed. Afterwards, they had lunch with Gu Yan'an, and then Chu Rong took Qiao Zhiya out.Where are we going? Qiao Zhiya asked in wonder, before he knew where Chu Rong was going to take him out.The military headquarters, Chu Rong set the route for the hover car and then sat back, pinching Qiao Zhiya's ear. Ning Kongran wants to see you.Qiao Zhiya sniffed, then nodded, and didn't ask anything further.Although Ning Kongran was a member of the Ning family, he hasn't been involved in his family affairs. He even helped catch Long Ruifeng and the Patriarch You, which was a great achievement. So technically, he didn't have to cooperate with this investigation. However, after coming down from the battlefield, he insisted on being treated the same as the other members of the Ning family and voluntarily requested to be detained.During this time, Qiao Zhiya tried to contact him, but all the communications he sent were blocked by the information isolation device in the military suspect detention area. Now that Ning Kongran was requesting to see him, he might know about Qiao Zhiya's attempts to contact him.After arriving at the military headquarters, Chu Rong first arranged for Qiao Zhiya to rest in an empty room next to Ning Kongran's detention room. Then, he led the investigation team into Ning Kongran's room.Qiao is next door. Chu Rong looked at Ning Kongran, who was sitting at the bedside desk.Ning Kongran glanced at the room next door and stood up, saying, I want you to conduct a mental search on me.Chu Rong nodded and motioned for the team members behind to help Ning Kongran wear protection.In fact, even if Ning Kongran didn't ask for it, he would've asked him to do the same eventually.The experience of being subjected to a mental search wouldn't be pleasant at all. Ning Kongran wasn't a criminal; on the contrary, he was one of the heroes who captured traitors. Therefore, the operator conducting the search must be extremely cautious, ensuring not to harm Ning Kongran's spiritual sea as much as possible.After the protection was sufficient, the investigation team voluntarily left.Throughout the search process, only one recording device would be present, capturing the footage for documentation. No one else would be allowed to observe, ensuring maximum privacy for Ning Kongran. Once the search concluded, Chu Rong would carefully edit out any memories that weren't suitable as evidence, extracting only the relevant portions.Before officially beginning, Chu Rong handed Ning Kongran a vial of Yellow Leaf Tree potion, indicating for him to drink it. Ning Kongran thought this was part of the normal procedure and obediently drank it. Then, he relaxed his control over his spiritual sea, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes.Chu Rong stepped forward, trying to calm down as much as possible as he explored forwards using his own spiritual power.Crying. Pleading for help. Various attempts to escape. Feigning serious injury and amnesia. Careful efforts to please others, persisting until he was smoothly brought back to the Ning family and became the legitimate young master of the Ning family. Step by step, he established his position within the Ning family, gradually building his own power and protecting his mother's natal family.Ning Kongran's memory spread unreservedly, and Chu Rong tried not to touch most of the things unrelated to the investigation, but focused on searching for the parts related to Ning Tianxing's human experiments.The memories related to human experiments were very old, but they were crystal clear. It seemed that the owner of the memory was repeatedly recalling them so that he wouldn't ever forget.Before the age of ten, Ning Kongran's memories were pale and fragmented memories of his mother being imprisoned, the cold and clinical environment of being treated as a subject for experimentation, and regular examinations and experiments. Perhaps Ning Tianxing didn't find what he was looking for in him, which allowed Ning Kongran to grow up safely.Then his brother Ning Kongze was born, and this gifted baby was immediately the main research subject of Ning Tianxing.He was a very pure and transparent child, with a gentle and kind nature. Even in the face of painful experiments, he always smiled innocently when facing his family, being considerate and adorable. When Chu Rong met the gaze of that child, his heart trembled fiercely. He was too similar. Those pure eyes were almost identical to Qiao Zhiya's.Before Ning Kongze was four years old, Ning Tianxing was more restrained in his research. After four years old, he probably felt that the boy was grown enough to have stronger tolerance. Ning Tianxing finally started to do crueler experiments on the small child.At first, Ning Kongran didn't know about this. He thought his younger brother went through the same experiences as himself. It wasn't until one day when he broke free from the control and witnessed the horrific scenes of his younger brother being tortured.After that came death his brother's death, his mother's death, and the terrifying leftover bodies of the experiment subjects released everywhere. He ran, got caught, pretended to have amnesia after being seriously injured, appeased the devil-like Ning Tianxing to seek survival, and slowly sought opportunities for revenge.In the final scene, in a corner of the dormitory building at the Intermediate College, a reckless teenager with partially damp hair rushed over. As he apologized, he glanced hurriedly in the direction of another person. The youth's pure, clear eyes shone through. His pointed ears were revealed while he was running together, they formed into a fresh splash of green in his dull life.Chu Rong retracted his hand and watched Ning Kongran, who was quietly asleep under the influence of drugs on the bed. Finally, he reached out and turned off the recording equipment.
