Interstellar Power Couple
Translator: Lala
Quality Check: Mukyuu
First Published on Chaleuria
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Chapter 70: The little Demon
“Lingyu, go and take care of Zuo Feng, it’s his first time here as a guest. How could you let him get so bored as to play around with branches? That’s too impolite of us.” Luo Yuling followed Lei Jue’s gaze, and upon seeing Zuo Feng whip at her in-law, her heart leapt to her throat. She said with a smile, “Go on.”
“What an embarrassing sight to have you witness. That kid, he’s been naughty ever since he was little.” Zuo Zhihuan sighed to Luo Yuling, looking quite resigned.
“I’ll go check on him.” With Xiao Xiao in his arms, Xiao Lingyu headed over. When he neared Zuo Feng, he tilted his head up and glanced at the tree the snow-capped jadewings were resting upon. “Aren’t you worried about them leaving a little ‘gift’ on your head when they fly over you?”
“Would they dare?” Zuo Feng had just finished saying with a frown when he heard a light pattering, and something sticky and warm fell on his forehead.
“……”
No one spoke.
Like master, like bird!
Zuo Feng’s expression was dark as he lifted up his hand. He wanted to touch it and see if it was what he thought it was, but also felt too disgusted to do it. He wanted to burn down the tree in anger. But if he did, then his dad might beat him to death on the spot. So all he could do was stand there and simmer.
Lei Jue’s arms were free right now, since his daughter had been taken by everyone else to fawn over, so he had followed Xiao Lingyu over. He wanted to see Zuo Feng as he was right now, still in one undamaged piece, since he might not get to see him like this ever again. According to his understanding of his uncle, Zuo Feng would surely suffer in the future.
“It’s best not to jinx yourself like that.” Lei Jue fixed his uncle’s broken branch while he was at it. “You’ve got a strange hobby Zuo Feng. Why do you like picking fights with trees so much?”
“It’s just a tree. There are so many people waiting in line for your healing, yet you’re using it to heal trees now. That’s a pretty weird hobby too if you ask me.” Zuo Feng looked around him, stamping down the disgust he felt. “Let me borrow your washroom.”
“That’s so much trouble though. I have a faster way.” Lei Jue smiled, looking at Zuo Feng like he was a pig about to be slaughtered. “Lingyu, lend me a hand.”
Xiao Lingyu raised an eyebrow at his words. He held his son in one arm and waved his right hand. In an instant, he burnt the patch of skin on Zuo Feng’s head with bird poop to a crisp, and right after, Lei Jue released his healing energy to return Zuo Feng’s forehead back to the way it was, clean and spotless.
The couple had moved at lightning speed, and their cooperation was flawless. Everything was over before Zuo Feng could even shout in pain or get angry.
Zuo Feng touched his smooth forehead, and turned to leave. But just when he took to steps, a powerful electrical current forced him to stand rooted to the ground!
Xiao Xiao’s left hand held his metal abilities, while his right hand held his wood ones. His left hand had zapped Zuo Feng until Zuo Feng looked like a Shamate [1], while his right hand then returned Zuo Feng to his original state. Like his parents, he had moved super fast, and his sequence of actions was as smooth as could be!
Completely oblivious to how his ‘playmate’ was feeling, Xiao Xiao giggled, revealing his unadorned gums.
Both Xiao Lingyu and Lei Jue were stunned speechless.
Xiao Lingyu gave a light cough. Despite his thick-skinned nature, even he felt quite awkward now. “Sorry, the kid’s a bit naughty.”
Zuo Feng’s expression was stiff as he looked at the little demon in Xiao Lingyu’s arms. He thumped a fist against his chest, “It’s fine.”
But the moment he said that, Xiao Lingyu’s little brat zapped him again!!
The metal elemental energy released this time was noticeably stronger than before, letting out loud cracks and sparks of fire when it crashed at Zuo Feng’s feet, and also drawing the attention of Xiao Zhicheng, Zuo Zhihuan and the others.
Zuo Zhihuan had originally been talking about matters of parliament with Xiao Zhicheng. Who would have thought that the moment he turned his head he’d see his second son being fried to a crisp! The sight was incredibly shocking, and his heart almost stopped!
He inhaled sharply, and then he saw the impy little demon use a glowing green ball of healing energy to cover his son.
The fried meat instantly turned fresh again.
The members of the Zuo family sat in stunned silence.
Right at this moment, the two-metre tall tree behind Zuo Feng started shaking, its leaves falling like flour from a sieve. However, by this point the crowd was too busy being stunned by the Xiao family’s eldest grandson that it went completely unnoticed. Lei Jue and Xiao Lingyu noticed it however, and shifted subtly in front of the tree to cover it.
Zuo Feng’s expression was now as dark as a storm, but his opponent was a little child who didn’t even have all of his teeth yet, so he couldn’t do anything about it!
Xiao Lingyu had by now covered up both hands of his trouble-making son so that he couldn’t do anything else.
Lei Jue rubbed his nose guiltily. He opened his mouth only to close it again, and stayed silent in the end. He had a feeling that no matter what he said right now, his words would have the power to make Zuo Feng burst into angry tears.
Zuo Feng sent a warning glare to Xiao Xiao and stalked off into the crowd.
He never wanted to see the three of them again!
As if he knew he’d been glared at, or perhaps it was because he didn’t like having his hands trapped by his father, Xiao Xiao let out a large wail, and began having a glaring contest with his father. He looked impressively menacing, like he could bring down the heavens if he so wished.
Meanwhile, their uncle had finally recovered from his almost epileptic seizure. Lei Jue glanced at him before going back to the celebrations.
“He’s so young yet he’s already so powerful, god knows he’ll only get more so in the future.” Zuo Qiu looked at the little bundle in Xiao Lingyu’s arms. “I’ve never seen anyone’s kid with such extraordinary abilities at such a young age.”
“Xiao Lingyu and Little Jue are just about the only ones who can control him right now.” Xiao Zhicheng looked cheerfully at his eldest grandson, before asking Zuo Feng, “Are you alright, Little Zuo? Please forgive the naughty child.”
“You’re too kind, Uncle Xiao.” Zuo Feng’s scalp tingled at the mere recollection of being electrocuted. The little brat probably wasn’t even fifty centimetres tall yet, but he was already incredibly strong! Like freaky father, like freaky son.
Zuo Feng glared at Xiao Lingyu secretly. Not wanting to be too close to them, he walked to a corner of the long table to eat, swearing to himself that he would never come to the Xiao residence again!
Zuo Qiu sighed. One of his brothers was naturally reticent, and the other brother was ignoring everything around him because he was in a bad mood. The only lively one was his sister, so he resigned himself and began making small talk with Xiao Lingyu, who was next to him.
“Lingyu, is your second brother at work today?” Zuo Qiu had thought that Xiao Lingshu would be here, and had been quite looking forward to it. He and Xiao Lingshu were of a similar age, and he’d wanted to talk more with him.
“Yeah, I think he has a design competition that he’s entering, so he’s been pretty busy lately.” Xiao Lingyu could tell what Zuo Qiu was thinking and smiled. “If Big Brother Zuo has any time in the future, please drop by often, though it’s better if you come in summer, because my second brother will release all the creatures he takes care of then while he’s on break.”
“Your second brother is a kind-hearted person.” Zuo Qiu sipped his alcohol, choosing not to continue with this line of conversation.
At noon, the children started feeling sleepy. Xiao Xiao yawned, looking like he’d fall asleep in any second, so Xiao Lingyu took the opportunity to try and make his son heal Zuo Zhihuan.
Zuo Zhihuan had thought about it already; it was fine even if he wasn’t healed today. He could just come back later. More contact between their two families was something that he was pleased to see anyways. He hadn’t expected for Xiao Xiao, the little guy, to actually heal him upon touching him in his sleepy state. The dense healing energy emanating from that tiny body did not take long to wrap him up nice and tight.
By the time he had been healed, the child had fallen asleep too, looking very content in his dreams.
Xiao Lingyu put his son in the pram and put a blanket over him, receiving his younger son from his father’s arms before pushing them both indoors. Lei Jue followed behind him with their daughter. The two settled the children next to each other, changing them into new nappies. Xiao Lei watched from the side, before he too began his afternoon nap.
“I’ll watch over them. You should go outside and eat something.” Lei Jue sat on the bed and opened up his photon computer. Because his eldest’s electricity powers were too strong, no one dared pick him up aside from Xiao Lingyu, so Xiao Lingyu was tied to the little demon prince for most of the time. He hadn’t even eaten yet.
“If you’re tired, you should sleep for a bit too.” Xiao Lingyu dipped his body and kissed Lei Jue on the lips. “You’ll have more energy at night then.”
“I have plenty of energy now.” A smile on his face, Lei Jue licked Xiao Lingyu’s draw. “Go eat.”
“Food’s the last thing on my mind now that you’ve done that!” Xiao Lingyu bit harshly at Lei Jue’s nose. “I’ll be quite happy to eat you up for lunch.”
“If you disappear within the next three seconds, I’ll be your midnight snack. As long as your son doesn’t…” Lei Jue hadn’t even finished speaking before Xiao Lingyu raced out of the room, not forgetting to close the door behind him.
Lei Jue licked the corner of his lips, looking down to read through the information about weapons Xiao Lingyu had prepared, as well as the intel that Yu Le had collected recently about Lei Jianying and the two Party Leader’s secretive movements.
WIth the ‘help’ of Xiao Lingyu, Party Leader Li was now using half his attention on dealing with the Vice Party Leader.
Ever since getting their hands on the Golden Fruit Tree’s branches last time in the Holy Eagle Mecha Corps, Party Leader’s plots had seen hope. But the branch had died before growing roots and shoots, so Party Leader Li was very disappointed. He wanted nothing more right now than to march his people into the Holy Eagle Mecha Corps, dig the tree out, and take it home to nurture it himself. He also wanted Lei Jue’s power to belong to him, but he wanted to know Lei Jianying’s whereabouts even more right now, because Lei Jianying was, out of all the people he knew, the one with the best understanding of the Golden Fruit Tree. Party Leader Li believed that Lei Jianying would definitely know why the tree did not live after being brought back.
He believed that the Vice Party Leader had stolen Lei Jianying away for the same reason, because he’d heard that the Vice Party Leader’s branch had died too. The Vice Party Leader must have stolen Lei Jianying away for that!
The problematic thing now was that the place Lei Jianying was taken from wasn’t the official detention centre for animal ability users, but his own unlisted private laboratory, and thus could not be revealed to the public. If it did get uncovered, and the real owner of the laboratory discovered, he would have no way of explaining himself.
Party Leader Li had not been put in such a difficult situation in many years; moreover, it was one that he could not even talk about.
“Have you found where they’ve hidden him yet?” Party Leader Li looked at his own sagging skin, his expression worsening.
“There’s evidence pointing towards Mr. Huang’s residence. We’re not 100% sure, but we’re relatively sure…” The speaker peeked at Party Leader Li cautiously, his unspoken words obvious to all; it was, after all, the residence of the emperor. Although the emperor had no power, he was still a noble existence, and his residence was not a place they could come and go through as they pleased.
“They certainly have a way with picking their spots.”
“Also, Mr. Single has indeed helped Mr. Huang not long ago to raise the quality of their defense systems, and all the robots in Mr. Huang’s residence have been switched to new ones with a much higher attack capacity. Our next step…”
“Confirm Lei Jianying’s location ASAP. Also, tell Team Leader Chen to come over.” Done speaking, Party Leader Li waved his hands, signalling the other man to go.
Not long after, Team Leader Chen of the inspection team walked in. He left after a ten minute conversation with Party Leader Li.
The two were convinced it was the Vice Party Leader who had taken Lei Jianying away. They had no clue that the Vice Party Leader and Mr. Huang were also in a confused frenzy at this time. Before their current problem could be solved however, another one came; there had been a new topic brought up in parliament. Someone had suggested a crackdown for certain crimes, especially those committed by major contractors and pharmaceutical companies. The first goal of the movement would be to investigate tax dodging, and the second goal was to investigate the quality and efficacy testing of those drugs. Members of the intelligence team had sent the relevant information via message to the parliament members’ communicators.
Crackdowns would usually happen once every two years, and there was no way of predicting exactly what industry got checked. There was usually no one who would go against it though, as protesting would imply that they had something to hide.
So the crackdown had received a unanimous green light in Virtual Parliament, and Vice party Leader, who relied on these various major contractors and producers of clinical drugs, could only sit there and play dumb.
Zuo Zhihuan and Xiao Zhicheng had chosen to approve the crackdown too. By now, it was already quite late, and having brought his family out for the day, it was time for everyone to go home.
The children had slept soundly and to their hearts’ content. They were all awake now. Xiao Lingyu and Lei Jue held them in their arms as they saw the guests out. On the way, Zuo Zhihuan’s eyes greedily roamed over them before boarding the fighter aircraft.
“Yuwen, in the future, come whenever you’re free. You don’t have to wait until Old Zuo has the time.” Luo Yuling grasped Ding Yuwen’s hands. “Bring Little Nian over too, I love that kid.”
“Okay. You should come to the Southern Clearwater District when you have the time too.” Ding Yuwen smiled, and waved at the Xiao family after boarding the fighter aircraft.
Zuo Zhihuan felt a little sad that he hadn’t been able to get his children to meet the unmarried kids from the Xiao family, but he was sure that he would have plenty of opportunities in the future, and so put the matter off his mind. He was set on becoming family with the Xiao’s. Usually, there were very few cases of couples in which both parties had elemental abilities, because no one wanted to let their elemental child join another family. Even if it was a daughter, they would find a son-in-law to marry into the family. But Xiao Lingyu’s elder siblings had no elemental powers, so Zuo Zhihuan still had hope.
The Zuos’ fighter aircraft slowly lifted off from the ground. Lei Jue stared up at them for a while, and after seeing the family fly further and further away, he looked over at his Uncle. The man had been pretending to be a tree for the better half of the day already, and had probably wanted to turn back ages ago.
Lei Jue walked over, saying to the two-metres-tall tree, “Uncle, you can turn back now.”
The tree was silent. He’d clearly been shaking like he was seizuring before, and yet now he didn’t even make a peep. Upon further inspection, Lei Jue realised that the leaves didn’t look quite right. The branch that Zuo Feng had broken off had been quite strong and bright before, yet now it looked a little wilted.
“Uncle?” Lei Jue gave the trunk a light push.
“What’s wrong with Uncle?” Xiao Lingyu noticed something off about the situation now too.
Lei Jue frowned. He wrapped his hand around the trunk and tried to pull it up. And then it really did get pulled up! There were no roots on the tree. Not even one. The part of it that was buried about ten centimetres into the ground looked as if it had been severed cleanly.
“What happened to Uncle?” Xiao Lingyu felt a little weird, being so used to calling a tree ‘Uncle’.
“He’s probably gone out to mess around.” Lei Jue seemed to have thought of something, and a strange smile made its way to his lips. He looked up at the sky, before stabbing the tree back into its hole in the ground, providing it with enough energy that allowed it to spread its roots again.
Right at this time, a small, humanoid-looking tree trunk sprouted its branches, leaves unfurling on them not long after. It sneakily pasted itself against the Zuos’ fighter aircraft, and, braving the danger of having its leaves blown off, followed them to the Southern Clearwater District.
“Achoo!” Zuo Feng gave a mighty sneeze.
“What’s wrong Little Feng? Did you catch a cold?” Ding Yu Wen asked concernedly.
“No.” Zuo Feng rubbed his nose. “Dad, when are we going again?”
Zuo Zhihuan was a bit surprised. “Do you want to go again?”
Even after being fried to a crisp like that??
A mischievous smile grew on Zuo Feng’s face. “I suddenly realised that marrying someone from the Xiao family isn’t that bad of an idea. If it happens, Xiao Lingyu and Lei Jue would have to call me ‘Big Brother’. The thought of it is fun.”
Zuo Zhihuan suddenly felt quite exasperated. The damn brat, why were his thoughts all so bad?!
Zuo Qiu smiled along, but he didn’t approve of his younger brother’s idea. He believed that although Xiao Zhicheng and Luo Yuling were pretty democratic, those who were still single in the younger generation didn’t seem interested in coming to the Southern Clearwater District. Otherwise, why was it that none of them had come?
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[1] 杀马特: Shamate: a fashion subculture in china, generally involving spiky hair resembling that of Yugi Mutou’s from Yu-gi-oh!