Chapter 222: Pulling out the carrot brings out the mud
"Dad!" Taking advantage of the moment when He Ziqian was stunned, Xiaoguai took the lead and rushed into Ruan Xi's arms regardless of anything. He vented his panic in the most intimate hug and refused to let go after holding him tightly. He didn't care at all whether his beloved dad was being strangled by him and couldn't breathe.
Seeing this, He Ziqian was about to reach out to pull the person away, but Ruan Xi stopped him with a look. He let the little guy hug him tightly, nudging and rubbing against him like an insecure little animal. No matter how he was tossed around, he didn't resist, nor did he say a word to stop. It was not until the little guy came to his senses that he jumped away as if he had been electrocuted, and asked nervously: "Dad, I didn't press you, did I? I didn't strangle you, did I? I didn't mean to, I was just too scared..."
Xiaoguai was crying like a little cat at the moment, looking very embarrassed. Ruan Xi couldn't help but laugh, raised her hand and gently rubbed his head, "It's okay, it was Daddy who scared you."
"Dad..." After Xiaoguai confirmed that Ruan Xi was really fine, he wanted to pounce on him again. This time, he would be gentler so as not to make his father feel uncomfortable.
As a result, his collar tightened and Xiaoguai was suddenly lifted into the air. He subconsciously turned his head and glared fiercely, but ended up meeting the fierce face of his other father.
Damn, it’s so cold!
"Father……"
"Xiaoshu is looking for you." He Ziqian raised his chin in one direction. Xiaoguai looked forward in that direction and saw Xiaoshu waving its leaves at him. He immediately became happy subconsciously and called out excitedly, "Xiaoshu!"
"Go play with the little tree." He Ziqian threw Xiaoguai over there, and the big tree immediately stretched out its branches to catch Xiaoguai, sent him to his own cub, and silently separated the two little ones.
If he disturbs other people from talking about their love affairs and expressing their true feelings again, He Ziqian will probably explode on the spot. He can't afford to offend him.
Ruan Xi looked at this scene, feeling sad, soft and a little amused. The moment he met He Ziqian's deep eyes, his mind seemed to go blank. He couldn't think of anything and just wanted to hug this man tightly.
Ruan Xi followed her inner desire and opened her arms towards He Ziqian with a well-behaved expression that said "please hug me", which instantly shattered He Ziqian's defenses. No matter how much he wanted to settle the score later or how many words he said, they were not as direct as a hug.
"Xiao Xi, you scared me, really scared me..." Thinking of the scene of Ruan Xi lying unconscious in his arms, He Ziqian couldn't help but tremble all over, and his heart felt a sharp pain. Even though his lover was now awake and nestled in his arms, he still felt a little unreal.
"I'm sorry, the situation was too critical, I couldn't just leave the tree alone... Fortunately, both the tree and I are fine." This situation caused those who loved me to worry and panic. Ultimately, it was because I wasn't strong enough. Otherwise, how could the atlas space be automatically locked when I fell unconscious, and I couldn't even use the leaves left for me by the tree!
Ruan Xi felt depressed when he thought about this.
However, it was really comfortable to nestle in the warm embrace of her lover. Ruan Xi had become a good kid without realizing it. She nudged and rubbed against He Ziqian's arms, as if she wanted to melt into her lover's body. The sticky feeling made He Ziqian couldn't help but chuckle.
"Don't laugh! I was scared too. I thought I could never come back..." After all, the boundless darkness in the dream was really scary. Fortunately, he was called back.
"Don't do this again! You should have discussed it with me in advance..." He Ziqian kept asking the same question over and over again like an insecure child, which made Ruan Xi laugh and feel distressed. She could only hug her lover tighter and comfort him continuously until her lover regained his usual calmness. Only then did she quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
"By the way, where are the other teammates? Where is Isaac?" Ruan Xi remembered the important matter and asked a little nervously.
He was afraid that if something happened to his teammates while they were trying to rescue him, he would be guilty of a serious crime.
"Don't worry, all members of the Goshawk Squad, including the non-staff member Xiaoguai, are safe. They are now divided into groups to investigate on Funong Star. Isaac has been escorted back to the Imperial Capital Star. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will handle it. I don't need to worry about it." Isaac is now an abandoned pawn, and his life is about to come to an end. Instead of wasting time with Isaac, it is better to send him back to the Imperial Capital Star, where there will naturally be more professional people to take care of him.
"Oh, that's good." Ruan Xi patted his chest and felt relieved.
Afterwards, Ruan Xi, supported by He Ziqian, walked to the big tree, and they hugged each other warmly and friendly, then went straight to the point.
"What exactly happened? Has the barrier on this side of the forest been broken? How could they attack you directly?" Ruan Xi asked three questions in a row, his anxiety evident in his words.
"Remember when I told you before you left Funong Star that I felt something was amiss with the barrier? This time, after returning, I carefully examined it several times and discovered that the barrier had been weakening and there were signs of human damage. They disguised it very well, making us believe that they were powerless to deal with the barrier. In fact, the damage was ongoing. This time, if I hadn't returned in time, Xiaoshu might have..."
Although he said that he didn't care much, the little tree was his cub. The Tree of Life could only have one cub in its lifetime. If he lost it, he would not only lose his child, but his own energy would also be greatly damaged, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
"These people are really capable. They even disguised themselves. It seems that we are too naive, so we were easily fooled by them." Or maybe, they were overconfident in this barrier, so they were easily fooled by the disguises of those people in the Elder Council. Ruan Xi couldn't help but feel scared when he thought about it now, and quickly hugged Xiaoshu to comfort himself.
The small tree also stretched out its branches and gently patted Ruan Xi's back until it was released.
"Xiaoshu is really not hurt, right? What about you, Dashu? You didn't hide it from me, did you?" Ruan Xi thought of this possibility and started circling around the big and small trees again, until the big tree cursed him with a helpless smile and even slapped him a few times symbolically, and then he calmed down.
After all this commotion, the heavy atmosphere finally eased a little, but the situation still could not be ignored. Ruan Xi could not leave with peace of mind unless the problem of the Elders' Council was resolved.
"They're from the Elders, right? Why on earth would they do this? According to the information I have, the Elders... at least the chief elder, must know a lot about the Tree of Life. What exactly do they want? I don't understand. Isn't it more cost-effective to nurture a living Tree of Life than a dead one? What on earth are these people thinking?"
Anyway, Ruan Xi couldn't understand this mentality and was very upset.
The big tree didn't understand either, and was scratching its head along with Ruan Xi... Well, it could only grab its own trunk. The human mind was full of twists and turns, and a tree like it couldn't possibly understand them. However, Ruan Xi's statement still caused the big tree some discomfort, and it immediately expressed its protest.
"Hey, why do you make it seem like I have to let them take advantage of me? I'm free!" Although he knew that Ruan Xi didn't mean that, Dashu still indulged himself for a while. It was really because he had been living too tense and exciting during this period of time, and he couldn't calm down.
After all, he has just reached adulthood. According to the rules of the Tree of Life clan, this is the best time for him to receive close companionship and careful instruction from his elders. But not only does he not have any companionship and protection, he also has to accompany and protect his own cubs. Just thinking about it makes him so sad.
"Be good, you know that's not what I mean. We need to figure out what they want first. Otherwise, if we keep passively taking the beating, I think something bad will happen sooner or later. After all, it's better to be safe than sorry. The human mind is the most complicated. God knows how many conspiracies and tricks those cunning fellows have in their hearts!"
When it comes to the Tree of Life, Ruan Xi has always studied it from the perspective of precious species and precious medicinal materials. As for the big tree, it is his relative and friend. No matter what their identity is, for Ruan Xi, the big tree should not be harmed, but should be well protected. Why do these people inexplicably always want to harm the big tree, or even kill it?
The more Ruan Xi thought about it, the more confused he became. He felt like his head was about to get tangled up.
At this time, He Ziqian spoke.
"Or maybe they don't really want to kill the Tree of Life, but they can ensure that the Tree of Life can survive under such a siege and eventually be used by them." As for how to use it, He Ziqian didn't need to say it clearly, Ruan Xi immediately figured it out, and suddenly couldn't help but gasp.
The Tree of Life is not omnipotent, but it can develop too many functions. Whether the effect is good or bad is still to be evaluated. However, the ending of the Tree of Life is almost imminent.
"Will it really be so tragic..." After being stunned, the big tree seemed to understand. Suddenly, the whole tree felt unwell and began to tremble.
At this moment, Dashu remembered what Ruan Xi had once said to him jokingly - death is not scary, what is scary is living a life worse than death.
"I don't want to live a life worse than death. Instead of that, I might as well let Xiaoxi eat me!" As for how to eat him, Dashu was completely unable to think about it at the moment and just said these words subconsciously.
"Shut up! Don't say that! What life or death? Do you still have any awareness that you are the Tree of Life? How can the Tree of Life die so easily? You are not allowed to die!" Ruan Xi was so angry at the big tree's words that he instantly exploded. He grabbed the branch of the big tree that was resting on his shoulders and started lecturing. His fierce look scared the big tree instantly, and even Xiaoguai and the little tree beside him shrank back in fear.
This was the first time that Xiaoguai witnessed how fierce his father was. However, after the shock, the little guy had only one sentence in his heart and eyes - Dad is so cool!
"Well, I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of a life worse than death. Who knows what those evil guys are going to do with me? The unknown is the scariest thing, okay..." Although Dashu was timid, it didn't stop him from defending himself. At the end, his tone became a little pitiful, which made Ruan Xi unable to get angry.
Besides, this is not the tree’s fault, but the fault of those who want to hurt the tree!
"Big Tree, I will protect you even if it costs me my life!"
"Dad, I also protect big trees and small trees. I'm super awesome!" When Xiaoguai heard this, he immediately raised his hands and followed his father's rhythm, jumping on the spot to show his determination.
He Ziqian looked at Ruan Xi silently. Ruan Xi immediately noticed his lover's gaze and shuddered inwardly. He quickly added, "And Ziqian, he will protect you with us! We are a family. If we have to fight, we have to fight together!"
"Yeah." He Ziqian was satisfied after hearing this. In fact, he was not being pretentious and had to let Ruan Xi say it out loud. It was just that Ruan Xi's self-willed behavior last time almost made him lose his lover. He always felt a little uneasy in his heart, as if it had taken root and could not be pulled out.
At this moment, He Ziqian's personal terminal flashed a green communication light. Ruan Xi's eyes widened and he subconsciously asked, "Isn't it that we can't connect to the star network here?" The personal terminals they are using now were brought in from outside, and they can't connect to the network of Funong Star.
"For internal communication, Xu Ze can just build a local area network." He Ziqian said it so easily, but Ruan Xi felt a chill on his forehead when he heard it - it didn't sound simple at all!
Ruan Xi waved his hand weakly, not wanting to say anything more. He just urged He Ziqian with his eyes to quickly connect the call.
Soon, Han Qing's voice was heard. The team he led was going directly to the Great Elder to inquire about the situation. He Ziqian immediately became alert.
"Han Qing, what did you find?"
"Captain, do you know who I saw here?" Han Qing's tone was filled with an undeniable heaviness and hidden anger. Needless to say, He Ziqian and Ruan Xi could both hear something was going on. Ruan Xi immediately approached nervously, "Deputy Captain, who did you see?"
Oh shit, it can't be Mr. He, right? It really doesn't have to be such a coincidence, blaming everything on Mr. He!
Several thoughts flashed through Ruan Xi's mind in an instant, and he felt as entangled and uncomfortable as if thousands of horses were galloping. However, this time, his entanglement was in vain.
"Minister Gong." Han Qing simply said three words, and each word was pronounced clearly, making it difficult to misunderstand. However, when these three words were put together, Ruan Xi became a little confused.
Who is Minister Gong? Don't just give his last name and position, at least tell us a little bit about his life!
"Which Minister Gong?" He Ziqian's tone instantly turned to freezing point. Seeing ice chips condensing in the air around them, Ruan Xi felt a skip in his heart.
Oh shit, his He Ziqian's tone was so heavy, could he be referring to some high-ranking official? Grandpa He had said that their family's tragedy was related to some aristocratic family, high-ranking official, or collusion, so after all this detour, it still came back to Grandpa He?
"Military Headquarters, I just happened to be testing my newly invented micro-eavesdropping device and heard them say...the He family should have been wiped out back then to avoid leaving behind a root of trouble that's now causing another uproar...Captain, the near-extinction of the He family back then wasn't an accident, it was a massive conspiracy! General He's youngest son discovered their secret, and they want to silence him..."
Han Qing had been gritting his teeth and could hardly continue when he reached this point.
Soldiers defend their country and will not retreat even if it costs their lives. However, dying in a conspiracy or at the hands of their compatriots is so frustrating. Even if it does not happen to them, that kind of hatred can take root in the heart of every upright soldier in an instant.
At this moment, all the members of the team led by Han Qing were in this situation. They could hardly control their anger and rushed forward to beat up that damn Minister Gong.
"Calm down. Get as much evidence as possible of their treason. This matter cannot be left unresolved like this."
He Ziqian gave the order in a cold and calm manner. Han Qing on the other end was silent for a while before he finally found his voice and replied softly, "Yes, Captain."
After the call was disconnected, there was silence in the cave for a while. No matter the big trees or the small trees, Xiaoguai didn't quite understand any of it. All his joys and sorrows were only related to his two fathers. But looking at the cold and scary expressions of his two fathers, he couldn't help but panic.
"Zi Qian, is it just that Minister Gong? I'm afraid there are others as well. There must be a web of mutual protection among officials. This is really... pulling out a radish brings out mud, and who knows how long this will drag out!"
This can be considered an unexpected gain, but it really doesn't make me happy.
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