Several days later.
After Aether returned to his original form, he carefully made his way back to the Xianzhou Luofu. He was extremely worried now, as his acting skills were just average, and anyone with a bit more cunning could easily suspect him.
What kind of situation is it when an Emanator of Abundance is discovered one moment, and I disappear the next?
This loophole was far too obvious.
Aether's only hope now was that Jing Yuan wouldn't set a trap for him. With Jing Yuan's intelligence, he would definitely use his mind before resorting to force, and if he didn't use force, there was still room for negotiation.
"Phew, relax, relax. I'm just a small merchant."
Arriving at his doorstep, Aether took a deep breath, suppressed his inner tension, and pushed open the courtyard gate.
As the gate opened, Aether saw Fei Xiao sitting at a stone table nearby. Hearing the gate open, she slowly turned her head.
Upon seeing Fei Xiao, Aether's heart tightened, and his palms began to sweat uncontrollably.
At this moment, Fei Xiao looked much more tired. Her usually spirited demeanor was replaced by a noticeable weariness, and her bright blue eyes had dimmed considerably.
But the moment she saw Aether, Fei Xiao's eyes regained their usual luster. Before Aether could say anything, she rushed over and hugged him tightly.
Aether opened his mouth, unsure what to say for a moment. He could only hug Fei Xiao back and gently stroke her head to comfort her.
"Where did you go? I was so worried about you," Fei Xiao's slightly trembling voice sounded in Aether's ear.
"I had an urgent matter and left in a hurry. I made you worry," Aether explained, feeling a little guilty as he held Fei Xiao.
"I know, I know all about it," Fei Xiao, however, held Aether tightly and whispered in his ear.
?!
Aether's heart clenched, and he instinctively thought that his identity as an Emanator of Abundance had been exposed.
"I know you're working with Aether. I don't blame you, I just beg you not to get involved anymore, okay?" Fei Xiao said slowly, as tears began to dampen Aether's shoulder.
..."Okay, I promise you."
Aether was silent for a moment, then finally agreed to Fei Xiao's request.
Neither of them was foolish. They both had a pretty good idea of the truth, but they were both afraid, afraid of what would happen once the truth was revealed.
"I'm sorry, Fei Xiao... I made you worry," Aether said, holding Fei Xiao with a sense of apology.
"Mmm..."
Fei Xiao responded softly. After an unknown amount of time, the two slowly separated.
"Do you know where you went wrong?"
Fei Xiao crossed her arms and looked at Aether, asking.
"Uh, leaving without saying goodbye?" Aether lowered his head slightly, answering uncertainly.
"Exactly. Since you made a mistake, you need to show an attitude of admitting it," Fei Xiao nodded and said.
"Then what should I do?" Aether knew he was in the wrong and didn't argue, asking.
Hearing this, Fei Xiao smiled slightly, directly grabbed Aether by the collar, pulled him into the house, and threw him into the room.
Aether immediately felt a bad premonition. Just as he stood up, he saw Fei Xiao lock the door and quickly walk towards him.
"Since you're the one who made a mistake, then compensate me well."
A hint of charm appeared on Fei Xiao's heroic and spirited face. Before Aether could react, she forcefully pushed him onto the bed, clasped his hands, and unreasonably began to passionately kiss Aether.
Perhaps it was due to not seeing Aether for several days, coupled with the recent events causing Fei Xiao's emotions to fluctuate greatly, but Fei Xiao was more ravenous than ever. Her strength was unreserved, and she didn't consider that she might hurt Aether.
If it weren't for the fact that Fei Xiao showed no symptoms of Moon Frenzy, Aether would have thought her Moon Frenzy had worsened... The wind whistles, the water is cold, a brave warrior departs... Alas, almost never to return.
Three days later.
Aether took out the pain relievers Bailu had prescribed him earlier and poured some into his mouth.
He hadn't even eaten for these three days. Fei Xiao, perhaps having suppressed herself too much, hadn't stopped at all. Aether couldn't even take the initiative, let alone resist; he was pressed down by Fei Xiao the entire time.
Fei Xiao was ruthless this time, using all her strength. After these three days, Aether's injuries were even more severe than before, resulting in full-body comminuted fractures that caused him immense pain. If his body wasn't strong and durable, he might have truly died on Fei Xiao.
"Aether, what are you doing there?"
Fei Xiao's lazy voice came from behind him, startling Aether.
"Ah, haha, I, I'm drinking water," Aether said with an awkward laugh.
"Don't drink anymore, come here." Fei Xiao pulled back the covers and dragged Aether into her embrace.
"I haven't said it's over yet, let's continue." Fei Xiao's face was incredibly rosy, showing no signs of fatigue at all. Instead, she looked refreshed, as if she had been greatly nourished.
Aether felt like the sky was falling. Even the most hardworking ox wouldn't be worked this hard. Farmers at least let their oxen rest after working the fields. Although he was much more durable than an ox, the 'field' in front of him wasn't an ordinary field either.
This kind of thing wasn't a big deal for Aether, but the key was that Fei Xiao had no sense of moderation and always liked to go all out. He didn't know how many times his bones had been broken. Even the most durable Emanator might not be able to withstand such abuse.
Just as Fei Xiao was about to continue, a communication device nearby rang, interrupting her actions.
"Tsk, who is it?" Fei Xiao was a bit annoyed. She picked up her phone and saw it was Jiaoqiu calling.
"Hello? Jiaoqiu, you'd better have something important to tell me, or you'll regret it later," Fei Xiao threatened in a very displeased tone.
"General, rest assured, it is indeed an important matter. There's another war initiated by Abominations of Abundance in the *** galaxy, and it's suspected that Borisin are involved," Jiaoqiu said on the other end of the phone.
"Tsk, it's never a good time..."
Fei Xiao irritably scratched her hair and asked, "How much time until we need to depart?"
"Reporting, General, there are two and a half hours left," Jiaoqiu replied.
"Two and a half hours, that's enough."
Hearing this, Fei Xiao revealed a satisfied smile. After casually hanging up the phone, she grabbed Aether, who was about to sneak away.
"Fei, Fei Xiao, don't you have an important matter to attend to? Let's just call it quits this time..." Aether said with a smile that was uglier than a cry.
"Yes, but there are two and a half hours. That's enough time, and it won't even take me a minute to get there, so..."
Fei Xiao showed a triumphant smile, then once again ruthlessly ravaged Aether... On the battleship.
Looking at the refreshed Fei Xiao, who was in much better condition than before, Jiaoqiu couldn't help but shake his head.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Brother Aether, I'm afraid it'll take him at least ten days to half a month to recover. I'll have to prepare a good tonic prescription for him later."
"Achoo! Who's talking bad about me?"
Aether, who was setting his own bones, sneezed and subconsciously looked around.
"Never mind that. You're saying the Astral Express has reappeared?" Aether asked, looking at his subordinate.