The training room was dead silent. Gu Shen had already prepared himself to be scolded, never expecting the boss to ask about this instead.
He didn’t react for a moment and scratched his head in confusion.
Watching Xavier drive the small spacecraft gradually sail further away, Cain’s patience was also rapidly dissipating, “You don’t know the reason?”
He clearly remembered that at the very beginning, Xavier was quite disdainful toward Gu Shen. Why, after spending just such a short period of time together, did he suddenly start smiling and welcoming him?
He rarely even had such a gentle attitude toward himself.
Gu Shen lowered his head to recall for a moment, his tone carrying a bit of hesitation, “It seems… it was from the moment I called him Little Highness that his attitude softened a bit.”
When he had chased after him just now, Xavier was full of anger and treated him with indifference. If it hadn’t been for him repeatedly pleading and calling him Little Ancestor and Little Highness, Xavier wouldn’t even have been willing to glance at him.
Cain’s brow ridges raised slightly, “Just that?”
Though he said that, what surfaced in his mind was the image of Xavier repeatedly asking him to pay attention to “social etiquette” and emphasizing forms of address, as well as the smug expression when he was called “Higharness” by Feiyue (緋月).
Gu Shen’s explanation seemed somewhat credible.
Cain’s eyes flashed slightly, and he stepped forward to chase straight after him.
“Why did you just leave?”
In the tiny cockpit, Xavier rubbed the tip of his nose with a trace of annoyance, “I didn’t mean to bump into him…”
Originally, he had wanted to deliberately graze past Cain to collide with him, observing his awkward state of dodging left and right. Who knew that, stimulated by a bit of pheromone, he failed to control the direction well on the second attempt.
That guy too!
Clearly noticing the commotion, he deliberately stood in place without dodging, causing him to bump right into him like that.
Xavier’s plan had failed, and amidst his internal annoyance, there was also a bit of minor awkwardness. Before he could drop any harsh words, he hurried away.
Celine: …
She reminded him: “He’s catching up.”
Xavier glanced at the monitor.
He saw Cain walking forward with a stride that was calm, breezy, and even somewhat arrogant. Xavier muttered in dissatisfaction and low tones, “Strange, could it be that after sleeping for a huge sleep, my ability to cause trouble has actually regressed?”
Back in his youth when he was unrestrained and traveled across the world, the troubles he caused could stretch from the West to the East, spanning the entire territorial domain of the world.
Cain walked straight up, raising his hand to lightly tap twice on the porthole.
Xavier glanced at his forehead and hair, which were still somewhat damp with moisture, and casually pressed the convertible button with his fingertip. The cabin cover quickly retracted backward along the track.
The moment the cabin opening was completely exposed, an extremely predatory aura rushed toward him.
Caught off guard, Xavier’s pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively raised his hand to cover his nose and mouth, even feeling a subtle tightness in his chest cavity.
When Cain hurried over, he had only casually thrown on a loose outer garment. His attire was casual, but the pheromones radiating from his entire body remained aggressive and overbearing.
It wasn’t a sweaty smell, but rather felt more like some kind of biological signal. For instance, the pheromones emitted instinctively by high-level predatory creatures during a certain special period, carrying an all-pervasive aggressiveness.
Xavier shifted his body somewhat uncomfortably, looking up and down at Cain, “What… is that smell on you?”
——What?
The arm hanging by the man’s side tightened ever so slightly.
He lowered his gaze, lightly sniffing the surrounding air. With his senses far exceeding ordinary people’s, he didn’t perceive the slightest abnormality at all. When he raised his eyes to look at Xavier again, his gaze held nothing but undisguised scrutiny.
…Yet the little fellow’s expression didn’t look fake.
Noticing the change in Cain’s expression, Celine remarked: “You’re overthinking it, Xavier. I told you long ago that your ability to anger people is peerless.”
Xavier ignored Celine’s roast. He drove the small spacecraft and leisurely circled around the man once, his deeply rooted common sense regarding humans from his memories finally collapsing in the face of curiosity.
He bluntly asked: “Is it your rutting season?”
How strange, His Royal Highness the Prince pondered inwardly in secret, could it be that after entering the interstellar era, humans have also evolved a fixed rutting season?
Celine: “…Brilliant.”
The confusion in Cain’s eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a faint yet extremely oppressive speechlessness. He stared at Xavier and retorted indifferently, “Is this a trick you deliberately used to piss me off?”
Xavier’s expression was composed and open, answering truthfully, “Not right now.”
Not right now, meaning it was just now?
In just a short span of time, Cain’s mood had risen and fallen many times, finally turning into an indescribable helplessness.
He had originally wanted to use the method he learned from Gu Shen to try and narrow the distance with Xavier. But facing the little fellow’s slightly turned-away posture and body language that showed he wished to avoid him at all costs, the three words lingering on his lips ultimately failed to be spoken out.
“Letting you know, the Blood Blade will immediately undergo continuous jumps to return to the planet Xiguang. If you have other arrangements, you can leave the fleet at any of the transit points along the way.”
The man’s grey-blue eyes were calm and unrippled, revealing no emotion, except for his jawline which tightened into a cold and hard arc.
He stared at Xavier’s reaction.
Would he take the opportunity to head toward Xiguang, or leave simply out of fear of exposure?
Xavier showed almost no hesitation, his voice crisp and carrying a somewhat matter-of-fact tone, “You still owe me so many magi… purification stones. You want to ask this Prince to leave before clearing your debts? No way.”
Cain turned his head sideways, a very faint, hard-to-detect trace of amusement flashing across the depths of his eyes. The corners of his lips curved upward ever so slightly before instantly returning to apathy: “Remember what you said today.”
“Remember that you owe me.”
Xavier pinched his nose, emphasizing in a muffled voice.
“However, Xiguang Star, what kind of place is that?”
“Want to know?”
Cain leaned in half a step closer, his knuckles lightly tapping against the hull of the spacecraft. His movements were gentle, and his tone was even deliberately slowed down, like holding a soft feather, testingly brushing across Xavier’s field of vision in an attempt to hook his attention.
“Come back with me to the Second District, and I’ll tell you everything from beginning to end.”
He knew how intense this little fellow’s curiosity was, and was certain that Xavier would顺势 (go along with it) and agree.
The abruptly shortened distance made Xavier feel as though he had been licked from head to toe by the dense pheromones—sticky, damp, and omnipresent.
A strange warmth inexplicably spread across the surface of his body, making even his breathing disordered.
With his throat tightening, Xavier’s eyelashes fluttered lightly, and it was only after a few seconds of delay that he managed to speak: “No need, I can find Gu Shen.”
As soon as those words fell, the top cover of the small spacecraft closed decisively, and the engine started up with a buzzing thrust, without a shred of lingering attachment, turning into a black shadow that rapidly sped away.
Cain’s plan fell through. He stood quietly in place for two seconds before lifting his eyes to look at the departing back.
Then turning his gaze back to his own empty shoulder, the man lightly pressed his back teeth with the tip of his tongue. The unhappiness in the bottom of his heart was almost impossible to conceal, and he softly chided:
“Unfamiliar and untamable.”
Xavier turned on the autopilot mode. Although he had forcefully blocked his olfactory system just moments ago, a scattering of pheromones had inevitably invaded his body.
Now that his abilities were impaired and his physique had shrunk accordingly, this minor influence was significantly magnified.
Xavier leaned back against the seat. The human vital signs that had previously been merely simulated were now fluctuating violently and uncontrollably.
Heartbeat. Breathing.
He could even hear the sound of his own blood circulation.
And… so hungry, so hungry, so hungry!
“How strange, Celine, what’s happening to me?”
“Xavier…”
Celine’s voice carried a hint of hesitation and strangeness, her tone drifting and uncertain.
“You seem to have developed… symptoms of pseudo-estrus.”
Xavier suspected his heartbeat was too loud, affecting his ability to interpret the mental message coming from Celine, “What did you just say? I didn’t hear clearly?”
“Pseudo-estrus.”
Celine slowed her pace, informing him one word at a time: “Don’t be too nervous. Blood族 (Vampires) are naturally prone to being induced into this kind of state by external pheromones—it can be considered one of their racial talents, after all, many vampires choose to lure prey to hunt them. As long as you break away from the pheromone source, this discomfort will soon subside.”
“That’s not right!” Xavier raised his voice in disbelief, his pretty peach-blossom eyes wide round like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “Only low-level vampires get induced into estrus! What does that have to do with this Prince?!”
Celine fell silent for a moment. “If the mental resonance frequency is high, or between races with a symbiotic relationship, then it’s not strange.”
“—Celine, you know what?”
Xavier leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes to massage his brow. The exhaled breath hit his wrist, and it was actually warm.
Damn it.
He muttered: “The gap between vampires and humans is just as huge as the gap between undead liches and swamp sprites.”
Thinking of those swamp sprites that she only ever used to make potions, and their personality of screaming with a ‘zi-wa’ sound the moment they were touched, Celine felt a chill run through her soul body, and could only try hard to comfort Xavier: “Once I absorb more exogenous magical power and successfully open the bloodline link, I should be able to figure out what the reason is.”
“As for now… just try to stay away from him.”
Gu Shen found that Xavier had been acting a bit abnormal these past few days.
Not only had he forcefully occupied one of the studios, but occasionally when Gu Shen had no choice but to knock on the door to retrieve instruments, Xavier would hide and refuse to see him.
And speaking of the boss, his mood didn’t seem great either. When he went to report on work, the boss actually spaced out right in the middle of it!
Even on a few occasions, Gu Shen had caught him silently raising his arm to sniff himself twice.
Without needing to think too much, Gu Shen knew that after the boss chased after him that day, conflict must have broken out between the two of them again.
He sighed, proactively acting as a peacemaker and going to find Xavier first.
Over the past few days, Xavier had locked himself in the studio, only occasionally learning about the situation through No. 1.
After several consecutive jumps, the Blood Blade had already reached the jump point closest to the Xiguang Star system, speeding forward toward its destination.
As for Xavier’s various vital signs, they had indeed gradually returned to normal after moving away from the pheromone source that was inducing his… pseudo-estrus, just as Celine had predicted.
Therefore, when Gu Shen knocked on the door again, he nodded with good nature and allowed the curly-haired man to sit down beside him.
“Little Highness~~~”
“Stop—”
Just as Gu Shen started speaking with a pinched voice, Xavier interrupted him, “Speak your mind directly.”
Gu Shen smiled sheepishly twice, “Look, I understand. You and the boss still have some misunderstandings that haven’t been resolved, but to be honest, the boss has been a bit out of control with his mental power lately because of the medical pod, which led to some minor misunderstandings between you two. But now he’s all better, you two can totally—”
“Spare me the gossip.” Xavier interrupted him ruthlessly once more. Hearing any related words about Cain made that strange agitation in his body vaguely churn again.
He closed his eyes, propping his cheek in his hand, his demeanor lazy yet carrying a hint of nobility: “Stop trying to plead on his behalf, and instead tell this Prince about the situation regarding Xiguang.”
“Xiguang.” Gu Shen was startled, not deliberately hiding it, “That’s our headquarters for the Blood Blade, located in the barren star system outside the empire’s territory, 100 light-years beyond the empire’s nearest outpost.”
“It’s the only habitable planet in the GX star system, though it’s surrounded by a massive amount of continuously moving debris belts…”
Saying this, Gu Shen paused slightly, a flash of inspiration crossing his mind. Thinking of where the boss might possibly appear, he immediately suggested: “Now we should be approaching this debris belt stretching across millions of kilometers. Do you want to go take a look?”
“Oh? Where is it?”
Xavier raised his eyes, finally showing a bit of interest.
“Follow me!”
Seeing that the plan showed promise, Gu Shen hurriedly took Xavier to the First District—the piloting and control center of the entire Blood Blade.
The entire giant porthole opened its view to them. The Blood Blade was leisurely穿行 (穿行 – threading/cruising) among the debris.
Fragments floated about in all directions, and stardust gathered like a sky full of silver mist, forming deep and shallow layers of light bands slowly flowing across the universe.
This kind of vast, dreamy, and magnificent boundless scenery was something His Royal Highness the Prince from the Middle Ages had never witnessed before.
The impact it brought was comparable to facing a cognitive-shattering feast.
Gu Shen introduced proudly from the side, “These dense meteorite belts were caused by a planetary collision thousands of years ago. They aren’t just pretty to look at; they are actually the first barrier of the GX star system. Only the Blood Blade has mastered the flight route to safely traverse them, and I have to update the trajectory data map every three months…”
Yet his words gradually grew blurry and could no longer reach Xavier’s ears.
Gazing at the boundless universe before his eyes, the instinct of a born predator was thoroughly awakened, and a desire to bring everything under his control welled up spontaneously.
Even his body temperature seemed to be subtly fluctuating…
Xavier slowly clasped his hands together, lowering his gaze to perceive the temperature change in his palms.
Right within this self-contained silence, a deep voice abruptly came from behind.
“Are you avoiding me?”