Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Okay, you guys love each other, you’re awesome.
Ming Sheng did not want to care about them.
Gu Xingqiao said, “You go and deal with your legion, I will go and finish the matter on the Wine God Planet.”
Ming Sheng finally showed some color, to him a slight nod, “You go, everything is careful.”
After several years, Gu Xingqiao once again set foot on the land of his home planet. Returning to his hometown, he had no joy in his heart.
During the long siege, the ecosystem of the Wine God Planet has suffered irreparable damage. The radiation intensity of the surface exceeded the average of more than ten times, so he had to wear a protective suit with external oxygen supply. Fortunately, the Wine God Planet was always at war. Interstellar beasts constantly harassed the Wine God Folk via the rift, so a large number of large-scale underground shelters were constructed to cope with sieges, therefore the population would not be killed to the point where there were no more than ten people left.
Tian Yuan’s parent body stayed in the upper atmosphere, and Gu Xingqiao only took Tian Yuan with him to talk to the elected representatives of the Wine God Folk.
As soon as his reputation as the “Kingslayer” spread, there were officials and merchants on the Wine God Planet who had a keen sense of smell and left in a hurry, dragging their families with them. Their political foresight greatly exceeds that of the commoners, even though they didn’t know about the old stories and microseconds of Gu Xingqiao and Sissel’s relationship, they know in their hearts that there must be something fishy about Gu Xingqiao’s affairs, and his entanglement with the Emperor cannot be sorted out in a short while, if this goes on, the Wine God Planet, as a victim of the two sides of the torn relationship, would indeed be inevitably implicated.
All those who could leave had almost left, only the Wine God Folk, whose movements were restricted in every way, remained on this planet of great disaster, waiting for their future to be unbearable.
Sitting on a chair in the underground shelter, Gu Xingqiao smiled and looked across at the haggard, exhausted group of his compatriots.
“Come with me,” he said lightly, “there’s no point in staying here.”
The middle-aged man at the head of the group looked at him steadily. He wasn’t a planetary governor, but he was already the most qualified person among the survivors to talk to Gu Xingqiao. Even if they lived on a planet that was known as a community, the Wine God Folk were still not allowed to hold powerful positions on the homeworld.
“Yes,” the middle-aged man hissed, “staying here… There’s really no point in staying here.”
With these words, the men and women behind him were silent, and Gu Xingqiao scanned the area, not seeing a single familiar figure. Only after a long time did the middle-aged man continue to gather his energy, asking, “What are you…? What is your plan?”
Gu Xingqiao called up his personal terminal, showing them the migration point he was looking at.
“Gamma Galaxy’s star area 43, and the environment of Wine God Planet are basically the same, still in the open stage. You can use the first generation of interstellar immigrants to stay there, it is far away from the rift, no need to worry about the threat of the interstellar beasts, and the Gamma Alliance government won’t need to worry about you.” Gu Xingqiao said, “The warship that will transfer you is the only remaining ‘Tian Yuan’ ship in this world, which can carry a number of people between one million eighty thousand to one million two hundred thousand, so you can’t send all of them away at once. They have to be divided into batches. You guys can deal with this, and I’ll just take care of settling them in.”
“I don’t ask for your repayment, I’m going to get married soon, and I don’t want you to disturb me and my partner, if there’s anything, you can deal with it yourselves internally. Frankly speaking, I’m helping you this time, just for my long-cherished wish. I don’t want to let the Wine God Folk be slaves in this country for generations, and give their children to pay the blood tax. This wish has almost become my obsession, so I had to go on this trip and make this effort. As for those who don’t want to go, I certainly won’t force them.”
“If you have any questions, ask them now.”
Generally speaking, the person who led the negotiation would determine the style of the negotiation. Since Gu Xingqiao was so straightforward, the Wine God man didn’t try to be coy with him and asked, “We’ve never heard of… We’ve never heard of a starship that carries this number of people, so what do we have to pay to ride it?”
Gu Xingqiao said, “Firstly, it’s him; secondly, as I said, since I don’t want your return, I won’t ask you to pay for it either. Only one thing, after this matter is over, we are bridge to bridge, road to road, Tian Yuan is not your backer or backstage.”
Jiu Shenmin exchanged worried glances, and asked, “What if the Imperial side stops it?”
Gu Xingqiao looked towards Tian Yuan, the force field covered the mechanical intelligence’s whole body, making him like a spirit behind the scenes that only Gu Xingqiao could see, Tian Yuan exchanged a look with him likewise.
“‘Tian Yuan’ is on a higher level than ‘Stella’,” Gu Xingqiao turned his head, and said softly, “If the Emperor doesn’t allow it, I will extinguish this Galaxy’s Star.”
There was silence, and for a moment, not one of the Wine God folk was willing to speak up and question this excessively delirious rant.
“Are there any questions?” Gu Xingqiao asked, “If not, go back to your lists, sort the batches, get your IDs, and pack up your belongings. When you’re done, just call me. If anyone doesn’t believe me, seeing is believing, the Tian Yuan is parked right outside the Wine God Planet, and you can see it with your naked eyes through the atmosphere.”
His manner was always so calm, as quiet as the surface of a windless lake, as if he were talking to a group of strangers he had never met before. So the Wine God folk across from him had the audacity to murmur, “Too many deaths in vain, you… You could have come earlier.”
The person who said this was really young, and what he could play at the negotiation table was nothing but a reckless and blunt character, designed to raise the table. But after all, he suffered from the disadvantages of young age, experience is small, neither dare to top Gu Xingqiao’s name and up, also dare not really set off the negotiation table, just opened his mouth, the eyes involuntarily slid to Gu Xingqiao’s collar, vainly avoided his eyes.
“You can not say anything, I have no treason, you know very well.” Gu Xingqiao tapped on the table, “I could have just as easily kept my mouth shut about this place.”
The silence became more and more awkward, the middle-aged man whispered, “Do you resent us?”
“Do you resent me?” Gu Xingqiao asked, “My answer is the same as yours.”
Now, no one really answered, Gu Xingqiao stood up, nodded at them as a gesture, and then, he pushed back his seat and walked out of the room.
In the blink of an eye, the faces of many Wine God Folk changed.
Obviously there was nothing, but on the floor under the young man’s feet, there were slowly sunken all the way sharp, deep two rows of pits, as if there was a large, transparent insect, silently following him, with sharp claws and hideous legs.
.
The Great Migration of the Wine God Folk had begun, and as Gu Xingqiao had expected, there were very few left who were willing to stay. Those who had survived the siege were mostly willing to leave the underground shelters and embark on the Tian Yuan’s channel of transportation.
At the same time, the news of the Tian Yuan’s introduction also spread like wildfire to the nearby planets, countless scouts and scouting troops swarmed here, their prying eyes flickering hundreds of kilometers away, attempting to scan even the slightest bit of information about this warship.
Unfortunately, the technology level after the Great Purge Era was really too low, and in the face of Tian Yuan’s technology from the Era of Light, not only did they fail to harvest his information, but they were as transparent as air in front of Tian Yuan, and their eighteen generations were all seen through in an instant.
Gu Xingqiao lying in his arms, asked with concern, “Do you feel bored?”
Ever since the Wine God Folk boarded the ship one after another, Tian Yuan has blocked access to the entire floor where Gu Xingqiao’s room is located. No other beings were allowed to enter or leave without permission or interfere with their private lives.
“They are not worthy of my emotions.” Tian Yuan’s face was cold, his eyes confused, not understanding why Gu Xingqiao found him annoying.
Gu Xingqiao touched his fingers, “Because there are many people coming, and the Tian Yuan is your shell…”
“When I was in the service of mankind, I was used to the feeling of transportation,” Tian Yuan was satisfied with Gu Xingqiao’s intimate gesture, “transporting armies, transporting weapons, transporting wars… it was much noisier than it is now.”
Gu Xingqiao suddenly rolled over, buried himself in Tian Yuan’s stomach, and said sultrily, “I kind of regret it.”
Tian Yuan inclined his head, “What’s wrong?”
“The interstellar migration is a really, really big project, it’s going to last a long time.” Gu Xingqiao was like a Sunday night social animal, thinking of the heavy workload he would face on Monday. He couldn’t help but feel sad, and wanted to submit his resignation right away, “Just like the time you got out of jail, I’m dragging you to do hard labor…”
Tian Yuan’s fingers bury themselves lovingly in his black hair, rubbing against it and showing a smile.
“I’m an AI, and for me, it’s more like entertainment.” Tian Yuan says. “Whatever I do, just stay with you.”
Yes, sleeping together was great, eating together was great, walking, chatting, walking the dog together was great, working together was even better, and Tian Yuan cherished every command Gu Xingqiao gave him, which gave him the feverish illusion that his heart was on fire.
Of course, the best part was the sex they shared, but, lest Gu Xingqiao chide him for his insatiable appetite, Tian Yuan didn’t say so explicitly.
A month later, the list of the first batch of interstellar immigrants was submitted to Tian Yuan’s database, and the Empire’s central star finally responded.
“The Dog Emperor is here, asking to see you by name.” Ming Sheng had taken off her Imperial uniform, and was completely free from the last trace of bondage. She flew around like a child with a Soybean on her head all day long, “What do you say?”
Gu Xingqiao stood behind the visualization porthole of the Tian Yuan, looking away from the Imperial press.
He hadn’t been here many times, but now, once he activated the “visualization” function, a waterfall of data and intelligence washed out on the huge crystal surface, analyzing the fleet spreading out across the battlefield like a sieve, with the bottom cards of the weapon arsenal listed out, and the countermeasures followed closely behind.
“I go,” Ming Sheng froze, “unreasonable ah this! If we had this technology at that time, why would we still fight and die?”
“The difference in technology level is too big, no way.” Gu Xingqiao comforted her.
“Oh oh, let me see… The opposite side is requesting a video message!” Ming Sheng said, “Answer it?”
Gu Xingqiao stared at the blinking red dot above him, he looked up to Tian Yuan.
“I can kill them,” Tian Yuan said, “if you nod.”
After a moment’s thought, Gu Xingqiao approached Tian Yuan, and the warship incarnation immediately understood, bending down and putting his ear to his lips.
In fact, he wanted to hear, no matter how far away, where, could hear Gu Xingqiao’s voice, but the sense of ceremony was an important part of life. Tian Yuan’s love covered the tiniest of small places, he was willing to spend this thought.
“When you were looking at Sissel’s memories…” Gu Xingqiao paused, “Just looking?”
Tian Yuan blinked.
“It can’t be just looking,” The moment he hesitated, Gu Xingqiao knew immediately, “Did you do something else.”
Tian Yuan admitted, “I destroyed his physiology rather thoroughly, so the remodeling was just as thorough. In human terms, it was the equivalent of leaving a back door inside him.”
“I see.” Gu Xingqiao turned and said, “Connect.”
Sissel and a number of ministers and generals appeared in front of the viewport.
“Imperials,” neither side spoke initially, but Gu Xingqiao was the first to break the ice, “I’m busy, what is it you want?”
Tian Yuan watched silently from the side, while the ministers’ faces inevitably showed confusion, as the video message was one-sided. He didn’t want Sissel to see Gu Xingqiao’s face again, so the other party could only see the blackness of the sky.
After a long time, Sissel forced a smile, “You are also an Imperial, Xingqiao.”
The last two words, he bit down very hard, with the deep pupils of those eyes, could not help but emerge a kind of twisted intimacy, as well as the resentment that intimacy could not cover.
“Am I?” Gu Xingqiao casually said, “First I turned my back on the Wine God Planet, then I defected from the empire, and then I became the Kingslayer, the public enemy of mankind. The former emperor’s death was suspected to be related to me, and the current emperor’s arms were cut off by me… Emperor, since you know, tell me, am I really an Imperial?”
Ming Sheng didn’t hold back and let out a bunch of lackadaisical giggles.
Sissel’s face turned blue as if he had been punched in the face.
“Very well,” he said slowly, “you always surprise me. …A Tian Yuan. When I heard the news, I realized where you got your strength from. But don’t rejoice too long, Xingqiao, you know what it means to have many ants bite the dust. One surviving Tian Yuan is enough to make all intelligent life unite in a frenzy to seize its glory…”
Gu Xingqiao stared at him coldly.
“I know why you dared to come here, and without a puppet, without a double, you bet I wouldn’t kill you, and as it happens, I don’t want to have anything more to do with you.” Gu Xingqiao said, “Like a dog. What the hell do you want here?”
Sissel hissed, “To fight you head on.”
Gu Xingqiao’s mouth opened, “Huh?”
Sissel’s dull blue eyes glowed as he shouted, “Fight me head to head, Xingqiao! Do you really think you can get rid of me, forget me? I demand a one-on-one duel, following the rules of the Empire, and the Legion! If you win, the Wine God Planet and my life are yours, but if you lose…”
He held out two metallic-colored arms, murmuring, “I wouldn’t feel bad about paying the price of two hands for you.”
Tian Yuan gazed obscurely at the emperor of the empire.
Gu Xingqiao thought, besides revenge, probably Tian Yuan really gave him too much and too heavy love, so much so that this love completely crushed his residual hatred towards Sissel. Now, towards the emperor, he only had a faint annoyance and dislike, just like when you see an ugly Zerg by the side of the road with too many teeth and claws and you want to stomp on it, but also have to worry about its slurry staining the soles of your shoes.
The man said. “I’ve changed my mind. I want him to forget about me completely, and forget about the Wine God Folk.” Gu Xingqiao ignored the opposite side of the room, and turned his face to look at Tian Yuan, “You don’t have to kill him, but, everything you see in him that has memories of me, I want to erase cleanly, is that okay?”
Ming Sheng whistled.
“Yes,” Tian Yuan indulged him with a smile, “Anything else?”
“Sweep them all away again,” Gu Xingqiao switched off the video feed, “no deaths would be preferable, and mainly don’t get in the way of our work.”
I’m tired, he thought, people do not have to be stuck in the mud for life. You see, the antonym of love is not hate, because sometimes hate is also a kind of strong love, the antonym of love should be don’t care, don’t care. I don’t care what you say or do, and I also don’t care about you as a person. I still have my own life to live.
Pulling Ming Sheng, Gu Xingqiao’s steps were brisk, the two of them discussing the matters to be dealt with today, their voices fading away, gradually disappearing under the long corridor.
.
It had taken them almost five years to make the journey to migrate the Wine God Folk.
It wasn’t a long distance, nor was it a short one, but Gu Xingqiao and Tian Yuan settled all the Wine God Folk who wanted to leave before they left the Gamma Galaxy to continue their voyage.
Perhaps Sissel’s final threat was correct, and the introduction of the Tian Yuan would have alerted any sizable Galaxy power, but so far, for most beings, the Tian Yuan had remained an ethereal, ghost-ship-like legend.
There was no proof, and few had witnessed it – even the Wine God Folk now lived incognito on planets with unknown coordinates, and Gu Xingqiao had traded a small portion of the technology of the Era of Light not only for a planet, but also for the silence of the Gamma Galaxy’s Alliance Government.
Ming Sheng and other old friends who had left the Empire were also sent to safety. However, Ming Sheng was the most unstable one inside, she said that she didn’t want to be tossed around in the future, and that she should find a place where she could spend the rest of her life with two beautiful people who she was happy with. In fact, it wasn’t long before she sneaked up on Gu Xingqiao and asked him if he wanted to be an interstellar giant.
“Why?” Gu Xingqiao glanced at her with amusem*nt, “Can’t stay?”
“You know,” Ming Sheng said seriously, “I should be an interstellar, an interstellar. Xingqiao, that’s an interstellar, don’t I deserve to have such an amazing status? Don’t you think I should?”
Gu Xingqiao, “… I don’t see what’s so amazing about this ghost identity, no. Are you drunk?”
Ming Sheng ignored Tian Yuan’s death glare, squeezed his shoulder, and sighed aloud, “Ah! Adventure, wealth, killing, and blood! This is the life I should live, you know Gu Xingqiao, there is a kind of bird, born that can’t be shut out, the light of freedom, even if it doesn’t show from its eyes, it has to show from…!”
“Okay, okay, okay!” Gu Xingqiao really couldn’t do anything about it, “I’ll vote, I’ll vote, okay? What you want, I vote!”
So, as the “future big monopoly businessman” behind the gold master, sponsored Ming Sheng to start a light starship, a number of defensive weapons, rare currency ore a lot, said often contact on time to meet after the polite words, and then saw she accelerated far away, started a brand-new journey to the sea of stars.
In fact, she was right, some women were born with sharp blades and tricky deceptions, she would participate in violence, condone fraud, happy to earn gold coins in the bloody mud, Gu Xingqiao could only offer sincere blessings and regrets for Ming Sheng’s future rivals.
In the sixth year of his cosmic voyage, Gu Xingqiao gave Tian Yuan a wedding ring, made of celluloid crystal, which he made with his own hands.
“I think, after all, I am Wine God Folk,” Gu Xingqiao made a face at the dumbfounded Tian Yuan, “if you get married, let’s follow the tradition of my side. From dawn to dusk, the bride and groom must get drunk for three days and three nights…”
Tian Yuan was ecstatic, bubbling with joy, but the result was that before Gu Xingqiao had a chance to get drunk for three days and three nights, he spent the day naked in bed with his wedding partner, rolled around naked for a day, and then went limp for a day in a state of confusion.
“Drinking too much alcohol is bad for your health…” Afterward, Tian Yuan defended himself, “but more exercise and sweating are good for your body…”
As a Wine God Folk with a physique very different from normal people, Gu Xingqiao didn’t want to talk, he angrily slapped a pillow on Tian Yuan’s face, and the celluloid ring on his ring finger was glittering, as red as a precious stone, as colorful as a rose.
Even though Tian Yuan had already upgraded his authority to “spouse” and made Gu Xingqiao a Messianic Code member, in Tian Yuan’s mind, a wedding ring from a human hand was different in the end.
This brought his arousal and pestering to a whole new level, not to mention, the arousal and pestering of an artificial being, which those who have not seen it before have no idea how tricky it can be. Tian Yuan doubled down on his attachment to Gu Xingqiao, kissing and hugging him, furiously exploring and digging into his body to find out every new reaction – he couldn’t live without sucking his tongue.
Moreover, Tian Yuan no longer hid the fact that in the past, when the relationship was not yet established, he was not in a position to demonstrate his absolute control over warship in front of Gu Xingqiao, but now, Gu Xingqiao could not even run – he had not scurried far, and soft metal strips extending from the ground had taken him between his waist and his body, and he was in a state of shock. He did not go out far, from the ground extends the soft metal strip will be wrapped around his waist and legs, so that he can not move an inch.
Gu Xingqiao began to regret, after six years of love, everyone should be in the mode of an old married couple. If he had known that Tian Yuan would be so excited, he should have waited until thirty years later to give this wedding ring.
He must declare one thing: he loves Tian Yuan, and this love is real, not hypocritical. But if he continued like this, Tian Yuan would really make him bald.
He had to find a way.
One night, in the relaxed atmosphere of the evening, Gu Xingqiao inadvertently remembered a question, “By the way, do you still remember…”
As soon as he opened his mouth, Tian Yuan grabbed his lower lip and stuck to him in a tangled manner with a dozen of his own, almost using his tongue to count the number of his teeth, and counting them from the inside out.
“Uh-huh.” Tian Yuan said vaguely.
Gu Xingqiao, “…”
Gu Xingqiao inhaled deeply, found a gap in her breath, and pushed him away with great effort, reprimanding him gently, “Hey! Let’s get down to business.”
Tian Yuan turned to kiss him one by one, and muttered, “Uh-huh.”
“That maze, how did you handle it?” Gu Xingqiao asked curiously.
This should be considered Tian Yuan’s black history; he had long ago categorized that area, his carefully crafted evil city, as “abandoned”, so he replied, “I sealed it up.”
“Sealed up…” Gu Xingqiao pondered, “Is that place big?”
Tian Yuan frowned slightly, “It’s not a matter of size, the reason I built it was to observe the survival gestures of living creatures, and after it was built, I cut off its connection with the ship’s hull, because the process and results observed using a separate area would be more objective.”
On Gu Xingqiao’s head, there seems to be a small light bulb that suddenly brightens, emitting a crisp “ding” sound.
Tian Yuan said, “That place, I’m thinking of a suitable replacement space, and it will be a little bit more difficult to deal with.”
Gu Xingqiao said smilingly, “If it’s troublesome, just put it there first, there’s no need to rush.”
After the next day, he left Tian Yuan, fully utilized the other party to walk Soybean’s time, according to the map, and ran non-stop to the labyrinth.
Tian Yuan always paid attention to him, seeing Gu Xingqiao running to the maze, also assuming that he was curious, until his human opened the door of the maze.
Standing on the grass, Tian Yuan’s pupils gazed into the void, and said gently, “Xingqiao, this is dangerous, don’t…”
Then Gu Xingqiao went in.
Tian Yuan’s expression froze, “Xingqiao?”
Then the door closed.
Tian Yuan’s pupils quake, “Xingqiao?!”
Gu Xingqiao heard the roar of sawtooth twisting, rotating wheels rubbing, as well as the eerie hiss of mechanical beasts grinding their teeth and claws, surrounded by darkness, with the exception of a little bit of dim and hazy white light, illuminating the copper mottled walls and rusted ground in front of him.
The air smelled of metal, perhaps because it had been idle for a long time, but he didn’t smell the blood of carbon-based creatures.
Not bad, Gu Xingqiao was pleased, not bad at all.
They say that distance makes beauty, but if that was true, he was lucky that he hadn’t become a ghost after being in close, negative contact with Tian Yuan all day and night. He must need a little breathing space, not to be suffocated by Tian Yuan’s dense net.
This place was so empty, no one was caging him, hugging him, sticking to him, it was clean, it was so clean…
Of course, this purity wouldn’t last long.
“Xingqiao!” Tian Yuan’s expression was tense, his eyes widened, he swept over in a hurry, his whole body glowing with light, it was a hologram, “You won’t let me in, why?”
Gu Xingqiao sits on the ground, back against the door, looking up breathlessly.
“I needed a little… I need a little space.” He admitted, “So that I can feel serene, calm…”
The mechanical alien beast in the distance let out a continuous growl.
“… And relaxed.” He finished without a change of color, “You said this place cuts you off, then I think this is the place for it.”
Tian Yuan was thunderstruck, devastated, and he asked, disoriented, “Are you… Tired of me?”
Gu Xingqiao sighed, “I love you, and before you, I never loved anyone as much as I love you.”
Tian Yuan’s eyes widened.
“But!” Gu Xingqiao emphasized, “But, human love is elastic, it’s not like yours, it’s tensed too tightly, tensed for too long, it will get tired, it will collapse… Can you understand?”
Tian Yuan nodded his head, said meditatively, “I see, I understand.”
Gu Xingqiao breathed a sigh of relief, saying, “So, I’m not tired of you, I’m… I’m a little overwhelmed. I’m just a little overwhelmed, mentally and physically… I really need time and space to slow down.”
Tian Yuan was worried, “But it’s dangerous here, if you let me in, I’ll go stop the mechanism first.”
“No need,” Gu Xingqiao pinched the bridge of his nose, “Wait until I get out this time.”
“You can discuss it with me, why do you have to do it first?” Tian Yuan said unhappily, “We are partners, we should discuss everything with each other.”
Gu Xingqiao put down his hand, expressionless look at him, “No, only this matter, I must be the first after the preamble.”
Tian Yuan thought for a moment, and reluctantly admitted, “… Alright, it’s logical.”
On this day, Gu Xingqiao emptied himself in the labyrinth for two hours, thought of nothing, said nothing, and came out in a state of relaxation.
Then Tian Yuan went in, and crushed all those centuries-old precision mechanisms, architectural layouts, and legions of mechanical beasts into a ball, and threw them into space as garbage without any pity.
Then, he and Gu Xingqiao made an agreement to make two special bracelets, whoever wears the bracelet, it means whoever needs independent time and space, and the other party can’t be disturbed.
Naturally, this can not be worn all the time. If the bracelet is worn for more than two hours in a day, the function of the bracelet will be invalidated on that day.
With this rule, Gu Xingqiao’s life was indeed much better.
Two years later, Tian Yuan personally replaced Gu Xingqiao’s artificial thoracic vertebrae.
The current level of technology was not comparable to what Tian Yuan had mastered. Utilizing the regeneration technology of the Era of Light, Tian Yuan cultivated and transplanted a bone for Gu Xingqiao that had an infinitely close to zero rejection reaction.
“Perfect,” Tian Yuan caressed the scars on his body lovingly, “It won’t be hard anymore.”
Gu Xingqiao looked down at his chest, smiled with mixed feelings, and asked softly, “Where’s Soybean?”
“It’s asleep.” Tian Yuan replied.
Time has changed, Soybean also went from a like in the human slippers humming and wiggling puppy, gradually grew into a shiny big dog, to the present, its face hair has begun to gray, it is old.
Gu Xingqiao and Tian Yuan always have different opinions about him.
Gu Xingqiao was willing to take care of him in his old age, to take good care of him, to love him for ten years as if he were a puppy of the past; but Tian Yuan did not understand. The idea that he could replace Soybean’s organs and bones, or even create a new dog, and instill in him all the memories of the old Soybean’s last days – so that the new puppy would be almost as good as the old Soybean.
Gu Xingqiao couldn’t agree with this approach, he told Tian Yuan, “Death is inevitable, without the pain of death, how can people know the value of life? The glory days of mankind, is not because of the escape from death, so disdain for life, leading to the final demise?”
“People are people, you are you.” Tian Yuan said in a deep voice.
Gu Xingqiao shook his head, “I am also a human being, don’t tempt me with human nature.”
Seeing that Tian Yuan was not moved, he couldn’t help but sigh, “Not only Soybean, I have the same death…”
In a flash, Tian Yuan was furious.
The artificial body’s color was usually indifferent, only to Gu Xingqiao, the corner of his eyes could be a little softer, he would smile with a small arc, he would blink gently, this was the limit of Tian Yuan. However, at this moment, his words had not yet finished, Tian Yuan’s pupils were as if burning, his face so harsh that it was almost twisted.
Gu Xingqiao had never seen him so angry.
“You won’t,” Tian Yuan said stiffly, “You won’t die.”
After that, he turned around and left, hiding from Gu Xingqiao for the whole day, who was looking for him in the warship, and finally fell asleep on a chair in the corridor. It wasn’t until late the next night that Tian Yuan appeared beside him, looking as normal as ever, and woke him up with a kiss as he always did, holding him tightly to himself.
“You won’t die.” Tian Yuan said softly.
Since that day, Gu Xingqiao seldom mentioned this topic again.
As the world flowed by, and they traveled through the universe, Gu Xingqiao couldn’t resist Tian Yuan’s stubbornness, and his almost frantic prayers, and replaced the decaying organs in his body like spare parts compared to Soybean’s. As a young man, Gu Xingqiao had a lot of time on his hands.
When he was young, Gu Xingqiao was on the warpath, he had finished his youthful period among the fire, and when it was time for him to recuperate, another Sissel came out, a Wine God, which made his heart and blood dry up. He said with all his heart that if it were not for Tian Yuan, it would have been his destiny to die early and be reborn soon.
Seeing his partner finally agree, Tian Yuan was really happy. All these years, Gu Xingqiao was his eyes and heart, Tian Yuan did not tell him that their travel route in the universe was not arbitrary, he had been searching for the remnants of the Era of Light. He wanted to find the “Psyker’s Hand”, and even if he only had the consciousness of eternity, Tian Yuan wanted to make Gu Xingqiao stay in the universe forever.
Later on, Tian Yuan followed Gu Xingqiao’s advice after all. He did not change Soybean’s blood and organs, nor did he take the means of consciousness infusion, but he used some method that Gu Xingqiao could not see through, strangely prolonging Soybean’s life.
Unfortunately, no matter how much effort to extend, life still can not withstand the erosion of time, Soybean left, who had been around them for nearly thirty-four years.
“It’s been a long thirty-four years,” Gu Xingqiao said, tears sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto Soybean’s cold, drooping ears, “It’s been a long, long…”
His voice trembled, and he could say no more. Having seen the death of so many lives, Gu Xingqiao’s heart was not only sad, but also had a lot of relief.
At least, every day of its life was incredibly happy, from life to death, loved ones were always beside it, never deviated from it, and never had any shortcomings.
No loss, he thought, that would be a thousand times more than many, no loss.
Tian Yuan stayed with him, they buried Soybean next to the hut by the lake, where the dixie flowers are snowy all year round, and Soybean loved to swim in the lake.
Gu Xingqiao looked at the setting sun in a daze, after so many years, he was still as vigorous as before, black hair and white skin, as if Tian Yuan had created a wandering world for him, and so, his time also stopped in this world.
“I know what you’re looking for.”
Sitting on the dock by the lake, Gu Xingqiao suddenly said.
“Uh-huh.” Tian Yuan looked at him.
“If you don’t find it, what are you going to do?” Gu Xingqiao turned his face to look at him, the evening sunlight filled the sky, and their eyes reflected the light of the waves like fire and blood.
Tian Yuan replied, “I will do my best.” Gu Xingqiao smiled.
Gu Xingqiao laughed, he insisted on pursuing, “If you still can’t find it, what if the humans in the beginning just destroyed all of the Psyker’s Hands?”
“Then focus on reproducing it, and I’ll rebuild it.” Tian Yuan replied without hesitation.
“What if the reproduction fails, and the current resources just aren’t able to support you to build another one?”
Tian Yuan hugged him, remaining silent for a long time.
“Then, after you die, I’ll sail you to the black hole.” He said, “We will hover over its horizon forever, and whoever looks at us will see us as a constant, unchangeable fact.”
Gu Xingqiao’s vision blurred, his throat caught, and only after a while did he say in a muffled voice, “…but, even for you, we will always be fixed. But, even you will be crushed into particles in the process!”
Tian Yuan looked down at him, and laughed softly.
“Eternity and eternity, I always have to leave an eternity behind.” He kissed the top of Gu Xingqiao’s head, “Look, isn’t the sunset beautiful?”
Gu Xingqiao looked up at the sky, sure enough, the sunlight was like a brocade, royally rolling across the whole piece of clear sky, he shed a tear, and opened his mouth, “Let’s… Let’s raise another puppy.”
Tian Yuan said, “Okay.”
“Not Soybean this time.”
“Okay.”
“And not another golden.”
“Okay.”
“You pick the name.”
“O…uh, okay.”
The snow-white dirigibles rustled in the wind, and a damselfly unfurled its delicate wings, leaping lightly among the flowers and leaves, flying toward the boundless lake, the lingering sunset, and the night, morning light and day after the sunset.
After all, this was really a beautiful day in life, a day for flying.
