Chapter 69: The Gathering

Xie Sen didn’t find the planet Adam mentioned on the map, and thought for a moment to himself, “It’s not on the map. Is it not written down?”

Adam immediately echoed, “It’s possible. There are countless planets in the universe, and it’s impossible to record every single one on the map…Ah, what should we do then?”

Xie Sen said soothingly, “Don’t worry, I’ll think of something. Could it be that it’s not on the planet, but floating in the universe?”

“No,” Adam said, “I can feel it. It’s full of energy, and it’s surrounded by nature! It can’t be out in the universe! It must be on a planet with a lot of plants!”

Xie Sen mused, “I know. I’ll think of something.”

“Sen is the best! We’ll find a way!” Adam said in a motivational tone.

Xie Sen laughed. Adam always blew rainbow farts at him when he was in trouble. He said, “Don’t worry, I’ll find a way.”

“Mn. I’m going to take a break then.”

Xie Sen stared at the map for a while, as he traced a circle around Brandt Star according to Adam’s distance, but still couldn’t find a planet that matched. As he was thinking, the communicator rang. He looked at it. It was Mu Lin calling. He answered it. “President Mu, what’s up?”

“You forgot. It’s been more than a month. It’s time for you to come for a medical checkup,” Mu Lin said.

Xie Sen had really forgotten. “Sorry, I’ll go this weekend.”

“If you’re not busy, come over tonight after work. Gu Luo and I are working late tonight.”

Xie Sen said, “Okay. I’ll be there after work.”

Xie Sen was walking towards the parking lot, when he received a communication from Bai Jiao. “I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Xie Sen thought for a moment, then realized. “He gave you all the plants?”

Bai Jiao, “Yes, yesterday. I was supposed to invite you to dinner yesterday, but it was already late when I finished with the plants.”

“It’s okay.” Xie Sen smiled, as he recalled the speed of the last inspection. “I’m going to make a trip to the Contract Beast Institute now, but things there should be taken care of soon. Should we meet up later?”

Since he’d been here, there had been too few get-togethers between friends like this, and he didn’t want to miss it.

“No problem. I’ll send you the restaurant address later,” Bai Jiao said.

Xie Sen ended the communication just as he walked to the parking lot. He looked up and saw Maine as he strode towards him. He smiled. The bracelet message alert came again, and he saved the message. Maine walked up to him, wrapped his arms around his waist, kissed him on the lips and led him towards the shuttle. “Did everything go well?”

“Very well. First we go to the Institute, and then we’re having dinner with Bai Jiao.”

Maine frowned as he opened the shuttle door for Xie Sen to get in. He went around the other side, sat in the driver’s seat, then half-pressed Xie Sen on his side with his hand on his shoulder. “Why eat with him? I just want to eat with you at home.”

Xie Sen looked up at him helplessly. “Bai Jiao is our friend. It’s normal for us to get together for dinner. We all need to socialize.”

“I don’t need to.” Maine’s fingers lightly cupped his chin. “I don’t have friends, and I don’t want friends. Just you.”

Xie Sen grabbed his hand, and locked eyes with him. “You do. You appreciate Long Teng and Bai Jiao. You actually think of them as friends, otherwise you wouldn’t work together over and over again. You just don’t want to admit that they are friends because you are afraid that they will eventually betray you or leave for various reasons. You are afraid of being hurt, so you reject people.”

Maine’s eyes twitched violently, and his voice hardened, “I am not!”

Xie Sen felt strongly that Maine had a lot of psychological problems, and when he looked at his face like this, his heart seized up, sore and achy. He noticed that Maine’s body was tense, and saw that he subconsciously had a defensive look. He tilted his head and nibbled at Maine’s lips. “Relax. You don’t have to be afraid at all. Don’t stop making friends for fear of losing them. No matter what, I will be there for you.”

Maine hugged him tightly,.”You’ll always be there for me.”

“Yeah.” Xie Sen hugged him back.

Maine was silent for a moment. “I’ll try to make friends.”

Xie Sen smiled, and patted him on the shoulder. “That’s good. Now, let’s go to the Institute. If we delay any longer, Bai Jiao will have to wait for a long time.”

Maine kissed him before he released him, then set the course and started the shuttle.

The shuttle soon landed in the parking lot of the Institute. Mu Lin’s assistant Gu Luo personally took them to the physical examination. Gu Luo smiled at Xie Sen and said, “Don’t be nervous. It’s the same as last time. It will be over soon.”

Xie Sen nodded, and laid down in the examination chamber.

In a few moments, he heard Gu Luo say, “It’s done.”

Maine bent down to lift him out of the exam bay. He blushed slightly, and patted Maine’s arm. Maine glanced at his slightly red ears, and put him down but kept his arm around him.

Gu Luo looked down at the test results. He read them quickly, and was amazed when he finished. “I can’t believe how much better you are after just over a month!”

Xie Sen remembered Adam’s words, and knew that his health had improved thanks to the two types of energy he had recovered. He smiled, “It’s probably because I’m in a better state of mind now. Before…I was depressed.”

Gu Luo looked at Maine, and laughed. “It seems love really does nourish people.”

“Does it?” Mu Lin came in from outside, and raised his eyebrows. He looked at Gu Luo with deep eyes. Gu Luo glanced at him, then quickly looked away and said to Xie Sen, “You are in good health, so you can ignore the taboos I told you before. Just be careful about safety measures.”

Xie Sen blinked, as he recalled the taboos he had specified. One of them was forbidden sex. Certain unspeakable images abruptly flashed in his mind. Suddenly, he felt Maine’s hand around his waist extraordinarily clearly and his heartbeat uncontrollably accelerated.

Maine’s eyes changed slightly. Forbidden? Security measures? He looked down at Xie Sen, and saw he was blushing. His heart moved, and he subconsciously held Xie Sen tighter.

Xie Sen’s mind was full of images inappropriate for children and his heart was very weak. He was aware of his actions and dared not turn his head to look at Maine. He hurriedly greeted Mu Lin, “President Mu.”

Mu Lin walked over to Gu Luo to see the test results. “The speed of recovery is amazing. Did you take any special medicine or something else?”

Xie Sen shook his head. “No. Like I just said, it’s mainly a change of mind. Depression is a psychological problem, but it also affects the body.”

Mu Lin pondered, “The transformation is too big. Maybe it has something to do with you being a plant-based beast master.”

Gu Luo said, “It’s possible.” He smiled at Xie Sen. “Thank you for cooperating with us. It’s a great help for us to study a plant-based beast master. I will look for information about plant-based beast masters again, and compare it with your situation, so I will have to trouble you to come again in a month.”

“Mn. Then I will come in a month,” he said, and bid farewell to both of them.

Gu Luo said, “Wait.” He glanced at Maine, and then at Xie Sen. “Can I talk to you alone?”

Maine’s eyebrows knitted together, but Xie Sen was very curious. He couldn’t imagine what he would say, so he asked Maine to wait, and followed Gu Luo outside the examination room.

Gu Luo took him to a corner where he could see that no one was around, and asked Xie Sen in a low voice, “Do you know who you are?”

Xie Sen was confused. His mind suddenly flashed with a bunch of dumpling dramas, then he immediately thundered himself to death. He didn’t believe that life was so bloody. “What identity? Of course I know my identity.”

Gu Luo murmured, “Surely, if you don’t know that you are female, how can you be with Maine who is male?”

“Wait a minute,” Xie Sen said. “Assistant Gu, don’t I understand what you’re saying.What do you mean, ‘What if I don’t know I’m a female?’ I’m a male!”

Gu Luo looked at him in surprise. “Male? You still think you’re a male and Maine knows that?”

“I ‘am.’ It’s not ‘I think I am!’” Xie Sen suddenly felt some inexplicable uneasiness, and his tone intensified, as if that made it more convincing. As if it was the truth. “Of course Maine knows.”

“You…So you two males love each other?” Gu Luo asked.

“Isn’t that obvious?” Xie Sen thought Gu Luo should change his name to eccentric. “You’re a little weird…”

Gu Luo looked to be in a trance for a moment. “Excuse me, but haven’t you thought about the fact that males can’t have offspring together? Even if you can artificially conceive, it’s not the same as being born.”

Xie Sen was speechless. “What’s there to think about? If you don’t have children, you can still live as a couple. If you like children, you can always adopt them.”

Gu Luo looked at him and then at himself. He looked gloomy and murmured. “But we aren’t the same. You are soft and petite. Even if you are mistaken for a female, it is still different from a hard male like me.”

The corners of Xie Sen’s mouth twitched, and he sighed, “Assistant Gu. Why do you always have to say that you mistook it for something else? And I wouldn’t be happy to hear that comparison. With you being a male, it’s weird to compare like that. Like… in the same way that you say you aren’t soft enough.” At this point, he suddenly realized something. “Are you in love with a male?” When he thought about it, Gu Luo’s behavior just now had an explanation. He said with amusement, “Are you still a man? If you like him, then chase him. Don’t be silly. What age is it, that you still think only about offspring? Like is like, and gender has nothing to do with it.”

Gu Luo looked down, and pondered for a moment. “You’re right, but I…I’m afraid he’ll regret not marrying a soft, fertile female.”

Xie Sen thought to himself, Is the surname Gu so ancient in thought?

“What are you afraid of? If that’s the case, you’ll just split up. You are living without him, so are you living well alone now? Besides, that is only the worst case scenario. You should at least have some confidence in the person you like, right?”

Gu Luo’s eyes glowed, and he said, “Yes. You’re right. Thank you. I know what to do.” He quickly turned around, but after two steps thought of something, and turned his head. “I’m sorry. Your health was so bad last time, we were worried that mood swings were bad for your health and didn’t tell you the truth. The reason I always said you were a female is because…you are a female.”

Xie Sen stood there in shock. He felt his ears ring.

Gu Luo finished speaking, then rushed to the examination room, and in a short while walked out while he pulled a surprised looking Mu Lin behind.

Xie Sen still had a shocked expression, with his mouth slightly open. He must have just hallucinated, or else Gu Luo had misspoken, or was joking with him!

“Sen?” Maine waved his palm in front of his eyes with a worried look. “What’s wrong? What did Gu Luo do to you?” The word ‘what’ was already tinged with coldness.

Xie Sen came back to his senses, and forced a smile. “Nothing.” He wiped his face, and wondered how this could be possible. How did he look like a female? “Let’s go to the restaurant.”

As soon as they entered the restaurant, they saw Long Teng who was standing in the right hand corner against the wall, and waved at them with a big smile,.”What…” His voice stopped abruptly, and his head looked down to the left.

Xie Sen smiled as he saw the tug marks on Long Teng’s clothes, and knew it was Bai Jiao who had stopped him in time from shouting.

He and Maine walked over and sat across from Long Teng and Bai Jiao, who handed the menu to Xie Sen. “We’ve ordered. So see what you want to eat.”

Xie Sen looked at the food on the menu, and missed the small restaurant at the back door of his old school like crazy. He used to dislike the small restaurant for the limited types of food, but when he saw the menu here, he knew what it really meant to have little.

The first time he entered the restaurant he also bluffed. At first glance, the menu was covered in writing, and he thought there were many types of food, but in fact they were all similar. Food was divided into two categories. Grilled meat or boiled meat. The reason why the menu could be so full was because there were many types of meat. All kinds of birds and animals. It was countless.

He ordered grilled fish and gave the menu to Maine, who didn’t read it and just directly ordered grilled meat.

Bai Jiao asked the waiter to pour four cups of boiling water, and looked at Xie Sen. “I heard from A’Teng that you were kidnapped. Are you okay?”

Xie Sen raised his arm, and patted his bicep with its little curvature. “Do I look like I’m not okay to you?”

Bai Jiao smiled. “Good.” He took out a small, finger-sized spray bottle, and handed it to him. “This is my newly researched enigma-causing agent. You can use it in case of danger. Rinsing with water will reverse it.”

Xie Sen took it with surprise, and put it into his spatial pack. “You’re great!”

Long Teng said excitedly, “Isn’t he? I spent a day at his house, and saw a lot of plants and medicines. I also think he is too good!”

Bai Jiao said modestly, “Many of the remedies are handed down through my family. I just do what I do.”

Xie Sen’s mind wandered, and he remembered that Bai Jiao was born into a medical family. He asked in a small voice, “Did your family ever research medicines related to contract beasts?”

“Yes,” Bai Jiao said. “Contract beast trauma medicine has been studied very thoroughly. Now it’s mainly the study of contract beast spirit tranquilizers. Contract beast combat power can be very strong, but their spirit is prone to fluctuations. The master of the beast will be okay, but the beast will be in trouble. Mania caused by tragedy…This kind of thing in the history of war has appeared many times.”

Xie Sen said, “Then has there been any research on medicine to unbind a contract beast and its beast master?”

Bai Jiao glanced at him in surprise. He was silent for a moment before he nodded, his voice very soft, “This is not external research. If it becomes known it will cause a lot of bonded masters to panic. The reason for researching that medicine is to preserve the life of one party in the bond after the death of the other.”

Xie Sen’s eyes glowed. “Yes. This medicine really is too important, isn’t it? Right now medicine can be used to force contract beasts to bond. Why can’t it be used to free contract beasts?”

Bai Jiao sighed. “Yes, but there is also a cause for concern. If it is used on both sides of a voluntary contract, it can also cause tragedy.”

Xie Sen held his chin. “It’s reasonable to say that the synchronization rate of the two sides of a voluntary contract is high, and the contract must be more solid than people with a forced contract. If the medicine is used on them, the effect should also be different!”

Bai Jiao laughed. “I almost suspect that you are involved in the research. This is the direction of the current research. The uncoupling medicine has been worked on for years, but there’s only a general prototype. There are still many difficult problems to overcome.” He sighed, “There are too few herbs in existence. Although my ancestors used various methods to save the seeds, while the family has tried many methods they can’t achieve any growth. Many of the herbs needed for the cure have been replaced by animal elements with similar medicinal properties, but it reduces the effectiveness of the medicine.”

Xie Sen thought, When all the energy is collected, all kinds of plants can be planted, and so can herbs! He said, “Haven’t we collected a lot of herbs recently? This is a good start, and it will get better and better!”

Bai Jiao’s eyes were clear, and he hooked the white hair that fell to the side of his face behind his ear. “You’re right. It will get better and better.” He smiled. “That said, these herbs were found thanks to you. Next time you go somewhere you must tell me. I want to go with you to look for herbs.”

“Haha! I also told Sen, next time take me with you. I want to explore!” Long Teng laughed.

Xie Sen sighed fretfully, as he thought of the next location he was headed for. “There is a place I want to go, but I haven’t found a way to get there yet.”

“Huh? Where is it?” Long Teng asked curiously, and craned his neck.

Xie Sen just opened the interstellar map, put the virtual screen flat on the table and pointed to the mark he made according to Adam’s calculation. “The destination planet is here. Maybe it’s too small, so it’s not marked on the map.”

Maine turned his head, and asked, “When did you sense it?”

Xie Sen smiled at him. “This afternoon. I was going to go back and tell you this evening, but we happened to talk about it now.”

Bai Jiao wondered out loud, “Sense?”

Xie Sen laughed. “It’s not easy to explain. My beast pattern has something to do with it.”

Bai Jiao nodded, Long Teng stared at the map for a while, raised his hand and pointed to the big planet not far away from Xie Sen’s mark. “I’ve been on a trip here. This is the planet Blue. There’s a lot of water on it. It’s fun!”

Xie Sen’s eyes lit up and he asked, “Did you see any planets when you passed by that one?”

Long Teng rubbed the back of his head, and smiled. “I don’t remember. I went there two years ago. I followed my father and dad to many places. I was probably sleeping at the time.”

Xie Sen was helpless. “It looks like we have to get help from the observatory to look with a telescope.”

“Can’t we go there by ourselves in a spaceship? Won’t we know when we get there?” Long Teng’s eyes shone brightly. “It’s more fun to explore, isn’t it?”

Maine gave him a look. “If we don’t set a good course, we’ll get lost in the universe.”

“Is that so?” Long Teng’s eyes rolled as he thought. “Let me ask my father. He flew the ship to Blue, so he might have an impression of the neighborhood.”

“Your father can fly a spaceship?” Xie Sen was surprised. In his perception, flying a spaceship required high technology, extraordinarily high.

“Of course. He’s very good at it. He taught me to fly the spaceship himself.” Long Teng raised his eyebrows proudly. While he was saying that, he opened his bracelet to contact Long Yu, who answered the communication quickly. 

“Brat, what is it?”

Long Teng had already gotten used to his father’s ‘term of endearment’ and immediately asked, “Father, two years ago we went to the planet Blue. Is there a small planet near Blue?”

“Now you’re making fun of me, right? I can’t even count the number of planets I visit in a year. How could I possibly remember any small planets?”

Long Teng muttered, “Father’s memory is too bad.”

“You…” Long Yu was about to teach his son a lesson with words, when his voice suddenly stopped. That was followed by An Ming’s gentle voice from across the room, “A’Teng, are you talking about in the vicinity of Blue?”

“Yes, Dad!”

An Ming said, “Wait a moment. I’ll go through the photo album from two years ago.” He smiled a little. “I take photos all along the way as souvenirs when I travel with you guys, so there should be relevant photos.”

“Baby/Dad you’re so nice,” Long Yu and Long Teng said at the same time.

“Brat, your dad is mine. Don’t bother us.” Long Yu said in warning. Then An Ming reminded him, “Yu, I said to be gentle with your son.”

Long Teng raised a bright smile. “Father and Dad are both very nice.”

Long Teng gave a light hum of triumph. An Ming laughed lightly, then said a short while later, “I found it. Wow, it’s also beautiful. There are three small planets of different colors. I’ll send you the picture.”

The message alert came, and Long Teng said, “Thanks, Dad.”

An Ming asked, “What are you looking for these planets for?”

“I want to go there!” Long Teng said excitedly. “It’s going to be fun to go with Sen!”

Long Yu said, “No fooling around. There are no public spaceship stations there.”

“I can fly a spaceship. You taught me yourself, Father!” Long Teng wasn’t worried. 

Long Yu said seriously, “It will take at least four days to get there from Brandt Star, and there is no set route. You can take the route to Blue, and adjust it to the actual destination nearby. But will you be able to? Can you drive alone for four days straight? It’s not fun to have an accident in the universe. You’re not allowed to go.”

Xie Sen couldn’t help but frown when he heard this. It wasn’t very easy to reach where the wood energy was located. When he looked at it that way, they may even need to hire a spaceship pilot.

Long Teng beamed. “Father! I want to go! I want to go! I must go. I will calculate the route. As for the pilot, Father, you must have a way, right? Just one replacement pilot with me will do. Father, you are the best!”

Long Yu laughed and scolded, “Who did you learn this stalking kung fu from? You don’t see your dad glaring at me…Hey, baby don’t fight…”

An Ming said, “A’Teng, we will arrange the right person to accompany you. You come home tomorrow. I’ll check to see if you can really calculate the routes, and also to test your ability to fly the ship. If you don’t pass, my words just now are null and void, and you aren ‘t allowed to go.”

“Dad, don’t worry. I’m super good!” Long Teng said. “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

After he ended the communication, Long Teng clicked on the photo sent by An Ming. The most conspicuous planet in the photo was the big planet, Blue, while in front of it were three smaller planets.

“A’Sen, which one are you talking about?”

Xie Sen looked at the small planets of different colors, and pointed to the nearest green planet. He remembered Adam saying it was on a planet with a lot of plants. “I think it’s this one, but I’m not completely sure.”

Long Teng said, “Then we’ll go to this one first, or we can change the route temporarily.”

The four of them finished dinner together and went home.