Ch 22 – Is He Always This Brave?

“The meaning of life lies in life itself,” Tau told Yu Xi with a smile. “It lies in every minute and every second we spend here, and in every uncertainty therein.”

Yu Xi, slumped in Kersz’s arms: “So which of your personas is this one? A teacher?”

“Correct. A teacher.” Tau dropped his smile and nodded expressionlessly.

Yu Xi praised: “You’re really impressive.”

“It’s just a necessary skill,” Tau explained.

Kersz really wanted to free up his hands and give Tau a good beating. Did he not realize that he was successfully keeping Yu Xi’s mind off other things?

“You don’t necessarily need to have a positive, uplifting outlook,” Kersz chimed in. “I’m certainly not ‘positive and uplifting,’ but if I have a choice in the matter, I don’t want to die.”

“Because of your anger.” Yu Xi understood.

“Right, my anger.” Kersz reached out and rubbed Yu Xi’s head. “You can learn to be angry too, and lash out at the things you hate.”

Yu Xi showed no sign of perking up at these words: “Then what do I hate?”

Kersz had no idea.

“I dislike the ancient humans for abandoning me, but I can’t take revenge on them. I’ll never see them again.”

Yu Xi also felt that his method of vengeance wouldn’t be particularly over-the-top. He would simply confront those humans and ask them: why?

Thinking of this, Yu Xi was even more disappointed with himself. He couldn’t even manage to be an angry villain.

“If I were a bad-tempered robot set on taking revenge on all of humanity…..” Yu Xi hypothesized.

“Please, whatever you do, don’t think that way.” Tau grabbed hold of Yu Xi’s hand. “You must be a good person.”

“I’m becoming increasingly worried that I’m going to go down in history as an eternal sinner. Fortunately, we’ll all go down together when you enact your revenge, and there won’t be anyone left to condemn me behind my back,” Kersz said.

“I can condemn you right now,” Tau said to him.

“The condemnation of an Illegitimate holds no power over me.” Kersz was entirely unconcerned. After all, Tau didn’t even consider himself to be a human being.

“The top priority right now is to reawaken his will to live, not to throw snide remarks at me.” Tau lowered his head.

Kersz let out a sigh: “To be honest, I’ve already decided to give up.” He adjusted his position again, turning Yu Xi against his chest so that it was easier to hold him.

Yu Xi: “Wow…..”

Kersz: “What?”

Tau also didn’t know what Yu Xi was exclaiming over: “What is it?”

“Humans have such a high body temperature.” Yu Xi felt warmth humming through his entire body. But a human’s body temperature wasn’t that high, so what was the source of the warmth he was currently basking in?

Kersz lowered his head and made a sound of surprise.

Although he didn’t understand what had caused it, Tau sensed that Yu Xi was now in a better mood.

“Hold him a little tighter,” Tau said to Kersz.

Kersz pulled Yu Xi even closer. Yu Xi was visibly flustered, shifting his hands and feet slightly as if he didn’t know what to do with them.

However, he eventually found a place to rest his limbs. Tucking his legs in, he made an effort to wrap his arms around Kersz in return.

Kersz felt that their posture was a bit odd: “Do you still feel like everything is meaningless?”

“I still haven’t figured it out,” Yu Xi said truthfully.

Kersz was somewhat disheartened by this answer, because he really didn’t have it in him to figure out a marvelous angle that would allow him to convince Yu Xi that life held meaning.

“But I seem to have calmed down a little now,” Yu Xi added. “Because you’re holding me.”

Kersz, who was also being held: ……

“Then do you still want to die?” Tau asked him.

“I don’t know…..it feels like…..like I can’t escape from that dream.” Yu Xi recalled that agitated big white dog. “Maybe Kersz was right, and it would have been better not to remember, but I have a feeling that the seal on that memory of mine was opened.”

He likely hadn’t deleted that dream completely, and unlocking it had simply required a certain catalyst – for instance, learning that the central figure of that dream was still alive.

And Yu Xi had been overwhelmed by it, rendered helpless by the intense emotions that swamped him in its wake.

All energy had drained from him, and he only felt that this universe was vast and empty. His past, too, seemed like a succession of days passing by, each just as empty as the last.

But in Kersz’s embrace, he seemed to have grasped a handhold against the current.

This wasn’t able to resolve the vast emptiness within him, but at least for the moment, it did give him something.

Yu Xi couldn’t quite put his finger on what Kersz had given him. It wasn’t heavy, nor was it sacred, and seemed to be nothing more than a few small things.

Yu Xi really liked these small things.

Kersz stiffened slightly within Yu Xi’s embrace, and a thought suddenly occurred to him: “Let’s go wander around somewhere with a lot of humans.”

“A third-class planet?” Yu Xi asked.

“Nah, let’s hang out on a first-class planet instead,” said Kersz. “The people there aren’t quite as volatile.”

Yu Xi’s eyes lit up.

Kersz: “But you can’t go around touching people indiscriminately.”

The light in Yu Xi’s eyes dimmed.

“What are you planning?!” Tau asked warily. “Who are you going to make a move against?”

“Your father,” Kersz said with a sneer.

Before Tau could respond, Kersz said: “My life isn’t all fighting and killing. I actually have my own distinct insights when it comes to entertainment.”

“So shall we go to a first-class planet?” Kersz asked Yu Xi.

Yu Xi nodded. He liked places where there were a lot of humans…..but this time, the sense of urgency to see those humans seemed to have diminished.

Yu Xi felt a bit strange.

Could it be because he already had two humans by his side? Somehow, he didn’t feel quite so desperate anymore.

In particular, Kersz still had his arms around him.

An hour later, they landed at the spaceport on a planet called Daybreak.

This place was indeed different from a third-class planet, where the buildings resembled blocks of steel piled together haphazardly, a rotting skin wrapped around the planet’s surface.

But the architecture here was very beautiful, arranged in a well-ordered and aesthetically pleasing array. It was just that it was a bit too white – blindingly so.

“Do the people here really enjoy using white for everything?” Yu Xi had a panoramic view of the city from the spaceport where they had landed.

“It’s because the owner of this planet has some issues,” Tau explained.

Tau didn’t understand why they had brought him along. In his own estimation, he was a prisoner. They should have kept him locked inside the starship…..and he still had unfinished crafts to complete.

But then Yu Xi brought up the topic of his father again, and Tau had no choice but to capitulate, changing his clothes before obediently following along.

“The owner of this planet is a very interesting old man,” said Kersz. “He was one of the few men of action within the Interstellar Alliance, a real anomaly, and it didn’t take long before he was ousted from his position. Afterward, he became obsessed with carrying out construction work on various planets. He has seven of them, each with their own representative color.”

Yu Xi was astonished: “I thought you didn’t like those lords?”

“I’m not that narrow-minded. I wouldn’t kill someone just because they’re a lord.” Kersz smiled and led Yu Xi toward the exit, who in turn pulled Tau away from where he was rooted to the spot.

As the three of them left the spaceport, Yu Xi noticed that in place of humans, there were mostly robots walking around on the streets.

“Where are we going?” Yu Xi disliked such emptiness, and the uniform white of the buildings made him feel as if the place lacked even a shred of vitality.

“A retro bar. It’ll be packed with people, shoulder to shoulder.” Kersz winked at Yu Xi.

Yu Xi gasped: “So does that mean I can sneak around and touch people without them noticing?”

“Please don’t do that.” Kersz slightly tightened his grip around Yu Xi’s wrist.

Yu Xi gave an “oh.”

But he figured that if he touched people very quickly and furtively, he was certain to get away with it.

Kersz saw through Yu Xi’s thoughts, and so did Tau.

Because whenever Yu Xi was feeling guilty, his eyes would dart around aimlessly without settling on anyone’s face.

Kersz heaved a helpless sigh and pretended not to notice. He would just apologize after Yu Xi inevitably stirred up trouble later.

When Kersz led Yu Xi and Tau to the retro bar, he unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance.

Or rather, an acquaintance of Tau’s.

Not long after they had settled into their booth, Yu Xi dashed off toward the dance floor. Kersz and Tau, however, had no interest in mingling, and had a drink at their table. But before long, they noticed a commotion as someone kicked up a ruckus.

A man sporting a head of curly platinum-blond hair was brawling with another man……no, it would be more accurate to say that he was unilaterally thrashing him.

None of the bystanders dared to step forward.

“Ah~” Kersz rested his chin in his hand and suddenly let out an amused chuckle. He glanced at Tau: “Isn’t that the Supreme Governor’s youngest son?”

Tau fell silent.

“He’s a biological child, unlike you. His parents are fully documented, not unregistered.”

Kersz laughed delightedly: “They say the Supreme Governor’s youngest son is violent by nature. Did he ever beat you up? Does he even see you as a human being?”

Tau’s expression suddenly shifted.

Kersz hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from him. Could it be that he had actually struck a nerve?

Tau’s lips trembled as he pointed in the direction of the commotion: “Is, is that Yu Xi?”

“Who?!” Kersz immediately jumped to his feet and looked in that direction.

The scene he encountered just about made him collapse.

The area around the blond man had essentially become a vacuum, occupied only by him and the man he had beaten up.

Along with one other person.

Standing between the two of them, Yu Xi leaned down to observe the groaning man before turning back to look at the blonde.

Yu Xi stood with his hands behind his back, his weight settled on one leg while the other was relaxed, looking as thoroughly at ease as a tourist at a museum. 

The blonde and the beaten man both stared blankly.

Yu Xi’s gaze darted back and forth between them.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at him.

Yu Xi finally responded by shifting his weight, settling into the same casual posture with his other leg at rest this time.

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Chapter 21 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 23