Chapter 20 Green Chirp-Chirp Gui Banjing

　　The unofficial information Damm had brought was precisely the news that Wei Yin had undergone surgery many times. He had learned it from a retired servant on the An family estate. But the servant was old and spoke incoherently. If Damm had not first heard Luo Mengmeng’s findings just now, he probably would have verified the story before telling Major General Sain. Now that he knew there was something wrong with the medicine the An family had been giving Wei Yin, however, Damm decided to be “careless” for once.
　　Wei Yin: “Another divine assist!”
　　Wei Yin had wanted to expose this matter himself, but the addiction episode had interrupted him. He had been worrying over how to bring it up, and look at that—Damm had just delivered the pillow exactly when he wanted to sleep.
　　So the instant Damm finished speaking, Wei Yin sprang to his feet like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.
　　Tears immediately gathered in Wei Yin’s eyes. His emotions arrived on command. Breathing rapidly, he shrieked, “No surgery! I’ll behave, no surgery! It hurts so much, no!”
　　Seeing Film Emperor Wei possessed by the acting demon again, Shangyang simply shut its eyes and pretended to faint on the sofa—otherwise, if its host was acting like that while his spirit form sat beside him watching the show, wouldn’t that look schizophrenic?
　　The other people in the room immediately stood up too.
　　Major General Sain was the most anxious, but the instant he approached, Wei Yin recoiled in panic and gave a short scream. Tears poured down his face as he mumbled incoherently.
　　If even Major General Sain received that treatment, no one else had a chance of getting close.
　　“Awoo!” Seeing that its own host could not approach Wei Yin and that Shangyang had “fainted,” Taowu became so anxious it started howling.
　　Taowu roared at Major General Sain in urging, but Major General Sain still did not take another step. In frustration, Taowu clawed the carpet to shreds. Finally unable to endure it any longer, it took two steps toward Wei Yin—and discovered that Wei Yin did not reject it.
　　Taowu gave a delighted cry and immediately ran to Wei Yin. Though it already stood as high as the middle of Wei Yin’s thigh, it circled him and rubbed against him while pretending to be a little kitten.
　　But this method of acting cute was very effective. Wei Yin gradually quieted down.
　　The room became so silent a dropped needle could have been heard. Only Wei Yin’s intermittent sobs remained, striking everyone’s hearts like drumbeats.
　　The intense emotion from moments before seemed to have receded. Wei Yin raised his head, his expression already calm again. More than calm: although his eyes were still wet, there was a solemn look in them. They shone brightly with a streak of determination. How could this possibly be the same soft Wei Yin who had made Major General Sain’s heart ache merely to look at him before?
　　Major General Sain froze and frowned at him. “Wei Yin?”
　　“Major General.” Wei Yin’s expression was indifferent, but his brows drew together slightly as he spoke, as though he were enduring something—or struggling to remember. “I can’t remember very clearly, but I know what’s happening now. I… I want to become a real Guide. Major General, you’ll help me, won’t you?”
　　Damm and the others all looked shocked. In this moment, what difference was there between Wei Yin and an ordinary person?
　　Surprise flashed across Major General Sain’s face, but he immediately nodded solemnly. “I will. Wei Yin, right now you…”
　　“Don’t… don’t send me back to the An family.” Wei Yin suddenly became agitated again. He pressed both hands to his head, and the clarity in his eyes gradually faded. In its place returned the aggrieved look Major General Sain knew so well, those huge eyes filled with dependence on him.
　　“Lanser.” With tears still hanging on his face, Wei Yin reached both arms toward Major General Sain.
　　Major General Sain froze, then strode over in one long step and pulled Wei Yin into his arms. Like soothing a child, he gently patted Wei Yin’s back. “Don’t be afraid. It’s all right now.”
　　Wei Yin hugged Major General Sain tightly too, clinging to him like a koala as he sobbed softly.
　　Damm and Luo Mengmeng stared, dumbfounded. It took them quite a while to recover. Damm looked at Luo Mengmeng and raised his eyebrows—what the hell was that?
　　Luo Mengmeng was baffled too. After thinking, she said, “Didn’t I say earlier that he might be unstable during the first few days after stopping the medicine?”
　　Damm narrowed his eyes and looked at her the way one might look at a fraudulent fortune-teller.
　　Luo Mengmeng became angry out of embarrassment—what was she supposed to do? That was an S-rank Guide. Of course she wanted to send mental tendrils into Wei Yin’s consciousness cloud and investigate properly, but did she dare?
　　Luo Mengmeng glared fiercely at Damm, then changed the subject. “Judging from Madam’s reaction just now, the information you brought back is probably true. But they actually dared operate on a descendant of the An family. Have they gone insane?”
　　The An family’s only remaining source of legitimacy was the bloodline of its descendants. If they treated Wei Yin like this, did they no longer want the An family name at all?
　　Damm laughed when he heard that. “I thought I was already the type who buried himself in a laboratory and ignored the outside world. I never expected you to be even more detached from reality than me.”
　　Luo Mengmeng gave him a sidelong look—seriously, if this guy had not grown up rolling around the plantation with her since childhood, she could have drugged him unconscious countless times over by now.
　　Damm grinned. Leaning back against the sofa, he adopted an exaggeratedly sarcastic tone and gave a cold laugh. “Ever since the Empire was founded, everyone has known that the two founding old-noble houses were cursed. One family’s descendants survive only through a single direct line, while every descendant of the other dies before fifty. And now, great—each side is down to one single line, and someone has paired those two lines together. How considerate of them too. They even implanted the womb sac for you in advance and raised it beautifully, so afterward you two can have as many children as you want. But when those children are born, will they inherit the An family’s single-line curse, or the Sain family’s die-before-fifty curse? Either way, whose bloodline breaks? Or do both families simply end?”
　　Luo Mengmeng froze, her eyes widening slightly—she genuinely had never considered this. People of the Sain family felt an inexplicable, almost innate closeness toward descendants of the An family. When she learned that the Major General was marrying Young Master An, she had been delighted. She had imagined that the Major General and Young Master An would reenact the legendary bond between the Founder and Earl An, and then somehow both the Major General’s madness and Young Master An’s foolishness would be cured.
　　But after Damm’s blunt blow, Luo Mengmeng felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her entire body. She was chilled through.
　　“You’re just imagining all of that, aren’t you? Wouldn’t they be cutting off their own future too?” Luo Mengmeng said in disbelief.
　　Damm shook his head and sighed. “Silly Mengmeng. The An family has been an empty shell for a long time. Outsiders hollowed it out generation after generation. Now certain people on this side can’t sit still either. They want to yank out both roots at once. Once those two ‘great camels’ finally starve to death, they can pick the meat off the bones.”
　　Luo Mengmeng was completely stunned. “How could they dare? These are the Sain family and the An family. They’re…”
　　“They are the roots of all humanity in both the Empire and the Federation. They are humanity’s saviors. But who remembers that anymore?” Damm lowered his eyes and clenched his jaw, the line of his jawbone turning sharp. “And now those things even want to step on our heads and grind us into the mud—”
　　“That’s enough.” Major General Sain had finally calmed Wei Yin down. He brought Wei Yin back to the sofa and sat down. Looking at Damm, he sighed. “Tell me. What exactly have you been holding back?”
　　Damm stiffened his neck, pulled another lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it, and bit through it with a crunch to vent his anger. Only then did he say, “A distress signal came from Red Soil Star. They say the Zerg attacked. The people being sent this time are all fresh graduates from the Imperial Military Academy. They want you to go ‘supervise and instruct’ them.”
　　“What!” Before Major General Sain could react, Luo Mengmeng lost her composure first. “How long has it even been since the last campaign? The Major General is still supposed to be recuperating, and he only just got married!”
　　“That’s why they’re calling it ‘supervision and instruction.’” Damm tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Parliament and the Cabinet are about to be reshuffled. Do you think they’ll really feel at ease with the Major General around? Every time he goes out, he has to lock himself away for two months after returning. Toss him out there now and he’ll be unable to show his face for at least four or five months. By the time those four or five months are over, they’ll have finished everything already.”
　　Luo Mengmeng became so angry her eyes reddened. Then she thought about it and blamed herself for failing to develop better medicine, for being unable to cure the Major General. Otherwise, how could those people possibly be so arrogant? She looked ready to cry.
　　“All right.” Major General Sain fed Wei Yin a piece of fruit, then smiled and asked him, “Do you want to read?”
　　Wei Yin had heard their conversation and was unsettled too. He could only continue pretending to be foolish, nodding blankly. “Storybook?”
　　Major General Sain smiled, then beckoned to Luo Mengmeng. “Take Wei Yin to read. Taowu, go with them too.”
　　“Awoo~” Taowu was extremely pleased. Luo Mengmeng took a deep breath, adjusted her mood, and forced out a smile.
　　Naturally, Wei Yin did not make trouble. He only looked reluctantly at Major General Sain once, then picked up Shangyang and obediently followed Luo Mengmeng away.
　　Only after leaving the living room did Wei Yin start talking to Shangyang. “Yangyang, was Damm talking about the Hera family?”
　　Shangyang: “Mm. The An family can’t escape responsibility either. Add the Federation’s Aiwate family, and this stage is getting pretty damn big.”
　　Wei Yin: “Will the Major General really go to war again?”
　　Shangyang: “He will.”
　　Wei Yin: “…”
　　Shangyang: “I know you feel stifled and angry, but there’s no way around it. In terms of resources, talent, and prestige, the Sain family really doesn’t lose to anyone. But as long as Major General Sain’s madness remains untreated, there’s no one in the Sain family who can carry the banner. Everything else is useless.”
　　Wei Yin: “Then what if I cure the Major General’s madness?”
　　Shangyang: “Then the entire board gets flipped.”
　　Wei Yin: “Good. Then I’ll cure it!”
　　Filled with heroic ambition, Wei Yin entered the study. Luo Mengmeng had selfish motives of her own and selected introductory books related to Guides for him. These were handwritten notes left by members of the An family long ago, along with many study notes written by descendants of the students from the plantation school. None had electronic copies. They were unique in the entire Empire.
　　Wei Yin cooperated beautifully, pretending to be attracted by the pictures. He sat quietly without making trouble and even listened to Luo Mengmeng’s explanations.
　　And so, half an hour later.
　　Wei Yin stared at the page without moving his eyes. He looked foolishly blank, his brain packed so full of cotton that not even air could get through.
　　Wei Yin: “I thought Guides only needed to learn how to control mental power.”
　　Shangyang: “And?”
　　Wei Yin burst into tears. “The Major General might never get better in this lifetime.”
　　Shangyang: “…”
　　Wei Yin wailed, “Nobody told me that saving the Major General meant I had to become a top student!”
　　Shangyang: “Wait. These are only introductory books.”
　　Wei Yin heard that and cried even harder. The mist inside his consciousness cloud turned into an ocean of tears, rolling and surging with the bitter tears of a hopelessly bad student.
　　Author’s Note:
　　————————
　　On this day, Wei Yin once again remembered the terror of being ruled by mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology.
　　**
　　And now the question: how is Film Emperor Wei, who cannot even understand introductory textbooks, supposed to save the Major General’s life?
　　Nobody answer. Let me—use his body! Full marks! Thank you!
　　————————
　　[Answer to the fried-fish question]
　　I tried it. Steaming makes the fried little fish go soft and limp, and the texture gets kind of strange.
　　Also, I called them little fish, but they’re actually about two fingers wide and vary in size, so they’re not suitable for a cold dish.
　　In the end I reheated them in a pan. No oil, lowest heat. The result was decent.
　　It just takes a bit of time if you want them crispy.