"Rest assured. I am not related to you at all!"
Tears that were slightly glittering in gold flowed out of the young man's round eyes that had turned brown. He lost control of himself and shouted, "You are not my mother, and I am not your son. If possible, I would rather mince myself into pieces and give all your genes back to you!"
"Very good. If you can remember who you are and what you just said, it will be easier for us to get along with each other."
The queen said coldly, "I … won't kill you for the time being, but I can't let a 'bomb' like you, who carries my genes, run around outside. You have to stay by my side and be under my strict surveillance. You are not allowed to speak or move recklessly.
"Of course, I will not keep you forever. If everything goes well, nobody will be able to stop me in a few years. When the 'four Kurfürsten' and the other noble families are no longer a problem, I will give you a starship and a world at the edge of the Imperium where there are not too many conflicts. You will be able to live a carefree and free life as you wish.
"You may consider it a deal. After all, you have spent so many years under Li Lingfeng's wing. I will give you real freedom if you stay by my side for a few more years. How about it? Or should I destroy you right now and take back all the genes that I have given you?"
"You —"
The young man who looked like a golden lion or a golden cat gritted his teeth hard again. He was about to argue back when Li Yao pressed his shoulder hard.
"He agreed. He agreed. It is a very reasonable deal!"
Li Yao said in a hurry. Then, he turned around and persuaded the young man, "Don't be rash. No matter how cold her face is and how foul her mouth is, the core idea is that she is not going to kill you! What does that mean? It means that, although she has just killed her own brother, is up to some schemes against the entire Imperium, and has threatened to kill you time and time again, she is essentially a good woman and even a good mother, isn't she? "
Disbelief was written all over Li Jialing's face. "Is that so?"
"Fine. Let's just say that I was exaggerating. She is indeed not a good mother. But the point is — the point is that I jumped to the Imperium across the entire sea of stars and found you by accident. You two, don't be so reckless about your own life, alright? Even if you don't think about yourself, at least think about your dead father. At least he didn't do anything wrong to you. If he knew about your existence, he would be overjoyed! Take a guess, when your soul goes to the Nine Underworlds and he finds out that it was your mother who killed you, what will he think?
"It's still the same as before. Give yourself a chance, and give her a chance, okay? Maybe after you give each other a chance, you'll find that — Her Highness actually has some difficulties?"
"I don't have any difficulties."
The queen interjected coldly, "At least, Li Lingfeng was right about one thing. I do enjoy the ecstasy of power. In any case, I have to get the supreme power. My son is not within my consideration at all."
Li Yao felt that his head was exploding. "Can we talk nicely, Your Highness? Even if you are truly a sophisticated schemer, can't you lie to him first?"
"Forget it."
Li Jialing bit his lips with his canine teeth and said, "This is good. We can make everything clear at the beginning. If there is no hope, there will be no disappointment, and if there is no deception, there will be no pain. Instead of being enshrouded in lies right now and being miserable when the truth is revealed one day, it's better to be like this right now.
"Okay, I, I agree to your conditions. Don't worry, I will always remember my identity. You are the high and mighty Empress, and I am just a deformed monster. I don't dare to have any relationship with you. Even if I am caught by the enemy and tortured, I will never admit that you are my … gene provider."
"It seems that … this is the only way."
Li Yao looked at the queen helplessly and said, "Right, can he be restored to his original appearance? Well, don't worry. I'm not saying that your appearance right now is ugly. In fact, it is rather … cute. I'm just asking for you by the way. "
"As long as you train yourself to the level where you can control the cells all over your body freely, you will naturally be able to suppress the agitated cells and restore your original appearance."
The queen said casually, "This is also a minor training for you to remind you that you must pay attention to the strengthening of your cells all the time.
"Wuying Lan and Li Lingfeng are too irresponsible and whimsical. They have injected all kinds of drugs into your body, messing up your cells and your bloodline. It is almost a terrible disaster. I will take the opportunity to help you polish your body properly.
"After we return to the Deep Sea Fleet, I will naturally teach you some body-polishing techniques of a higher level, hoping that the potentials of your unique body can be fully carried out.
"Don't get me wrong. I just don't want to bring a pure burden next to me and ruin my plans. At the very least, if you are captured by the enemy, I hope that you will at least have the ability to kill yourself."
"I know what you mean."
Li Jialing said gloomily, "There will be no misunderstanding or … extravagant hope."
The three of them looked at each other in embarrassment.
"Alright!"
Li Yao suddenly clapped his hands and said, "The clouds in the sky are gone. The family is finally reunited. This is truly a day of celebration, isn't it?"
Without saying anything, the queen groped on the ground with the electric arcs on her fingertips for a moment and collected the three Cosmos Rings that Li Lingfeng left behind. Then, she retrieved a smaller armor from her own Cosmos Ring and threw it on the ground before she turned around and left quickly, as if she did not want to have anything to do with Li Jialing at all.
"Let's go, too."
Li Yao stuffed the armor into the young man's arms and watched him put it on. Then, he held the young man's hand and followed the queen. "Don't be so stubborn. Take the initiative to get in touch with her once in a while so that she can enjoy the happiness of a family. I have a feeling that she is actually a woman with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She is the kind of woman who can be persuaded by reason but not cowed by force.
Li Jialing stared at Li Yao carefully for a while before he lowered his head and walked forward in silence. It was not until a long time later that he finally squeezed out a sentence. "I'd rather die right now if you want me to act coquettishly with her."
"You …"
A deep sense of helplessness rose in Li Yao's chest. He complained to the mental devil, "I remember that I jumped to the Imperium to promote the diplomatic relationship between the two countries, overthrow the regime of the Imperium, resist the scourge of the Holy League, and maintain the peace of the universe. Why do I feel like an old mother right now?"
That being said, it was not a good idea for them to be at an impasse all the time. Li Yao still had a lot of secrets that he wanted to ask Li Linghai about.
Since Li Jialing was unwilling to break the ice, Li Yao had to do it in person.
Li Yao thought for a moment and caught up with Li Linghai. "Your Grace, about that, I'm really curious. What's the name of my foster father exactly? Can you tell me?"
Li Linghai moved fast on the lightning lotus without looking back. "No, I can't."
Li Yao was not discouraged at all. He continued asking, "The world fragment that you explored with my father years ago was really the 'Empyrean Transcendence Sector' where the Supreme Emperor was buried. Did you really receive the Supreme Emperor's heritage?"
Li Linghai paused for a moment, before she drifted forward as if nothing had happened. "Don't mention it to anybody else. You should know the gravity of the matter. Should other people learn of it, plenty of people will kill us even if I don't kill you.
"Also, nobody knows that I'm so strong. Even my subordinates in the Deep Sea Fleet only know that I'm in the Divinity Transformation Stage at best, but they don't know about 'Dragon Over the Sky' and 'Purple Fire Dragon'. Don't let it slip."
"Understood."
Li Yao knew that Li Linghai would not expose her greatest trump card easily. After all, he still had half a key in his hands. He might as well pester her. Thinking for a moment, he asked again with a smile, "Right. Can I ask you a more personal question?"
Li Linghai said, "I vaguely have a feeling that you are going to ask me some questions that will make me want to kill someone."
"No, no. Definitely not."
Li Yao hurried to wave his hands and said, "I really don't want to ask anything that is too sensitive. I just want to know how I should address you in private in the future. I call my foster father 'dad'. So, when there are no outsiders, should I call you 'mother' or 'mother'? "
The queen came to an abrupt halt and turned around stiffly, staring at Li Yao in disbelief.
"I find it … hard to believe."
The queen mumbled, "How did a guy like you advance all the way into the Divinity Transformation Stage without being beaten to death?"
Li Yao returned to Li Jialing in frustration.
"Did you see it?"
Under the cover of the storm, Li Yao said to the young man in a low voice, "In fact, the queen is quite easy to get along with. Didn't I talk to her just now?"
After a brief silence, Li Jialing said, "Brother Yao, in fact, my hearing has always been keen. After I turned into this appearance, it seems that my hearing has been improved again. I heard your conversation with the queen clearly.
"Although I do appreciate everything you have done for me in the past two days, I have to agree with the queen. Sometimes, you are truly … asking for a beating."
"What are you talking about?"
Li Yao said rather pitifully, "I'm trying to resolve the estrangement between the two of you!"
"Forget it. Don't waste your efforts. I think this is fine."
The young man smiled. "I'm already very satisfied to be able to meet a 'brother' like you and know about the existence of my biological father. Really, one can't be too greedy. Even without my biological mother, I can still live very well.
"However, rest assured. I will always remember everything you have done, Brother Yao. For your sake, I won't do anything rash."
Li Yao fell silent. Thinking for a long time, he sighed and said, "Forget it. You won't believe anything I say right now. Let me prove it to you slowly!"
The young man was slightly dazed. "Prove what?"
"Prove that, however cold and dark this world is, some bright and beautiful things still exist."
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