Barren Star – Chapter 10
by Little PandaShe just lack great virtue.
Ning Buyi didn’t know about the commotion at Da Xia Imperial Star.
She was even more unaware that Ling Shu, after eating closed-door soup (a Chinese expression meaning being rejected or denied entry), had decided to search for Little Feng Jiu again, vowing not to return until found.
Barren Star Base.
Ning Buyi followed behind Hua Zhuoyu, heading to the outer perimeter to “patrol” her territory. It wasn’t even July yet, but she felt like she was being roasted alive by the blazing sun. After getting used to the “four seasons like spring” protective shield (referring to the ideal temperate climate found in traditional Chinese poetry), she had zero desire to suffer outside, but unfortunately, she couldn’t always hide in the rear.
Dark pollution spread throughout Barren Star, nearly reaching life-threatening levels. It wasn’t originally suitable to stay outside for long, but Ning Buyi had the Mountain Sea Atlas as her golden finger which could ease the situation somewhat. Of course, she wasn’t foolish enough to keep her palm pressed against Hua Zhuoyu’s chest, and instead changed to holding her hand—especially given the noticeably rising levels of dark pollution in her body.
Compared to Ning Buyi’s exhaustion, Little Feng Jiu was full of spirit and energy, hopping on Ning Buyi’s shoulder while maintaining contact to avoid being invaded by the dark pollution.
“Chiu chiu, chiu chiu chiu—” (onomatopoeia for bird chirping sounds in Chinese)
Before them stretched an endless wasteland, where the howling of wind and sand mixed with Little Feng Jiu’s singing, making Ning Buyi’s eardrums throb until she wanted to grab the little phoenix’s beak to silence it.
“How long will the beast clan’s offspring stay in this state? Why can’t it speak yet?” Ning Buyi admitted defeat and humbly turned to ask Hua Zhuoyu who walked ahead. When she decided to temporarily raise Little Feng Jiu, Ning Buyi had researched related information on the Star Network, which said offspring should be able to speak between three to six months of age. This Little Feng Jiu looked more than three months old, so what was going on? Could this be because of its royal bloodline?
“Perhaps—” Hua Zhuoyu turned around, deliberately pausing for a moment, “it’s mute.”
Ning Buyi: “…” A mute phoenix wouldn’t even be able to make “chiu chiu chiu” sounds.
“Its bloodline must have awakened,” Hua Zhuoyu withdrew her teasing expression. She glanced at Little Feng Jiu singing loudly on Ning Buyi’s shoulder, “Its powerful abilities are suppressing its development. An ordinary beast clan offspring couldn’t have managed to fall from Greedy Star to here and survive.”
“How long will this state last?” Ning Buyi asked again.
“I don’t know,” Hua Zhuoyu shook her head. Seeing the other’s shocked expression that seemed to say ‘how could you possibly not know,’ she added, “Researching beast clans is the responsibility of the military, government, and scientists—it has nothing to do with the Star Court.” The Star Court represents “upholding righteousness” (zheng, a core concept in Chinese philosophy meaning moral rectitude), and although the Judges possessed special abilities, they never interfered with political affairs. Their sole duty was to judge the fate of planets.
“If it stays like this, we’ll just have to keep raising it. Don’t you love fluffy creatures?” Hua Zhuoyu teased again. She couldn’t quite understand what was so great about this seemingly cute and fragile fluffy offspring, but Ning Buyi—ever since picking up Little Feng Jiu, had treated it like a precious pearl in her palm, not even minding when it pecked through the melon vines. In contrast, if she herself merely looked at the growing fruits a few extra times to contemplate the traces of life, she would be warned and condemned by Ning Buyi’s mysterious glares.
On Barren Star, she, Hua Zhuoyu, was the person of lowest status.
Ning Buyi glared at Hua Zhuoyu: “Aren’t you afraid of the Phoenix Clan’s princess coming after you with a blade?”
Hua Zhuoyu shrugged: “Doesn’t she not know about it?”
Ning Buyi was speechless. Hua Zhuoyu completely insulted the four characters “light wind, clear moon” (guang feng ji yue, a classical Chinese phrase describing someone of noble and upright character), this person truly lacked great virtue! But could someone like this really be interested in Xia Tu? When a book’s world became reality, the word “logic” couldn’t possibly encompass everything—though of course, that novel had no logic to speak of anyway.
“Let’s discuss business matters,” Hua Zhuoyu pretended not to notice Ning Buyi’s expression, lightly coughed once, and said seriously, “If you want to expand the protective shield to the base’s outer perimeter, you first need to drive out the ‘natives.’ Otherwise, if they suddenly appear before you one day, that would be an incident.”
“I understand.” Ning Buyi nodded. Wasn’t she out here “surveying” with Hua Zhuoyu? Yet after walking two kilometers toward the outer perimeter, they hadn’t seen any wild beasts. Perhaps this was once the night wolves’ hunting territory? Had all the wild beasts been driven away? And with the disappearance of the night wolves, this area had gradually become a safe zone.
“You’re thinking there are no wild beasts here, so it looks safe, right?” Hua Zhuoyu spoke up.
Ning Buyi’s eyelid twitched and blurted out: “How did you know?”
Hua Zhuoyu raised her hand, gently brushing her fingertip across Ning Buyi’s cheek: “It’s written all over your face.”
Ning Buyi stepped back, her face full of wariness. She mumbled: “Just talk if you want to talk, don’t get hands-on.”
“Sorry. It won’t happen next time.” Hua Zhuoyu gazed at Ning Buyi, “Will saying that make you happier? Or should I praise you more, perhaps saying your skin is as delicate as if a touch could break it, your face as smooth as cream?”
Ning Buyi: “Just shut your mouth!”
“Alright.” Hua Zhuoyu showed swift compliance to advice, but in the next moment she changed her tone, “However, there’s something I think I need to tell you.”
Ning Buyi frowned: “What?”
Hua Zhuoyu: “In interstellar space, beasts don’t only exist in places we can see. For instance, in these endless dunes, some creatures prefer to live in the sand. They only appear when hunting. Among these underground creatures, snakes and scorpions aren’t the frightening ones. What’s truly terrifying is a creature called the sand worm, which resembles a giant python. It has thousands of feet like a centipede, densely packed beneath its tough body. When its mouthparts open, it’s like the entrance to a dark tunnel—but this entrance isn’t circular, instead it’s crammed with sharp, densely packed teeth. Even if prey isn’t torn apart by these sharp teeth, they’ll be ground to pieces by its writhing digestive tract inside.”
“I understand.” Ning Buyi rubbed her arms, getting goosebumps from Hua Zhuoyu’s description.
“No, you don’t understand.” Hua Zhuoyu’s expression was very calm as she spoke in an eerie tone, “There’s a sand worm right behind you, its open mouthparts could swallow your head whole. Can you feel its disgusting and sticky saliva dripping down?”
A chilling breeze brushed past her nape, making Ning Buyi’s body tremble uncontrollably. As Hua Zhuoyu’s last word fell, she let out a scream and instinctively threw herself toward Hua Zhuoyu.
Hua Zhuoyu’s eyes flickered with amusement as she caught Ning Buyi in her arms, saying softly: “I was lying. Speaking of which, if you’re scared, just be scared—why get all hands-on?”
Ning Buyi: “…” It took enormous willpower to hold back the curses from bursting out of her mouth. Looking at Hua Zhuoyu’s smile, her whole body trembled with anger, crystal tears squeezing from the corners of her eyes. How could someone be as malicious as Hua Zhuoyu? She wanted nothing more than to smash that smiling face to pieces with her fist!
Just as Ning Buyi’s emotions were violently fluctuating, Hua Zhuoyu released her and pulled out an energy laser blade from her space button! A flash of white light gleamed on the blade as she slashed toward the sand ahead. A “ying ying” sound rang out, and the sand dune bulged up like an earth dragon turning over (a Chinese expression for ground movement). Hua Zhuoyu, without blinking an eye, struck down a second time. Soon, the undulating dune stopped trembling, and the creature’s blood instantly dyed the brownish-yellow sand a deep green.
The wind blew away the flowing surface layer of sand, revealing a small portion of the giant insect’s remains. Ning Buyi’s heart had been hanging in midair during these few brief minutes, swaying back and forth. She shuddered and said through gritted teeth: “Sand worm.”
“Yes.” Hua Zhuoyu casually put away the energy blade and raised her hand toward the nearly-fainting-from-anger Ning Buyi, saying innocently: “I didn’t summon it.”
Ning Buyi didn’t want to bandy words (ban zui, a Chinese expression for arguing) with Hua Zhuoyu. She took a deep breath: “I saw some medicine specifically for driving away underground insects and snakes on the Starlight Platform, would that be useful?”
Hua Zhuoyu nodded: “Yes, just expensive.”
Ning Buyi very much wanted to wave her hand grandly and say “money is not a problem”, but sorry, money was a very big problem.
Hua Zhuoyu glanced at the thoroughly frightened Ning Buyi and thoughtfully asked: “Want to go back?” Around the base’s perimeter, dangerous entities weren’t limited to sand worms. After this lesson, she would probably maintain a vigilant heart.
Ning Buyi said tearfully: “Yes.”
Hua Zhuoyu asked again: “Your legs look weak, do you need me to carry you on my back?”
Ning Buyi said through gritted teeth: “Yes.” This was all Hua Zhuoyu’s fault—couldn’t she just speak and act properly? She had to deliberately scare her like this!
Hua Zhuoyu: “…I was just being polite.”
This henpecked wife do really love to tease her little wife.