Barren Star – Chapter 20

This isn’t very appropriate, is it?

Three people didn’t expect Hua Zhuoyu’s reaction, and their faces fell.  They certainly didn’t think Hua Zhuoyu would have a dog blood amnesia (implying a melodramatic and unbelievable loss of memory).  This was clearly intentional. They glared at Hua Zhuoyu accusingly, but Hua Zhuoyu completely ignored them, gazing deeply at someone who looked about 50-60% like Ning Mo.

“Several of you have trespassed onto my planet. What do you want?” Ning Buyi said, arms crossed, her tone relatively polite.

            

He Chao frowned. Hua Zhuoyu saw his defeated, prisoner-like appearance (literally “fallen to the level of a prisoner”), and He Chao felt both ashamed and angry.  Facing Ning Buyi’s question, a cold glint flashed in his eyes as he said through gritted teeth, “We are from Star Court, and we have the right to go to any planet.”

(LP: I feel like there’s chapters where I forgot to edit “Xin Ting” to “Star Court”… If there are… hehe~)

Star Court’s judges *do* have the freedom to travel between planets; after all, they have the highest authority and can decide the fate of planets. But Ning Buyi wasn’t intimidated by He Chao’s words. She smirked, her eyes devoid of warmth, “Does your power include breaking into other people’s bases, stealing their things, and injuring their security robots? Your arrogance would make even space pirates bow down.”

            

These blunt words utterly humiliated He Chao and the others. Before they could respond, Ning Buyi laughed, “You wouldn’t dare tell me you thought this base was ownerless, would you? But—” She suddenly changed her tone, her gaze falling on Ning Mo, “Everyone else might not know, but surely you, my cousin, are aware?”

Ning Mo became even more silent, her head bowed, avoiding Ning Buyi’s gaze. She didn’t know Ning Buyi well, only that her mother had passed away and she was raised by her second uncle, receiving little care. Her family looked down on her and sometimes made fun of her.  In short, she thought her cousin was meek, never expecting her to be so sharp-tongued.

Ning Buyi said, “I didn’t stop you from landing on the planet, but you trespassed on private property. According to Da Xia law, I would be justified in killing you.”

            

He Chao’s face turned livid. He blurted out, “It’s just a barren star! Go ahead and try it, see if anyone will protect you!”

“So Star Court’s existence transcends Da Xia law,” Ning Buyi sighed, raising an eyebrow. “Beidou, upload this footage. Let’s get some impartial opinions.”

He Chao glared at Ning Buyi, shouting, “You…you actually recorded this?!” Judges are above the common people; wherever they go, they are revered! How could this be happening?

            

“So that’s how Star Court trains people. No wonder my barren star was deemed abandoned,” Ning Buyi said sarcastically, putting the big pot on Hua Zhuoyu’s head (meaning to unjustly blame someone), as if she was pretending to be sincere.

Hua Zhuoyu watched Ning Buyi and He Chao’s back-and-forth with a smile, secretly thinking that it was fortunate Ning Buyi didn’t speak to her like that. But in a blink of an eye, the fire spread to her. Clearing her throat, she said, “Star Court never violates Da Xia’s laws. We are judges, but we are also citizens of Da Xia.  You are justified in dealing with them according to Da Xia law; I have no complaints.” Pausing, she added, “But I suggest you settle this privately. Judges, after all, have a special status. Although a new judge will be born after their death, it takes ten years or even longer for a judge to mature.”

Zhao Qiuyu couldn’t help but speak up, “Miss Ning, did you plant the red thorns and lavender outside?” She was completely focused on the plants, and her situation was unimportant since her boss was there.

            

Ning Buyi smiled faintly, “Does this concern you?” Turning to Hua Zhuoyu, she sighed, “Ah Zhuo, I know you’re worried about me, but they look like they’d rather swallow hot coals than apologize. I’m afraid if I let them go, I’ll face retaliation later.”

Hua Zhuoyu’s eyelids twitched.

Knowing her identity had been exposed, she rarely heard Ning Buyi use “Ah Zhuo” anymore.  Although there was no sarcasm, the incredibly natural and affectionate tone still made her heart jump. Ning Buyi was her “bread and butter,” but He Chao and Zhao Qiuyu were expendable.  Frowning, she pretended to be displeased, “Don’t you know how to apologize?”

            

Zhao Qiuyu bowed her head the fastest, immediately saying, “I’m sorry. I’m willing to compensate Miss Ning for her losses.”

Ning Mo followed suit with an apology.

He Chao’s face was a mixture of red and white; he didn’t want to yield. He felt that the ruler of a barren star wasn’t worth making such a fuss over. But Hua Zhuoyu’s gaze put immense pressure on him. After a long while, he reluctantly said, “Sorry.”

            

Ning Buyi carefully observed He Chao and saw his inner dissatisfaction.  She rummaged through the outdated plot summary in her mind and found the description of He Chao: arrogant, self-important, unruly, one of the female lead’s suitors, eventually tamed by the male lead, and becoming his most loyal subordinate. His ability is unique; he can purify things and heal wounds left by dark pollution.  This ability is unique in Da Xia, so he does have reason to be arrogant.

“If apologies worked, what would laws be for?” Ning Buyi coldly sneered.

Little Feng Jiu hopped out of Ning Buyi’s arms, pecked He Chao a few times, then flew back, chirping indignantly a few times.

            

He Chao’s eyes flashed with impatience. He gritted his teeth, “I’ll pay compensation!”

Ning Buyi looked down on He Chao scornfully, “You think you can just throw money at the problem? Do you think the Ning family is short of money?”. She spoke righteously, making it seem like she was extremely wealthy.  Even Ning Mo glanced at her in surprise.

He Chao, furious, turned red in the face: “…”

            

Ning Buyi waved her hand dismissively, “Fine, for Ah Zhuo’s sake, I’ll believe you this once.  This is a private settlement. Next time, don’t blame me for being ruthless and killing you on the spot.” She turned to Beidou and ordered, “Throw them out.”

Zhao Qiuyu: “Miss Ning, then—” Before she could finish, Hua Zhuoyu gave her a look, and Zhao Qiuyu immediately fell silent.

Hua Zhuoyu lifted her eyelids slightly: “We can contact them through the light brain.” She had called them here mainly because of Little Feng Jiu.  The little bird was now very healthy and full of energy.  After learning that she and the Black Dragon had just been unlucky and there wasn’t a complex conspiracy, she decided to contact Beast Star through Star Court to bring Little Feng Jiu back.

            

“No, you need to meet with them in person,” Ning Buyi said seriously.

Hua Zhuoyu was initially puzzled, but after a moment, she understood. Ning Buyi wanted her to negotiate for money and supplies!

“Miss Ning, do you think that’s appropriate?”

            

Ning Buyi said indifferently, “If you side with the Star Court judges, then leave with them.” Her life on the barren star had gotten back on track, the plants in the base were absorbing dark pollution, and she no longer needed Hua Zhuoyu to hunt large numbers of wild animals. Plus, the four little bees had been successfully brainwashed and could even transform into insect-like creatures for combat in crucial moments.

Hua Zhuoyu complained resentfully, “You’re getting rid of me faster than to kill a donkey after its work is done.” (meaning to discard someone after they are no longer useful).

Ning Buyi: “That’s because you haven’t seen enough of the world.”  Sending Hua Zhuoyu there had another purpose: to let He Chao and the others know that she had a close relationship with Hua Zhuoyu, to prevent them from deliberately making things difficult for Barren Star No. 1. Zhao Qiuyu and Ning Mo were not much of a concern, but He Chao, who was following the male lead and had his eye on Hua Zhuoyu, was definitely a villain!  “By the way, the base doesn’t welcome them; there’s no food, drink, or lodging,” Ning Buyi added. She didn’t want to be “constantly together” with these three ill-mannered fellows.

            

Hua Zhuoyu nodded.

She knew the situation in the base—very few buildings.  He Chao, Zhao Qiuyu, and the others were reckless; they needed to suffer a bit outside.

At this moment, Zhao Qiuyu, Ning Mo, and He Chao still didn’t know that Hua Zhuoyu had sold them out.

            

Ning Buyi didn’t discuss compensation at that moment.  With Hua Zhuoyu there, those three wouldn’t run away.  She’d wait for them to offer it.  With three uninvited guests gone, Ning Buyi felt the air in the base was much fresher.  She looked at Hua Zhuoyu with an ambiguous smile, “What help are your people? Were they intentionally causing trouble for me?”

Hua Zhuoyu hadn’t expected things to turn out like this. She sighed helplessly, “Zhao Qiuyu is extremely obsessed with plants. It was an accident.”

“Oh.” Ning Buyi was cold. After a long pause, she said, “Didn’t you call them here to discuss things? Why don’t you go check on them?”

            

After being thrown out of the base, the restraining rings on their bodies were removed, and their spirits lifted considerably.

“Plants! There must be plants in this base!” Zhao Qiuyu paced back and forth, her eyes practically slits.

He Chao sneered, “If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be in this mess.” Zhao Qiuyu had broken the red thorns and damaged the robot; the consequences were borne by all three of them.

            

Ning Mo looked left and right, worried that Zhao Qiuyu and He Chao would start arguing. She hurriedly tried to smooth things over, “Let’s wait for the boss to arrive before we say anything. We don’t know how she escaped or how she ended up staying on the barren star either.”

He Chao frowned, then worriedly said after a moment, “Zhuoyu was injured before; she might still have lingering dark pollution.  I don’t know how she is.”

Zhao Qiuyu shook her head, “Didn’t Starlight sell fresh fruits and vegetables?  They’ve been proven to help expel dark pollution scars. Since there are plants in that base, the boss is definitely fine.”

            

He Chao’s face darkened even more at her words, “Plants growing on a barren star that’s about to be abandoned?  Even on civilized planets, they’re hard to cultivate.  The red thorns were probably brought from the experimental base by Zhuoyu.  Don’t get your hopes up.”

Zhao Qiuyu rolled her eyes.  Ignoring the irate He Chao, she shared her speculation with Ning Mo, “Starlight suddenly started selling fruits and vegetables.  The quantity is small, but they are real. I know the bases on civilized planets and construction planets. They don’t have the ability to do this, and even if they did have results, those stingy guys wouldn’t sell them cheaply. Si Pu is tight-lipped; he wouldn’t even tell us. Mysterious One—could it be referring to the base on Barren Star No. 1? Otherwise, is there anything here worth the boss staying for?”

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