Chapter 63 — ILK Chapter 63

He Actually Spoke!!!

Sang Ye: ...

I am truly sick of these high-level Sentinels and their sensory capabilities.

The little Phoenix’s eyes were clear, without a trace of the madness associated with a riot. He extended a claw, allowing Sang Ye to lean on it as she climbed out of the pool.

Sang Ye looked around. The island was simple; the architecture used Tide Sea materials but mimicked the style of the Capital Star, with only a single villa built in the center. Several warships were docked on the island, seemingly Lin Changli’s private collection.

"Where is he?" Sang Ye asked.

The little Phoenix blinked, but before he could play dumb, Sang Ye grabbed his beak and pulled his head close.

"Talk. Where is he?"

"Sleeping," the Phoenix answered in a muffled voice. "Inside my body."

"Can you wake him up?"

"I can’t. He doesn't want to wake up." The Phoenix shook his head, lifted his wings, and sent another wave of fire toward the sea, continuously draining his mental energy.

"Stop it," Sang Ye interrupted. "If you keep draining mental power like this, you’ll dry both of you out."

The lower the mental power, the lower the sanity, until they become nothing but beasts that only know how to destroy. "You’ll die too, you know that, right?" Sang Ye tried to reason with him.

The Phoenix was calm. "He and I are one. I accept all of his decisions."

"Did I say something too harsh? Why did you two end up like this?" Sang Ye didn't understand.

Now that the Phoenix was larger, his eyes were no longer like tiny beads. His long lashes drooped as he looked down at Sang Ye. "We are sad. We’ve been treated as a burden and a nuisance again."

Sang Ye was baffled.

"When we were little, Mother was busy. She had many enemies. It was Father who looked after us. Mother gave him status, but no real power. Father didn't like us. We had too much destructive power, we were hard to manage, and mental grooming was tedious and frequent."

A person who enters a marriage solely for profit will eventually slide into a moral abyss. Lin Changli’s father thought marrying a Royal daughter would grant him effortless rank and power, but Lin Shuangxu never promoted him. Instead, because she lacked the time to watch over Lin Changli, she demanded he take the responsibility seriously. The pressure of a high-level mental domain made the man feel cornered.

Lin Changli became a "burden" and a "nuisance." During his childhood, he suffered countless instances of verbal abuse and mental trauma from this man. He wasn't physically abused only because the man couldn't beat him; the spiritual form would lunge out to protect its master.

Lin Shuangxu didn't discover it in time. Little Lin Changli didn't know how to express himself back then, and the man was good at hiding it. Little Lin Changli built his own defense mechanism: he rejected deep-level grooming from all Guides to fundamentally shut out mental violence.

It wasn't until he fell gravely ill during a rank breakthrough that Lin Shuangxu rushed back, beat the Phoenix into submission, and successfully entered his inner spirit. She divorced the man and threw him into a prison on a remote planet, forcing him to channel dozens of Sentinels a day until he died a few years later.

But the scars lasted a lifetime. Lin Changli stubbornly refused all mental grooming unless Lin Shuangxu beat him first. He changed from a lively, cute child into a sharp-tongued, abrasive man. He helped his mother win the throne and led expeditions across galaxies until his name was legendary. No one dared call him a burden again.

Until today.

"What other people say doesn't usually cause this," the Phoenix murmured. "The enemies on the battlefield say much worse things."

"...Then what makes me different?" Sang Ye looked directly at him.

The Phoenix avoided her gaze, scurrying away like a giant chicken, unwilling to answer. Sang Ye grabbed his tail but was jerked forward by his strength.

"Don't run! Let him out to talk to me!" Sang Ye was angry now, chasing after him. "Do you think you don't have to say anything and I’ll just automatically understand you?"

"I was sent here by your mother to save you, and I am grateful to her for saving my life. But do you think I don't need to socialize at the base? Do you think I can just do whatever I want like you?"

"You think it’s easy for me? Arriving here for no reason, being sentenced, owing a mountain of debt, and being exiled? Do you think my life is easy?"

"I asked you to come here, and the moment we meet, you get into a fight with someone else."

"Wonderful. He gets hurt, I have to face his mother. You get hurt, I have to face your mother. Why can't either of you let me have some peace of mind?"

"Do you just take it for granted that you can put me in such a difficult position?"

The more Sang Ye spoke, the angrier she got. Her mental power overflowed; parasol trees erupted around her, their branches winding out to ensnare the Phoenix. For a moment, even the massive spiritual form couldn't break free. Sang Ye took the chance to climb onto its back and forced its head around to look at her.

"Do I even have a relationship with you? In what capacity are you angry with me!"

The Phoenix’s pupils contracted.

Mental energy clashed with Sang Ye, warping the surrounding space. Sang Ye’s spiritual form and her pocket dimension shuddered and were sucked into another space.

Sang Ye had never seen such a terrifying sight. As far as the eye could see, there was only scorched earth. The sky was a sickly yellow, the clouds heavy with the soot of a thousand fires, unmoving. The air stank of unbearable sulfur. In this dim world stood a lonely figure. He watched silently as Sang Ye and her parasol sapling landed.

The spiritual forms were outside, while the masters had entered the inner space. Lin Changli had woken up at some point; he watched Sang Ye in silence.

"You," Sang Ye stepped on the scorched earth, feeling uncomfortable. "When did you wake up?"

"...Since you told me to come out and see you." He had heard everything.

"Then... aren't you going out?" After the initial burst of anger, Sang Ye felt a bit awkward and asked dryly.

Lin Changli didn't answer. He looked up at the sky, seeing the outside through the Phoenix’s eyes. Between the heavy clouds outside, his Alpha Fortress waited in silence.

"My mother has already prepared my burial place. All these years, I’ve been a burden to her too," Lin Changli replied. "It’s too tiring. It’s not worth it for anyone anymore."

"Today’s events have nothing to do with you. It’s just that my spirit is too fragile. You should go back. If you stay much longer, I might not be able to control myself."

"If she didn't want you alive, she wouldn't have come here today. I don't know much about Space Fortresses, but I doubt they are things you just casually use for a funeral," Sang Ye wouldn't leave. "And if you really wanted to give up, why would you come back to this island?"

Lin Changli remained silent.

"Since you told me about your past, let me share mine with you." Sang Ye wanted to sit down, but after looking around and finding only filth, she gave up.

"You should know I don't belong to this world," Sang Ye didn't hide it. "In the world I was born in, I was an orphan. I was abandoned in the middle of winter under a mulberry tree on a wasteland. A wild wolf didn't eat me; it kept me warm under its belly for a day. My Master happened to pass by and picked me up. That’s why I’m called Sang Ye—the mulberry tree and the wild wolf kept me alive. My Master hoped I would grow up wild and resilient, full of unknown possibilities like the wilderness."

"I didn't encounter many hardships after my Master took me in, until I came to this world." Sang Ye’s tone shifted. "But do you know why I was abandoned?"

Lin Changli shook his head.

"Because I was a girl," Sang Ye answered. "You find that unbelievable, right? But where I come from, girls are useless. They are 'money-losing' goods. Girls have all sorts of causes of death the moment they are born. Those who survive act as slaves in the house for a dozen years before being sold off to bring the family a bit of money. Forget education, the military, or inheritance—we weren't even allowed to live."

"When I grew up, I went back to see my biological parents. I was still young then, still hoping for something from them. When they saw I was alive, the first thing they asked was if the people who adopted me sent any money back with me. The next day, they started looking for a 'buyer' for me."

Sang Ye let out a mocking laugh.

"That’s why I like this era," Sang Ye said, not dwelling on the past. "Your mother can protect you, and she can ruthlessly make your father pay the price. In my era, that was unthinkable. Even if you were a princess, you were just fuel for a husband’s social climbing."

"Since I’ve come here, no matter how hard it is, I am trying my best to live well." Inside the mental landscape, Sang Ye constantly released her mental energy, soothing Lin Changli. "That’s why I want to save you today. You can probably guess what your mother promised me; I won't hide it from you."

Sang Ye knelt down, shoved the parasol sapling into the scorched earth, and stomped it down firmly. The sapling began its work of rooting obediently.

"So, let's talk openly. No one gets to play the 'pity' card with their past; you aren't that much more pitiful than me." Sang Ye raised an eyebrow, forcibly pulling Lin Changli out of his emotions.

"You can ignore me, of course. You can even kick me out; it’s your territory, after all." Sang Ye was decisive. "But if the words aren't spoken now, there won't be a next time."

The Parasol Tree loved the Phoenix's energy; in a short time, it had already grown to Sang Ye’s shoulder. She moved aside to give it room. It was lucky her spirit was a tree; if it were an animal, they’d probably be fighting right now.

Lin Changli watched her for a long time. "Talk about what? About why I couldn't control the urge to hit him?"

"If that’s where you want to start."

Lin Changli’s consciousness became clearer, his eyes regaining their usual brilliance. The woman before him was poised and determined.

"Because I loathe that he provoked me. Because I am jealous that he can get so close to you. Even though I know I have no right. I am nothing to you." In the mental world, Lin Changli was far more candid than outside.

"Because I like you."