A little cat curled up at Xu Yin’s feet, eyes half-closed in bliss; a small bird lay on its back with its wings spread out, looking as if it had drunkenly fallen asleep; a rabbit nestled on Xu Yin’s shoulder; a flower bloomed on his head, swaying in the wind; and a green vegetable sprouted behind him, its leaves lush and vibrant.
018: “You’re not setting up a stall for healing, you’re running a pet and plant shop!”
Xu Yin remained completely calm.
But the silver wolf wasn’t calm at all.
It paced restlessly around Xu Yin, eyeing the cat, snorting, then eyeing the bird, its paws twitching as if ready to pounce.
“Jun Yuzhou.”
Hearing the warning from behind, the silver wolf reluctantly withdrew its claws, turning back to shoot a sulking glance at the increasingly cheeky rabbit and flower.
Xu Yin couldn’t help but chuckle. After treating a turtle that had come to him for help, he gently removed the rabbit and flower from his body and placed them aside.
Only then did the silver wolf relax, walking over to rest its head on Xu Yin’s lap. As the young man’s hand began to softly stroke the wolf’s head, the wolf wagged its tail in satisfaction.
It was clear that it was the only one in Xu Yin’s heart.
Just as this thought settled in, another young man dressed in luxurious clothes approached, carefully observing Xu Yin.
The boy appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, and judging by his attire, Xu Yin was surprised to recognize him. “Your Highness, the Third Prince?”
It was indeed the youngest child of the Queen and the King, the Third Prince.
The Third Prince was very shy. Blushing, he introduced himself to Xu Yin, then asked about his older brother’s condition before cautiously reaching out to pet the wolf’s head.
Although the silver wolf’s temperament had improved recently, it still didn’t allow anyone else to touch it.
Xu Yin was about to stop the Third Prince, but to his surprise, the silver wolf didn’t react at all. It allowed the Third Prince to stroke its head as much as he liked, only flicking its ears in mild disinterest.
Xu Yin observed this with curiosity. When he helped the Third Prince adjust his energy pathways, it suddenly clicked for him why the wolf had behaved so differently.
The Third Prince comfortably transformed into a beast form.
It was a small black puppy with only its belly being white, almost completely covered in jet-black fur!
Xu Yin was utterly shocked.
Even 018, the system that should have a better understanding of the structure of the entire task world, was taken aback: “This can happen?!”
Xiao Hei had turned into the Third Prince in this world?!
Shocking!
It was truly shocking!
—
By the time night had fallen and Xu Yin returned to the palace, he was still discussing this extraordinary incident with 018 in his mind.
018: “He can even turn into a human! He can transform into a human now!”
Xu Yin: “Yeah, my Lao Gong can even turn into a dog.”
018: “…”
This world was truly miraculous!
But—
018: “Your Lao Gong is clearly a wolf! How could you call him a dog?”
The silver wolf persisted in rubbing its face against Xu Yin’s.
Xu Yin calmly pushed the wolf’s face away.
Wasn’t it just a little dog, after all?
018: “By the way, you’ve been practicing for days—have you discovered anything?”
Xu Yin spoke calmly, “This is something I need to try hands-on to truly understand.”
He sat on the bed and patted the space in front of him.
The silver wolf gently leaped over and obediently lay down in front of him.
Xu Yin placed his hand on the wolf’s head.
If asked whether he had made any progress, Xu Yin could say that there had indeed been some.
Over the past few days, he had clearly noticed that he could now perceive the energy waves within a person more distinctly than before.
Each person’s energy wave, it seemed, was subtly unique, much like fingerprints.
When he mentioned this to an experienced court illusionist, the other person seemed unaware of such a concept. Xu Yin was surprised but didn’t press the matter further, choosing to focus more intently on recognizing these energy patterns.
At this moment, he could clearly sense that Jun Yuzhou’s energy wave was sharp, shaped like jagged lines or towering mountain peaks etched onto his energy channels, leaving behind sharp marks.
Xu Yin gently infused the fine sand-like energy into Jun Yuzhou’s channels, slowly and carefully flushing and smoothing them.
The vast room was filled with a peaceful silence.
The silver wolf, content, slowly closed its eyes.
With steady breaths, his back rose and fell.
It seemed as if he had fallen asleep.
Xu Yin closed his eyes, carefully continuing to cleanse and clear…
However, today would clearly bring a greater revelation.
—At a certain moment, he suddenly noticed something.
It was something he had never seen before.
—An irregular segment of energy.
The wave pattern was not sharp but consisted of twisting, irregular curves.
Xu Yin furrowed his brow slightly.
It lay within a certain part of Jun Yuzhou’s energy network, seeming to want to merge with it.
It twisted and writhed, attempting to disrupt the fluctuations of the entire energy network, as though it were the source of all disorder…
Xu Yin suddenly opened his eyes.
What was this?
At the same time, the energy flow rushed past, swiftly enveloping this unusual segment of energy!
The energy segment seemed to have a life of its own. Upon realizing it was encased, it began to twist and struggle, trying to escape!
Xu Yin’s expression darkened, and with a thought, he shattered the abnormal energy segment immediately!
The next moment, there was an urgent knock on the door.
Xu Yin straightened up, glanced at the silver wolf who was still deeply asleep, seemingly unaware of anything, and covered him with a blanket. He got out of bed and walked over to open the door.
A guard whispered, “Young Master Xu, there’s news from your home. Your mother suddenly fell ill and it’s quite serious. She seems unwilling to disturb your work, but your grandfather believes you should return home to check on her.”
Xu Yin pulled out his terminal and checked.
Indeed, ten minutes ago, Xu Rusu had called, but he had set it to silent mode, so he hadn’t heard it.
Xu Yin’s gaze flickered slightly, and he turned back to look at the silver wolf still sleeping soundly on the bed.
The guard awkwardly asked, “Young Master Xu, is it a good time for you to leave now?”
Although the Crown Prince’s condition had been improving recently, they were still worried that if Xu Yin left, the Crown Prince would slip back into his previous volatile state. However, given that it was about his mother’s health, they didn’t want to stop him from going home to check.
Xu Yin hesitated for a moment.
That was the original host’s mother, and while it wasn’t directly his problem, he had now inherited this mother-son relationship. It didn’t feel quite right to completely ignore it. Besides, this world’s version of his mother, though powerful, wasn’t as extreme as the ones in the previous worlds.
Of course, Xu Yin also had an underlying suspicion that this timing seemed a bit too coincidental.
After a moment of contemplation, Xu Yin asked, “Is Mr. Lu here?”
Mr. Lu was the elderly court illusionist who had recently been in the most contact with Xu Yin and was the one he trusted the most.
The guard replied, “Yes, he’s waiting outside. He wanted to check in with you about the Crown Prince’s condition.”
This had become part of their daily routine.
Xu Yin nodded, stepped out of the room, closed the door behind him, and walked to the hall where Mr. Lu was waiting. Without waiting for the older man to speak, Xu Yin lowered his voice and said, “Mr. Lu, I’ve found an energy segment inside the Crown Prince’s body that doesn’t belong to him.”
The elderly illusionist was momentarily stunned, still processing the information, when Xu Yin leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, “I don’t know who placed it there yet, but I suspect this energy segment is the source of the Crown Prince’s energy disturbances. I’ve already shattered it, so the Crown Prince should regain consciousness soon.”
The elderly illusionist’s expression changed drastically.
“He’s sleeping now. Please go inside and keep an eye on him,” Xu Yin continued. “Don’t worry, regardless of whether my theory is correct or not, the Crown Prince has been much calmer lately. As long as no one touches him directly, he shouldn’t become agitated again.” Xu Yin paused before adding, “There’s an issue at my home, and I need to check on it. I’ll be back soon if everything is fine.”
Mr. Lu opened his mouth, seemingly full of questions, but in the end, he nodded hastily and said, “Alright, alright, I understand. You go home first, and I’ll have the guards drive you. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the Crown Prince. We can discuss everything when you return!”
Xu Yin nodded, turned, and left the palace.
After the elderly court illusionist quickly entered the Crown Prince’s room, he paused for a moment and then summoned a guard.
Before long, the Queen arrived with her attendants, moving swiftly. “The King is in a meeting. What is going on here?” she asked.
The elderly illusionist stood up, about to speak, when suddenly the silver wolf on the bed began to change.
Under the blanket, the wolf transformed back into his tall, handsome human form, lying on his side. His black hair was tousled.
After transforming back, the man let out a low groan and moved slightly.
The Queen and the others tensed, fearing that when he woke up and realized Xu Yin was gone, he might fall into another violent frenzy.
However, for some reason—perhaps a maternal instinct—at that moment, the Queen’s heart began to beat faster.
Ignoring the guards’ attempts to stop her, she slowly moved forward.
Meanwhile, the man on the bed slowly turned over.
As if feeling a slight headache, he furrowed his brow, lifted his hand, and pressed it against his forehead.
Then, he gradually opened his eyes.
When her gaze met his deep, dark eyes, the Queen trembled slightly. She cautiously called out, “Yuzhou?”
