CH 48

Chapter 48: Outsiders

"Wait for me to come back."

It has been exactly three days since Long Jingze uttered those words and disappeared.

Every day, Xiao Qingyang would sit on the steps in front of the main gate, gazing blankly ahead. It seemed as if he was looking at his spirit cultivation field, yet also peering through it at something else.

The old butler stood behind, observing the visibly downcast young master, his eyes filled with concern.

"Young Master, it's time for dinner. Today, I made your favorite sweet and sour spare ribs," the old butler composed himself, concealing his worried expression from Xiao Qingyang, and spoke.

During the first attempt, Xiao Qingyang didn't hear the old butler's voice until the second try, when he finally snapped back to reality.

"Okay, Grandfather Du, I'm coming." Xiao Qingyang hastily got up and followed the old butler back to the dining hall.

Seeing the table filled with sumptuous dishes, Xiao Qingyang was somewhat surprised and asked, "Grandfather Du, is today a special day? Why did you prepare so many dishes?"

"It's not a special day, I just thought that Young Master would enjoy them. I ended up making more without realizing it," the kind-hearted old butler replied with a smile.

A warm current spread through Xiao Qingyang's heart, and his mood improved slightly.

Watching the young master eat obediently, the old butler's wrinkled lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but hesitated.

He wanted to comfort the young master, but he also worried about touching on a painful subject and making him even sadder.

Apart from the two of them, there was no one else on this planet.

At first, the young master was resistant and extremely despondent. However, the arrival of Little Golden Dragon brought him much joy.

Although the old butler initially didn't want to raise Little Golden Dragon, considering that no one knew whether the animals on this planet posed a threat to humans, he didn't stop it when he saw how happy it made the young master.

As it turned out, Little Golden Dragon's arrival did bring them a lot of happiness, and the old butler truly regarded Little Golden Dragon as part of their family.

But who could have known that one day, Little Golden Dragon would disappear without a trace?

At first, the old butler thought that Little Golden Dragon was just mischievously playing outside and would come back in the evening. Similar situations had occasionally happened before. However, when evening came, Little Golden Dragon still hadn't returned.

The next day, seeing how worried Xiao Qingyang was, the old butler joined him in searching for the entire day with the help of a robot, but they still couldn't find Little Golden Dragon.

Now, it was already the third day, and there was still no sign of Little Golden Dragon. Witnessing Xiao Qingyang's profound disappointment, the old butler couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Little Golden Dragon used to stick by Xiao Qingyang's side all the time. No matter what Xiao Qingyang did or where he went, Little Golden Dragon would always follow along. How could it forget to come back this time?

Or... did Little Golden Dragon encounter danger?

In truth, the old butler believed there was a 90% chance of this speculation being true. However, he dared not tell Xiao Qingyang. If Little Golden Dragon truly couldn't come back because of danger, it would only make Xiao Qingyang even more heartbroken. Instead of that, it was better to let Xiao Qingyang believe that Little Golden Dragon was just being mischievous and forgot to come back, happily playing somewhere.

Xiao Qingyang noticed the old butler's hesitance and lifted his head to look at him.

"I'll serve Young Master another bowl of rice," the old butler quickly adjusted his expression, smiling as he spoke.

The old butler didn't want to say it, and Xiao Qingyang knew that he was worried about him. This instantly stirred up a sense of guilt and unease in Xiao Qingyang's heart.

He knew what Little Golden Dragon was doing and knew that it would come back. However, Grandfather Du didn't know, and to avoid startling him, even if Little Golden Dragon returned, he wouldn't recognize that it was actually the dragon.

In these past few days, in order to appear genuine, Xiao Qingyang deliberately acted very worried. As a result, he caused Grandfather Du to worry alongside him, which made Xiao Qingyang feel a sense of guilt.

He silently prayed that Little Golden Dragon would return soon.

Perhaps his prayers were heard because just as they were about to finish their meal, a loud rumbling sound came from outside.

This was the first time they had heard such a sound since arriving on this planet two months ago. Xiao Qingyang didn't know what it was, but the old butler recognized it immediately.

The old butler's face changed, and he quickly said to Xiao Qingyang, "Young Master, stay inside and don't come out. I'll go take a look."

With that, the old butler hurriedly ran outside. Xiao Qingyang actually wanted to follow, but he could only stay inside the house, obeying the old butler's instructions and watching the situation outside through the window.

Even so, the sight outside left Xiao Qingyang deeply shaken.

A massive spaceship approached their location and landed a few hundred meters away from the Spirit Cultivation Field.

This was the first time Xiao Qingyang had seen a spaceship since coming to this world. If he hadn't learned from the memories of the original owner, he would have mistaken it for a Spirit Vessel.

But this sight still couldn't suppress his astonishment at this world.

In their world, Spirit Vessels were the means of transportation for cultivators. They required Spirit Stones to operate and were scarce in number. Generally, only cultivators with high cultivation levels could afford them. They were something that money couldn't easily buy.

However, in this world, a spaceship could be purchased with money alone. It didn't require Spirit Stones, and even non-cultivators could pilot a spaceship and fly in the air. It was simply... unbelievable.

How could the people in this world be so powerful!

Xiao Qingyang had lost count of how many times he had been amazed by this world. Every time he thought this world was already impressive enough, more and greater surprises appeared, making him feel like a naive country bumpkin.

If this remote planet could bring him such astonishment, what about the Imperial Capital Star?

According to the memories of the original owner, the Imperial Capital Star was the most prosperous and formidable place in the country. Wouldn't there be even more things he had never seen or heard of there? Maybe there were even more powerful "artifacts" than those in their cultivation world.

Xiao Qingyang became even more eager to go to the Imperial Capital Star.

At the same time, the old butler remained highly vigilant as he observed the spaceship in front of him. His gaze was fixed on the spaceship's hatch, as if he would immediately order the all-purpose robot to eliminate anyone inside if they had any malicious intentions.

The spaceship's hatch was soon opened, and two men walked out.

The man in the front had a handsome face that made men feel inferior and drove women crazy. He exuded a powerful aura that deterred people from approaching. Every move and gesture showed his noble upbringing.

If Xiao Qingyang were here, he would immediately recognize the man walking in the front as his "missing" Little Golden Dragon from three days ago.

"Hello, sorry to bother you. We are students from the Royal Military Academy who were out on a trip. Unfortunately, our spaceship experienced a malfunction and had to make an emergency landing on your planet. We hope you can allow us to repair our spaceship here," the man behind approached the old butler, bowing in a gentlemanly manner and spoke with a gentle tone.

He introduced himself right away, concerned that it might create excessive vigilance and psychological burden for the person in front of him. Although he didn't know why the boss had come to this remote planet, since the boss had given the order, he could only follow it.

The old butler remained highly cautious. Although the two individuals in front of him didn't show any signs of aggression, their imposing presence made it clear that they were not ordinary people.

There were only him and Young Master Xiao Qingyang here. If these two individuals had any ulterior motives, he and Young Master Xiao wouldn't stand a chance against them.

"This is a private planet. Please repair your ship quickly and leave as soon as possible," the old butler said, but he showed no intention of leaving. He had to keep an eye on these two people to protect Young Master's safety.

"Our technicians are already working on the repairs, sir. We have been out for quite a while, and we have run out of food. Do you happen to have any food that we can purchase? We are open to negotiating the price," Luo Haoyu continued with a smile.

They say you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you. With his naturally pleasant face and gentle demeanor, Luo Haoyu was confident that anyone who interacted with him would unknowingly let their guard down.

However, the old butler wasn't buying it. He coldly replied, "We don't have any extras."

Although the old butler's attitude made it clear that he didn't want any further interaction, and it would be best if they quickly repaired the spaceship and left, how could Luo Haoyu, as the strategist and intelligence officer of the Winged Dragon Squad, back down so easily?

"Sir, you have so many spirit plants here, and your alchemists must be amazing. Coincidentally, we also need some potions. Could we purchase some?" Luo Haoyu continued to ask with a smile, seemingly oblivious to the old butler's growing impatience.

The old butler's greatest hope now was for these people to leave as soon as possible. Especially after they noticed the presence of spirit plants, he became even more concerned that they would discover Young Master Xiao Qingyang's identity as an alchemist.

If someone else were an alchemist, they would want everyone to know and even seek their favor. But the old butler wanted to keep Xiao Qingyang's status as an alchemist hidden.

The situation with the Xiao family was too complicated. If those people found out that Young Master had become an alchemist, they wouldn't let them off easily.

Young Master Xiao was the only hope for the Du family, but he hadn't grown up yet. The old butler had to protect him and ensure that nobody knew Young Master was an alchemist.

Initially, he was relieved that the Xiao family had banished them to this remote planet without any inhabitants. This way, the Young Master could grow up peacefully, albeit slower than if he were studying in the academy. But the old butler believed that with the Du family's innate talent, Young Master would certainly not fall too far behind.

However, if they were already being targeted before the Young Master's growth, his situation would become incredibly dangerous.

Now, the old butler wished he could just drive these outsiders away and restore tranquility to this planet.