Chapter 84: A Difficult Situation
Nan Yu took a moment to prepare himself mentally before slowly walking over to the head of the bed.
He placed both hands on either side of Lan Feng's head, pretending that he still couldn't project his mental power externally. Then he slowly closed his eyes and guided his mental power through his hands into Lan Feng's Mental Sea.
To his surprise, Lan Feng's Mental Sea was completely open.
In other words, as long as someone was a Mental Power User, no matter how much mental power they could control, they could freely enter it.
That was an extremely dangerous condition.
A completely defenseless Mental Sea was incredibly easy to damage.
As Nan Yu carefully examined it, he realized that the most serious problem wasn't the Mental Contamination at all.
He withdrew his mental power, and after observing for a while, he roughly understood why Lan Feng's Mental Sea had become so fragmented and scarred.
With no defenses whatsoever, if an overwhelming amount of mental power invaded without careful control, it would be very easy to injure it.
And in the past, in order to wake his older brother, Lan Yu had undoubtedly spared no effort in inviting countless powerful Mental Power Users.
That was exactly where the problem lay.
Those Mental Power Users were indeed powerful—but it was precisely because they were so powerful that they had reduced Lan Feng's Mental Sea to its current state.
In Nan Yu's eyes, those so-called outstanding Mid-Tier Mental Power Users were nothing more than people who only knew how to violently purge contamination from an Ability User's Mental Sea.
They had no ability whatsoever to finely control their immense mental power.
During every examination, they had invaded Lan Feng's Mental Sea with their own mental power. Because they couldn't properly control it, every examination caused further damage.
As for why every Mental Power User who had examined Lan Feng had simply declared him untreatable without mentioning any of this...
There was only one explanation.
Every single one of them had participated in the destruction.
The very first person to examine Lan Feng had already damaged his Mental Sea.
But he hadn't dared admit it.
If he had, the consequences would have been severe.
As for every Mental Power User afterward...
They had undoubtedly only realized the truth after conducting their own examination—and causing even more damage themselves.
As a result, every Mental Power User Lan Yu later invited unanimously claimed they had no solution and advised him to seek someone else.
And Lan Yu had genuinely continued inviting more and more people.
Until now.
Nan Yu withdrew his mental power completely and sat down in a nearby chair.
He was now one hundred percent certain.
Lan Feng would never lose control.
Only Ability Users whose Mental Seas remained structurally intact while being overwhelmed by Mental Contamination could enter a berserk state and attack others.
Lan Feng couldn't.
What Nan Yu was hesitating over now was whether he should tell Lan Yu what he'd discovered.
If he kept silent, it would be unfair to the brothers.
But if he spoke...
He would only burden Lan Yu with unnecessary anguish.
Those Mid-Tier Mental Power Users whom Lan Yu had respectfully invited were undoubtedly people whose status and influence he couldn't possibly oppose.
Even if he knew the truth, all it would do was leave him furious but powerless, making him suffer even more.
After struggling with the decision for a long time, Nan Yu finally stood and walked outside.
The moment he opened the door, his expression was gloomy, his brows tightly furrowed.
He was still debating whether he should tell them.
Unfortunately, that expression created a misunderstanding.
Everyone outside assumed...
Even Nan Yu had no way to treat Lan Feng.
The tiny spark of hope in Lan Yu's eyes instantly went out.
Zhou Huayin looked at the two of them and sighed inwardly.
Even the person Marshal Yu had called the finest Mid-Tier Mental Power User couldn't do anything?
Then...
Did they really have no choice except to invite a High-Tier Mental Power User?
But High-Tier Mental Power Users weren't people who could simply be invited.
Zhou Huayin smiled bitterly.
"Alright, alright. It can't be helped. We were already prepared for the worst. Xiao Yu, don't blame yourself."
Nan Yu paused.
"What are you talking about?"
Zhou Huayin blinked.
"Hm? Didn't you say you couldn't do anything?"
Nan Yu looked at him strangely.
"Who said that?"
Lan Yu and Zhou Huayin both stared at him with widened eyes.
"You... have a solution?"
Nan Yu nodded.
"Of course I do. It'll just take a very long time."
"So I need to discuss something with you first."
"I'll probably have to handle the remaining four commissions before coming back to focus on Lan Feng."
"Conservatively speaking... it'll take more than half a year."
Happiness struck Lan Yu so suddenly that his mind nearly went blank.
"Really? Really?!"
Seeing him so excited that he could barely control himself, Nan Yu smiled.
"Of course. I really do have a solution."
He had already made up his mind.
He would tell the brothers the truth only after Lan Feng woke up.
If Lan Yu couldn't accept it, at least he'd have his older brother beside him to help him through it instead of letting him spiral into despair.
Of course, those Mid-Tier Mental Power Users weren't completely innocent.
But at the beginning...
They truly hadn't known what was happening.
Which made the whole matter...
Extremely difficult.
Nan Yu continued,
"So regarding the schedule..."
Zhou Huayin waved his hands repeatedly.
"No problem! Absolutely no problem!"
"Lan Feng has been staying in my home all this time. It doesn't matter how long it takes."
Nan Yu nodded before turning to Lan Yu.
"You don't need to keep your brother tied up."
"His condition is rather special."
"He won't suddenly go berserk and attack anyone."
"Just remove the restraints."
Lan Yu froze.
"Special? He won't attack people? How is that possible... Isn't that what always happens...?"
Nan Yu sighed helplessly.
"As for that..."
"I plan to explain everything after your brother wakes up."
"So don't ask me now."
"Even if you ask, I won't tell you."
"And what I just said..."
"Neither you nor Uncle Zhou can tell anyone."
"Otherwise, there'll be serious trouble."
"After I leave, people will definitely come asking questions."
"They'll want to know whether your brother can be saved..."
"And whether I have a solution."
"You have to remember this."
"You absolutely must say that I have no way to treat him."
If Nan Yu's guess was correct, those Mid-Tier Mental Power Users who had examined Lan Feng normally kept a low profile.
But the moment Lan Yu invited another Mental Power User...
Every one of them would immediately pay attention.
To be safe, he had to make sure they understood.
The moment those words were spoken, if Lan Yu and Zhou Huayin still hadn't realized that things were far more complicated than they had imagined...
That would truly be strange.
Neither of them was foolish.
Lan Yu opened his mouth.
"I..."
Nan Yu raised a hand, stopping him.
"I know you have a lot of questions."
"But I'm not answering any of them right now."
"In short, just do exactly as I say."
"Also, no one can know that I'll be coming here to treat Lan Feng."
"I'll contact the Legion and ask them to cooperate with your arrangements."
"But at the same time..."
"I hope you'll prepare yourselves."
Zhou Huayin frowned slightly and remained silent.
He had no idea what had happened.
Nor did he understand what Nan Yu was referring to.
Everything Nan Yu said was filled with hidden meaning.
Just what exactly was going on?
He wanted to know.
But seeing Nan Yu's expression, he knew no explanation would come today.
So he suppressed his curiosity.
Lan Yu still had countless questions.
But right now...
Nothing mattered more than whether his brother could recover.
As long as it increased that possibility...
He would do anything.
Nan Yu exchanged contact information with both of them before leaving.
Soon afterward, rumors quietly spread that Nan Yu had failed to complete his very first commission.
Many hands that had been secretly preparing to move quietly withdrew once again, as though they had never existed.
After Nan Yu left, Lan Yu couldn't shake his uneasiness.
He secretly ordered an investigation into the area around them.
Sure enough...
They discovered numerous abnormalities.
It turned out Nan Yu had been right.
Many people had indeed been secretly watching both him and his unconscious brother.
But...
Why?
Everyone hidden in the shadows—
Every single one of them.
Lan Yu mobilized the most secretive and capable investigation team his corporation possessed.
Yet they couldn't uncover a single complete lead.
Every trail either ended immediately...
Or revealed nothing at all.
Even so, the investigation confirmed that those people had truly existed.
Lan Yu grew increasingly restless.
Fortunately, the following days passed peacefully.
Nothing happened.
No one followed him.
No one lingered nearby.
Only then did he slowly relax.
Even Zhou Huayin had spent those past two days tense and on edge.
About ten days later, Nan Yu had completed the remaining four commissions.
He earned a huge amount of credits, considerably enriching his wallet.
Then he thought about Lan Feng.
If he continued visiting Zhou Huayin's house every time, even with perfect disguises, eventually someone would notice.
So...
He decided to contact the Marshal.
Ever since they had shared that meal, they hadn't spoken again.
This seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Nan Yu stared at the familiar contact in his communicator for a long time before finally making up his mind and placing the call.
As always...
It was answered within half a minute.
Yu Lanfeng's calm voice came through.
"What is it?"
Nan Yu replied,
"Yes... I'd like to discuss something with you. Do you have time?"
"I do."
"Go ahead."
Nan Yu said,
"Do you remember the first commission I accepted?"
Yu Lanfeng frowned slightly.
"The one that supposedly failed?"
"Did they cause you trouble?"
Nan Yu hurriedly shook his head.
"No, no, that's not it."
"The situation is just... rather special."
"It involves a great many people."
"That's why I asked them to tell everyone I couldn't treat him."
"I wanted to wait until no one was secretly paying attention before actually handling the commission."
"But if Lan Feng keeps staying at Uncle Zhou's house..."
"No matter how perfect my disguises are, if I go there often enough, I'll eventually be exposed."
"So..."
"I agree."
Nan Yu blinked.
"...Huh?"
He hadn't even explained his proposal yet.
Yu Lanfeng continued calmly,
"You can move Lan Feng to the hospital."
"I'll secretly send my own people to Zhou Huayin's residence to retrieve him."
"You won't need to appear during any part of the transfer."
Nan Yu felt his face heating up uncontrollably.
"Y-You..."
"How did you know what I wanted to say...?"
Yu Lanfeng answered simply,
"I just knew."
Nan Yu had never imagined...
That Marshal Yu...
Could actually be so flirtatious.
Taken separately, none of those sentences sounded unusual.
But together...
Together...
Nan Yu panicked.
"Um... well... I won't disturb your work anymore."
"I'll hang up now."
"We'll talk again later!"
"Bye!"
He hurriedly disconnected.
Yu Lanfeng looked quietly at the communicator after the call ended.
Then he closed the interface.
The faint smile at the corner of his lips disappeared.
His gaze slowly swept across everyone seated around the conference table.
His voice instantly returned to its usual icy tone, cold enough to freeze people.
"Continue."
The conference room remained deathly silent.
Everyone dutifully resumed the meeting.
Their Marshal definitely hadn't answered a personal call.
He definitely hadn't smiled.
And absolutely hadn't...
This wasn't even the second time.
No.
Nothing like that had ever happened.
Nan Yu had no idea that both times he called, Yu Lanfeng had been in the middle of meetings.
Nor did he know that so many people had witnessed it.
Fortunately...
None of them knew who had been speaking with the Marshal.
Otherwise, the entire place would have exploded.
Meanwhile, after hanging up, Nan Yu's entire face remained bright red.
Well...
Maybe depending on someone a little once in a while...
Wasn't such a bad thing.
He buried himself beneath his blanket and rolled back and forth before finally poking his head out.
"Seriously..."
"Why was I so embarrassed?"
"I acted so flustered just now..."
"He must've wanted to laugh at me."
He couldn't understand it.
Not long ago...
His relationship with Yu Lanfeng had been distant.
Neither warm nor cold.
They weren't even particularly familiar with each other.
But now...
Somehow...
Everything had progressed naturally to this point.
Was it fast?
Both of them seemed to feel it was perfectly natural.
But if you called it slow...
It was actually very fast.
Nan Yu kept thinking about it.
He thought about it all the way until the next morning, when he suddenly remembered...
He still hadn't contacted Lan Yu.
After getting ready, he stepped onto the balcony and called Zhou Huayin.
"Uncle Zhou?"
Zhou Huayin had just finished getting ready to leave.
"Hm?"
"Finished with everything on your end?"
"Yes."
"I called because I have something to tell you."
Zhou Huayin chuckled.
"Go ahead."
"I have a feeling it's good news."
Nan Yu laughed.
"It is."
"I told you before that I was going to discuss things with the Legion."
"It's settled now."
"I see."
"I'm listening."
Nan Yu explained,
"I told you before that fixing Lan Feng's Mental Sea would take a long time."
"If he keeps staying at your house, I'll eventually be exposed."
"So I discussed it with the Legion."
"They'll secretly transfer Lan Feng to their hospital."
"You know that hospital."
"Outsiders aren't allowed inside."
"And I have perfectly legitimate reasons to enter and leave frequently."
"No one will become suspicious."
Zhou Huayin's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected Nan Yu to actually succeed.
"If that's really possible..."
"That would be wonderful."
"Both brothers will be grateful to you."
Nan Yu waved a hand.
"But there's one condition."
"The Legion will only transfer Lan Feng."
"No one else can accompany him."
That naturally included Lan Yu.
Zhou Huayin paused before nodding.
"I understand."
"Those are the rules."
"The fact that Marshal Yu's Legion is willing to make an exception for Lan Feng already surprises me."
"I trust you."
Nan Yu smiled.
"Thank you."
"The Legion's people will contact you soon."
"I hope you'll cooperate fully."
As he spoke, he noticed Lan Yu quietly °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° walking up behind Zhou Huayin.
Lan Yu still felt unwilling.
And somewhat distressed.
But after spending so much time investigating without discovering anything...
He could no longer guarantee the original plan would succeed.
He also knew...
Nan Yu's proposal truly was the best solution.
"I trust you."
"I'll cooperate."
Nan Yu nodded.
"Oh, right."
"Even after Lan Feng is transferred..."
"Don't forget to prepare a substitute lying in the bed."
"Just in case."
Lan Yu nodded immediately.
"Leave that to me."
Nan Yu had said everything he needed to.
"Even after Lan Feng is moved to the hospital..."
"Only I and a small number of Legion personnel will know."
"Not even the hospital staff will be informed."
After all, the hospital employed people from many different families.
Who could guarantee every one of them would keep a secret?
Lan Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Nan Yu."
Nan Yu shook his head.
After exchanging a few more words, he ended the call.
Back at school, Nan Yu saw Yang Zhou already sitting at his seat.
He smiled.
"How are you feeling?"
Yang Zhou grinned.
"Great."
"I've been discharged."
"The doctor said I'm completely fine."
"So it's time for you to keep your promise."
Nan Yu laughed.
"Of course."
"After school today, order whatever you want."
"It's my treat."
"Awesome!"
"That's a deal!"
"I won't hold back."
Nan Yu smiled.
"No need."
"I earned another huge pile of credits recently."
Yang Zhou suddenly remembered the rumors he'd heard.
He leaned over cautiously.
"I heard that before..."
"Those five commissions..."
"And it seemed like..."
Nan Yu admitted it without hesitation.
"That's right."
"I examined the first client."
"With my current abilities, I couldn't handle it."
"It'll probably require a High-Tier Mental Power User."
"So I had to give up."
"I compensated them in other ways."
Yang Zhou looked disappointed.
"...Ah."
Nan Yu smiled.
"It's only compensation."
"It's nothing worth worrying about."
He was doing it on purpose.
He had deliberately spoken about the matter openly.
Right there.
Inside the classroom.
And he hadn't brought it up himself.
His good friend had asked first.
So even if someone secretly observing or gathering information overheard them...
They wouldn't suspect a thing.
Yang Zhou still looked worried.
"Are you really okay?"
Nan Yu nodded.
"Of course."
"Don't overthink it."
Then he leaned closer and whispered into Yang Zhou's ear.
"After all..."
"My strength and potential speak for themselves."
"Even if someone wants to cause trouble for me..."
"They can't."
"Who knows?"
"Maybe someday I'll reach an even higher level."
Yang Zhou blinked before smiling brightly again.
"That's true."
"You're so talented."
"I'm sure you will."
Only after seeing Yang Zhou regain his cheerful expression did Nan Yu finally relax.
He didn't want Yang Zhou feeling guilty over this.
There was no reason for him to.
As for those two pieces of scum, Song Mingwen and Zhou Fuyi...
The Legion base they were being sent to had already been arranged with Yu Lanfeng.
Nothing would go wrong there.
But...
The matter still wasn't over.
There was still one mastermind left to deal with.
That person believed that because he was a Mental Power User...
Because he had never personally participated...
Because he had never laid a hand on Yang Zhou...
Nothing could be done to him.
Nan Yu disagreed completely.
In his opinion, there was no way Song Mingwen and Zhou Fuyi would have targeted Yang Zhou like that without that bastard encouraging them from behind the scenes.
So he wasn't innocent.
However, the other party was also a Mental Power User.
And he lived in Qinghe Residential District.
Force wasn't an option.
So Nan Yu intended to come up with a better way to make him suffer.
Fu Yu'ang was currently investigating that Mental Power User's relationships.
Especially...
His boyfriend.
That boyfriend was the key.
He had graduated from the Royal Military Academy of the Capital Star.
That was why he had been able to purchase a home in Qinghe Residential District.
And why he'd been able to let that Mental Power User live there.
However, according to Fu Yu'ang's investigation...
The Mental Power User, Ang, and the soldier who was still away on assignment...
Weren't married yet.
Which meant...
They were only boyfriends for now.
Nan Yu hadn't actually done anything.
He had merely been kind enough...
To anonymously send the man a message informing him that a vast green pasture had already grown atop his head.
He wondered what would happen after that man returned.
No matter what, not a single bastard who had crossed them would be let off.
That said, Nan Yu suddenly realized he hadn't seen either Bai Zhouyun or Yun Feiyu recently.
He had no idea what they had been up to.
They weren't even trying to approach him anymore.
Especially Bai Zhouyun.
Wasn't he supposed to be doing everything he could to get closer to him?
Or had he already given up?
Nan Yu didn't think giving up was likely.
More probably, he was secretly preparing some big move.
He quickly pushed Bai Zhouyun out of his mind.
After school, he still had to accompany Yang Zhou on a massive feast.
That afternoon, Yang Zhou ate to his heart's content.
The amusing part came the very next day.
He ended up in the hospital.
Poor digestion.
Acute gastroenteritis.
He had simply eaten far too much—too many different foods, too much rich and spicy food—and his stomach couldn't handle it.
Standing beside the hospital bed, Nan Yu looked at the utterly miserable Yang Zhou.
For some reason, he desperately wanted to laugh.
Still, he forced himself to hold it in.
"It's fine. The doctor said you'll recover after spending an hour or two in the treatment pod."
"You'll just need to eat light, easily digestible food for the next few days."
"So let's just eat at the cafeteria together for a while."
"I'll keep you company."
Yang Zhou looked at him with tear-filled eyes.
"You're the best brother ever!!"
Nan Yu chuckled a couple of times without saying anything else.
Not long afterward, as he was heading back, one of the people assigned to protect him quietly appeared at his side.
After whispering a few words with a smile, the man disappeared just as quickly.
Nan Yu had long since grown accustomed to it and no longer found their uncanny concealment methods surprising.
Instead, his thoughts drifted back to Lan Feng's condition.
Completely healing Lan Feng would be incredibly difficult.
Even a High-Tier Mental Power User wouldn't be able to do it.
But Nan Yu was different.
He possessed the Nianshen Grass.
As long as he maintained precise control over his mental power and used the Nianshen Grass to repair Lan Feng's Mental Sea, it could gradually be restored.
After repairing it, he would still need to nourish and stabilize it gently for some time.
Only after that would he begin removing the Mental Contamination.
At the same time...
Repairing Lan Feng's Mental Sea required an enormous amount of mental power.
To avoid exhausting himself, Nan Yu could only repair a tiny portion each session.
That was why the process would take so long.
No matter what, he could only restore a little each time.
Under absolutely no circumstances could he allow his own mental power to become depleted.
Otherwise...
Nan Yu headed straight to the hospital.
After arriving, he carried out his usual duties alongside the other staff.
Once there was nothing else requiring his attention, he went upstairs to the lounge.
Inside the study connected to the lounge, he opened a hidden passage.
Then he followed the tunnel downward.
He kept descending until he reached a secluded chamber at the very bottom.