Chapter 65: Gratitude
Although Nan Yu felt somewhat unaccustomed to Yu Lanfeng's indifferent attitude, after thinking about it, he felt it was only natural. After all, the Marshal stood high above everyone else. If he always treated him warmly, that would actually be strange.
"Marshal, I've lost track of time these days, and only after coming back did I realize so much time had passed. I've caused you to delay things for so long that I feel rather embarrassed. If you don't mind, if you need anything in the future, you can always come to me for help."
Yu Lanfeng did not reject him immediately. Instead, he stared at him for a moment before saying,
"Alright. If you have time in the future, come to this hospital often and help some of the patients here. In fact, there are many soldiers whose situations are similar to Liu Gan's lover. Their conditions aren't as severe as his, but..."
But the Mental Power Users in this hospital still lacked the confidence to treat them.
Nan Yu paused slightly.
Hadn't he already promised to come here from time to time to help?
How had Yu Lanfeng forgotten so quickly?
And he really didn't know how to be polite at all. Nan Yu had thought anyone could tell that his earlier words were simply a formality.
Originally, he had planned to put in extra effort at the hospital after Yu Lanfeng declined, to repay the entire legion.
Who knew that this Marshal wouldn't be polite with him at all?
Still, it didn't matter.
Since he had said it, he would simply agree.
"Of course, that's absolutely no problem. Please rest assured, Marshal."
Yu Lanfeng nodded and turned to leave.
However, just as he turned around, he stopped and looked back.
"Nan Yu, be careful of the Bai family."
Nan Yu froze.
"What do you mean?"
Yu Lanfeng replied calmly,
"Perhaps what I'm saying is unnecessary. And this time, we didn't find any evidence."
Only then did Nan Yu react.
He had been rescued, but the people who had kidnapped him still hadn't been caught.
Did that mean this matter wasn't over yet?
"The person who planned everything still hasn't been identified. We did catch several suspects, but each of them has their own story, and we can't determine who's lying."
"Especially the Bai family. They were extremely indifferent after your disappearance. I find it strange, but there's no evidence, and we haven't found any leverage, so..."
So if anything happened in the future, Nan Yu would have to protect himself.
"I understand. Thank you, Marshal."
Originally, he had thought that Bai Zhouyun simply didn't know about that place because he hadn't discovered it.
But now, after thinking about it, that place had likely been provided by the Bai family.
Unfortunately...
Bai Zhouyun himself might genuinely know nothing.
But that didn't necessarily apply to the rest of the Bai family.
And unfortunately, they still didn't know who the Bai family was cooperating with.
They had likely already betrayed the Empire.
These suspicions had already appeared on the Emperor's desk.
However, because of old favors, the Emperor could not act against the Bai family without any evidence.
Thus, the matter could only be left unresolved.
Yu Lanfeng thought that he wasn't trying to sound mysterious.
He simply wanted to remind Nan Yu.
This time had truly been dangerous.
According to Nan Yu's description, they had already found the underground dwelling.
It genuinely looked like something prepared to imprison someone.
No...
Not just one person.
It might have been prepared to imprison many people.
The robot inside possessed extremely low intelligence.
It could only cook and clean.
Nothing else.
It couldn't even communicate with humans.
As for the location of the exit...
Even now, Yu Lanfeng still didn't know how Nan Yu had escaped.
Nan Yu himself hadn't said much either.
He had only mentioned that it involved one of his secrets and wasn't convenient to reveal.
Yu Lanfeng had thought about it many times.
Could it have something to do with the Nianshen Grass?
Did that thing somehow have the ability to open doors?
Alright.
He felt he was overthinking things.
How could something so absurd exist?
Since it involved Nan Yu's little secret, he wouldn't ask.
After all, Nan Yu was unquestionably the victim.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving. By the way, I heard you haven't visited the Royal Library very much lately. You should go there more often. The collection is quite extensive."
Nan Yu blinked in confusion.
Why did Marshal Yu seem to be talking so much today?
"Alright, I understand. Thank you."
When Yu Lanfeng saw the strange expression on his face, he instantly realized he'd said too much.
"In any case, your involvement in this matter ends here. Leave the rest to the legion."
"Okay. Thank you for your hard work, Marshal."
"As it should be."
Only then did Yu Lanfeng truly turn and leave.
Nan Yu stood where he was and watched his retreating figure, unable to recover for a long time.
How could anyone not like a legion Marshal like this?
If possible...
He wanted to try as well.
Back then, he had thought he was unconscious.
But after fully waking up, he still vaguely remembered the feeling.
He had been lying in that cave, his entire body freezing, feeling as though he might starve or freeze to death at any moment.
But suddenly, he had stopped feeling cold.
Instead, he had felt nothing but warmth.
Nan Yu smiled faintly, his face turning red.
Perhaps he had fallen in love.
Even he himself didn't understand what he was thinking.
Meanwhile, Nan Yun and Nan Zhen, who were secretly observing from a distance, were grinding their teeth.
Although Yu Lanfeng would become their future superior, they absolutely would not compromise!
At least not so easily!
Although...
Within the Empire, Yu Lanfeng might indeed be the best choice for Nan Yu.
But handing over their little brother so easily?
The process would be too smooth.
Then he definitely wouldn't cherish him in the future!
Nan Yun and Nan Zhen glanced at Fu Yu'ang.
He had also been reserved by the legion. After graduating, he would join Yu Lanfeng's legion.
After all, whether it was because they had benefited from his achievements or because of the talent he had displayed, the legion had become completely enamored with him.
So they simply took everything at once.
Nan Yu, Nan Yu's two brothers, and Fu Yu'ang, who treated Nan Yu like his own younger brother, had all been reserved.
Even Nan Yu's father was already a Major General within the legion.
As soon as Yu Lanfeng returned to his office and prepared to work, he received another message from the Empress.
Knowing that he would never answer communications, she had long switched to sending messages instead.
Yu Lanfeng always opened them out of habit.
This time was no exception.
Although he didn't want to pay attention to her, he still had to reply.
However, when he opened the chat window, he found it filled with pictures sent by the Empress.
As for what was in those pictures?
What else could there be except scenes of him carrying Nan Yu back?
Not seeing them was one thing.
But once he saw them, he nearly jumped.
There were shots from every possible angle.
Front, back, left, right, above, below.
Yu Lanfeng immediately knew that the Empress had secretly sent miniature surveillance devices to his vicinity again.
At the end of the photos was another image.
It was a particularly lewd-looking cartoon figure with a grin on its face, accompanied by three words:
"Heh heh heh."
Yu Lanfeng's mouth twitched.
He immediately deleted that image.
Just as he was about to clear the chat history, somehow, as though possessed, he saved several of the best pictures.
Only after storing them in a folder did he suddenly come back to his senses.
Slap!
Yu Lanfeng smacked his own face.
"What am I doing?"
Though he had regained his senses, he didn't delete the pictures.
Instead, he acted as if nothing had happened, closed the chat, and began working.
He concentrated on his tasks seriously, as though nothing had occurred.
Naturally, Nan Yu knew nothing about this.
He only knew that he could finally go home.
Yang Zhou stood beside him.
He still blamed himself deeply.
Nan Yu had comforted him countless times, but it had been useless.
His mood remained terrible.
"If only I were an Ability User. If only I were stronger..."
"Alright, don't think too much. In that situation, nobody could have done anything. It wasn't your fault. They were targeting me from the beginning."
"Oh right, weren't you planning to look at houses in Qinghe Residential District? Why not continue now? Nothing will happen anymore."
Yang Zhou frowned slightly before nodding.
"Then let's go."
The number of people secretly protecting Nan Yu had increased to thirty.
After all, the true mastermind still hadn't been found.
They hadn't even caught the kidnappers.
Nan Yu was still not necessarily safe.
He had to be protected everywhere.
The legion had also upgraded the software Fu Yu'ang had installed on Nan Yu's optical computer.
Regardless of whether Nan Yu agreed or not, Nan Yun, Nan Zhen, and Nan Ming all supported it.
Which meant that from now on, Nan Yu's whereabouts would always be under the legion's control.
Although he felt depressed for a while, he eventually accepted it.
After all, it was for his own good.
Otherwise, the legion would never go to such lengths for a single person.
Besides, he would eventually join this legion anyway.
Wouldn't his movements be monitored then as well?
They had merely moved that time forward.
He could just treat it as adapting in advance.
After returning home, Nan Yu slept heavily for several more days.
Only after finally resting enough did he help Yang Zhou move house.
Qinghe Residential District was actually very nice.
After looking at the apartment, Nan Yu nodded in satisfaction.
"Yang Zhou, just live here properly in the future. There won't be any problems. The people in this community only follow rules, not emotions. Even if someone claims to be your relative, they can't come in without your permission."
In fact, unless someone living here acted as guarantor, even with permission, outsiders couldn't enter.
They had to sign a guarantee.
Nan Yu knew that Yang Zhou would never guarantee those relatives.
Moreover, nobody dared cause trouble near the academy.
Even if they blocked him outside the district, he would still be safe.
Yang Zhou was very satisfied with the apartment.
It had already been renovated.
All he needed were some furniture and appliances.
Ordering things through StarNet was incredibly fast.
In less than a day, the place already looked like a home.
"You're really not coming back with me tonight?"
Yang Zhou shook his head.
"The house is ready, and all my things have been moved over. I'll sleep well tonight, clean everything tomorrow, and once it's all done, I'll invite you over."
"That's a promise. Don't forget!"
"Definitely. As long as you, the busy man, don't forget."
Thus, Nan Yu returned home alone.
He felt somewhat emotional, but not particularly disappointed.
After all, everyone had their own lives.
Interfering too much wouldn't be good.
"Let's go home."
The aircraft brought him safely back.
To his surprise, he found Fu Yu'ang there.
"Brother Fu? Why are you here too?"
Fu Yu'ang smiled.
"Uncle Nan invited me to move in. After graduation, I'll be joining Marshal Yu's legion anyway, and I live alone, so..."
Nan Yu immediately beamed.
"That's great! We'll be able to see each other every day."
Fu Yu'ang visibly relaxed.
"Yeah, every day."
Nan Yu never expected Fu Yu'ang to truly move in.
But when he wanted to ask Nan Ming about it, he discovered that his father had already left.
"Uncle Nan, what's going on? Dad left? Did he accept a military mission? Why didn't he tell me?"
The butler smiled.
"Don't worry. He accepted this mission long ago, but it was delayed because of the incident. If the Marshal hadn't spoken on his behalf, he wouldn't have been able to stay this long."
"Now that you're safe, of course he had to leave."
"Don't worry. This mission is only troublesome and takes a long time, but it isn't very dangerous. I heard he can contact home whenever he's free."
"Really?"
"Of course. So don't blame yourself, Young Master."
Nan Yu shook his head.
"I'm not blaming myself. Right, where are Big Brother and Second Brother?"
Looking back, he realized that even Fu Yu'ang had disappeared.
"Huh?"
The butler chuckled.
"The three of them felt that they weren't strong enough, so they're undergoing special training. The instructors are some of the people the legion sent to protect you."
Nan Yu felt touched, though he still stubbornly replied,
"I never blamed them."
"Would you like to go take a look?"
Nan Yu thought for a moment.
"Forget it. They probably don't want me to see them like this. It's better to wait until they've regained confidence and come before me themselves. That way they'll save face."
He had accurately grasped their personalities.
Nan Yun and Nan Zhen truly didn't want Nan Yu to see their current miserable state.
Without fighting genuine veterans, they would never understand their shortcomings.
Within the academy, they were top students.
But inside the legion, they were little children inferior even to new recruits.
Right now, the three of them together couldn't even handle one instructor.
With such strength, no wonder they had failed to protect their little brother.
Back in his room, Nan Yu also made up his mind.
Since his three brothers were working so hard, he couldn't fall behind.
Now that he could project his mental power externally, situations like Zhou Kunyao's and Zhang Yun's were no longer difficult for him.
If he treated them now, he could remove Mental Contamination much faster and with much greater safety.
After calculating the time, there were less than twenty days before school resumed.
Even if he accepted more commissions, there wouldn't be many.
He had to reserve some time for the hospital.
After all, he had promised Yu Lanfeng.
He couldn't break his word.
Nan Yu made a schedule for the days before school started and stuck it on his wall.
Tomorrow's plan was simple.
Visit the hospital first.
This time, nobody accompanied him.
There was no danger now.
And Nan Yun and the others had fully realized that even if they followed him, when true danger appeared, they would be utterly useless.
As soon as Nan Yu arrived at the hospital, a doctor quickly brought him inside.
First, he put on a white coat and followed the doctor around.
He needed to familiarize himself with the hospital's layout and the purpose of each area.
Fortunately, although the hospital was large, everything was clearly divided.
After several rounds, he had a rough understanding.
Becoming completely familiar would require time.
After eating lunch in the cafeteria and taking a short break, his real work finally began.
The soldiers under Nan Yu's care were similar to Zhang Yun.
All had been transferred from the battlefield.
Their conditions resembled Zhang Yun's previous state.
Nan Yu looked at the Mental Power User before him.
"Hello?"
The other person paused slightly.
"Hello. Welcome, Nan Yu."
"You know me?"
"Of course I do. I heard you're the one who helped Zhang Yun remove his Mental Contamination. Everyone knows about it. You're really amazing. It's a pity you haven't officially graduated yet, otherwise we'd definitely make you our leader."
Nan Yu looked surprised.
"Don't you reject outsiders?"
Since the Mental Power User seemed easygoing, Nan Yu asked directly.
The man froze before bursting into laughter.
"What are you thinking? That's hilarious. You're really still a child."
"Alright, enough about that. Let me introduce myself. My name is Qiao Yu. I'm a Mid-Tier Mental Power User. Of course, I can't compare to you. I've worked in this hospital for sixteen years. Please take care of me in the future."
"And if there's anything you don't understand, just ask me. As long as I know the answer, I'll definitely tell you."
"Alright, thank you, Qiao Yu."
Qiao Yu smiled.
"Come with me."