Exclusive Possession – CH 035

Chapter 35.

I sat with Morin for a while, then got a little bored. Sometimes I’d go outside and see a few soldiers passing by, looking hurried and tense. I figured the whole fleet was on edge, except for the two of us who had nothing to do.

“Ah! I just thought of something interesting!” Morin walked to the table, opened the floating computer, and quickly flipped through the pages. A moment later, the screen froze, displaying a life-size photo of Mu Xian in military uniform. Morin grinned at me: “Miss, want to see a nude photo of the Commander? There are times when he’s showing his nipples and teeth!”

I could not help but laugh and went over. Surprisingly, there were only thirty-odd photos in the folder, far too few for a twenty-five-year-old man.

Upon opening the photos, my suspicions were confirmed—more than twenty of them were ID photos and commemorative photos. For example, there was a graduation photo from a military academy in a desolate place and a group photo with his fellow students when he passed the pilot exam. He was as handsome and indifferent as ever in the photos, but after seeing so many, I was not particularly impressed.

The last few pictures were the most interesting. A tiny, pink baby, and Morin even pointed out the exposed nipples to me. A small, thin, white thing, like a fish sausage, gave me a pleasant feeling of “You have moments like this, too.”

Inadvertently, I noticed a folder on Mu Xian’s personal computer labeled “Hua Yao.” I immediately remembered seeing him looking at my photos before, and out of curiosity, I let Morin leave first.

I locked the door before opening the folder. The number of pages was over 1,500…

I scrolled through the photos for a while, and most of them were from my university and work years. I quickly found some nude photos, and they were even high-definition versions. I was so embarrassed by them that I deleted them without thinking.

My next task became to quickly find and delete the nude photos… Thinking that Mu Xian was still fighting on the front lines, and I was hiding in the house doing this, I felt… indescribable.

I laughed when I saw one of the photos—because I was only wearing tank tops and shorts, grinning at the moon and making a V-sign, looking incredibly silly. The girl in the photo was standing in a clear stream, clean, fair-skinned, and youthful, with a slight curve. I remember it was at the top of the mountain behind my hometown. I was in my final year of junior high school that year, and I had ranked in the top three in my grade on the final exams, which was why I was so smug in the hot spring.

Wait a minute! Junior high?! Fifteen years old?

I suddenly tensed up and quickly scrolled back, and sure enough, I saw many similar photos; there was even a photo of me leisurely fishing in a mountain stream while wearing my high school uniform. My heart pounded faster and faster, and in the end, I found more than a hundred photos, taken every year since I was 15, all taken on the mountain near my hometown.

After reading all this, I slumped onto the sofa, feeling a sense of dejection.

Why did Mu Xian appear on that mountain? If he liked me all along, why did he not tell me sooner, instead of making me suffer for so long?

I thought for a moment, then opened the communication system and connected with my grandmother on Earth. It was morning there. I chatted with her for a bit, then asked, “Grandma, every summer and Mid-Autumn Festival, you used to take me back to our old house. I remember there were never any strangers there, right? Or… wild animals or something?”

Grandma said no, there were very few people in that village, only two households on our mountain. Why did you ask that?

My grandmother said “our mountain” because the village was sparsely populated, so there was practically one mountain per person. This might seem unbelievable in a big city, but in the countryside, that was really how it was divided.

I was a little disappointed and said it was nothing; I was just asking because I did not remember things very clearly from when I was little.

But then I heard Grandma mutter, “I just heard from others that they saw wild boars in the mountains, black and strong, and very fierce. But I do not believe it; the wild boars in the mountains have all been hunted to extinction.”

Me: “…Where did they see the wild boar?”

Grandma thought for a moment and said, “I do not remember very clearly, but it seems to be over by Wazi Creek, the creek that I would not let you go swimming in. You’ve never been there, so you do not know.”

I froze slightly—not only had I gone into the water, but I had gone many times.

I had a rough idea in my mind—maybe Mu Xian’s spaceship just happened to be docked there and saw me?

So I did not rescue the big black dog that fell into the water, but I was secretly spied on by the big black dog?

Is this fate?

I’ve decided to wait until he is healed and then find an opportunity to ask him the truth.

**

Around noon, Morin brought me lunch. After I finished eating, he started debugging the communication system. I asked curiously, “What are you doing?”

He said, “Oh dear, I just brought the commander my meal, and he asked me what I was doing. I told him I’d been praying for his great victory in his room. He laughed happily and even gave me access to see what was happening on the front lines. He definitely wants you to watch him command the battle.”

I thought to myself that his laughter meant he did not believe what I said; how could I possibly do something like pray? But watching the battlefield was nice, like watching a Star Wars movie.

“It’s the same principle as a peacock spreading its tail feathers on Earth.” Morin opened the floating screen.

“What?” I did not react.

“He wants to show off his victory and his military prowess in front of you!” Morin winked. “You know how many young women in the capital want to see the commander’s heroic figure. Three years ago, a beautiful reporter from the Capital Daily went all the way to the front lines, wanting to follow and record the commander’s life all day long. She even had a personal letter of approval from the emperor.”

I became interested: “And then?”

“Then the commander said…” Morin suddenly stopped, mimicking Mu Xian’s icy tone, “Excuse me, please find a male reporter. Mop, send her back to the capital.”

“Pfft,” I chuckled. The suspended image had now become clear. In space, five fortresses were arranged in a ring, with countless fighter jets flying towards them from all directions. Rows of nuclear missiles, like a meteor shower, rained down on the fortresses, sending up small bursts of sparks.

“The all-out offensive has begun!” Morin exclaimed excitedly.

I got a little nervous because of him and asked, “Who has the upper hand?”

Just then, a familiar voice rang out: “Launch a flank attack. Destroy their faster-than-light engines.”

“Yes!” someone answered.

It was Mu Xian! His voice sounded calm and indifferent. No wonder the officers respected him. If you were on the battlefield and heard such a cold voice, as if the sky were falling and it would not matter to him, you would also calm down.

He then issued several more orders. Soon, Marines landed on a fortress and rescued hundreds of captured fortress garrison soldiers. At that moment, Adop’s slightly excited voice rang out: “Commander, we’ve spotted the command ship of Ip City.”

I saw that beautiful black warship again in the picture, belonging to a man whom Mu Xian regarded as an opponent.

Intense fighting quickly broke out around the warships. At the cost of ten aircraft, the Imperial forces shot down the command ship of Yi Pucheng, and marines boarded the ship with heavy firepower.

“It would be great if we could catch Yipucheng,” I heard Eun say on the communication channel.

“Miss, if we catch this fox, the commander can be promoted to Imperial Marshal!” Morin said excitedly.

Do not be too happy yet.

“Do not be too happy yet!”

Two voices rang out simultaneously; it was Mu Xian from the communication channel… and me. Morin froze, covering her face and collapsing onto the sofa: “A perfect match!” I chuckled, but my intuition told me that Yi Pucheng would not be so easy to capture. However… looking at the medium-sized warship surrounded by over fifty fighter jets on the screen, it would be difficult for Yi Pucheng to escape.

About twenty minutes later, Adop’s slightly somber voice came through the channel: “Commander, Ip has been captured, but we have lost twenty Marines.”

For a moment, the channel was silent. After a while, Mu Xian’s voice rang out: “End the battle.”

Then warships and fighter jets were seen flying methodically near the fortress. Twenty fighter jets, in a fan-shaped formation, took off from the fortress first—that was the escort team for Yi Pucheng.

Suddenly, the screen flashed, switching to the cockpit of a fighter jet. Adop’s face appeared: “Commander, the people of Ip City are here.”

“Okay,” Mu Xian said calmly.

At this moment, Adop stepped back from the camera’s view and stood to the side with five soldiers, guns in hand. I saw a man sitting in the rear cabin slowly turn his head.

I was taken aback.

He was a very…beautiful man.

Although he had a tall, military physique and deep, full features, his very fair skin, dark eyes, red lips, and long neck gave him a somewhat eerie appearance.

No wonder it was called a fox.

“It was him,” Mu Xian said calmly. “Kill him.”

I was a little surprised, and I heard Eun’s slightly uneasy voice: “Commander, according to Imperial law, he must be given a public trial.”

“He’s already escaped before the trial,” Mu Xian said calmly. “Kill him, and I will take full responsibility for the consequences. Captain Adop, carry out the order.”

“Yes,” came Adop’s equally calm voice.

I could not help but think that Mu Xian was quite ruthless. However, given the immense casualties Yi Pu City caused in the desolate land, including the deaths of Luna and her husband, he truly deserved to die.

Just then, Yi Pucheng suddenly smiled.

Her thin lips curved slightly upward, revealing shallow dimples on her cheeks, and her beautiful eyes shimmered with a captivating light. There was a subtle sense that those eyes could see right through you, penetrating right into your heart, and suddenly, a feeling of danger would creep over you.

I find this man a bit scary. Even though he was smiling, he seemed much scarier than Mu Xian when he was not smiling.

With a soft “buzz,” the image suddenly disappeared. Morin said in dissatisfaction, “Why did it just disappear?” But then Ewan’s voice came through the channel: “Adop, what’s going on? Why’s there no signal?”

“Second, third, and fourth flight squadrons, immediately provide support to Adop. Do not let Yi Pucheng escape,” Mu Xian’s icy voice rang out.

The scene suddenly shifted to outer space, and what was happening there astonished me—a fighter jet shot into the sky like an arrow! Behind it, more than twenty planes were in hot pursuit. Directly below them, several black dots appeared; before I could even make out what they were, I heard someone anxiously shout, “Adopp and the others have been thrown from the plane! Rescue ships! Rescue ships!”

Those black dots… were they Adop and his men? Then who was piloting the first fighter jet now? Could it be Yipucheng?

However, the specific details were no longer known, as they had all flown out of the camera’s view, and tranquility had returned to the area around the fortress.

Morin and I exchanged a glance, and both let out a long sigh of relief. “I will get you some fruit.” Morin walked to the refrigerator, and I stopped looking at the screen, recalling what had just happened—how did Yi Pucheng escape? It was incredible. I wonder if Mu Xian’s men could catch him.

“Buzz…” The communication channel beeped. I thought it was just static and ignored it, taking the fruit Morin gave me and taking a bite.

“Ah…” A low sigh, as if.

“Did you hear someone chuckling?” I asked Morin. He nodded. “Maybe it’s the pilot.”

“Hehe…” The man laughed again. Morin was startled, and I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine. We both looked at the communicator on the table at the same time.

A deep, magnetic voice came through, speaking slowly, as if he were talking to himself in deep thought: “Your Highness Prince Nor, whose beastman name is Mu Xian, and whose fiancée is Miss Hua Yao, a pure human.”

I was startled and whispered to Morin, who was still in a daze, “Notify someone to come over immediately.”

Morin nodded and was about to take a step when he heard the person say in an incredibly gentle tone, “Hua Yao, I like this name, and I also like pure human girls with black hair and black eyes. Goodbye, little girl, Nuo’er.”

The communication was cut off, and Morin and I looked at each other in bewilderment.

“Who’s he? What does he mean?” Morin asked urgently.

I was also uneasy about his sinister words and replied, “He…could it be Yi Pucheng?”

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Mu Xian strode in, closing the door behind him with a calm expression. Morin jumped up as if he’d been pricked by a needle, rushing over: “Commander!” Before he could finish speaking, Mu Xian collapsed into his arms.

I was startled too and rushed over to help him to the bed with Morin on either side. His face was even paler than before he left, and there was a faint smell of blood on his body.

Morin took the first-aid kit and treated his wound, which had reopened. I sat by the bed watching him and could not help but ask, “Has Yi Pucheng been caught?”

“He got away.” A cold look appeared on Mu Xian’s face.

Neither Morin nor I said a word.

At this moment, Mu Xian turned to look at me, his voice deep and calm: “Although there’s regret, the troops in Yi Pucheng suffered heavy casualties this time and will not invade again in the short term.”

I nodded. “Great.” Just as I was about to mention that terrifying phone call, he tilted his head and kissed me. I tried to turn my head away, but he grabbed the back of my head, pulled me close to his chest, and pinned me to the ground. I knew he had been holding back for a long time; otherwise, he would never have been so impatient in front of Morin. But that phone call…

“Commander, the wound has been treated,” Morin’s low voice came.

Mu Xian’s lips did not leave mine; instead, he pulled me even tighter. I struggled to speak, but it was futile; I was both anxious and agitated. I saw him wave at Morin, signaling him to leave.

Morin did not move, hesitatingly saying, “Commander, someone just spoke to Miss on the communications channel. It might be Yi Pucheng.”

Mu Xian paused, released me, and his gaze instantly darkened.

**

“…I like purebred human girls with black hair and black eyes. Goodbye, little girl, Nuo’er.” Playing it again, the voice still sent chills down my spine.

Mu Xian’s face was as cold as it could possibly be.

“Send this data to the technical department,” Mu Xian said. “Double the number of robot guards in Huayao.” Morin accepted the order and left the room.

I sat on the edge of the bed. Mu Xian lay there silently, saying nothing and not kissing me. I knew Yi Pucheng’s actions had violated his biggest taboo. He was jealous even if another man glanced at me, and Yi Pucheng had even said something like, “I like black hair and black eyes.”

And would Yipucheng come back to harm me again?

“Do not be afraid. He can not hurt you,” Mu Xian suddenly said. I turned my head and met his dark eyes.

My hand tightened as he grasped it and gently kissed it. He looked up at me, a smile that was hard to decipher—whether cold or warm—flashing in his eyes: “From now on, I will be with the princess twenty-four hours a day.”