TSBSPAAM Chapter 64

Chapter 64: The Answer

 

After Qin Luzhi finished grilling the meat, he returned to Shen Bumian’s side and handed him a skewer with the most tender meat.

Shen Bumian said “thank you” and took it. The others had pretty much finished grilling as well. Someone, seeing Su Qingyu’s pitiful state, also gave him a few skewers.

Shen Bumian took two bites and paused, his chewing speed slowing down. Qin Luzhi had been observing him the whole time and naturally didn’t miss this small detail.

“Does it not taste good?”

Shen Bumian hesitated. “It tastes good, but… it’s a little bit gamey.”

Qin Luzhi looked at the barbecue before him. The color and aroma were excellent. They hadn’t brought any seasonings, so the meat’s flavor was very natural. Even though Qin Luzhi had been meticulous in preparing it, a slight gamey taste was unavoidable.

His group was used to eating like this and could easily ignore the slight gaminess, but Shen Bumian was not accustomed to it, so the flavor was somewhat magnified for him.

Shen Bumian probably figured this out as well. They needed the energy to either wait for Gu Yixi’s team to find them or find a way out themselves. “It’s okay, I’ll eat slowly. I can finish it.”

Qin Luzhi held out the skewers in his hand. Shen Bumian didn’t understand his meaning. Qin Luzhi then took the original skewer from Shen Bumian’s hand.

“Try a bite of each one. See which one is less gamey.”

“Then what will you eat?”

“It’s fine. You eat first.”

Qin Luzhi’s gaze was exceptionally serious, and for some reason, Shen Bumian was captivated. By the time he came to his senses, he had already lowered his head and taken a bite of another skewer.

With all of them in Qin Luzhi’s hand, it was a bit awkward for Shen Bumian to eat. He simply held Qin Luzhi’s wrist, leaned over, and bit off a small piece of meat, eventually picking out three acceptable skewers.

The moment Shen Bumian’s fingertips touched his hand, Qin Luzhi felt a little flustered. He couldn’t even bring himself to turn his head and look away, instead staring entranced at the omega’s pale lips. Shen Bumian was only tasting, not taking large bites.

He would open his mouth slightly, tear off a small piece of meat with his teeth, and between the opening and closing of his teeth, a hint of pink could be glimpsed.

Shen Bumian didn’t notice Qin Luzhi’s strange reaction. After trying a bit of each skewer, he found that the taste was no longer as off-putting, and in the end, he chose the three with the mildest flavor.

Belatedly, Shen Bumian felt a little shy. He lowered his gaze, staring at the spots he had bitten. “What do we do now that I’ve eaten from all of them? You…”

Qin Luzhi pulled his hand back, directly picked up one of the skewers, put it to his own mouth, and quickly finished it. “It’s fine. I can eat them.”

Doesn’t Qin Luzhi have a thing about cleanliness? Didn’t they say he dislikes people getting too close? Yet he was eating the meat he himself had already eaten, without a hint of disgust.

Shen Bumian felt that things were becoming more and more surreal. The Qin Luzhi before him was almost completely different from the one he had first known.

Everyone’s attention had been on Shen Bumian in the first place, so they all saw Qin Luzhi’s action. They looked at the calm Mu Yi, silently picked their dropped jaws up off the floor, and told themselves, It’s okay, just get used to it.

When the boss met Shen Meiren, all limits went out the window.

The others’ preparations were not as meticulous as Qin Luzhi’s. Su Qingyu also found the meat too gamey to eat, but no one offered to switch with him.

He slowly approached the nearest Alpha, his long eyelashes fluttering anxiously. “Um, this is a bit gamey. I can’t eat it.”

The Alpha was still in the process of re-establishing his perception of the boss. Hearing him, he just perfunctorily took the skewer from Su Qingyu’s hand. “Ah, then I’ll eat it for you.”

Su Qingyu was dumbfounded. Were all the Alphas at the First Military Academy this unromantic and straightforward? He resentfully finished all the crackers, and by the end, his water was almost gone too.

“After we eat, we’ll rest up for a bit, then quickly find the rest of the crystal stones and head back.”

Qin Luzhi’s voice wasn’t loud, but everyone heard him clearly. Sensing a hint of urgency in his tone, everyone silently sped up their eating.

Shen Bumian did too. He turned his head and asked Qin Luzhi in a low voice, “What crystal stones are you looking for? Is it very urgent?”

“A few days ago, we discovered that there are many energy crystal stones in the Thirteen States. They vary in shape and size and are wrapped in black, thread-like substances. We’ve tested them; those crystals can affect our abilities and may even devour our spiritual power.”

The moment an ability user approached the location of the crystals, their abilities would be restricted and greatly weakened. Qin Luzhi and his team guessed that this was the reason for the Thirteen States’ peculiarity; there were likely a large number of these crystals here.

“There are fewer crystals in our current location. We’ve found most of them over the past few days. There’s just a little left. Once we find them, we can get out.”

When Shen Bumian heard about the black threads around these crystals, he had a faint guess that spiritual power pollution might also be related to this. “Where did you put the ones you found? Don’t they devour spiritual power?”

Then it would be impossible to just keep them on their person after finding them. That would undoubtedly be putting themselves at risk.

Qin Luzhi took out a thumb-sized stone. The stone had the color of obsidian and looked very ordinary, but the weight in his hand was heavier than a stone of this size should be.

“This is a space stone. The inside is equivalent to an ability user’s spiritual sea. The space is boundless and can store many things. Moreover, items placed inside are automatically categorized.”

Shen Bumian felt it was similar to the spatial ring he used to store his mecha, except his ring could only hold Mess, while the space stone was larger.

“After this space stone is brought back to the military headquarters, it will be entered into the gene bank. As long as you input the corresponding code, you can find the corresponding item at the space station. Interstellar alien beasts can also be put inside. They are generally sent for experiments or used for academy assessments.”

“This is a military-exclusive space stone. There are also ones for daily use, which can hold necessary everyday items like food, clothes, weapons, and so on.”

Qin Luzhi explained in a low voice, sparing no detail. Shen Bumian listened intently with curiosity, completely unaware of how close the two of them were.

“Yes, that’s very useful. I’ll have to buy one when we get back.”

Qin Luzhi put the space stone away. “No need to buy one. I can give you one. I have many space stones at home. you can go and pick.”

Qin Luzhi had many space stones, in all sorts of colors. They were diamonds he had found on his missions, which he had collected and had his family custom-make.

If Shen Bumian wanted one, he could put some commonly used items inside before giving it to him. Qin Luzhi’s mind was already thinking about what to add.

Shen Bumian didn’t know that space stones were very expensive to make; he just thought they were sold by many merchants in the empire. Hearing Qin Luzhi’s words, he didn’t refuse, only saying, “Then after we get back. Can I pick a few more?”

“Yes, you can.”

“Boss, I want one too! Can I go to your house and pick too?”

“Me too! Boss, don’t be biased. To each his own!”

“It’s like this, I just gave all my water and stuff to sister-in-law. Boss, I don’t mean anything by it, I’ll just take one, I’m not picky.”

“You guys are robbers! Do you think space stones are that easy to get? Boss, I want one too, just the smallest one is fine.”

The group shamelessly took the opportunity to try and get a freebie. A vein throbbed on Qin Luzhi’s forehead. “The top three in the next assessment can come to me for one.”

“Yay—”

“Brothers, I won’t be holding back next time, sorry.”

The person who said this was mobbed by the others, who clamored for him not to be so full of himself. Shen Bumian watched the group fooling around and realized that space stones were not common.

He leaned closer to Qin Luzhi. “Um, maybe I should just buy it from you. They said…”

Qin Luzhi was wiping Feng Yan with a cloth. “Don’t listen to them. Just take as many as you want.”

Some of the blood on the dagger’s blade had already congealed. Qin Luzhi was washing it with water. The blood dripped from the tip of the blade to the ground, creating ripples in Shen Bumian’s heart.

Shen Bumian hugged his knees and leaned against the wall, burying his face in his arms. He muttered in a small voice, “Qin Luzhi seems to be very good to me. Why?” The voice was so quiet only he could hear it, as if it were just a question Shen Bumian was asking himself.

But Qin Luzhi still heard it. He heard the genuine, uncomprehending confusion in Shen Bumian’s voice. For some reason, Qin Luzhi felt that the Shen Bumian of this moment was like a trapped beast, lost and bewildered in a vast world.

Qin Luzhi continued to wipe the dagger, but his gaze had already fallen on Shen Bumian. Shen Bumian’s head was lowered; he didn’t see the lingering love in Qin Luzhi’s eyes.

If you turn around, you’ll find the answer. Because I like you, I want to give you whatever you want. I want to give you everything I have.

Qin Luzhi squeezed his eyes shut tightly, restraining his overflowing emotions. It wasn’t time yet. Shen Bumian still didn’t understand the love between an Alpha and an Omega.