Chapter 59: Bound by Blood

The cub’s soft voice still carried a trace of nervousness.

After calling out, Wen Yuzhi lowered his head, a little embarrassed.

Strictly speaking, this was the first time Wen Yuzhi had called Mansendis “Dad” so formally in front of so many Saint Clan.

No longer a vague reference. No longer carrying any hesitation.

He had walked up to Mansendis on his own, and said “Dad” out loud—steady and clear.

Mansendis lowered his gaze to look at him.

The silver-haired sovereign’s voice was icy, unreadable, without the slightest emotion, and yet—

“Say it again.”

Say it again?

Say what?

Wen Yuzhi blinked, confused, and opened his mouth again.

“...Dad?”

“...”

Mansendis didn’t respond.

It felt like the room had fallen into a long silence.

Just as Wen Yuzhi ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) started to hesitate—wondering if Mansendis had gotten angry because of what he said—the silver-haired sovereign scooped him up in one hand, lifting him.

“Dad?”

Wen Yuzhi called again.

“Mm.”

Only then did Mansendis finally answer.

With the pads of his fingers, he gently stroked the cub’s soft silver hair, again and again. The touch was light, careful.

People outside who feared the Saint Clan would probably find it hard to imagine this—this ruthless, cold Saint Clan tyrant showing a moment like this.

Maybe it was the cub’s instincts. Being petted like that felt good. Wen Yuzhi’s little wings even trembled twice behind him.

He couldn’t help leaning in, rubbing his cheek against the silver-haired sovereign’s palm.

Like his fur had been smoothed the right way—snuggling close and acting spoiled, driven by instinct to press up against Dad, to be held, to be petted.

Those pale-gold eyes looked like a baby kitten’s, wide and round. Head tilted slightly, a little dazed and innocent, he looked up at Mansendis.

Soft and well-behaved.

The eyes, misted over, were filled with dependence and closeness.

Even someone with the coldest heart would be moved by the sight.

Let alone Mansendis, holding the cub in his palm.

The expression in Mansendis’s eyes softened without him noticing. The emotions that had been bottling up these past days slowly dissolved in that moment.

What remained was a rare warmth, and joy.

As Mansendis stroked Wen Yuzhi’s hair, he could feel Wen Yuzhi’s breathing. He could feel the heartbeat, the warmth.

In that instant, Mansendis seemed to understand what those fathers felt after they had a child.

This was his child—bound to him by blood.

The cub would cling to him. Rub that soft little face against him. Call him Dad.

So unlike him, and yet... through Wen Yuzhi, Mansendis felt a warmth he’d never known before.

Like some kind of instinctive pull that came from blood itself.

So unfamiliar—so strange, and yet so miraculous.

And now, when facing Wen Yuzhi, Mansendis was no longer that sovereign high above everyone else.

He was just an ordinary father.

Lowering his head, Mansendis spoke slowly to the cub in a father’s tone. “Mond told me you have a name over on the human side.”

“Yes...”

Wen Yuzhi nodded.

There was nothing to hide, and he wasn’t surprised Mansendis knew about that conversation with Mond.

Mansendis continued, “Then do you want to change your name? A Salilaino name exists in our minds the moment we’re born.”

Every royal-blood heir was born with fragments of something like inherited memories in the mind.

From the moment of birth, they knew what their name should be.

But Mansendis and Tasiya had been an exception.

Their names had been bestowed personally by the Mother Goddess of Prosperity. On the day they were born, the River Styx fish drifting around Dark Tower Star all let out an ethereal cry like a whale’s call.

The stars answered. Every Saint Clan on Dark Tower Star shouted the names Mansendis and Tasiya—celebrating the birth of two noble, powerful royal-blood highnesses.

But Wen Yuzhi’s situation was special.

Mansendis didn’t know whether Wen Yuzhi had a name bestowed by the Mother Goddess, or whether his inherited memory already held one.

Yet since the cub had never shown any sign of having another name, Mansendis guessed Wen Yuzhi most likely had neither.

Sure enough, Wen Yuzhi shook his head.

He didn’t have anything like inherited memories. In his own impression, he had always thought he was human.

From the moment he could remember, he had been in the Wen family. Wen Che and Madam Jilanya were his Dad and Mom.

Thinking that, Wen Yuzhi tipped his head up to look at Mansendis.

“Can I not change my name? I think the name I have now is really good.”

It wasn’t just that he was used to it. His name also carried Wen Che and Madam Jilanya’s love for him.

He didn’t want to change it.

Mansendis fell silent for a moment.

He wanted to name his child, but he also understood that once it involved that couple, the cub would never yield.

Even with regret, Mansendis still agreed to Wen Yuzhi’s request.

But then Mansendis asked, “Then the nickname Mond mentioned... is it also what they called you?”

Wen Yuzhi nodded obediently. “Yes.”

Then, thinking of something, Wen Yuzhi quietly lifted his eyes and glanced at Mansendis.

“If you don’t mind... you can call me Zhizhi too...”

Wen Yuzhi said it very softly.

But Mansendis heard it.

He lifted the cub in his palm, raising him up to a height where they could look each other in the eye.

Under Wen Yuzhi’s nervous gaze, the silver-haired sovereign stared steadily at the cub and called once:

“Zhizhi.”

Mansendis’s voice stayed cool, but when saying those two syllables, he deliberately slowed down, smoothing the tone so it didn’t sound quite so cold.

The silver-haired sovereign rarely showed this kind of consideration. What little patience he had, almost all of it was reserved for the child in his palm.

Wen Yuzhi went a little dazed when he heard it.

Ever since Wen Che and Madam Jilanya’s accident, no one had called him by that nickname again.

Like without Wen Che and Madam Jilanya, he was no longer anyone’s “treasure.”

Just an extra, unnecessary existence in someone else’s family.

Back then, Wen Yuzhi had never imagined there would come a day when he’d hear someone call him that again.

The cub in front of him suddenly lowered his head.

Mansendis froze for a beat, and his brow pulled together slightly.

He didn’t know what he’d done wrong.

Was the tone still too cold?

Just as that thought rose, the cub who’d lowered his head moved.

Wen Yuzhi fluttered his little wings, flew up to Mansendis, and then—

The cub lightly kissed the silver-haired sovereign on the side of the face.

Before Mansendis could even react, the cub who’d done it turned red with embarrassment and flapped away first.

Tap tap tap...

Wen Yuzhi ran in one breath to Mond’s side.

He hid behind Mond, cheeks flushed pink, eyes bright—whether from embarrassment or because he’d gotten too excited running, it was hard to tell.

He’d hidden too quickly and clearly hadn’t paid attention. Most of his body was concealed, but a bit of one small wing was still sticking out, soft down trembling with each breath.

Completely giving away the delight bubbling inside him.

Mansendis was still stunned. That faint, soft touch hadn’t just landed on his face—it had hit the silver-haired sovereign’s heart hard as well.

And with that surge of emotion, the pale exoskeleton spread up from his neck.

“Your Majesty—”

Alvin, witnessing the change, started to speak in surprise, trying to warn Mansendis.

But the silver-haired sovereign’s entire attention was fixed on that bit of wing still exposed.

Under the scorching stares from every Saint Clan present, Mond remained unhurried, unflustered—like a reliable hen guarding her chick, calmly shielding the little highness behind.

Being a support the cub could truly lean on.

Unsurprisingly, that “special treatment” drew Mond plenty of jealousy.

Several Saint Clan, Alvin included, wished desperately that the little highness had chosen them instead.

Especially Alvin.

Back on Thanatos, the little highness had been closest to Alvin.

And yet now, aside from Mansendis, Wen Yuzhi was clearly closest to Mond—the one who had been taking care of him these past days.

When he wanted to hide, the first place Wen Yuzhi thought of was behind Mond.

Once all those gazes were blocked, Wen Yuzhi slowly relaxed again.

He stayed behind Mond for a moment, and when the heat in his face finally eased a little, Wen Yuzhi gently tugged at Mond’s sleeve from behind.

Getting the hint, Mond coughed softly, looked at the Saint Clan in front, and took out the saplings that had been prepared long ago with Wen Yuzhi.

Each one already had a bright, colorful tag hanging from it, with a corresponding name.

Alvin’s tag was blue. Selet’s was green. Merita’s was red. Yiluo’s was black. Feier’s was yellow. Mond’s was purple—Wen Yuzhi had deliberately chosen each color to match the person it belonged to, based on their traits.

And the moment Alvin and the others saw those tags and the names on them, they could already faintly guess what this was.

Mond said, “These are saplings the little highness sprouted using mental energy. They’re gifts the little highness wanted to give you.”

These were all Wen Yuzhi’s results—his hard-earned progress.

After he’d made headway with controlling mental energy, his first thought had been to give the saplings he’d painstakingly sprouted to everyone. He’d written the names on the tags himself, and beside each one he’d even drawn a simple stick-figure sketch made of just a few lines.

That way, even if they were put together, no one would mix them up.

Each one was special.

One of a kind.

As for the one for Mansendis, Wen Yuzhi had chosen the biggest, fullest sapling. For Mansendis, he’d picked a silver tag, and beside the simple drawing there were a few vertical lines.

Obviously, those lines were bone spines.

Even Mu Luo—and the Gumu in the kitchen—received saplings too.

And when the day came to plant the trees for real, the cub flapped his wings and flew at the very front, with a mighty procession behind.

It was a bright, sunny day.

Dark Tower Star had already shifted from the cold of winter into warm spring. The snow on the ground had all melted, and almost overnight, heavy green had spread across the planet.

Mond had already planned out a section of the courtyard.

Wen Yuzhi held a tiny shovel, a little straw hat perched on his head.

He put on a serious face and dug the first bit of soil.

Calling it a “bit” wasn’t wrong—it was only about the size of a fingernail.

But the Saint Clan standing in a ring around him immediately applauded, enthusiastically giving him all the encouragement.

Wen Yuzhi pressed his lips together and didn’t speak, but his wings beat faster.

The cub was clearly embarrassed by the praise.

Mansendis had his sleeves rolled up, a shovel in hand as well.

Seeing the little corner Wen Yuzhi had dug out, Mansendis asked, “You want to plant it here?”

Wen Yuzhi nodded.

He also had a sapling of his own—the smallest one of them all.

Its seed’s vitality had almost died. At the time, Wen Yuzhi had felt it might not sprout at all.

But unexpectedly, the shoot still stubbornly split the seed coat and pushed up through the soil.

Even after Wen Yuzhi poured a lot of mental energy into it, it stayed thin and small, looking almost malnourished. It was hard to say whether it would survive in the long run.

When Mond saw it, Mond had planned to throw away the clearly “defective” sapling.

But Wen Yuzhi insisted on keeping it.

“I want to try. I want to see if I can keep it alive.”

The cub’s eyes held a pleading look.

Mond couldn’t bear to make the little highness sad. Mond was even prepared that if this sapling died, Mond would secretly replace it with another one.

In short—no matter what, the little highness couldn’t be allowed to feel sad.

Luckily, that weak sapling had an intense will to live. After drooping for three days, it still managed to survive.

Wen Yuzhi decided then to keep that sapling for himself.

And the tag hanging on it now had his name written on it.

Wen Yuzhi picked the spot.

Mansendis followed the place the cub had dug and kept widening the hole.

This Saint Clan sovereign, the tyrant feared by outsiders, was now holding a shovel in the courtyard, digging and turning soil. If word of this got out, no one knew how many jaws would drop.

Not just Mansendis—other Saint Clan with important duties on Dark Tower Star had all chosen spots and started digging too.

Just looking at them now... who would believe this was a group infamous for brutality, even called emotionless monsters?

One by one, they ignored status completely—digging, planting, filling the holes back in.

Doing work no different from gardeners.

The bone spines didn’t dig. They were responsible for carrying several watering cans; wherever a hole was finished, the bone spines went there and watered the soil.

Wen Yuzhi’s own sapling had already been buried.

But Mansendis noticed another sapling beside the cub.

No name was written on it—only a blank tag.

“Who is this one for?”

Everyone present already had their sapling. So this one clearly wasn’t for them.

...And besides them, who else would the cub give something to?

Wen Yuzhi followed Mansendis’s words and looked at the sapling next to him.

This was the first sapling he’d ever sprouted. It wasn’t the biggest or the prettiest, but it held meaning.

After thinking it over, Wen Yuzhi decided to give this one to that online friend.

They had never met, yet they’d known each other online for over a year.

After Wen Che and Madam Jilanya’s accident, all the friends around Wen Yuzhi had vanished.

In a way, that person was the first real friend Wen Yuzhi had made in all those years.

And being able to sprout these saplings—those materials the friend had sent had played an undeniable role.

Wen Yuzhi didn’t know how to repay it. A simple “thank you” felt too light. So when discussing this planting activity with Mond, Wen Yuzhi decided to save a sapling for that friend too.

Facing Mansendis’s question, Wen Yuzhi answered vaguely, “It’s for a friend.”

But what kind of friend, which friend—Wen Yuzhi didn’t say.

And afraid Mansendis would keep asking, Wen Yuzhi grabbed a chilled drink from nearby the moment the words were out.

“Dad, drink some water.”

The cub hugged the bottle and offered it to the silver-haired sovereign.

Mansendis took a sip.

Then Wen Yuzhi brought over a bag of snacks.

“Dad, have some candy.”

Mansendis ate a piece of candy too.

After doing that two or three times, all the saplings had been planted.

Almost without planning it, every Saint Clan had chosen a spot near Wen Yuzhi, spaced around the thin, weak sapling.

From a distance, the layout formed a huge circle.

The sturdy, tall saplings around the edge looked like reliable guards, protecting the little sapling with Wen Yuzhi’s name at the center.

Like the stars gathered around the moon.

That tiny sapling was protected by everyone.

Looking at it, Wen Yuzhi felt as if that small sapling was him, and those larger saplings were Alvin and Mond and the others.

The small sapling was protected by the big ones—and he had everyone around him too.

With that thought, Wen Yuzhi couldn’t help turning his head.

The Saint Clan stood behind him.

They were looking at him as well.

Wen Yuzhi couldn’t put into words what he was feeling right now.

But his eyes curved into a smile.