By the time Xu Yao left their house, Wan Deqing's body had already been taken away, and the Le Feishan and Le Tianyu duo had been imprisoned. Even the hover car which had borne witness to the previous bloody incident had been thoroughly sterilized, and not a single stain remained. This was simply another scenario which emphasised Tang Ye, Yan Jie and Uncle Ming's efficiency in handling matters.
It seemed that there was nothing more for Xu Yao to do until the Emperor had decided on the steps to be taken in the aftermath of such an incident.
This incident had caused Emperor Kunta to think through many things and consider ideas that were previously unimaginable. At the beginning, he really couldn't quite accept Xu Yao's words, but after thinking about it, it wasn't really a bad thing.
First of all, he had a clear understanding of Xu Yao's integrity. He could not remember even the slightest of faults in his service towards the Empire, not by Xu Yao nor by the people under him, that had happened in the past few years. Moreover, Xu Yao was always respectful towards him and the Empress.
Secondly, Xu Yao's special ability had not been used inappropriately or for self-interest in any way. Most importantly, the couple's fury today had also been driven by the need to save him from Le Feishan's hand.
Coming to this point, their deeds today should actually be considered as a meritorious contribution for protecting the Emperor. Otherwise, with Xu Yao's ability, wouldn't it simply be a matter of minutes if he ever decided to take his life?
Although he was somewhat envious of Xu Yao's powerful ability, the Emperor still had the necessary tolerance. So not long after, Emperor Kunta announced that he would officially recognise Xu Yao as a brother with a different surname, after which he swiftly snatched Xu Yao's three roasted eggplants during dinner!
If he can't suppress or oppose the other, then the closer they get, the better!
The Empress raised a hand to cover his face in embarrassment. "You are really not polite."
Emperor Kunta said, "You shouldn't be too polite either. Wife, isn't it better to be casual like this? Since we will become a family soon, don't be so restrained. If we are too reserved, they'll feel uncomfortable. Isn't that right, Xu Yao?"
The Emperor had now stopped calling Xu Yao by his official name and title, and simply used his real name directly.
Xu Yao smiled and replied, "Yes."
Emperor Kunta knew that Xu Yao wouldn't make things difficult for him.
Even before Xu Yao had recovered his memories, the Emperor had always treated him, this ordinary General, well, so there was no need to refuse these good intentions. In any case, Xu Yao also didn't hold any lofty ambitions of seizing the Emperor's throne.
On the contrary, it was Le Yao who was still feeling a little uneasy. During the afternoon, when his 'Prince of Fengdu' spiritual power was awakened, he was a little out of control and had exerted too much force. Even up until now, his embarrassment at his unruly behaviour had yet to fade.
When Emperor Kunta and his wife had entered their house, the Royal Guards had looked at him with curiosity and caution. It seemed that they wanted to observe him yet also dared not to actually look.
Le Yao felt speechless when faced with such actions.
If not for the Empress, who always spoke in time to ease the awkwardness, there was no way that Le Yao would have been able to finish his meal.
The Empress said, "In fact, you don't have to think too much about it, Xiao Le Yao. If it was me, I would probably have done the same. It's in our nature to protect our children, and anything that harms them is beyond reproach. Besides, isn't everyone safe now? That's the most important thing."
"If you say so…" Le Yao smiled.
"Come, let us enjoy ourselves. After all, today is a day worthy of celebration." Emperor Kunta raised his glass and continued, "Let these small matters disperse with the wind and disappear. No need to worry about them anymore. We should focus on the development of Huaxia and Tarot so that they will become better places in the future, and we should also help with the balancing of the realms of Yin and Yang."
"That sounds good," Xu Yao said.
"A toast then," the Empress also smiled and said.
Le Yao also raised his cup, and the crisp clink of the glasses immediately reverberated throughout the warm living room.
Perhaps there would still be some people who wouldn't be able to immediately adapt, or perhaps they would have many questions that could not answered at this time, but everything needed a process.
That night, Xu Yao and Le Yao took the imperial couple outside. This was the time when the Underworld had just begun to bustle and the entrances to the restaurant and hotel had started to overflow with a sea of ghosts.
The undead soldiers of the Flying Wolf Division were stationed at duty. Some were guarding the Sarna Orcs, some were responsible for the safety of the camp, and some were helping maintain the order of the Underworld.
When the imperial couple first heard the information detailing the circumstances of the undead back on Tarot, it hadn't stirred their emotions much. However, after personally witnessing the actual situation, they could finally understand why Xu Yao was contending so strongly for the soldiers' rights even after they had died.
Although their physical bodies had long disintegrated on the battlefield, their souls—still full of fighting spirit for their country—had yet to vanish. These people were truly worthy of respect.
"Xu Yao, I accept the proposal which will allow the undead soldiers to see their family members, please look over the arrangements required for it and let me know if there is anything lacking. When I return, I'll have someone set up a special military department to directly connect with you."
Emperor Kunta added, "Give them the best treatment."
"Understood. It will also lay a foundation for Huaxia's tourism industry. Otherwise, it would make for quite a sad scene as few people would even think to venture over here in the beginning stages."
The decision to open appointments for visits by military families was something different. After all, there would always be people who wished to see their late relatives.
The Empress smiled, "You two have worked hard. It seems that I'm the one most at leisure regarding this matter."
"Wife, if you feel bored, you can call and talk to Le Yao more. I think he will often need to purchase items from Tarot. You two can collaborate well, ah. Wouldn't that be very good?"
"Emperor, then, please don't be sad if I take up the Empress' time," Le Yao finally relaxed a little and said, "I want to do a lot of things, so there'll definitely be many more things required, which will have to be purchased. At the moment, everything in the Underworld needs to be rebuilt. It's a big project."
"It's fine. When I feel lonely, I can talk to Xu Yao about life."
"Hehe, alright," Le Yao smiled and nodded.
And then, later that night, Xu Yao continued his mission to 'return' spiritual power back to Le Yao.
At the beginning of their union, Le Yao still thought that Xu Yao had been lying to him about using this method to return his spiritual power to him!
But, it turned out to be true!
"Yaoyao, do you believe me now? Have you ever heard of the phrase 'double cultivation'?" Xu Yao teased between his panting, "It's no different from what we are doing now."
"Shut up!" Le Yao stopped his chatter, "Don't talk during cultivation!"
The next day, Yan Jie visited, wanting to ask Le Yao about something. Seeing the dark shadows under Le Yao's eyes and his weak boneless legs, he couldn't help but comment, "Brother Xu is simply a beast. Mr Xiao Le, you should exercise more."
Le Yao: "…" Exercise a fart?!
Could he retort to that by saying that after Xu Yao had returned his spiritual power to him, the God seal on his right hand was also naturally resolved?!
Le Yao originally thought that since he had retrieved his power as the of Prince of Fengdu, their nightly exercises would become a lot easier for him. However, he hadn't expected that, together with his 'upgrade', Xu Yao's strength would also increase concurrently!
What a pit!
Not wanting to be alone in this situation, Le Yao remarked, "Brother Yan, the position of the red mark on your neck seems to have changed." Le Yao pointed to the side of his neck as he continued, "Here, was it not on the opposite side before?"
"Really?" Yan Jie awkwardly averted his gaze. "Ahaha, did you remember it wrongly?"
"Hmm, I'm not mistaken, and I think you also know that clearly," Le Yao laughed.
Who was it that said I was physically weak? Preposterous!
As expected, Yan Jie stopped talking. He quickly found an excuse to go back because of various tasks and work that had piled up. At the same time, he cursed Yang Hengtian three hundred and sixty times in his heart.
Emperor Kunta and the Empress stayed at the Flying Wolf Division in Huaxia for three days.
They had numerous things to deal with in Tarot, so it was impossible for them to stay for an extended period. Although the couple hadn't been able to stay long enough to satisfy their desire, it was inevitable that they would have to return due to their identity.
Le Feishan and Le Tianyu would also be 'returning' with them. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, they were still members of Le Yao's family, so it wouldn't be easy for Xu Yao or Le Yao to deal with them personally.
Le Yao was very pleased at the thought of never having to see those two people again. On the other hand, after that certain day's events, even though some of the people of Flying Wolf Division would look nervous upon seeing him, in actuality, nothing much had changed. It was really just a case of them being nervous—they weren't truly rejecting him in any way. In the end, they simply needed some time to adapt.
In the afternoon, Le Yao took the children to find Ye Linran. Ye Linran and his team of designers had successfully drafted a blueprint for the offshore undead community and had made many modifications. This was one of the most important projects of the redevelopment plan, along with the Huaxia Museum, so Le Yao got regular updates about the development each day.
"These are the pictures." Ye Linran showed the latest three-dimensional design to Le Yao through the intelligent assistant. "I feel that this one is better than the previous versions. Have a look and see if there is anything that needs to be modified."
"It's very good, Uncle Ye. It's just that the color is a bit dark. I think it's better if we make it a little brighter. Although the dead will be able to see it at night, it's still a bit too dark to find."
Le Yao added, "If this community is really built well, it will be very grand."
"Then, if there are no other problems, let's use this version. The details can be changed anytime, but the general design will be this one. By the way, have you thought about the name of the community?"
As there would definitely be more than one community in the future, it was necessary for there to be names to distinguish them.
"I've thought about it—it will be called 'Youran Du'. Also, I hope this design isn't too difficult to print?"
Although it was for the undead, in order to show respect, the internal details of the cruise ship were also arranged very meticulously. Both the residential and public facilities were carefully designed.
For such a design, if he wanted to print with a 3D printer, he could only do it in blocks. This was because it was too complex and would have to be printed using the reduction printing method, rather than the one-to-one printing method, thus being almost impossible to finish in a single print session.
"It's a little bit of work, but the end result should be good," Ye Linran said.
This marine community consisted of nine cruisers, three of which were relatively large. Furthermore, located in the center, just above the largest cruiser, would be a plaque with the community name written on it. Each of these cruisers would be able to hold at least 500 households.
Le Yao imagined that if they were lined up in a row, they might look a bit like a sea fleet. It would probably be quite cool.
Ye Linran adjusted the main color of the cruise ship to a cold white, then applying Le Yao's suggestions, added a number of small flags on it. These little colored flags were not only for decoration; Le Yao planned to print scriptures on them, which could be used to eliminate resentment and purify the spirits.
When the colorful flags were displayed by the intelligent robot, the little guys in the incubator seemed to catch a sight of them, and even showed their bare gums in joyous laughs!
"Oh? They can see so far away already? Isn't it too early for them?" Ye Linran happened to see the smiles of the children and casually asked.
At this time, the children were almost three meters away from the nearest flag, and normally, such a distance would be too far away for small children to see things like this clearly. It took an average child a month or two to be able to see things in the distance, let alone these three children who were not even full-term yet.
Le Yao smiled, "Hehe, they should be able to see it. Leslie, send the videos to the General. It seems that this is the first time the children have laughed."
"I saw it." Xu Yao's voice carried a smile as it rang out from the communicator, "They laugh just like I do."
"Don't be funny, how can you even tell?"
The children had been born with skin so thin that their blood vessels could be seen. However, the children had been well fed and, because of their special bloodline, they no longer looked as red as they had when they were born. Needless to say, they were still very small.
At present, the largest weighed about 1500 grams, and the smallest 1300 grams. Their size really hadn't changed much, but their skin was a lot whiter than before, and they were also chubbier. Just like buns!
Also, they were all still just small buns among small buns, so no one could see who was similar to who, okay?
Xu Yao laughed, "How can't you see it? Look at their ears, those look exactly like mine. Anyone can tell in one glance that they're the children you gave me. If you don't believe me, you can ask Uncle Ye."
"They're alike," Ye Linran quickly replied with a smile, "And these little guys have long arms, long legs, and big hands and feet. They really look quite like Xu Yao."
"It's over. I'm going to be upset." Le Yao added, "It took me so much effort to give birth to these three little brats, but none of them are like me."
Sometimes, when he just glanced at them, it felt like they were cast from the same mold as Xu Yao. Perhaps, it was influence of the 'god-like' appearance and aura?
"Hahaha, Le Yao, how old are you? Don't worry, there will still be other children in the future, and you will have more just like you." Ye Linran said, "Besides, it's good for them to be similar to either him or you. You both look good."
"Uncle Ye, aren't you flattering too much?" Le Yao couldn't help feeling embarrassed.
He then asked Xu Yao, "That aside, what about the location of the museum?"
"I decided against choosing a fixed location. There isn't much time left before we have to move the entire camp, so we decided to design a movable museum to prevent the possibility of it being damaged as much as possible. It will take quite a long time and may be troublesome, but in the long run this should be the most efficient and effective method."
Le Yao nodded. It was not just about security, but also about climate.
Every year, the Flying Wolf Division would move camp between two locations due to the climate. For Huaxia to be ready for tourists, they would also need to consider choosing tourism sites in accordance to the change in climate. Thus, taking all these aspects into account, it was natural to turn the historic exhibition hall into a more reliable mobile version.
Le Yao smiled and took a picture of the incubator. "When you are all grown up, you'll be able to see the completed museum. How lucky are you?"
The eldest child lying in the incubator uttered a 'Wa?' sound.
His small movements were soft and tender. Listening to the soft mumbling sound made Le Yao's heart instantly soften. It was as if this child had understood what Le Yao had said, and had grinned silently with his little mouth to foretell all the good things that would happen in the future…
…