“My grandfather, Li Ye.”

Li Ji looked at the old photo in mid-air, a trace of faint nostalgia in his tone. “If he were still alive, he would be eighty-eight this year.”

Song Jin’s brow furrowed even tighter.

Li Ye was eighty-eight. The Wei Feng in the photo looked to be in his thirties. Extrapolating to the present day, he would have to be over a hundred years old.

Song Jin glanced across at the Wei Feng sitting opposite them. The man looked equally astonished, his expression showing no signs of faking it.

In the photo, the Wei Feng wearing the military uniform held a thin cigarette clamped between his fingers, tipping it toward his mouth as he prepared to light it. He seemed to have noticed someone taking a picture, looking toward the lens with a slightly helpless smile.

Whether it was the gesture of holding the cigarette, the angle at which it hung from his lips, his demeanor, or the subtle features of his face, he was the exact spitting image of the Wei Feng sitting opposite them.

If one absolutely had to find a difference, the Wei Feng in the military uniform carried more of a soldier’s sharp, awe-inspiring rectitude, whereas the Wei Feng in the leather jacket opposite them exuded a distinct rogue air.

Yet, unless stasis technology had been used, current science was incapable of allowing a centenarian to maintain the condition of a thirty-year-old.

Across the table, the cigarette clamped between Wei Feng’s lips dropped right out.

Initially, he had merely thought the person in the photo looked a lot like him. But upon hearing Li Ji reveal the youth’s identity, several absurd thoughts suddenly flashed through his mind.

It couldn’t… be, right?

Wei Feng feigned a relaxed air and asked, “Is this photoshopped?”

Yan Qing looked at him, his tone flat. “What reason would I have to bring a photoshopped picture to an occasion like this?”

Wei Feng was left utterly speechless by the retort.

Li Xiao raised his hand to enlarge the portion of the photo showing Wei Feng’s epaulet. “The epaulet of the Golden Feather Sparrow Legion.”

At those words, Li Ji and Yan Qing simultaneously looked at Li Xiao.

Li Ji asked in a heavy voice, “How do you know about the Golden Feather Sparrow Legion?”

Li Xiao did not answer, asking instead, “Why are all the files regarding the Golden Feather Sparrow Legion gone from the royal database?”

Li Ji’s expression turned somewhat grave. “Back then, the Golden Feather Sparrow Legion launched a coup in the Zifu Constellation. Grandfather ordered that all related data be either destroyed or sealed. As of now, only a tiny amount of data remains recorded within the classified database.”

Launched a coup in the Zifu Constellation?

Li Xiao did not understand. “Why destroy it?”

Li Ji: “I don’t know either.”

“I remember Xiao saying that an epaulet with this specific emblem could only be owned by an elite few.” Song Jin propped his chin in his hand, pondering. “So what role did the Wei Feng in the photo play within the Golden Feather Sparrow Legion?”

Yan Qing: “He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Golden Feather Sparrow Legion.”

Wei Feng’s brow twitched, his fingers slowly tightening.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Golden Feather Sparrow Legion actually looked identical to him. It gave him a skin-crawling sense of bizarre dread.

Song Jin continued asking, “One was a legion commander, the other was the King. A joint photo like this wouldn’t be accessible to just anyone unless it was made public. How did you get your hands on it?”

“It wasn’t a public photo; my grandfather gave it to my father.” Yan Qing looked at the Wei Feng in the photo. “Barely three months after this photo was taken, news of the Golden Feather Sparrow Legion’s coup suddenly broke. Everyone in the legion was killed, causing a massive uproar at the time.”

At this point, Yan Qing paused. “Everyone in the clan felt themselves in peril. According to my father, many military dependents went to the military back then to clear the Golden Feather Sparrow’s name, but not a single one returned safely.”

Song Jin’s face darkened.

“Where did the people go?”

Yan Qing shook his head. “To this day, there is no official explanation.”

Recalling the records Yan Qing had compiled, Li Xiao took over the conversation. “So the Bique race migrated en masse out of self-preservation?”

“Many clansmen couldn’t accept it. They ran to the local police stations and garrison bases to protest, only to be violently suppressed, resulting in many casualties.”

Yan Qing clasped his hands together, his voice very soft and slow. “Grandfather received word that the military believed they also harbored reactionary tendencies and intended to strike against them. Left with no choice, he consulted with several respected elders in the clan and decided to abandon everything to flee their homeland, but—”

“They were attacked by star pirates en route, with over half killed or wounded?” Song Jin recalled the contents recorded in the files and shot Li Ji a dark look. “Did they really encounter star pirates, or were they killed by someone else?”

Yan Qing shook his head. “No substantial files were left behind, but Grandfather looked into it at the time, and an uncle managed to see a dragon emblem on the starship.”

As he spoke, Yan Qing pulled up a hand-drawn image and projected it.

Seeing the drawing, the eyes of both Li Xiao and Song Jin turned sharp.

Noticing the change in their expressions, Yan Qing asked, “You recognize it?”

“It’s the Hidden Dragon.” Wei Feng walked over to a corner, pulling out another cigarette and tipping it to his mouth to light it. “They are currently active along the border of the Nanming Constellation at N2781, frequently running killing games to rake in massive amounts of wealth. Their reputation is completely foul throughout the entire star pirate circle.”

Li Xiao and Song Jin exchanged a glance.

Although the Hidden Dragon was indeed a star pirate group, it was highly probable that the Meng family was pulling the strings behind them.

Yan Qing turned to look at Wei Feng. “Why do you know about the Hidden Dragon? What do you do?”

Wei Feng clamped the cigarette between his fingers and exhaled a plume of white smoke, which was quickly drawn away by the intake vent of the purification system.

“You’d better ask the Second Prince. Right now, I’m just a hired thug he pays for.”

Hired and paid for?

Yan Qing looked at Li Xiao, utterly bewildered.

Catching the increasingly grave expression on his brother’s face out of the corner of his eye, Li Xiao did not hide it. “He is the leader of the Ravens.”

Yan Qing’s eyes widened slightly.

Why did Wei Feng still look exactly as he did over seventy years ago, why had he become the leader of the star pirate group Ravens, and why was he involved with the Second Prince?

His thoughts were in such disarray that he couldn’t straighten them out for the moment.

Li Ji slammed the table and stood up, a belly full of fury with nowhere to vent. He asked coldly, “So he really is Wei Feng?!”

“I only just found out he looks so much like the Golden Feather Sparrow Commander.” Li Xiao’s gaze bypassed Li Ji to land on Wei Feng. “Do you have anything to say?”

Seeing the other four people all looking over, Wei Feng felt a massive headache coming on.

“If I say I only found out today too, would you guys believe me?”

The atmosphere in the meeting room almost solidified.

Song Jin compared the two Wei Fengs once more. “It’s impossible for a human to gain immortality. If Wei Feng is Wei Feng, then it’s highly likely he didn’t die in the coup back then, but was placed in a stasis pod and only woke up in recent years.”

Li Ji: “Then who did it? Why do such a thing?”

Song Jin spread his hands. “No idea. I’m just a foreigner.”

Li Xiao cast a sidelong glance. “…”

That wasn’t how you sounded when you were commanding the military colonel.

“Impossible.” Wei Feng’s tone was firm. “My memory is intact. From the time I was a child until now, I remember more or less what happened each year.”

Song Jin was hungry, so he opened the pastry box. “You don’t know about memory implantation technology? As long as the operator desires it, they can give you any memory. If it’s done meticulously enough, the individual can hardly distinguish truth from falsehood.”

Wei Feng stamped out the cigarette he had taken only two puffs from. “Memories can be fake, but what about Jiang and the others? If I only woke up in recent years, could it be that everyone has been acting along with me? Or are their memories fake too?”

“Have you always been with the Ravens?” Li Xiao pressed further.

“Pretty much.” Wei Feng raised his eyes to look at that photo. “I can’t possibly be him.”

“Whether you are him or not, that is no excuse for the Ravens’ evil deeds!” Li Ji’s face was unsightly as he barked at Wei Feng. “The grievances of the Golden Feather Sparrow are a matter for the previous generation. Even if you want revenge, you cannot target ordinary civilians!”

Having been lectured out of nowhere, Wei Feng’s expression wasn’t great either. “How have we targeted ordinary civilians? Did you see it with your own eyes?”

Li Ji said with a dark face, “How much trouble have the Ravens stirred up in the Nanming Constellation over these past decades?! It’s one thing to make trouble at the border, but you’ve also struck against residential planets and police stations. Don’t tell me you did absolutely nothing!”

Wei Feng had been holding back a belly full of pent-up frustration. With words reaching this point, he simply walked right up to Li Ji, taking a hardened stance. “If you rulers hadn’t turned a blind eye to what happened to the Bique race, would we resort to being hiding star pirates instead of being law-abiding citizens?! Who was the one that reduced us to this?!”

Li Ji: “So you go around causing destruction everywhere, taking revenge for being suppressed back then?!”

Wei Feng: “We haven’t killed a single innocent person! Unlike you people who say one thing but do another, with righteousness and morality on your lips while wantonly trampling and toying with others behind their backs, taking pleasure in slaughter!”

Li Ji nodded deliberately. “As expected, your approach to Xiaoxiao was driven by ulterior motives. Do you want to use him to whitewash your group, or to overturn the case for the Golden Feather Sparrow back then?”

Being slapped with another accusation, Wei Feng was driven to a furious laugh. “Yes, in the eyes of your noble Majesty, we wretched people are just that shameless and low.”

Incensed by his self-condemning words, Li Ji roared, “I don’t care what you intend to do, you are not allowed to have any further contact with Xiaoxiao from now on, otherwise don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Wei Feng’s smile was freezing. “The way you people solve problems is to eliminate the person who raises the problem, selectively ignoring the problem itself. The King two generations ago did it, the previous King did it, and you do it too. Truly disappointing.”

A single sentence blasted Li Ji along with his grandfather and old man. How could Li Ji endure it? He balled his fist, wanting to smash this arrogant star pirate to pieces.

Seeing this, Li Xiao took a few steps behind his brother, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to pull him back. “Brother, calm down.”

“Let go of me!” Li Ji was absolutely beside himself with rage. “You absolutely cannot keep this kind of person by your side!”

Li Xiao: “I don’t plan to keep him by my side. I plan to keep him by yours.”

Li Ji froze abruptly, turning his head in disbelief. “What are you putting him by my side for?!”

Wei Feng was also dumbfounded, gritting his teeth as he spoke one word at a time, “That wasn’t what we agreed upon back then.”

Following this kind of idiotic King would be unbearable for even a single day. If he had to see him every day, at least one of them would go mad.

Li Xiao patted Li Ji’s shoulder, very smoothly lifting a small pastry from the pastry box and stuffing it into Li Ji’s hand. “Cool your temper first, let’s talk things over nicely.”

Looking at the pastry in his hand, Li Ji: “…”

Realizing what he had done, Li Xiao: “…”

He had gotten so used to coaxing his kitten that he accidentally used the same trick.

Seeing the tense atmosphere over there, Yan Qing tried to soften his tone to mediate. “Your Majesty, the Second Prince is no longer the helpless child he was back then. Let’s hear what he has to say. Besides, Mr. Wei just saved us, so he surely isn’t a cruel person.”

With a stiff face, Li Ji silently sat down to eat the pastry.

Yan Qing: “…”

It seemed he had been coaxed.

The pastry given by his younger brother was indeed more effective than anything else.

Li Xiao looked at Li Ji, then swept a glance over at Yan Qing, thinking to himself that his brother was actually quite obedient to Yan Qing’s words.

Having appeased Li Ji, Li Xiao looked toward Wei Feng. “The royal family did not turn a blind eye.”

Wei Feng crossed his arms against the wall. “If they had investigated properly, things wouldn’t have remained completely devoid of news for decades. By the time the Bique race dies out completely, who will care about what happened back then?”

“Do you think an investigation is as easy as just saying the words?” Li Ji interjected coldly. “Over these past decades, almost everyone who participated in investigating the Golden Feather Sparrow coup has died.”

Those words caused the expressions of the other four people in the office to shift slightly.

Even Song Jin, who had been engrossed in eating pastries and watching the drama, raised his eyes.

Li Ji: “Leaving aside how many investigators were involved, the royal family also paid a heavy price for this. My royal uncle Li Xun, my father and mother, and even my grandfather might have died because of this matter.”

Hearing those words, Yan Qing lowered his eyes to conceal the emotions welling up from the depths of his gaze.

Yet his tightly clenched hands still betrayed his current struggle and agony.

The more Wei Feng listened, the more unsightly his face became. “Is it because it involves the Meng family?”

Li Ji made no attempt to evade it. “Correct. That’s why I don’t want Xiaoxiao to get entangled in it any further. This is a black hole; no one can jump out of it completely unscathed.”

Li Xiao keenly caught the implication in Li Ji’s words, asking him, “You’ve also sent people to investigate?”

Li Ji: “Yes, though three have died one after another. Now only one remains, but the progress is extremely slow.”

Li Xiao: “Did they find anything?”

Li Ji: “Back then, someone indeed saw a military force bombing residential areas and attacking the garrison bases.”

“That wasn’t the Golden Feather Sparrow’s military force,” Yan Qing interjected, his tone exceptionally firm.

Li Ji looked over. “Currently, there is no evidence to prove it wasn’t the Golden Feather Sparrow.”

Yan Qing: “They had no reason to do that!”

Li Ji: “Where is the evidence?”

Yan Qing pointed to the photo in mid-air. “Wei Feng was getting along so harmoniously with the late King just three months before the incident. Why would he suddenly attack the Zifu Constellation?”

Li Ji: “That can only be counted as a suspicious point, not evidence.”

Eating his pastry, Song Jin heard the mention of bombing residential areas and asked casually, “Which planet was bombed?”

Li Ji: “Z152.”

Song Jin narrowed his eyes slightly.

What a coincidence.

The Golden Feather Sparrow had launched a coup locally, and they had also found the abandoned underground base there, along with the Golden Feather Sparrow soldiers nailed to stone pillars.

Li Xiao grew thoughtful.

In the files Yan Qing had organized, the blame for bombing the living areas was pinned squarely on the Meng family.

Was there an intentional attempt to cover up for the Golden Feather Sparrow?

Having finished his pastry, Li Ji looked back at Wei Feng. “Are you ultimately Wei Feng or not? With words having reached this point, what further need do you have to hide anything?”

The anger that Wei Feng had just managed to quell flared up again.

“I’ve said it already, I am not.”

Song Jin asked casually, “Then did you have plastic surgery?”

Wei Feng: “…”

Wei Feng walked over helplessly, propping both hands on the meeting table as he leaned close to Song Jin. “Look closely, this face is entirely my own.”

Song Jin roughly grabbed his jawline, inspecting it as if sizing up merchandise. “That’s hard to say. The Danse Empire’s medical care isn’t great, but their plastic surgery techniques aren’t bad.”

Li Xiao pulled Song Jin’s hand back, drawing a tissue to wipe it for him.

Wei Feng: “Why on earth would I reconstruct my face to look like someone else?”

“To have more credibility within the clan.”

Yan Qing raised his eyes, meeting the gaze Wei Feng threw his way. “Decades ago, Wei Feng was the undisputed leader within the Bique race. Many people in the Golden Feather Sparrow Legion joined the military just to follow him.”

Wei Feng stood up. “If you say my face is fake, then I can also say your photo is fake.”

Yan Qing: “My photo is real. As for your face, I wouldn’t know.”

Wei Feng: “Then how about a wager?”

Wei Feng looked at everyone. “If my face is real, each of you owes me ten million.”

The three including Li Xiao: “…”

Who cares about you.

Wei Feng: “If his photo is fake, he owes each of us ten million.”

The three including Li Xiao: “…”

You probably have some kind of misunderstanding regarding a public school teacher’s salary.

Yan Qing did not speak, pulling up another video from his terminal and projecting it.

The video perspective faced downward toward a toddler who had just learned to walk. A gentle voice could be heard outside the lens, laughing as it told the child to walk slowly.

The child stumbled down the corridor to a door, pushing it open with great effort.

Inside was the study from the previous photo. Wei Feng and Li Ye were each sitting on one side of the sofa talking about something. Hearing the noise, they simultaneously stopped their conversation and looked over. Seeing it was the child, a bit of a smile appeared on their originally stern faces.

That photo had recorded this exact moment.

Before the child could fully enter, the person outside the lens grabbed the child’s arm and repeatedly apologized to the two, preparing to take the child away.

“It’s fine, we’ve already finished talking.” Wei Feng set down his unlit cigarette and waved to the child.

The child seemed very happy, running over to throw himself against Wei Feng’s legs, and was quickly picked up.

The video finally froze on the frame of Wei Feng using a small pastry to tease the child.

Li Xiao was puzzled. “Who was the person filming this?”

Yan Qing: “My grandfather. The child in the frame is my father.”

Song Jin’s chewing motion froze abruptly, his expression turning increasingly subtle.

Li Xiao was just about to ask Yan Qing about his grandfather’s identity when he saw Song Jin turn his head to look at him.

Seeing the strange look on Song Jin’s face, Li Xiao opened a bottle of water and handed it over. “Choking?”

Song Jin had a deadpan expression. “On the surface, Yan Qing is your dad, but in reality, you are his father.”

Li Xiao: “…………”

What absolute gibberish.

Li Ji listened with a forehead full of question marks. “How did Xiaoxiao become Brother Qing’s father?”

Having swallowed the pastry in his mouth, Song Jin said in all seriousness, “Look, Wei Feng is Teacher Yan’s grandfather, but at the same time he is Xiao’s father. Rounding it off, Xiao is Teacher Yan’s father.”

The office fell silent for a moment.

Li Ji was so startled his voice raised by an octave. “What?!”

Yan Qing stood up abruptly. “How could that be?!”

“Holy crap!” Wei Feng clutched his hair and turned around. This world was getting more and more magical.

Song Jin scanned everyone. “Didn’t you all know?”

Li Ji: “How do you know?”

Song Jin: “A DNA test. If you don’t believe me, ask Xiao yourself.”

Li Xiao nodded. “Though it was confirmed entirely by accident.”

Wei Feng: “You’re talking about the Wei Feng in the photo, not me, right?”

Song Jin: “It was run using your DNA.”

Wei Feng: “…………”

Holy crap!

What the absolute hell was this situation?!

He had suddenly gained such a massive son out of nowhere, and a Second Prince at that!

Wei Feng suddenly recalled back on Z152 when Song Jin had asked him if he had a twin brother who was much older than him.

Had it already been discovered back then?

Wei Feng returned to the corner to light another cigarette, completely letting himself go and giving up on thinking.

Seeing that the faces of both Li Ji and Yan Qing were highly unsightly, Li Xiao asked in a low voice, “Neither of you knew?”

One was his biological brother, the other was the attendant who had looked after him since childhood—both were the people closest to him.

Yet both remained in a prolonged silence.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to answer, but rather they didn’t know how to answer.

When Li Xiao was born, Wei Feng had been dead for decades; it was impossible for him to become Li Xiao’s father through natural means. Leaving aside that Wei Feng, the one before them might have been less than fifteen years old eighteen years ago, and had grown up in a star pirate nest. Through what channel could he have become Li Xiao’s father?

No matter how one thought about it, it was an impossibility, yet it had happened anyway.

Li Ji was so furious he slammed a fist onto the table, gritting his teeth. “Meng Jian!”

Seeing that they were all having a hard time, Song Jin gestured for Li Xiao to come back and sit down, handing over a small pastry.

“They need time to think. Eat something, take a halftime break.”

Li Xiao took it and took a bite. Finding the flavor quite good, he held it to Song Jin’s lips. “It’s the one you like.”

Being fed, Song Jin took a massive bite without any reservation.

Taking advantage of the time Li Ji and Yan Qing were organizing their thoughts, Li Xiao looked toward Wei Feng. “Have you ever been to Zifu Constellation Z152?”

Wei Feng didn’t understand why he asked that. “Didn’t I just meet up with you guys there last time?”

“Not last time. Further back.” Li Xiao calculated the time and added, “When you were three or four years old.”

Wei Feng wrinkled his nose in distaste. “I’m well into my thirties. How could I possibly still remember things from when I was three?”

Li Xiao thought about it, trying to guide him. “Did you experience any extraordinary events? Like fleeing a disaster, or an explosion?”

Hearing those two terms, Wei Feng suddenly fell into a daze. Several memory fragments flashed rapidly before his eyes, yet he could only capture a pitch-black void.

So cold…

Seeing that his expression was off, Li Xiao pressed further, “What did you think of?”

Wei Feng shook his head. “I can’t remember.”

Song Jin observed his expression. “After a person undergoes a major traumatic event, it’s possible for the body to activate a self-protection mechanism, blocking out the memories that cause you dread and avoidance.”

Wei Feng looked over in confusion. “Are you that certain I underwent a traumatic event in my childhood?”

“We discovered a few things.” Li Xiao took over the conversation. “Though we must confirm your identity first before we can determine if our hypothesis is correct.”

Listening to their conversation, Li Ji grew more and more confused. “What did you discover?”

“Regarding the Golden Feather Sparrow Legion.” Li Xiao looked at Wei Feng. “Do you want to confirm whether you are the person in the photo?”

Wei Feng was stunned, instinctively looking at the photo.

Although it bore a face identical to his, it was not something he could bring himself to like.

If he and the person in the photo were the same individual, it felt as though everything he was had been stripped away by the man before him.

If he wasn’t himself, then what exactly did he amount to?

“How do we confirm it?” Wei Feng looked toward Li Xiao.

Li Xiao: “By trying to help you recover your childhood memories.”

Wei Feng had originally assumed this would require a long period of rehabilitation or perhaps psychological therapy. He hadn’t expected that right after the words were spoken, Song Jin would have him sit down while a metal sphere flew over, pressing against the center of his brow.

“What is this—urgh!”

Before the words could be finished, an electric shock suddenly shot through the center of his brow. In an instant, Wei Feng felt as though his skull had flown off, leaving the top of his head freezing cold and completely numb.

Fragments of memory flashed before his eyes.

Countless transparent containers stretched out without an end. He lay inside one of them, his body covered in tubes. The “people” in the containers to his left and right also had tubes attached to them, but strangely, they never turned their heads to look at him. Aside from their chests rising and falling, they never moved an inch.

Strange… why am I the only one who can move…

The tubes connecting his body led up to a high place, carrying a crimson fluid. The entire world was so quiet that only the sound of fluid flowing in and out remained.

Upon the dim dome, countless stone bird sculptures spread their wings menacingly, looking as though they might swoop down at any moment to carry him away.

So cold…

So scared…

He didn’t want to stay here…

An unknown amount of time passed.

The container suddenly opened, and a pair of hands pulled all the tubes from his body and carried him out.

He saw the world outside the container for the very first time.

Beside his ear, he heard this person say, “To think you actually broke through the genetic lock and grew into an infant. Truly extraordinary. Since you are here, you shall be called Wei Feng from now on—”