On the beach, Song Jin pressed relentlessly: “Where is your reaction speed? Put it out and fight me seriously!”

Li Xiao dodged while stepping back: “Even if I get fully serious, I can only tie with you. Didn’t you learn that the first time we met?”

“Bullshit!”

The more Li Xiao acted like this, the angrier Song Jin became. “If you can’t beat me tonight, I’m going back to the Empire tomorrow.”

Li Xiao: “…”

If I actually beat you, you’d probably be even angrier, wouldn’t you?

Li Xiao: “Is sparring on the beach supposed to be romantic?”

“To hell with romance, I’m fighting you to the death!” Song Jin’s strikes were vicious and violent.

Li Xiao: “…”

Fighting my spouse to the death—am I the stupid one, or has the world gone mad?

The ocean breeze blew, sending fine sand flying everywhere amidst their movements.

Li Xiao was fond of the fierce, lethal look the little lion possessed when fully focused on hunting. Beneath his messy hair, a pair of stunning yet murderous eyes was absolute lethality to him.

If it were any other time, he could play with the little lion to his heart’s content. But in tonight’s situation, whether he won or lost, he couldn’t soothe the other’s explosive temper. Either way, he was destined to lose.

“Fight back!” Song Jin spun around, throwing a kick straight at Li Xiao’s head.

Li Xiao’s backward lean paused slightly. He drew a faint, subtle breath, a fleeting expression of pain showing on his face.

When top experts sparred, not a single minute movement would escape the eyes of either party.

Song Jin asked in a cold voice: “Did you throw out your old back?”

Despite his harsh words, he still pulled back a bit of the force behind his kicking leg.

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao retreated two steps, his heels sinking into the sand as he nearly lost his footing, his breath somewhat hurried: “It’s nothing.”

Song Jin’s punch missed its mark. Changing his fist to a palm, he bypassed Li Xiao’s defense to sweep across his neck horizontally, then balled his fist again to strike toward his face.

They had sparred countless times and understood each other’s combat decisions and capabilities inside out. Song Jin knew full well that Li Xiao could easily dodge this move.

Yet, for some reason, Li Xiao paused again. Song Jin couldn’t pull his strike back in time; even after reducing his power, his fist still slammed into Li Xiao’s face with a heavy thud.

“Hss.” Li Xiao’s head snapped to the side, his teeth bared in pain.

“Why did you suddenly stop?” Song Jin knitted his brows, striding over to pull Li Xiao’s hand away to check his face. “Are your front teeth still intact?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao took his hand and pushed it away gently, saying in a low voice, “I’m fine.”

Song Jin slapped his hand aside and helped him rub the spot, growing increasingly agitated: “Why didn’t you dodge?”

Li Xiao looked at him, his voice soft and slow, tinged with a subtle, hard-to-detect trace of dejection: “If taking a punch can make you vent your anger, then it’s worth it.”

Song Jin maintained a foul face: “Speak human!”

Li Xiao acted aggrieved: “Couldn’t dodge it.”

How could anyone fail to dodge a random, casual punch?

Song Jin inadvertently noticed Li Xiao clutching his side. Pulling his hand away, he pressed against his ribs: “Pulled a muscle?”

Li Xiao pressed down on his hand, speaking with a hint of hesitation: “Took a minor hit when drawing the killers away.”

“You’re only telling me this now?!”

furious, Song Jin yanked up Li Xiao’s shirt to inspect the injury on his abdomen, his tone extremely impatient, “If I hadn’t noticed it, were you planning on never telling me?!”

Li Xiao gasped slightly, his voice dropping very low: “It was just a kick. It won’t hurt tomorrow. Right now, my face actually hurts more.”

Song Jin: “…”

Song Jin huffed coldly: “Who told you not to tell me? Serves you right.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Should have known. The cold-hearted little lion is completely immune to playing the pity card. A miscalculation.

Just as the thought crossed Li Xiao’s mind, he saw Song Jin lean in and press a kiss against the bruised side of his face.

Song Jin gently massaged Li Xiao’s injured side, blowing softly on his face: “Blowing on it makes it stop hurting.”

A subtle, shallow smile flickered deep within Li Xiao’s half-draped eyes.

It seemed it hadn’t been a complete failure after all.

Song Jin: “Will you dare keep things from me next time?”

Li Xiao: “Depends on the situation.”

Song Jin glared at him with a cold face: “Hmm?”

Li Xiao: “I’ll definitely tell you.”

The wind on the beach was strong. Fearing the wind would blow up beneath the shirt hem and give Li Xiao a cold, Song Jin said, “Back to the tent. Have 09 switch to treatment mode to shine some light on you.”

Yet Li Xiao didn’t agree, wrapping his arms around Song Jin to pull him into his chest: “This way it won’t be cold.”

Song Jin’s anger meter plummeted by 50%. Suppressing the upward curl of his lips, his tone was much better than before: “You like me rubbing it for you?”

Li Xiao turned his face to lean close: “My face needs it too. If you don’t blow on it again, it’s going to swell up.”

Song Jin: “Do you know how to write the words ‘don’t push your luck’?”

Li Xiao: “You hurt me, so you have to take responsibility for me.”

Song Jin gave a snort-laugh: “Then I might as well land a few more punches and take responsibility all at once.”

“Hss…” Li Xiao winced in pain, his hands on Song Jin’s waist tightening.

Seeing this, Song Jin immediately eased his strength: “How about now? Does it hurt?”

Li Xiao shook his head: “Why were you unhappy tonight?”

Speaking of this, Song Jin put on a foul face again, feeling extremely displeased as he recalled it. In a few brief sentences, he recounted the event of being saved by Li Xiao in the corridor.

“You never take it seriously when sparring with me normally. Do you look down on me?”

Li Xiao had tried to guess the reasons behind the little lion’s anger.

Was tonight’s ritual performance too boring?

Or perhaps he really was jealous of Jiang Chi?

Or because he drew the killers away, forcing them to split up midway?

He hadn’t expected the kid’s point of anger to be so bizarre—even jumping from him not sparring seriously to assuming he wasn’t serious about their relationship, which led to doubting his motive for asking him to “give an answer after careful consideration,” and finally labeling him a scumbag.

The little lion was sharp as a tack most of the time. Li Xiao felt it had little to do with emotional intelligence, looking more like a beast’s raw instinct.

Song Jin knitted his brows: “Silent again? Did I hit the nail on the head?”

Li Xiao spun a lie with a straight face: “The situation was dire back then. I was risking my life to save you, which was why I reached that extreme speed. How could I pull that off every single time?”

Song Jin was clearly skeptical: “Really?”

Li Xiao nodded: “As for asking you to consider carefully before answering… I just don’t want you agreeing carelessly, only to regret it later.”

Song Jin observed his expression: “What if I really do regret it?”

Li Xiao: “Once you nod, I won’t give you the chance to regret it.”

Song Jin gave a faint huff: “Is this letting me consider an answer? You’re giving me a choice between obediently being captured by you or forcibly being captured by you.”

Li Xiao: “Pretty much.”

He didn’t even deny it.

Song Jin said nonchalantly, “Even if you’re an old man, you don’t lack a single bit of the possessiveness an Alpha ought to have.”

Li Xiao: “…You don’t like it?”

“I like it.” Song Jin pulled Li Xiao over to kiss him. “Though let’s correct one thing: I was the one who captured you.”

Just as they were about to kiss, Li Xiao backed away. Under Song Jin’s dissatisfied gaze, he spoke with a dejected tone: “You said you didn’t want me anymore. Was that from the heart? I’m deeply hurt.”

Song Jin snapped back, his eyes narrowing slightly: “Are you pretending to be pitiful?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao knitted his brows: “Do I look like I’m pretending?”

The hit to Li Xiao’s face had left it flushed red, and the loss and grievance in his eyes was almost tangible. His emotions were displayed far more openly than usual, making him look more like a young man.

It was Song Jin’s first time seeing this side of Li Xiao. He suddenly felt that this person might not be as distant as he had imagined.

“Hurt over just this? Are you made of tofu?” Song Jin bit down on his lips in one motion. “A prey I caught with such difficulty—how could I just throw it away?”

The two gave chase to each other like playfighting.

Li Xiao backed away, turning the tables to bite down on his lower lip: “So, have you thought of an answer?”

Song Jin felt his way up along his abs, taking the opportunity to take advantage of him, unable to hold back a soft chuckle: “We’ll talk about it later. Watching your reaction while waiting for an answer is quite entertaining, too.”

Li Xiao: “…”

He learns fast.

Jiang Chi, who had sat down and watched the entire process: “…”

Every pot finds its cover.

The Little Prince really is a master at handling his fierce consort.

By the time Li Xiao and Song Jin returned to the tent, Zhan Yue had nearly finished organizing the intelligence in his hands.

Seeing them return, Zhan Yue was still a bit fearful—mainly because among the group, he was the only one wearing just a pair of shorts, making him look completely improper.

“Let’s begin.” Li Xiao sat down.

Zhan Yue: “The Golden Sparrow Corps’ bombing of my tribe seventy-six years ago was entirely premeditated! Six months before the bombing, clan members saw a group of people dressed like scholars frequently entering and leaving District 68. Back then, no one knew what they were there for, but looking back, it must have been Bique people scouting the area!”

As he spoke, Zhan Yue projected a video.

“This was a video circulated in a chat group at the time.”

Li Xiao looked over.

It was a grocery-shopping group. Looking at the dialogue, it was all casual chatter. Someone sending the video into the group seemed to be just casually chatting about it, and the topic died down after a few lines.

West Village’s Fairest: 【Seen them several times recently. Seeing them carrying boxes, are they here to test the water quality?】

High Mountains & Flowing Water: 【Looking at the uniforms, why do they look like forensic examiners? Did someone’s family have a murder case?】

Xixi’s Mom: 【Forensic examiners wouldn’t come multiple times, right? Besides, if someone died, how could we not hear a single thing?】

Idle Clouds & Wild Cranes: 【Looks like they’re from some research institute. Next time we run into them, why not just go ask?】

The video’s angle was shot from a high floor looking down. On a street in a residential area, there were five men and women dressed in white uniforms, carrying a metal box in their hands, discussing something in low voices as they walked.

Li Xiao immediately thought of what Yan Qing had said regarding the Qu tribe.

Nearly a century ago, an infectious disease had broken out among the Qu tribe, causing over half the population to die or suffer injuries. People dressed similarly to research institute staff had also been spotted active nearby back then.

“How many times were they spotted? When was the most recent time?” Li Xiao pressed.

“Twenty-eight days before the bombing.”

Seeing that there was hope, Zhan Yue hurriedly projected other videos and image files. “These were all organized after the fact. Very little data could be found; most of it was destroyed in that bombing.”

What displayed on the virtual screen were various chat groups, with different people posting the videos, having merely passed it off as an insignificant topic.

Both Li Xiao’s and Song Jin’s expressions turned grim.

With the example of the Qu tribe preceding this, they could reasonably speculate that these people were also developing some sort of virus targeting the Gaofeng tribe.

However, since they were already preparing a virus study, why did they suddenly bomb District 68 in such a direct manner?

Compared to a bombing, biochemical means were far more covert and much harder to detect.

Or was it merely a coincidence?

Song Jin asked Zhan Yue: “After the incident, did you hand this matter over to the military?”

Zhan Yue: “We did, but no matter how many times we submitted it, the answer we received was always telling Grandfather and the others not to be impatient, that it would be handled—yet it was never handled.”

Zhan Yue projected another wave of data: “These were online news reports from back then. After causing a stir for a few days, they disappeared completely. From beginning to end, the military only issued a single announcement regarding the relocation of refugees and subsequent reconstruction, without mentioning a single word about why the Golden Sparrow Corps bombed District 68!”

Li Xiao read through it all.

“How did you know back then that the ones who bombed District 68 were the Golden Sparrow Corps?”

Zhan Yue: “The garrison posted an announcement one day after the bombing, stating they had been attacked by the Golden Sparrow Corps. But the announcement vanished very quickly. Afterward, no matter what hot topic reached the trending searches, it would be suppressed. Oh right, this—”

Zhan Yue searched through his terminal for a moment, projecting another window.

On the screen was an online announcement issued by the Royal Family back then. Spanning two full pages, its general meaning was that the Golden Sparrow Corps had collided with Z152 due to force majeure, resulting in heavy civilian casualties and the sacrifice of all corps warriors. The Royal Family would establish a special investigation team to conduct an accident investigation.

The second page consisted almost entirely of compensation for the victimized public.

Zhan Yue spoke in an indignant tone: “They said they were going to investigate, but we waited for decades without ever getting the results of that investigation!”

Li Xiao reviewed all the materials bit by bit.

The trending searches began on the second day after the bombing and ended on the fifth day. After the Royal Family published that announcement, all related content was completely cleared out.

His grandfather suppressing the matter wasn’t just destroying content on the internet—even military archives were destroyed, as if trying to hide something.

Standing from the perspective of the Meng family, judging by the garrison’s announcement of being attacked by the Golden Sparrow Corps, one could see that Meng Jian hadn’t wanted to cover it up. Yet after his grandfather stepped in, Meng Jian didn’t take any counteractive measures either.

Was it because his strength was insufficient back then, or was suppressing the matter beneficial to Meng Jian as well?

Li Xiao: “Are there any more intelligence reports from the bombing back then?”

Zhan Yue opened another folder and projected the videos. Only five remained; the rest had been deleted.

Song Jin: “Deleted?”

Zhan Yue: “Back then, the garrison issued an announcement and conducted checks across various public areas, claiming it was to avoid causing greater panic. Citizens were forbidden from freely spreading bombing videos from the scene. Once discovered, they would be thrown into prison for disturbing public order.”

Song Jin clicked his tongue: “They deleted them just because they said so?”

Zhan Yue: “We didn’t know things would turn out like this either! With such a huge incident occurring, everyone was immersed in fear. The only ones we could rely on were the local garrison and the Royal Family—who knew they would only suppress the news!”

Li Xiao looked at the five videos.

The sky was densely packed with fighter jets and mechas—all military-grade weaponry. Ordinary citizens couldn’t distinguish friend from foe at all.

Seeing Li Xiao looking puzzled, Zhan Yue explained them one by one: “The Golden Sparrow’s fighter jet unit bombed the residential area first at three in the morning.”

As he spoke, he pointed at the second video: “The garrison’s fighter jet unit arrived there one after another at three fifteen in the morning.”

Next was the third video: “The Meng family’s Viper Corps arrived around five in the morning, beginning to drive off the Golden Sparrow’s fighter jet unit.”

The fourth video: “The main force of the Golden Sparrow Corps invaded around five-thirty in the morning, engaging Viper in combat. After surrounding District 68, they indiscriminately bombed the buildings in the residential area…”

“Wait.”

Li Xiao interrupted Zhan Yue, “Are you saying that Fighter Jet Unit A came first, then Corps B arrived to drive A away, and finally Corps C arrived and engaged B in battle?”

Seeing Zhan Yue nod, Li Xiao repeated the question once more: “Are you sure about this sequence?”

Zhan Yue nodded emphatically: “Extremely sure! That incident back then was a knot in the hearts of our entire tribe. The intelligence in our hands has been confirmed repeatedly.”

Li Xiao let out a soft sigh, looking toward the fifth video.

The fleets on both sides were ascending, gradually leaving the battlefield.

Zhan Yue immediately explained: “Seeing that they couldn’t win, the Golden Sparrow Corps tried to flee and was pursued by Viper. We inquired through various channels and heard that they engaged in battle outside the airspace, and Viper defeated Golden Sparrow!”

Listening to this, Li Xiao completely disagreed.

The reality was precisely the opposite.

The second corps to appear was Golden Sparrow, while the third one that came in and immediately bombed the residential area was actually Viper.

Viper had been beaten into retreat by Golden Sparrow and was preparing to flee, only to be pursued by Golden Sparrow. During the combat, the garrison base deployed a large number of troops, which were wiped out by the combat units split off by Golden Sparrow.

It wasn’t hard to tell from the five videos that Golden Sparrow had been truly powerful back then.

Facing a corps of similar scale plus the garrison’s military strength, though they suffered considerable losses, they still maintained a dominant stance overall.

Yet after giving chase, they were completely wiped out.

There was only one possibility Li Xiao could think of: Golden Sparrow had been ambushed.

Back then, there had been a third or even fourth corps on the battlefield besides Golden Sparrow and Viper.

The entire combat process stationed at Z152 lasted a day and a night—a duration neither too long nor too short.

The combat process would disrupt communication systems, making normal external contact impossible. But a duration this long was more than enough for Viper to call for reinforcements. Could Golden Sparrow really not have considered this point?

Song Jin: “Had you submitted these videos back then as well?”

Zhan Yue said dejectedly: “Everything submitted is gone. These were missed ones that unexpectedly managed to be saved.”

Song Jin: “Has anyone else seen them over these years?”

Zhan Yue shook his head: “After making a fuss for over a decade with no results, people gradually stopped going. As the older generation passed away one after another, fewer and fewer people paid attention to what happened back then.”

After saying that, Zhan Yue suddenly thought of something and added: “No, wait, someone did see them! Thirty years ago, Prince Li Xun came looking for Grandfather. I was only five years old back then. It seems these videos were unexpectedly dug up precisely because he wanted to investigate!”

Li Xiao’s expression shifted subtly.

If he could see the issues, had Li Xun also seen the issues back then?

What else had Li Xun investigated, and where had the intelligence collected back then gone?

Out of the corner of his eye, a ray of light flashed past. Li Xiao cast a casual glance.

Song Jin was intently watching the contents across dozens of screens, extracting information points, unconsciously scratching his ear.

The light just now was the ray refracted under the lamp light by the silver ring on the tip of his ear.

So it comes in a pair?

The last time I saw it was over thirty years ago…

The words spoken by the school doctor, Ye You, echoed in Li Xiao’s ears.

Why had Ye You specifically brought up the earring? Was it merely because he remembered a late friend and mentioned it in passing?

He had a photo of Li Xun and Yan Qing in his possession—could he possibly have other things as well?