Jiang Lijin snapped back to reality, studying the white-haired, red-eyed man in front of her. Tian Que stood there eating meat skewers, his posture rigid and methodical, taking one bite at a time.
She recalled Tian Yan's calculating, fox-like demeanor, and her perception of the twins unconsciously changed.
On the outside, Tian Yan was a black-hearted merchant dealing in arms and intelligence, the number one criminal on the Empire's wanted list.
But in the Silent Sun Galaxy, he used that dirty money to hold up a protective umbrella for the homeless across the stars.
Exiles, aliens, mutants—anyone the Empire discarded, he took them all in.
Jiang Lijin let out a soft chuckle.
The two found a quiet corner and sat down on a clean stretch of stone steps. Clusters of small purple flowers grew in the crevices of the steps. She didn't know what species they were, but they squeezed through the cracks in the stone, blooming vibrantly even beneath a sunless sky.
This was a rare sight in an interstellar era where resources were depleted and vegetation had almost vanished.
The streets were bustling with people, with all sorts of bizarrely shaped races weaving through the crowd, but everyone wore a relaxed and kind expression rarely seen in the outside world.
There was no strict hierarchical order like in the Empire, no class discrimination carved into their genes.
Here, there were no S-ranks or C-ranks; everyone could haggle at the same stall.
[Host, I noticed that the mental energy fluctuations of the residents in this galaxy are all very peaceful.] Xiao Yi chimed in weakly. [There are no individuals with abnormal rampage indexes. Even those few males who clearly have combat trauma have their emotional fluctuations controlled within a safe threshold.]
[It shows that the living environment here has a positive effect on mental energy.] Jiang Lijin narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Your brother sent you out. What's your mission?" Jiang Lijin looked at Tian Que.
"To counsel you," Tian Que answered bluntly.
Jiang Lijin was amused. "What exactly did he say?"
"He said the boss is in a bad mood today, so I should take you out to spend money and say some nice things to coax you." Tian Que bit off the last piece of meat and accurately tossed the bamboo skewer into a trash can ten meters away.
"So how do you plan to coax me?"
"I don't know how to talk, and you don't need it anyway." Tian Que turned his head. "You aren't the kind of female who can be fooled by a few sweet words."
"You're certainly more honest than your brother," Jiang Lijin commented.
"He overthinks everything; it's a tiring way to live." Tian Que's tone was flat, stating a simple fact. "I don't like beating around the bush."
The white-haired, red-eyed young man sat on the steps, his posture upright.
He didn't have Tinia's clingy fawning, nor Chiron's step-by-step calculations, let alone Baal's condescending arrogance.
He was straightforward to the extreme. He didn't ask why, didn't set conditions, and perhaps... wouldn't leave himself a way out.
"What if I want the entire black market intelligence network?" Jiang Lijin asked half-jokingly.
"That's his stuff." Tian Que pointed in the direction of the courtyard. "If you want it, go rob him yourself. I'll help you hold him down."
Jiang Lijin burst out laughing.
The bond between these brothers was truly earth-shattering. He was ready to sell out his own brother's assets without a moment's hesitation.
"Let's go." She took a step forward, a genuine smile finally gracing the corners of her lips. "Since your brother told me to come out and spend money, it would be a disservice to his sacrifice of staying behind to stall Chiron if I don't spend big."
Tian Que followed, his footsteps still lagging half a pace behind.
At the end of the market was a shop specializing in rare rough stones and precious medicinal herbs from the outer galaxies. The storefront wasn't large, but upon entering, one would discover a three-story underground structure, with every floor packed full of rarities.
Jiang Lijin walked in, browsing aimlessly. Tian Que dutifully followed beside her, acting as a mobile ATM and bodyguard.
Whenever Jiang Lijin took a second look at a high-level healing spiritual plant—said to aid in mental energy restoration and alleviate the rampage syndrome of 3S-rank males—he swiped his card.
When they came across astronomically priced rough stone blind boxes capable of stabilizing mental energy, costing two hundred thousand each, Jiang Lijin remarked, "These are quite interesting." Without batting an eye, he pulled out the money: "I'll take them all."
The shop owner's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
[Host, host! That blue rough stone is so pretty!] Xiao Yi suddenly popped up.
[...You're awake again?]
[I wasn't asleep... I just wasn't talking... and then I heard you were shopping... hehe.]
Jiang Lijin was speechless. So this little thing hadn't been resting properly at all and had been secretly eavesdropping the whole time.
But she didn't chase it back.
[That blue one isn't a rough stone. It's a psionic crystal, used as the core material for mental energy stabilizers.]
[Oh... then can it be used as a decoration? The blue is so beautiful... If only I had hands, I could wear it on my wrist...]
Jiang Lijin fell silent for a second.
"I'll take this blue one too," she said to the shop owner.
Tian Que swiped the card without hesitation. Of course, the card he swiped belonged to Tian Yan.
Finally, they even donated a large sum for renovation fees to an alien orphanage. The orphanage was right next door to the shop, taking in alien children who had lost their parents in the wars.
The director, an elderly, one-armed female, had red-rimmed eyes when she saw the transfer amount. She held Tian Que's hand and thanked him repeatedly.
Being held by the hand, Tian Que stiffened for a moment. His expression cracked just a fraction, barely noticeable. He seemed unaccustomed to being thanked, nor was he used to such close contact. But in the end, he didn't pull his hand away.
Jiang Lijin's mood improved bit by bit. Getting along with Tian Que was actually very relaxing; there was no need for suspicion or guardedness.
As long as she didn't speak, Tian Que could go a whole day without saying a word, yet his presence never made her feel ignored.
He silently stood as a shield between her and all the disturbances of the world.
By the time they returned to the courtyard, the sky had completely darkened, the purple canopy shifting into an inky blue.
In the courtyard, Tian Yan and Chiron were still sitting by the stone table. Scattered documents and data pads lay before them, and the atmosphere was tense. Judging from the subtle pressure permeating between the two, their afternoon of cooperation had likely been quite unpleasant.
Hearing footsteps, Tian Yan was the first to look up. A sharp glint flashed in his green eyes before a smile surfaced.
"The boss is back." He stood up and stretched lazily. "Did you have fun shopping?"
"It was alright. You've built a nice place here." Jiang Lijin sat down directly on the stone stool beside them.
The compliment was understated, but Tian Yan heard the underlying meaning. She had seen it—she saw everything he had done for this planet, saw that the black market wasn't just about smuggling arms and peddling intelligence.
And that was exactly what he had wanted her to see.
The curve of Tian Yan's lips became a bit more genuine.
Chiron looked at Tian Que, then swept his gaze over Jiang Lijin's back. He keenly noticed that the sense of irritability clinging to Jiang Lijin had vanished.
The gloom that had weighed on her brow this morning had largely dissipated; she had regained control over her emotions. Even though the person who brought about this change wasn't him.
Tian Que walked up to Tian Yan and reported the expenses expressionlessly: "Twenty-three million."
Tian Yan's smile froze.
"What did you say?"
"Twenty-three million," Tian Que repeated, not changing a single word.
"What did you buy?" Tian Yan lowered his voice through gritted teeth, the amusement in his green eyes shattering completely.
"Whatever she wanted. Eight high-grade spiritual plants, the entire stock of mental energy raw stone blind boxes, and a psionic energy crystal." Tian Que paused before adding expressionlessly, "I also made a small donation to the orphanage."
Tian Yan rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a long, heavy sigh.
Still, if it meant putting the boss in a fantastic mood, the money was well spent.
"Restrain yourself next time." Tian Yan patted Tian Que on the shoulder.
Tian Que shot him a deadpan look. "As long as she is happy."
Tian Yan's hand froze in midair.
