First Interstellar Guide Chapter 121: Extra 22: Parallel World; Spider Queen

Chapter 121: Extra 22: Parallel World; Spider Queen

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The rain had been pouring for a long time, until the sky gradually darkened, and Lu Zexuan finally stopped his movements contentedly. Xie Ran’s body felt weak, leaning against Lu Zexuan’s chest, gently panting. Lu Zexuan was worried he might catch a cold, so he hurriedly took off his coat and wrapped Xie Ran’s body with it. He stroked and tousled Xie Ran’s hair, asking softly, “Does it hurt?”

With his eyes closed, Xie Ran’s voice sounded slightly hoarse, “It’s okay, not very painful.”

The bonding heat had come suddenly this time, and neither of them were prepared. Combined with their lack of experience and the absence of any auxiliary medications in the desolate cave, Xie Ran must have been hurt by the process. Fortunately, he wasn’t afraid of pain, especially when the one marking him was the sentinel he had liked for many years. The pain was negligible.

Nestled in Lu Zexuan’s embrace, Xie Ran reached out and hugged his waist, saying, “From today onwards, you belong to me, right?”

Lu Zexuan’s heart warmed, gently kissing Xie Ran’s forehead. “Yes, I belong only to you.”

The light in the cave was very dim, and the two of them met each other’s eyes. Perhaps because their bodies had bonded, at this moment, they felt their souls were incredibly close. Xie Ran couldn’t help but raise his head and kiss his sentinel, and Lu Zexuan responded passionately.

The kisses afterward were devoid of any desire, gentle and pure, as if they were promises and confessions to each other.

After a moment, Xie Ran closed his eyes and said softly, “I’m so tired, I want to sleep for a while.”

Lu Zexuan held Xie Ran and brought him to the depths of the cave, sitting against the wall and letting Xie Ran sleep in his embrace. The white eagle and the fire fox kept watch outside, while the two masters embraced each other and slept in the cave.

To kill that monster, Xie Ran’s energy had exploded instantly, with numerous mental tendrils attacking the opponent’s brain, almost exhausting his mental energy. Just now, he had also been marked by Lu Zexuan, further depleting his strength. At this moment, he was completely exhausted and fell into a deep slumber as soon as he closed his eyes.

In the primordial forest, trees collapsed in clusters, flowers and grass withered in large numbers, leaving a mess wherever they went. He needed a good rest to recover his mental energy. In a daze, Xie Ran saw a white spot in the depths of the forest. That spot gradually converged into the shape of a fox. Xie Ran stared at this scene until the fox took shape and appeared complete before him.

It turned out to be a cute little white fox.

Xie Ran finally reacted. “You… are another spirit body?”

“Yes, master!” The little white fox spread its tail, and its green mental tendrils slowly repaired the damaged forest.

Xie Ran didn’t expect his spiritual world to be so powerful. At that time, in order to kill the monster, his mental energy had erupted instantly, awakening the nine-tailed fox. The potential hidden deep in the forest, combined with the energy left by his father and grandfather when they sealed it, formed another spirit body.

He now had two spirit bodies? Xie Ran was filled with shock and joy, but he was too tired. He soon fell asleep. He didn’t know how long he had slept, but countless beautiful memories emerged in his dreams…

When he woke up the next day, Xie Ran had a smile on his face. He was undoubtedly fortunate. He had many family members who cared for him since he was young, and he had a childhood friend, Lu Zexuan, who grew up with him. In this moment of crisis, Lu Zexuan fell into the wormhole with him, and they unexpectedly completed their bonding. He even gained the blessing of awakening two spirit bodies.

Xie Ran checked his spiritual landscape and found that, with the efforts of the little white fox, his mental energy had recovered rapidly.

Seeing Xie Ran looking puzzled, Lu Zexuan asked softly, “Ranran, are you okay? You slept for twelve hours.”

The day and night on this planet were different from the capital planet. Lu Zexuan calculated the time by the communicator on his wrist, and indeed, Xie Ran had slept for twelve hours. Lu Zexuan was very worried about him.

Meeting Lu Zexuan’s eyes, Xie Ran smiled slightly. “It’s okay. I expended too much mental energy yesterday and slept for a long time. The spiritual landscape needs time to repair itself during sleep.” He summoned the white fox and said, “Come, let me introduce you.”

The eagle, now small and perched on Lu Zexuan’s shoulder, widened its eyes when it saw the fluffy white fox appearing beside Xie Ran. “Your fox split into nine tails yesterday, right? How come it has turned into one tail, and the color has changed?”

Listening to its question, Xie Ran couldn’t help but laugh lightly and summoned the nine-tailed fox as well. “The nine-tailed fox is here, and the white fox is another one.”

The eagle was dumbfounded. “T-Two?”

Lu Zexuan was also surprised. “How come there’s an extra spirit body?”

Xie Ran explained, “Yesterday, in order to deal with that monster, my mental energy forcibly erupted, and the potential deep in my spiritual landscape was fully activated, awakening the second healing-type spirit body… I guess you could say it’s a blessing in disguise?”

Lu Zexuan looked at the two foxes with complex emotions. He had heard long ago that Ranran was exceptionally talented as a guide, but he never expected Ranran to awaken two spirit bodies in a moment of crisis.

This time falling into the wormhole had indeed been a stroke of luck. Not only had Ranran’s abilities greatly increased, awakening two spirit bodies, but Lu Zexuan had also marked his beloved because of the unexpected bonding heat. Once a sentinel and a guide bonded physically, they would be bound to each other and almost inseparable.

Lu Zexuan gently hugged Xie Ran’s shoulder. “That’s great. Your current mental energy is among the best in the entire Federation.”

Xie Ran didn’t care whether his mental energy was the strongest or not, but he knew that he needed to become stronger to protect the ones he loved. Now that he had awakened two spirit bodies, perhaps he also had more bargaining power when dealing with his elders.

He and Lu Zexuan had hastily bonded, which was not much different from “eloping.” Their parents would surely be angry when they found out, and they would have to figure out how to return to the capital planet. They needed to carefully consider what to say when they got back.

Xie Ran returned his thoughts and said, “That monster was killed by us yesterday, so the forest should be temporarily safe. Let’s go find some food.”

Lu Zexuan said, “You stay here and rest. I’ll go look for it.”

“I’ll go with you. If we encounter any trouble, the two of us together can handle it better,” Xie Ran looked at Lu Zexuan with a smile. “Besides, you can fly, so I won’t have to walk much. And my mental energy has already recovered.”

“Okay.” Lu Zexuan didn’t hesitate anymore. He hugged Xie Ran’s waist with his left hand and spread his wings, carrying him into the air.

After a thorough washing by the rain, the air in the forest was exceptionally fresh. The two flew over the area where they had fought last night and found that the vines had completely withered, and there were no traces of other beasts in the forest. However, many buzzing insects followed them closely.

Lu Zexuan frowned and said, “Are these bugs guiding us?”

Xie Ran also noticed this and looked down at his feet. “The red mist in the forest has opened up a path. Shall we go and see?”

Lu Zexuan said, “There might be something behind this red mist. Let’s be careful.”

The two continued to fly in the direction where the red mist had dispersed. Before long, they arrived at the depths of the red mist and saw a huge monster—a creature with eight long legs covered in red armor, with a lot of fur on its back and eyes as red as blood.

Lu Zexuan’s heart tightened. He immediately gripped his electromagnetic sword with his right hand. “Is it a spider?”

He had never seen such a huge spider before. It was almost the size of a tall building.

Before Xie Ran could speak, dense red threads suddenly fell from the sky, quickly forming a huge spider web that completely enveloped the two of them. Lu Zexuan immediately drew his electromagnetic sword, intending to cut the spider web, but the threads were coated with a strange adhesive that tightly wrapped around their legs like cocoons.

Lu Zexuan’s face changed, and he was about to launch an attack on the monstrous creature on the ground when Xie Ran suddenly said, “Zexuan, don’t attack it.”

Although puzzled, Lu Zexuan obediently stopped his actions.

“It’s communicating with me using mental energy,” Xie Ran extended his mental tendrils, trying to connect to its brain. After establishing a connection, he indeed perceived clear spiritual signals coming from its mind.

“Did you kill the devil vine and save my life?” the voice was very gentle.

“The devil vine?” Xie Ran quickly realized, “You mean the monster that attacked us with many vines?”

“Yes. It originally intended to attack me. But your blood attracted its attention and diverted its target,” the giant spider said gently, “You killed it and helped me eliminate this natural enemy. Let me help you heal.”

The red threads wrapped around their bodies, and the wounds on their legs and arms began to slowly heal. Lu Zexuan watched this scene in amazement.

After a moment, Xie Ran spoke, “It’s the leader of the spider clan on this planet. The monster we killed yesterday was its natural enemy. We accidentally saved it, so it’s helping us heal.”

Lu Zexuan couldn’t believe it. “An alien leader is helping us heal?”

Over the years, humans have killed many alien creatures in order to expand in the universe.

Sentinels were the frontline warriors, and Lu Zexuan had followed his elder brother to several alien planets during this time, witnessing firsthand the battles between humans and alien creatures. He never thought there would be an alien leader so friendly to humans.

Lu Zexuan looked at Xie Ran with complicated emotions. “You can communicate with it mentally and understand what it’s saying?”

Xie Ran nodded, “Yes. She’s a gentle mother. She just laid eggs yesterday, and we happened to save her, so she’s very friendly to us. These threads have healing effects, and she’s helping us heal our wounds.”

As the wounds on their legs and arms slowly healed, Lu Zexuan had to believe the incredible fact that a monster was helping humans heal. He looked at Xie Ran worriedly, “Can we trust this spider’s words?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve connected to her spiritual world and know what it’s thinking. It doesn’t have any malice towards us.”

Listening to Xie Ran’s words, Lu Zexuan finally relaxed and followed Xie Ran’s instructions, bringing him to the back of the Spider Queen.

Xie Ran seemed to like this spider very much, chatting with it through mental tendrils, and the Spider Queen even actively prepared some food for them. Lu Zexuan saw that it indeed showed no signs of aggression, gradually letting go of his guard.

A day passed quickly, with Xie Ran sitting on the Spider Queen’s back, gazing up at the sky lost in thought.

Lu Zexuan whispered, “Are you looking for a way back?”

Xie Ran nodded. “Yes. I want to determine a path out of here based on the constellations.”

His astronomical skills had always been outstanding, and Lu Zexuan quietly accompanied him, waiting for his observation.

After a moment, Xie Ran said, “This should be a planet in the Triangulum constellation. The gravitational pull of the cosmic wormhole is irreversible; we can’t return the same way. We’ll have to find a way to leave from the opposite direction. However, there are no human-established cosmic routes on the other side of Triangulum, so it’s uncertain if it’s safe… It seems we’ll have to stay here for a while longer and investigate carefully.”

Lu Zexuan replied, “This planet has plenty of oxygen, food, and water. Staying a few more days shouldn’t be a problem. However… your parents and my elder brother must be worried sick, watching us disappear into that wormhole, they might be searching for us everywhere.”

Xie Ran suddenly turned to him and asked, “If one day we can go back, how do you plan to explain it to your parents?”

Lu Zexuan paused. He and Xie Ran had already bonded physically and emotionally, but there were regulations in the Federation. The descendants of the Legions couldn’t marry each other; if they openly declared their relationship, they would be openly defying the rules.

Unless they both left their respective Legions.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Zexuan said seriously, “I’ve already thought about it. My cousin is also an S-rank sentinel, not inferior to me. I’ll persuade him and then convince my father to let my cousin become the heir of the Eagle Legion. I can leave the Eagle Legion and join the Starlight Legion. As long as I can be with you, I’m willing to do anything.”

Listening to his words, Xie Ran felt warmth filling his heart.

Years ago, when his father, Qin Luo, and mother, Xie Xi, fell in love, they couldn’t openly marry because one was the son of a Marshal and the other the eldest daughter of General Xie. Eventually, Qin Luo decided to hide his identity and came to the Xie family; his spirit body, the deep-sea jellyfish, never appeared in front of outsiders.

Xie Ran always thought the rule of “Legion descendants cannot marry” was unreasonable. The rebellion of the two major Legions 200 years ago didn’t mean that future Legions would rebel because of marriage. But for now, they couldn’t change this rule. If they wanted to be together, they had to make some sacrifices.

Xie Ran held Lu Zexuan’s hand, interlocking their fingers. He calmly said, “My thoughts are the same as yours. If you’re willing to give up your heir status for me, I’ll do the same for you. Apart from me, my aunt is also an S-rank sentinel. I believe she’s more suitable to be the heir. When the time comes, we’ll each leave our Legions, and it won’t be considered a marriage between the two major Legions, right?”

Lu Zexuan’s heart stirred, and he turned to embrace Xie Ran. He was planning for their future, and Xie Ran was doing the same. Perhaps, this was what mutual devotion meant.

In the future they planned, the most important thing was each other; they were both willing to make changes and sacrifices for the other. Compared to titles like “heir” and “Legion Commander,” what they cared about most was being with the person in their hearts until old age.

They embraced each other on the back of the Spider Queen.

Xie Ran said, “The road ahead may be difficult. We need to be prepared mentally.”

Lu Zexuan nodded, tightening his embrace gently. “Ranran, no matter how many people oppose us, I will never let you go.”