Chapter 44: Into the Imperial Palace
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
The little egg bun trembled. Yun Yinghui wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but at that moment, the little egg bun looked especially frightened.
Between the two baby buns, the little bunny looked a lot like Yun Yingzhi. Maybe because of that, whenever Yun Yinghui looked at the little kit, he couldn’t help but see him through a soft filter. But even then, he couldn’t shake the subtle feeling that the little kit might have been bullying the egg bun.
No, no. The little kit was just a tiny, delicate little thing—how could he possibly break an incubator? Clearly, the incubator’s quality was just poor. At the same time, the egg bun reacted incredibly fast. This little one, who often liked to hop and spin in circles, rolled to the edge of the incubator the instant the glass window cracked.
The bunny bun let out a little “da,” as if he wanted to pounce on the trembling egg bun. Thankfully, the selectively blind and hopelessly biased uncle, Yun Yinghui, moved just in time—grabbing the little kit.
The little kit blinked, dazed for a moment, then looked up at Yun Yinghui with his big, dark, shiny eyes. Their gazes met.
After another second of blank confusion, the little kit’s tiny body wobbled, then he weakly fell onto his back, letting out a soft “da,” looking utterly pitiful and helpless.
Yun Yinghui reached out, gently scooping the trembling egg bun from the corner of the incubator, and called for the nurse to replace the broken unit.
Soon, the nurse arrived with a new incubator and asked in confusion, “How did this one suddenly break?”
While they talked, Yun Yinghui held the little kit in one hand and the egg bun in the other. The little kit blinked, waited for the right moment, then leapt toward the egg bun in his other hand.
Yun Yinghui’s eyelid twitched. He assumed the little kit only wanted to play, so after a short hesitation, he set both little ones down together. Almost instantly, the egg bun rolled and rolled until he reached the edge of Yun Yinghui’s palm.
The little kit let out another “da” and rolled right after him. The egg bun grew upset, a ripple of spatial energy fluttering around his shell—only to be immediately suppressed by the little kit.
The nurse, being an ordinary human, couldn’t sense any of the power fluctuations between the two babies. “Good thing the little egg wasn’t hurt,” she said lightly.
Yun Yinghui didn’t mention how the incubator had broken. He just said gently, “Please make sure to line it with a thicker pad.” The egg bun loved to bounce around so much that every time Yun Yinghui saw him doing it, he couldn’t help worrying he might crack himself open.
The nurse found the request odd but didn’t question it. She simply added a thick layer of padding. When she looked back, she saw the little kit sprawled right on top of the egg bun.
Yun Yinghui’s eyelid twitched again. He could feel the egg bun trembling in his hand— So timid, this little egg.
The little kit gave the egg bun an affectionate lick. Yun Yinghui, recalling how animals often groomed their young, assumed this meant the little kit must truly love the egg bun deeply.
He conveniently forgot what had just happened a moment ago and softly stroked the little kit’s fur. “Xiao Jiaojiao, I know you like Xiao Taotao,” he said gently, “but Xiao Taotao needs to stay in the incubator so he can hatch faster. Let him go, okay?”
The little kit didn’t want to let go, but under Yun Yinghui’s strength, he had no choice but to separate from his beloved egg bun. Still, he didn’t get angry. He just lay weakly on Yun Yinghui’s palm, looking heartbreakingly pitiful. But when Yun Yinghui wasn’t looking, the little kit turned his head toward the egg bun and let out a small, sharp “aw!”
“Jiaojiao?” Yun Yinghui called softly. The bunny bun froze for a beat, then replied in a soft, milky “da.”
Yun Yinghui couldn’t help but smile and stroked him again, thinking the little one was just unbearably cute. Inside the incubator, the egg bun jumped twice in anger. A faint ripple of spatial energy pulsed—but was instantly suppressed by the little kit again.
It happened every time without fail. The supposedly weak and gentle bunny kit perfectly countered the mischievous little egg bun. Yun Yinghui found it fascinating.
Even as a level-nine esper, he couldn’t always detect every trace of spatial fluctuation—it wasn’t possible to guard against them endlessly. Yet the little kit seemed hyper-aware of them, reacting faster than he could. Whenever the egg bun stirred up ripples of space energy—probably wanting to find his dad—the little kit shut it down faster than Yun Yinghui could react.
To Yun Yinghui, the little kit was clearly the more obedient of the two. Before long, it was nine o’clock. It was the sixth day of the Starshine Competition preliminaries. Yun Yinghui figured Yun Yingzhi must already have arrived at the arena. What a pity—he couldn’t go watch because he had to care for the two babies.
As he thought that, Nangong Qing and the others arrived at the hospital, saying they were there to help take care of the two buns.
After this period of bonding, both little ones were still more attached to Yun Yingzhi, but they had grown comfortable with the doting Yun Yinghui too. However, they still hadn’t warmed up to Nangong Qing and the others.
Nangong Qing could hold the little kit for about a minute—any longer, and the little one would start to cry. The cries of the slightly older bunny kit had grown softer than when he was first born. Tears streamed down his cheeks, falling with soft, pitiful little sobs that tugged at everyone’s heartstrings.
If Nangong Qing and the others didn’t hand him back to Yun Yinghui soon, he might very well end up peeing on them out of distress.
Nangong Qing timed it perfectly and returned the little kit to Yun Yinghui. The moment he was back in familiar hands, the little bunny—who had just looked like he was about to cry—immediately perked up, rolled over in Yun Yinghui’s palm, then turned his gaze toward the egg bun. A wave of spatial energy flickered, and once again, he neatly sealed the space around the incubator.
It was the first time Nangong Qing and the others had ever seen the little kit’s impressive ability, and they couldn’t help gasping in amazement. The little kit couldn’t understand the adults’ words. His big, bright eyes stayed fixed on the egg bun as he let out a chirpy “aw!”
The egg bun rolled and rolled until he bumped into the glass wall of the incubator. Nangong Qing looked at the little kit and asked, “Why does Xiao Jiaojiao make that sound?”
Before Yun Yinghui could respond, the little kit blinked his dark eyes at Nangong Qing and softly said, “da.”
Jia Qingwan picked up the little kit, who had rolled to the edge of the glass, and said curiously, “Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like Jiaojiao always says ‘aw’ to Taotao and ‘da’ to us?”
Following her words, everyone in the room turned their attention to the little kit. The little one didn’t understand what they were talking about, but he knew they were calling his name—“Jiaojiao.” Hearing it, he gave another soft, milky “da.”
About a minute later, he started to cry again, and Jia Qingwan quickly returned him to Yun Yinghui’s hands. Once back in his familiar spot, the bunny bun turned to look at the egg bun and let out another “aw.”
Jia Qingwan couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. Nangong Qing poked the little kit’s forehead. “You little bully,” he teased, “always picking on Taotao.”
The little kit tilted his head toward Nangong Qing and replied with a sweet “da.” Inside the incubator, the egg bun gave a tiny hop. The little kit’s eyes lit up. He turned to the egg bun and called out, his tone clearly excited. “Da!?”
“Wow, did Jiaojiao just ‘da’ at Taotao?” Jia Qingwan said in surprise.
“They seem like they can understand each other,” Nangong Qing added, astonished.
“I wonder what they’re saying,” Jia Qingwan said curiously.
“They might have come to some kind of agreement,” Nangong Qing guessed.
While everyone was still speculating about what was going through the two little ones’ minds, Yun Yinghui spoke up. “My father just contacted me. Please watch the babies for a bit.”
He said this as he gently placed the little kit into Jia Qingwan’s hands.
The bunny bun looked up at him. “Da?”
Yun Yinghui stroked his soft fur and said, “Be good, Jiaojiao. Keep an eye on Taotao for me. Uncle will be right back, okay?”
“Da?” the bunny bun asked again. Yun Yinghui gave him another pat, then turned toward the door. The bunny bun’s eyes immediately filled with tears. His tiny body tensed—and then, with a single powerful hop, he leapt onto Yun Yinghui, clutching at his clothes with his little paws and feet.
Yun Yinghui quickly caught him and steadied him, then gently placed him back in Jia Qingwan’s arms. “Be good, Jiaojiao. Uncle will be right back,” he said softly.
Tears rolled down the little bunny’s cheeks again. Yun Yinghui quickened his pace and stepped out of the room. The little kit cried so miserably that Nangong Qing and the others immediately surrounded him, trying to comfort him.
Then— It all happened in an instant. While the little bunny sobbed his heart out, none of them noticed what was happening in the incubator. The glass door suddenly opened. The egg bun quietly rolled out, soft and silent as a whisper.
Then— Before anyone could react, the weeping bunny kit made a perfect leap and landed squarely on the egg bun’s shell. Everyone froze. It was too late.
A surge of powerful spatial energy burst out, and in the next moment, both the egg bun and the little kit vanished. The room fell silent. Then Shan Junyu’s spatial ability spread across the entire hospital. “Track them!” he ordered sharply.
Across the First Imperial Hospital, espers felt the pulse of his power. Some cursed under their breath; others, not wanting trouble, kept their mouths shut.
Jia Qingwan’s eyelid twitched. “…Shit,” she muttered.
“Fuck,” Nangong Qing said dryly. They all had the same thought: the little kit and the egg bun were a perfect, disastrous pair. At that moment, they could already see the future—Yun Yingzhi… no, not just him. All of them were destined to have endless headaches because of these two mischievous little ones.
As they thought that, Yun Yinghui’s communication signal came through. Nangong Qing immediately opened the line. In the projected video, Yun Yinghui’s expression was cold and stern as he asked, “What happened?”
Jia Qingwan frowned and said, “Jiaojiao kept crying, and we relaxed our guard around Taotao. We don’t even know how Taotao got out of the incubator. After that, Jiaojiao must have come to some kind of agreement with him—he jumped right onto Taotao, and then…” She paused before continuing, “Taotao carried Jiaojiao off and ran away.”
Yun Yinghui took a deep breath. “We’ll track them through the spatial fluctuations.”
Nangong Qing said, “The two little ones must be looking for Yingzhi. We might want to check the Starshine Competition venue.”
Yun Yinghui hesitated. “Taotao doesn’t really know the way.”
With Yun Yinghui in the lead, everyone set out to search for the two troublesome little ones. The little kit clung tightly to the egg, occasionally licking him. The egg trembled slightly and kept manipulating his spatial ability, running wildly toward the direction that carried a familiar scent. Every time the teleportation paused, the little bunny began bossily gesturing and squeaking commands, telling the egg where to go.
Obviously, the egg didn’t follow those directions. The little kit grew angry and let out several sharp “Aow!”s.
In the blink of an eye, the egg brought the little bunny to a busy pedestrian street. The two cubs were simply too tiny. At first, no one noticed them. Then the little bunny gave an angry “Aow!” at the egg, and heads began to turn. Someone in the crowd exclaimed, “Look! That little rabbit hugging an egg—it’s so cute!”
At the sound, the little bunny immediately shut his mouth.“Is it someone’s pet? It looks newborn—so tiny!”
Seeing the crowd, the little bunny grew scared. He clutched the egg even tighter and murmured a soft “Da.” The egg hopped twice, then used his spatial power again, taking the little bunny with him in a blink of light. The crowd froze, stunned by what they had just witnessed.
“What… what was that?”
“That tiny rabbit just used spatial ability?”
“Was that a real rabbit, or a youngling’s second form?”
“A space-ability awakened rabbit child?”
As whispers rippled through the street, the egg had already carried the little kit into a quiet alley. When the bunny saw there were no strangers, his fear vanished instantly, and he started gesturing again, bossing the egg around.
The egg endured it for a while, then finally lost patience. In the next moment, one bunny and one egg rolled into a chaotic tangle, scuffling clumsily.
The little kit lost a few tufts of fur and looked rather pitiful—but he won. He gave a proud little “Aow!” and licked the egg again.
The egg bounced twice, then resumed teleporting with the little bunny. Almost the moment they vanished, Shan Junyu and Yun Yinghui arrived where the two cubs had last been seen.
Shan Junyu sighed. “It’s not that I can’t track them—it’s that the little egg really doesn’t follow normal routes.” He paused. “He keeps jumping through restricted zones. He’s small and ignorant enough to get away with it, but if I try the same, it’ll look like a direct provocation to the major clans.”
Yun Yinghui drew in a slow breath. “Keep chasing.”
Suddenly, Shan Junyu’s expression shifted to something complicated. Yun Yinghui’s eyelid twitched. He had a bad feeling.
Shan Junyu said, “…Taotao just carried Jiaojiao into the Imperial Palace.”
Yun Yinghui: “…”
Shan Junyu added, “There are many spatial espers inside the palace. They probably won’t be able to get out.”
Yun Yinghui paused. “I’ll go there myself.”
Shan Junyu said, “I’m going with you.”
Under the little kit’s chaotic “guidance,” the egg teleported them into a pavilion. The instant they appeared, waves of spatial energy rippled outward. Every inch of space around them sealed shut.
Here, the egg couldn’t use his ability at all. He hopped anxiously and nudged the little kit. The little bunny blinked his dark, shiny eyes, sniffled, and wrapped his tiny paws and feet around the egg, holding on tightly. The two of them trembled together.
Not far away, a group of uniformed ability guards approached from all directions, their footsteps synchronized. The little kit clutched the egg even tighter, shaking harder than before. At last, the guards surrounded them completely. The leading guard frowned. “…The intruders are these two little things?”
The little kit’s tears fell in fat drops, making him look heartbreakingly pitiful. The egg nudged him again, a silent gesture of comfort. The little bunny cried even harder.
Then— Somehow, within the sealed space, the egg forced another teleport, carrying the little kit away once more.
One of the uniformed guards blinked. “Impressive little guy—he broke through my space lock.” He immediately chased after them.
Later, as the guards recalled what they’d seen, they couldn’t help but think both the rabbit and the egg had looked pitifully helpless. Wait… why did they even think the egg looked pitiful? Wasn’t that supposed to be the rabbit’s food? A rabbit carrying around his own rations?
The more they imagined it, the more they felt that poor little egg looked even sadder than before. The little egg tried to teleport himself and the little kit out of the heavily guarded palace, but suddenly he hit an invisible barrier that shattered his ability and forced him to appear midair. He couldn’t speak, but the little kit—who could somewhat sense his thoughts—let out a panicked cry. “Da-da-da woo-woo Aow!” QAQ!
Tears welled up in the little bunny’s eyes as he clung tightly to the egg and looked straight ahead. What he saw was a large hand reaching toward him. The little kit wanted to run with the egg, but he was far too small and weak. The next moment, both of them were scooped up easily.
The man holding them was extraordinarily handsome—silver-haired, violet-eyed, and looking to be in his thirties. Truly handsome. At first, the two little ones struggled in his grasp, but when they sensed who it was, they suddenly froze.
The man, dressed in ornate royal attire, gently cupped them in his palm. The little bunt hugged the egg tightly and looked up at him, blinking wide-eyed. From the aura radiating off the man, he instinctively sensed something—this person was powerful. Dangerous.
No one could tell what the little kit was thinking, but suddenly, he released the egg and flopped onto his back in the man’s palm, all four paws in the air. In a soft, trembling voice, he called out, “Da?”
The little white egg rolled twice until they bumped against one of the bunny’s tiny paws. The bunny patted the egg softly, as if secretly trying to comfort him. The man let out a quiet “Hm?” and turned his gaze toward the egg.
The egg trembled under that sharp, assessing look. The little bunny blinked his big eyes and, still lying on his back, wrapped both paws and feet around the egg, holding him tight again. To the man, the two tiny creatures looked like they were clutching each other in fright—small, fragile, and utterly pitiful.
“Was it you who used the spatial ability?” he asked softly. He cradled the bunny in one hand and lifted the egg in the other. Neither cub resisted. The egg remained motionless, and the bunny’s tears started falling again. He sat up, gazed at the egg anxiously, then looked back at the man with pleading, intelligent eyes.
Amused, the man smiled faintly. “Born in second form, not even hatched, yet already able to manipulate space? A remarkable little thing.” He could feel them both trembling in his palms.
Footsteps approached. Soon, a group of uniformed guards entered. The lead one bowed respectfully. “Your Majesty.”
The silver-haired, violet-eyed man gave a light nod. “Find out whose children these two are.”
The guards bowed and withdrew. Emperor Jarren carried the two cubs into the palace, attendants following close behind. “Summon the Imperial Consort,” he ordered.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The little bunny couldn’t reach the egg in Jarren’s other hand. Nervously, he hugged one of the Emperor’s fingers instead. Compared to the bunny, Emperor Jarren’s attention lingered more on the egg. His gaze kept drifting that way.
Others might not have realized it, but he could feel the truth. The way the egg had used his spatial power—it was of the same origin as his own. Most likely, this little one was related to him. Still, he had to admit—the rabbit was the more endearing of the two. Soft, fluffy, and full of charm.
Jarren’s eyes flickered as he looked at the bunny again. The tiny creature met his gaze, and pink heart bubbles practically floated in the air as he tried to act cute. Survival instinct—adorableness was a weapon.
Jarren sat down on the sofa, placing the bunny on his lap while keeping the egg in his hand. The egg possessed a space ability identical to his own—he knew better than anyone how dangerous that was. A single slip, and one could break through almost any barrier.
The egg lay perfectly still in his palm, pretending to be dead. The bunny, set on Jarren’s lap, looked up at him, then at the egg. He wobbled toward it, inch by inch.
Moments later, a man entered with several attendants—a strikingly handsome figure, the Imperial Consort of the Loos Empire, himself a SSS-ranked ability wielder. The instant he stepped inside, his gaze was caught by the adorable rabbit perched on the Emperor’s leg.
The bunny was simply too cute. He struggled up onto Jarren’s hand and wrapped both his paws and feet around the egg. The Imperial Consort smiled, eyes soft. “Is this little one… hugging his food?”
At that, the bunny gave the egg a little lick. Jarren paused, glancing up at the Imperial Consort. “No. This egg is a second form.”
The Imperial Consort blinked, taken aback. He walked over and sat beside the Emperor, gently taking the rabbit into his own hands. Even if the egg was an unhatched second form, the Imperial Consort clearly preferred the fluffy, affectionate bunny.
“This little egg has already awakened a spatial ability,” Jarren said calmly. The Imperial Consort stroked the bunny’s chin tenderly. The bunny gave a soft hum of contentment, but his eyes kept drifting toward the egg—as if trying to figure out how to crawl back over to him.
“It’s the same space ability as mine,” Jarren added. The Imperial Consort froze, violet eyes widening in shock. “Your Majesty… you’re saying—”
Before the words could turn dangerous, Jarren cut him off quickly. “My queen, you should be thinking of Elvis.”
“Elvis?” the Imperial Consort echoed, startled. Just then, an attendant stepped forward. “Your Majesty, Your Grace—the Yun family’s Colonel Yun Yinghui requests an audience.”
Jarren and the Imperial Consort exchanged glances. Still holding the docile rabbit, the Imperial Consort looked at the egg with a puzzled expression. “What’s he doing here?”
“Let him in,” Jarren said. The Imperial Consort seemed to recall something. “Didn’t Elvis confess to the Yun family’s younger son before? That boy’s second form was…” His eyes fell again on the rabbit, soft and white. “…a little white bunny, wasn’t it?”
Both their hearts began to race. The bunny glanced once more at the egg, then turned to hug the Imperial Consort’s finger, rubbing his face against it affectionately. “What a sweet little one,” the Imperial Consort murmured.
Just then, Yun Yinghui entered, guided by an attendant. He bowed respectfully to both Emperor and Imperial Consort.
The instant the rabbit heard Yun Yinghui’s voice, his eyes lit up. Tears spilled down his cheeks. Gone was the obedient, docile act—instead, he gave two sharp cries, “Aow! Aow!” Then, to the astonishment of everyone present, he rolled, tumbled, and launched himself straight into Yun Yinghui’s arms.
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