Marshal Kevin had a sneaking suspicion that his student was trying to pull the wool over his eyes.
After all, who in their right mind would believe that a cat eats stones? He hadn't been born yesterday!
"Anyone who's made it past seventh grade knows that energy crystals are the hardest minerals in the known universe," Marshal Kevin declared. He prided himself on being a well-educated man, thank you very much.
Ji Xiuyun wasn't the least bit surprised that his teacher refused to believe him. If he hadn't witnessed Yue'an devouring a huge pile of crystals with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it either.
Yue'an gazed at Marshal Kevin, then rolled off Ji Xiuyun's lap and jumped to the floor, shaking out his fur. Ji Xiuyun watched as Yue'an bounded towards the box containing the energy crystals, instantly realizing what the cat was up to.
Marshal Kevin, however, paid no mind to Yue'an's actions. To him, his bond with his student was far more significant than some ancient Earth creature. He was convinced that his pupil must be hatching some grand scheme - and a dangerous one at that.
This was no laughing matter - they were talking about over 500 energy crystals here!
While 500 energy crystals might not seem like much to Ji Xiuyun, the fact that he wasn't satisfied with his own substantial reserves and was out buying more in bulk surely indicated that something was amiss.
Others might not be aware, but Marshal Kevin knew all too well just how productive that energy crystal mine on Ji Xiuyun's planet was. He was also painfully aware of where all those crystals ended up after the mandatory contributions to the Empire and export quotas were met.
Didn't they all flow straight into Ji Xiuyun's legions? Did people really think the title "God of War's Army" was earned through sheer luck? It took vast amounts of battle experience and enormous resources to build such a formidable force!
Setting aside Ji Xiuyun's private stores, at least two or three of the warehouses belonging to the seven legions under his command were solely dedicated to stockpiling energy crystals!
With Ji Xiuyun's reputation, if he truly harbored rebellious intentions, he could easily overthrow the entire Xintus Empire's 18 major star systems. At the very least, he could swiftly conquer and stabilize an entire star system before the Empire had time to react.
Marshal Kevin was well aware that Ji Xiuyun was displeased with how the Empire's political faction shielded those bigwigs in the Research Department who kept butting heads with him.
Both Ji Xiuyun and Marshal Kevin had their fair share of covert operations to trip up their opponents.
Everyone involved was perfectly aware of this situation, but using it as an excuse to overthrow the current peaceful regime and plunge the nation into chaos was absolutely unacceptable.
When Ji Xiuyun had gone missing previously, the upper echelons of the Empire had been even more anxious than the military - internal power struggles were one thing, but losing a key figure like that would escalate into a major external crisis.
They all understood this distinction crystal clear.
Marshal Kevin also knew that his student had suffered injustices over the years, which was directly reflected in his adamant refusal to return to the capital star except for extremely important matters, always using the excuse that "Marshal Kevin, the Shield of the Empire, must guard the capital star."
"If you're really that upset and itching for a fight, the Freedom Army in the 18th star system has been causing trouble again. Once your Silver Blade is rebuilt, go chase them down," Marshal Kevin advised earnestly.
"Rashly plunging the country into chaos is not the answer."
Ji Xiuyun was at a loss for words. It really was just cat food.
He swore that while he did have grievances against the Empire's political faction, he had never harbored any inappropriate thoughts of rebellion.
All these years, he had only ever shown deference to the Emperor alone. This wasn't out of some antiquated notion of loyalty to the crown, but simply out of a desire to protect himself and safeguard the peace of this nation.
He was born and raised here, expanding the Empire's borders and quelling rebellions out of love for his homeland and a desire to carry on his parents' will.
Ji Xiuyun's parents were ordinary civilians living in a border star system of the Empire, childhood sweethearts since they were young.
When they were children, they had a brush with death during a border skirmish. It was the young Marshal Kevin who arrived just in time to block the shot that would have ended their lives.
After the incident, the two resolutely joined the military. Regrettably, despite their best efforts over several decades, they were unable to leave the border planet and join the core legions on the capital star on their own merits.
In the end, it was Ji Xiuyun, who had joined the military with his parents at a young age, who demonstrated exceptional talent. He rose through the ranks from the remote border planet to achieve a military rank high enough to be transferred to the core legions on the capital star.
Afterwards, his parents unhesitatingly joined Marshal Kevin's legion along with Ji Xiuyun.
His parents' genetic grade and psychic power levels weren't sufficient to join the frontline troops of the Empire's core legions, so they were ultimately assigned to logistics.
During one of Marshal Kevin's inspection visits, Ji Xiuyun's parents finally had the opportunity to face their benefactor and express their gratitude.
It was also during that visit that Ji Xiuyun, after bursting out of the Research Department in a mad dash, was swiftly apprehended by the rapidly-arriving Marshal Kevin and unceremoniously hauled back to his own troops.
Marshal Kevin had a particularly deep impression of Ji Xiuyun's parents.
They were a young couple who harbored an incredibly intense love and passion for everything in this world.
At least in Marshal Kevin's memory, out of the thousands upon thousands of civilians he had saved, they were the only ones who had gritted their teeth and spent decades working their way up as soldiers just to stand before him and express their gratitude. And through their own hands, they had in turn saved countless lives.
The sacrifice of Ji Xiuyun's parents also left a profound impact on Marshal Kevin.
Until the very end of their lives, this young couple, who had barely lived past a hundred years, fought with every ounce of their strength to protect an orphanage in the war zone, ensuring that not a single child there suffered fatal injuries.
Just as Marshal Kevin had protected them years ago, they now protected these children.
They said: These innocent children are the ones who should never die because of war.
The oldest child in that orphanage at the time has now fought his way into Ji Xiuyun's legion, defeating all competitors at a young age to become the commander of the Seventh Legion, directly under the command of his benefactor's only child.
Marshal Kevin once thought that this must be what people mean by "the heart of a child," and that this too must be what inheritance truly means.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
It was Marshal Kevin who prepared the bodies of those two young people for burial, Marshal Kevin who handed their ashes to Ji Xiuyun, and Marshal Kevin who silently accompanied Ji Xiuyun through that most difficult period after losing his parents.
This is why Ji Xiuyun has always maintained absolute trust in Marshal Kevin, and why Marshal Kevin has always treated the exceptionally talented Ji Xiuyun with special favor and imparted all his knowledge to him.
Marshal Kevin believed that a child raised and educated by two people who maintained their kindness and gratitude towards the world until their dying breath should be just as sincere and passionate as his parents.
Ji Xiuyun did not disappoint their expectations. He willingly took up the will of his parents who sacrificed themselves for the country, and felt proud and honored to do so.
However, it seemed that anyone who knew even a little about the situation thought that Ji Xiuyun had led a bitter and resentful life, full of hardships from a young age, with a painfully tragic personal history.
Even Marshal Kevin felt that these experiences were too cruel for Ji Xiuyun.
It's just that Ji Xiuyun never showed it, so he chose to remain silent, seeing through but not speaking of it.
But taking the wrong path because of this was absolutely unacceptable.
Marshal Kevin still hoped that after he passed away, when he met Ji Xiuyun's parents, he could happily tell them: Your child is extremely outstanding, he hasn't let you down, he has become the beacon of hope for the Empire!
Now this beacon of hope looked like he was about to start a rebellion!
How could that be allowed?!
Absolutely not!!
Marshal Kevin gazed at Ji Xiuyun's expressionless face, his tone impossibly gentle and heartfelt: "If you're really that upset with those Research Department folks, just have a word with the Emperor. No matter how difficult it might be for him, he'll absolutely have to give you an explanation. After all, you've given him plenty of face since his coronation all these years. He'll have to make a decision one way or another."
Of course, if Ji Xiuyun were to actually do this, the Emperor's attitude towards him and the military would undoubtedly shift.
In all the years since Ji Xiuyun's promotion to Marshal, he had never made any demands of the Emperor. It was always the Emperor showering him with wealth, honors, and status, while Ji Xiuyun simply accepted orders to wage war or quell rebellions.
War was never a good thing.
But human ambition is ever-expanding. It's either you swallow me or I conquer you. Show any softness, and your opponent will think you're weak and vulnerable, ready to send a squadron to test your borders the very next moment.
In the end, a pecking order must be established before things can truly settle down and people can get on with their lives in peace.
As Ji Xiuyun listened to his teacher expounding on life's great truths in a tone so gentle it sent chills down his spine, he finally decided to interrupt Marshal Kevin's forceful dispensing of chicken soup for the soul.
"Teacher," he said, "it really is cat food."
"Nonsense!" Marshal Kevin slammed the table. "I've read the documents. What kind of cat eats stones?"
Ji Xiuyun paused for two seconds before replying: "...Mine does."
"Meow." Yue'an pushed a spirit stone with his little paw, rolling it all the way over. He then squatted in front of Marshal Kevin and meowed at him.
Marshal Kevin lowered his head to look at the little furball sitting on the plush carpet.
Yue'an was truly an adorable cat.
His snow-white fur was slightly long, making him look like a soft, fluffy ball. His coat was sleek and shiny, resembling transparent snow under the sunlight. Only his ears, where the fur was slightly sparser, showed a hint of adorable pink when illuminated.
Those cat eyes were bright and clear. When he stared at someone with his eyes wide open, they were so lively it seemed as if he was constantly begging for attention and playtime.
Marshal Kevin's heart instantly melted into a puddle.
Then he watched as this soft, fluffy little ball reached out a paw to hold down the energy crystal, lowered his head, and with a crunch, took a small bite out of it.
Marshal Kevin: ...
Marshal Kevin: ????
... Holy crap!
That scared the living daylights out of me.
Ji Xiuyun reiterated: "It really is cat food."
Marshal Kevin watched as Yue'an flopped down on the carpet, hugging the energy crystal with all four paws, licking and biting it. He swiftly devoured the entire energy crystal that had puzzled research scientists for two hundred years, as easily as if he were eating candy.
Marshal Kevin: "..."
Holy crap.
It felt like a dream.
The doorbell rung by the delivery robot interrupted Marshal Kevin's shock.
The tall and sturdy Ji Xiuyun went to open the door, blocking the robot's detection head and not revealing any glimpse of the living room.
Then he pulled in a food cart.
The vast majority was ordered for Yue'an.
It's worth noting that this was paid for with Ji Xiuyun's own salary.
Ji Xiuyun placed the dishes from the cart on the table, filling it to the brim, then looked at his teacher and his cat.
Marshal Kevin, who had lived for over two hundred years, met his student's gaze, stood up with his milk, sat down at the dining table, and quickly employed his level 99 topic-changing skills.
"That's great news, actually. I was just worrying about how to investigate this matter," he said. "Yesterday afternoon, that little guy from the Research Department came to see me. Said the enemy of my enemy is my friend, wanted me to set you up. To show his sincerity, he even leaked some information to me."
Ji Xiuyun paused in the act of sitting down and turned his head to look at his teacher.
"He said they intend to have me lead an expedition to..." Marshal Kevin hesitated for a moment, "conquer the Empire's nineteenth star system."
Ji Xiuyun frowned, showing rare emotion: "Preposterous!"
Marshal Kevin's current physical condition was not suitable for the front lines, let alone leading an expedition to expand territories.
No one knew better than Ji Xiuyun, who had experienced it firsthand, just how fierce the resistance would be when conquering a star system.
"The Freedom Army in the 18th star system hasn't been pacified yet. If I go on the expedition, you'll inevitably have to stay on the capital star to hold the fort," Marshal Kevin's sense for war was no less keen than Ji Xiuyun's. "The target star system borders the 18th. If you can't stay in the 18th system to suppress the Freedom Army, my rear will be unprotected."
Ji Xiuyun pressed his lips together: "They're sending you to your death."
"What they want is for the public to hate the target star system. That way, you can legitimately send troops in my name for revenge," Marshal Kevin picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, seemingly unconcerned. "They've already considered who will succeed me, but... I'm sure they're getting cold feet now."
Ji Xiuyun watched his teacher's nonchalant demeanor, his brow gradually relaxing.
"That Research Department guy leaked their recent plans to me, and right after that, someone suspected to be from the military started buying energy crystals in bulk on the capital's black market. What do you think they'll assume?"
Marshal Kevin grinned: "They'll definitely think that when the order is issued, it'll be time for me to start a rebellion."
"The Research Department guy who leaked the information is certainly in for big trouble, I tell you."
Marshal Kevin happily ate his food, even enthusiastically patting his student's shoulder: "Well done! You're not spending money on anything else anyway, being the cold fish you are. Your salary card must be piling up like a mountain, right? Keep buying! Don't chicken out!"
Ji Xiuyun thought about it but still decided not to tell his teacher that Yue'an could actually be self-sufficient.
After all, Marshal Kevin was the type who handed over his entire salary card to his wife and had to pitifully beg her for pocket money.
Simply put, although Marshal Kevin's salary and benefits were enormous, he still harbored a subtle resentment towards the wealthy.
If his teacher knew about Yue'an's money-making abilities, who knows, he might sneak in one night and take Yue'an home for a few days to enjoy the benefits.
It's worth noting that Marshal Kevin had once secretly bought a game and then came over to use Ji Xiuyun's bio-capsule to play it.
The main reason was that Marshal Kevin was strong, healthy, and handsome, which made his wife very insecure. She wouldn't let him play fully immersive virtual games, fearing that one day he might be unfaithful.
Marshal Kevin doted on his wife, so when he really wanted to play, he would sneak over to Ji Xiuyun's place to indulge a bit.
Ji Xiuyun had even seen Marshal Kevin's virtual avatar - a scruffy, unkempt vagrant old man. When he stood in the virtual community, he was the type that would make girls within a ten-meter radius walk around him.
Marshal Kevin was still chattering away about his daily life to Ji Xiuyun.
Ji Xiuyun occasionally responded with a word or two, not really engaging in the conversation - he really didn't have much to contribute, but listening to the sweet and sour, topsy-turvy daily life between his teacher and his wife felt quite heartwarming.
Yue'an was very interested in the glass of milk that Marshal Kevin still hadn't drunk. He was very curious about how the milk in this era differed from Earth's milk.
Although cats are lactose intolerant, he was a supernatural being after all!
Yue'an swished his tail, looked at the two humans at the dining table, and when Ji Xiuyun and Marshal Kevin were engrossed in their conversation, he stealthily stretched his head towards the glass while no one was paying attention to him.
Just as his little head was about to touch the glass, a large hand moved the milk away.
Yue'an looked up and met Marshal Kevin's smiling handsome face.
"Want to drink this?" he asked.
Yue'an let out a sweet, coquettish meow: "Meow~"
Ji Xiuyun looked at his teacher, then at Yue'an, and stood up to walk into the kitchen.
The remaining man and cat paid no attention to him.
Marshal Kevin looked at Yue'an, while Yue'an looked at the milk.
Marshal Kevin said: "Then let me squeeze your paw."
Yue'an stretched out his left front paw.
Marshal Kevin squeezed it satisfactorily, then said: "I want to squeeze the right one too."
Yue'an withdrew his left front paw and stretched out his right front paw.
Marshal Kevin squeezed it again: "Now let me rub your belly."
Yue'an turned his head and howled at Ji Xiuyun, who was coming out of the kitchen with a glass of milk: "Meow! Meow-ow!!!"
Now I believe he was taught by you!!
This mischievous nature is exactly the same!!!
Absolutely shameless!!!