Ye Muo felt fireworks going off in his chest again. He had a new understanding of happiness. Happiness was this moment. He couldn’t help but tightly grasp Norton’s clothes with his free hand.
He was happier than not being in pain, happier than when he got to fill his stomach, happier than being able to take a nap in a sunny spot in the lounge.
As his mood gradually stabilized, so did the psychic power that had slipped out.
Norton breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn’t want to sustain resonance for too long before ascertaining what effect it had on Ye Muo, even if it always left his own psychic power at ease afterwards.
The heavy burden of their phenomenal psychic power was felt by each Grantz even as teens. However, any relief he gleaned from this method made Norton feel like he was devouring his own flesh and blood to prolong his own life.
Norton tried to end the resonance early, gradually guiding Ye Muo’s psychic power back to his psychic domain with no intention of going in any deeper.
In contrast to the easy-to-manage Ye Muo, his psychic power was exceptionally rebellious. They were almost night and day.
Ye Muo quietly lay on his shoulder. He wasn’t paying his own psychic power much mind.
At his age, he couldn’t feel much pressure from them or control them all that well either under normal circumstances. They always seemed to have a mind of their own, just like a cat’s tail. Aside from the pain he felt from being deprived of soothing, Ye Muo acted like they didn’t exist for the most part. He didn’t even know what was wrong most of the time. Before Norton came and took him away, he thought it was normal to chronically be in pain and endured it as best he could.
Ye Muo was in the mood to play again. He started rolling the marble around in his hands.
Bert and Flynn quietly watched them interact.
Bert was silent for once.
Flynn could only draw his conclusions from their conversation. Whatever he was thinking, there was a deep sadness in his eyes. Even his blond hair that glowed gold under the sunlight seemed to become dull.
Norton was also frowning slightly.
Only Ye Muo was carefree, playing with his marble. Even just rolling it around was fun for him.
Then the marble slipped out of his grasp again.
Ye Muo instinctively tried to catch it, even unintentionally kicking Norton a little. The little psychic power that hadn’t been corralled back by Norton yet responded to his unconscious desire.
His psychic power reached down as he did. He didn’t manage to catch it, of course.
But his psychic power did, extracting only the most useful parts.
The marble hit the floor again. Yet instead of bouncing away like before, it shattered into countless tiny fragments that glittered in the light.
Then, the psychic power Norton was about to guide back became active again. Counting on the fact that Norton’s psychic power wouldn’t be too forceful, they forcefully rushed out again and cheered.
Ye Muo’s psychic power weren’t satisfied yet, so they swept through the entirety of the palace.
All of this happened in an instant.
Now, Ye Muo’s psychic power was suffusing the entire palace and arrogantly proclaiming their presence.
Ye Muo blinked blankly before returning his hand to Norton’s shoulder. He looked at Norton, unaware of what just happened.
ććā¦ā¦
The heads of all the Grantz in Bert’s office shot up.
Adrian had been sitting cross-legged on the floor, going through his collection out of boredom. He fished out a handful of beautiful crystals and admired them for a while before grabbing some more.
He liked their brilliant colours, the sound they made as they clinked against one other and that ice cold sensation on his hands. It was a hobby of his to re-organize them whenever he had the time. Even the box he stored him in was picked for its decorations.
Adrian was still holding a handful of crystals when he frowned and looked in Ye Muo’s direction.
Ye Muo’s psychic power suffused the entire palace.
“That’s Muomuo. Did something happen?”
“Should we steer clear?”
“What about Big Brother?”
No one dared to act rashly, but Ye Muo’s psychic power didn’t intend on playing nice. They had already forced their way into each of their psychic domains without sparing a single one.
Compared to last time, which was more procedural and subdued, Ye Muo’s psychic power was much more overbearing now.
This was Ano and Adrian’s first time experiencing this. Their pupils shrank sharply.
It was rare for a Grantz to invade each other’s psychic domain, especially since they tended to keep their distance from one another.
It wasn’t entirely unheard of, but it usually happened in combat and was almost inevitable when trying to suppress a berserk Grantz.
Only another Grantz could infiltrate a Grantz’s psychic domain. They were both completely incompatible and undeniably interconnected like this.
Helene and Dylan tacitly each put a hand on Ano and Adrian’s shoulders respectively.
“Relax.”
“Don’t fight it. Don’t hurt him.”
The Grantz were confused, but they tacitly decided to let Ye Muo’s psychic power do as they wished again, even Ano and Adrian.
Who would’ve expected the psychic power of such a naive and easily fooled child to be so domineering? They acted willfully, like a little lion without a fear in the world striding through the pride, slapping and biting as they wished. The adult lions could only get up and get out of their way, only to have to hover nearby for fear that something would go awry.
Yet just as suddenly as they had come, Ye Muo’s psychic power retreated for some reason.
What happened? I mean, it should be fine since Big Brother’s with Ye Muo…
Adrian thought before Aria tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned to see Aria pointing over his shoulder at the crystals in his hands. There was nothing wrong with them?
When he absentmindedly glanced down, the shocking sight made him shoot up to his feet.
The sizable box that was once brimming was now half full of broken shards.
The only part of his collection that remained intact were the ones in his hand.
Adrian didn’t know whether to grieve his collection or figure out what happened first.
The fragments in the box suggested all the energy had been sapped from the crystals, but an entire box of them was enough to power the 800 legion warships until the end of time.
ććā¦ā¦
Ye Muo’s psychic power returned to the hall and obediently hovered in place.
Both Norton and Bert breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it didn’t last that long this time, maybe that meant there was less impact.
Ye Muo’s psychic power was far too reckless and willful, and there was almost no way to deal with it without harming Ye Muo. There was no way to quickly interrupt them, you had to take your time guiding them instead.
As if they calmed down after having their fill of fun, the psychic power followed Norton’s guidance like a sated cat, shifting a bit whenever they were poked. Eventually, they returned to Ye Muo’s psychic domain without incident.
Yet Norton’s brows remained furrowed. Ye Muo’s psychic power seemed to have grown stronger, which wasn’t a good sign. Since he was already showing signs at his age, his psychic power growing stronger would only speed up the spiral.
Bert also watched Ye Muo with a serious expression. It seemed his plan to divert the others as far from the palace as possible would have to be sped up. Only Norton, who was needed to give Ye Muo psychic soothing, could remain. This way, the impact on Ye Muo would be minimized.
He turned to Flynn, “Flynn, check againā”
Bert paused and gave the man a second look. He slowly frowned. “What is it?”
Flynn was looking up with a stunned expression. He turned to Bert. It took him a while to regain his voice.
There was an unusual glimmer in his eyes. He didn’t seemed to believe what he was saying, “The progress…reversed.
Flynn became so emotional he started stumbling over his words, “No, it’s disappeared entirely. For His Little Highness, I mean. I can’t feel any signs at all.”
Bert exchanged a look with Norton before they both turned to Flynn. “Are you sure?”
“100%! There’s no way I would over look signs like that. They rapidly progressed at first before reverting to zero.”
Bert and Norton turned to Ye Muo.
Ye Muo was still staring at the remains of his marble. He looked up, only to realize everyone’s eyes were on him.
Confused, he glanced at everyone in turn but no one moved. Ye Muo felt like he couldn’t look at them all, so he buried his face in Norton’s shoulder and turned his back to them. “Muomuo won’t look then.”
Moments later, Bert bowed his head. His shoulders shook before he reared back and started laughing loudly.
Ye Muo looked up again before burying his face even more, a little unhappy. “Don’t laugh at Muomuo.”
After a moment of thought, he raised his voice a little, “Don’t bully Muomuo!”
Bert’s laughter stopped. He covered his eyes with one hand, his prayers having been answered in abundance.
He almost felt like he had to lose something in exchange. He wouldn’t be surprised if the price was his own life.
Even so, he would accept this exchange in the blink of an eye. It was almost laughably easy.
Ye Muo didn’t hear anything for a while, so he started looking around again. The sight of Bert standing there quietly was also kind of strange.
He subconsciously glanced at Norton, only to find Father was also looking at him with stars glittering in his eyes. Ye Muo put his head down again.
Everyone was acting so strangely, he thought as he pressed his cheeks to Norton’s.
Oh well, Muomuo liked it just fine.
ććā¦ā¦
Bert’s office.
Bert put his feet on the desk.
Ano was standing next to Ye Muo, complaining loudly, “Why didn’t anyone tell me? Even you, Big Sis Aria??”
Aria turned from photographing Ye Muo to snap a picture of him as well. Her camera was a vintage model with flash. Ano angrily slapped her hand away.
Ye Muo was sitting at Norton’s feet, showing him a handful of colourful fragments that seeped out from in between his fingers. “Pretty. Muomuo’s.”
Adrian pushed his beautiful box a bit closer to Ye Muo. It was just a box of glittering sand at this point. Ye Muo was leaning over and digging deep into it.
Jacob was on the ground for once. He was deep in thought. “It’s a bit small, no? If we transfer the sand to a bigger container, Ye Muo could go in and play with it. Actually, it might be better to set everything up outside. How about on the lawn?”
Dylan helped hold the box down for Ye Muo so it didn’t tilt over. “So a sandbox then?”
Bert tossed another document to Helene. Ignoring her vigorous protests, he turned to Adlet. “I’m thirsty, Adlet.”
Flynn and Adlet were standing together, checking something on their holomind.
“One moment, Your Majesty.”
Flynn stepped up first. “I’ll go. Is tea okay?”
“No, I want juice. What are you two working on? There’s nothing left except for this pile, right, Flynn?”
Bert nudged the stack on his desk with his shoe.
Adlet was sketching away with pen in hand. “Crystals can be placed in the eyes on every sculpture, the frames of the paintings and the ceilings of all the rooms in this palace. It will be reminiscent of the night sky and beautiful with the lights turned on or off. His Little Highness will like it. I will look into sourcing similar materials, Your Majesty.”
Bert went quiet. He turned to Ye Muo. “It’s all Little Muo’s fault.”
Ye Muo raised his head from the box and unhappily corrected him, “Muomuo. I’m not little.”
Authorās Corner
Muomuo: Muomuo means āa strong little friendā, Little Muo doesnāt. Wanna be strong.
