The Night the Prince Called His Name in His Dreams

Xixi’s voice soon filled the living room.

Mo Bai listened intently, carefully discerning from Xixi’s singing whether he
had made any progress.

After all, this was the first time he had taught anyone to cultivate. That made
Xixi his… disciple, in a way?

Mo Bai’s full attention was on Xixi, so he didn’t notice that the tall man
sitting beside him, whose handsome face was usually expressionless, was now
showing a mix of emotions—furrowing his brow, looking awkward, then somewhat…
complicated.

When Xixi finished his song, the interstellar network stage erupted in
thunderous applause.

At the same time, dense bullet comments began flooding the screen.

Mermaids naturally sang beautifully. Especially Xixi—his voice carried a unique
cuteness and softness that completely captured people’s attention. They only
wanted to listen carefully to his song and do nothing else.

So after he finished singing, his true fans started flooding the comments.

“So beautiful! Truly number one!”

“Ahhhh how can Xixi be so soft and so adorable? I love him so much ahhh!”

“On my knees begging for a mermaid, to grow old together and never part!”

“Wait… have you noticed… this time when Xixi sang… it seemed to carry a soothing
power?”

“Damn, I didn’t notice. Is there any friend with a not-so-good consciousness
sea? Go listen to the recording or replay!”

“No need to listen to the replay. It really does carry soothing power!”

“How to put it… Before, listening to Xixi sing was just purely pleasant because
he’s a mermaid. Even though you couldn’t feel the soothing effect through the
screen, it still made you feel very comfortable.”

“But this time, Xixi actually used the soothing effect! Isn’t that just like Mo,
who sang The Great Compassion Mantra?”

Very soon, the news that the mermaid Xixi’s singing now had a soothing effect
exploded across the interstellar network.

Because there were too many videos of mermaids singing on the interstellar
network, but never one that carried a soothing effect.

A mermaid’s soothing special ability could only be used up close. Even from a
short distance it wasn’t as effective, let alone through a screen.

That was why when ‘Mo’s’ The Great Compassion Mantra first appeared, it had
caused such a sensation.

Because it was so unique.

Especially the fans of the second-place singer, and Xixi’s own fans—they had
been terrified that Mo would counterattack and take first place in the second
round.

When Mo withdrew, they had celebrated for a long time.

But now, Xixi’s fans weren’t worried anymore.

Their Xixi not only sang beautifully, but also had a soothing effect!

Mo also had an effect, but he didn’t sing well!

“Haha where is that Mo now? Good thing he withdrew, or the second round would
have been a toast to his defeat!”

“In my opinion, the only reason he counterattacked last time was because he
found a special trick. Our Xixi went to the auditions first and didn’t know you
could do this with a soothing special ability, so Mo beat him to it.”

“Exactly, exactly! Like I said, Mo was just being forward-looking.”

The fans who supported the mysterious Mr. Mo were furious with frustration.

But just as Xixi’s fans were celebrating across the entire interstellar network,
the singing competition host started interacting with Xixi.

Host: “Xixi, are you confident for this second round?”

Xixi said, “…Mm, I-I am.”

Host: “I just listened to you sing. It was really beautiful, and it made my
consciousness sea feel so comfortable. It seemed to have a consciousness sea
soothing effect.”

Xixi said, “Mm mm, Mr. Mo taught me.”

The host was stunned. “You mean, that ‘Mo’ who withdrew taught you?”

Xixi nodded, blushing, his eyes full of admiration. “Mm! He’s really, really
powerful! He taught me how to use my special ability!”

Xixi wanted to tell the whole world how amazing Mr. Mo was, but his common
language wasn’t particularly fluent yet, and he spoke hesitantly, which
frustrated him.

But everyone could see that he truly admired that Mr. Mo.

Instantly, the fans who supported Mo Bai also began celebrating.

“Did you hear that? Xixi’s singing now has a soothing special ability because
Mr. Mo taught him!”

“No wonder Mo withdrew. If he hadn’t, wouldn’t it have been a teacher versus
disciple showdown?”

Xixi’s fans fell silent, feeling a bit of a sting on their faces.

What could they say? Their own idol admired that Mo so much.

But some people noticed something strange.

“Is this Mo really that amazing? And he taught Xixi without holding anything
back…”

“Didn’t the Mermaid Association say Mo is also a mermaid? Xixi is acknowledged
in our empire as the most human-friendly mermaid, and his special ability is
probably in the top three, right? Mo is even stronger than Xixi!”

“Whoa, so does that mean Mo could be the king of the mermaid clan???”

At these words, the entire interstellar network was shocked.

The king of the mermaid clan!

And it was actually possible!

No one wanted to watch the rest of the competition. They either went to ask Xixi
whether Mo really was the mermaid king, or they joined the teams searching for
‘Mo.’

Upon hearing that Mo was very likely the king of the mermaid clan, the Mermaid
Association was also unsettled.

For so long, they had found no trace of ‘Mo.’ And now it was revealed that he
might be the mermaid king.

Mermaids were a very united race.

Now that they had a king, if he simply called out, rallying all the mermaids to
leave, there wouldn’t be a single mermaid who wouldn’t listen to him.

And when that day came, would the Mermaid Association still exist?

The Mermaid Association grew anxious.

“Still no trace of that ‘Mo’?”

“No! Everyone says he’s on the sanatorium planet, but we’ve turned the
sanatorium planet upside down and haven’t found him.”

“This mermaid king is more powerful than we imagined. Do you think he might have
discovered us…”

“Shut up! Keep searching. Track Xixi and see if he’s ever met this ‘Mo.'”

“Yes.”

In truth, tracking Xixi wasn’t so easy, after all, Admiral Kai wasn’t stupid.

But fortunately, they had other methods.

The interstellar network was buzzing with activity, but Mo Bai wasn’t interested
at all.

After Xixi finished his performance and left the stage, Mo Bai stopped watching.

He was very satisfied with Xixi’s progress. He had only taught Xixi to cultivate
not long ago, and he had already improved this much. Truly, a mermaid he kept
virtually was worth it!

Mo Bai stood up with satisfaction. When he turned around, he saw Wen Zhaoyan
still sitting there, his eyes flickering with some unclear thought.

Mo Bai poked his knee. “Are you spacing out?”

Wen Zhaoyan snapped back to reality, his expression somewhat complicated.
“Finished watching?”

Mo Bai nodded. “Finished.”

Wen Zhaoyan grunted in acknowledgment, put away his smart brain, turned off the
projection, and prepared to leave.

When he was sitting, it was fine—he and Mo Bai could see eye to eye.

But when he stood up, in the child’s eyes, he looked like a mountain.

He walked out in silence.

Mo Bai watched his heavy, burdened back, looking confused.

Why did Wen Zhaoyan seem a bit off?

Was his consciousness sea acting up again?

Come to think of it, the last time he had taken Wen Zhaoyan to soak in the
wishing well was a few days ago.

Hmm… he’d take him again tonight.

At night.

The night sky on the sanatorium planet was beautiful, but everyone was already
used to it.

The seasons and the starry sky, simulated using energy, repeated day after day
without any other changes.

Living there long enough, seeing the same scenery for so long, you’d naturally
grow tired of it.

Only Mo Bai could appreciate such a beautiful night sky.

He controlled his spirit to exit his body and floated over to the neighboring
estate.

Outside the estate, the butler was leading the guards in respectfully offering
incense to the Wish-Granting God.

Ever since the butler discovered that after worshipping the Wish-Granting God,
Wen Zhaoyan’s consciousness sea had begun to improve the next day, his nightly
ritual was to lead all the estate’s guards in burning incense and worshipping.

His Highness the Crown Prince had said ‘don’t let it happen again’ that day.

But the next day, he hadn’t told them to remove the incense burner either.

In the butler’s view, this was tacit approval.

But he still didn’t dare do it openly. He continued to worship secretly in the
middle of the night, afraid of giving others cause for gossip. After all, His
Highness the Crown Prince’s situation was still very precarious.

As soon as Mo Bai approached, the incense smoke from the burner automatically
drifted toward him.

Mo Bai took a drag, satisfied, then floated over the incense burner and went
straight to find Wen Zhaoyan.

The room was dark, without any light.

The man lay on the bed, his cold, sharp features not quite discernible in the
darkness.

Tormented by his consciousness sea, Wen Zhaoyan had never slept well. He rarely
entered a state of deep sleep.

But tonight was different.

In a daze, he saw a person walking toward him with a smile.

The youth had long sleeves and a wide robe, black hair reaching his waist. His
delicate features were like fine ink art, his smile faint, extremely
captivating.

Wen Zhaoyan watched him, his gaze following the youth’s every move, watching him
walk past.

Wen Zhaoyan called softly, “Mo Li.”

But the youth didn’t turn around. He walked straight ahead, going farther and
farther away.

Yet Wen Zhaoyan heard clearly, close to his ear—

“Why are you calling me?”

Wen Zhaoyan’s eyes snapped open. In the darkness, his pitch-black eyes met a
pair of clear, bright ones.

He was still in his room, in his familiar bed.

And the youth was sitting by the bed, looking at him with a strange expression.

Wen Zhaoyan: “…”

Realizing he had just been dreaming, Wen Zhaoyan’s body stiffened slightly.

Mo Bai crossed his arms over his chest. “Were you just dreaming?”

Wen Zhaoyan: “…Mm.”

Mo Bai’s expression grew even stranger. “Then why were you calling me? Were you
dreaming about me?”

Wen Zhaoyan: “…”

Wen Zhaoyan got up expressionlessly, put on his clothes, and changed the
subject. “Why are you here?”

Seeing he wasn’t going to answer, Mo Bai didn’t press further. Instead, he said,
“You don’t need to get dressed. Let’s go to the pool.”

Wen Zhaoyan paused in his movements, then took off his clothes and changed into
swimwear.

Mo Bai walked a circle around him, his gaze roaming up and down.

Wen Zhaoyan felt uncomfortable all over under his direct, appraising stare.
“What?”

Mo Bai looked away, his voice filled with envy. “You have a great body.”

Then he thought of his current body. Six years old.

An age where no one would even look at him if he ran around naked.

Sigh.

With a flick of his sleeve, Mo Bai floated lightly out the window.

He completely missed that Wen Zhaoyan, still in place, had gone stiff, his ears
slowly turning red.

By the time Wen Zhaoyan came outside, Mo Bai was already soaking in the wishing
well.

Wen Zhaoyan came face to face with the butler and guards who were burning
incense.

Wen Zhaoyan: “…”

Butler, guards: “…?”

The butler and guards quickly hid their things behind their backs.

No way! Caught red-handed by His Highness again!

Wait, what was His Highness wearing?

The butler spoke carefully, “Your Highness, you’re dressed like this to…”

Wen Zhaoyan, wearing only a pair of swim trunks, said expressionlessly, “Swim.”

The butler said, “Oh, oh, swim. Swim?”

Wasn’t swimming in the middle of the night a bit strange?

Wen Zhaoyan said, “Problem?”

The butler said, “No, no! You go ahead, you go ahead.”

Wen Zhaoyan said, “Mm.”

Leaving them with a curt “go to bed early,” Wen Zhaoyan walked toward the pool.

The butler and the others, feeling lightheaded, quickly left.

Wen Zhaoyan got into the pool and saw Mo Bai holding Little Blue and Little
Green, the two defective little mermaids, and saying something to them.

As soon as he got into the water, the two little mermaids grew very afraid. They
immediately swam to a corner, not daring to get too close to him.

Wen Zhaoyan was used to this and didn’t mind. He asked, “Does it have to be at
night?”

Mo Bai said, “Soaking during the day works too. If you want to soak during the
day.”

Wen Zhaoyan grunted in acknowledgment. “Then next time, you don’t have to come
find me at night.”

That way, the youth’s sleep wouldn’t be affected.

He was still so young. Sleeping more would help him grow taller…

The moment the words left his mouth, a trembling, extremely terrified voice came
from behind him. “Y-Y-Your Highness, wh-who comes to find you at night…”

Wen Zhaoyan turned his head and saw the old butler standing not far from the
edge of the pool, holding a bath towel, his entire body shaking.

He had come to bring Wen Zhaoyan a towel.

His old eyes scanned the pool, looking everywhere, but he couldn’t see a single
person.

But Wen Zhaoyan’s words just now had clearly been directed at someone.

The butler’s legs went weak, and he nearly started crying. “Y-Your Highness,
th-there’s no one here, is there?”

At that moment, he didn’t know whether to be afraid that His Highness was having
another split personality episode, or afraid of some ethereal ghost.

Wen Zhaoyan: “…”