Chapter 22
Parent or partner?
The youth had successfully been saved by the silver haired man and was peacefully resting in his arms. However, everyone else in the room was still standing frozen in place.
They had all been aware that the Knox stayed at their club and some of them had even briefly seen his adult form before. But it was first now, when they witnessed his amazing reflexes and powerful tail, that they truly understood how substantial this fact actually was. Frankly, they were all a bit stunned.
This truly was the last Knox in the entire universe…
Taking a closer look at this last Knox, the surrounding people were struck with how handsome he was. The young man’s features had a certain softness to them, but his expressionless face radiated a cold well matched his silver hair and tail, making the softness seem elegant rather than pretty.
However, as the young man lowered his gaze to the human youth in his arms, his expressionless face seemed to show a hint of tension.
The silver tail restlessly moved. It had never left the youth’s body, even after bringing him into his arms, and while observing the youth, Ya Yi let his tail tighten a bit further. He was very careful and the power exerted was nothing more than what humans would have considered a tight hug.
Amongst the surrounding people was Zarad, who had come as usual to eat breakfast. Witnessing this scene and seeing the tail’s movement as it circled further around the youth’s waist, his expression changed several times and he had to hold himself back from speaking out right there and then.
He finally remembered what was so special about the Knox race’s tail…
Others were, under no circumstances, allowed to touch it.
There were only two exceptions to this rule –
That is, if you were the parent or if you were the partner.
However, even though its parents were allowed to, it was very uncommon for the parents in Knox race to touch their cub’s tail.
It was something generally reserved for a future partner and if a couple had not yet officially determined their relationship, then letting the other touch their tail was equivalent to accepting courtship. It showed that they really liked them.
If someone who did not fit into any of these two criteria were to deliberately touch it, then that person’s future held nothing but a promise of pain.
After all, the Knox race’s tail had considerable attack power in adult form and even if the tail belonged to the weakest Knox in the interstellar, the person touching it would still not have a pretty end…
Many years ago, some reckless idiots had not know this and as a result, had almost lost their lives on a dare. This had left a tremendous psychological shadow and the story had spread throughout the interstellar as a warning.
Since then, all races had paid close attention to this matter when they came into contact with anyone from the Knox race. The only reason it took Zarad so long to recall this was because no one had met a Knox in over thirty years.
However, now, directly in front of Zarad’s eyes, was something that completely contradicted this common knowledge. Not only had the youth been allowed to play with the Knox’s tail in cub form, but the adult Knox had even taken the initiative to use it in order to save him and then circled it around the youth’s waist…
Zarad could not decide if he should doubt his eyes or memory…
Just like Xia Qi had originally not known what a cold or a fever was, many aliens had never heard about it and the young Knox was one of them.
His body was tense and his pale blue eyes were contracted in bewilderment. He did not understand why the youth in his arms had fallen unconscious.
The silver tail was curled around Xie Tao in a protective manner and just looking at the Knox you could see that he was ready for combat.
However despite this, Xia Qi rushed over without hesitation.
"Sure enough, it is a fever…" Xia Qi reached out and put a hand on Xie Tao’s forehead. Even though she was inexperienced when it came to
Hearing her use this new strange word, Ya Yi briefly gave her a glance before turning his gaze back to the youth in his arms.
Xia Qi thought about the small cold Xie Tao had mentioned before as well as the recent temperatures changes and felt that it was not too strange that he got this sick.
After all, with the humans’ level of physique, it was quite believable that experiencing a sudden temperature change could make them more vulnerable to diseases.
Fortunately, their branch had a medicine box.
Aliens’ physiques were, in comparison to humans, extremely good, which made the box on the border of superfluous. However, it was a necessary precaution. Alien cubs had a weaker constitution than the adults, and were therefore at a greater risk of falling sick.
But in the end, this was still the first time it was getting used and it was oddly enough on a caretaker, not a cub.
Xia Qi quickly ran to the storage room and opened the medicine box that was placed inside. After rummaging through it for a bit, she took out a small tube of Sea Blue medicine[1]. Sea Blue was an universal medicine that families of all races often had at home to treat their cubs.
As long Xie Tao took this medicine and got proper rest, he would be okay.
Returning with the small tube in her hand, Xia Qi optimistically walked up to the unconscious Xie Tao. However seeing Ya Yi who still had his silver tail firmly wrapped around his waist, she instinctively felt that he would not be willing to hand the youth over to anyone and she quickly gave up the idea of getting him to let go.
"Take Ah Tao back to his room, have him drink this medicine and then cover him with the quilt. It’s important to keep him warm." Xia Qi handed the medicine over. "If he kicks the quilt off, you need to make sure you cover him again or else, his cold might worsen."
Xia Qi was a bit unsure if she should have added the last sentence. After all, kicking the quilt off was, in her mind, only something cubs did.
However, thinking of the human race’s sensitivity, she felt that there was a risk that Xie Tao might unconsciously kick the quilt off if he felt too hot.
Listening to Xie Qi’s instructions, Ya Yi gave her a silent glance. Everyone then watched as he expressionlessly turned around and carried the youth out of their sight.
Once back in his room, Ya Yi was still unwilling to let the youth go and instead of putting him on the bed, he continued to hold him as he sat down on the mattress.
After adjusting his tail to the new position, he grabbed the quilt and covered the youth who was leaning against his chest.
Having the youth’s whole body pressed against his own, Ya Yi could feel that the other’s body was much hotter than it usually was and he now knew that it made the other feel unwell. His tail, that was wrapped around the youth, tightened for a but second as he unconscious gave the youth in his arms a light squeeze.
In the Knox race, having one’s tail curled around another was a protective action.
The tail would block any possible attack to such a degree that if you wanted to hurt someone that was being protected by it, you would first have to break though its tough scales and chop it off.
Xie Tao had not completely lost consciousness, but he felt very hot and dizzy. It was very unpleasant, one minute he felt cold to the point of shivering, the next it was unbearable hot. However, in this confused state he could still sense that he was being fed something.
Fruity…
His throat suddenly felt parched and he quickly swallowed down the refreshing liquid.
After he drank the medicine, the quilt which had slidden down, was pulled up to his neck again. It soon began to feel hot and stuffy. The sultry feeling made Xie Tao restless and he weakly struggled.
He wanted to get rid of the thing covering his body.
Xie Tao’s brows were knit and his legs unconsciously kicked the quilt.
It was very hard and exhausting for his weak body, and then, just as the cool air finally touched his sweat covered skin, the thick quilt somehow returned to its original position. Xie Tao let out a frustrated noise and gathered his strength to kick it off a second time.
But this time, the quilt stayed firmly fixed to his body.
His legs had not even moved an inch.
When he found that he could not kick the quilt off, Xie Tao instead wanted to move away from it. However he soon discovered that he could not do that either. There was something wrapped around his waist and chest which held him in place.
What is it……?
This question repeatedly passed through his head. However his feverish brain made him unable to find the answer, despite vaguely sensing it in the back of his mind.
As he couldn’t think of an answer, he resorted to more direct method and simply explored the object around his waist by using his hands.
Cool…
The object felt cold against his warm skin and he unconsciously put his hands on this cold object, touching it several time. Xie Tao had instantly forgotten his previous intentions as well as the original purpose of the action.
After discovering that the object could relieve him from the stifling heat, Xie Tao felt that it was not enough to just touch it with his hands.
He tried to bring the cold object into his arms. However, even though he used all of his strength, it did not move and remained wrapped around his waist. But after pulling twice, the cold object suddenly seemed to obey and let him hug it.
Lifting it up, Xie Tao lowered his head and plastered his hot cheek against it.
The object felt very cool and nice. Having it against his bare arms as well as his cheek gave him a temporary relief from the stuffy feeling and his restless movements stopped.
He was finally satisfied.
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Translator’s note:
Some chapters ago I saw that some of you had a theory that the tail was a sex organ. I’m totally impartial to it, but if that is the case then this chapter was a much hotter than most realized. (>_>)
"After discovering that the object could relieve him from the stifling heat, Xie Tao felt that it was not enough to just touch it with his hands."
(E/N: *Dies of a massive nosebleed from perverted thoughts*)
[1] – 海 蓝色 (Hǎi Lán Sè), "Lán Sè" means blue, "Hǎi" can be a surname or mean ocean/sea, great number of people or things, or numerous.