Eclipse Hunter V2C7: Purple Past

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Eclipse Hunter Volume 2: Having Friends, Having Feelings

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我(Yu Wo)


Chapter Seven: Purple Past—translated by Trespasserby (proofread by Xuan; C/E edited by Simone & lucathia)

Ri Xiang Yan gripped his cell phone. The look on his face was so horrifying that even Kyle, who had observed the Sun Emperor for many years, tried to hide behind his computer screen to avoid catching a glimpse of that demonic nightmare-inducing face.

“Bill, what’s the status of the matter I told you to investigate earlier?” With great effort, Ri Xiang Yan suppressed the urge to rush out to help Ah Ye and instead asked his question coolly and collectedly (though much more coolly than collectedly).

Kyle formally reported, “Regarding the kidnapping incident from over a month ago, the organization most likely responsible is the Purple Moon Alliance. Prior to the kidnapping, they dumped a large quantity of stocks all pertaining to companies with ties to the Sun Alliance. In addition, it was discovered that they have a large number of researchers and doctors in a laboratory working for them and yet so far, have not announced any relevant new products.”

“Bai Lian Yue’s Purple Moon Alliance?” Ri Xiang Yan lightly rubbed his chin, a habit of his when he was thinking.

It was widely known that Bai Lian Yue’s grudge against him ran deep. He didn’t know why Bai Lian Yue’s enmity was directed at him, but this wasn’t the first time that Bai Lian Yue had tried to attack him, so he wasn’t surprised at all.

From Ri Xiang Yan’s perspective, an enemy out in the open could be dealt with last. What was more important were the hidden, nameless enemies. Therefore, he had delayed making a move against the Purple Moon Alliance. It was just that he hadn’t anticipated that as a major player in the business world, Bai Lian Yue would actually be willing to take down the global economy in order to send him to hell.

Even if he had sold off Sun Alliance stocks in advance, if the Sun Alliance collapsed, it would not be as simple as the Sun Alliance just disappearing. Rather, the entire global economy would collapse…

Don’t tell me I did something to him before to make him to hold a grudge against me to this day? Ri Xiang Yan thought hard. “About Bai Lian Yue from the Purple Moon Alliance, I don’t remember taking over any of his companies, stealing any of his women, or snatching any big contracts from him… That’s odd. We’re complete strangers. He shouldn’t have any reason to hate me?”

Kyle sighed and dutifully reported, “Sun Emperor, you are not complete strangers. Bai Lian Yue was your middle school classmate.”

“Oh? Really?” Ri Xiang Yan calmly replied, “I don’t remember. But that’s nothing strange. I don’t remember a single one of my middle school classmates.”

He was also your high school classmate.”

Ri Xiang Yan hesitated for a moment then continued speaking, “Is that so? But I don’t remember that many of my high school classmates anyway.”

“In addition, he was your classmate in college.”

“…” Ri Xiang Yan fell silent for a while, then tried to justify himself with some difficulty, “Fine. It just shows that my memory isn’t too great. Is that any reason for him to hate me?”

“I have no idea about that. However, according to the information I’ve received, Bai Lian Yue is bisexual. In addition, because his lengthy attempts to win over the heart of a ‘certain classmate’ in middle school, high school, and college failed, he particularly likes mistresses with golden hair and red eyes.”

Golden hair and red eyes? Those traits are a lot like mine… Ah!

Forcefully slamming both of his hands on the desk, Ri Xiang Yan asked incredulously, “Bai Lian Yue chased after me?”

Kyle nodded. “Yes. He pursued you for a duration of eight years, sent over more than a hundred gifts, and at the same time, gave you different flowers every day for eight years without fail.”

… And I don’t even remember him!

No wonder he hates me and opposes me in everything. But even when Ri Xiang Yan wracked his brains until he felt his head would burst, he still couldn’t recall what Bai Lian Yue looked like. Strange. Did he really chase after me?

“…Reportedly, during the final instance, when he brought a family heirloom necklace to confess to you, you replied to him with a single sentence.”

“What was it?” Ri Xiang Yan was starting to get curious about what he had said at the time. He truly didn’t remember.

It was with eyes full of pity that Kyle looked at the information on his computer screen. Then he replied, “At the time, you said, ‘Who are you?’”

But for the sound of Kyle typing, the office was silent.

After a long time, Ri Xiang Yan abruptly stood up and gazed out into the faraway sky through his tall French windows. Then in a distant tone of voice, he said, “Back then, since Ah Ye had disappeared, I was busy trying to find him. My heart was filled with nothing but worry about Ah Ye and hatred toward my father. There wasn’t room for anything else!”

Kyle simply replied, “Indeed.”

But Young Master Ri Xiang Ye disappeared when you were seventeen and, according to the rumors, Bai Lian Yue had been chasing after you since you were thirteen.

“He doesn’t understand how I felt back then. How could he just hate me like this?”

“Indeed. It is unacceptable.”

Based on the records, Bai Lian Yue once mobilized eighty percent of his family’s labor force to seek out Young Master Ri Xiang Ye on your request and almost brought his entire family’s operations to a standstill.

“Sigh, this whole thing has been a misunderstanding.”

“Indeed. A misunderstanding.” Kyle didn’t hesitate to agree with the Sun Emperor.

“So, he has no reason at all to hate me!” Ri Xiang Yan turned toward his secretary and roared, “No matter what, anyone who dares to touch my Ah Ye deserves to die!”

“Indeed. They deserve to die.” Kyle was looking on the computer at the human resources that could be sent out and asked, “Sun Emperor, would you like to deploy the stealth force to quietly eradicate the laboratory or directly send troops to raze it to the ground?”

In an instant, Ri Xiang Yan went from being a furious older brother back to the composed Sun Emperor. He carefully evaluated, “Directly sending troops would be the same as declaring war on the Purple Moon Alliance. If there’s a war, there will be a lot of conspiracy theories to deal with, which would be truly annoying! The entire stealth force consists of meticulously trained elites, so I really don’t want to waste them by having them and a bunch of modified humans hack each other down.”

After he finished, he muttered to himself, “Ugh, this is such a pain…”

“If we had Dark Sun coordinate with the stealth force to attack, we would keep casualties to a minimum while also avoiding a war,” Kyle dutifully stated the best course of action.

Bang!

Ri Xiang Yan slammed the office desk with a single hand and icily asked, “What did you just say?”

As soon as he had spoken, Kyle knew he had crossed the line. Although he was shaken, he could only forcibly calm his violently pounding heart and then reply, appearing composed, “It is merely a solution. If it is not to the Sun Emperor’s liking, it can of course be rejected.”

Ri Xiang Yan shouted, “Don’t bring Ah Ye into it! Ever! Do you understand?!”

“Yes. Understood.”

“Then, send out the stealth force immediately. I want that laboratory gone tonight! As for Bai Lian Yue, I’ll deal with him later! I’m going home to eat dinner with Ah Ye now. You’ll be working overtime to settle this matter!”

Like a monarch who had issued a final decree, Ri Xiang Yan departed through the secret entrance without glancing back.

“Why did he specifically mention overtime? Since when have I ever had a day where I didn’t work overtime?” Kyle muttered to himself.

Whose fault is it but my own for becoming acquainted with the Sun Emperor back then? Sigh!

All Kyle could do was resign himself to overtime and think of a way to minimize the losses in the stealth force. Otherwise, when the Sun Emperor saw the number of casualties tomorrow, he might explode again.

After some time had passed, the secret door to the office opened once again. Suspicious, Kyle lifted his head. The only ones who could use the special entrance were the Sun Emperor, himself, and few personnel on secret missions who rarely came by.

A silver-haired teenager walked in.

Oh! He remembered now. Over a month ago, yet another person could come and go—the Sun Emperor’s younger brother, Young Master Ri Xiang Ye.

“Hello,” Dark Sun greeted emotionlessly.

Kyle calmly replied, “Hello.”

“I’d like to ask you about a few things.”

“Yes?” Kyle was still calm as he continued to say, “May I ask if Young Master Ri Xiang Ye is at home? I’d prefer to speak with him.”

A faint, mirthless smile curved up on Dark Sun’s face. “What a pity. He’s not home.”

“That truly is regrettable.” Kyle really was filled with regret. But he could only follow his duties and ask, “What did you wish to inquire about?”

“Information on the Purple Moon Alliance.” Dark Sun’s expression became one of indifference once again.

Kyle straightforwardly answered, “The Sun Emperor will not allow me to tell you.”

In an instant, Dark Sun reverted back to being Ri Xiang Ye. A childlike grin appeared as he asked with a laugh, “Gēge must have told you before that no matter what I want, you have to give it to me, right?”

As he watched the supposedly “not home” Ri Xiang Ye come bounding out, Kyle could only helplessly reply, “Yes, Young Master Ri Xiang Ye.” Great. If I spill, the Sun Emperor will have me killed gruesomely. If I don’t spill, Dark Sun will kill me gruesomely. Then, Ri Xiang Ye will run crying to the Sun Emperor, and the Sun Emperor will have me killed again.

Well, dying once is always better than dying twice.

“The Purple Moon Alliance has a laboratory at this location. According to our investigation, there is a high probability that it is the source of the modified humans. The Sun Emperor just issued an order for the stealth force to eliminate that laboratory tonight. If you could coordinate with the stealth force, I would be extremely grateful.”

As Kyle explained, he printed out a map of the laboratory’s location and handed it to Ri Xiang Ye.

“Thanks, Kyle-gē. I’ll coordinate with them. And you don’t have to worry. I won’t tell Gēge you told me.”

“Nothing stays hidden from the Sun Emperor.” Kyle shook his head. In any case, being at the Sun Emperor’s side meant being ready to serve at any time. The ancient saying “keeping company with a lord is like keeping company with a tiger”… just about summed up his plight.

“Bai Lian Xing is my classmate, and one of my friends has the ability to read minds…” Ri Xiang Ye hinted. He was only hinting! He definitely wouldn’t tell other people to lie to his brother!

“I see.” Kyle nodded his head in understanding. It looked like he would be able to live for a little longer.

After he finished speaking, Ri Xiang Ye lowered his head to look at the map. He frowned, saying, “It seems to be a bit far. Maybe I’ll have to steal a car from the car park to get there.”

“The Sun Emperor’s exclusive car park is upstairs. The Sun Emperor has collected quite a few cars. The red sports car is the fastest, the white Mercedes-Benz is the most durable, and the blue has the best overall performance,” Kyle kindly pointed out where he could steal a car, informing him of each car’s features as well.

“Mm. Got it. Thanks, Kyle-gē.” Ri Xiang Ye smiled brilliantly.

“There is no need to thank me.” After Kyle politely responded, he hesitated for a moment. He couldn’t help but add a warning, “Young Master Ri Xiang Ye, please be careful. Your life is the Sun Emperor’s everything.”

“I know. Gēge is also Ah Ye’s everything, so… I won’t allow anyone to harm Gēge!”

Ri Xiang Ye gripped the map tightly and swiftly left the office.

May no harm befall you.

After Kyle calmly watched Dark Sun leave the office, he silently wished him well. Then, he lowered his head to continue his mountain of work.

[Purple Moon Alliance Headquarters]

Bai Lian Xing’s footsteps were hurried and heavy. His martial arts already placed an emphasis on speed, but now because of his anger, he moved at an even faster pace. The three people following him—a dual gun wielder; a short, ugly old man; and an icy woman with claws on both hands—almost couldn’t keep up.

The three subordinates could only lower their heads and strive to keep up with their young master’s pace. They didn’t dare to call out to him. Anyone could see that Bai Lian Xing was in a very bad mood. Whoever dared to tug on a tiger’s whiskers would certainly meet a bad end.

Bai Lian Xing walked all the way to a set of black doors that had been polished to a mirror shine. He took several deep breaths until he was certain that he had calmed down and wouldn’t say things that would regret because of his fury. No matter how angry he was, if he drew out the wrath of the person behind the black doors, even he wouldn’t be able to deal with the consequences.

Finally, Bai Lian Xing knocked and waited until he heard a languid “enter” come from within before he pushed open the doors to go in.

However, the three subordinates behind him didn’t dare to follow him inside. It was a forbidden place they were absolutely not allowed to enter: the room of the highest authority of the Purple Moon Alliance.

The room was entirely Chinese-styled, just like Bai Lian Xing’s clothing. Huge calligraphy hung on both walls to the sides. In the middle of the room stood a humongous golden chaise longue carved in the shape of a dragon. Spread on the chair was a thick, soft, embroidered purple cushion. It looked unspeakably expensive.

However, what was even more astounding was the person on the chair. That person was idly reclining on the dragon-shaped chaise longue. His long, purple-black hair was loosely draped over the chair. The person was wearing a purple Chinese long coat that trailed from the chaise longue to the floor. The outfit was completely an antique style, unlike Bai Lian Xing’s modernized Chinese clothes. But as a result, they matched the surrounding decorations even more.

Bai Lian Xing stood before the chaise longue. Extremely deferential, he clasped his hands and greeted, “Your child has come to visit his father.”

The person on the chaise longue suddenly opened his eyes, a pair of slender, beautiful golden eyes. His mouth curved into a bewitching smile that wasn’t like a smile at all. He indolently stretched and, acting as if he didn’t care much, asked offhandedly, “Oh~ Xing Er,1 you took six of the failed experiments from the laboratory. Was it to play?”

In contrast to his father’s ease, Bai Lian Xing was clearly very uncomfortable. There was even a little dread in his voice as he said, “I… Took them to deal with a classmate.”

“Your classmate?” Bai Lian Yue slowly went from a reclining to a sitting position. He narrowed his beautiful eyes and asked again, “Your classmate?”

Have I already been discovered? Bai Lian Xing lowered his head and admitted, “Yes, I suspected my classmate was the person who had previously rescued the Sun Emperor.”

Bai Lian Yue stood up from the chair. Despite the Chinese long coat dragging far behind him on the floor, he still walked with extraordinary grace, as though he were naturally suited to wear such luxurious robes.

Bai Lian Yue walked until he stood in front of his son. His oval face almost pressed against his son’s as he said in a soft, low voice, “You found him… But you did not report to me?”

“My apologies… I was just uncertain yet that he was the same person who previously saved the Sun Emperor. I-I wished to first confirm it then report to you, Father.”

Although Bai Lian Yue looked delicate and gentle, Bai Lian Xing, who was well acquainted with his father’s true nature, was frightened to his very core. His father was extremely angry. Bai Lian Xing knew that anything involving the Sun Emperor would always lead to extreme moods in Bai Lian Yue, and his extreme moods often resulted in bystanders meeting a grisly end.

“First confirm it?” Bai Lian Yue’s languid expression abruptly changed. A slap landed on his son’s face and he rebuked, “By the time you confirmed it, Ri Xiang Yan would already be at our door!”

Even after being slapped with enough force to turn his head, Bai Lian Xing’s expression remained completely unchanged. He could only silently clench his fists and turn his head back to continue reporting, “I only tested the strength of the Sun Emperor’s modified human. He would not make a huge fuss over nothing. Conflicts between the economic alliances are a common sight, are they not?”

“A huge fuss over nothing?” Bai Lian Yue’s elegant face darkened. “Are you aware of who that modified human is?”

“Your child only knows he is called Dark Sun,” Bai Lian Xing admitted.

Bai Lian Yue snarled, “I don’t care what he is called. In short, he is Ri Xiang Yan’s younger brother, the younger brother he searched eight years for!”

“What? The Sun Emperor has a younger brother?”

Bai Lian Xing froze. He had never heard that the Sun Emperor had a younger brother… He hesitated for a moment. Could it be that this younger brother is not a blood relative but adopted, like me?

Bai Lian Yue said with absolute certainty, “He does! And that is the only thing he cares about. The only thing!”

When they had abducted Ri Xiang Yan, the modified humans had surveillance cameras installed inside them. Watching the transmitted scenes, Bai Lian Yue was shocked at first when he saw a frail boy unexpectedly holding his own against the modified humans. However, what was even more shocking was the look of anxiety the always composed and hateful Ri Xiang Yan showed. In the past, only when talking about his younger brother would his expression show something other than composure and disdain.

It was at that moment that Bai Lian Yue knew the boy was no one else but Ri Xiang Yan’s younger brother!

“You tried to harm the thing Ri Xiang Yan cares for the most.” Bai Lian Yue firmly held onto Bai Lian Xing’s collar, and coldly warned him, “In the future, you are not to take initiative for yourself, especially when it comes to matters concerning Ri Xiang Yan. If you step out of line again, you will no longer be my successor, and I will immediately throw you back to your family. Do you hear me?”

Bai Lian Xing lowered his head and replied, “I understand.”

Finished with his threats, Bai Lian Yue let him go, his face blank. As he returned to his dragon chair to recline, his expression once again became gentle. He languidly said, “Having provoked Ri Xiang Yan, I believe the modified human laboratory is a lost cause. Have all the scientists and doctors withdraw but leave the modified humans. Send some people to serve as victims and pretend they’re the scientists and doctors. I don’t want Ri Xiang Yan to know he’s merely wiping out an empty shell.”

Bai Lian Yue smiled faintly, his beautiful golden eyes flashing with a strange light.

“I want the laboratory to become a massive trap to ensnare Dark Sun.”

And Dark Sun… is the ultimate bait to ensnare Ri Xiang Yan!

Bai Lian Yue closed his eyes once again and languidly lay on the chaise longue, fantasizing about the moment that man with eyes as red as rubies and golden hair as brilliant as the sun would fall into his grasp. It truly is something to be in a good mood about!

Footnotes

1 “Xing Er”: 兒 Ér means “son.” Bai Lian Yue added it to the Xing of Bai Lian Xing to create a nickname that shows Bai Lian Xing is his child.

  1. lulumoon

    Thank you for the translation. It’s been a while since I commented, but I always come back to PR! to read Yu Wo’s series.

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