Chapter 57: The Distribution of Exile Stars

Yun He hurriedly tried to smooth things over. “Hey now, Chief, don’t be mad, don’t be mad. Our Third Brother just isn’t much of a talker and doesn’t always know where the line is, so it’s easy for people to misunderstand him. But I promise, he definitely means no harm—he’s a good guy, really.”

Yuan An chimed in as well, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, didn’t you say you’d take us to pick a spot to build our houses? I think that empty lot next to Uncle Mo looks pretty good. Let’s pick that spot—I’ll take one house, and Third Brother can have the other.”

For the sake of a little extra cash, Yun Qimu just snorted and decided to let it go.

“The spot next to Mr. Mo, right? Follow me.”

She turned around, pinned her badge to her clothes, wrapped herself tighter in her thick coat, and strode off in the lead, not giving Wu Xingyu another glance.

A flash of confusion crossed Wu Xingyu’s dark, deep eyes. He really did think it was stupid to let his promise go to waste. Back in the Empire, there were so many women—even duchesses—who wanted his promise, but he never gave it to them.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Yuan An covered his chubby face with a hand and tried to reason with him. “Oh, Third Brother, this isn’t the Empire anymore. The chief doesn’t even know who you are, so your promise means nothing to her—money is worth more in her eyes. You get that, right?”

Wu Xingyu shot him a cold glance. “My promise is the most valuable thing, no matter where I am.”

With that, he lifted his long legs, a little huffy, and stomped off in his military boots after the others.

“Third Brother’s still as cool as ever.” Yun He whistled, then slung an arm around Yuan An’s neck.

“Let’s go. Nothing we say ever works on Third Brother anyway. But it’s weird—this time he didn’t just toss the chief out. Last time, a young lady from a duke’s family tried to grab his hand during a social event, and he flipped her over his shoulder in one smooth move. Broke two of her ribs right then and there—she screamed nonstop, and the whole place was chaos.”

“After that, the duke’s daughter was too embarrassed to show her face at any more parties, and not long after, she hurriedly married some useless son of a minor duke. I’m sure Third Brother had a hand in that. Just goes to show how much he hates women trying to touch him. So, do you think he’s holding a grudge against the chief this time?”

Yuan An’s mouth fell open, eyes wide with confusion. “That happened? I had no idea!”

“Hmph, like I’d lie to you? I’m the little gossip king of the noble banquets—there’s never been a rumor from me that wasn’t true.” Yun He tilted his nose up, looking smug.

Pei Yu perked up, his face full of interest. “That brat’s been ruthless since he was a kid—guess he hasn’t changed a bit. Breaking a girl’s ribs is exactly the kind of thing he’d do.”

“So, was that duke’s daughter pretty? Prettier than the chief?”

“Well…” Yun He frowned, thinking hard. “I don’t think so. But she was called the Empire’s number one beauty—one of the top in the whole Empire.”

Pei Yu stroked his chin. “Tsk tsk, that brat really doesn’t know how to appreciate a beauty. If it were me, I’d definitely have a fling with her. You guys don’t get it—there are tons of men on this exile star, but hardly any women. At this point, even Ah Hua’s starting to look pretty to me. Sigh!”

He felt bitter inside.

How could someone as dashing and handsome as him never meet a beautiful woman who truly understood him, someone he could have a passionate romance with?

As for the chief—sure, she was beautiful, but she was way out of his league. He had enough sense to know that.

“Honestly, to Third Brother, it doesn’t matter if a woman’s pretty or not.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Yun He’s expression turned odd. He glanced around to make sure no one ahead was listening, then whispered, “Third Brother’s face-blind—but only when it comes to women.”

“Ew.” Pei Yu’s pupils shook, his face animated. “How come we never noticed before?”

“Well, because Third Brother’s smart—he hides it well. He can’t recognize faces, but he can tell people apart by their clothes, jewelry, even their voices. Plus, he doesn’t interact with many women, so there aren’t many chances for him to slip up. Only my brother, with his eagle eyes, ever noticed something was off. Otherwise, Third Brother could’ve kept this secret forever. It wasn’t safe to talk about it back in the Empire, but now, it’s probably fine.”

“Hahaha… Man, it feels so good to finally say it out loud. I’ve been holding it in for so long, I was about to blurt it out in my sleep if I didn’t get it off my chest.”

“Ha! So the brat had a secret like that, huh?” Pei Yu rubbed his chin, his eyes darting mischievously as if he was plotting something.

Yuan An was still in shock. He noticed the long-legged figure ahead suddenly stop, so he quickly shifted the topic, eyes darting nervously. “Uh, where did Uncle Mo go? He disappeared right after lunch.”

“Where else? He’s obviously gone to his flower fields. He treasures those flowers more than he does me, his own cousin.” Pei Yu pouted, grumbling without realizing why Yuan An had changed the subject.

Yun He caught on and quickly followed suit. “Yeah, I wonder if they’ve managed to contact Molan City yet. I wonder if my brother and the others have made it there.”

“That depends on their situation. If they have a hovercar or a mech, it’d take about three days to get from here to Molan City. But if they’re on foot? It took me a whole month and three days to walk here from Molan City.”

“Whoa, it’s that far?”

“Yeah, it’s really that far. People think Exile Star is just a trash planet nobody wants, but it’s actually huge—about as big as the Empire’s central planet.”

Yun Qimu, who had just returned from setting up the cabin construction, heard this and her face immediately darkened.

That far?

She’d been planning to rely on Molan City’s help to double the population in fifteen days. She was going to assign Pei Yu to recruit people, maybe offer him a small reward—he’d definitely be up for it.

But now, distance was a problem. There were no renewable energy sources on Exile Star, so everyone saved what they could—no one would waste a hovercar or a mech on a trip like that.

So, the plan to send Pei Yu back to recruit people in exchange for a bit of money was out.

“Do you guys know if there are any other tribes or settlements nearby?”

Yun Qimu suddenly asked, startling the three of them so much they nearly dropped dead on the spot. “Y-y-you—when did you get here?”

“Just now.”

“Then, then…”

“Right when you were saying it takes a month and three days to walk from Molan City to here.” Yun Qimu cut them off, then eyed them suspiciously. “What were you guys whispering about just now, all secretive like you didn’t want anyone to hear?”"