My Taoist buddy has practiced surrogacy

Chapter 1452 Old Dream
Ling Xue piloted the dilapidated cargo ship, slowly landing on the junk planet known as "Tears of Rust." The scene outside the porthole was like the end of the world; a crimson sandstorm raged across the land, shrouding the entire planet in a hazy yellow light. Abandoned mechanical wreckage piled up like giant monster skeletons, creaking eerily in the howling wind. Occasionally, a few sparks of electricity could be seen shooting out from the scrap metal, as if they were the only signs of life in this desolate land.

The moment she stepped out of the hatch, a pungent odor assaulted her nostrils—a mixture of oil, rust, and unknown chemicals. A thin layer of dust immediately settled on her protective suit and helmet, blurring her vision. The ground beneath her feet was soft and uneven, each step feeling like treading on a dangerous, trap-filled path.

Stepping into the makeshift dwelling, converted from the old warehouse I once ran, I was enveloped in a damp, musty smell. The paint on the walls had long since peeled off, revealing mottled metal sheets covered with scratches and dents left by time. In the corner, some discarded parts that hadn't been disposed of were piled up, emitting a faint glow, seemingly telling a story of past glory and present desolation.

Ling Xue sat wearily in a rickety chair, wiping sweat and dust from her face. Her gaze fell on the still-unhealed laser burn scar on the inside of her wrist, and her thoughts drifted back to the failed marriage negotiations three years ago. Back then, her ex-husband, in his struggle for control of the family business, had resorted to violence to force her to sign an unequal agreement. Under his cold, piercing gaze, she felt utterly desperate and helpless, ultimately choosing to leave with nothing, departing from what she had once thought was a safe haven, her heart filled with pain.

Just as she was immersed in painful memories, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside. Then, the door was kicked open violently, and a group of people dressed in black rushed in. Leading them was a tall, stern-faced man with sharp, hawk-like eyes who scanned the surroundings before locking onto Ling Xue.

"Are you the person in charge here?" the man asked, his voice deep and magnetic.

Ling Xue looked at them warily, then slowly stood up: "I am Ling Xue. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The man didn't answer her question, but instead waved the detector in his hand: "We've detected unusual energy fluctuations here, possibly indicating the presence of some precious mineral or ancient ruins. From now on, this place is under our control."

After speaking, the men behind him began to scatter and search. Ling Xue felt a surge of anger, but she knew she was no match for these men and could only watch helplessly as they ran rampant on her territory. Just as she was feeling despair, a dazzling light suddenly shot out from the depths of the warehouse, illuminating the entire space. Everyone was startled by this sudden turn of events, stopping what they were doing and looking towards the source of the light.

As the light faded, a figure appeared before them. It was a person wearing a black cloak, with a half-silver mask covering their face, revealing only a pair of deep-set eyes. A uniquely designed energy sword hung at their waist, and they held a small box that shimmered with a mysterious light in their hand.

"Who gave you permission to cause trouble here?" the mysterious man said coldly, his voice not loud, but full of authority.

The leader in black frowned, clearly displeased with this sudden appearance: "And who are you? Mind your own business!"

The mysterious man chuckled, "This star field is my territory. If I say no trouble, then no trouble." With that, he waved the box in his hand, and a powerful force instantly swept out, forcing the black-clad leader and his men back several steps.

Taking the opportunity, Ling Xue observed this mysterious savior and discovered a unique aura emanating from his every move. This aura was neither the savage arrogance of ordinary pirates nor the rigid discipline of regular soldiers. She secretly guessed that this person might indeed have some kind of background.

Seeing the situation was turning against them, the leader of the men in black knew they had met their match and dared not act rashly. He glared fiercely at Ling Xue and led his men away in a sorry state. After they had gone some distance, the mysterious man removed his mask, revealing a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar to Ling Xue—it was Zhou Xing!

"Long time no see, Ling Xue." Zhou Xing greeted her with a smile, but a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.

Ling Xue was so surprised she couldn't close her mouth: "How is it you? Didn't you already..." She swallowed the words back, after all, their breakup had been very unpleasant.

Zhou Xing seemed to see through her thoughts and explained, "I knew you would come here. How have you been these past few years?"

Ling Xue snorted coldly: "Thanks to you, I'm lucky to still be alive." She turned her back to Zhou Xing, unwilling to face this painful past.

However, Zhou Xing did not give up. He took out a bottle of medicine from his pocket and handed it to Ling Xue: "This is the best medicine to heal the wound on your hand."

Ling Xue hesitated for a moment, but ultimately accepted the medicine bottle. After applying the ointment, she was surprised to find that the wound was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. This miraculous effect made her even more curious about Zhou Xing's identity.

The next morning, Ling Xue was awakened from her sleep by a commotion. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she went out of her room and saw Zhou Xing's spaceship parked not far away, surrounded by a large crowd. It turned out that Zhou Xing's spaceship had been forced to land there due to a malfunction, and his crew was working hard to repair it.

Ling Xue intended to pretend she hadn't seen it and walk away, but Zhou Xing stopped her: "Can you do me a favor?" He pointed to a complex device at the bottom of the spaceship and said, "This thing is having some problems, and I need your expertise to fix it."

Despite her reluctance, Ling Xue, out of professional ethics, went to inspect the device. After careful examination, she discovered the problem was far more serious than she had imagined. It was a critical navigation system component; its damage would cause the entire spaceship to lose its sense of direction. Furthermore, repairing it required a special rare metal as a replacement material, a metal only found in specific areas of junk planets. Just as the two were discussing how to solve the problem, an alarm suddenly sounded outside. It turned out that an interstellar patrol ship was approaching! Apparently, someone had reported illegal activities taking place there, so they were investigating. If caught, they would not only be fined and their ships confiscated, but they could also face even more severe penalties.

In this emergency, Zhou Xing decided to take Ling Xue with him to escape. They quickly boarded the spaceship, started the engines, and prepared to take off. However, before they could fully leave the atmosphere, they were intercepted by a larger warship. The warship demanded that they surrender immediately for inspection via communication channels.

At this critical moment, Zhou Xing demonstrated his extraordinary leadership and personal charisma. He calmed the crew while simultaneously devising a strategy. He told Ling Xue, "Now we can only rely on you. Only you can hack into their main computer and alter the records, giving us a chance to escape."

Ling Xue took a deep breath and nodded. She quickly connected to the enemy's network system and, using her superior technical skills, successfully hacked into and modified the relevant data. Taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, Zhou Xing's spaceship seized the opportunity to break through and sped towards the vast depths of space.

After shaking off their pursuers, the atmosphere eased slightly. In a quiet cabin, Zhou Xing revealed his true identity to Ling Xue—he was actually an interstellar thief, specializing in stealing precious artifacts. He had come to the junk planet to search for a fragment of a legendary ancient artifact.

Upon hearing this news, Ling Xue was extremely shocked: "Why are you telling me this?"

Zhou Xing smiled wryly and said, "Because I trust you. And I feel we should be honest with each other." Then, he explained why he became a thief. It turned out he was once the son of an archaeologist, and from a young age, he had developed a deep interest in history and culture. Later, his father died in an accident during an expedition, leaving him only a diary and a riddle. To solve this mystery and avenge his father, he embarked on this path.

As their conversation deepened, the two gradually opened up to each other. Ling Xue shared her difficult life after her divorce and her feelings of uncertainty about the future. She told Zhou Xing that she had always dreamed of having her own career and no longer depending on anyone for a living.

Just then, the spaceship received an encrypted message. Upon opening it, she discovered it was a provocative video sent by her ex-husband! In the video, her ex-husband smugly displayed his newly acquired power and wealth, mocking Ling Xue's current impoverished state. Seeing this, Ling Xue trembled with rage, wishing she could rush back immediately to confront him.

Zhou Xing patted her shoulder comfortingly, "Don't be impulsive. Since he wants to play around, let's play along." So the two of them came up with a plan to teach her ex-husband a lesson and show him what a real tough guy he was!
The first step in carrying out the plan was to infiltrate the luxurious space station where her ex-husband was located to steal crucial evidence proving his corruption. To this end, Zhou Xing led his team in meticulously planning a daring operation, using forged identification documents to blend in. Ling Xue, on the other hand, was responsible for hacking into the security system's firewall to access the core database and extract the necessary information.

The operation went smoothly that night, as simple and quick as a performance. Just as they were about to leave with the evidence, they triggered a hidden trap and found themselves surrounded. It turned out that the ex-husband had anticipated this; he was simply waiting to catch them like fish in a barrel!

At the critical moment, it was Zhou Xing's wit and courage that allowed him to escape danger. Amidst the chaos, he located the control center and quickly seized it, forcing the enemy to surrender. At the same time, he discovered a shocking secret—his ex-husband was actually controlled by a much larger mastermind! This person was a member of the mysterious organization that had caused Zhou Xing's father's death years ago!

Upon learning the truth, Zhou Xing decided to no longer back down; he would expose the conspiracy and bring all the criminals to justice. He then joined forces with several other friends who had also been persecuted, forming a temporary alliance to fight against the evil forces.

The final battle took place inside an abandoned space station, where fierce fighting broke out between the two sides, creating an exceptionally intense and spectacular scene. Zhou Xing, with his extraordinary courage and superb martial arts skills, led his teammates to break through the defenses time and again, gradually approaching the core area of ​​the target. Meanwhile, Ling Xue was also busy, providing technical support from the rear and disrupting the enemy's communication systems, preventing them from effectively commanding the battle.

After a fierce battle, justice finally triumphed over evil! Zhou Xing successfully destroyed the enemy base and rescued many trapped personnel, including some innocent children who had been trafficked here to be used as experimental subjects. Seeing the children's smiling faces after their rescue, everyone felt extremely gratified.

After the battle, Zhou Xing chose to turn himself in and take legal responsibility because he realized that although his past actions were well-intentioned, they had crossed legal lines and deserved punishment. Ling Xue, on the other hand, used the evidence she had collected to help the victims restore their reputations and rebuild their lives.

Months later, when Zhou Xing was released from prison, he discovered that Ling Xue had been waiting for his return. They smiled at each other, and all misunderstandings and estrangement vanished in that moment. They decided to start anew together, running a legitimate interstellar trading company dedicated to promoting cultural exchange and development between different planets.

The company's opening ceremony was grand and attracted much media attention. Ling Xue, giving a speech on stage, was filled with emotion: "I once thought my life was over, but now I realize I've been reborn. Thank you for being by my side and supporting me. I believe the future will be even better!" She then looked affectionately at Zhou Xing beside her, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. Everyone was happy for the couple who had overcome so many hardships to finally be together, wishing them a long and happy life together! And in the distant starry sky, a star shines especially bright—that is the place that witnessed their legendary love story…

The winter wind howled like a knife, whipping up swirling snowflakes. Ling Xue, dressed in a plain brocade cloak, followed closely beside Emperor Zhou Xing as they traveled incognito to a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the capital. The temple had long since fallen into disrepair; the roof tiles were missing, and the biting wind poured into the temple unimpeded. Several ragged people huddled inside, among them a young girl who stood out. Her hair was studded with bits of grass, and her thin body trembled, yet she stubbornly clutched the tattered scroll in her arms, refusing to let go even as her lips turned blue from the cold.

Zhou Xing inadvertently caught a glimpse of a corner of the scroll, on which faint writing could be seen. His curiosity piqued, he stepped forward to get a better look. Just then, several vicious-looking thugs burst into the dilapidated temple. They immediately targeted the girl, cursing and reaching for the scroll in her arms. The girl resisted fiercely, her eyes filled with terror and defiance. In the chaos, a shard of porcelain tore her sleeve, and half of a bloodstained jade pendant slipped from her arm.

Ling Xue, with her sharp eyes, instantly recognized the jade pendant. It was the unique double phoenix holding a pearl design, a style exclusive to the previous dynasty's royal family, and she was startled. Almost at the same time, Zhou Xing also noticed the jade pendant.