The Guide Always Wants to Run (GL) - Chapter 10

Qin Xiao winced from the pain but quickly gathered her wits. She circled around the golden lion-tiger beast twice, then peeked out to check on the ice sculpture creatures guarding the cave. The moment they saw her head poke out, their fluffy, squirrel-like tails flicked open into sharp spines and struck toward her face. She immediately backed away two steps.

She had already tried escaping during the day. She had wanted to reach the pile of stones in the neighboring cave, believing it held stronger spiritual energy, but she had been ganged up on. Those ice sculpture creatures’ tails were lethal weapons. When spread, they fanned out like blades, making them extremely dangerous.

Tuan Tuan glanced at her with frosty disdain and flicked his fluffy tail before strolling out of the cave like he owned the place. The ice sculpture creatures stationed outside ignored him entirely, allowing him to wander back and forth at will.

Even the ones patrolling at night failed to detect anything unusual.

Qin Xiao had to lie flat to get a clear view of the outside. Watching Tuan Tuan’s movements, she somehow saw a sense of elegance and nobility in the way he walked. Doubtful, she turned to glance at the four trembling little cowards huddled together in the cave. Their eyes shimmered with fear.

All the small details she had previously ignored began surfacing.

Qin Xiao muttered, “Am I the only one who can see Tuan Tuan?”

Tuan Tuan herded her back into the cave and sat majestically in front of her, his expression cool and aloof.

Qin Xiao scratched at the ground with her paw, contemplating how to convey the cave’s energy crystal to that human through Tuan Tuan. She let out a low howl, then drew a rough outline of an energy box on the ground with her claw. She patted the sketch with her paw.

Tuan Tuan glanced at her coolly and pressed his fluffy paw against the outline, which counted as a response.

Qin Xiao laid down and squinted her eyes, digging into her memory to retrieve the mental map she had stored. She scratched out a crude, crooked sketch onto the ground that looked like it had been drawn by a dog’s paw.

Yet Tuan Tuan sat beside her, his expression serious as he solemnly examined the diagram.

Qin Xiao used her paw print to mark her current cave, indicating the starting point. The box represented the other cave she believed was filled with immense energy, marking it as the destination. She marked the path she had left behind with tiny paw prints.

She patted her dog paw map and tilted her head to look at little Tuan Tuan.

The smaller version of him was even more adorable than his full-size self. His fur puffed out in all directions, giving him a round, squishy appearance. He tilted his head as he studied the map. Whether he understood or not, his expression was so endearing that it tugged at the heart.

Qin Xiao couldn’t help herself. Her little paws lunged forward and pounced on Tuan Tuan, rubbing, petting, and snuggling into his fur with abandon. She wanted nothing more than to bury her entire head into that fluff.

Tuan Tuan immediately began struggling. He used his paws to claw and bite at her, even more fiercely than before.

By now, Qin Xiao had a good grasp of his temperament. Once bitten, she flopped onto the ground in surrender, letting out pitiful howls and giving him the most miserable expression she could muster.

Seeing her like that, Tuan Tuan relented.

Qin Xiao knew when to stop. She curled herself into her corner and kept a cautious eye on him. Deep down, she was thrilled. This little guy is too soft. Once I get stronger, I’m definitely kidnapping him for fluff time.

Tuan Tuan began pacing like he was surveying his territory. Once he confirmed that she wasn’t up to anything else, he squatted in front of the map and swiped twice with his paw. The dog paw map was utterly destroyed.

He gave her a commanding glance from above, then turned and left the cave.

Qin Xiao crouched at the entrance, watching little Tuan Tuan follow the exact path she had drawn earlier. She waited a long time, but he never came back.

At dawn, Qin Xiao and the four cowardly creatures were driven out to roll stones.

Oddly enough, this had become Qin Xiao’s favorite task. Roughly half the stones held spiritual energy. Eagerly, she selected those larger than herself and pushed them with her body while secretly absorbing the energy inside. Though the energy was chaotic and impure compared to that within energy boxes, Qin Xiao desperately needed strength. Even a mosquito had meat, and she wasn’t about to let any of it go.

She was faster than the other four in her cave. The energy filled her with strength, and she began rolling stones more quickly while draining their energy as fast as she could. She wished she could suck all the power out of every rock.

After a long time rolling stones, she suddenly noticed a flash of gold in her peripheral vision. Looking up, she saw little Tuan Tuan standing at the highest point, a spot usually reserved for the ice sculpture creatures. He looked like a supervisor.

Qin Xiao hurriedly rolled two more boulders. Just as she started pushing another, she felt a scratch from behind. Whipping around, she saw little Tuan Tuan had leapt down.

She looked left and right but didn’t see any energy crystals.

She was starting to wonder what exactly Tuan Tuan was trying to do. She believed the map she had drawn made it clear that he should fetch the energy crystal for the human while she absorbed all the energy here.

Without a word, Tuan Tuan jumped onto the stones.

To avoid suspicion from the ice creatures, Qin Xiao pretended to keep pushing rocks. Meanwhile, Tuan Tuan hopped from stone to stone until he reached the top, where the passage to the other crystalline cave lay.

Suddenly, little Tuan Tuan transformed into his full-sized self. He shook out his golden fur and opened his mouth.

“Roar!”

Qin Xiao felt a sharp jab pierce her brain. Her vision blurred as the cave shook violently. The piled stones shuddered, then began crashing down.

The other laboring creatures didn’t even have time to scream. They were flattened instantly. Several ice sculpture creatures were also crushed, while the rest fled the cave in a panic. It wasn’t clear whether they were escaping or fetching reinforcements.

Qin Xiao was nearly crushed by a falling stone. Just as her vision went dark, she saw Tuan Tuan flash past her and leap back onto the largest boulder before darting into the tunnel.

She quickly recovered, springing from rock to rock and scaling the height. She scrambled into the tunnel after him. Sure enough, a golden ball of fur waited up ahead.

The passage was long. As she neared the crystalline cave, the abundance of spiritual energy became more intense. The small node in her dantian was spinning wildly, pushing her to crawl faster.

The cave was like a kaleidoscope of colors. What she had seen earlier was only the tip of the iceberg. Qin Xiao spun in joy and pressed her little paws against the glowing walls, eagerly drawing out spiritual energy.

Tuan Tuan turned around to see her stuck to the wall like a four-legged beast, completely absorbed. The crystalline luster dimmed rapidly where she touched it, and cracks spread outward like a spiderweb.

Soon after, dozens of ice sculpture creatures rushed into the cave. Their tails flicked open into sharp arcs, and they leapt down the passage toward Qin Xiao.

“Roar!”

Tuan Tuan’s angry roar made them hesitate. A few lost their footing and shattered upon impact with the floor, breaking into glittering shards.

Qin Xiao’s ears rang from the roar. Her head throbbed. When she opened her eyes, another ice sculpture creature was already charging at her, tail sweeping toward her from the wall.

She instantly withdrew her paws and selected another wall to continue absorbing energy. She even had the presence of mind to pat the wall with her paw to signal to Tuan Tuan that this was where the human’s energy box must come from.

The entire cave had been formed from energy crystals, and every inch contained spiritual energy.

Qin Xiao wished she had three heads and six arms. The more energy she absorbed, the faster her cultivation would recover. However, just as she was making progress, the ice creatures interrupted again.

“Awoo.”

“Roar!”

Qin Xiao clung to the wall with all four paws, desperately drawing energy. Whenever a creature charged, she would scramble along the wall, leaving a trail of paw prints.

Tuan Tuan stood stunned. He tried scratching the wall with his claws, but it was as hard as forged iron. Nothing worked. He attempted to distract the ice creatures, but with more and more pouring in, he couldn’t keep up.

Qin Xiao continued darting from wall to wall, draining spiritual energy and leaving a dense trail of paw prints. When they formed a solid line, one entire wall suddenly collapsed with a loud crash, revealing the core.

A single crystal shimmered with a dazzling, multicolored glow.