The Guide Always Wants to Run (GL) - Chapter 16

Qin Xiao awakened inside the rest pod. The transparent dome above her automatically opened, and the silver currents that had surrounded her slowly came to a stop. She felt as if she had been floating in a warm sea, reluctant to move.

Her almond-shaped pupils blinked up at the ceiling. The range of her vision had expanded slightly. She wiggled her feet, then her fingers, and slowly lifted her hand. Her five slender fingers were pale and well-defined, each joint visible. She quietly let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, she had finally returned to a human form.

She sat up at once. Her legs were still wrapped in the silvery current, which felt unusually soft and a little ticklish. She played around in it for a while before flipping herself out of the pod. When her feet hit the floor, her legs nearly gave out. Thankfully, she caught herself using both hands on the edge of the rest pod.

She had grown accustomed to sprinting wildly with four paws on the ground. Standing upright again like this felt incredibly unnatural. After just two steps, she instinctively bent down and reached out to touch the floor with her hands.

Just look how terrifying habits can be.

Beside her, the robot let out two soft beeps and swiftly handed her a neatly prepared set of clean clothes.

Qin Xiao gave her troublesome hands a hard smack, got dressed, and rummaged around the room until she found a mirror. She held it up to check her appearance. A youthful face stared back at her. Her hair was uneven and slightly messy, somewhere between short and medium in length, looking more like it had been gnawed on by a dog. The ends were even tinged yellow. Her large almond eyes blinked wide, full of curiosity.

Qin Xiao had to admit, this face was not particularly beautiful. Large eyes, small nose, and small mouth combined to create a pitiful charm. Compared to the ugly beast form she had just endured, this was a significant upgrade. She would take what she could get. She no longer demanded perfection.

“Ugh, the complexion is terrible.”

Perhaps because the original body had long been eroded by toxins, her skin was slightly rough. Overall, she looked like an underdeveloped teenager with yellowish hair. In her own time, she would have barely passed for thirteen or fourteen.

And yet, the original owner of this body had been nineteen.

She glanced at herself once more in the mirror, touched her hands and feet, then walked out of the room after giving a fleeting look at the robot, which had already retreated into the corner.

“Lady Luo, all items have been destroyed. Everything is in order. It’s just a shame about the setup we had before.”

“It was thanks to your warning, Lady Luo. Yan Ningjin was ruthless. She launched a full-scale investigation across the entire Xiao Corps. It will be far more difficult to infiltrate again in the future.”

“So, what should we do now?”

Qin Xiao tiptoed forward, trying not to make a sound. Just as she was about to draw closer, a brown owl suddenly swooped down from somewhere above.

Without thinking, Qin Xiao punched the bird out of the air.

“Someone attacked me!”

“Who is it? Show yourself!”

The entire council chamber erupted in chaos at the sudden disturbance. Everyone stood up in alarm. After a moment, they watched as Qin Xiao slowly stepped out, head lowered.

The room fell into stunned silence. “Aya?”

Qin Xiao felt that ever since she had lost her cultivation, nothing had gone her way. She had only wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation, yet a random bird had come out of nowhere. In a defeated voice, she admitted, “It was me.”

Eva rushed over when she saw Qin Xiao hanging her head without a trace of energy. She embraced her tightly. “Aya, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Qin Xiao shook her head.

The man cradled his own head in shock and backed away at the sight of Aya. “It was her. She attacked my Little Gray.”

Little Gray?

A bird with that name… its life must be full of sorrow.

Qin Xiao muttered inwardly, unaware that the others in the room, especially Eva, were staring at her in disbelief. Eva’s eyes sparkled with joy, her voice trembling with excitement. “You said Aya attacked you?”

The man answered plainly. “My Little Gray spotted her and she hit him. Then I realized she’s a Guide!”

Lady Luo’s gaze grew cold as she cast a glance at the man. “That is enough for today. Everyone involved in this operation is to withdraw. Without my order, no one is to act on their own. Not a single word of this incident may be leaked.”

“Yes, Lady Luo.”

Qin Xiao pouted. Grown adults tattling like children. It had clearly been the bird that attacked first. Was she supposed to stand there and take it?

Eva gripped her arm tightly. “Aya, tell Mama. Is that what happened?”

Qin Xiao stared down at the tip of her shoe, wondering wickedly if she should tell this woman that the original Aya was already dead. If she did, maybe she could finally leave and search for her cauldron.

“Aya, lift your head and look at me.”

Lady Luo began walking toward her slowly. As she moved, a black shadow took shape in Qin Xiao’s vision. It slowly condensed into a blue-flowered snake with its head raised high and its slithering motion perfectly mirroring Lady Luo’s gait.

Qin Xiao hated such slippery creatures. When the snake suddenly raised its head and its pupils narrowed into slits, she instinctively pushed Eva away. The snake shot forward in an instant, mouth wide open.

Eva fell to the ground. When she turned around, she saw Qin Xiao gripping Lady Luo’s Quantum beast tightly with both hands while the veins on her forehead stood out with tension.

Eva reached out, her voice low. “Please, Lady Luo, do not hurt Aya.”

“Medusa, return.”

“Aya.”

The blue-flowered snake retreated to Lady Luo’s side, looking around as if searching for something. Then it slithered toward Eva, coiling its body around her and gently nudging her with its head.

Eva froze in place, unable to move. She forced a stiff smile. “Lady Luo, could you ask Medusa to stay a little farther away from me?”

Lady Luo gave a helpless shrug. “Eva, Medusa just wants to play with your little one. Why not let your pet out to play with her?”

That only made Eva even more afraid to move.

Qin Xiao tilted her head, watching the snake. She recalled the bird she had punched earlier, which vanished right after, and Tuan Tuan’s tendency to appear and disappear unpredictably…

Lady Luo lifted her effortlessly. “Eva, Aya can physically touch my Medusa. That goes beyond the scope of a regular Guide.”

Eva shuffled aside and grabbed a round ball from the table, tossing it across the room. Medusa immediately shot after it, nudging it playfully with her head. Lady Luo sighed at the snake, then turned her full attention to Qin Xiao. “Aya, you can see my Medusa?”

Qin Xiao blinked and hid her thoughts behind an innocent face. “That big snake is scary.”

She remembered how the original body had lived among these people for so long yet had never seen any unusual animals. Could these changes be because of her?

Eva held Qin Xiao’s hand. “Aya, have you experienced fever, body aches, hallucinations, or auditory delusions recently?”

Qin Xiao looked at her with a trace of pity. “No, I feel fine.”

The two women then asked her to describe what happened on that desolate planet. Qin Xiao gave a vague account of the days she spent with that person, leaving out the part where she had been forced into labor by the Ice Sculpture King. “Is something wrong?”

The two looked increasingly troubled, especially Eva. She pulled Qin Xiao aside to explain the difference between Sentinels and Guides.

People who awaken as Sentinels or Guides each have a companion beast, known as a Quantum beast. These beasts exist in higher-dimensional space and appear in animal form, visible only to their bonded human.

Qin Xiao tilted her head. “How do you tell Sentinels and Guides apart?”

Eva pointed at Lady Luo. “Her Medusa is a highly aggressive creature. That means she is a Sentinel. Sentinels have superior physical strength and heightened senses. Their companion beasts are often combative. Guides, however, tend to be physically weaker, and their Quantum beasts are usually gentle and small in nature.”

Qin Xiao mentally ran through her experiences. The first person she met must have been a Sentinel. The aggressive bird and the snake also belonged to Sentinels. As for Guides… She narrowed her eyes, glancing suspiciously at the two women before her.

“What about me?”

Eva hesitated, her lips moving but no words coming out.

Lady Luo interrupted. “Eva is a rare Guide. Aya, you may also have the potential to become one. Your body has long been weak, so it may take longer for you to awaken. There is no need to worry. You will awaken fully soon enough.”

Qin Xiao gave them a look that practically screamed, You’re lying to me. “Really? What happens after a Guide awakens? Will I get a partner too?”

Damn it. Her body could already transform into a beast. If she gained a gentle little companion on top of that, what good would it do? When a Sentinel attacked, was she supposed to let her adorable sidekick charm them into submission?