The Guide Always Wants to Run (GL) - Chapter 22

“Her Highness Yuzhu is an exceptional sentinel with a gentle nature. She is widely acknowledged as the rightful heir to the royal throne. The most recent uproar was about the little boy who was brought into the royal household. People suspected he might be an illegitimate child, born of His Majesty and another guide, because that child just awakened as a sentinel. The most shocking part is that he is only six years old. His presence threatened Her Highness Yuzhu’s position as heir. However, Her Highness has clarified everything, and the situation has temporarily calmed.”

“Her Highness has countless admirers. A full third of the guides at the Guide Academy hope to marry her through compatibility matching. As for the remaining two-thirds, a large portion want to marry General Yan. Ah, let me check who General Yan is.”

“Qin Xiao, this general looks just as good as Her Highness Yuzhu, but she seems a little too serious.”

Qin Xiao glanced at Yu Jing without any expression. Her thoughts were still caught on how quickly she had found Ah Qin. There was a flicker of excitement and delight inside her.

Yu Jing had excellent learning abilities. It took her only ten minutes to register a Star Network account. Once online, she immediately began browsing all the gossip about Capital Star.

“Qin Xiao, do you know this Her Highness Yuzhu?”

Qin Xiao’s thoughts had drifted far away. Over the years, Ah Qin’s appearance had faded in her memory. Until just now, that long-buried image had suddenly resurfaced. She gave a faint nod. “I need to find her.”

Yu Jing was stunned. Her bright blue eyes stared at Qin Xiao in disbelief. Her mouth opened, but it took a while for her voice to come out. “Her Highness always travels with a personal escort team. It is said that the team is part of the royal guard, made up of fifteen male sentinels. You—”

Yu Jing felt that Qin Xiao was no ordinary person. How could a regular person tear out the Sea King’s tiger whiskers with her bare hands?

But she clearly was not one of those bulky sentinels either.

Qin Xiao was about the same height as Yu Jing. Her hair was trimmed but still uneven. Her features were delicate and deceptive, looking entirely like a harmless snow-white rabbit.

She did not match the physical traits of a sentinel at all. If anything, she resembled the type of guide locked away in an ivory tower.

The big white rabbit that was Qin Xiao stood up and stretched. “Help me check where Her Highness Yuzhu usually goes. Do not miss a single place.”

Yu Jing wanted to ask why she couldn’t look it up herself, but she held her tongue. She accepted her fate and began searching the Star Network for every detail of Yuzhu’s life. After scrolling for a while, she realized there were too many results. Hundreds of thousands of entries popped up. If she were to read them out loud, it would take half a year.

“There is too much about Her Highness online. Qin Xiao, maybe you should create your own account. That way, you can keep up and even save her photos.”

Qin Xiao hesitated briefly but agreed.

It was her first time using the system, but with Yu Jing’s guidance, she quickly became skilled at it. She scrolled through the top news. Most posts discussed the threat to Her Highness’s heir position. There were also updates about General Yan Ningjin’s safe return and a major reshuffling within the Xiao Corps. Some conspiracy theorists even suspected the general’s recent danger had been caused by a traitor within the military.

Qin Xiao remembered what she had overheard after she first woke up. Lady Luo and others seemed afraid of General Yan. They had withdrawn from Capital Star just to avoid being caught by her. Curious, she clicked into the thread. Finally, she connected the person who owed her a large amount of energy crystals with General Yan Ningjin’s identity.

She realized, “So it’s her.”

Yu Jing was left speechless when she learned Qin Xiao wanted to get close not only to Her Highness but also to General Yan Ningjin. “That is way too dangerous. I am not going with you.”

Qin Xiao narrowed her eyes, her entire aura turning sharp. “Why not?”

Yu Jing had come to Capital Star to find someone. Before she left, her family had repeatedly warned her to stay low-profile and avoid danger. She had been told to flee from anything suspicious and never let herself be exposed.

Yet under Qin Xiao’s pressure, she managed to show some resistance for once. “The two people you are looking for are incredibly powerful sentinels.”

Sentinels had heightened senses. Ordinary people could not hide anything from them. The only upside was that regular humans could not perceive sentinel pheromones and were not affected by them.

Still, standing among a group of sentinels, an ordinary person would always be outmatched.

Qin Xiao did not respond. She simply said, “There is a golden opportunity right now. In seven days, there will be a grand matchmaking banquet on Capital Star. Its purpose is to pair influential families and military officers with compatible guides. General Yan and Her Highness Yuzhu will both attend. We only need to get inside.”

That is all it would take.

Just that.

Only that.

Yu Jing shivered and shook her head repeatedly. “No, no, we will be found before we even get inside.”

Qin Xiao grabbed her wrist and looked at her with firm determination. “We will get in.”

Yu Jing considered the possibility. Even if they got in, what if they were caught halfway through? She would definitely end up as grilled fish. Just thinking about it made her tremble uncontrollably.

“Qin Xiao, I cannot go with you. Why don’t you go alone?”

Qin Xiao looked her up and down with a mischievous smile. “If you do not go, I will tell everyone your secret.”

Yu Jing gasped. “Secret?”

Qin Xiao held up five fingers and waved them in front of Yu Jing’s face. “Yu Jing, look into my eyes.”

Yu Jing’s lively gaze slowly turned blank. She stared off into the distance with a foolish expression.

…

Just a few minutes later, Yu Jing felt a bit dizzy. She looked at Qin Xiao in confusion. “What just happened to me?”

Qin Xiao tossed something in her hand and smiled playfully. “You told me your greatest talent is water control. You can even pilot a mech. This treasure looks quite valuable. Yu Jing, I know your biggest secret.”

Thunderstruck.

Yu Jing was dumbfounded. Especially when she saw Qin Xiao playing with her mech, she looked like she had taken a huge blow. After the panic passed, she recovered slightly. “You… you are making things up.”

Qin Xiao casually tossed the spatial buckle back to her. Yu Jing caught it in a panic and checked it like it was a priceless relic.

“Yu Jing, I will not reveal your secret to others. I am not forcing you to go either. But if you come with me, my chances of success go up by twenty percent.”

“Besides, you came to Capital Star to find someone, too. Do you know whether they are a sentinel, a guide, or an ordinary person? It is possible they will be at that banquet in seven days.”

Yu Jing tried to talk herself out of it. She guessed that Qin Xiao must have used some kind of trick to get her mech. Yet another voice in her head kept tempting her.

What if?

What if that person really showed up at the banquet?

Qin Xiao sat on the bed with a calm smile, though inside she was cursing nonstop. Her head felt like it was splitting open. She had tried using a bit of spiritual power to implant a suggestion in Yu Jing’s mind but failed due to insufficient energy.

Right now, her priority was to find General Yan Ningjin and obtain a batch of energy crystals. Then she would seek out Her Highness Yuzhu.

Now that she had located her, she was no longer in a hurry.

As for water control and the mech… that was all nonsense she had pieced together from observing Yu Jing. If a fish lived in water all day and still could not control it, then Qin Xiao might as well write her name backward.

Yu Jing wrestled with her thoughts for a long time. In the end, she could not resist the urge building inside her. “Alright, I will go. However, you need to share your plan with me in advance. At least let me be mentally prepared.”

Qin Xiao nodded with satisfaction.

Officially, it was a celebration banquet for General Yan Ningjin’s safe return, but everyone knew the truth. The guest list included the royal family, the military, the noble houses, and students from the Guide Academy. It was a grand matchmaking banquet for all the still-single sentinels.

Ordinary people like Qin Xiao had no right to attend. At most, they could log into the Star Network and beg for updates on the event.

It was worth noting that about a dozen military academy students had been invited.

The long-anticipated day soon arrived.

The banquet was held at the most renowned floating classical restaurant on Capital Star. Its most unique feature was its ability to float and rotate, drifting across the sky of the entire city. Guests could enjoy dinner while gazing down on the night scenery of Capital Star in all its breathtaking glory.

Most official banquets, especially those co-hosted with the Guide Academy, were held at this very restaurant.

It was famously named the Ancient Mandarin Duck.

Yu Jing had been on edge since morning. She had been standing outside the restaurant early on. Thankfully, she had Blue Star with her. Piloting Blue Star, she circled the floating restaurant again and again. Her patience was wearing thin.

“Qin Xiao, this plan may not work.”

Qin Xiao was the opposite. She watched the restaurant entrance like a hunter tracking prey. “There is another option. Those military academy students could be our targets. If we can get one of their invitations, we could pretend to be sentinels.”

Yu Jing glanced doubtfully at Qin Xiao’s small frame and blurted out, “Aren’t you a guide?”