The Guide Always Wants to Run (GL) - Chapter 29

When that soft request to “make the mark a little stronger” came from her adorable little Guide’s lips, it was no different from a direct invitation. For Yan Ningjin, the possessive urge it stirred in her heart was more potent than an opiate’s grip. Waves of heat surged within her, each stronger than the last, until her eyes glimmered faintly red.

She barely managed to restrain herself from pressing Qin Xiao against the private vessel and claiming her on the spot. Right here, under so many watching eyes, re-establishing a mark with her Guide felt like a deliciously exhilarating act. It would be an unmistakable declaration of a Sentinel’s sovereignty.

This little Guide belonged to her.

But when she saw the blush bloom across Qin Xiao’s soft cheeks, that delicate face filled with both expectation and nerves, Yan Ningjin forced herself to quell that maddening itch. She maintained a dignified posture.

“If you want a more stable mark, I’ll have to bite a few more times.”

There would be kisses. There would be nips. Then more biting.

Qin Xiao relaxed as soon as she realized Yan Ningjin wasn’t rejecting her. The little calculations in her mind clicked away. A few more bites is still cheaper than buying suppressants from the black market.

“Shall we go? Your subordinates are all staring. Hm, what are they even looking at?”

“Stay close to me.”

As Yan Ningjin moved forward, her gaze remained straight ahead. Yet her body tilted slightly, reaching out and capturing her little Guide’s hand with precision. It was small, soft, and delicate. Her large hand wrapped around it easily, completely enclosing it.

“Wow, they’re holding hands! So bold!”

“The General brought her Guide to headquarters just to show off.”

“Woof. I’m still just a sad single dog.”

“The General’s wife is so adorable. Look, she has little dimples when she smiles! Argh, I should have snatched a Guide and eloped, too.”

…

Qin Xiao heightened her senses and caught every word of their chatter. For a moment, she forgot to pull her hand away from Yan Ningjin.

“Your subordinates are strange. Doesn’t your military division drill in formation?”

In her past life, Qin Xiao had occasionally taken Ah Qin to visit the human world. She had seen royal troops training daily in martial grounds with barely a moment’s rest. Which made the current scene all the more baffling. These people were clearly too idle.

Yan Ningjin thoughtfully repeated her words. “Xiao Xiao knows formations?”

Those battlefield formations were far simpler than the arcane arrays Qin Xiao once used. If only her spatial pouch still existed, it contained a vast collection of powerful formation blueprints left behind by ancient cultivators. They were perfect for ambushing treasure hunters or old enemies. But constructing them also required rare spiritual artifacts…

The moment she thought of her lost pouch, all the treasures and secrets it held, Qin Xiao’s entire mood collapsed. Her chest felt hollow, as if a cold wind pierced straight through.

Yan Ningjin noticed how her Guide’s previously cheerful face suddenly fell. Through their faint empathic connection, she sensed a wave of melancholy. She immediately wondered whether she had said the wrong thing.

“How about I show you around?”

“Where to?”

There were many places to explore at the military headquarters. Most catered to Sentinels, designed to boost physical capability. Mech battle rooms. Gravity chambers. Simulated combat zones. But the moment she brought Qin Xiao to the mech arena, Yan Ningjin began to regret it.

Rumor had it that Guides preferred delicate crafts such as sewing sachets. Many thought mech combat was too brutal and bloody. Not to mention, Guides generally lacked the physical strength needed to pilot mechs.

“General.”

“Madam General!”

Yan Ningjin had intended to sneak her little Guide out quietly, but several sharp-eyed brats caught them. She instinctively stepped half a pace back and cautiously glanced at Qin Xiao’s face.

She was met with an intense stare.

That look gave Yan Ningjin a sudden, embarrassing feeling of being caught red-handed. Still, she put on a calm face. “Xiao Xiao, is something wrong?”

Qin Xiao had been fascinated ever since she saw that endlessly chatty Aiwei’er morph from mech to shuttle to dancing housekeeper. It was incredibly versatile.

Not to mention Yu Jing’s Blue Star. That mech was babied like a treasure.

“Yan Yan, can I try it?”

The surrounding soldiers, who had been eavesdropping with amusement, nearly dropped their jaws. Eyes widened.

A Guide asking to pilot a mech? That was unheard of.

A faint smile curled at Yan Ningjin’s lips. She had almost forgotten that her little Guide had once been quite the little beast.

“Of course you can. Absolutely.”

Bai Xuan had just received orders from Yan Ningjin and brought Yu Jing along. But this clingy pest was like super glue, refusing to let go even for a second.

“Hey, hey, hey, I’m taking you to meet the General. You’ll see the Madam General soon. Then we’ll say goodbye forever—”

She waved exaggeratedly.

Yu Jing had long suspected that Qin Xiao was a Guide. She just hadn’t expected that after one banquet, the woman would suddenly become the Madam General. The very one coveted by two-thirds of the Guide Academy.

“Then hurry up. Or I’ll tell your General’s wife you called her a fuzzy-headed girl.”

Bai Xuan nearly choked on her own spit. She pointed at Yu Jing. “You win.”

When they arrived at the mech arena, they found it surrounded. Layers upon layers of spectators crowded in, making it impossible to see inside.

Bai Xuan grabbed someone trying to squeeze through.

“What’s going on?”

The person recognized her immediately and straightened up. “Reporting, Strategist Bai. The General and Madam General are in there, battling in the mech arena. So we all came to watch—”

To watch the drama unfold.

What kind of Sentinel brought their Guide to play with mechs? Only their General had the guts.

Bai Xuan’s eyes went wide. “The General and Madam are battling in mechs?”

The soldier nodded with a silly grin. “So I’ll go back now.”

Yu Jing frowned. “Qin Xiao knows how to use a mech?”

Without another word, Bai Xuan shoved her way forward. “How could no one tell me about this?”

She tapped her wrist and quickly sent a message to Feng Ming and the others.

Message content: Hurry to the mech arena. You won’t believe what’s happening.

Those closest to the battle were the ones originally sparring inside. Their eyes were locked on the scene.

“Oh my stars, the Madam just hit the General! She knocked her down!”

“Go! Take her down!”

“She’s lasted five minutes! Incredible.”

“Long live the Madam General!”

All Yan Ningjin had done was explain how to connect one’s consciousness cloud to a mech, syncing spiritual power with the machine to issue commands.

That simple explanation was all Qin Xiao needed. She eagerly picked a mech.

There were only five available in the Xiao Corps. Normally, one had to wait in line.

But today, everyone cleared out and let the Madam choose freely.

For fairness, Yan Ningjin did not use Aiwei’er. That particular model was an elite combat mech, with only ten of its kind found across the planet.

“Xiao Xiao, faster.”

“Don’t get cocky.”

On the control panel’s display screen, Yan Ningjin watched her little Guide with a faint smile at the corner of her eye. Across from her, Qin Xiao had her head down, uncertainly fiddling with the controls as she tried to find the power switch.

“I’m waiting for you to defeat me.”

Qin Xiao still managed to command the mech with decent fluency. At first, when she tried moving it forward, the entire mech suddenly dropped to its knees, making the crowd of spectators double over in laughter. However, after a few minutes of practice, Qin Xiao started to get the hang of it. Still, the machine felt clunky, far less nimble than Aiwei’er. When she attempted to rotate it to the left, it moved sluggishly and was immediately kicked over by the mech Yan Ningjin controlled. It lay sprawled on the ground for quite some time before it could stagger back to its feet.

Yet Qin Xiao was not one to admit defeat. The more she was knocked down, the more determined she became. Even after being flipped over by Yan Ningjin several times, she still endured. The two of them kept on dueling like slow-moving turtles.

Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then fifteen, twenty…

What had started as a casual spectacle became a tense countdown. People began timing the match with their watches. As the minutes ticked by, the arena grew silent. Not even a whisper could be heard. Everyone focused intently on the General’s wife’s mech, which fell again and again yet kept rising, stubbornly refusing to stay down. Each time it was struck to the ground, the crowd held their breath, thinking this must be the end. But in the next second, the mech would rise again, trembling and unsteady, before launching another attack and getting slammed down once more.

Their hearts rose and fell with each cycle.

Yan Ningjin, too, became more serious. What started as playful sparring turned into genuine combat. Especially when she saw her little Guide had been operating the mech for over an hour without showing any fatigue. Instead, her face shone with exhilaration, radiant and alive.

“Xiao Xiao, this time I’ll go left.”

“Oh.”

Every time Yan Ningjin said she would go left, Qin Xiao would fiercely strike to the right. The results were predictable. Yan Ningjin never deceived her. Meanwhile, Qin Xiao’s blows always missed, and she would soon find herself pinned under Yan Ningjin’s mech, struggling fruitlessly.

Yan Ningjin could only laugh and cry at such stubbornness. “Xiao Xiao, you’ve been playing for over an hour. Want to take a break? Caidie just sent me a message. She says she’s arrived.”

Qin Xiao was pinned beneath the mech, pressed down with no room to breathe. From the control panel’s display, they could still communicate.

“Caidie? That doctor from yesterday?”

Seeing her leaning her head uncomfortably, Yan Ningjin immediately rose and exited the mech.

Once Qin Xiao stepped out of her own, she saw a massive crowd in the mech chamber. She rolled her neck. Playing for an hour had drained her mentally.

“You went easy on me this time. That was no fun. Next time, I’ll beat you until you’re flat on the floor.”

Yan Ningjin replied coolly, “I look forward to it.”

Everyone who heard that bold declaration gasped. An hour ago, they would have thought the General and her wife were just playing around. But now, after witnessing it all, they exchanged glances and found they could no longer laugh.

Bai Xuan was the first to react. She cleared her throat. “Everyone seems very free. Disperse now.”

The crowd scattered like startled birds.

“Qin Xiao.”

“Yu Jing.”

Seeing the fish girl lively and whole, Qin Xiao immediately relaxed. “Have you been here this whole time?”

Receiving a pointed glance from the General, Bai Xuan quickly chuckled and said, “This is the training room. Why don’t we go to the lounge and sit down for a proper conversation?”

Qin Xiao remembered her important mission, which was to bring back medical books for study. “Yes, Doctor Caidie should still be waiting for us. Let’s go. We should not keep her waiting.”

The moment Caidie saw Yan Ningjin and the others arrive, she stood up eagerly, eyes filled with anticipation. “General.”

Bai Xuan lightly coughed, as if to remind her.

Yu Jing eyed the doctor warily. Her looks were ordinary, but her figure was full and mature. With a sideways glance at Bai Xuan, she said, “Your throat seems a little off. Want me to get you a glass of water?”

Bai Xuan gave her a haunted look and waved her hands quickly. “No need. I’ll get it myself.”

Qin Xiao looked back and forth between the two women, intrigued.

Noticing her little Guide’s eyes wandering, Yan Ningjin spoke softly, “Xiao Xiao, come here.”

“Let me introduce you. This is Doctor Caidie from the Xiao Corps. She is a Guide.”

“Madam.”

Qin Xiao nodded and replied cheerfully, “We met yesterday. Did Yan Yan give you the books? Did you bring them?”

Caidie glanced at Yan Ningjin with uncertainty, but the General offered no signal. All her attention was on Qin Xiao. Disheartened, Caidie still handed over the books. As she did, her eyes caught the fading red mark on Qin Xiao’s earlobe.

Temporary marks usually appeared on the earlobes, while a permanent mark formed over the heart. Unless undressed, it was not visible. Smiling faintly, she said, “Madam, these books are mostly borrowed from the Guide Academy. Please be careful not to damage them while reading.”

The moment Qin Xiao heard they came from the Guide Academy, she nearly gouged the book with her fingers. “Don’t worry. You may leave.”

The dismissal hit Caidie like a slap, but no one objected. Even Yan Ningjin nodded lightly. Defeated, Caidie left with a pale face.

Once she was gone, Yan Ningjin thoughtfully gave space to Qin Xiao and Yu Jing, pulling Bai Xuan aside for a private word.

Yu Jing waited until they were alone, then grabbed Qin Xiao’s arm and shook it furiously. “Heavens, Qin Xiao, didn’t you say you were going to find someone? How did you end up as the General’s wife?”

That question reopened a very bitter wound. Qin Xiao remembered her cursed identity as a Guide and the chain of disasters it brought. All her good fortune seemed to have abandoned her. She groaned and held her forehead.

“Let’s not talk about that right now. Yu Jing, if all goes well, I want to open a shop on Capital Star. If you’re not in a hurry to return home, come help me.”

What could a fish even do in a shop? Use water manipulation powers to clean the floors every day?

It did seem like overkill.

“Open a shop? Do you know how expensive it is to start one on Capital Star? How many credits would that take?” Yu Jing, a newcomer, had spent two-thirds of her savings just getting Qin Xiao a fake identity. Now her daily life was extremely tight.

“I don’t know yet.” Broke as she was, Qin Xiao’s head throbbed at the thought of credits. Earning that first bucket of gold was going to be brutal. She once had an opportunity but chose energy crystals instead. Then an idea struck her.

“I do have energy crystals. I can exchange them with Yan Yan for some credits. She… she would agree, right?”

“Yan Yan?” Yu Jing gave her a scornful look. “Didn’t you say Her Highness Yuzhu was your—”

“Shhh! Please, don’t bring that up.”

“Oh, you must have done something shameful. Why else stop me? What, now you’re going to say the General is the one you’ve been looking for all along?” Yu Jing crossed her arms with a huff. “People on your planet are all fickle and two-faced.”

Qin Xiao: !!!

She had only said a few words, and this fish dared to talk back so many times. She’s getting too bold.

“Do you want me to treat you to some steamed perch or maybe steamed carp?”

Yu Jing swallowed her next rant on the spot.

Qin Xiao saw her embarrassed expression and pulled her in with a smirk. “Xiao Yu, come here. I have a question for you. Do scales on fishfolk ever shed on their own?”

Yu Jing shuddered, her teeth chattering. “W-what are you trying to do?”

Qin Xiao found her reaction hilarious and flicked her forehead. “What are you imagining? I’m facing a tricky problem. Why would a black hawk suddenly start shedding feathers? It is supposed to be in peak health, yet losing feathers has left it weak. Could it be… dying?”

Yu Jing did not quite follow her muttering. She heard something about a black hawk shedding feathers and getting weaker. If it was strong, then why would it be dying? That made no sense.

Head bowed, she recalled the winged people in her homeland who often flew across the sky.

In a small voice, she murmured, “Not necessarily.”