The Guide Always Wants to Run (GL) - Chapter 5

Qin Xiao refused to fall for the trick. That person had just been considering roasting her alive.

She shrank further into the ‘big box,’ relying on the fact that the woman could not reach her. Her eyes glared fiercely at Yan Ningjin, but her mind raced. So far, this was the only person she had encountered, and the box that had once held her looked a lot like this one.

Should she reveal herself to this stranger?

Yan Ningjin had never dealt with small animals before and naturally did not understand the meaning of gentleness. Watching the little beast cower deeper into the container, she sneered and slapped Aiwei’er’s metal frame.

“Throw that little beast out.”

Just as Qin Xiao was puzzling over her words, a loud clicking noise came from the box. With a whoosh, she was ejected at lightning speed.

Aiwei’er immediately obeyed the command. Its massive body shifted, and two crab-like pincers extended from its base, snapping at the spot where Qin Xiao had just hidden. A sweet voice echoed in the air.

“Reporting, Yan Yan. Target not found.”

Qin Xiao stared in horror at the speaking non-living object, which she recognized as the ‘big box.’

Seeing the little beast had crawled out on its own, Yan Ningjin was intrigued. It was clearly vigilant, but the fact that it had willingly consumed juice from the Drunken Dream Tree earlier also proved it could be rather foolish. This contradiction made her hesitate in judgment. However, one thing was certain.

“Little beast, I know you can understand me.”

Qin Xiao was overwhelmed. This lifeless object could speak and move on its own. It was like a high-level puppet. Her worldview expanded in that instant.

Yan Ningjin saw how it continued to keep a wary eye on Aiwei’er.

“You must be a native of this planet. Do you know where I can find more of these energy modules? If you lead me to them, I will grant you one favor in return.”

She placed one energy module not far from the little beast and then took several steps back.

Qin Xiao tilted her head, examined it, and then, delighted, darted forward. Heavens, she could sense spiritual energy within this small box. It was pitifully faint, but to her, it was like divine intervention. If she could gather enough, she could restore herself and finally be free from this hideous body.

Seeing the creature so thrilled, Yan Ningjin felt a flicker of hope. The reaction confirmed that the little beast recognized the energy module. If they could find more, perhaps she could finally leave this unknown planet.

Now both of them pinned their hopes on each other.

In her excitement, Qin Xiao sprawled across the energy module. Within seconds, she felt a warm current spreading from her abdomen to her limbs. Then, she saw a tiny glowing dot inside the creature’s body, and was struck by a sudden, terrible realization.

Heavens, my nascent soul!

Yan Ningjin watched as the small monster let out two mournful cries before it began thrashing about wildly on the ground, as if it had lost its mind. Most alarming of all, the energy module she had just set down was gone!

Qin Xiao had cultivated all the way to the nascent soul stage. Her inner core had even transformed into a fierce, infant-shaped entity mirroring her own spirit. Now, only a small glowing dot remained.

Not only had her cultivation regressed, but her soul had entered the body of this hideous creature. She might have been better off letting those tribulation bolts kill her outright.

A flash of light crossed her mind.

Suddenly, a flood of foreign memories surged into Qin Xiao’s head. The onslaught hit like a tidal wave. She rolled on the ground in agony.

“Awoo, awooo!”

Yan Ningjin approached slowly, particle blade in hand. When she reached the place where the energy module had been, she saw only powdery remains. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the creature. With a flick of her blade, she pointed it at the creature’s softest abdomen.

“Take me to the energy modules.”

Qin Xiao stared silently at the stars. Her memory had returned. The divine artifact had torn apart the void. While passing through it, her body had been shredded by space blades, and her soul had escaped into this body.

The original owner of this body had been poisoned as a child. Because of that, they underwent a beast transformation every five years. This was the fourth time, but it had come more than a year early.

By the time Qin Xiao’s soul had entered, the owner had already succumbed to years of poisoning.

All her remaining spiritual energy had been spent suppressing the toxins. That explained why she had felt like something was missing upon waking. Whether this was fortune or misfortune, she could not say. Her cultivation had regressed to the foundation stage and she was barely more than a cripple.

No wonder this body looked so ugly. The long-term poisoning had distorted it, and the malnourishment had stunted its growth.

Yan Ningjin watched the little beast’s vacant stare and felt an inexplicable pang of sympathy. She retracted her blade and sat beside it.

“This is an unfamiliar planet to me, yet the starry sky looks just like the one on Shepherd Star. Just as beautiful.”

Qin Xiao had already absorbed fragments of memory from the child who used to live in this body. Sparse, scattered memories, but enough to confirm one thing.

She was no longer in her original world.

The divine artifact truly lived up to its name. It had torn through the void and brought her here.

Suddenly, Qin Xiao leapt to her feet.

She had come here to find her cauldron! Could it be that her cauldron was in this world?

A moment ago, she had lain on the ground lifeless. Now, energy flooded her again. She spun in place, almost foolishly, but her enthusiasm was infectious. Somehow, Yan Ningjin felt a bit lighter.

Qin Xiao howled at the sky several times.

The divine artifact brought me here to find my cauldron. My cauldron must be in this world!

She almost wanted to throw her head back and sing to the stars.

After venting her excitement, she barked twice at Yan Ningjin, then ran ahead. After covering a short distance, she turned and howled at her again.

Yan Ningjin quickly caught on.

“You want me to follow you?”

Qin Xiao nodded enthusiastically. She ran a bit farther, glanced back to confirm that Yan Ningjin was following, and then returned to the path. Along the way, they passed many strange trees and flowers, massive aquatic beasts, and flying predators.

Every time Qin Xiao signaled, Yan Ningjin immediately understood. The coordination between beast and woman was seamless. Their pace was swift, and by the time dawn broke, they had reached the edge of the escape pod.

Qin Xiao had originally planned to offer that bird carcass to Yan Ningjin in exchange for passage away from here. After all, to find her cauldron, she needed to go where people were, and her cauldron was definitely a person.

She felt oddly certain of that.

When they arrived at the pod, the once-dead bird was now just a skeleton. Hollow, terrifying.

Qin Xiao was furious. She wanted to curse.

Yan Ningjin saw the creature barking at the empty bones. With eyes scanning for danger, she drew her blade and stepped forward. She had not expected the escape pod to land here.

She approached carefully. With one swing of her blade, she split the bird’s skeleton, raising a cloud of dust.

Qin Xiao inhaled most of it and sneezed several times in protest.

The bird’s bones had mingled with human remains. Qin Xiao, worried that Yan Ningjin might not notice, deliberately knocked on the pod with her paw. When that failed, she disdainfully used her claws to dig out the human bones one by one, flinging them toward Yan Ningjin. She even pulled out the scraps of clothing buried in the dust.

Yan Ningjin looked down. A thin protective layer was still visible on the fabric. She touched it and felt a chill. She could guess whose corpse it was, although there had been one more person in the escape pod.

She had never even confirmed whether the little princess had made it out safely.

Looking at the battered escape pod, Yan Ningjin no longer held much hope for the heir’s survival. Even Hu Luoshan had not lived through the crash, so how could a child of five or six?

She knelt and searched the area. If there were remains of a child, that would confirm her worst fears. Yet after scouring the site, she found no bones that could belong to a child.

Qin Xiao was unaware of Yan Ningjin’s concerns. She leapt onto the webbed glass of the pod, then sprang inside. With expert paws, she tapped and scratched, searching the strange container for a second energy module.

With more modules, she could absorb more energy. She had to move up the food chain. Once her cultivation returned to a certain level, she could use bl00d magic to locate her cauldron.

The thought of her cauldron filled her with vitality again.

Yan Ningjin remained on high alert. When she heard the sounds from inside, she suddenly recalled how Qin Xiao had tapped inside Aiwei’er earlier. Her expression shifted as she stepped around to the front of the pod.

There she saw the little beast sprawled inside, limbs akimbo, patting this surface and that, clearly searching for something.

Yan Ningjin frowned more deeply. She could not tell if it was her imagination, but somehow, seeing the creature inside the pod did not feel out of place at all.