The Guide Always Wants to Run (GL) - Chapter 55

Qin Xiao had a heightened sense for danger. At that moment, she was forced to tilt her head upward and lock eyes with Yan Ningjin’s obsidian irises, which seemed as bottomless as an abyss. A sudden wave of unease stirred in her chest. Perhaps it was anxiety over Her Highness Yuzhu’s situation, or perhaps…

“…Hm?”

“I, I, I…”

Under Yan Ningjin’s intense gaze, Qin Xiao could barely speak. Her words came out stammered, as if she had done something terribly wrong. However, on second thought, that was absurd. The two of them were only in a trial marriage arrangement formed out of necessity. There was no reason to feel guilty. No reason to be afraid.

Qin Xiao immediately puffed out her petite chest, then poked Yan Ningjin’s shoulder with her fingertip. Once, then again. Her apricot eyes widened in defiance and her lips pursed with indignation.

“What is it? What is it? Yan Yan, are you interrogating me right now?”

All the fury and suspicion Yan Ningjin had just built up scattered in an instant. The little Guide’s mischievous defiance dismantled her walls. That persistent poking wasn’t painful, but it was undeniably ticklish. She grabbed Qin Xiao’s offending finger and stated with certainty, “Xiao Xiao, you are worried about Her Highness Yuzhu.”

Qin Xiao’s heart skipped a beat.

She’s good. Is Yan Ningjin secretly part hound? How did she know that?

Qin Xiao’s eyes darted around frantically. In just a few seconds, she raced through dozens of possible countermeasures in her mind.

“It’s normal to be worried! If the royal family descends into chaos, wouldn’t the entire Empire Star plunge into disorder as well?”

Truthfully, things weren’t much better as they were. Sentinels, once maddened, could easily kill without warning, leaving the public in panic and fear.

Hearing this, Yan Ningjin’s face turned dark. She gripped Qin Xiao’s shoulders firmly and spoke each word with force.

“No. Absolutely not.”

Qin Xiao, quick to adapt, immediately changed course and slid into agreement with a cheerful nod.

“Exactly! Yan Yan, you think it’s unacceptable, too. I agree. That’s why we need to fix this issue quickly and restore order to the Empire Star. That would be best for everyone.”

Yan Ningjin’s expression remained stern as she corrected her.

“Xiao Xiao, what I meant was that you are not allowed to worry about Her Highness. Absolutely not.”

Qin Xiao: …

Why is she so fixated on that?

Qin Xiao took a deep breath.

“Yan Yan, what I’m worried about is you. If the military’s issues don’t get resolved, you won’t come home, and if you don’t rest, how will your injury heal?”

As she spoke, Qin Xiao appealed both with reason and emotion. Meanwhile, her hand slipped under Yan Ningjin’s shirt from the hem, confidently searching for that spot she knew well. Her fingers found it and began to gently knead, the pressure slow and deliberate.

All of Yan Ningjin’s senses flooded to her left side. That warm, small hand moved in slow circles, and her skin seemed to catch fire wherever it touched. The sensation made her scalp tingle. Her heart felt as though it had been steeped in warm water; it was torturous yet soothing, unbearable yet addictive. She stepped closer, seized Qin Xiao’s hand, and husked out in a low voice, “Xiao Xiao, don’t stop.”

Qin Xiao’s brows arched with pride. A flicker of triumph flashed in her eyes. With her other hand, she wrapped her arm around Yan Ningjin’s waist for better leverage. She continued massaging the same spot, unaware of how suggestive her posture had become.

“Xiao Xiao, you need to rest and recover properly. You absolutely cannot be fighting crazed Sentinels in the infirmary like last time.”

Yan Ningjin exhaled softly in her heart. She wondered whether the little Guide would be angry once she found out the truth. If she was, then what would she do?

Noticing the tension in Yan Ningjin’s abdomen ease slightly, Qin Xiao gently coaxed, “Yan Yan, why don’t we figure out a way to fix this mess? It would benefit both you and the royal family.”

Yan Ningjin lowered her head and caught sight of Qin Xiao’s adorable hair whorl and her pale, pointed chin. Without thinking, she reached out and gently patted the Guide’s head.

“All the doctors on Empire are researching suppressant alternatives. They will find a solution.”

Qin Xiao looked disappointed. She still wanted to push her case.

“But… aren’t you worried about them?”

Yan Ningjin cupped her cheeks, slowly brushing her fingers along the soft skin. After a long pause, she finally said, “I am more worried about you.”

Qin Xiao’s heart trembled at the sincerity of that single sentence. She let out a few sheepish laughs to cover her fluster.

With the failure of the suppressant, no one suffered more than the main Qin family.

A slew of compensations had already driven them to the brink. Now people were camping outside their home, protesting. Many among the crowd were ordinary civilians whose loved ones had been killed by maddened Sentinels injected with the faulty suppressant. Tracing it back, they all laid the blame on the Qin family.

Criticism flooded the Star Network. Every Sentinel affected in the royal family and military had been put in isolation. Some, like Yan Ningjin, were finding ways to weaken them without direct combat.

However, the issue involved several prominent families and members of the royal bloodline. The pressure on the Qin family only grew. They were at the eye of the storm, and life was becoming unbearable.

“Give us answers!”

“You must explain yourselves! Your suppressants killed people!”

“The Qin family will fall! The Qin family must fall!”

…

A crowd gathered at the Qin family gate, demanding an explanation. They waved poles and banners, voices rising in angry chants. It was clear they wouldn’t leave until someone emerged.

Yu Jing shrank back into a corner, confused.

“They’ve been causing a scene for a while now. Ever since the suppressant incident broke out, the Qin family’s gate has been nearly trampled. Why did we come here, Qin Xiao?”

Qin Xiao sighed and hushed her.

The royal family was keeping Her Highness Yuzhu’s situation tightly under wraps. Not a single word had leaked. If Qin Xiao hadn’t overheard something at the military base yesterday, she’d probably still be lying at home, oblivious.

Her Highness’s condition likely matched that of the affected Sentinels. If she could just obtain one sample to study, she might be able to find a cure for the Empire.

Qin Xiao habitually rubbed her fingers together.

“Tell me, if the Qin family goes down over this suppressant scandal, who stands to gain?”

Yu Jing thought hard, then shook her head.

“I don’t know. Still, this has harmed so many people. I don’t think the Qin family did it on purpose.”

Qin Xiao rolled her eyes.

“Obviously! Even if they had ten times the guts, they’d never offend so many people at once. Offending both the military and the royals? If they can’t come up with a good solution soon, they’re finished.”

Yu Jing still looked baffled.

“So why are we here?”

Qin Xiao rubbed her fingers again.

“To borrow someone.”

Yu Jing blinked.

“???”

It turned out that without Yan Ningjin, who was undoubtedly the true powerhouse, by her side, nothing went smoothly for Qin Xiao. She tried contacting an old acquaintance within the Qin family, the retired Madam Qin, whom she had unfortunately offended. As soon as she opened her mouth, she was mistaken for another protester and promptly thrown out.

Fuming, Qin Xiao cursed at the top of her lungs.

“You snobs with no sense! I came here because I still had some respect for the Qin family. Do you even know your current situation?”

Her outburst drew stares from everyone nearby.

Yu Jing tugged at Qin Xiao’s sleeve timidly.

“Maybe we should go.”

They had already been kicked out. There was nothing else to do but leave.

Qin Xiao stood up and gritted her teeth.

“You’d better hope you never need me. Otherwise, I’ll make you roll up and down Aige Street like human bowling balls. Let’s go.”

Yu Jing covered her face, wishing she could pretend she didn’t know this person.

The two of them boarded a maglev train back to Aige Street. Qin Xiao was puffed up in anger, like a furious pufferfish.

“What kind of noble house is this? They have no sense of opportunity. I delivered it to their doorstep, and they still turned me away. No wonder they’re going down.”

Yu Jing let her complaints go in one ear and out the other. Deep down, she was still quietly judging her.

“Ah.”

“What is it?”

Qin Xiao pouted. Outside the Cloud Pavilion, someone was squatting. Her Quantum beast, Qiu Qiu, was even more conspicuous in size. With one glance, Qin Xiao recognized who it was.

“Empire Star is in chaos, and Liu Ze still lets his little Guide roam around unattended.”

Yu Jing rolled her eyes to the sky.

“Miss Mo Hui was only worried about you.”

Well, that was true.

While the two whispered back and forth, Qiu Qiu had already spotted Qin Xiao. Its bulky frame thudded toward her in clumsy joy. Qin Xiao felt a stir in her pocket as the puffball, sensing a familiar presence, popped out.

“You… you’re finally back.”

“Stop right there.” Qin Xiao raised a hand to block the girl who was running toward her. “No crying.”

Mo Hui’s tears, carefully held back all this time, were abruptly choked down again. Still, she continued sobbing, clearly gearing up for a full-on emotional storm.

Qin Xiao looked at her helplessly.

“Look at me. I’m fine. You should be smiling when you welcome me home, not bursting into tears the moment you see me.”

Mo Hui realized that made sense and quickly wiped her eyes.

“I—I was just so happy. What took you so long? I was scared you wouldn’t come back. What would I do then?”

Suddenly, Qin Xiao remembered she hadn’t fully handled Miss Mo’s situation. She opened the door and pulled her into the Guide rest chamber.

“So… Liu Ze still hasn’t touched you? Could he be… physically impaired or something?”

Liu Ze really didn’t seem like the monk-like, self-restraining type.

If a man didn’t touch his bonded Guide, it was either because he was sick or because he didn’t love her at all.

Mo Hui shook her head rapidly. Her face turned as red as an apple, and she waved her hands to deny it.

“No, no, nothing like that.”

Qin Xiao narrowed her eyes.

“Then why are you blushing… Oh, I see. Did you two already start making baby Guides and baby Sentinels?”

Mo Hui’s cheeks were crimson enough to bleed.

“He, he, he… He was so worried last time.”

Qin Xiao saw right through her. The moment Mo Hui’s shy little expression appeared, she knew.

“So being kidnapped wasn’t all bad. At least it made Liu Ze show some real feelings. Didn’t it?”

Mo Hui was so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself. “Doctor, your method really worked.”

Qin Xiao paused, then realized what Mo Hui meant. She beamed with pride. “Of course it did. Everything I taught you came from real experience.”

Mo Hui nodded like a devoted fan, but then noticed the barely visible temporary mark on Qin Xiao’s earlobe and asked in surprise, “However, it looks like you haven’t been officially marked by the General yet.”

Qin Xiao: …

They stared at each other, wide-eyed, wordless.

Qin Xiao had no choice but to change the subject. “Mo Hui, are you aware of the major incident happening on Capital Star lately? It’s serious. Someone at Liu Ze’s military academy must have been affected, too, right?”

Mo Hui looked confused. “Doctor, what are you talking about?”

Qin Xiao gave a quick summary of the recent events involving the military and the public. “I don’t know if anyone has come to me for treatment yet. Maybe I can study the condition.”

Mo Hui remembered Liu Ze mentioning it once in passing, but things had been hectic. He had less and less time to rest at home, and the topic never came up again.

“A lot of students at the academy accidentally received the suppressant. Liu Ze said some cases are severe. The students have been given forced leave recently.”

Qin Xiao’s eyes lit up with hope. She leaned closer and whispered, “Mo Hui, I need someone to volunteer for treatment. Ask Liu Ze if he knows anyone willing.”

Mo Hui naively agreed and said she would come back the next day.

Yu Jing, who had been watching them from the Guide rest chamber, grumbled with mild jealousy. “Miss Mo Hui really is loyal. When you were kidnapped, she was the only one who kept coming here every day. Sometimes she stayed the entire morning.”

Qin Xiao chuckled. “She’s just pure.”

Mo Hui was easy to get along with. Innocent and bubbly. Put unkindly, she was a teary little coward. People like her needed someone to look after them, or they would be tricked and sold off in a heartbeat.

The next day, the teary little coward came back, accompanied by her Sentinel, much to Qin Xiao’s surprise.

“Good day, Madam.”

“General Liu.”

Liu Ze didn’t like small talk. He greeted her briefly, then got straight to the point. “I heard from Xiao Hui that you want to treat the berserk Sentinels. How confident are you, Madam?”

Qin Xiao blinked once, then again. “Not at all.”

Mo Hui: …

Liu Ze: …

Seeing the shock on their faces, Qin Xiao burst out laughing.

“Berserk Sentinels hurt or kill others because they’ve lost their sanity. I’m sure you’ve tried disabling them, but it didn’t work.”

Liu Ze frowned slightly but didn’t object. At first, they had confined the berserk Sentinels, but after a few confrontations, they realized that those injected with suppressants had gained strength. They couldn’t be defeated easily. Some people even died.

“If you don’t want anyone else dragged into this, the best option is to kill the berserk Sentinels. If the Qin family can’t come up with a better solution, you’ll be forced to carry out such orders.” Qin Xiao had gathered this intel from Yan Ningjin. Getting rid of the problematic Sentinels wasn’t difficult, but the issue was their identities. Many of them, like Yuzhu, were not people one could touch easily. With the royals and noble families pressuring the Qin family, chaos had become the norm.

“Did you get this information from the General?”

“No.” Qin Xiao had teased some hints out of Yan Ningjin and then made her own deductions from how the Sentinels were being handled.

“So, General Liu, do you want to take a gamble with me?”

Liu Ze’s frown deepened. “Why me?”

After all, with Qin Xiao’s status, she could simply ask Yan Ningjin for test subjects.

Qin Xiao felt stuck. She couldn’t exactly tell him that Yan Yan had been moody lately and wouldn’t let her get involved… That would make it sound like their trial marriage was falling apart. Worse, someone might try to send her back to the Guide Academy.

After a moment, she gave him a half-smile. “Because I like Mo Hui. If you want to marry her, General Liu, you should give me something, right?”

Liu Ze came from humble beginnings. Without his rank, he wouldn’t have been a match for someone as delicate as Mo Hui. The Mo family, eager to advance their status, had long planned to use Mo Hui’s marriage as a bargaining chip.

Qin Xiao’s words hit Liu Ze where it hurt.

Mo Hui hadn’t expected the conversation to turn to marriage. She instinctively clutched Liu Ze’s arm.

Liu Ze looked down at his little Guide and struggled inwardly. “What do you want, Madam?”

Qin Xiao’s goal was clear. Princess Yuzhu must not die, yet she couldn’t let anyone else know that.

She cleared her throat. “I don’t know yet, but you have my word that I won’t make you do anything against your conscience. Let’s not make promises yet. If this works, we’ll talk then. Time is short. Can you provide someone or not?”

Liu Ze looked like he had made up his mind. “I can.”

Soon after, Cloud Pavilion received a new patient. A berserk Sentinel was carried in by Liu Ze and another young man. The second boy was badly bruised, with a swollen face like a pig’s head. His clothes were disheveled and his hair stuck up wildly.

“Who is this?” Qin Xiao asked.

Before Liu Ze could answer, the young man rushed to explain. “I’m Guan Xia, and that’s my brother, Guan Dong.”

Qin Xiao asked, “Did General Liu explain everything to you in advance?”

Guan Xia nodded. “Instructor Liu already told me. Madam, I came here willingly. My brother saved up enough credit points to buy a suppressant, and now we have no way to afford further treatment.”

As he spoke, a tear rolled silently down his cheek. He wiped it away roughly.

“If you can wake my brother, Madam, I’ll do anything to repay you.”

Qin Xiao had expected to spend time convincing him. She hadn’t anticipated such earnestness. It was rare to see a young man with such a sense of responsibility.

“Let me be clear. I have no confidence in this working. However, you should be aware that if the Qin family fails to find a solution, your brother may be classified as a severe threat and be eliminated. Do you understand?”

The boy nodded slowly. Tears and snot poured down his face. “I understand. Thank you, Madam.”

A feeling Qin Xiao hadn’t experienced in centuries, sympathy, unexpectedly rose up in her heart. She even felt a pang of guilt, yet she knew someone had to make sacrifices.

She had them push the patient into the Sentinel treatment chamber and dismissed them.

Liu Ze hesitated. “Madam, please let me stay. These Sentinels have greatly enhanced physical strength. It’s too dangerous for you to face one alone.”

Qin Xiao waved him off. “Relax. Worst case, I’ll implant a suggestion.”

Liu Ze said, “But—”

Before he could finish, Qin Xiao shoved him out of the treatment chamber.

The Sentinel’s eyes glowed red. His muscles tightened from the struggle, like they were about to burst.

Qin Xiao studied him closely, then sent her mental tendrils slowly into his consciousness cloud. One, then another. As she prepared to add more, a surge of mental force slammed into her.

Though she had mentally prepared, the unstable state of his consciousness cloud caused the impact to knock her several steps back.

“Wow. Not easy to fool at all.”

Hunqiu poked out of her pocket and squeaked.

Qin Xiao took it as encouragement and patted the little creature. Just then, she heard two familiar snapping sounds. It reminded her of the time she and Yan Ningjin had stood guard over berserk Sentinels.

She looked up. Sure enough, the Sentinel who had been lying down was now sitting up. The surge of mental power made him look almost… excited.

Qin Xiao rushed forward, locked eyes with him, and forced her mental tendrils into his cloud.

“I’m your mama. Be a good boy and lie down.”

She repeated it three times.

The Sentinel, who had just broken free from his restraints, obediently lay down. His eyes stared at Qin Xiao with an almost clingy fondness.

The look made her skin crawl. Still, she reached forward and stroked his head.

“Mama needs to examine your consciousness cloud. Relax. Don’t be afraid.”

Qin Xiao successfully entered his mind and found a dense buildup of mania markers, yet amidst the red, there was one glowing crimson spot the size of a thumbnail. It was far more vivid than the others and impossible to miss.

She reached out with her tendril to touch it.

The next second, her mind was forcefully expelled from his consciousness cloud.

Qin Xiao spat a mouthful of bl00d. Her body wilted.

Hunqiu popped out of her pocket, squeaking wildly. It tumbled onto her face and rolled in circles. Slowly, the crushing headache that had threatened to split her skull began to fade.

Qin Xiao opened her eyes and looked at the tiny round creature.

“Hunqiu.”

It nuzzled her gently, then bounced off and headed for the Sentinel.

Qin Xiao tilted her head in curiosity and gave it a boost onto the bed.

“What are you doing?”

Hunqiu hopped onto the Sentinel’s face, rolled around two or three times, and as it did, its pale green hue faded and began shifting into a completely new color.

It was a shade Qin Xiao had never seen before. A fifth form that Hunqiu had never taken until now.