The Guide Always Wants to Run (GL) - Chapter 58

Yu Jing froze completely. She had never told anyone. Not even once had she mentioned it by name.

“How did you know?”

Qin Xiao chuckled. “I tricked you. Now I know.”

Yu Jing was nearly brought to tears. “You are so infuriating.”

Qin Xiao shrugged indifferently. “That look on your face when you were searching for someone made it obvious. It was that idiot Bai Xuan.. Even a blind person could see it.”

Not to mention she herself was far from blind.

Qin Xiao tried to comfort her and reached out to pat her on the shoulder, but her hand landed on nothing. Yu Jing dodged away.

“Tsk, tsk. So fiery. I was going to help you.”

“Who asked for your help?” Yu Jing’s eyes were red with frustration. The secret she had bottled up for so long had just been exposed by Qin Xiao. A strange sense of grievance filled her.

Qin Xiao no longer had time to bother with her. She touched Hunqiu and felt the temperature had lowered a bit. Then she opened the door.

Outside, Yan Ningjin and Xia Han had been waiting. When they saw Qin Xiao, they hurried forward. The ragdoll cat, which had been clinging to Qin Xiao earlier, now seemed frightened. It clung tightly to Xia Han’s leg and even shrank back, refusing to approach.

Yan Ningjin didn’t notice. Her eyes were fixed only on her little Guide. “Xiao Xiao, how did it go?”

Qin Xiao blinked and looked toward Xia Han. “Guide Xia, please remove the mental suggestion you placed on that Sentinel earlier, then take him for a full examination.”

Xia Han could hardly believe it. “That man… he recovered?”

Qin Xiao nodded. “The red flush on his face may take some time to fade, but his clarity should have returned.”

The difference between humans and beasts was that humans had self-control.

Clear-headedness mattered more than anything.

Xia Han rushed inside.

Yan Ningjin wasn’t in a hurry. She looked Qin Xiao up and down, and only when she was sure Qin Xiao was unharmed did she finally exhale. “Xiao Xiao, is there anything I can do?”

Qin Xiao gave it some serious thought. “I might only be able to treat a few people per day. Someone needs to implant suggestions, remove them, and check everyone’s physical stats… It takes a lot of coordination, yet I’m just one person. I may need a human-shaped pillow to let me rest properly. Would you be willing to be that pillow?”

A smile bloomed in Yan Ningjin’s eyes. She had just opened her mouth when someone interrupted.

“How did you do it?” Xia Han asked urgently. “How did you bring them back to normal?”

Qin Xiao arched her brow just slightly. “Sorry, that is confidential.”

Yan Ningjin’s face turned displeased. “Guide Xia, you are crossing the line. Before we brought you in to help, we had an agreement. Do you remember it?”

Xia Han choked on her words. It took her a moment to suppress the wild gleam in her eyes. “General, Madam, I apologize. I overstepped.”

Qin Xiao rolled her eyes. “Yan Yan, next one.”

Yan Ningjin immediately arranged for the next Sentinel to be brought in. The attendants took the previous one away.

Xia Han chased after them. “I haven’t lifted the suggestion from him yet. Let me—”

Qin Xiao stopped her. “First place a suggestion on the second one. Then go remove it from the first. There is plenty of time in between.”

Xia Han nodded in a fluster. During the second suggestion, she tried to remain wary, but was soon shooed out by Qin Xiao again.

After that, she went to remove the first suggestion. When she arrived, that Sentinel was being surrounded by doctors from the Xiao Corps.

“His eyes really are clear.”

“But why is his face still red? Could something have spread to his face?”

“He looks a little dazed and silly.”

“Maybe he’s still not cured. I heard him say he wanted sunlight. Should we just push him outside to get some?”

Xia Han couldn’t take it anymore. She coughed heavily to draw their attention. “Excuse me, I need to lift the mental suggestion from this Sentinel. Could you all please step out for a moment?”

“Mental suggestion? Can’t we just watch?”

One person asked, and others chimed in. Xia Han’s face darkened. “It is a proprietary technique. Not for public view. Please understand.”

At the mention of a secret method, everyone’s eyes lit up. Then one of them spoke up.

“If that’s the case, we’d better wait outside. We don’t want to delay anything the General needs.”

Mentioning Yan Ningjin worked wonders. In a flash, the room was cleared.

At last, Xia Han had a moment alone with the only clear-headed Sentinel. For the first time, she was genuinely thankful that Qin Xiao had handed her both the suggestion and its removal.

She took out the necklace from around her neck and began swaying it before the Sentinel, who still seemed immersed in warm sunlight.

“What did you see earlier? Tell me.”

The Sentinel replied with a cry. “The sun. It’s so bright. It’s burning me. So hot. It’s really hot.”

Xia Han: …

“Help! I don’t want the sunlight anymore. It’s too hot. I’m going to burn!”

Xia Han: …

No matter how many times she asked, the answer was always the same loop of lines. There was no other clue.

She didn’t want to give up, but as the same response came from multiple Sentinels, she began to wonder.

“Could it be the temperature…?”

Each of them had left the treatment room with flushed cheeks. Some even had peeling skin. Xia Han had touched their faces. They were hot to the touch.

That matched what they all kept saying. Too hot.

On her last entry into the treatment room, Xia Han carefully examined the space. She spotted several charred holes in the walls… and Yu Jing slumped on the floor, looking completely drained.

A plan took shape in her mind.

Qin Xiao had originally estimated three patients, but little Hunqiu unexpectedly treated eight in one go.

“Yu Jing, let’s go.”

Yu Jing glared at Qin Xiao with resentment. She had been silently suffering. It had been a long time since she had last used water control, and now the number of times she had to do it at once was overwhelming.

“Hey, do you really have a solution?” Yu Jing finally squeezed out the question.

“Huh? What did you say? The wind was too loud. Say that again.” Qin Xiao cupped her ear, playing dumb.

The whole room was sealed in glass. What wind?

Yu Jing was furious. She nearly passed out from anger. “You… you… I’m not talking to you anymore.”

Qin Xiao scratched her ear and saw Yu Jing’s face full of grievance. She elbowed her lightly. “Alright, I was just teasing. If I said I’d help, I will help.”

Yu Jing didn’t believe her. “You always mess with me. You even scare me…”

The more she spoke, the more wronged she felt. Her eyes welled up with tears.

Qin Xiao said, “Stop. Don’t be like Mo Hui. I tease you because I like you. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t even bother.”

Yu Jing wiped the corners of her eyes. “Who needs your affection anyway? I don’t—”

She looked up and her face went pale. Her eyes widened in fear. She bowed sharply toward someone behind Qin Xiao.

“General, I’m sorry! I… I need to leave! Goodbye!”

After saying this completely disjointed line, Yu Jing turned and bolted.

Qin Xiao let out a few helpless sighs. The girl didn’t stop. Instead, she ran even faster, like wild beasts were chasing her. In a blink, she vanished.

Qin Xiao was still trying to understand when she was pulled back. Her face hit a familiar, soft chest.

The scent was unmistakable. “Yan Yan, what are you doing? Are you already here to be my human pillow?”

Yan Ningjin’s expression was pitch dark. She gritted her teeth and repeated each word clearly. “I tease you because I like you. I didn’t know that was your way of showing affection, and you like Yu Jing?”

Qin Xiao blinked innocently and answered frankly. “Of course I do. Yu Jing is actually very cute, although she’s not like Mo Hui. Mo Hui is a crybaby and a little coward. Yu Jing, she’s just a scared little fish.”

Yan Ningjin snorted. She was clearly not pleased with that answer. “Either way, you shouldn’t be saying things like ‘I like you’ to others. Understand?”

Qin Xiao had heard before that Sentinels with Guides could be very possessive. Now she had seen it firsthand. She huffed too. “Did you even notice what I actually said? I said—”

Yan Ningjin’s expression shifted in surprise. “You said Yu Jing is—”

Qin Xiao hushed her. “Don’t say it. I promised Yu Jing I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

After hearing that, Yan Ningjin relaxed a little and smiled faintly. In Xiao Xiao’s heart, she wasn’t counted as ‘anyone.’

“You can’t make this kind of joke with others again.”

Qin Xiao stuck out her tongue and made a face at her.

Just then, Yan Ningjin decided to let them rest at military HQ to save time and energy. They hadn’t yet reached the rest area when Bai Xuan came running over.

“General, Madam, someone from the Qin family is here… They said it’s extremely urgent and hope you can meet with them despite your busy schedule.”

Yan Ningjin narrowed her eyes. “They sure got wind of this fast.”

Bai Xuan smiled. “The Qin family is like ants on a hot pan right now. Any small movement and they’ll come running. Not to mention, Madam really did cure eight Sentinels who were already on suppressants. They’re all awake now. Naturally, the Qin family got word.”

Qin Xiao’s face lit up at the mention of the Qin family. She even cracked her knuckles. “Heh. I’ve been waiting for this.”

Yan Ningjin and Bai Xuan both turned to look at her. “Xiao Xiao, are you… familiar with the Qin family?”

Bai Xuan was wondering if, since Madam’s surname was also Qin, she could be related to the Empire’s Qin family.? If so, then they definitely had to assist. That would also strengthen Yan Ningjin’s position on Capital Star. Still… she had never heard of the Qin family having a lost daughter.

In just a few seconds, Bai Xuan had played out several soap opera plots in her head.

Qin Xiao snorted. “I’m not familiar with them, although I do have an old score to settle.”

What goes around comes around. Finally, it was her turn.