Chapter 20: Guide

Ying Li was utterly shocked and couldn’t quite figure out what was happening.

After all, the entire awakening process for both Sentinels and Guides was supposed to last several days.

When he awakened at the age of ten, he had burned with fever for seven days straight.

For the first two days, he’d only felt a mild discomfort, which was very common for children living in the Upper City District. So he hadn’t paid it any attention, and his parents and family had known nothing about it.

Over the next two days, his symptoms worsened until he couldn’t get out of bed, but his family was all too busy struggling to survive to notice him.

By the fifth day, he finally realized something was wrong and dialed the emergency number.

After that, he had been taken to the hospital and eventually received teachers from the Guide Academy.

His entire awakening process had been incredibly painful and had lasted a very long time.

Almost everyone he knew had awakened in a similar manner. Wu Nian took eight days to awaken as a Guide.

Xiang Ye had been eating water chestnuts with him not long ago — how could he have awakened in the blink of an eye?

Was the awakening of a high-level Guide this simple?

Wait, after awakening, both Sentinels and Guides were extremely weak; they needed care and guidance.

Instinctively, Ying Li wanted to get up and check on Xiang Ye’s condition.

But he couldn’t rise.

Xiang Ye’s mental power was wrapped around him too tightly!

When high-ranked Sentinels and Guides successfully awakened, their mental power would spread outward.

This was somewhat dangerous. If their mental power spread too far, they might just dissipate entirely.

He had to guide Xiang Ye to quickly pull his mental power back in!

Although for some reason Xiang Ye’s mental power showed no signs of dispersing and was instead entirely coiled around him, Ying Li was still worried. He mobilized his own mental power and tried to push away the mental power wrapped around him that belonged to Xiang Ye.

This wasn’t difficult.

Right after his rebirth, he had consumed Heavenly Treasures and adjusted his physical state to optimal condition. In addition, he possessed the experience of his previous life… Though he had not yet become an A-Rank Sentinel, his mastery of mental power was no weaker than that of an ordinary A-Rank Sentinel.

Based on the mental power he sensed, Xiang Ye had awakened as a B-Rank Guide, just as in the previous life. And Xiang Ye had only just awakened, with no idea how to use his mental power.

Ying Li quickly broke free from the grip of Xiang Ye’s mental power. The moment he broke free, he felt Xiang Ye’s mental power swiftly retract.

Immediately, he got up and went outside, pressing the door-open button to Xiang Ye’s bedroom.

The door to Xiang Ye’s room wasn’t locked from the inside; at a touch, the entire door retracted into the wall. Ying Li then saw Xiang Ye lying on the ground.

The room Xiang Ye currently lived in had been his own room before. The room was very small; aside from the bed, the walkable aisle on the floor was less than half a meter wide.

And right now, Xiang Ye was wedged in that narrow aisle, covered in sweat, his expression one of discomfort.

Xiang Ye was also wrapped in his own powerful mental power.

Xiang Ye’s mental power was truly unusual. It had first latched onto him, then coiled around Xiang Ye himself.

But that was a good thing. At least there was no need to worry that Xiang Ye’s mental power would dissipate.

Ying Li grabbed Xiang Ye’s clothes and lifted him from the floor onto the bed, then wrapped his own mental power around Xiang Ye. “Xiang Ye, listen to my commands and try to pull your mental power back in!”

Sentinels had eidetic memories, and Ying Li was someone who loved learning.

He knew what needed to be done during a Guide’s awakening.

In truth, having a Sentinel guide a Guide during awakening wasn’t the most suitable arrangement. However, his own mental power was much more stable than that of an ordinary Sentinel’s, so he could attempt to guide Xiang Ye.

Ying Li used his mental power to soothe Xiang Ye and guided him to rein in his mental power.

At this moment, Xiang Ye still believed he was dreaming.

This dream of his had started off rather absurdly — he dreamed he had separated from his own body.

Then the dream had become wonderful. He entered Ying Li’s bedroom and even embraced Ying Li.

He felt that Ying Li exerted a powerful attraction over him, so he held on tightly, refusing to let go.

But Ying Li had suddenly woken up and started pushing him away.

Did Ying Li not like him? After being hugged by him, would Ying Li come to dislike him?

A surge of fear rose in him, and he hurriedly fled back to his bedroom, hugging himself. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.

If Ying Li learned what he was thinking, would he drive him away?

He was filled with panic and even forgot that he was dreaming.

Just then, Ying Li suddenly appeared in his room, carried him onto the bed, and started speaking to him.

Ying Li mentioned mental power? What was mental power?

In his daze, Xiang Ye instinctively followed Ying Li’s instructions.

Seeing Xiang Ye gradually pull his mental power back, Ying Li breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiang Ye’s awakening was now fully complete!

What needed to be done now was to wipe the sweat off Xiang Ye to prevent him from catching a cold, and then prepare some food for him.

Using his mental power, Ying Li scanned Xiang Ye’s room and located the bath towel he had bought for Xiang Ye a while back. He then started wiping the sweat from Xiang Ye’s body, beginning from his head. Along the way, he removed Xiang Ye’s shirt and trousers.

The underwear, however, he left on.

It was then that Ying Li saw the layers of scars crisscrossing Xiang Ye’s body. None of these scars were severe — most were minor wounds. Yet they were more than enough to prove that Xiang Ye had suffered much bullying in the past.

Ying Li felt sad.

Though he himself hadn’t received much love as a child, he’d rarely been beaten.

At times, he could even understand the actions of his parents and siblings.

Ultimately, it all came down to poverty.

If their family had been wealthy, his parents wouldn’t have had to snatch food from their children.

Aside from the scars, Xiang Ye was also very thin. Because he ate so much, his belly was slightly protruding, but his waist and abdomen had almost no fat, and his ribs were painfully distinct, each one clearly visible.

Looking at him now, it seemed the place where Xiang Ye had put on the most flesh since coming here was his face!

He still needed more fattening up.

While wiping Xiang Ye’s sweat, Ying Li used his mental power to conduct a thorough and detailed examination of Xiang Ye’s condition. He then discovered that Xiang Ye still hadn’t started developing.

Although Xiang Ye was already eighteen years old, his bone age was only around twelve or thirteen.

So, his awakening was late, but his development was even later. When he awakened, his body hadn’t matured at all!

So this was Xiang Ye’s situation. No wonder the Shen Family hadn’t uncovered anything useful from their research.

So, that Sentinel from the Shen Family had “enticed” an underage Guide?

Ying Li was still pondering this when he looked up and saw Xiang Ye awake, staring blankly at him.

“You’re awake? Then wipe your own sweat and change your clothes. Then come out to eat.” Ying Li handed the towel to Xiang Ye.

Xiang Ye took the towel in a daze. He felt like his whole being was about to explode.

Waking up to find himself completely stripped — this was quite an intense shock!

He’d thought he was dreaming, but he was very much awake now.

He wondered briefly if perhaps Ying Li had intended to do something with him, but Ying Li’s gaze was far too innocent.

After Ying Li left his room, Xiang Ye sat up on the bed, vexed that his sweat had dirtied the sheets, and began recalling what had happened before.

Suddenly, he realized — he must have awakened.

Ying Li had said he might awaken. Because of that, he had specifically looked into information about awakening. And now he clearly possessed mental power.

He had awakened — awakened as a Sentinel!

Xiang Ye believed he had awakened as a Sentinel, because according to the information he’d learned, a Guide’s mental power was very weak and could only scan a small area around them.

But he was different. His mental power had traveled all the way to Ying Li’s room and latched onto him!

He had latched onto him!

Thinking of this, Xiang Ye’s face flushed even redder than when he’d had the fever.

He was almost too embarrassed to go out.

But he was really, really hungry. It was that same maddening, clawing, heart-scraping hunger again.

He had to face the music sooner or later. Gritting his teeth, he went outside and saw two peeled water chestnuts and several boxes of nutrient paste on the table.

Ying Li was also taking an electric pot from the kitchen. After adding water, he put in mushrooms and chopped water chestnuts to boil.

“You’ve just awakened, so you must be hungry. Come and eat. Eat plenty,” Ying Li said with a smile.

Xiang Ye, who was originally supposed to awaken only four years later, had awakened after just a month and a half in his care. It had to be because he’d raised him well!

Ying Li felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

Xiang Ye had been closely observing Ying Li. Seeing that Ying Li didn’t bring up what had happened before, he relaxed. “Mr. Ying, did I really awaken?”

“Absolutely,” Ying Li said with a smile.

Xiang Ye immediately declared, “Mr. Ying, the next time you go outside the city, I’ll go with you! I’ve awakened as a Sentinel. From now on, I can be your Follower and go hunting with you! Rest assured, I may be weak right now, but I will definitely become stronger!”

He wanted to be Ying Li’s partner, but that was probably impossible. However, he could become Ying Li’s underling and stay by his side forever!

Xiang Ye was bursting with excitement, but Ying Li fell silent. After a moment, he said, “You didn’t awaken as a Sentinel. You’ve awakened as a Guide.”

Xiang Ye froze, feeling as if a pie falling from the sky had just smacked him.

He had awakened as a Guide? He was a Guide?

Then… did that mean he could be with Ying Li?

A bolt of joy shot through Xiang Ye, surging to the top of his head and seemingly about to burst out from his skull.

He instantly made a decision — he would not tell Ying Li about the Guide who had come looking for him!

That person was a Guide? So what? He was a Guide now too!

At that moment, Ying Li spoke again: “Xiang Ye, an awakening is supposed to last several days. I don’t know how you managed to awaken so suddenly. Over the past few days, did you feel anything unusual? Are you feeling any discomfort now?”

Xiang Ye’s awakening had truly come out of nowhere.

Xiang Ye replied, “I didn’t feel any irregularities over the past few days, and I don’t feel unwell now. But I’ve always had this old problem of fevers and headaches.”

He then recounted how, from a very young age, he had periodically suffered from headaches and fevers.

After listening, Ying Li formed a theory about Xiang Ye’s condition.

Xiang Ye’s innate talent was probably very high, meaning his awakening had started when he was quite young.

But his parents hadn’t known he was awakening. He himself was also far too thin and lacked the necessary energy, so the process had only gone halfway.

After that, his body had repeatedly tried to restart the awakening, but each time he lacked sufficient energy, so he could never truly complete it.

It wasn’t until this past month, when he finally had adequate food and had also eaten red ginger, that he was able to successfully awaken.