Chapter 25: Three Swats
Today, the snow in the Imperial Capital had stopped, and the sun had made a rare appearance at noon.
The sunlight made the air fresh and pleasant, and there was ample light everywhere. Most people didn’t turn on their lights, but instead opened their windows and curtains to let in the air and welcome the long-awaited natural light.
The school doctor had clearly thought the same. This infirmary at the Sentinel Academy was in such a state.
However, when the door was closed and all the blackout curtains in the infirmary were drawn tightly, everything in the room grew dark.
Darkness was the breeding ground for distracting thoughts. To some extent, it also provided the only barrier for shame.
When vision was weakened by the brightness, the other senses naturally became more distinct. With his already excellent perception, the faint, almost imperceptible smell of medicine in the room became more pronounced. The soft, rustling sound of fabric, which had been very faint due to the slow movements, also seemed to become piercing.
Beside the simply furnished examination bed, uniform pants lay on the floor. Next to them was an unbuckled combat belt, and next to that was a pair of dark, high-top military boots. The boots were clearly made of hard leather, suitable for trekking in the snow, as well as for training and combat.
A little higher than the boots were equally dark, standard-issue socks, which almost reached his calves, accentuating the already smooth lines of his muscles.
Further up, a certain area was temporarily uncovered.
“…”
The rustling sound suddenly stopped.
The young Sentinel, who had been obediently carrying out the command with his head bowed, quietly looked up at the Guide in the wheelchair beside him, his gaze both probing and questioning.
And the Guide’s emotionless, ice-blue eyes were already looking at him.
Their gazes met.
One of them’s breathing suddenly quickened, making the infirmary seem even quieter.
After a long moment, the Sentinel looked away, and a flush of heat spread from his ears to his neck.
Without any communication, the rustling sound, as if a start button had been pressed, began again.
Finally, the last piece of his lower garments also slid to the floor.
It was time for the next step.
Zhu Hui belatedly realized that Xu Xunyue wasn’t actually going to let this matter go. He was probably going to punish him now.
…Was he going to spank him?
Of course… of course, it was fine if he did. He had lied, so it was only right for his brother to punish him. But his brother was angry, and he was very afraid of his brother being angry.
He had to make his brother not angry anymore.
So he didn’t have to worry about anything, just do what his brother said.
Zhu Hui nimbly turned over and got onto the bed, his movements as agile as the standards of a Sentinel Academy practical class. Unfortunately, without the cover of fabric, his unconsciously tensed body ultimately betrayed him, revealing his inner unease to his bonded Guide.
Xu Xunyue looked down at him and moved the wheelchair a little closer to the bed.
He first raised his hand, then halfway through, as if remembering something, he reached behind his head and took off his hair tie.
The low ponytail, which had been loosened by the Sentinel, fell apart, draping casually over his shoulders, cheeks, and back. The strands of hair looked smooth and soft, very nice to touch, making him look even gentler. Even without an expression, he didn’t look so scary anymore.
It was a completely different style from the low ponytail, but both were good-looking.
The Sentinel, who was peeking out of the corner of his eye, was stunned.
Xu Xunyue noticed his gaze and paused his movements.
He had originally wanted to re-tie his hair before he began, but now he changed his mind. He tucked a strand of long hair behind his ear, and without any warning, he curled his lips at the Sentinel, his eyes the color of the clear blue sea from the pre-Cataclysm era, gentle and vast, charming and harmless.
He placed the simple black hair tie into Zhu Hui’s palm.
Zhu Hui subconsciously took it and clenched his fist around it.
A strong sense of crisis came from his subconscious, but it was completely useless. The person involved had completely forgotten what day it was.
He clutched the hair tie and obediently lay down, his pursed lips unconsciously lifting, as if he had received a precious gift—
Smack.
Crisp and loud.
Zhu Hui’s entire body trembled.
The secret joy that had lingered in his eyes a second ago immediately transformed into a mixture of shyness and restraint. The roots of his ears, his cheeks, and his neck all turned an unprecedented shade of red. Even the spot that had just been slapped was slightly flushed.
His legs, clad only in shoes and socks and exposed to the air, instantly tensed, bouncing slightly on the mattress before obediently returning to their original position.
Xu Xunyue heard a muffled grunt and his now-disordered breathing. The breathing was rapid at first, but then he seemed to realize and gradually reined it in.
Zhu Hui also subconsciously closed his eyes, but after the first swat, he didn’t receive a second. After a while, he opened his eyes again.
The reason that had been knocked out of him by that swat returned a little. His mind, not very clear, recalled that just now… it didn’t seem to hurt much?
How could that be?
It was true that a Sentinel’s physique was strong and their recovery ability was amazing, but they were very sensitive to pain. In the Empire of a few hundred years ago, there was even a form of torture where a Guide would specifically amplify a Sentinel’s sense of pain. It was later abolished with the progress of human civilization.
But just now, it seemed like it was only the sound that was loud, and the touch was real, which was what made it so shameful, making one wish they could lose their hearing.
But on second thought, it really didn’t hurt.
Could it be…
Zhu Hui suddenly understood.
His brother was still regulating his five senses.
His brother had blocked his sense of pain.
His tensed muscles instantly relaxed. Zhu Hui was even a little happy now, thinking that a few more swats wouldn’t matter. As long as his brother was no longer angry, it was fine. Anyway, his brother wouldn’t be able to bear to hurt him.
His brother punishing him was because he cared about him.
It was at this moment that Xu Xunyue suddenly asked a question.
“Does it hurt?”
Zhu Hui shook his head rapidly.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
As expected.
Xu Xunyue had long guessed that it didn’t hurt. The reason he asked was also to confirm if his regulation was working properly. After all, even if it really hurt, Zhu Hui definitely wouldn’t say so and would just bear it silently.
He was already injured, so it was better not to torment him. As long as he knew he was wrong, it was fine.
As for how he guessed that Zhu Hui wasn’t in pain…
It was because he had smelled Zhu Hui’s pheromones.
That cool, edible scent of snow.
Just that one swat, and Zhu Hui’s pheromones had shot out, filling the infirmary, even lowering the room’s temperature by a few degrees, taking away the dry warmth of a sunny day.
His Sentinel had once again been thrown into a bonding heat by him, and in this way.
Really…
Forget it. Who told me to block Zhu Hui’s sense of pain?
At the end of his anger and amusement was resignation. In the infirmary, which had been quiet for a while, the crisp sound rang out again, this time twice in a row.
The sound was too ambiguous.
Even though it didn’t hurt, the feeling of his flesh being moved and trembling was too subtle. Zhu Hui still couldn’t control himself, couldn’t swallow the small sounds in his throat.
The pain was gone, but the other feelings were still there.
That was his brother’s hand. His brother was touching him.
Like.
I like brother.
[I like brother.]
The four words were transmitted into Xu Xunyue’s brain with extreme clarity.
A flash of golden light flickered in his ice-blue eyes. The golden light quickly disappeared, but the originally light blue had turned a deep blue.
His movements paused slightly. He gently squeezed the spot that was flushed red and still trembling, and touched wrists with the Sentinel who had buried his head in the mattress.
69.99%.
So this didn’t work either.
It was always 69.99%, which meant that the degree of all previous contact was not enough to continue increasing the compatibility. 70% was a difficult watershed to cross.
And if he wanted to completely clean Zhu Hui’s spiritual landscape… Xu Xunyue had tried just now. He couldn’t clean it completely. It happened to require a compatibility of over 70%.
He let go of the Sentinel and took some things out of a cabinet nearby.
…
Zhu Hui hadn’t realized he had been thrown into a bonding heat. He thought he was just dizzy from being too intimate with his brother, which was normal.
He tried to even his breathing. His reaction was a beat behind. It wasn’t until Xu Xunyue let go of his hand that he dazedly began to wonder why his brother was always testing their compatibility.
It wasn’t the first day.
…Wait, their compatibility had reached 69.99%? And it seemed to have been reached in the infirmary.
Then why was it 69.99% every time they tested it?
The train of thought that had been lagging far behind due to his focus on intimacy finally caught up with the main plot. Zhu Hui felt like he was about to grasp something. But before he could think it through, he heard the sound of rubber being stretched.
The sense of crisis that had just disappeared came rushing back. He followed the sound and was stunned.
Xu Xunyue was changing his gloves.
Xu Xunyue had originally been wearing the ivory-white gloves that many Guides in the Imperial Capital often wore, with faint golden patterns embroidered on the edges. They were both warm and beautiful, and didn’t look cumbersome.
But now he had changed into a pair of white latex gloves that he had taken from a cabinet in the infirmary at some point, the kind of sterile medical gloves that school doctors would use for examinations.
Very thin, and very close-fitting to the fingers. At this moment, they were being stretched bit by bit and put on the Guide’s well-defined hands.
Zhu Hui stared at Xu Xunyue’s hands, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
He became inexplicably nervous, but he didn’t know why he was so nervous.
He tried hard to think. Under the difficult operation of his brain, he managed to think of a reliable reason, so he quickly threw that sense of crisis to the back of his mind and said, “I’m not injured, really, I’m not. You don’t have to treat any wounds, don’t worry…”
Although both he and the school doctor had said he wasn’t injured, he had just lied and was very untrustworthy, and his brother was so meticulous.
His brother was his bonded Guide. The school doctor’s level was not as good as his brother’s. His brother would definitely want to check again himself.
He knew his brother was concerned about him, otherwise he wouldn’t have come to the infirmary as soon as he received the message, and had regulated his five senses for him as soon as they met. He had only disciplined him after they came out of the spiritual landscape, and he hadn’t let him feel any pain when he did.
…That wasn’t even a punishment, it was more like a reward.
So he didn’t want his brother to have any extra worries.
As Zhu Hui was thinking this, his vision suddenly went dark.
Under the shroud of that almost terrifying sense of crisis, he almost thought there had been an accident in the infirmary. He was just about to get up from the bed when a cool hand in a latex glove pressed on his lower back, pushing him back down irresistibly.
…It was his brother’s hand.
Then, there was no danger in the infirmary. The situation was under his brother’s control.
Zhu Hui came to this conclusion the moment he was touched.
He relaxed his strength and obediently lay back down, but even more nervously.
Then, he slowly realized that the darkness before his eyes was not because something had happened in the infirmary, but because Xu Xunyue had deprived him of his vision.
…So strong.
Could all Guides do this? Definitely not. Only his brother could do this.
Brother is so amazing.
“It can also be considered an examination,” Xu Xunyue suddenly said out of nowhere.
Zhu Hui was stunned for a moment.
This… what does this mean?
With his vision gone, his hearing became even more sensitive. Before he could think it through, his ears easily caught the sound of something being unwrapped from behind him.
First, the packaging was opened, then the cap was twisted off, followed by the sound of liquid being poured into a palm.
The wheels of the wheelchair rolled on the floor. His brother was a little closer to him.
His brother… probably reached out his hand… was…
So cold.
A cool liquid landed on the spot that had just been hit, followed by a cool glove. The glove felt even wetter, so the liquid that had just dripped down must have come from the glove.
A finger, wrapped in a glove, pushed its way into the crevice.
…So that’s what it was.
Zhu Hui felt that what he had said just now was incredibly stupid.
Now, not only his face, but his entire body was hot. He made a small nest with his hands in front of him and buried his head in it, but his bare legs opened cooperatively.
So was this the real punishment? But it didn’t seem like he was at a disadvantage…
Whatever, it’s all the same. If brother wants to punish me, then let him.
Xu Xunyue glanced at the two ears that couldn’t be tucked into the crook of his arm and were exposed, and pushed in, bit by bit, without mercy.
Zhu Hui definitely wasn’t in pain. The three swats before were actually just to test whether his sense of pain had been completely blocked. Besides, the speed at which he pushed in was not fast.
Zhu Hui was just purely nervous.
So nervous that he clenched up after just taking in one joint.
Xu Xunyue patted him with his other hand.
“Relax.”
Zhu Hui took a deep breath.
A moment later, it got even worse.
Xu Xunyue raised an eyebrow. Just as he was about to say something, the Sentinel beat him to it in a hurry.
“I can’t control it for a while. I’m sorry, I…” He seemed ashamed of his performance. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
…So obedient.
Xu Xunyue ruffled the back of Zhu Hui’s head soothingly, a slight curl to his lips.
He was his Sentinel to begin with, he could do whatever he wanted with him. Now that he was being bullied and was still rushing to apologize, he couldn’t be blamed for being bullied to tears.
He deliberately asked, “Since you can’t control it, what should we do now?”
“What should we do…” Zhu Hui’s vision was dark. He unconsciously repeated the question before saying in a low voice, “Completely control me? That… that should make it so I can’t stay stiff, right?”
“Completely control?” Xu Xunyue sighed with a hint of a smile. “It seems that in your eyes, I am omnipotent.”
Zhu Hui was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding what he meant.
He tried to think, but he didn’t have time to think, because the next moment, Xu Xunyue directly turned up his sensitivity.
Twenty times.
With his pain blocked, his sensitivity was magnified twenty times.
Zhu Hui’s breathing changed instantly.
The unconsciously tensed parts of his body went limp, his abdomen tightened, his toes curled, and his knees rubbed helplessly against the mattress, as if instinctively trying to escape, but he couldn’t muster any strength. He shuffled around for a long time but was still in the same place, barely able to maintain his original posture.
The cool fingers were able to go deeper, with no more obstacles. Whenever they encountered a difficult spot, all he had to do was bend his knuckles and turn a few times, and the muscles clenching around him would spasm, then relax in a pleasing, reluctant way.
Now, even the airflow from the Guide’s breath, or a piece of fabric rubbing against his skin, was a terrifying source of stimulation for Zhu Hui. He would let out a sound even if he bit his lower lip.
He let out a very pitiful whimper, even a tearful cry. In just a dozen seconds, his entire body was about to be cooked through.
But Xu Xunyue spoke at this moment, asking the completely controlled young Sentinel:
“Do you know what you did wrong today?”
Zhu Hui shook his head blankly, then nodded blankly. His entire body was flushed from his fingertips to his toes, looking like he was about to break down.
In the years since he had awakened as a Sentinel, he had always focused on training, strictly adhering to the text in the “Sentinel’s Handbook,” and staying away from anything that could stimulate him and cause chaos outside of battle.
A light diet, a regular schedule, a simple living environment. Even though he had accumulated a certain amount of wealth and military merits, he never went to any of the entertainment venues in the Imperial Capital. Because of this, his physical condition was the most stable among the younger generation of Sentinels.
Xu Xunyue was the only source of stimulation he had actively approached since he had grown up, and with it came many intimate interactions he had never experienced before.
How could the “exploits” that the brutish soldiers in the army boasted about while drinking compare to the stimulation given by a bonded Guide?
The former was a fleeting and empty pleasure, with only pain left after it was over. The latter was an uncontrollable, all-encompassing surrender.
He was being firmly controlled, yet he felt a strange sense of security, feeling that it was fine to be like this, that he wouldn’t be harmed in any way.
He could give himself to the other person, he should give himself to the other person.
—The result of doing so was being played with until his brain couldn’t process information.
Just like now, he knew what Xu Xunyue had said to him, but he couldn’t understand the meaning of the words.
Xu Xunyue knew this too, so he adjusted Zhu Hui’s sensitivity back to a normal level and didn’t move him for a while, letting him recover on his own.
He sensed the Sentinel’s emotions. While waiting for him to wake up, he didn’t know how many times he had heard “brother” in his mind.
[Brother.]
[Brother.]
[Brother.]
[Brother.]
Over and over, only those two words.
From the moment he had turned up his sensitivity, Zhu Hui’s emotions had become like this—intense, pure, with nothing else, only this term left in his unthinking brain.
It was like a cup that was already almost full, and when something else was added, the liquid overflowed in large gushes.
So much so that Xu Xunyue became even more curious.
What did Zhu Hui remember? Why did he call him brother?
After he dealt with the matter of getting their compatibility to 70%, he would definitely ask Zhu Hui.
…
When that intense emotion disappeared, Xu Xunyue knew that Zhu Hui had regained some of his reason. He just didn’t make a sound right away, but lay there motionless, his chest still heaving violently.
Xu Xunyue didn’t let him go for long. He only waited for a moment before stroking his flushed ears.
“Have you thought it through now?”
Zhu Hui trembled at the touch, blinked his dazed eyes, and realizing he couldn’t see, he leaned a little closer to Xu Xunyue’s hand before saying in a hoarse, tentative voice:
“I… I shouldn’t have lied. I shouldn’t have deceived you. I should always tell you the truth.”
“And?”
“And…”
Zhu Hui clearly hadn’t expected there to be another part to the answer. He couldn’t think of it at the moment, but he didn’t like the atmosphere to go cold, so even though he hadn’t thought of it, he spoke up, his attitude proper and honest.
“I, I haven’t thought of it for now, but I’ll work hard in the future. I’ll pay attention to understanding these things in the future. I’m sorr—”
His words were cut short as Xu Xunyue covered his mouth.
The Guide, who had been trying to lead him on, sighed.
Being obedient and apologizing during intimacy was a form of pleasure, but at a time like this, there was no need for an apology.
He gave the standard answer directly.
“There’s something more important. My Sentinel must first protect himself.”
“If lying and protecting can’t coexist, you have to choose the latter. But these two things are usually tied together. You want to take care of me and protect me, right? So don’t be too stingy with yourself.”
Xu Xunyue released the hand covering his mouth and touched his swollen lips.
“You have to tell me when something happens, you understand?”
Zhu Hui nodded and obediently agreed.
“I understand.”
“What if you do it again in the future?”
“I’ll remember. I will absolutely not do it again. I will listen to you and tell you everything,” Zhu Hui paused and added seriously, “If I really do it again, you can do whatever you want with me.”
[Brother is so good to me.]
[I like brother so much.]
“Yes, well said.” Probably only Xu Xunyue himself knew whether his praise was an affirmation of Zhu Hui’s promise or his satisfaction with Zhu Hui’s emotions. He arched his eyebrows and turned the Sentinel’s sensitivity back up to twenty times. “Then let’s continue.”
The Sentinel, whose lips were being touched, had not expected this at all. Caught off guard, he could only tremble and collapse, the scattered mist gathering again in his amber eyes.
He already liked Xu Xunyue to an extreme degree. Now that his multiple senses were being controlled, a single finger was enough to defeat him.
This was already enough, but Xu Xunyue had never intended to let Zhu Hui go from the beginning.
From the beginning, he had intended to make this experience unforgettable and impressive.
So Xu Xunyue used one more thing on top of what he had already been doing.
Not an external object, but a talent belonging to a high-level Guide, the talent that was supposed to be used for survival in a crisis: “Instantaneous Analysis.”
Instantaneous Analysis was a talent that every high-level Guide hoped to awaken, but very few actually did. In the Guide Academy, once a student had this ability, they would be pulled out by the teachers for special training, because if Instantaneous Analysis was used well and with a high degree of completion, the effect was very impressive.
It could combine known information with the cognition below the surface of consciousness to deconstruct and analyze a target in all aspects. To put it simply, it was to observe a person completely from the inside out, from the conscious to the subconscious, to grasp all of their current information and effortlessly find countermeasures.
In battle, this was a good method that took into account both survival and auxiliary offense. But using Instantaneous Analysis on one’s own bonded Sentinel was also unexpectedly convenient.
To understand what stage the Sentinel’s body was in, to understand the Sentinel’s thoughts at this time, to understand his most vulnerable places, to understand his deepest desires.
He was already sensitive enough, trembling at every touch, but the malicious Guide deliberately used the most excessive method to push him to the highest point.
Zhu Hui’s perception of temperature had not been changed. The coolness of the latex gloves and his own body heat formed a stark contrast. All the parts that were touched felt sore and soft. The small area that was given special attention was twitching non-stop. The sticky liquid was repeatedly stirred, as if it had even formed a foam, and the more it was stirred, the more it accumulated.
He couldn’t see, and his sharp hearing also gradually lost its function amidst the stimulation. His ears were ringing, and he couldn’t distinguish any sound.
He felt like a heat source, and every moment he felt that he would definitely burn out in the next second.
Zhu Hui wanted to say something, but he couldn’t form any proper words. All that came out were messy gasps, and only occasionally could he utter a few intermittent syllables.
Besides, he didn’t know what he wanted to say.
Beg? Ask him to stop? But it seemed like this was what he deserved.
He liked his brother doing this to him. His brother must also like him to do this to him.
His brother liked to bully him. He was overjoyed, so how could he possibly resist?
The hand wearing the half-fingered combat glove was tightly clutching the Guide’s hair tie. Even the exposed knuckles were red, looking as if he were about to snap the hair tie.
But it never broke. The simple black hair tie was kept safe. It was unknown how he could control himself in such a detail.
The Guide’s index finger pressed on his moist, thin lips, even going inside, gently playing with the Sentinel’s somewhat sharp canine teeth.
And so the young Sentinel’s lips and tongue began to tremble. His unclosable lips glistened with a bright red moisture, and his soft sobs were swallowed back into his stomach. He could now only make muffled whimpers, his voice very soft, different from the tone he used when talking to Xu Xunyue, not to mention the huge difference compared to when he spoke to others at school.
Time seemed to be stretched infinitely. In a daze, Zhu Hui realized that the subconscious sense of pressure and crisis had never actually disappeared. He had been tossed about by the waves all along, only to be truly chewed up at the last moment.
With a hiss, the flame was extinguished. He became a part of the sea, and his body, from then on, belonged to this unfathomable ocean.
On the other side, Xu Xunyue’s hand, which had been stroking the Sentinel’s lips, paused.
Liquid slid down from above.
He turned to the side, hooked Zhu Hui’s chin, and turned it toward him. Sure enough, he saw a face wet with tears, his eyelashes clumped together, looking wretched and pitiful.
It was unknown if it was because his vision had been deprived, but Zhu Hui’s gaze was very unfocused, like it was broken.
Xu Xunyue admired this state of his for a while, a pleased smile curling his lips. He removed the visual deprivation and the sensitivity enhancement, then pulled out the hand that had been playing with the Sentinel’s tongue and touched wrists with him.
A few seconds later, both terminal screens lit up at the same time.
72.86%.
…It really was like that.
Xu Xunyue’s guess was confirmed by the facts. When the compatibility reached a certain value, only further intimacy could continue to promote its growth.
He was quite satisfied with this result.
However, the other person didn’t seem very satisfied.
The young Sentinel, whose body was still trembling, first stared at his face for a long time, his face red, it was unknown what he was thinking. After a long while, he suddenly muttered a few words very quietly in the gaps between his gasps.
Xu Xunyue only heard a “no,” but he felt that his tone was aggrieved, so he lowered his head and asked, “No what?”
Zhu Hui’s expression froze, as if he had been made a fool of and had just realized he had been bad-mouthing someone in front of them. His gaze flickered a few times.
Xu Xunyue didn’t rush him, just unhurriedly pulled out the other finger, and looked down as he spread the liquid-covered latex glove on the red and swollen skin around the entrance, before glancing at him with a hint of a smile.
“It seems that not long ago, someone promised me they would tell me everything?”
Zhu Hui’s already red face instantly flushed a deep crimson.
“I said, I was saying…” his voice was hoarse, and he confessed, embarrassed and stammering, “I just said you weren’t focused.”
“Just those three words?” Xu Xunyue was a little surprised. “You were talking about me?”
Combined with that one “no” and Zhu Hui’s previous expression, he had thought Zhu Hui was bad-mouthing him, thinking he was being excessive or something.
Zhu Hui nodded with some embarrassment, indicating that the target of the accusation “not focused” was indeed Xu Xunyue.
“Where was I not focused?” Xu Xunyue found it amusing. “I didn’t realize you wanted me to be more focused.”
He gently patted the Sentinel’s messy crevice, saw him let out a muffled grunt and clench up, then said with a hint of teasing, “You like this kind of focus?”
“No,” Zhu Hui looked like he couldn’t defend himself. He denied it subconsciously, then said, “It’s not that I don’t like it… No, that’s not what I meant at first.”
He said in a low voice, his ears red, “It’s just that when my vision returned just now, I saw your face and thought you were too good-looking. And you were so neat and tidy, you could do this with just one finger… and you were testing our compatibility at a time like that…”
As he spoke, he remembered the scene when his vision had just returned.
The Guide’s long hair was casually draped over his shoulders, a few stray strands scattered by his cheeks, not much different from when he had just taken off his hair tie. He wasn’t looking at him, but at some damned terminal.
Then he looked at the other’s clothes.
The silver-gray trench coat was draped over the back of the wheelchair, the shirt sleeves were rolled up a bit, and the suit pants were straight and neat, without a single wrinkle.
Not a single one!
Even with the faint smile on his lips, Xu Xunyue had a bit more affability than usual, completely at the level where he could go directly to the teaching building to give a lecture.
But he himself was a completely different story.
…Not focused.
Brother wasn’t focused.
“Do you know how much time has passed?” Xu Xunyue seemed to have seen the doubt in his heart. Without waiting for Zhu Hui to speak, he told him the answer directly. “From the moment I turned up your sensitivity to the end, a total of two and a half minutes have passed.”
Zhu Hui didn’t speak anymore.
Not only did he not speak, but Xu Xunyue couldn’t even hear his breathing. He looked like he wanted to escape this world directly.
Xu Xunyue could understand Zhu Hui’s feelings, so he said mischievously, “So I was very focused.”
He emphasized, “I just used a Guide’s talent on you. Strictly speaking, I was more focused than you.”
Seeing the Sentinel purse his lips and look at him with a pleading gaze, he smiled, lifted his finger to part those two lips, and said:
“To be fair, Student Zhu also has to use a Sentinel’s talent. This time is fine, but next time I’ll remind you to turn on your Super-sense.”
Zhu Hui was stunned.
His mind went blank for a long moment, and he didn’t care about his previous shame anymore. He asked dizzily, trying to confirm, “I… I turn on my Super-sense? On myself?”
“Yes,” Xu Xunyue affirmed his question with a calm expression, like a Sentinel Academy teacher arranging a talent training class for a high-level Sentinel. “A Sentinel’s Super-sensory Burst can only be used on yourself.”
“But you can directly control my senses…” Zhu Hui’s voice got lower and lower as he spoke, and finally he just stopped talking. His brain uncontrollably imagined the scenes that might happen in the future, and his throat became dry.
Using Super-sense at a time like that… would I go crazy?
If it was brother controlling me, I would just have to accept it. But to show off my meager skills in front of my brother…
I would definitely not be able to control myself. I probably wouldn’t even last half a second.
“Me regulating you and you doing it yourself are not the same,” Xu Xunyue’s tone was so serious it was as if he didn’t know what kind of result it would produce to have Zhu Hui do this. “Looking at your data from the training grounds this year, the record for maintaining Super-sense seems to be eight seconds?”
“It’s eight seconds.”
Zhu Hui admitted, steeling himself.
“You can continue to improve with more practice,” Xu Xunyue said as he took off his wet gloves. He suddenly changed the subject and asked, “So, why do you call me brother?”
“I… I said it?” The Sentinel looked at him with some disbelief. “Did I just call you that…”
Did I call him that to his face? I don’t think so?
I don’t know, my memory is too chaotic. My mind was blank a lot of the time, I can’t think clearly.
But wasn’t I holding brother’s finger in my mouth later? Logically, I shouldn’t have been able to speak.
Could it be that at the beginning, I accidentally…
“I heard it.”
Xu Xunyue once again began to coax his Sentinel with a straight face, just like last time in the kitchen when he had tricked him into thinking he had accidentally said his thoughts out loud.
“You called me that several times. I heard it all.”
And, on some level, Xu Xunyue had indeed “heard” Zhu Hui call him brother.
Especially just now.
In his mind.
Many times.
“You also sent me a text message before,” Xu Xunyue further listed the evidence. “Although you retracted it quickly, I saw it.”
“But didn’t you only—two minutes later—”
Halfway through his sentence, Zhu Hui also realized that Xu Xunyue had probably pretended not to see it, and for a moment he didn’t know what to say.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about telling Xu Xunyue about what happened when he was a child, but he had always thought that one day he would find a good time, sit down and chat with his brother, and his brother would remember, “Oh, I did save a child like that back then,” which would be the best. It would also be normal if he had no impression.
But now, it was pointed out without any preparation.
Zhu Hui… Zhu Hui didn’t know what to say anymore.
In fact, ever since Xu Xunyue had pointed it out, he felt that the conversation had become awkward, because it would inevitably involve how to address Xu Xunyue.
Before it was pointed out, it was perfectly normal to just use “you.” After it was pointed out, just using “you” seemed a little insufficient.
It didn’t seem so appropriate anymore. It seemed a little distant.
Since they had already reached this point, he should use a more intimate way to address the other person.
…Brother.
Zhu Hui pursed his lips.
What should he say?
He hadn’t thought of how to start, how to say it so that this term would naturally blend into the conversation, so that his brother wouldn’t find it strange.
Just as the Sentinel was racking his brains, Xu Xunyue ruffled his somewhat messy short hair.
“Alright, get up. Let’s tidy up. Put on your clothes,” Xu Xunyue took a few tissues from the reception desk. “First think about how you’re going to tell me about this. After I’ve finished cleaning the spiritual landscape, you can tell me.”
“Oh, okay.”
The brain, which had not yet had a clear goal, received a new task, and those chaotic thoughts were instantly pushed to the back. Zhu Hui sat up halfway, and was about to jump directly off the examination bed, but his movement paused when his gaze swept over the mattress.
The things on the mattress were clear at a glance.
Opaque, milky-white liquid, and transparent, foamy water stains, all exposed to view without any cover.
Zhu Hui’s face flushed as he went to get a tissue, but was stopped by Xu Xunyue.
“We’ll just change it later. I’ll talk to the school doctor. I’ll say I’ll help him re-furnish this place. Don’t wipe it.”
“Okay…” Zhu Hui looked a little more relaxed, then added very seriously, “I’ll pay for the re-furnishing. I’m the one who made it dirty.”
Xu Xunyue found this topic a little amusing, but thinking that renovating the infirmary wouldn’t take much effort, he didn’t insist on taking care of it for him.
“Then let’s go halfsies. You don’t usually do this. Next time, come to my office.”
Hearing the word “office,” the Sentinel’s movement of pulling up his pants and fastening his belt paused imperceptibly.
He acknowledged nonchalantly, and after his belt was fastened and his pant legs were straightened, he said nonchalantly again.
“Actually, I like it like this.”
“You like all of it?” Xu Xunyue extended a hand toward the fully dressed Sentinel, gesturing for him to come closer. “You like Super-sense too?”
Zhu Hui stared at the hand that had taken off its glove, its five fingers spread, especially that long and distinct index finger. His Adam’s apple trembled, and after a long moment, he squatted down by the wheelchair with red ears.
“I…” he said vaguely, “I probably… probably would. Anyway, you’re here, so we can try anything.”
Although he knew this would be the answer, he was still even more pleased when he actually heard it.
High-level Sentinels all had their pride, and those who could use Super-sense were the best of the best. Weren’t those day-after-day training sessions and fixed-time evaluations all for the purpose of using it in future battles?
Who would use it on themselves for their partner’s amusement?
Only Zhu Hui was one of a kind.
His gaze swept over the Sentinel’s black combat uniform, which now had a few more creases. Xu Xunyue once again placed his hand on his forehead.
Entering Zhu Hui’s spiritual landscape again in such a short time, Xu Xunyue directly felt the changes here.
The air was a little fresher, the air pressure a little more normal, the humidity a little less… all the changes were not big, and could even be said to be subtle, but they were real.
Even more coincidentally, his entry point this time was right next to the Meconopsis, and the appearance of this flower had also changed.
The petals had become clean and soft, with dewdrops like morning dew still remaining on them. The entire plant was more spread out.
Xu Xunyue bent down and touched the dewy petals. Before his hand left, a familiar “awoo” sound came from behind him.
Looking back, he saw the snow wolf, shrunk down to its sub-adult size.
How did it get out?
Zhu Hui said it was asleep, and I didn’t see it when I came before. Maybe it just woke up.
The snow wolf “awooed” at him twice. Before it could get close, it was flipped over by the shadows that had shot out. Its snow-white body was pressed to the ground and flattened into a black pancake, making it impossible to tell where its head was and where its tail was.
Xu Xunyue only heard the first few words the snow wolf muttered.
[So amazing… Little Hui is also getting the good stuff, tsk tsk… mmmph mmmph mmmph??!]
Only the rising and falling howls of wolves were left on the snowfield.
There were real wolf howls, and also fakes.
The shadows had never shown their parrot-like ability in front of the snow wolf before, which caused the snow wolf to be completely stunned this time.
It couldn’t even be bothered to exclaim at Xu Xunyue anymore. It struggled under the layers of shadows, its mouth never stopping.
Snow wolf: [How do you know the wolf language?]
Shadows: [How do you know the wolf language?]
Snow wolf: [Are you copying me?]
Shadows: [Are you copying me?]
Snow wolf: [Stop copying me!]
Shadow 1: [Stop copying me!]
Shadow 2: [Stop copying me!]
Shadow 3: [I’ll just copy you!]
Xu Xunyue: “…”
In short, according to his observation, after the “examination” activity just now, the situation in Zhu Hui’s spiritual landscape had improved.
Both Guides and Sentinels were like this. After interacting with a bonded partner, or someone with a high compatibility rating, their physical and mental wounds would heal faster.
However, what Xu Xunyue didn’t see was that on the distant, lush green mountain, on the highest and sturdiest tree, a new leaf was growing from the crown.
This newborn memory leaf was small, and the image it showed was also a little strange.
It was always very dark, without even a moment of shaking in the image. It was completely impossible to tell where it was slightly darker and where it was slightly lighter.
In the Imperial Capital, it was hard to see this level of darkness. Although there was a technological gap after the Cataclysm, the Imperial Capital was still the most prosperous place in the entire Empire. The technological products left over from the old era were completely sufficient, and the high-rise buildings were brightly lit inside and out.
The light from countless lamps stretched for thousands of miles, and the light pollution only gradually disappeared in the Central Districts.
In that case, this leaf seemed very unusual, carrying some unspeakable secret; or perhaps, it was actually a broken memory leaf, showing a completely still picture.
However, this was not the case. If someone were to stand close enough—as close as when Zhu Hui had plucked that memory leaf and shown it to Xu Xunyue—if they were that close, they would definitely be able to hear the sounds coming from the memory leaf.
It was the sound of sticky, clear water, and soft, unbearable whimpers.
This showed that the image was not still, and this newly grown leaf was not a broken leaf. It was just—
It was just that the owner of the memory had no vision when they were experiencing this memory.
