Chapter 21: Disguise Part 2

“Mr. Ying, I’m very scared. I don’t want to go to the Central District,” Xiang Ye did his best to look pitiful.

Ying Li sighed. “B-Rank Guides really do live very well, you know.”

To pressure Guides into finding Guardians, the Guide Academy actually didn’t treat them that well.

But when those A-Rank Sentinels were pursuing Guides, they were truly very generous with their money.

Before a mental bond was established, Sentinels were always obedient and accommodating. Domestic abuse and the like only happened after both parties had established the mental bond.

And not all Sentinels were abusive.

Ying Li briefly described the kind of life Wu Nian lived in his previous life.

For instance, eating only food produced in the Ecological Zone and being able to buy all kinds of luxury goods.

Xiang Ye felt nothing upon hearing this.

He had no interest in luxury goods. As for food…

He had been perpetually starving in the past, so his demands for food were very low: being full was enough.

He didn’t mind eating nutrient paste every day.

“I don’t need such a good life!” Xiang Ye was very firm. Suddenly, he asked, “Mr. Ying, do you have a way to make sure they can’t detect my real rank? Can I pretend to be a D-Rank Guide?”

If he kept his awakening completely secret, he wouldn’t be able to earn money and could only rely on Ying Li to support him, which wasn’t ideal.

So, what if he pretended to be a D-Rank Guide?

Hearing Xiang Ye’s words, Ying Li paused briefly, then suddenly realized it was a good idea.

Xiang Ye had awakened at eighteen. If he awakened as a B-Rank Guide, it would attract attention no matter what. But if he awakened as a D-Rank Guide, combined with his current physical condition, it wouldn’t be the slightest bit eye-catching.

It would be chalked up to his delayed physical development causing his awakening time to be postponed!

As for mental power rank… as long as Xiang Ye could completely control his mental power, he could suppress his rank.

Ying Li believed Xiang Ye could do it.

“You can indeed pretend to be a D-Rank Guide,” Ying Li said.

In his previous life, when Wu Nian had risen from D-Rank to C-Rank, and later to B-Rank, it was Ying Li who had accompanied him to have his mental power rank measured.

He knew how rank testing for Guides worked, and he knew what the mental power of a D-Rank Guide felt like.

Ying Li had Xiang Ye eat while explaining the methods for controlling mental power.

As he taught, Ying Li discovered that Xiang Ye’s learning ability was extremely strong, and his control over mental power far exceeded that of an ordinary Guide.

In just one hour, Xiang Ye was already able to convincingly disguise himself as a D-Rank Guide.

Ying Li couldn’t help but exclaim, “Xiang Ye, you’re very smart.”

“Mr. Ying, it’s because you teach so well!” Xiang Ye beamed, his mood was exceptionally good.

After becoming a D-Rank Guide, he could earn money by helping people with mental combing. He wouldn’t have to worry about starving, and he could stay by Ying Li’s side forever, chasing away any other Guides who approached Ying Li.

So what if he was still young right now? He would grow up soon!

“Mr. Ying, I’ve learned it. You should hurry and go to sleep. You just got back to the city; you must be tired,” Xiang Ye said.

Ying Li smiled. “Then I’ll go rest. Oh, and from now on, stop calling me Mr. Ying. Just call me ‘Brother.'”

Earlier, when Xiang Ye had clamored about being his Guide, Ying Li hadn’t taken it seriously.

He didn’t think Xiang Ye truly liked him. The favorable impression Xiang Ye had toward him probably came from some sort of suspension bridge effect after being rescued.

Xiang Ye immediately called out, “Big Brother Ying!”

“Little Brother Xiang, you’re also tired from just awakening. Go to sleep!” Ying Li patted Xiang Ye’s shoulder.

The matter of Xiang Ye’s awakening had been resolved perfectly. Ying Li was in a good mood and slept very well that night.

In the other room, Xiang Ye did not sleep a wink all night.

His fate had suddenly changed. From now on, he would be a Guide!

And he could stand openly by Ying Li’s side!

Xiang Ye was immensely excited and practiced over and over the method of compressing his mental power down to D-Rank.

When Ying Li saw Xiang Ye the next morning, he noticed Xiang Ye looked utterly haggard. He couldn’t help but worry, “Xiang Ye, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Xiang Ye smiled. “I’m just too excited and didn’t sleep well.”

“Facing such a huge event so suddenly, it’s natural not to sleep well,” Ying Li said with a smile, bringing out water chestnuts for Xiang Ye. “Eat more. Once you’re full and energized, you can go to the Guide Academy and report that you’ve awakened as a Guide.”

Xiang Ye nodded earnestly.

After eating and drinking his fill, Xiang Ye refused Ying Li’s offer to accompany him and set off for the Guide Academy alone.

Before leaving, he made a point to change back into his old clothes from before.

Ying Li had fattened Xiang Ye up to around 70 jin. The current Xiang Ye no longer looked as excessively thin as he had at the start; outwardly, he resembled many of the rapidly growing adolescents in the Upper City District.

But the previous day’s awakening had consumed a lot of his energy. When he got up this morning, his weight had dropped back down to around 60-something jin.

Coupled with the fact that he hadn’t slept all night and the old scars visible on his exposed arms, Xiang Ye looked pitiful and miserable — the very picture of someone easy to bully.

Ying Li followed him from a distance, watching him enter the Guide Academy, before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

Everything from here on out depended on how Xiang Ye performed.

But no matter what, Xiang Ye wouldn’t be in mortal danger, and that was good.

Xiang Ye had no idea Ying Li was following behind him. After leaving Ying Li’s residence, he felt as if he had stepped into another world.

Since being brought home by Ying Li, he hadn’t stepped outside even once.

Ying Li had told him not to go out, and he himself didn’t like the outside world anyway.

The air in the Upper City District was foul, and the people here were not particularly friendly.

Xiang Ye didn’t go to the rooftops; instead, he walked slowly along the ground. Following his navigation, it took him half an hour to arrive at the entrance of the Guide Academy.

This was a place he had never approached before — a place he had never dared to approach.

The Upper City District’s Guide Academy was one of the best environments in the entire Upper District. You couldn’t enter without a pass.

Old Xu was the gatekeeper of the Guide Academy. He was an ordinary person who hadn’t awakened. He’d been able to land such a good job because his father was a teacher at the Guide Academy.

This was a cushy position! Sentinels from the neighboring Sentinel Academy, whenever they asked him about the goings-on inside the Guide Academy, would always slip him something.

Usually, it was snacks sold around the Upper City District worth about a hundred credit points each, but occasionally he’d get more expensive things.

Old Xu relied on this job to keep his family quite comfortable.

Today, as he sat in his cramped gatehouse, he suddenly saw someone approaching.

The person was thin and small, clearly not a Sentinel. Old Xu opened the gatehouse window and asked with a frown, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

Finishing his question, Old Xu scrutinized the person carefully.

This was a very thin and frail boy of about thirteen or fourteen. He had a timid expression, the type you knew at a glance was an ordinary person living in the Upper City District.

Old Xu had no impression of this person. He figured it must be a relative of some Guide.

The Guides in their academy mostly came from the Upper City District. More or less, each of them had a few poor relatives at home.

When these poor relatives couldn’t survive any longer, they’d come seeking help.

However, those who came for help were generally not well-received by the Guides. If they truly had a good relationship with the Guide, they’d just contact each other via communication terminals. There was no need to come seeking at the school.

“I… my name is Xiang Ye,” the thin, frail boy said, his face full of fear. But his next words took Old Xu by surprise. “I… I think I’ve awakened.”

Old Xu was startled. “You’ve awakened? Truly?”

“It’s true. I should have awakened… awakened as a Guide,” Xiang Ye said.

An awakening was a major event! Old Xu didn’t dare delay and immediately notified the teachers at the Guide Academy.

Before long, Old Xu’s father, along with another teacher, came out of the academy.

Old Xu’s father was a C-Rank Guide. He was over seventy but looked much younger than Old Xu, who was only fifty.

He arrived at the school gate and saw Xiang Ye. He asked Old Xu, “Is this the one who says he’s awakened?”

“Yes!” Old Xu replied.

Old Xu’s father looked Xiang Ye up and down and asked, “When did you awaken? Why didn’t you contact us during the awakening process?”

Before coming, Xiang Ye had planned to put on an act of being weak and pitiful. But once he was actually here, he realized he didn’t need to act.

Before meeting Ying Li, this had simply been who he was.

“I thought I was just sick. I didn’t know it was an awakening. But today, I seem to have gained mental power,” Xiang Ye said.

“We’ll take you for an examination. Give me your identification code,” Teacher Xu said.

Xiang Ye quickly pulled his identification code up on his communication terminal.

Teacher Xu scanned it, and Xiang Ye’s information appeared before him.

Upon seeing the information, he felt as if he’d been tricked. “You’re an adult? Don’t you know that it’s impossible to awaken after reaching adulthood?”

The person who had come out with Teacher Xu was even angrier. “Are you making fun of us? And gatekeeper, how do you do your job? You called us out without clarifying the situation? Do you think we have nothing better to do all day?”

This teacher’s surname was Zhou. He had a bad relationship with Teacher Xu, so he naturally didn’t show any kindness to Old Xu.

Old Xu could only force a smile. “My apologies, Teacher Zhou. It was my oversight.”

An awakening was a big deal. Even if someone just called to report it, the school teachers had to go investigate, let alone when the person in question showed up at their doorstep.

As the gatekeeper, it was definitely his duty to report it.

But at this moment, Old Xu was also a bit unhappy with Xiang Ye. This person was already an adult, making awakening impossible, yet he came claiming he’d awakened. Wasn’t that just lying?

He was unlucky to get chewed out over a liar.

Xiang Ye and Ying Li had already anticipated such a situation before coming and had long since thought of a solution.

Xiang Ye said, “I really have awakened. I have mental power. You can feel it.”

“A Guide’s awakening is dangerous and painful. Even if you thought you were sick and didn’t contact the Guide Academy, you still should have contacted the hospital. How could anyone manage to awaken successfully all alone?” Teacher Zhou sneered. “Don’t waste my time!”

With that, he turned and left.

Teacher Xu’s expression was also somewhat grim, but he stayed. He extended a hand in front of Xiang Ye’s eyes. “Use your mental power to touch my hand.”

Although Teacher Xu did this, he didn’t hold much hope.

Every year, many people who thought they had awakened, but actually hadn’t, came to them. He thought the person before him was another such case.

But at that very moment, a tiny, weak mental tentacle trembled as it timidly touched his finger.