After waiting a few seconds without getting a response, Xiao Jingfeng turned to look at Xiao Zhenyun and Xiao Nian, raising his eyebrows slightly. “What’s with your expressions?”
“Nothing,” Xiao Zhenyun quickly adjusted his expression, taking the clothes Chairman Xiao had confiscated, and praised him without much emotion. “Uncle is indeed efficient and decisive in handling matters.”
“Otherwise? Nian Nian said he loves to tattle. Should we wait for him to finish reporting before taking action?”
It made sense, but… Xiao Nian anxiously tugged at Xiao Zhenyun’s clothes, tiptoeing and trying to raise his 4’7″ small frame to 4’9″, barely reaching Xiao Zhenyun’s ear as he whispered, “I suddenly thought of a problem… Xiao Jingfeng easily dealt with Xiao Hui. How will Xiao Hui cause trouble for Si Chu after this? According to the current plot, there are still many scenes with him.”
While not good at other things, Xiao Zhenyun was adept at coming up with bad ideas. “Then… let’s secretly release him at an appropriate time?”
“Are you sure that after releasing him, his target for causing trouble will still be Si Chu and not Xiao Jingfeng?”
This remark reminded Xiao Zhenyun, “If that’s the case… maybe Xiao Hui’s target for causing trouble has long ceased to be Si Chu, and has become some tomb grass sentinel? After all, tomb grass even captured his sister.”
“…,” Xiao Nian fell silent.
“So Xiao Hui can’t be released… Then the scenes of causing trouble for Si Chu,” Xiao Zhenyun narrowed his eyes slightly, “will it fall on us instead?”
Xiao Nian continued to remain silent: “…”
“What are you two whispering about?” Xiao Jingfeng frowned, “You’re hiding secrets from me and whispering in front of me? Is there something Nian Nian can know but I, your uncle, can’t?”
Xiao Zhenyun quickly pushed Xiao Nian forward, “Nian Nian, lead the way for Uncle.”
Approaching the climax, about a third of the plotline had already twisted, and Xiao Nian began to slack off, no longer bothering to conceal his precocity. He boldly ran ahead to Xiao Jingfeng, leading the group forward. Three fully alive individuals plus one barely living bat skillfully maneuvered past several vegetable patches, garbage heaps, thatched huts, latrines, and wooden shacks, finally arriving at a two-story cement-colored small building at the end of the uneven muddy road.
There stood a girl wearing a fluffy lamb wool coat and a pure white plush scarf. From afar, she looked like a fuzzy dumpling, rubbing her hands together, her two rabbit ears perked high as she anxiously looked around, seemingly awaiting someone’s return.
Without needing a reminder from Xiao Zhenyun or Xiao Nian, Xiao Jingfeng instantly guessed the girl’s identity. Carrying Xiao Hui, stripped of his clothes by him, Xiao Jingfeng walked proudly up to the intellectually disabled sister of the guy, putting on a friendly smile. Back in the day, he used the same expression as a lecturer at the White Tower, deceiving countless innocent little guides and sentinels.
“Xiao Bai.”
As expected, Xiao Bai was fooled. Initially, when she saw a stranger approaching, she hurriedly ran back inside. But as soon as Xiao Jingfeng called her name, Xiao Bai timidly peeked out from behind the door with a pair of reddened eyes. “Who are you?”
“We’re good samaritans.” Xiao Jingfeng said without changing his expression. “We saw your brother sleeping by the roadside, so we decided to bring him back.”
Xiao Zhenyun, Xiao Nian: “…”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Bai’s whole face came out from behind the door. Taking a closer look at the person being carried on the tall man’s shoulders, she confirmed it was indeed her brother, Xiao Hui. “Xiao Hui!” Xiao Bai joyfully jumped out from behind the door, then asked with confusion, “Why is he naked? Is he cold?”
“Because he was sleeping by the roadside. When sleeping, one naturally takes off their clothes.” Xiao Jingfeng explained calmly.
“Oh!” Xiao Bai nodded her head vigorously twice, understanding. “I see.”
Xiao Zhenyun, Xiao Nian: “…”
This was too much, the chairman of the Special Operations Guild talking nonsense and bullying a simpleton.
“Outside is cold, and sleeping by the roadside can make one sick, so can we help you put Xiao Hui on the bed?” Xiao Jingfeng smiled warmly. Xiao Bai tilted her head for a moment, looking at Xiao Jingfeng as he took a step towards the door. Suddenly, she vigorously shook her head. “No, no, Xiao Hui said we shouldn’t let strangers in.”
“We are not strangers.” Xiao Jingfeng chuckled. “We are kind-hearted people willing to help, so of course we can come in.”
“But…”
“You not only need to let us in but also thank us three good people who unconditionally helped bring Xiao Hui, who was sleeping anywhere on the roadside, back home, which affects the town’s appearance.”
“…,” Xiao Bai, whose brain was already not functioning properly, was confused. “… Thank you?”
“Such a good girl.” Xiao Jingfeng gently touched Xiao Bai’s drooping rabbit ears and strode into the house.
Xiao Zhenyun could only say that Xiao Jingfeng was fortunate to be the chairman of the Special Operations Guild and walked the right path. Otherwise, with his skill of distorting facts and telling lies without blinking, he would be a troublemaker no matter what he did.
As soon as they entered the house, Xiao Zhenyun heard a rhythmic tapping sound. He quickly pinpointed the direction from which the sound was coming. Xiao Zhenyun knew that this was Si Di signaling them from the basement, indicating that someone was here.
Although Xiao Bai was simple, she also knew that it was illegal for her brother to detain the wolf sentinel in the basement. She stood at the bedroom door, avoiding eye contact, her face pale. Her attempt to conceal the truth due to her low intelligence was heartbreaking even for Xiao Jingfeng.
He pretended to be deaf, unflinchingly tossed Xiao Hui onto the bed, and Xiao Bai rushed over immediately to check on her brother.
After a moment of silence, a deafening sound shook the ground, and Xiao Zhenyun wondered if Si Di had blown up the basement to create such a terrifying commotion.
“Come up, Si Di.” Xiao Zhenyun stood at the bedroom door and said calmly, “Xiao Hui was knocked out by the chairman, so he can’t continue to threaten you with Si Chu’s safety.”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound of heavy chains rubbing against each other violently, then being forcefully broken. Next, the sound of the security door being kicked several times resounded, and the door frame collapsed with a thunderous noise. Amidst the swirling dust, Si Di emerged unharmed from the dark staircase leading to the basement, his thick black wolf tail dragging on the ground. When he saw Xiao Zhenyun, he couldn’t help but sway slightly from side to side.
“Chairman.” Si Di politely and quickly greeted Xiao Jingfeng, then quickly crossed over to Xiao Zhenyun, pulling him into an embrace.
Antlers sprouted from the top of Xiao Zhenyun’s head, and his deer tail trembled in his pants. He established the spiritual link with Si Di as if it was second nature, passing him a strand of guide elements.
Si Di was so comfortable that his wolf ears were trembling, and his fluffy tail hooked around Xiao Zhenyun’s left leg, the tip of his tail even nuzzling against the inner side of the guide’s thigh like a spoiled child.
Excitedly in the spiritual link, Si Di asked, “How did you come here? Did Xiao Nian actually agree to involve you in the ending plot?”
Xiao Zhenyun replied, “There’s simply no one else outside. Hedgehog, you, Xiao Jingfeng, Duan Fei, and Duan Pei, all wiped out, not a single one left. Xiao Nian only has me to use.”
Si Di couldn’t stop laughing in the spiritual link. “That explains it. He wouldn’t dare to ask you out unless it was the last resort.”
At a glance, Xiao Jingfeng could see that Xiao Zhenyun and Si Di were using the unique communication method of sentinel guides with high compatibility to converse. He squatted down and asked Xiao Nian, “Why is it that after not seeing each other for several years, Zhenyun has secrets to share with everyone except me?… Does he have that many things he doesn’t want me to hear?”
“Is there a possibility that he just doesn’t like you?” Xiao Nian’s words were cutting.
“…Nian Nian?” Xiao Jingfeng looked at Xiao Nian in shock. “How have you changed so much in such a short time? Was this how you used to talk before?”
Because I’m as lazy as Xiao Zhenyun when it comes to pretending. Xiao Nian stopped beating around the bush and looked up at Xiao Bai standing in the corner. She seemed unable to understand what was happening, staring blankly at Si Di embracing Xiao Zhenyun.
After a while, as if suddenly rebooting, she pouted and shouted, “No, you can’t hug!”
Her voice was very soft and tender, even though it was a commanding tone, it sounded coquettish.
Viewing the situation from the perspective of a former White Tower lecturer, Xiao Jingfeng regarded the C grade foolish rabbit with a heart full of pity and tolerance. When explaining the origins of Xiao Hui and Xiao Bai before their arrival, he had already heard Xiao Zhenyun mention that the rabbit had taken a liking to Si Di. Now, Xiao Jingfeng couldn’t resist teasing her: “Why can’t they hug? They are bonded sentinel guides, reuniting after a long separation; it’s only natural for them to embrace.”
“But he,” Xiao Bai pointed to Si Di, “he has to mark me.”
“Why does he have to mark you?” Xiao Jingfeng asked with a smile. “Because the wolf brother looks good, so you like him and want him to mark you? What about the deer brother? Isn’t he good-looking too?”
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Bai answered earnestly, “He’s good-looking too. But he’s a guide. Xiao Hui said I should find a sentinel to mark me. Sentinels will take care of me for him, so he can rest assured.”
Xiao Jingfeng’s expression softened slightly, and he noticed Xiao Nian staring intently at Xiao Bai, his gaze calm.
As they continued talking, Xiao Bai became excited. “Then we don’t have to stay here anymore.”
“Do you not like it here?” Xiao Jingfeng asked.
Xiao Bai nodded vigorously again, emphasizing her words, “I don’t like it here. Xiao Hui is doing bad things here. He thinks I don’t understand, but I do!… He’ll be better once we leave, so, so…”
She felt a sudden urgency, and Xiao Jingfeng patiently guided her. “So?”
“So you won’t take him away.” Xiao Bai suddenly looked up, pleading, “Please, don’t take him away.”
Taking advantage of Xiao Jingfeng’s continued efforts to counsel the confused little rabbit, Si Di stood guard at the bedroom door, while Xiao Nian and Xiao Zhenyun went to a study room inside to exchange information.
In the original text, Xiao Bai was never portrayed as having romantic thoughts. Her intelligence was limited, and during her brief time at the White Tower, the strongest impression she retained was the bond between sentinels and guides, knowing that bonded sentinels would unconditionally protect their guides.
Xiao Hui warned her that it was dangerous outside the town and forbade her from leaving. She was single-mindedly focused on the idea that as long as she could bond with a sentinel, the sentinel would protect her. This way, she could leave the remote town with Xiao Hui, sparing him from doing bad things under the professor’s influence.
So she was very enthusiastic towards all sentinels. In the original text, she was attentive to Si Chu, but in reality, Si Di replaced Si Chu’s role.
Later, Si Chu tried to reason with Xiao Hui, but he ended up resorting to fists to teach him. However, Xiao Hui didn’t awaken under the righteous fist; instead, he grew to resent the hierarchy of sentinels even more. Si Chu effortlessly beating him demonstrated that an A grade sentinel was inherently stronger than him, a mere C- graded one, no matter how hard he tried to improve himself.
Xiao Hui harbored a deep hatred for this. He vowed to crush this detestable high-level sentinel into the dust.
So he pretended to submit, infiltrated Si Chu’s team, and then betrayed them at a critical moment, plotting against the protagonist group. It was almost successful; he was about to inject the concoction into Si Chu’s bloodstream when Xiao Bai appeared, tears streaming down her face.
She asked, “You said you did all these things to protect us. Is it true?”
Xiao Hui was flustered and quickly replied, “Of course it’s true. Just wait for me to finish dealing with things here…”
Xiao Bai picked up the opened vial of the same concoction on the table and softly said, “Does that mean you won’t need to protect me anymore if I’m dead?”
With that, Xiao Bai stabbed herself in the neck with the vial, committing suicide in front of Xiao Hui.
In truth, Xiao Hui was her favorite sentinel…
After hearing Xiao Bai’s original ending, Xiao Zhenyun sighed despondently. “Must one wait until they’ve lost everything to realize?”
“No, even after Xiao Bai died, Xiao Hui still didn’t wake up,” Xiao Nian said. “He roared and injected the concoction into Si Chu’s bloodstream.”
Xiao Zhenyun: “?”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
