Chapter 25: Mental Exhaustion

In a state of delirium, Ji Xun fell into a high fever.

He felt as though he had been tossed into a vat of boiling oil, every inch of his skin crackling and popping as if being deep-fried. He tossed and turned in agony, whimpering softly. The sounds were faint, barely audible, yet they persisted intermittently for the better part of the night.

Later, his consciousness seemed to sharpen, yet Ji Xun found himself unable to open his eyes. He felt as if he were passing through a multitude of iridescent lights, each one as sharp as a blade. Forced to curl into a ball to hide, he caught fragments of a conversation, blurred and indistinct: "...It's impossible. To this day, no one has been able to enter someone else's mental domain through a dream, not even me."

"Ah." Suddenly, a spike of pain left Ji Xun breathless. His fingers, gripping the pillow tightly, cramped until they turned a pale, ghostly white. Sweat drenched his forehead in an instant.

"Mom." Unable to wake, he felt himself falling, falling. His lips moved, forming a breathy, fearful cry for help: "Mom..."

Upstairs, Ji's mother jolted awake from her sleep and sat bolt upright.

Ji's father woke instantly as well. He reached over to turn on the light and asked, "What's wrong?"

Without a word, she threw off the quilt. She didn't bother with a robe or shoes, rushing out of the bedroom in a flurry. Her husband followed close behind.

She reached the second floor and gently pushed open her son's door. The room was deathly quiet, making the low, rapid rasp of his breathing perfectly audible to her. She immediately flipped the light switch.

Ji's father stood right behind her.

She reached out to take her son's trembling, convulsing hand, and her expression changed the moment she touched him. "How could this happen?"

"What is it?" her husband asked urgently.

"Xunxun's mental energy is completely depleted," she said, pushing her husband back toward the door. "Wait outside."

A pale brown lop-eared rabbit materialized out of thin air, quickly curling itself against the sweat-drenched nape of Ji Xun's neck.

As he walked out, Ji's father looked back and asked, "Should I go get Mingyuan to take a look?"

"Not yet," his wife replied.

Ji's father waited anxiously for twenty minutes. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he went to the corner of a drawer in the study, found a pack of cigarettes, and lit one.

For Awakened individuals, falling into a "deep well" was the most terrifying state. A Sentinel’s emotional collapse or a Guide’s mental exhaustion—these were extremely dangerous occurrences. While it hadn't been long since Ji Xun’s energy had bottomed out and it shouldn't cause permanent damage, the real issue was: he was only a twelve-year-old novice Guide who hadn't even manifested a spirit form yet. How could he have suffered such a catastrophic drain?

When the mother’s mental probes entered Ji Xun's domain, she realized that it wasn't just exhaustion; his mental energy had been overdrawn by several times his capacity. Where could that energy have come from? Her brow furrowed, and a sense of unease took root in her heart.

After she finished the mental stabilization, the nightmare-plagued boy finally calmed down, sinking into a heavy, exhausted sleep. She removed his dress jacket and wiped the cold sweat from his face with a warm towel. The little lop-eared rabbit remained curled tightly against his neck; at this moment, the soothing presence of a spirit form was more effective than any active guidance. She did not recall the gray ball of light.

Stepping out of the bedroom, she caught the scent of smoke and headed for the study.

Ji's father immediately waved his hand to clear the haze, stubbing out the cigarette and trying to hide it.

"That's enough," she said. "Don't bother hiding it."

He gave a sheepish smile, hurried to open the window to vent the room, and turned back to ask, "Is Xunxun alright?"

"Yes." Her brow remained heavy. "I need to go see Mingyuan first thing tomorrow morning."

"Agreed. A healthy child like him... why would he suddenly burn through his mental energy like that?"

"It's not just that."

"What else could there be?"

"It seems as though he borrowed that mental energy from somewhere," she said, clearly troubled. "I know exactly how much mental energy Xunxun possesses, but what he consumed tonight far exceeded that. In fact, I thought he was completely spent, but when I performed the stabilization, I found he had a tiny thread left. It was minuscule, but it was what kept him from falling into a permanent mental drift."

"Do you suspect someone did something to him?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps he encountered something tonight. I'll ask him when he wakes up, then go see Mingyuan. Let's go back to sleep."

"Alright. I'm going to check on him one last time."

Ji's father entered the room without turning on the lights. Ji Xun was sleeping soundly, his breathing even. The lop-eared rabbit, looking terrified, kept pressing its little three-cleft mouth against Ji Xun's cheek, feeding him small flickers of mental energy.

Ji's father picked up the little rabbit, stroked its back to soothe it, and whispered, "He's okay now."

The rabbit gave his wrist a plaintive kiss before vanishing into his palm. Seeing his son sleeping deeply, the father tucked the quilt in around him before leaving with a slightly lighter heart to join his wife upstairs.

Sunlight fell upon his eyelids. Ji Xun’s eyes twitched. He tried to move his limbs, only to find them feeling as heavy as lead. He cleared his throat, finding his mouth as dry as if he hadn't touched water in years.

He didn't remember what happened last night. Feeling uncomfortable, he squinted and climbed out of bed to find water, but he tripped over something and crashed to the floor.

*Thud.* It was a loud sound.

Downstairs, his mother jumped and shouted, "Xunxun, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mom!" he called back, his voice hoarse. He rubbed his eyes and looked back at what had tripped him.

Nothing was there. Yet, he had clearly felt something soft and warm. He shook it off—he couldn't worry about that now. He poured a glass of water and gulped down most of it. Looking out the window, he suddenly remembered something, and the last mouthful of water sprayed out in a fountain.

"Oh my god, what time is it now!!!"

He had missed school! Why hadn't Stone or Fu Shuhang come to call for him?

He scrambled to rummage through his closet for clothes. His mother walked in and knocked on the door frame. "Xunxun, can I come in?"

"Sure!"

As she entered, she saw him pulling off his shirt and tossing it onto the bed to replace it with a cotton T-shirt. His lean, pale frame showed the faint outline of abdominal muscles.

She smiled. "Our Xunxun has gotten so fit."

He didn't feel shy at all, boasting proudly, "Of course! We have to run laps in the Guide physical training course, and I'm always the first one to finish!"

"So impressive."

Though he was happy, he quickly added, "Mom, why didn't you wake me up? The sun is so high, what time is it?"

"Past ten."

Ji Xun looked as if the sky were falling. "Then I've missed all my morning classes!"

Compared to her son's shock, his mother remained calm, even smiling. "Is one class really that big a deal? You don't need to go to the Sanctuary this morning. Just get dressed and come down to eat, then we're going to Uncle Gao's."

"Is something wrong with Uncle Gao?"

His mother thought, *It's not what's wrong with him, it's what's wrong with you.* "No, we're just going to chat."

Ji Xun felt suspicious; she didn't look like someone who was just going to "chat." He soon confirmed his fears when he saw his father sitting downstairs.

"Dad? Why aren't you at work?"

His father folded his newspaper and put it away. "I took the day off."

Ji Xun was stunned. Was this the same man who would work three hundred and sixty-five days a year just to contribute everything he had to the Federal Government? This was serious.

He sat at the dining table, anxious. His father stayed silent, leaving the conversation to his wife.

"Xunxun," she asked gently, "at the victory banquet for Uncle Gao and Uncle Fu last night, did you meet any strangers?"

"Yeah," he said, mouth full of a steamed bun. "Except for Stone and Brother Hang, everyone was a stranger!"

She paused. "Do you remember who they were?"

"Hmm, let me think... a few kids who asked me to help them get spoons and egg tarts, a girl Guide I helped with the chocolate fountain, and a couple of adults who asked where the restroom was. That's about it. Oh, right!"

His parents looked at him with renewed tension.

"There was a little Persian cat, too."

His mother blinked. "A Persian cat?"

"Yeah," Ji Xun said. "When I was eating and talking to Bai Huan Chen, that spirit form cat ran over and started meowing at me. I thought it wanted a snack."

"Bai Huan Chen?" At the mention of that name, her heart sank. "Xunxun, how do you know him?"

"He's from District 10. He was all alone, so he asked to eat with me."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah." Sensing her odd attitude, he asked, "What's wrong with Bai Huan Chen?"

"Nothing," she said.

"There's definitely something." He pouted. "Do you guys know he doesn't have a spirit form, too?"

"You knew?" his father asked.

"Of course, he told me!" If that was all it was, he wasn't worried. "I know, you adults look at us kids who haven't manifested yet with colored glasses, but don't underestimate us. I think I underwent a metamorphosis last night!"

His mother’s heart skipped a beat. "What metamorphosis? What happened to you?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "But I feel like I'm full of power! Maybe this is a sign of a 'Secondary Awakening'."

His parents were completely bewildered. "Secondary Awakening???"

Over the next half hour, Ji Xun finally realized that what Qian Peng had told him about a "Secondary Awakening" was entirely baseless—a complete fabrication that didn't exist. While an Awakened's abilities could improve with practice, they would never be significant enough to warrant such a term.

*Qian... Peng...*

Ji Xun ground his teeth. *You dare... play me like that!!!*

At the Sanctuary, Qian Peng let out a massive sneeze. He rubbed his nose, completely unaware that he was about to be in for a thrashing, and continued to play happily with the big tabby cat spirit form under his desk.

After eating, Ji Xun followed his parents to the Fu household, where Gao Mingyuan came out to meet them.