Chapter 38

Ji Xun had dozed off in the study room that morning. Upon waking, he slumped over his desk and began to let his thoughts wander aimlessly: Why was it that every time he entered the mental realm at night, he felt incredibly sleepy and exhausted the next day?

Was this process uncontrollable?

But which Guide entered the mental realm randomly?

Ji Xun felt dejected. He used to think it was induced by the metaphysical meditation technique he practiced, but he later realized that wasn't it...

Wait!

Ji Xun’s heart skipped a beat!

"Later realized that wasn't it"? Which "later," and when did he realize that?

Ji Xun was certain this thought had only just occurred to him today, but upon closer reflection, the most recent time he had entered the mental realm was just last night! If he traced it back further...

Was it the time he dreamed he saved Fu Shuxing?

No.

It seemed there was another time...

Ji Xun frowned and thought for a long time, but his head became a tangled mess. He eventually grabbed some scratch paper and wrote down the dates one by one, tracing backward. Finally, he circled a suspicious date: the night of the victory celebration for Uncle Fu and Uncle Gao.

For all other times, he could recall the details clearly. Only the memory of that night at the celebration was a blur.

Zhou Xiaoyun had even teased him, asking if he had been drinking.

That was also the morning his father, for the first time in his life, didn't go to work and instead joined his mother in taking him to see Uncle Gao. Uncle Gao had even entered his mental realm.

But, in the past, he had always retained his memories after entering the mental realm. Why had the memories of that night vanished?

Did all these anomalies prove that something must have happened to him that night?

But what could have happened?

Ji Xun realized he truly had no memories left at all. It seemed he would have to go home and ask his parents. But if his parents were willing to tell him, they would have done so long ago; how could they have kept it a secret for so long? Besides, he had tried to probe his mother about it once, and she had vaguely brushed it aside.

The Big King Egg rolled around in the pocket of Ji Xun’s hoodie.

Ji Xun reached into his pocket to pat it, then continued to ponder. After much thought, he recalled one thing that was different at Uncle Gao's house that day—Fu Shuxing had also been called home by Uncle Gao.

Yes!!

He could ask Fu Shuxing! He must know!!

With a lead in hand, Ji Xun stopped racking his brain. His head was starting to ache, so he opened his textbook to listen to the lecture. Before he had heard two sentences, he remembered something else. He took the Big King Egg out of his hoodie pocket, placed it on the desk, and whispered, "Big King Egg, listen to the lecture carefully."

The usually lively Big King Egg froze. It rolled across the desk, bumped into the back of Ji Xun’s hand, and stopped.

Seeing it sitting still and "listening intently," Ji Xun felt gratified and reached out to stroke it. He thought to himself: One of us—me or my mental beast—must be educated!

I’ve been at the bottom of the class for so many years, there’s no turning back for me now, but the Big King Egg is different. It’s still young, it’s still just an egg. If I give it a good education now, by the time it hatches, it will know much more than the other young mental beasts!

I’ll be truly winning at the starting line!

Ji Xun imagined a bright future and smiled, stroking the Big King Egg. "I'm counting on you."

The morning classes ended. Ji Xun squatted at the stairwell outside the Sentinel cafeteria.

***

Zhao Zhanlei walked out of the cafeteria with Fu Shuxing. With a casual glance, he spotted the little Guide squatting at the entrance to the first-floor dining hall. He immediately nudged Fu Shuxing beside him. "Brother Xing, Xunxun is here."

Fu Shuxing looked over.

Ji Xun was wearing his school bag, squatting by the stairs, drawing circles with a twig. The sun was quite bright, casting a glow on the little Guide’s fair face, making him look even more childish.

Fu Shuxing and Zhao Zhanlei walked over.

Halfway there, they heard the sound of a stomach growling coming from Ji Xun’s direction.

Fu Shuxing paused.

Seeing this, Zhao Zhanlei immediately said, "Looks like he hasn't eaten. I'll go check the cafeteria and see if I can buy him something."

With that, he strode away, leaving the two of them some privacy.

Hearing Zhao Zhanlei’s voice, Ji Xun looked up, but he only saw Stone’s back as he jogged away. Standing not far from him was the handsome but cold-faced Fu Shuxing, his hands tucked into his pockets.

Ji Xun dropped the twig and stood up immediately. "Brother Xing, I have something to ask you!"

Fu Shuxing walked closer and asked calmly, "Haven't eaten lunch?"

Ji Xun said, "Yeah. This matter is too important. I went to the Sentinel building to wait for you, but the instructor dragged the class out for half a minute. I went downstairs and waited for a long time without seeing you, so I figured you must have already come here to eat, so I came to wait."

"Couldn't you have sent a message?"

"I did, but you probably didn't see it..."

Fu Shuxing tapped his finger lightly, remembering he hadn't brought his communicator. He looked at the little Guide, whose face was flushed from the sun and had a thin sheen of sweat on his nose, and walked into the shade of a tree.

Ji Xun followed closely into the shade.

Fu Shuxing asked, "What is it?"

Ji Xun said, "It's just... Brother Xing, do you remember the night of your father’s victory celebration, when you took me home?"

A dark glint passed through Fu Shuxing's eyes. "What about it?"

Ji Xun continued, "The next noon, when Uncle Gao called you back, did he ask you anything?"

"Yes." Fu Shuxing thought to himself that he hadn't yet figured out how to pry information out of Ji Xun, but here he was, delivering himself to his doorstep. His mind raced, but his expression remained impassive as he coldly retorted, "What do you want to ask?"

Ji Xun tugged at the hem of his shirt and said, "I forgot what happened that night, and I think it's a bit strange. Because the next day, the day I went to your house, I woke up with my whole body aching, and I even fell when I tried to get up."

"You must have done some high-intensity exercise the day before."

"No!" Ji Xun insisted. "Morning and afternoon were all indoor classes. That's why it's strange. Brother Xing, you're knowledgeable—do you know when a Guide would have body aches all over?"

Fu Shuxing didn't speak, just looked at Ji Xun in silence.

Ji Xun felt a jolt under his gaze. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Fu Shuxing ask, "Are there any other symptoms besides the body aches?"

"Energy! Even though my body was so sore that day, I felt refreshed! It was like I had slept incredibly well!" After saying this, Ji Xun thought of another important point. "Also, didn't I tell you that noon that I kicked something soft and warm? I said at the time it was a little white lion, but thinking about it now, it shouldn't have been. It must have been the Big King Egg."

Ji Xun asked, "Do you think it has something to do with me having a mental beast?"

Fu Shuxing replied, "Perhaps."

"Don't just say 'perhaps'!" Ji Xun grew anxious and stomped his foot. "Did you read all those books for nothing? There must be a relevant explanation!"

"Of course there is." Fu Shuxing stopped as well. He had heard footsteps and looked back.

Ji Xun followed his gaze and saw Zhao Zhanlei running out from the cafeteria entrance in the distance, carrying several takeout boxes.

"Eat first," Fu Shuxing said, pulling his gaze back.

Hearing the word "eat," Ji Xun’s stomach rumbled again. He was hungry, so he swallowed and said, "Oh, okay."

The Sanctuary was a beautiful place, surrounded by lush greenery and equipped with many small pavilions. Ji Xun sat in one of the pavilions to eat.

Zhao Zhanlei had picked out things that were mostly Ji Xun’s favorites, and he kept picking up the sweet and sour meat dishes.

Fu Shuxing, sitting to the side, said, "Eat your vegetables, or you won't grow tall."

Ji Xun was immune to such taunts at this point. He snorted, "I'm a Guide, I don't need to be that tall! Besides, I'm only twelve; even if I don't eat vegetables, I'll still grow in the future."

***

Zhao Zhanlei laughed out loud at his response.

Fu Shuxing gave Zhao Zhanlei a cool glance.

Zhao Zhanlei immediately stopped laughing and went quiet.

Fu Shuxing said coldly, "Don't be a picky eater."

Ji Xun pursed his lips, reluctantly picked up a small piece of spinach, mixed it into his rice, and shoved it into his mouth to chew and swallow.

Although this area was near the Sentinel cafeteria, many Guides passed by.

Seeing the scene in the small pavilion, someone whispered, "Isn't that Zhao Zhanlei and his boyfriend, Ji Xun?"

"Why is Fu Shuxing there too?"

"Don't you know? They’re all childhood friends."

"So what if they're childhood friends? Zhao Zhanlei and Ji Xun are already dating. How can a third wheel like Fu Shuxing have the nerve to wedge himself between a young couple? He’s so oblivious."

"Yeah, they have classes all the time; it's hard enough for them to find time to be together..."

The group spoke in hushed tones. Ji Xun, focused on his meal, didn't hear them. But the two Sentinels, both with keen hearing, heard every word clearly.

Fu Shuxing looked completely indifferent.

Zhao Zhanlei, however, felt the air pressure around them drop significantly. Anxious inside, he pretended to be calm on the surface. He even coughed and, adding fuel to the fire, opened a bottle of drink and handed it to Ji Xun. "Xunxun, eat slowly, don't choke."

Ji Xun reached out to take the drink.

Fu Shuxing said, "Stone, didn't Instructor Lou De want to see you about something?"

Zhao Zhanlei: "???"

When did Instructor Lou De want to see me?

He glanced at Fu Shuxing’s expression and immediately understood that he was trying to get rid of him.

Ji Xun took a sip of his drink and hurriedly waved at Zhao Zhanlei. "Then you go ahead, Stone. Bye-bye."

Zhao Zhanlei stood up, whispering a sentence low enough that only Fu Shuxing could hear: "Brother Xing, isn't it a bit mean to drive away the 'boyfriend'..."

Fu Shuxing remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard.

Zhao Zhanlei waved goodbye to Ji Xun, saying he’d see him after school.

As soon as Zhao Zhanlei left, Ji Xun said, "I'm almost done. Brother Xing, tell me now."

He knew that Fu Shuxing had sent Zhao Zhanlei away to talk about that night.

Fu Shuxing stated calmly, "Your mental energy was exhausted."

Ji Xun was stunned. "What did you say?"

"You asked me what those symptoms meant. I said your mental energy was exhausted."

"Don't think I haven't read any books! Mental exhaustion only makes you feel tired and listless. I told you I felt refreshed that day, only my body was sore!"

"Mental energy nearing depletion can cause muscle pain throughout the body," Fu Shuxing said. "Clearly, you haven't read enough books."

Ji Xun: "..."

Ji Xun asked, "Then why would my mental energy be exhausted for no reason?"

"That, you'll have to ask yourself." Fu Shuxing looked at the school bag Ji Xun still had on his back and said, "Take out that mental beast egg of yours."

"No."

"Let it get some air; don't just stuff it in your bag all day long."

Ji Xun felt Fu Shuxing was being overly fussy, but since his words seemed to hold a grain of truth, he took his bag off, placed it on the table, and unzipped it.