Chapter 35

Fu Shuxing walked into the hall and saw his father pointing at two Xianpi fruits—one peeled, one not—on the stair railing. "Did you peel these for little Xun? Why didn't you give them to him?"

"I didn't peel them."

Fu Shuxing’s voice was cold and indifferent. He didn’t even spare them a second glance as he headed up the stairs. "You eat them, Dad."

Entering his bedroom, Fu Shuxing didn’t turn on the lights. He sat down directly on the bed. Directly opposite him, on the second floor, was Ji Xun’s bedroom.

The bedroom light was on. The little guide was running back and forth in the small room; each time he ran, he seemed to have something new in his hands. Later, when Ji Xun appeared from behind the partially drawn curtains, he was wearing a pink headband, pulling all the hair back from his forehead and revealing his smooth, bare brow.

Ji Xun was beaming, looking to be in an excellent mood.

However, the new barrier at the Fu residence was too thick. Fu Shuxing could no longer hear what songs he was humming, as he once could.

Fu Shuxing sat in the dark for a long time, as still as a statue. He seemed to have been doing this often lately. Sometimes, lying down was more comfortable, because he didn't know when it had started, but the curtains across the way were always pulled shut.

When they were younger, their parents often joked that the two children were so close that they should just become in-laws. But as they grew older and wiser, they realized that being close meant nothing.

What connected a Sentinel and a Guide was never "affection." Awakened individuals possessed abilities that ordinary people could not have, but they also lacked rights that ordinary people enjoyed. That was the cruel reality.

But one thing Fu Shuxing was certain of: it was best if Ji Xun was just joking around. If it weren't a joke, he would never let Ji Xun enter a military academy. That was a path filled with danger. A little guide should be carefree, living his spontaneous and leisurely life, pampered by others, safe, sound, and happy. Whether Ji Xun asked him to peel fruit or asked Zhao Zhanlei to do it for him, in the future, there would always be other Sentinels willing to peel it for him.

Fu Shuxing finally lay down to sleep.

His White Tiger, influenced by its master's mood, walked to the window and stood on its hind legs to look out for a while. When it couldn't see its little guide, it lowered its front paws and walked listlessly to the bedside, lying down quietly. Its large head and eyes, shimmering with green light, looked aggrieved and restless. After a while, it let out a huff and lifted a paw to touch the top of its head, then curled up to sleep.

Gao Mingyuan walked into his bedroom holding the two Xianpi fruits. Fu Shen, having just finished a shower, walked out shirtless. He wrapped his arms around Gao Mingyuan, kissed the back of his neck, and took a light bite, while his other hand familiarly slipped into the hem of Gao Mingyuan's clothes.

Gao Mingyuan broke off a piece of the fruit and held it to Fu Shen's mouth. "Stop using imperative sentences with our son. He isn't your soldier; don't order him around."

Fu Shen opened his mouth to eat it and gave an affirmative grunt.

Gao Mingyuan heard the perfunctoriness in his tone and said earnestly, "We’ve always been so busy; we haven't spent much time raising Xiao Xing from childhood until now. It’s too late to start disciplining him. He’s grown up and has his own mind. Let him do what he wants; we’ll just be here to support him."

Fu Shen grunted again through his nose, then said in a clingy tone, "Yuan'er, you smell so good."

He didn't look at all like the Grand Marshal who fought bloody battles on the front lines, fierce and formidable. Gao Mingyuan knew that if he let Fu Shen keep nuzzling him like this, his own bonding heat would be triggered. Then, there would be no more talking.

He put down the fruit, pushed the Sentinel away a bit, and spoke with more weight. "I’m being serious with you. Talk to me properly first."

Fu Shen, pushed away by his lover, pulled at his short hair with some dissatisfaction. "He’s only twelve; what kind of mind could he have? Besides, isn't this what you said yourself? He and Ji Xun won't work out. It's better to cut ties now than to be heartbroken later."

"When did I ever say that?"

"Didn't you always fret in your sleep about the two children being too close, and how the boy spoils little Xun too much?"

Gao Mingyuan pursed his lips, unhappy that Fu Shen was so blatantly undermining him. He tilted his chin up with a touch of arrogance. "Was I wrong? Their mental powers are so different; can they really end up together? Even if Shuxing can endure it, Sentinels face emotional turbulence and mental instability not just once or twice, but for a lifetime! If he hurts little Xun even once, how could I answer to Sister Ji? Would I be able to face their family?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Fu Shen hugged him again, lowering his voice to soothe him. "That's exactly what I meant. Look, Yuan'er, you play the bad cop and I play the good cop, and the matter is easily settled. Don't be angry, don't be angry."

Gao Mingyuan’s anger dissipated slightly.

Fu Shen pressed against him, touching him, his voice quickly turning deep and hoarse. "Besides, with such a large difference in rank, they can't even produce a bonding heat. They are in the primary sanctuary now, still just children. Once they hit the military academy and the battlefield, they'll need guidance for their restless spirits every day. Yuan'er, how did you used to provide me with guidance? Hmm...?"

"...You only ever think about these things."

Fu Shen thought of his younger self and chuckled. A hot-blooded young man would naturally think about these things all the time. He didn't care how many enemies he killed or how much merit he earned on the battlefield; he just wanted to make his own condition worse and worse so that when it was over, he could make his guide worry, trick her into helping him, and then get a kiss or a hug.

He kissed Gao Mingyuan as he carried him toward the large bed.

Far away in the vast bedroom, the majestic White Bear also pounced on the beautiful Red Fox, which had been busy licking its paws.

Ji Xun was completely unaware of the thoughts and schemes of the entire Fu family. At that moment, he was soaking comfortably in a hot bath in his bathroom.

The steam from the hot water filled the room. Ji Xun was shaking his legs triumphantly as he spoke to the Big King Egg he had placed on the edge of the bathtub. "Don't you believe it? Even someone as smart as Brother Xing can't figure it out! I don't think I need to waste effort hiding you anymore. We’ll just do it openly; no one believes it anyway."

Ji Xun added, "What do you call this? We are the children of destiny chosen by the heavens! The future may be bumpy, but we will eventually shock the world. We are destined to achieve great things!"

The Big King Egg moved in a very supportive way.

As a result, the edge of the tub was too slippery, and with a "splash," it fell into the hot bathwater.

Ji Xun was startled and rushed to fish it out! Then, he discovered that even though the Big King Egg looked so big and heavy, it could actually float on the water.

Ji Xun failed to save the egg and was amazed. "Wow! Big King Egg, you can even float and swim!"

The large, oval white snake egg bobbed in the steaming bathwater, seemingly responding with pride.

"Wow, come here, swim over here." Ji Xun patted the water beside him.

The Big King Egg rocked and swayed, slowly "swimming" through the rippling water.

"Wow—!!" Ji Xun exclaimed and clapped loudly. When the Big King Egg reached his side, he scooped it up and praised it sincerely, "Big King Egg, you are truly too strong!! You’re so powerful before you’ve even hatched; when you hatch, you will definitely be the strongest snake in the entire star system!"

The egg squirmed in his hands as if it were overjoyed.

Ji Xun had always known that Awakened individuals could communicate with their spirit animals without barriers, but he had never known what that felt like. Now that he truly experienced it, he realized how magical and wonderful it was. It felt like having an intimate little companion. It was solid and comforting.

And he wasn't lonely at all. He knew that in the past, whenever Fu Shuxing couldn't accompany him, he would always feel lonely.

Halfway through his bath, Ji Xun reached for the shower gel, rubbed a little onto the eggshell, and said while spreading it evenly, "The internet says that to hatch a snake egg, you have to keep it clean. Even though you look very clean, we still have to wash you."

The Big King Egg bumped against his palm, indicating its agreement!

After washing it with shower gel and rinsing it with clean water several times, Ji Xun dried the water off the shell with a face towel. He held it up to look at it from both sides, then, unable to resist, kissed the pearly white shell, his almond eyes curving in delight. "So beautiful!"

"Wait here for a second, be a good egg and don't move, I'm going to rinse off the bubbles!"

The Big King Egg obediently stayed motionless on the vanity.

After showering, Ji Xun, wearing his pajamas, carried his Big King Egg out of the bathroom.

In the morning, Zhou Xiaoyun had touched it and said the Big King Egg had no mental power. Ji Xun didn't doubt it, because when Mentor Xie Ling called his name, he said, "Come, put down what is in your hands," instead of "Come, put down your spirit animal." Even the mentor hadn't recognized the Big King Egg as a spirit animal, which meant it truly had no mental power.

Even when the Big King Egg first appeared, his parents had entered his room but found nothing. Ji Xun remembered Fu Shuxing saying that powerful Awakened individuals could detect mental fluctuations in a space. If the Big King Egg had even a shred of mental power, his parents would have discovered it long ago!

Was it reasonable for a spirit animal to have no mental power? Of course not! Although Ji Xun had poor grades, he knew the basic common sense: spirit animals were high-dimensional biological entities manifested by Guides and Sentinels after their mental power stabilized. Simply put, spirit animal = mental power.

Ji Xun placed the Big King Egg on the bed, went to his desk to find two books, and brought over a small chair. He sat in front of the bed, earnestly flipping through the books to find information. Although the information on the internet was abundant, there were too many answers, and they weren't consistent. In such cases, Ji Xun trusted books more. After all, Brother Xing had been reading books since he was a child and rarely went online. Clearly, the internet was unreliable!

Ji Xun hoped the books would explain it to him. However, as soon as there were too many words on a page, Ji Xun grew drowsy. He had only flipped through two or three pages before he was yawning incessantly.

The Big King Egg saw his head nodding, and soon he slumped over, fast asleep. It rolled over to the side of his face and bumped against him, trying to wake him up. But after bumping for a long time, Ji Xun didn't wake up.

The Big King Egg simply gave up, rolled closer, and nestled against Ji Xun's neck, falling into a deep sleep along with him.

They say that a spirit animal follows its master's nature. That was absolutely true...

However, when Ji Xun woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, he sleepily crawled back into bed out of habit upon his return. Fortunately, he did. Otherwise, he would have surely woken up with a sore back and a stiff neck.

The next day, just as the sky began to brighten, Ji Xun woke up.