Chapter 40

The night had deepened.

Mother Ji tossed and turned in bed. Beside her, Father Ji, though his eyes were closed, was acutely aware of his wife’s restlessness. Somewhat helplessly, he spoke, "Are you really unable to sleep? It’ll be dawn soon."

"I can't figure it out," Mother Ji said. "If Xunxun had no way to enter Xiaoxing’s mental domain, and didn’t force his way through the Fu family’s barrier to eavesdrop on those few words, how could he have exhausted his mental energy for no reason? And besides, where did that mental energy even come from?"

"Why do you worry so much about it?" Father Ji turned over, pulling his wife into his arms, sleepily chanting, "The cart will find its way to the mountain pass when it gets there; the boat will naturally straighten out when it reaches the bridge."

Mother Ji shoved him. "That’s easy for you to say, he’s not your son!"

Father Ji opened his eyes to look at her, feeling a bit aggrieved. "Look at you, always escalating things as soon as you speak. What can I do? Even Mingyuan can’t figure it out, and he’s the Vice President of the Federal Sentinel and Guide Association—doesn't he know more than you or I? I’ll go ask him again tomorrow."

The logic was sound. But as parents, when their child is in trouble, they can hardly be expected to reason things out point by point. With worry churning in their hearts, a peaceful night's sleep was impossible.

Mother Ji said, "Mingyuan is busy; we shouldn't keep bothering him."

Father Ji disagreed. "Bothering him? As if this has nothing to do with their son! I suspect the problem lies with that Fu boy! Our Xunxun may be mischievous, but he’s always been honest and never gets into real trouble. It’s that Fu boy who has been full of schemes since he was little."

"Hey," Mother Ji’s curiosity piqued. "Why are you calling him 'that Fu boy' now? Didn't you love Xiaoxing since he was a child, wishing you could raise him as a second son?"

Father Ji fell silent.

Mother Ji took the initiative to hug her husband. "Tell me, what are you hiding from me? Fess up."

Father Ji looked at his wife in the darkness. As the saying goes, it is hard to repay a beauty’s kindness. He said, "The kid is grown up and has a bigger temper now. He’s annoyed that our son doesn't have a spirit animal."

"Are you talking about Xiaoxing?" Mother Ji subconsciously denied it. "How is that possible? He and our Xunxun are so close."

"'Close' is just on the surface. Sentinels are inherently competitive."

Mother Ji preferred to believe what she saw with her own eyes; she didn't think Fu Shuxing’s concern for Ji Xun was fake. "I still don’t think Xiaoxing is that kind of person."

Father Ji replied, "That’s your shortsightedness."

"Fine, I'm shortsighted." Mother Ji pulled away, turned over, and faced away from her husband. "Don't sleep in the same room as a shortsighted woman like me. Go sleep in the study."

Father Ji: "..."

Father Ji leaned in, trying to appease her. "Did I say you were shortsighted just now? I clearly said you had keen insight; you misheard me."

Mother Ji brushed his hand away. "Don't touch me."

Father Ji: "............ I was wrong, my dear."

After a while, Mother Ji spoke again. "The day after tomorrow is the weekend. I plan to take Xunxun to see Wang Qian for a check-up."

"Good." Father Ji, desperate for the matter to be settled, agreed with his wife. "We should have done that long ago. Sleep now, sleep now—if you don't sleep, the sun will be up."

During breakfast, Hu Yuebai told her son about the hospital visit.

Ji Xun, while eating deboned chicken feet, replied, "I'm fine now. I slept well last night, and I really felt much better when I woke up this morning."

Mother Ji said, "Then just come along to keep me company for a check-up."

Ji Xun immediately asked with concern, "Mom, where are you feeling unwell?"

Mother Ji had to say, "I just haven't been sleeping well these past few days."

Ji Xun immediately replied, "Okay! I'll go with you!"

Seeing that she had persuaded her son, Mother Ji sighed in relief. Looking at the backpack he was carrying, she casually asked, "Has your ostrich egg hatched yet?"

At the mention of this, Ji Xun’s eyes guiltily darted away.

He lowered his head and mumbled, "It's not that fast. But it's fine; persistence is the key to everything, and I have plenty of patience..."

"Having patience is a good thing."

Mother Ji sat down to eat as well. Recalling what her husband had told her late at night, although she didn't believe it, she couldn't help but probe, "I’ve noticed you haven't been going to play with Xiaoxing lately?"

"No, we go to school and come home together almost every day, except when he’s busy with extra training," Ji Xun said. "And don't I often bring him breakfast?"

Mother Ji smiled and said, "That’s true."

***

Before leaving, Ji Xun had pretended to be on good terms with Fu Shuxing in front of his mother, but as soon as he stepped out, he curled his lip.

What was there to play with Fu Shuxing about? That jerk.

Because it was still early, Ji Xun peered toward the Fu residence. He didn't see anyone. Recalling the "unpleasant parting" from the night before, a spark of anger flared in Ji Xun’s heart. He withdrew his gaze and strode forward!

In the distance, he saw Zhao Zhanlei gripping the top of a wall, doing pull-ups.

Ji Xun shouted, "Stone, aren't you going to school yet?"

"Finally here." Zhao Zhanlei jumped down, clapped his hands, picked up his shoulder bag from the ground, and said, "Let's go."

Ji Xun: "Were you waiting for me?"

Zhao Zhanlei said, "Yeah, Brother Hang said he had to go to the Sanctuary early today and told me to let you ride on my flyer. Look, I played the waiting game and succeeded!"

Ji Xun thought to himself: *Ha, would Fu Shuxing really be that kind?*

It was probably just Zhao Zhanlei seeing Fu Shuxing leave alone, guessing that Ji Xun would be solo, and deciding to wait for him on purpose.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he heard Zhao Zhanlei expose his own "truck":

"By the way, Brother Hang’s expression looked bad. Did you make him angry again?"

Ji Xun said, "Making my enemy angry—isn't that just standard procedure?"

Seeing the hostility in Ji Xun, Zhao Zhanlei quickly agreed: "Isn't that the truth! Well done!"

To coax someone, you had to bring in the little leopard. Zhao Zhanlei immediately released Jason.

The little cheetah was a bit larger than before, about half a person's height, and its golden fur was even more lustrous and smooth. The tear marks on its face only made it look more handsome. When the little cheetah saw the young guide, it immediately walked to his feet and rubbed against him affectionately, completely ignoring Zhao Zhanlei, the master who had summoned it.

Seeing the little leopard, Ji Xun bent down to pet it and smiled, saying, "Jason is growing so fast, I can’t even pick him up anymore."

"I think he’s growing too slowly. Brother Hang’s 'General'—now *that* grew fast."

"How can I compare to him? He had a spirit animal at three years old."

"That’s true," Zhao Zhanlei said. "It takes two guide physicians just to perform one mental stabilization for him at the Sanctuary. That just shows how vast his mental domain is and how much of a hassle it is to sort through."

Ji Xun asked, "Is his mental domain very large?"

"Definitely. Awakened ones have a mental domain before they have a spirit animal. Brother Hang having a spirit animal at three means he had a mental domain even earlier. A mental domain built from the age of two or three... I’d believe it if you said it was big enough to span the 12th District. Of course, no one would bother building something useless."

Hearing Zhao Zhanlei say this, Ji Xun suddenly associated it with something. He let out an "Oh!" and said loudly, "I know!"

Zhao Zhanlei immediately looked at him in confusion: "Know what?"

Ji Xun looked at Zhao Zhanlei and said quickly, "I know what that thing I saw at the end of Brother Hang’s mental domain yesterday was! It’s the government compound we’re in right now! I was wondering why it looked so familiar—the two houses are his place and..."

As he spoke, Ji Xun’s footsteps came to a sudden halt.

Familiar.

It was a kind of hair-raising familiarity!!

Except for last night.

He must have seen it somewhere else before!!!

"What?" Zhao Zhanlei thought he had misheard. "Xunxun, did you say you entered Brother Hang’s mental domain?"

That had to be a mistake, right?

With Ji Xun’s fingernail-sized mental energy, he could enter Brother Hang’s mental domain??

Ji Xun didn't answer Zhao Zhanlei. He stood there silently for a long, long time, and then he felt a sudden chill run down his spine!!

That yellowish-brown color.

Did it look like the endless yellow sand covering the sky?

That circle of lush green belt.

Did it look like the thicket of thorns that once surrounded a small city??

What did this mean...

What did this mean!!!

—Did it mean he had really entered Fu Shuxing’s mental domain through a dream?!!

Ji Xun felt his entire world suffering a shock!

Last night, he had been adamant that it was impossible.

Now...

On the flyer, Zhao Zhanlei waved his hand in front of Ji Xun, finally bringing the young guide back to his senses.

Ji Xun looked at him: "What?"

Zhao Zhanlei: "I've been watching you look absent-minded the whole way, smiling one moment and frowning in thought the next. What are you thinking about?"

Ji Xun said gloomily, "I think I might really be a super guide."

"Aren't you the 'strongest guide'? How did you become a 'super guide' now?"

Ji Xun: "..."

Ji Xun was super serious: "I’m being serious this time!"

Zhao Zhanlei burst into laughter. "You’re serious every time!"

Ji Xun: "..."

Forget it!!!

Arriving at the Sanctuary, for the first time ever, Ji Xun sat down to read as soon as he entered the classroom.

The Big King Egg had learned to be smart. In the past, when it saw a book, it would nudge Ji Xun’s hand and act cute, trying to muddle through. But it realized it was useless.

So, it very consciously rolled toward the wall, as far away from Ji Xun as possible, wishing it could shrink into a quail egg so that no one would notice it.

Everyone in Class C knew that Ji Xun was hatching a python egg.

Some, worried that the python would be dangerous and terrifying, even went to report it to Teacher Tina.

When Teacher Tina heard it was Ji Xun, she immediately said that cultivating love for small animals was beneficial, and it wasn't certain it would even hatch. Taking a step back, even if Ji Xun were lucky enough to hatch it, don't let the fact that it's a python fool you—it would be tiny upon hatching and non-venomous. Everyone should rest assured and try to accommodate Ji Xun, who didn't have a spirit animal yet.

When that classmate left the office, he couldn't help but suspect that Ji Xun was actually a relative of Teacher Tina...

However, after "this incident," everyone was either a little friendlier toward the big egg or chose to ignore it. No one interfered or caused trouble.

Ji Xun had been labeled a "poor student" since he was a child.

Although he never felt he was one.

He just didn't study well because "the more others try to judge a person by their grades, the less he wants to prove himself through that method."

It wasn't until he entered Fu Shuxing’s mental domain last night that he had a sudden realization.

Learning wasn't for others.

Knowledge is power!

His own power!

However, some people are just not born for studying.