Chapter 49

As the sound of footsteps drew closer and closer, Ji Xun, who was squatting on the ground, grew increasingly nervous.

Was it just his imagination?

Ji Xun felt as though Fu Shuxing’s footsteps had paused slightly when they reached his side. When they resumed, the footsteps came closer and closer to him, until they finally stopped right in front of him.

Ji Xun: “……”

With lightning-fast reflexes, Ji Xun pretended to be tying his shoelace while raising his head with a look of confusion.

Looking up and seeing Fu Shuxing, Ji Xun summoned an acting performance worthy of an Oscar winner, asking with a face full of surprise, “Huh? Brother Xing, why is it you? You’re up this early too?”

Instead of answering, Fu Shuxing asked, “What are you squatting down here for?”

“My shoelace came undone, so I’m tying it.” Ji Xun muttered internally that it was obvious enough for anyone not to be blind, before standing up and smiling at Fu Shuxing, “Brother Xing, if you have things to do, go ahead first. Bye-bye.”

Fu Shuxing: “I’ll give you a lift.”

“Ah, no need, no need.” Ji Xun repeatedly refused, then “explained,” “I’ve got things to do these past few days and have to leave early. But since Brother Xing, you haven’t been training lately, I figured I wouldn’t disturb you so you could sleep in a bit longer, so I asked Stone to come with me instead.”

Fu Shuxing glanced over at the completely quiet Zhao residence, thinking that Zhao Zhanlei was somewhat reliable after all.

He was just about to say to Ji Xun: If you were waiting for Zhao Zhanlei, where is he?

But the next moment, Fu Shuxing’s expression shifted slightly!

Just a few seconds later, the front door of the Zhao residence swung open.

Zhao Zhanlei came hopping out on one foot while tugging at the heel of his shoe, calling out cheerfully, “Ayo Xunxun, you got here so fast. Huh? Brother Xing, you’re here too?”

Fu Shuxing’s expression turned unsightly.

Whether I’m here or not, could you possibly not know?

Zhao Zhanlei chose to avoid Fu Shuxing’s gaze. Feigning absolute ignorance, he raised a hand, intending to ruffle Ji Xun’s hair.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Ji Xun dodged out of the way, snapping, “Don’t you dare touch me with the hand you just used to shove your shoe heel back on!!”

Zhao Zhanlei laughed out loud. After finishing his laugh, he looked back at Fu Shuxing. Gritting his teeth and enduring the bone-chilling, soul-devouring aura radiating from Fu Shuxing, he forced out a couple of dry laughs, “Brother Xing, you’re up this early too? But unlike you and Xunxun fooling around, the final exams are right around the corner, so you must be heading out for extra training again, right?”

Fu Shuxing gave Zhao Zhanlei a cold stare for three full seconds before responding expressionlessly, “Mn.”

“Brother Xing, you should get going first. I’ll take Xunxun.”

Seeing that Fu Shuxing had actually let himself be chased off by Zhao Zhanlei, Ji Xun couldn't help but give Zhao Zhanlei a thumbs-up, praising him, “One should look at a friend with entirely new eyes after being apart for three days!”

Looking down the empty road where Fu Shuxing had disappeared, Zhao Zhanlei felt not a shred of joy from the praise.

Against all odds, he let out a heavy sigh!

Zhao Zhanlei felt that only the heavens knew what kind of intense inner battle he had gone through that morning.

At first, he had wanted to cooperate with Fu Shuxing and stand Ji Xun up.

But after thinking it over and over, Zhao Zhanlei decided that as the best of buddies to them both, he simply couldn't stand by and watch them stray onto the wrong path. If they turned back now while there was still time, everything would be fine.

Once things actually happened and became irreversible, it would be a disaster!

It was common knowledge that Sentinels and Guides with too wide a gap in mental power could not bond. No matter why Brother Xing had developed such a mistaken notion and remained so convinced of it, since he himself was clear-headed, he had to step in at a critical moment and nip the mistake right in the cradle.

Even if it meant getting beaten up, for the sake of his two brothers, he was willing!!

Zhao Zhanlei felt that he was truly great—taking two metaphorical stabs for his bros…

“Stone, you’re driving way too slow. When are we ever going to get there?” Ji Xun frowned as he looked at the crawler-paced flying vehicle, saying, “I even arranged to meet Fan Yunhai at the club entrance at six-thirty.”

Zhao Zhanlei checked the time. “Six-thirty is still early. We can’t go too fast. What if we run into Brother Xing?”

Hearing Stone mention Fu Shuxing, Ji Xun remembered, “Why is it such a coincidence that Fu Shuxing also leaves just after four o’clock?”

Hearing this, alarm bells blared in Zhao Zhanlei’s brain!

Zhao Zhanlei immediately said, “Then you don’t know this, but whenever Brother Xing does extra training, he always wakes up around this time.”

Ji Xun: “How would you know if I don’t? You literally arrive at the Sanctuary right at the deadline every single day!”

Zhao Zhanlei was left speechless.

Ji Xun continued to question him, “Besides, we didn’t run into him yesterday.”

“Maybe he only started extra training today.”

“Then if he’s in a rush to train, he’d definitely travel at top speed the whole way. We left later than him anyway, so what are you scared of running into him for?”

“……” Zhao Zhanlei quickly racked his brain for an answer.

Yet Ji Xun’s next sentence was already out: “Did you not just call him here yourself?”

Zhao Zhanlei thought to himself: *We're doomed.*

Ji Xun was a Guide after all. Although his mental power wasn't quite formidable yet, he could still sense the panicked emotions of Zhao Zhanlei frantically searching for a countermeasure inside the enclosed space. He told Zhao Zhanlei, “Stop struggling. Coming down so late on purpose—did you already scheme with Brother Xing beforehand? No, wait… judging by Brother Xing’s expression, did you go back on your word at the last minute again?”

Having been accurately guessed, Zhao Zhanlei: “……”

Whoever dared call Ji Xun silly or muddle-headed in the future, he would fight them! Seriously!!

“As expected, I knew I couldn’t count on you.” Ji Xun intentionally used a deeply disappointed tone.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhao Zhanlei felt dissatisfied, a wave of grievance welling up in his chest. “Xunxun, if I couldn't be counted on, would I have gone up against Brother Xing for your sake? Brother Xing told me to give him your itinerary, so what was I supposed to do? Refuse to say a word even if it killed me? Look, I cooperated with him, yet I also undermined him, and in the end, didn’t I still stand on your side?”

Having tricked the truth out of him, Ji Xun immediately retorted, “You don't understand my plan at all! My plan is not to meet with Fu Shuxing until the Great King Egg hatches!”

Zhao Zhanlei fell silent.

He thought to yourself: *The two of you live right across the hall from each other; wanting to avoid running into each other for that long is honestly a bit difficult, right?*

Zhao Zhanlei drove the flying vehicle at the speed of an antique car.

When they finally arrived at the Sanctuary, the sky was already growing light.

The good news was that Fu Shuxing was nowhere to be seen.

The gates of the Sanctuary were already open.

Ji Xun took out his communicator to message Fan Yunhai, telling him that he had arrived. But he had only typed two characters when he heard a strange yet familiar “chirp.”

Looking up, he saw a giant-winged, incredibly handsome golden eagle gliding and diving from the gray-white sky!

Ji Xun let out a gasp of awe, completely forgetting he was still holding things in his hands.

With a gentle shift of the golden eagle’s wings, its flight path changed. After soaring in a gorgeous arc right in front of the little Guide, it climbed high into the sky again, circled twice overhead, and finally flew back to land squarely on its owner's shoulder.

Ji Xun watched the entire spectacle in absolute amazement. It wasn't until Fan Yunhai walked closer that he excitedly started applauding. “So cool, so cool!!”

Zhao Zhanlei thought to himself: *Spiritual bodies that can fly are果然 way more charming!*

Unlike his own dumb leopard.

It only knew how to act spoiled and had zero other useful skills.

“Yunhai.”

“Leizi.” Fan Yunhai, having walked closer, greeted Zhao Zhanlei first before looking at Ji Xun with a smile. “Little cutie, we meet again.”

Ji Xun: “Fan Yunhai, your golden eagle is simply too cool!”

Receiving such direct praise, the golden eagle modestly lowered its head to peck and preen its wing feathers.

Fan Yunhai was no longer very surprised by how vain and shy his spiritual body acted in front of Ji Xun. He asked, “Where is the egg you want to hatch?”

Ji Xun came back to his senses with an “oh,” and quickly opened his backpack to take out the Great King Egg.

The Great King Egg trembled in Ji Xun’s hands.

It was a reaction born of fear.

It rolled toward Ji Xun’s wrist, seemingly wanting to burrow into the sleeve of Ji Xun’s clothes—which was completely disproportionate to its own size—to get as far away as possible from Fan Yunhai and that golden eagle spiritual body.

Fan Yunhai was startled. Although he had long heard that Ji Xun had a spiritual body egg, this was his first time seeing it.

Fan Yunhai asked, “Is it being shy?”

“Possibly.” Ji Xun had to exert a little bit of strength to keep a grip on the hyperactive Great King Egg. “Great King Egg, don’t hide, these are my friends.”

After soothing the Great King Egg, Ji Xun explained to Fan Yunhai, “Because in our Guide class, the Great King Egg only ever sees small, cute spiritual bodies, your spiritual body is huge, majestic, and unfamiliar to it, so it might be a little scared.”

Fan Yunhai was quite patient. Listening to this, he smiled and said to the squirming egg in Ji Xun’s hands, “Don’t be afraid, I guarantee Yun霄 definitely won’t peck you.”

Zhao Zhanlei suggested, “Let’s not stand out here. Shall we go inside and talk?”

Ji Xun: “Okay, let’s head to the pavilion first.”

Fan Yunhai had originally been worried that his spiritual body had a foul temper and would peck a hole in someone else’s egg.

Seeing how well-behaved the golden eagle was in front of the little Guide, he immediately felt a bit more at ease, though he immediately began to worry whether it even knew how to hatch an egg.

After all, Yun霄 was a momma's boy golden eagle that hadn't even laid eyes on a female eagle in its life…

To his surprise, hatching an egg might just be an innate instinct for a golden eagle, because it actually knew how to do it!

And its posture looked remarkably authentic!

The temporary nest Ji Xun had made out of his backpack wasn't quite suitable.

The golden eagle couldn't squat very comfortably in it.

The Great King Egg was also shivering and shaking and trembling all over, struggling as it rolled out from beneath the warm belly of the bird.

Looking at the Great King Egg rolling right up to his feet, Ji Xun inexplicably felt that if it could cry, it would already be wailing grievously at this very moment.

Once the Great King Egg was scooped back up into Ji Xun’s hands, it rubbed itself frantically against Ji Xun’s chest.

The soft yet resilient eggshell was pushed and shoved into all sorts of shapes as it burrowed against him.

It looked desperate to crack open right on the spot and cuddle with Ji Xun.

It was too terrifying.

It was simply too aggrieved!!

While stroking it, Ji Xun was torn between finding it amusing and feeling heartbroken.

Both instances involved fear.

When facing the General’s oppression, the Great King Egg had remained motionless like a rock, but under the golden eagle, it trembled like a chaff in the wind, fighting desperately for survival.

Seeing that the plan was viable, Fan Yunhai said, “I’ll bring a couple of sweaters next time to use as a nest.”

Hatching an egg required a warm and comfortable nest; making do with a backpack clearly wouldn't work. Fan Yunhai had also looked it up last night—this hatching process would take nearly a month.

Aside from training time, Yun霄 would have to spend the rest of the time obediently staying put on the egg.

He just wondered if it would get bored and take out its frustration on the egg…

Hearing that the ordeal was set to continue, the Great King Egg decided it could no longer endure such injustice.

It stopped moving altogether and directly played dead.

Ji Xun wasn't that cruel, ruthless, or cold-blooded.

It was true that he desperately wanted the Great King Egg to hatch, but if the Great King Egg couldn't or didn't want to yet, then how was his behavior any different from selfish parents forcing their child to learn this and that?

Therefore, Ji Xun said, “Forget it then. The Great King Egg seems really terrified.”

Beneath the eggshell, the Great King suddenly came back “to life”!

It moved slightly.

Noticing its movement, Ji Xun pressed his lips together in a smile, then raised a hand to wave at the golden eagle still standing atop the backpack. “Come here?”

Subconsciously, Fan Yunhai let out a nervous, “Hey—!”