A Guide to Raising Snake Spirits - Chapter 32

Mizuki Xi was somewhat irritated; Xu Dian’s move felt like a direct provocation.

Is there any other way to track Xu Dian’s whereabouts… As Mizuki Xi pondered, a candidate popped into his mind.

This person seemed to have some ability and a reason to help, though their reliability was questionable.

Mizuki Xi decided to give it a shot. He flipped through his contacts and found the name.

[Yanagi Kura: Hello there, my dear offensive-type Guide teacher! What can I do for you? Are we discussing plans for the future Ghost Hunter competition?]

[Mizuki Xi: No.]

[Mizuki Xi: I remember you managed to dig up my info last time, right?]

[Yanagi Kura: Hey, I was just thirsty for talent… You’re not coming back to settle scores now, are you?]

Even without seeing Yanagi Kura, Xi could imagine him breaking into a cold sweat.

[Mizuki Xi: I want to find someone’s “orientation.” I have a name, a photo, and terminal contact info. Can you do it?]

[Mizuki Xi: Do this, and we’ll call it even regarding you snooping into my data.]

Yanagi Kura fired back several messages in rapid succession.

[Yanagi Kura: A Sentinel can never say “no”!]

[Yanagi Kura: I helped that Sentinel of yours look up his background last time.]

[Yanagi Kura: Even though he was so hard to track, didn’t I still dig it up?]

Mizuki Xi was surprised. He hadn’t thought Shiraishi Hare was the type to entertain Yanagi Kura, let alone have much contact with him.

He confirmed with Yanagi Kura once more.

[Mizuki Xi: Shiraishi Hare?]

[Yanagi Kura: Is there some other Sentinel in your life, Teacher?]

[Mizuki Xi: No, just him. What did you find?]

On the other side of the screen, Yanagi Kura felt a bit guilty as he covered his terminal and typed.

[Yanagi Kura: Actually, not much.]

[Yanagi Kura: Just an old photo. Do you want to see it? Since you two are bonded, it should be fine to send it to you, right? You won’t come after me screaming about privacy, will you?]

[Mizuki Xi: It’s fine, send it. If he tries to settle scores with you, send him to me.]

Yanagi Kura sent a compressed file exactly like the one he had sent to Shiraishi Hare.

It took only a star-second to decompress. Mizuki Xi stared blankly at the photo on the screen.

A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind, so many that he couldn’t catch a single thread.

Realizing Yanagi Kura was waiting for a reply, Mizuki Xi suppressed his turbulent emotions and sent Xu Dian’s files over first.

[Mizuki Xi: Alright, I got the photo. I’ve sent you the info on the person I want you to check. Waiting for your news.]

[Yanagi Kura: A doctor? Why are you checking a doctor? And a Guide at that.]

[Mizuki Xi: Don’t be nosy, don’t ask questions, and don’t be curious.]

[Yanagi Kura: …I have some pride too, you know. I don’t just work for anyone.]

[Mizuki Xi: Just be careful when you’re digging. Don’t leak your IP.]

[Yanagi Kura: I know, I’m an expert at this.]

After closing the chat box, Mizuki Xi fell into deep thought over the photo.

The black-haired boy of eleven or twelve looked like he was posing for a mugshot.

The photo was definitely Shiraishi Hare; Xi knew it the moment he saw it.

He hadn’t met the boy at that age, but an instinctive subconscious told him this was Hare.

Mizuki Xi looked at the young Shiraishi Hare’s face.

The Guide suddenly chuckled, “So Shiraishi Hare looked this fierce even as a kid. It wasn’t something he developed later.”

His mood, soured by Xu Dian’s escape, suddenly brightened.

Mizuki Xi zoomed in on Shiraishi Hare’s face. The people from those blurry dreams finally had a face.

This photo was like a key frame from a fragmented movie, not enough to tell the whole story, but it instantly filled in a massive blank.

He then realized that Shiraishi Hare had already received this photo back during his own rut.

…Did that mean Shiraishi Hare had remembered the past?

Thinking aimlessly at the hospital entrance wouldn’t yield answers. Mizuki Xi tucked the photo away safely, planning to ask Shiraishi Hare in person when he visited tomorrow.

***

After the Guide left, the observation room received another visitor.

The lady who entered was petite, dressed in a researcher’s professional suit. The moment she stepped in, her eyes were uncontrollably glued to the Sentinel’s snake tail.

“Hello, Student Shiraishi. I won’t waste time with pleasantries.”

The researcher struggled to shift her gaze back to the Sentinel himself. She offered a polite enough greeting, but couldn’t hide the urgency in her tone.

“We have some research we’d like you to cooperate with.”

Shiraishi Hare had heard her footsteps before she even entered, a gait that didn’t belong to anyone he knew.

The gray-haired Sentinel propped himself up, silently sizing up the researcher.

Ignoring his silence, the researcher muttered under her breath, sounding slightly neurotic, “Too rare, simply too rare!”

“Such a perfect fusion, not a single rejection reaction, and the type of mental body… but it seems he can’t retract it at will yet.”

Halfway through her research frenzy, she finally remembered that Shiraishi Hare hadn’t answered. She forced herself to stop muttering and asked again, “Well? What do you think? If you can’t control it now, our institute has ways to help you.”

She tried her best to persuade him.

“How exactly can you help me?”

The gray-haired Sentinel’s face remained expressionless, but the tip of his tail twitched violently on the floor, betraying his irritation.

“You’ll find out once you come to our institute.” At this point, the researcher became tight-lipped, refusing to elaborate, only adding, “This will help you, and it will help many others.”

“What if I refuse?”

Shiraishi Hare stood nearly two meters tall, looking down at the woman. His inhuman serpentine pupils, paired with such a massive tail, made him look like a monster from ancient myth.

In this moment, he was no longer a specimen to be slaughtered, but absolute power, the master of the conversation.

Shiraishi Hare easily caught the flash of fear in the researcher’s eyes.

She took two steps back, letting out a dry laugh, “If you’re worried about our institute’s legitimacy or professionalism, if you’re unwilling, it’s also fine to have Teacher Mizuki accompany you for a visit.”

It was a thinly veiled threat.

Shiraishi Hare struggled to suppress the sudden surge of murderous intent. In an instant, he had already envisioned several ways for this researcher to die.

Crushing her bones with his tail would be a good start, or he could follow the instinct of the anaconda from the desert planet and strangle her.

The only reason the Sentinel had endured this person was to confirm that their goal was him. Now, he was losing his patience.

Killing her would be easy, but what about the aftermath? If their reach was this long, what would happen to Mizuki Xi?

The woman froze for a moment, but her researcher’s brain quickly regained the upper hand. She asked again, “So, have you changed your mind?”

“If you don’t want Teacher Mizuki to accompany you now, we can always invite him to visit our institute later.”

“No need,” Shiraishi Hare said. “I’ll go alone.”

Standing at the front desk of the observation building, the black-haired Guide couldn’t control his volume. His almond-shaped eyes widened in shock, “Shiraishi Hare isn’t here anymore?”

The staff member maintained a professional smile and nodded, “Yes, Student Shiraishi has gone to treat the aftereffects of his frenzy. He is temporarily unavailable.”

Mizuki Xi could hardly believe his ears. He had been visiting Shiraishi Hare religiously, only to find an empty room today.

“Where did he go? Did he say?”

“There are no messages left on our end,” the staff member said with impeccable professional poise.

Just yesterday, he was thinking about confronting Hare with the photo, and today the man was gone.

Mizuki Xi opened his terminal and refreshed it repeatedly. There were no unread messages or notifications from the Sentinel with the default profile picture.

He scrolled through his chat history with Shiraishi Hare, gradually calming down.

Mizuki Xi asked, “When did he leave?”

Staff: “Approximately last night.”

“Did anyone else visit Shiraishi Hare yesterday?”

“One moment, let me check.” The staff member opened the terminal and read the visitor’s name from the screen, “It was a researcher from the Tianyou Institute.”

Mizuki Xi nodded, “…I see. Thank you.”

Just as he expected, there was no reason for Shiraishi Hare to suddenly leave alone without a word. This wasn’t some idol drama about a “runaway snake-sentinel of a CEO-guide.”

The moment Mizuki Xi heard “Tianyou Institute,” he remembered.

Tianyou Institute was the place where Bian Mengmeng worked.

But why didn’t Shiraishi Hare message him when he left? It wasn’t like he didn’t have a terminal.

Mizuki Xi was deeply confused.

Although the Sentinel’s terminal had “died a hero’s death” during his frenzy, Mizuki Xi had brought him a new one the very next day.

Was it a lack of will, or a lack of ability?

Mizuki Xi felt that Shiraishi Hare wouldn’t just leave without telling him, letting him show up to an empty room.

First, looking at the Tianyou Institute’s motive, why take Shiraishi Hare away so suddenly without much cover?

It likely had to do with Shiraishi Hare’s abnormal mental fusion state; they wanted to study the Sentinel himself.

Mizuki Xi was halfway out the door when he turned back to the receptionist.

“Can I see the room Shiraishi Hare was staying in?”

“Let me check,” the staff member clicked the terminal again and smiled, “Yes, you can. No new patient has moved in yet.”

“Thanks,” Mizuki Xi tossed back a word of thanks and headed straight for the observation room.

Having visited so often lately, the Guide could find the way with his eyes closed.

The door was intact, the walls were intact, and the bed was intact.

Mizuki Xi’s mind raced.

If Shiraishi Hare had been taken against his will, with his combat prowess, there would definitely be signs of a struggle. Besides, they might not even be able to beat Shiraishi Hare in his fused state.

If they couldn’t overpower him, they must have used threats or incentives.

Given Shiraishi Hare’s personality, nothing could really entice him; the Sentinel didn’t care for money or lust.

So, what about threats? What was his weakness? Expulsion, withholding stipends… Mizuki Xi could sponsor him for all of those.

Wait.

Mizuki Xi realized why Shiraishi Hare had left with them without a word. He felt a wave of helplessness, his initial drive suddenly deflating like a punctured balloon.

The black-haired Guide leaned against the wall of the empty room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the chair he had sat in while chatting with Shiraishi Hare yesterday. It sat there, lonely and empty, in its original spot.

Perhaps the leverage they used to threaten Shiraishi Hare was Xi himself.

This also explained why Shiraishi Hare hadn’t sent a message.

Shiraishi Hare wouldn’t message the Guide knowing he was walking into a pit; if he did, it would play right into the Institute’s hands.

As for why they left a visitor log, it was likely to lure the Guide to their doorstep.

For a Sentinel like Hare, a compatible Guide was just as important as the Sentinel himself.

Without a Guide who could repair their mental domain, a Sentinel was nothing more than a disposable tool.

Sentinels were perhaps just a group of tools with excellent functionality but short lifespans. The Heavens gave them powerful bodies that could heal rapidly, but also cursed them with minds that were equally fragile and unable to heal themselves.

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