A Guide to Raising Snake Spirits - Chapter 47

Mu Xiabing met the Sentinel’s dark green eyes, and his previously arrogant expression froze. He took an instinctive half-step back. Unbeknownst to him, the Sentinel’s once-rounded human pupils had sharpened into thin vertical slits.

A compatible Sentinel’s scent is usually comforting and friendly, but the pheromones radiating from this grey-haired Sentinel were currently thick enough to choke someone. It felt as if an invisible giant hand had clamped around Mu Xiabing’s throat, making it difficult to breathe and causing every pore on his skin to tremble.

Under this crushing pressure, Mu Xiabing was almost unable to move. He managed to strain his eyes toward the side, only to see the black-haired Guide adapting perfectly well to the intense pheromones. The Guide wore a somewhat helpless smile that stung Mu Xiabing’s eyes like a blatant mockery.

No, perhaps it wasn’t mockery, just total differentiation.

To Guan Yuexi, the scent of coffee emanating from Shiraishi Hare was simply a bit stronger than usual, with a hint of a spoiled, aggrieved undertone. In terms of their mental forms, it was like the tail of the green anaconda rubbing against the Guide over and over again.

Guan Yuexi took in Mu Xiabing’s terrified state and found it somewhat amusing.

He wondered which family this spoiled young master belonged to, swaggering around relying on money and a superior spiritual grade.

However, talent isn’t the only deciding factor. Innate spiritual power only determines how much water is in the pool, how that water is distributed and used depends entirely on subsequent training.

Furthermore, everyone has different strengths in the application of spiritual power. In a mental assault, a pampered S-class young master isn’t necessarily sharper than an A-class Guide who specializes in offensive techniques.

Moreover, setting spiritual power aside, there are skills like shooting and piloting that require repeated muscle memory practice. S-class spiritual power isn’t some insurmountable existence.

Still, wasn’t this young master’s reaction a bit exaggerated? Was Shiraishi Hare really that scary?

Guan Yuexi tilted his head to study the Sentinel.

Well, okay, his brow was pressed a bit lower, his gaze was a bit fiercer, and the non-human snake pupils were a rare sight. Plus, the physical pressure of his height was quite strong, but everything else seemed fine.

That said, since Shiraishi Hare’s snake pupils had actually emerged, he must have been truly provoked by that sentence earlier. Guan Yuexi felt a slight pang of guilt.

The standoff lasted a few seconds. Just as Mu Xiabing’s legs looked like they were about to give out, Guan Yuexi was about to speak when another male voice came from the entrance of the shooting range.

“My apologies.”

A young man hurried in from the entrance. His face was tense, but his tone was polite. He also wore a collar, indicating he was of the special population.

Mu Xiabing’s paralyzed state was broken the moment this person entered, and he cast a pleading look toward him.

The newcomer walked straight over and inserted himself between the two parties. With a dark expression, he grabbed Mu Xiabing and pulled him behind him, using his own body to block Shiraishi Hare’s piercing gaze.

The Guide could clearly smell that the two of them didn’t have the scent of a permanent bond. They weren’t a bonded Sentinel-Guide pair, yet they seemed very familiar.

Guan Yuexi raised an eyebrow and leaned his hand onto Shiraishi Hare’s shoulder. Lacking any sense of formal posture, he asked lazily, “Is this your friend, or your Sentinel?”

Shiraishi Hare stood tall and straight, like a silent cedar tree, letting Guan Yuexi hang off him. The Guide’s body heat traveled through the point of contact.

The Guide leaning against the Sentinel looked remarkably like his spirit body draped over the tree rack in the living room.

Mu Xiabing kept his mouth shut now, looking completely shaken, stripped of the bravado he had when trying to throw money around.

The young man in front of Mu Xiabing replied, “I am a Sentinel, but not his.”

Guan Yuexi chuckled, “Oh, so you’re the young master’s bodyguard then.”

The tension in the air dissolved under Guan Yuexi’s light laugh.

The Guide’s pronunciation was clear, yet there was a subtle teasing lilt when he said “young master” and “bodyguard.”

In this world, whoever has the bigger fist gets the say. The highest combat power here belonged to Shiraishi Hare, and since Shiraishi Hare listened to Guan Yuexi, the dominance sat firmly in Guan Yuexi’s hands.

Mu Xiabing lowered his head in silence, essentially conceding to Guan Yuexi’s description.

The young man said, “Whatever trouble he caused, I apologize on his behalf first.”

“It’s actually nothing much,” Guan Yuexi said, resting his face against the arm he had draped over Shiraishi Hare. He smiled, “He just took a liking to my Sentinel. I told them to check their compatibility, and then he was frightened by my Sentinel.”

The young man: “…”

He turned around and gave Mu Xiabing a harsh glare.

Guan Yuexi found it even more entertaining. A bodyguard who could glare at his young master wasn’t a typical bodyguard, he seemed more like a guardian.

Guan Yuexi continued, “Also, your young master doesn’t seem to know the rules of the shooting range. Barging into someone else’s booth isn’t a great idea. It doesn’t bother me much, but it would be a shame if your young master got hit by a stray bullet.”

The young man’s face remained grim. Once Guan Yuexi finished, he spoke.

“He doesn’t know the rules, I will teach him…”

His words were cut off by several successive bangs of gunfire.

Guan Yuexi pushed off from Shiraishi Hare, grabbed a training gun from the empty booth, held it in his left hand, and seemingly at random, fired several shots at the target.

The screen displayed the results in real-time. Every one of Guan Yuexi’s shots had hit the center, the worst being a 9.

After showing off his one-handed marksmanship, Guan Yuexi flicked his wrist, and the dark muzzle of the gun pointed straight at Mu Xiabing’s pale face. The black-haired Guide tilted his head, his hand holding the gun as steady as a rock.

“Some people tap others on the shoulder while they’re shooting and startle them. You never know what kind of stress response they might have. For instance, my stress response might just be to turn around and fire a shot.”

The young man stepped forward under the pressure, shielding Mu Xiabing.

Shiraishi Hare stood behind Guan Yuexi, acting as the Guide’s most reliable trump card.

Guan Yuexi caught the flicker of hesitation in the young man’s eyes and smiled.

“At this distance, my Sentinel can dodge a bullet. Can you?”

Guan Yuexi smiled again, “Even if you can dodge it, can you dodge it while taking your young master with you?”

The Guide’s index finger gently squeezed the trigger.

“…Young master, don’t you know which people you can provoke and which you can’t?”

The young man appeared calm on the surface, but the cold sweat on his back had nearly soaked through his clothes.

The stranger Guide was pointing a gun at Mu Xiabing. Whether they could truly dodge or were just bluffing, the message that they were completely unafraid of consequences was crystal clear.

Against this duo, he had no confidence in stopping a Sentinel whose physical grade far exceeded his own, combined with a Guide who clearly possessed formidable skill.

Mu Xiabing was as quiet as a quail, his head hanging low.

The young man rubbed his brow and said nothing more. He could see that Mu Xiabing had been genuinely terrified this time.

Fortunately, the stranger Sentinel-Guide pair had no intention of dwelling on it.

The black-haired Guide had only used the gun to scare them. The energy valve wasn’t even on. He twirled the gun once, slotted the training weapon back into place, and walked away with the grey-haired Sentinel.

The young man remained at the range, earnestly lecturing his young master.

“I know, I won’t do it next time,” Mu Xiabing muttered after a long silence, finally showing a sign of backing down.

Inside the range, a Sentinel was lecturing a Guide, but outside, the Guide was the one coaxing the Sentinel.

“I was just provoking him, I didn’t mean it,” Guan Yuexi laughed. “A Guide actually has a sense of territoriality over their own Sentinel, too.”

The Sentinel kept his face turned away, looking like he might not be listening.

However, the ears peeking through his grey hair were slightly redder than usual, betraying the fact that Shiraishi Hare was indeed processing Guan Yuexi’s words.

Guan Yuexi was a bit surprised. This was the first time he had seen the Sentinel have a reaction that resembled shyness. Usually, Shiraishi Hare was the one saying shocking things, leaving Guan Yuexi red-faced from what the Sentinel said or did.

He thought back on what he had just said. It didn’t seem like much, just a bit of instinctive reaction between a Sentinel and a Guide. Was that really the point that got to Shiraishi Hare?

Guan Yuexi turned halfway and started walking backward so he could see Shiraishi Hare’s face.

To Guan Yuexi’s slight disappointment, Shiraishi Hare’s face remained calm and pale, without a trace of a blush, except for the slight tell on his ear-tips.

Shiraishi Hare turned to look at Guan Yuexi, then reached out to grab the Guide who was walking backward and nearly bumping into a passing robot, before turning his head away again.

At this moment, the Sentinel was like an aggrieved big dog that couldn’t be easily cheered up.

Guan Yuexi sheepishly turned back to walk forward and added.

“I only said that because I knew it was impossible for him to be compatible with you.”

Shiraishi Hare: “Mm.”

Guan Yuexi: “Besides, am I the type of person who would just hand over my Sentinel to someone else? You know that, right?”

Shiraishi Hare: “Mm.”

Guan Yuexi: “Even if it were the institute, I would still break in to find you. And I haven’t even settled the score for you leaving with the institute without saying a word.”

Now that he reached the part where he was in the right, Guan Yuexi’s confidence surged.

Shiraishi Hare: “Mm, it was my fault.”

The two walked in silence for a while longer.

The weather at the base was beautiful, but the atmosphere between Guan Yuexi and Shiraishi Hare was not.

Guan Yuexi started another conversation, “I thought you were going to make a move back there. Why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to touch him,” Shiraishi Hare said. “And you didn’t want me to.”

The Sentinel’s voice carried a hint of hurt.

“Well… getting physical creates a bit of trouble, and that Guide young master was quite fragile. He’d break if you hit him. If it were a Sentinel, I would have let you.”

Guan Yuexi spread his hands helplessly.

“Scaring him was enough.”

Shiraishi Hare asked out of the blue, “What happened to your hand?”

“Huh?”

Guan Yuexi held out his left hand and waved it in front of Shiraishi Hare.

“My hand is perfectly fine.”

The Sentinel wasn’t fooled at all. Without a word, he reached for Guan Yuexi’s right hand.

Guan Yuexi dodged, cradling his right wrist, “Ow.”

Shiraishi Hare: “You aren’t left-handed.”

“Can’t I just be showing off my superior left-handed marksmanship?”

Guan Yuexi sighed.

“When that little young master tapped my shoulder, I didn’t control my reaction well and jarred it a bit. It’s no big deal.”

The Sentinel frowned and turned to walk back toward the shooting range.

Guan Yuexi grabbed Shiraishi Hare’s hand to stop him. “Hey, hey, forget it.”

Shiraishi Hare looked back, his eyes — now returned to their human pupils — filled with clear disapproval.

“Are you going back to break his hand? It would be better to squeeze more money out of him.”

Guan Yuexi pulled a card out of his pocket with his left hand. The movement was a bit clumsier than with his right, but he managed to catch it skillfully between his long fingers.

“The bodyguard gave me this just now. I don’t know how much is on it, but it shouldn’t be a small amount.”

Shiraishi Hare was barely convinced by Guan Yuexi, but he stubbornly held out his hand, making it clear he wouldn’t back down until Guan Yuexi let him check it.

The Guide sighed again, tucked the card back into his pocket, and placed his right hand into Shiraishi Hare’s.

The Sentinel’s fingertips lightly touched Guan Yuexi’s jarred wrist. He looked down intently, his emerald eyes moving back and forth under thin eyelids.

Shiraishi Hare’s hair was a light color, and his eyelashes were light too, shimmering in the sunlight.

Looking at him, Guan Yuexi felt a strange flutter in his chest. His free left hand hung at his side, and he subconsciously rubbed his fingertips.

After checking for a moment, Shiraishi Hare delivered his verdict.

“Go to the hospital.”

“No need, it’s a minor injury.” Guan Yuexi’s hand was like a slippery eel, trying to pull away from the Sentinel. “During the Ghost Catching Competition years ago, my right hand was fractured, and I finished the whole thing with a splint. This doesn’t even count as a sprain. It’ll be fine in two days.”

Shiraishi Hare didn’t speak, he just pressed his thumb against the Guide’s forearm, rendering him unable to move.

“If I don’t want to go to the hospital, you aren’t going to forcibly take me there, are you?”

Guan Yuexi moved his right hand and asked with a smile.

Shiraishi Hare remained silent.

Seeing the Sentinel like this, Guan Yuexi felt a sudden surge of stubbornness.

“Whether I want to go to the hospital is my business, just like how you chose to go to the institute without sending me a message.”

Guan Yuexi’s mouth was suddenly out of his control.

Matters of the heart aren’t governed by logic.

Guan Yuexi stopped trying to pull his arm away and instead took a step closer, meeting the Sentinel’s inscrutable gaze.

“In what capacity do you want to do this?”

The Sentinel was so submissive, as if he would agree to anything Guan Yuexi said. Guan Yuexi didn’t know what kind of mindset he was in as he continued.

“Other compatible Guides won’t do, it has to be me?”

His grey-blue eyes met the emerald green ones. Guan Yuexi narrowed his eyes, searching Shiraishi Hare’s gaze for what he wanted, then spoke.

“Do you like me?”

Even though Shiraishi Hare had said things like “You are much more important than these things,” their relationship was more like a silent game of chess. The Sentinel knew how to use his small advantages to please the Guide, testing the waters and advancing inch by inch, maintaining a vague ambiguity.

No one had been the first to use words like “like” or “love.”

Guan Yuexi would be the first to break the ice.

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