SS-Class Guide - Chapter 15

To avoid drawing too much attention, the three of them intentionally changed their clothes.

Trading his Sean Temple uniform for a casual look, An Yuan wore a black short-sleeved T-shirt and athletic shorts that cut just above the knee. The clothes were newly purchased. Despite the lighter attire, the August heat remained stifling in the peak of the summer.

In spite of the sweltering weather, Wen Xiuyan and Jing Lan still wore long sleeves and long pants. Wen Xiuyan wore black suit trousers that complemented his tall frame, ending just at the ankles to reveal a hint of fair skin. Paired with a crisp white shirt, he looked exceptionally elegant.

In contrast to Wen Xiuyan’s formal style, Jing Lan wore a simple tracksuit. It lacked any youthful energy; instead, the outfit made him look even more aloof and unapproachable, signaling a clearly irritable temperament.

The three of them were naturally the center of attention. Even without their uniforms, they drew many eyes.

The Fifth District could not compare to the Central or Shuhuan Districts. Even the branch temple, which stood in the most prosperous part of the center, felt aged and dilapidated.

An Yuan visited the mall. Although he did not visit malls often, he could tell that the shopping centers in the Fifth District were far more chaotic and inferior to the ones he knew in the major districts.

Then there were the people of the Fifth District. In the Shuhuan District, people were very concerned with their appearance. Even in the height of summer, they would carry umbrellas or apply heavy sunscreen. Most had very fair skin. By comparison, the people in the Fifth District were several shades darker. It was not natural; they were simply tanned by the relentless sun. When life is a struggle, there is no time for skincare.

At noon, An Yuan asked some locals for directions and found a well-reviewed hotel for lunch. The food was mediocre.

Wen Xiuyan looked at An Yuan and said, “If we just walk around like this, it is not much different from the Central or Shuhuan Districts.”

An Yuan nodded. In truth, there was not much to see. After a moment of thought, An Yuan said, “I want to go to the Black Market.”

The table fell instantly silent.

A moment later, Jing Lan narrowed his eyes and looked at An Yuan. “Lord An Yuan, how do you know about the Black Market?”

Wen Xiuyan’s expression remained gentle, but his gaze was fixed intently on An Yuan.

An Yuan felt it would be inappropriate to mention that Guide Bai Jinghui had told him. After a brief hesitation, he said, “I heard the locals talking about it.”

Jing Lan nodded. “Lord An Yuan, the Black Market is very chaotic. I hope you will dismiss that idea.”

Wen Xiuyan added, “It would not be interesting there.”

An Yuan felt a bit unhappy but did not insist. He thought that life was long and there would be other opportunities to see it eventually.

After lunch, they asked An Yuan if he wanted to head back. An Yuan did not really want to go back yet; he wanted to keep walking.

It was during this continued walk that An Yuan realized just how chaotic the Fifth District truly was. He suspected that the reason they had not encountered trouble in the morning was simply because the local thugs had not woken up yet. Once afternoon hit, every kind of lowlife and troublemaker emerged.

They encountered people faking accidents for money, attempted kidnappings, and scammers. An Yuan had the distinct feeling that if he were not with Wen Xiuyan and Jing Lan, anything could have happened to him. The Fifth District was far more chaotic and terrible than he had imagined. No wonder people here fought so hard to escape it.

After dinner, An Yuan was finally considering going back. However, he overheard people mentioning a night market nearby. Shuhuan had no night markets, and while the Central District did, An Yuan had never had the chance to visit one. Curious, he asked to go see it.

They followed the navigation to the night market. Various food stalls filled every corner with a mix of intense aromas. For An Yuan, these smells were somewhat overwhelming. He consciously strengthened his mental barrier to dull the sensory overload as he walked forward with the two Sentinels.

He saw people eating stinky tofu. Ten skewers cost only five yuan, which was incredibly cheap, less than half the price in the Central District. Many people were lined up to buy it. The scent of the stinky tofu was strangely haunting; An Yuan had only read descriptions of it before. This was his first time smelling it. He had the heart to try it, but not the courage.

As they pushed through the dense crowds, Wen Xiuyan and Jing Lan stayed close to An Yuan’s side, terrified of losing him. Suddenly, a scream erupted not far away.

An Yuan stopped in his tracks and looked toward the source of the commotion. Someone shrieked, “Run! A Sentinel is going berserk!”

The entire night market descended into instant chaos as people fled in panic. An Yuan’s eyes widened, and his body moved instinctively toward the danger. He felt he could do something to help.

Then, he stopped.

A green vine had transformed into a sharp spike, piercing the chest of the berserk Sentinel. Bright red blood flowed from the man’s heart as the green spike instantly claimed a life.

It was Wen Xiuyan’s ability.

An Yuan’s eyelashes fluttered. He did not even have the courage to look at Wen Xiuyan. He understood that Wen Xiuyan had not done anything wrong; he had simply followed the rules.

He recalled the question the Divine Martial Hall Master had asked Wen Xiuyan and Jing Lan before this mission: “If an S-level Guide is present and a B-level or lower Sentinel goes berserk, what should you do?”

Wen Xiuyan’s answer from back then still echoed in his ears, yet he had chosen to act with Jing Lan’s decisiveness by performing a summary execution.

An Yuan knew Wen Xiuyan’s actions were logically sound, but knowing that did not make it any easier to accept. Looking at the reactions of the crowd, it was clear Wen Xiuyan had made the standard choice. As soon as the people realized the berserk Sentinel had been dealt with, the panic subsided. Order was restored.

Jing Lan glanced at Wen Xiuyan and said, “Let’s go.”

Wen Xiuyan exhaled softly and silently took hold of An Yuan’s wrist. An Yuan looked at him. Wen Xiuyan kept his eyes downcast, his thick lashes hiding whatever emotion he was feeling.

“I am sorry,” Wen Xiuyan said.

An Yuan wanted to say that he was an S-level Guide, perhaps even a double S-level Guide, but the words would not come out. He certainly could not bring himself to blame Wen Xiuyan. Every Sentinel in the five districts was taught from the moment they awakened that their primary duty, above all else, was to protect the Guide. Protecting the Guide was a principle that would define their entire lives.

An Yuan took a deep breath. “I know. You were trying to protect me.” He tried to pull his wrist away, but he did not succeed. Wen Xiuyan’s grip was very tight. After a moment of hesitation, An Yuan let him keep holding it.

After the incident, An Yuan had no desire to stay. He decided to leave. Before walking away, he glanced back. The night market was a busy area, and the police had already arrived to handle the scene. He overheard one of them whispering, “Thank goodness some unknown Sentinel solved that berserk one so quickly; otherwise, who knows how many people would have died.”

Many people breathed a sigh of relief. In the end, this was the consequence of the imbalance between the number of Sentinels and Guides.

An Yuan felt a heavy sadness. He thought to himself that before that Sentinel went berserk, he must have been one of the warriors guarding the five districts. Yet, when he died, the passersby only thought about how lucky they were that he was dealt with quickly.

“I am sorry for letting you experience something so unpleasant,” Wen Xiuyan said.

An Yuan did not answer.

It took some time to get from the night market back to the branch temple. During the trip, something else happened that made An Yuan feel very strange.

Under normal circumstances, the Sentinels and Guides of the Sean Temple wore uniforms, so they almost never encountered such things. However, because they were in plain clothes today, they ran into Hunters, also known as Hounds.

An Yuan’s upbringing had been very simple. Before today, he never even knew such a profession existed in the five districts. Hunters made a living by hunting down B-level and higher hidden Guides in the civilian population. While most people who awakened as Guides followed the prescribed path of life, a small number preferred freedom and hid among the common people.

Hunters targeted these specific Guides. A captured Guide usually faced one of two outcomes. The official route was being sent to the Sean Temple to serve for life. The unofficial route was being sold. If they were lucky, they became hidden assets for one of the five major powers. If they were unlucky, anything could happen to them.

On the way back to the Sean Temple, they encountered one of these Hunters. He appeared to be in his forties and was an A-level Sentinel. He had black hair reaching his neck and a thick beard that obscured his features. He was powerfully built with a fierce aura, clearly not a good man.

Upon realizing that An Yuan was an S-level Guide from the Sean Temple, the Hunter immediately dropped to his knees, apologized profusely, and fled as if for his life.

As they continued back, Wen Xiuyan briefly explained the situation regarding Hunters. Listening to him, An Yuan felt a strange sensation. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but to many people, the Sean Temple he loved seemed like a villain. But there are no true villains; it was simply a matter of differing perspectives.

Back at the branch temple, An Yuan went to his room to wash up. The cold water hitting his body seemed to wash away some of his frustration. A knock sounded at the door. An Yuan looked toward it, knowing it was Wen Xiuyan. He did not really want to see him, at least not right now.

Claiming to be exhausted, An Yuan did not open the door. Wen Xiuyan sent him a private message consisting of only three words: “I am sorry.”

An Yuan read it but did not reply. He entered the white noise room. As the sound of rain began to play, An Yuan sat on the sofa holding a pillow, lost in thought.

He opened his phone and typed three words into the search bar: “The Hunter.”

Hunters were very special. Not all Sentinels could perceive Guides. Guides possessed unique pheromones, and a subset of Sentinels was particularly sensitive to them. They could detect a Guide even from dozens of kilometers away, which was why they were called Hounds. They preferred hunting in remote areas because every successful capture brought immense profit.

The Sean Temple itself trained many Hunters. Because of this, there were regulations requiring all Sentinels and Guides to wear their uniforms as much as possible when going out.

An Yuan was shocked by the information; it was a side of the world he knew nothing about. He felt more and more that, to many people, the Sean Temple resembled a villainous organization. But the truth was that without the Sean Temple and its rules and systems, the fairness for the majority of people could not be guaranteed.

It was such a complex problem that he did not want to think about it anymore. An Yuan eventually drifted off to sleep.

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