The Beloved Guide Was Forced in a Love-Rival Shura Field - Chapter 34

The dean wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling.
“Marshal, Your Highness… th-this matter… we will handle it properly. As for Student Ningning, he—”

“He’s coming with me.”
Xiao Lin’s voice was as cold as ice, leaving no room for discussion. It was less a request than an announcement.

“I’m afraid that wouldn’t be appropriate.”
Gu Qingfeng cut in with a smile, his gentle tone like a soft blade, perfectly intercepting Xiao Lin’s words.
He stepped forward, his gaze landing on Ningning’s pale face, filled with heartache and concern.
“Marshal, Ningning just went through a terrible fright. His spiritual sea must be unstable—he can’t take any more strain. What if this leaves lasting damage? What then?”

【Here it comes, here it comes—the high-level PvP showdown! One playing the good cop, the other the bad cop, and me? I’m just the unlucky cabbage being fought over… Someone save me, why is a B-rank cabbage like me worth all this?!】

Inside, Ningning was ranting, but outwardly he stayed weak, leaning against Xiao Lin’s arm like he might shatter at any moment.

“My flagship Fearless has the Empire’s top medical team, along with a full suite of deep spiritual-sea diagnostic equipment.”
Xiao Lin’s jaw was tight, his gaze at Gu Qingfeng like he was nothing but a rock in the road.

“But this is First Military Academy. This is my turf.”
Gu Qingfeng didn’t back down in the slightest. His smile deepened as he turned to Ningning, his voice so tender it could drip water.
“Ningning, what do you want to do? Don’t be afraid—as long as I’m here, no one can force you.”

The word force was spoken slowly, dripping with honeyed poison, aimed straight at Xiao Lin.

The surrounding air temperature dropped instantly. The S-rank sentinel’s pressure became almost tangible, so heavy that the nearby instructors’ knees trembled, barely able to stay standing.

【Big boss, please don’t release your aura! I’m in the AoE range too—you’ll wipe me out right along with them!】

Ningning felt like a tiny nail caught between two giant magnets, about to be torn apart.
Hurriedly, he shifted slightly in Xiao Lin’s embrace, reaching out a trembling finger to tug at the man’s coat.

That tiny movement—so small it was almost nothing—made Xiao Lin’s explosive killing intent falter in an instant.

Ningning looked up. First, he faced Gu Qingfeng, his damp violet eyes carrying just the right touch of weakness and gratitude.
“Thank you, Instructor Gu… but right now…”

He paused, then turned toward Xiao Lin. His voice was hoarse, soft as a kitten’s mewl, laced with unguarded trust.
“I… I want to go somewhere quiet.”

He never named the place, but his eyes and posture spoke for him.

In the wake of terror, his instincts had chosen—the embrace that was more domineering, but also the one that gave him absolute safety.

Xiao Lin’s tense face softened instantly under Ningning’s gaze of reliance. Like a raging lion suddenly stroked into submission, all the frost and ferocity melted away, leaving only tenderness and cherishing.

For the first time, Gu Qingfeng’s warm smile froze.

Watching Ningning lean willingly into Xiao Lin’s arms, something inside his pitch-black eyes cracked with a sharp snap. Yet the fracture was quickly buried beneath deeper, colder calculation. After a brief silence, he finally nodded, the perfect smile returning to his lips.

“Alright. Safety comes first.” His tone was still gentle.
“As for the follow-up investigation, I’ll personally oversee it. I’ll make sure the one behind this is dragged out into the light and you get an explanation.”

He paused, then added meaningfully:
“If anything happens, you can always contact me. My personal terminal is always open for you.”

His words sounded almost as if the two of them shared a secret connection.

Xiao Lin’s brows knit tighter. Unwilling to waste more breath on this fox in sheep’s clothing, he bent down suddenly. His arm slid under Ningning’s knees, and in a startled gasp, Ningning was lifted cleanly into a princess carry!

It was sharp, decisive, and brimming with possessive dominance.

“Ah…”
Ningning instinctively looped his arms around Xiao Lin’s neck. His cheeks flushed crimson, heat racing from his pallor up to his ears.

The onlookers collectively sucked in sharp breaths. Even the white-haired dean—who had seen his share of spectacles—stared with his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

“M-Marshal…”

“He’s terrified. He needs rest.”
Xiao Lin carried his treasure without sparing a glance at anyone else. His military boots struck the carpeted floor with steady weight, every step declaring sovereignty.

As he passed Gu Qingfeng, he didn’t even give him the courtesy of a sidelong glance.

Gu Qingfeng stood in place, smile still on his lips as he watched them leave. But only after their figures disappeared at the end of the hall did the smile slowly peel away, layer by layer, exposing the freezing, vicious gloom beneath.

At the other end of the hall, a figure rushed over—it was Lin Yuan, arriving in haste. He froze at the sight: the Marshal himself carrying Ningning in such absolute protection. Ningning’s usually timid face was pale as paper.

“Ningning?” Lin Yuan’s steps halted, his voice full of worry.
“You… are you alright? What happened?”

Xiao Lin stopped.

His eyes lowered, cold gaze sweeping over Lin Yuan like a predator scrutinizing an intruder in its territory. It was an unmistakable warning.

“He needs rest.” The Marshal’s tone was frigid, hard.

Lin Yuan stiffened under the weight of that gaze, the rest of his words choking in his throat. He realized then—the gulf between himself and the Empire’s Marshal was one he could never cross.

Ningning forced his eyes open, weakly shaking his head toward Lin Yuan as reassurance. He felt the arm around him tighten, the possessiveness almost sulking in its intensity.

【Boss, please, don’t be like this! You’re scaring my roommate… He usually looks at you like you’re his idol—now his legs have probably gone weak!】

Xiao Lin didn’t linger, carrying Ningning past. His overwhelming aura pressed like an invisible wall, shoving Lin Yuan aside without a touch.

Lin Yuan could only watch them disappear down the hall, his pure worry unconsciously mixed with something bitter, something he didn’t even recognize as jealousy.

…

Inside the room, Gu Qingfeng waved the dean and staff away. He strolled leisurely, as though he owned the place.

His warm gaze swept across every corner, like the finest scanning device. Finally, his eyes stopped at an inconspicuous spot under the desk.

There—a faint glint of metal.

He crouched gracefully, slender fingers plucking out a tiny black shard no bigger than a grain of rice.

A military-grade micro-bug, complete with spiritual-shielding technology. No wonder he hadn’t sensed it before.

Gu Qingfeng’s expression turned completely cold. The gentleness vanished, replaced with fathomless darkness and a sharp, enraged malice.

Someone had dared to spy on his chosen treasure.

The air shimmered as a nine-tailed fox spirit materialized, elegant in form. Nine snowy tails swayed slowly, and its golden slit-pupiled eyes, identical to its master’s, glittered with icy cruelty.

Bzzz— His terminal vibrated.

A coded message:
【Target ‘Los’. Five minutes ago, abnormal spiritual fluctuations detected at the border of Sector Seven.】

Los…

Gu Qingfeng tapped a finger against the cold screen, lips curling into a smile stripped of warmth.

Trying to steal from me? This game will be played on my terms.

…

Inside the Marshal’s office—cold, austere, forged of steel and black—something soft broke the harshness.

A small silver-haired figure curled on the wide leather sofa.

Xiao Lin gently set Ningning down, then dropped to one knee, almost reverent, as he clumsily removed the boy’s shoes. His movements were so careful, as if handling a priceless, fragile relic.

【Help, the great Marshal himself is taking off my shoes. This blessing is too much for me to handle! System, isn’t this OOC? Isn’t he supposed to be the cold-blooded war god?】

Rising, Xiao Lin poured a glass of warm water at the bar. He tested the temperature against his own hand three times before handing it carefully to Ningning.

“Drink.”

Ningning obediently sipped. Leaning back, he watched as the tall man fetched a brand-new, obviously expensive cloud-fleece blanket and tucked it gently over him.

Every action was clumsy, yet so considerate it made the heart soften.

Just then, his terminal buzzed. A message from an unfamiliar encrypted number—signed Huo Ze.

【Heard you caused trouble. Your spiritual-wave fluctuations are interesting. Don’t die. I want you alive for my research.】

The hardcore “concern” almost made Ningning laugh, easing some of the lingering gloom.

【Classic mad scientist—only he could care like this.】

“Warning… bzzzt… warning…”

System 89’s voice suddenly rang in his mind, no longer the usual lively tone. It was riddled with static, anxious—urgent.

“System? What’s wrong?”

“Host! Listen to me!” The voice cracked through interference, rapid and tense.
“I must tell you the truth! Your real danger was never Xiao Lin or Gu Qingfeng!”

Ningning froze. Not them? Those two maniacs practically fighting to possess him weren’t the biggest threat?

“They’re in the open. What they want is to have you. But the danger in the shadows—it wants to replace and devour you! Los is just a pawn it pushed forward… Host, your ‘Moon God’ power isn’t only the key to calming the Zerg. It’s also… a ‘door’ to something far older!”

“A door?”

“I can’t say more—permissions… bzzzt… blocked… Be careful… be careful of your own… shadow—”

Static overwhelmed the voice, and then silence.

Ningning barely had time to process when exhaustion swamped him, dragging him under.

Xiao Lin, noticing his dazed look, strode over and sat down, pulling the boy into his embrace.

The man’s chest was broad and warm, carrying faint traces of soap and gunpowder—a strangely reassuring scent.
Nestled there, Ningning’s taut nerves finally loosened, his eyelids too heavy to fight.

Inside his spiritual sea, the little moon rabbit nestled down as well, burrowing its head into the massive dark-gold wolf’s soft fur. The wolf’s violet eyes shone with serene calm.

Night deepened, leaving only a single warm wall lamp in the office.

“I’m staying here tonight.”
Xiao Lin’s voice was low, absolute.

Ningning was too sleepy to reply, only burrowing instinctively closer, silently agreeing. He truly… didn’t want to be alone.

The sofa was cramped for two, but Xiao Lin’s arm held Ningning tight, a shield that wouldn’t be moved, locking the boy completely in his domain.

Their breaths mingled. Ningning felt the steady strength of his heartbeat, the heat radiating through the thin fabric—overwhelming, yet paradoxically the safest he had ever felt.

As sleep claimed him, he thought he heard a low whisper at his ear—obsessive, tender, and possessive.

“Mine.”

Support The Beloved Guide Was Forced in a Love-Rival Shura Field