The Beloved Guide Was Forced in a Love-Rival Shura Field - Chapter 51

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

In the air, it was as if Ning Ning’s small, slightly sobbing exclamation still lingered.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the scene at the center of the banquet hall, which carried an overwhelming impact.

The second prince, Gu Qingfeng, as gentle and refined as jade, had fully enveloped the legendary “Moon God” in his arms. The young boy was clearly terrified; his soft silver hair brushed against Gu Qingfeng’s expensive formal wear, and his violet, crystal-like eyes glistened with moisture, making him look pitiful and vulnerable.

“Oh my god, this acting… Gu Qingfeng deserves an Oscar!”

Ning Ning, nestled in Gu Qingfeng’s arms, shivered in perfect coordination while mentally applauding wildly.

“Look at that perfectly furrowed brow, the icy, disappointed gaze, each line cutting to the heart! Crown Prince, you’re really trying to compete with him?!”

Gu Qingfeng held the warm, delicate body close, feeling the subtle trembling, and furrowed his brow even tighter. He looked at his older brother; behind his glasses, his eyes were sharp as blades.

“Your Highness, is this how you treat guests?” His voice was soft but clear enough for everyone to hear. “Ning Ning is a hero of the empire, not something for your amusement. Forcing a guide with unstable mental power to suffer in public—does this reflect the magnanimity of the Crown Prince?”

Every word pinned the Crown Prince to a pillar of shame.

The surrounding nobles dared not breathe, but the glances exchanged were filled with disdain and sympathy.

“That’s too much! How could someone be treated like this?”

“Look at Ning Ning, he’s almost crying…”

“Truly pitiful—he’s a war hero, after all.”

Their murmurs surged like a tide, forming an unspoken trial for the Crown Prince.

His face shifted from iron-blue to a dark liver color. He never imagined that he could be so humiliated by a seemingly fragile, delicate “accidental fall” from a boy!

He glared fiercely at Ning Ning, who was now even more delicate in Gu Qingfeng’s protective embrace—the sheer dependence in his posture was like a dagger piercing the Crown Prince’s envy-driven heart.

As he trembled with rage, unable to utter a single word in rebuttal—

Boom!

A presence even more overbearing and domineering than before swept through the banquet hall like tangible cold air!

It wasn’t spiritual power—it was a killing intent forged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, tinged with rust and gunpowder.

The crowd instinctively parted, creating a clear path.

Xiao Lin had arrived.

He didn’t look at anyone. His dark golden eyes locked onto Gu Qingfeng and the small silver head in his arms like a beast zeroing in on prey.

His boots struck the floor—clack, clack—each step feeling like it pressed on everyone’s hearts.

Finally, he stopped before Gu Qingfeng.

The two strongest men in the empire—a S-class sentinel and a S-class guide—formed a silent yet earth-shattering standoff over a single boy.

Xiao Lin said nothing, merely extending his hand in a motion that looked abrupt but carried an irresistible will.

Gu Qingfeng’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he instinctively tightened his hold on Ning Ning. He even smiled faintly and whispered, “Marshal, Ning Ning is scared. I’m comforting him.”

It was both a declaration and a challenge.

Xiao Lin’s gaze was so heavy it seemed to drip with weight. He parted his lips and said two words:

“Mine.”

Not a question, but a statement.

It was a mark.

In the next moment, without giving Gu Qingfeng a chance to react, Xiao Lin reached out and, with a gesture that was almost rough yet carefully precise, lifted the still-dazed boy from Gu Qingfeng’s arms.

Ning Ning felt the world spin.

“Eh? Eh eh eh—!”

His mind went blank. One moment he smelled the cool scent of cedar, the next he collided with a hotter, firmer chest imbued with the scent of gunpowder and sunlight. Before he could react, he was completely controlled by a powerful force.

Xiao Lin didn’t look at Gu Qingfeng at all. He removed the marshal’s cloak embroidered with a dark golden wolf emblem from his shoulders and wrapped the boy from head to toe without a word, leaving only the small, slightly trembling silver head exposed.

The oversized cloak was like a moving fortress, isolating Ning Ning from the entire world.

“Ugh… so safe… just a little hard to breathe…” Ning Ning, wrapped like a silkworm, felt both secure and amused.

“He’s tired.” Xiao Lin dropped this cold sentence without even glancing at the Crown Prince, treating him as though he were air. Holding the small bundle in his arms, he strode straight through the banquet hall amid the complex, awed gazes of the onlookers, heading for the exit.

Just as the Crown Prince thought this humiliating scene was ending, the Emperor’s chief steward appeared before him like a ghost, voice flat and emotionless:

“Your Highness, the Emperor commands: Your conduct has overstepped bounds and harmed the royal dignity. Return to the palace immediately and be placed under house arrest for one month to reflect.”

Boom!

The Crown Prince felt as if struck by lightning. His face turned as pale as paper, swayed, and almost couldn’t stand.

House arrest… in public!

This was more humiliating than a slap!

Gu Qingfeng remained in place, watching Xiao Lin’s back disappear through the door before glancing at his ashen-faced brother. He pushed his golden-rimmed glasses up, a sly glint in his eyes.

In an inconspicuous corner of the hall, newly titled Baron Zhou Yulin witnessed the whole scene. The Crown Prince’s retainer cast him a desperate yet murderous glance. Zhou Yulin understood immediately, raised a glass of eerie blue wine, and smiled coldly while looking in the direction Xiao Lin carried Ning Ning.

Plans would need adjustment.

The palace corridor was eerily quiet.

Xiao Lin carried the boy steadily; the marshal’s cloak wrapped him completely, leaving only a small tuft of sweat-dampened silver hair visible. Ning Ning trembled lightly in his arms; the subtle shiver radiated heat through the uniform fabric, tightening Xiao Lin’s chest painfully.

He held him tighter, trying to warm him with his own body, voice hoarse yet gentle:

“Don’t be afraid. It’s alright now.”

Ning Ning buried his face in this reassuring scent, greedily absorbing the sense of safety. He knew he was useless, but the Crown Prince’s murderous gaze and the scrutinizing eyes of everyone in the hall had nearly driven him insane.

At that moment, a gentle voice sounded from behind—not hurried, but like a needle piercing the fragile peace.

“Marshal, you’re too harsh. You’ll scare him.”

Gu Qingfeng had somehow caught up, his footsteps silent on the floor. He pushed his glasses, smiling as gently as ever, yet his words left no room for negotiation:

“Ning Ning needs comfort, not another battlefield.”

Xiao Lin paused, not turning his head. His cold, hard profile looked like an ice sculpture.

“Get lost.”

Gu Qingfeng’s smile deepened, but the chill behind it was sharper than ice. “Is that so? Because from where I stand, you’re squeezing him so tight he can barely breathe.” He stepped forward, voice dropping lower, carrying a hint of mischievous provocation. “Let me handle this.”

The air was thick with tension, ready to ignite.

“Help! Help! Stop fighting over me! I love watching, but… not this intense!” Ning Ning thought in his head, secretly amused, even wanting to pull out a bag of sunflower seeds.

At that moment—

[Warning! Warning! High-intensity hostile psychic waves detected rapidly approaching!]

[Danger level: A! Target locked: You!]

The system’s sharp alarm exploded in Ning Ning’s mind, freezing him stiff, and his recently relaxed nerves instantly tightened again. His curiosity for “spectating” vanished.

He instinctively peeked through the small gap in the cloak.

A man in a brand-new formal suit, smiling broadly while holding a glass of eerie blue wine, quickly blocked their path.

It was Zhou Yulin!

“Marshal, Second Prince.” Zhou Yulin bowed, posture extremely humble, but his eyes were glued to Ning Ning’s face, lecherous and greedy. “You must be Ning Ning. I’ve long admired your reputation. Your eyes… truly can steal one’s soul, just as the legends say.”

He handed over the glass of eerie blue wine while speaking, the smile sending chills down the spine.

“For our first meeting, please accept this humble offering, ‘Dream of the Deep Sea,’ specially prepared for you, Ning Ning.”

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