The Beloved Guide Was Forced in a Love-Rival Shura Field - Chapter 60

He hesitated for a moment, then extended his hand, which was still trembling slightly. Mimicking Xiao Lin’s clumsy yet careful manner, he tentatively placed it on the furry head of the giant wolf.

The touch… was unexpectedly pleasant. Soft, thick, and warm.

The giant wolf closed its eyes in comfort, letting out a low, satisfied “purr,” its tail wagging silently behind it.

Xiao Lin, sitting by the bed, visibly relaxed the moment Ning Ning’s hand touched the wolf’s head. The rigid, icy aura surrounding him softened noticeably.

Ning Ning petted the wolf’s head again and again, his mind a tangle of emotions.

Half was fear dominated by the deadly mission, half was the safety wrapped in this clumsy gentleness.

Half was hell, half was heaven.

He couldn’t help but let out a long sigh in his heart.

“Well, whatever, if I’m going to die, I’ll die. The bridge will appear when we reach it.”

At least tonight, he had the fiercest “big dog” in the entire empire accompanying him. Somehow… it didn’t feel so terrifying.

The Imperial celebration hall was dazzlingly magnificent, gleaming gold and crystal.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the dome, radiating brilliance. The air carried the scent of classical music and champagne. Nobles in lavish attire held wine glasses, gathered in small groups, conversing quietly with perfect, flawless smiles on their faces.

Everything seemed perfect, yet so hypocritical.

Suddenly—

The two heavy doors carved with the Imperial emblem were slowly pushed open by attendants.

“Creak—”

A soft sound, yet it struck like thunder.

The music stopped.

Conversations ceased.

The entire hall instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Over a hundred gazes simultaneously turned to the doorway.

Three people stood there.

On the left was Imperial Marshal Xiao Lin.

He wore a sharply tailored pure black military uniform, his epaulettes stiff, the belt tightening his lean waist. The man was tall, expressionless, standing there like a blazing wall of iron, radiating an aura of “no one approach.”

His dark-golden eyes swept across the hall, sharp as knives. Anyone caught in that gaze instinctively ducked or averted their eyes.

On the right was Second Prince Gu Qingfeng.

He wore a deep blue court ceremonial robe, perfectly tailored, accentuating his tall, upright posture. His face carried the same eternal gentle smile, warm like spring wind, but a closer look revealed the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

He seemed easygoing, standing beside the boy, yet equally unyielding. The inherent nobility and composure in him silently declared his authority.

Between these two giants of the empire stood Ning Ning.

He wore the pure white ceremonial suit selected by Xiao Lin, reaching the extreme of restraint.

The high collar was buttoned to the very top, covering his slender neck and collarbones completely, leaving only a small, dazzlingly pale chin exposed. His silver, slightly curled hair shimmered softly under the lights. His unique purple eyes, clouded with a thin film of moisture from nervousness, blinked anxiously.

His long eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a startled butterfly.

Wrapped this way, he didn’t hide his brilliance; instead, it triggered an instinctive desire in people to peek and to possess. Everyone wanted to know what breathtaking sight lay beneath that tightly wrapped fabric.

His beauty—pure, fragile, surpassing gender—carried an almost heart-stopping fragility.

“…”

The entire hall fell silent.

Nobles, accustomed to stunning beauties, experienced for the first time what it meant to have their “breath stopped.” They forgot where they were, forgot what they were supposed to do, just stared dumbly, their hearts pounding wildly.

After the silence, uncontrollable whispers rippled like a tide.

“Holy… is that the ‘Moon God’? Is this real?” a young noble blurted out.

“How could someone look like this… Is this even real?”

“He… he’s being protected simultaneously by the Marshal and the Second Prince… what’s going on? Am I seeing things?”

Shock, admiration, jealousy, greed—countless complex gazes interwove into an impenetrable net, suffocating all around.

Ning Ning’s hands were cold and sweaty with nervousness, his fingertips chilled to the bone.

He felt like a naked commodity displayed on a showcase, stared at, appraised, and coveted by everyone. His stomach churned violently; he could barely stand.

[System! Help! My legs are giving out!]

[Don’t be afraid, look to your left.]

Just as he was about to break down, his left hand was suddenly enveloped by a large, burning-hot palm.

It was Xiao Lin.

The man’s hand was big, with calloused palms from years of holding a gun, dry yet scorching. Without a word, he grabbed Ning Ning’s icy hand fully into his palm, his grip firm—both conveying strength and declaring ownership to everyone.

Ning Ning froze, instinctively looking up at him.

Xiao Lin didn’t look at him, only kept his side-profile taut, eyes dark and menacing as they scanned the greedy gazes before him.

At the same time, a faint, soothing spiritual energy swept over him silently.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

Gu Qingfeng’s voice was low, carrying a trace of imperceptible amusement, audible only to the three of them.

His voice was beautiful, like mountain spring water, gently washing over Ning Ning’s fraying nerves.

One firm, one gentle. One hot, one cold.

Two different, equally commanding protections enclosed Ning Ning in an impenetrable shield.

Step by step, they led him deeper into the hall.

Xiao Lin walked on the left-front, like an icebreaker, forcing a path through the crowd with his immense presence. Everyone instinctively stepped back, unwilling to interfere.

Gu Qingfeng walked on the right-rear, still smiling politely, yet his deep eyes, devoid of warmth, swept over the greediest gazes. Those caught in it felt a chill in their hearts.

They formed an absolute domain no outsider could cross.

The scene left everyone present dumbfounded.

The empire’s strongest sentinel and strongest guide—legends who should have been at odds—were now like the most loyal knights, jointly guarding their treasure.

This was no battlefield; this was a miracle!

In the corner, “crack”—the tall glass in the hands of the Crown Prince cracked under his grip.

He stared at the three, his handsome face twisted by jealousy.

“Why?” he ground out between his teeth.

Why could this wild boy, who appeared from nowhere, win the favor of both Xiao Lin and Gu Qingfeng at the same time? The army he tried so hard to recruit, and his brother who opposed him in everything, were both standing together for the same person!

“Your Highness, don’t be anxious,” Zhou Yulin beside him pushed up his glasses, his eyes behind them flashing coldly. “The real show hasn’t even started yet.”

The Crown Prince drew a deep breath, forcing down his rage, lips curling into a cruel smile.

Yes, why hurry?

Tonight, he would make sure this little thing, raised to the heavens, would fall hard, shattering into mud no one would care to see.

And at the very top of this storm, on the throne half-hidden behind layers of drapes, the frail, almost dying old emperor slowly opened his cloudy yet piercing eyes.

His gaze passed over the noisy crowd, over the tense Xiao Lin and Gu Qingfeng, and locked precisely on Ning Ning.

It was not the look of a senior at a junior, nor a ruler at a subject.

It was… the look of a hunter who had waited a long time for his prey.

Cold, greedy, full of calculated desire to obtain.

As if he were looking at the ultimate treasure, something that could prolong his life…

Tonight, the true hunter finally revealed his fangs.

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