Facing an unidentified sentinel who had broken into the house without permission, the other two sentinels on site immediately became tense and alert.
Wei Zhuo frowned in cold displeasure, and his dark eyes looked at the other party sharply, “Put him down.”
His aura as a high-ranking officer was overwhelming, and he was intimidating without even raising his voice, ordering the young sentinel opposite him with the tone of a superior.
Yan Ji sneered, “You say put him down, and I’m just supposed to listen?”
Xing Xianqi blocked Yan Ji’s path. “Who are you? Where are you taking the major general?”
Yan Ji glanced at him and dismissed him entirely.
Noticing Xing Hexue’s poor state, he lifted him higher in his arms and held him tighter.
“Don’t you see how uncomfortable he is?”
Yan Ji stood opposite the two sentinels, like a lone wolf, his gaze cold. “Move.”
Wei Zhuo frowned, and all expressions on his face disappeared. “Ordinary hospitals can’t treat him. You know nothing, so what makes you act so fearless?”
Yan Ji was inevitably hit in the sore spot.
He clenched his jaw, held his breath, and retorted, “It’s still better than standing around doing nothing.”
“Put him down and don’t move, unless you want his condition to deteriorate further.”
Wei Zhuo shot him a cold look, then picked up his communicator and dialed a short number. “I’ll contact the special medical team at the White Tower.”
After losing his sentinel, the sequelae came one after another. Xin Hexue’s mind was dazed and sluggish, unable to react in time, and the noise around him gave him a headache. He patted Yan Ji through the armband of his combat uniform. “Put me down, I can still walk.”
Yan Ji didn’t say a word. He handled Xin Hexue like a delicate porcelain vase and steadily set him down.
“Do you want some water?” “Are you thirsty?” “You look so bad, have you not been resting well lately?”
He fussed around Xin Hexue with eight hundred kinds of concern per minute.
Xing Xianqi didn’t know who to report to for a moment. “Sir, he broke into a private residence without permission…”
Hearing this, Yan Ji sneered. “What do you mean broke in? Don’t tell me none of you have the key to the Major General’s house? Oh, even without a spare key, don’t tell me you haven’t registered your facial data with the smart system?”
Yan Ji: “Since you don’t have any of that, then the ones who should get lost… are you two.”
Xing Xianqi wasn’t as sharp-tongued and was quickly looped into the logic. He thought about it and felt what the other party said wasn’t wrong…
It didn’t matter, even the Lieutenant General didn’t have the key either…
Wei Zhuo’s voice was cold and deep. He had been negotiating with the person in charge over at the White Tower through the communicator, but he still heard the content of the sentinel’s shouting.
Xin Hexue said in a calm voice, “Yan Ji.”
The sentinel who was called, though his expression still carried pure hostility toward others, immediately restrained his verbal aggression.
He turned his head, lowered his gaze, and asked with concern, “Are you okay? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere else?”
Xin Hexue frowned.
His voice was very soft, as if it took a lot of strength to even speak, and he simply said, “Gloves. Bring them.”
Yan Ji handed over the gloves from the coffee table just a few steps away.
Maybe it was because Xin Hexue rarely showed skin, always in turtlenecks or high-collar coats, buttons fastened all the way to his throat, gloves never taken off, so at this moment, when he slowly put the gloves back on, even the faint veins rising on the back of his hand looked especially seductive to Yan Ji.
Xin Hexue had cold white skin, with light blue veins spread across the back of his hand, trailing to the base of his knuckles. His fingers were long and elegant.
The veins were slender roots, and the fingers were white branches growing out.
Yan Ji couldn’t help but swallow.
He was reminded of that afternoon, when Xin Hexue used this same hand to gently pat the side of his face.
With the cold leather gloves, it felt like a smack.
Yan Ji felt his face was a little itchy.
He pressed the top of his tongue hard against his canine tooth, and only then did he regain some clarity from the stinging sensation.
The bare left hand was finally covered again.
Xin Hexue lifted his eyes. “…Drool.”
Yan Ji immediately wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Yan Ji: ?
Xin Hexue chuckled lightly. “I was joking.”
Before Yan Ji could say anything, he asked naturally, “Could you pour me a cup of warm water?”
Yan Ji: “Oh.”
One sentinel went to the kitchen to get water, another stood on the balcony making a call. Xin Hexue looked up at Xing Xianqi. “Could you keep today’s events a secret?”
His words were very polite, and his eyes were gentle and calm, yet somehow they compelled obedience.
It was a command, even if it was wrapped in a request.
Xing Xianqi nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Wei Zhuo came back in from the balcony. He walked up to Xin Hexue, bent down on one knee, and with a calm and slightly upward gaze, asked in a low voice, “The White Tower… they hope you can return for a few days to recover. There may be a tri-party consultation.”
Xin Hexue pursed his lips together. “Did you make my condition sound serious?”
Wei Zhuo denied it. “No.”
He explained calmly, “It’s just… you haven’t been back to the White Tower in a long time. They’re anxious.”
The White Tower meant something different to Guides than the Black Tower did to Sentinels. The Black Tower was just a registration and management body, essentially letting Sentinels roam free. But the White Tower took on full responsibility for raising and educating Guides. Every child or adolescent found to have mental power was sent to the White Tower for the best possible upbringing.
The White Tower was a second home to Guides.
Their original families didn’t have to provide any financial help. The White Tower would raise the guides for them until they were independent adults.
In this small world, Xin Hexue’s identity was that of an orphan. He showed signs of mental power early and entered the Tower at four years old.
But since he became independent, he had never returned.
Xin Hexue had a headache.
It wasn’t pathological. He just felt psychological pain whenever he thought about the White Tower.
Yan Ji came over holding the glass of water and naturally squeezed Wei Zhuo out of the way.
Xin Hexue slowly took a few sips of warm water.
Seeing that he seemed to have recovered from that earlier state, the stone hanging in his heart fell.
But unavoidably, there was still a thorn, sticking in his chest.
“Just now… what happened?” Yan Ji couldn’t hide his probing or curiosity. “Why did you suddenly become like that?”
The usual arrogance in the sentinel’s eyes was now replaced with anxiety.
It was a normal mindset, especially in a young sentinel who had nothing but combat talent and fiery passion.
When it comes to love, the one who fell in love first will always be at a disadvantage.
Yan Ji knew himself well. Compared to He Botian and Wei Zhuo, even youth wasn’t on his side.
Because he was young, even the qualification to be trusted, needed, and relied on by Xin Hexue wasn’t enough.
Three years…in peaceful times, it was nothing. But in a world always under the threat of Folded Zones, the other two had known Xin Hexue five years longer than he had.
He wasn’t the first to go through life and death for Xin Hexue, nor the first willing to die for him.
But he did have one unique advantage.
He was alive.
And he was shameless.
So anything was possible.
Yan Ji looked at Xin Hexue, his eyes faintly shining.
Although he didn’t want to put it this way, Xin Hexue felt like in the other party’s eyes, he was some kind of meat-covered bone.
He frowned and avoided eye contact. “I’ll tell you later, okay?”
Yan Ji looked lost for a moment, but he quickly regained his spirit.
He shot Xing Xianqi a cold glance…it was definitely because this outsider was here!
The White Tower’s people arrived faster than expected.
Vehicles honked outside the villa.
……
The White Tower lived up to its name.
It was a huge, sacred, towering building located at the center of Imperial City.
Like a magic needle that stabilizes the sea, it rose from the heart of the safe zone.
This giant structure had everything; water reservoirs, greenhouse zones, marine salt eco-zones, recreation areas, residential quarters, academies, shops, swimming pools…
It was practically a fully self-sufficient Eden, belonging only to Guides and the White Tower served Guides alone.
Among all currently known powers, only a Guide’s mental power could fully purify the source of pollution of the Folded Zones.
Someone once asserted, if the Folded Zones eventually consumed the safe zones, the White Tower would be the last ember of hope for humanity.
The men in black suits were well-trained, escorting the Guide back inside.
At the entrance, the three Sentinels who came along were stopped.
A stern man in a black suit at the door said, “Sentinels and dogs are not allowed inside.”
Yan Ji’s eyes widened. “I at least need to confirm he’s safe, right? Isn’t this kidnapping?”
A woman in a black suit stepped forward. “Sentinel? Do you have a military ID?”
She said, “Senior officers can be an exception, but once inside, you must stay within surveillance range and maintain at least a one-meter distance from the Guide. Otherwise, we’ll take enforcement action.”
Yan Ji was still a student in the reserves, where could he get a military ID?
Yan Ji shrank back, visibly unhappy.
A senior officer’s military ID, in a dark blue leather cover, was presented.
The tall sentinel’s face was expressionless, matching the cold face in the ID photo.
The woman glanced at it. “Wei Zhuo? Sorry, not permitted.”
Wei Zhuo frowned. “What do you mean?”
The guard stood upright, hands behind his back. “On October 23, 2049, you were officially blacklisted by the White Tower. The Wei family is not welcome.”
Wei Zhuo: ?
2049…he remembered now. That was five years ago.
The Wei family had called off the engagement with Xin Hexue.
Seeing Wei Zhuo not getting any good results, Yan Ji sneered.
Xin Hexue stopped where he was, sighed, and walked back. “It’s fine. You guys should go back now.”
He added one more line for the dusty, travel-worn young sentinel: “You just got back. Get some rest first. If anything comes up, we’ll talk online, okay?”
Yan Ji hesitated. But…
He hadn’t even given him the flowers yet.
The people in black suits with expressionless faces stared coldly at the Sentinels. No one present had any doubt that if anyone dared to defy the words of the Guide in front of them, they would be dragged out of the gate and thrown three miles away.
………
The White Tower had preserved Xin Hexue’s old room very well.
It was clean and spotless, with clear signs of regular cleaning.
The style arranged for him remained the same as always.
Blue bedding, silk pillows and blankets as soft and tranquil as the sea. A wicker chair and a small table by the window were already set up for afternoon tea.
Arched windows let in the warm winter light, which filtered through lace curtains and shone on the shell, coral, and starfish-shaped decorations.
It looked more like something prepared for the “Daughter of the Sea”.
Xin Hexue: “…”
The man in the black suit who followed him in spoke expectantly, “Please enjoy some afternoon tea first.”
The Guide in front of them was no longer the weak boy he used to be. Xin Hexue had even attained the rank of Major General. For a moment, the people of the White Tower didn’t know how to treat or address him.
Fortunately, Xin Hexue only sighed imperceptibly, then sat down and began enjoying the afternoon tea.
“It’s brewed according to your previous taste…” The man in black said nervously, unsure if Xin Hexue’s preferences had changed, so he asked, “Do you need sugar?”
Xin Hexue replied calmly, “No need, it’s just right. You can go.”
However, the man in black didn’t actually have anything else to do… his job was to serve the Guide.
Xin Hexue bit into a cookie. He could hear the arguing outside from the so-called tri-party consultation.
He had already gone through this once, back when he had just survived the Folded Zone after He Botian’s death.
A series of physical check-ups, psychological counseling, and constant concern… the same process he had just gone through again after returning.
A surviving Guide, whose matched Sentinel partner died so violently before his eyes, was very likely to collapse mentally and die along with them.
This was the key concern shared by the White Tower, the Black Tower, and the military.
The military was concerned because the Empire had already lost one of its best Sentinels and couldn’t afford to lose its best Guide as well.
The Black Tower was concerned because Xin Hexue possessed 3S-level mental power and was currently the only Guide capable of performing perfect mental guidance for high-level Sentinels.
The White Tower… the White Tower only cared about Xin Hexue, and hated everyone from the other two factions equally.
The military representative for this consultation was Ji Yushan. Recently, Xin Hexue’s skin hunger symptoms had relapsed, and he had been getting medication from Ji Yushan and attending regular follow-ups.
The three parties were screaming at each other. It didn’t look like a consultation at all, more like a shouting match.
Ji Yushan: “Can’t you see? He needs a Sentinel!”
Black Tower: “I think what you said makes sense. I support it.”
White Tower: “And what about that He Botian? Where did he go? When Xin Hexue needed him, he wasn’t there! What kind of Sentinel partner is that? Oh wait, that’s right…he’s really dead!”
Black Tower: “Don’t insult our soldiers!”
White Tower: “Are you a Sentinel? Then get out! In the White Tower, Sentinels are forbidden from raising their voices!”
Ji Yushan: “…I think we need to sit down and talk with a calm attitude.”
Black Tower: “I think what you said makes sense. I support it.”
White Tower: “In the White Tower, Sentinels are forbidden from speaking!”
Black Tower: “…”
Ji Yushan: “I think you’ve completely misunderstood the situation. Xin Hexue’s body can’t hold on any longer. His test reports clearly show signs of mental exhaustion. It’s already started affecting his physical health; his skin hunger, his coughing blood…”
Ji Yushan: “His mental landscape is shrinking. His mental body…I mean the part that has merged with him and externally manifests as his mental body… whether it’s the glossiness and smoothness of the feathers, they no longer look like what a healthy Guide should have.”
Ji Yushan: “Only the merging of a new Sentinel’s mental landscape can help stimulate his mental recovery.”
White Tower: “Ji Yushan, don’t think I don’t know you’re a mole. Your research institute takes money from both the Black and White Towers!”
White Tower: “He doesn’t need a Sentinel. We will nurse him back to health. The White Tower is the eternal home of Guides.”
The Black Tower, having been banned from speaking for the past few minutes, remained silent.
Ji Yushan calmly wiped his glasses.
“His mental body is a snow petrel.”
“Birds are very good at hiding illness.”
He looked up calmly, the reflection of glass gleaming on his lenses. “By the time you notice visible symptoms in his body, then he’s likely already close to death.”
The White Tower representative fell silent.
Xin Hexue sat in the bedroom, looking out the window. He noticed Yan Ji hadn’t left yet.
………
Yan Ji had originally prepared a surprise.
Before going to the villa, he had hidden a bouquet of Dryas flowers inside the inner lining of his combat uniform jacket.
But at the time, he didn’t pay attention. When he noticed the young man’s poor condition, he rushed to carry Xin Hexue without thinking.
After coming out of the Folded Zone, he had rushed to the nearest flower shop and had the white-petaled, yellow-centered flowers tied into a bundle with milk cotton.
The flowers were already small to begin with, a creeping dwarf shrub of the Rosaceae family.
Now they were somewhat flattened and didn’t look nice anymore.
Yan Ji sat on the edge of a small park outside the White Tower.
Cold spruce trees were covered with snow.
The sound of boots stepping on the grass stems was faint.
“If you’re not planning to confess, can I still have the flowers?”
The voice was clear and gentle.
Xin Hexue walked up behind him, his breath turning into white mist as he spoke.
Yan Ji suddenly stood up, his heart pounding so fast it felt like it was about to jump out of his throat.
Holding the bouquet behind his back felt wrong, but holding it in front of his chest felt even worse.
He was completely at a loss. “I… of course…”
His brain felt like a broken wind-up toy.
Yan Ji’s expression was completely blank…he had forgotten everything he’d rehearsed on the way here.
“I, I, I…”
Xin Hexue tilted his head slightly, strands of hair softly falling over his right shoulder. “Hmm?”
His profile pressed against the snow-white scarf, and folds spread out, the lines looking like a romantic painting.
Yan Ji stammered, “I like… I like…”
A red laser dot locked onto the center of Yan Ji’s forehead.
Xin Hexue: ?
He turned his head and looked up at the sniper on the tall White Tower building with a very obvious rifle.
Yan Ji inexplicably felt a chill down his spine.
He felt ice-cold from the neck up.
