CH 47

“Si Di.”

“Yeah?”

“Where did you sleep last night?”

“I didn’t sleep last night. I was with a bunch of ‘like-minded’ examiners, we traveled across almost half the examination area, searching for the team that ranked first in points. We pulled off a big win together.”

“…”

“But that team was really something. They got beaten up badly in the early morning, points dropped to fourth. Now, just after a day, they’re back to the top of the leaderboard.”

Xiao Zhenyun found this description a bit familiar, like the companions in the novel who had a fateful encounter with Si Chu. Si Di didn’t hear the guide’s response, only feeling the smooth, black hair falling from his shoulder. The rhythmic breathing by his ear was exceptionally clear in the silent night.

“What about tonight?” Xiao Zhenyun slipped his hand into Si Di’s collar for warmth. “Are we going for another big move?”

“Not tonight. You’re here; we won’t do it.”

Xiao Zhenyun deliberately misinterpreted him: “Why, do you think I’ll slow you down?”

“Last night, to ambush those little rascals, seven examiners swam five kilometers in the sea, and then dived at the bottom of the cliff for an hour, including two guides. If they know how cruel and twisted the examiners can be for the sake of messing with them, they’ll be more alert tonight. Are you sure?”

“…” Xiao Zhenyun wasn’t necessarily up for this kind of fun, quickly acknowledging the difficulty and giving up. “Forget it.”

Si Di chuckled lightly. “Exactly, the Pea Princess should sleep comfortably on a soft bed. Leave the dirty work to us.”

Xiao Zhenyun remained noncommittal, turning his face and intentionally brushing his lips against the sentinel’s ear, maintaining a distance that seemed touched but not quite. He thought about the wolf ears on top of Si Di’s head, more sensitive than human ears. Straightening up, facing the white fur in the wolf ears, he blew a warm breath and asked in a low voice, “So… where is the knight planning to find a soft bed for me?”

“Don’t tease me.” Si Di frowned, shaking his ears.

“Who was teasing me in the evening and didn’t know when to stop?” Xiao Zhenyun grabbed the constantly moving standing ear, ignoring the sentinel’s objections, and rubbed it for a while.

Si Di didn’t raise his eyebrows and said seriously, “I can tease you, but you can’t tease me.”

“Hmm?” Xiao Zhenyun hadn’t heard such a shameless saying before. “Give me a reason?”

The sky was completely dark now. Si Di’s eyes emitted a wolf-like gleam. He stopped his forward movement, and a hand reached from behind, touching a place he shouldn’t.

“Just based on this.”

He turned his face slightly, his gaze falling on the tip of Xiao Zhenyun’s shoe, saying lightly, “Do you want to touch me here?”

“How should I put it?” Xiao Zhenyun chuckled. He wasn’t the type to shy away from slightly suggestive topics; he wasn’t a shy, innocent little boy when it came to such matters. There was a playful glint in his eyes, “Can’t take a little teasing?”

In the darkness, Xiao Zhenyun couldn’t see Si Di’s expression, only hearing a slight swallowing sound. The sentinel fell silent for a few seconds, and when he spoke again, his tone shifted slightly, as if he was holding something back, “If you want to know, take a look for yourself.”

Xiao Zhenyun chuckled again and leaned close to Si Di’s wolf-like ear, whispering something.

Si Di was somewhat surprised, “Is that a promise?”

“Not necessarily, depends on my mood.”

“Hmph.” Si Di didn’t say more and playfully tossed Xiao Zhenyun upward, quickly starting to run.

Xiao Zhenyun was curious about where Si Di planned for them to spend the night. He thought it might be like the time they were stranded on a deserted island, finding a cave. However, he clearly hadn’t paid attention to the rules of the practical exercise. Before eight o’clock, Si Di took him to the coastline, where a brightly lit giant ship was anchored. The ship sounded its horn one last time, signaling departure in ten minutes.

Around the ship, many candidates gathered, neither boarding nor leaving, facing off against each other. The atmosphere was tense. Si Di knew Xiao Zhenyun probably didn’t understand and would be curious. He explained, “Some can’t afford or are unwilling to buy tickets but want to board. Others, relying on the large crowd, plan to rob or extort protection fees.”

“And those?” Xiao Zhenyun noticed a few students silently trailing behind them, moving cautiously, seemingly harmless. Without looking back, Si Di replied, “They want to board but fear being robbed. Seeing me daringly walking towards the ship with you, they think I must be someone influential and want to follow me onto the ship.”

Xiao Zhenyun understood. He observed the ‘pirate’ team blocking the ship. Calculating, he sent a few strands of guide elements to Si Di.

Approaching the ship, Si Di released Tai Ji, a wolf with a very unique appearance, highly recognizable. Si Di signaled for Tai Ji to go ahead and negotiate with its appearance, attempting to resolve the situation without a fight.

Tai Ji seemed accustomed to this, skillfully leaping onto the harbor fence. Its eerie green eyes glowed like ghostly flames. Tai Ji tilted its head, letting out a long howl towards the crescent moon in the night sky. The wolf’s howl echoed into the distance, faintly triggering the distant echoes of several similar howls.

Clearly, many in the pirate team recognized Si Di’s wolf. Tai Ji’s appearance caused a commotion, and the crowd blocking the ship’s stairs cleared a narrow path for a single person to pass through. The commanding figure at the forefront of the team stared at Si Di with an uncertain and dark expression. Despite deciding to let the renowned S-level sentinel board, a lingering sense of mistrust lingered. Xiao Zhenyun knew that the root cause of these people’s unwarranted fantasies was him.

In their eyes, he was practically a massive ‘burden,’ significantly ‘weakening’ Si Di’s combat strength.

But Si Di seemed completely oblivious to the malicious glances, confidently stepping into the crowded narrow alley with Xiao Zhenyun on his back. Tai Ji jumped back to Si Di’s side, snarling at someone who stealthily pulled out a pistol, unsure of their intentions. As Si Di tilted his head upon hearing Tai Ji’s warning growl, his gaze sent a clear message of caution. The person immediately flinched, a guilty tremor passing through him as he swiftly averted his eyes and concealed the firearm.

“Teacher Si.”

A figure suddenly blocked their path, the leader of the pirates, a vigorous man with golden hair and wrists as thick as Xiao Zhenyun’s thighs. Si Di, somewhat surprised that someone dared to intercept him, raised an eyebrow slightly, indicating a willingness to hear what they had to say.

In contrast to his seemingly carefree demeanor, Xiao Zhenyun, crouched on Si Di’s back, felt Si Di’s muscles tense, ready to knock down the burly man with a single punch at any moment.

“Teacher Si, are these people behind you related to you?”

Si Di’s shoe had already landed on the stair, turning around to see the candidates attempting to board the ship surrounded by the gang of robbers. Each one looked at Si Di with pleading eyes.

“Teacher Xiao… what do you think?” Si Di left the answer to Xiao Zhenyun.

Everyone instantly understood that the seemingly fragile deer guide, who needed to be carried, was the real man in charge, the one you’d find in novels and movies, the one who could command wild beasts.

So those pleading eyes were now collectively directed at Xiao Zhenyun.

“No,” Xiao Zhenyun replied without much hesitation. But just as the pirates began to look triumphant and menacing, he casually changed his words lightly, “Well, maybe?”

Everyone: …

Si Di couldn’t help but lower his head, suppressing a laugh.

Xiao Zhenyun was playing the role of a bluff, but his expression was serious, without a hint of guilt. “Alright, one gold coin, and Teacher Si will protect one person.”

The team of robbers and the other candidates who were being robbed: …

Seeing them all wide-eyed and silent, Xiao Zhenyun furrowed his brow and asked Si Di in a low voice, “Did I ask for too much?”

“…Not bad,” Si Di pondered for a moment, “I think they can afford it.”

Soon, a girl was the first to react, raising her hand and pushing through the crowd. “I’ll pay!”

She rushed to Si Di, carefully saying, “I’ll pay, Teacher Si, save me.”

Her words immediately prompted responses from everyone else, eager to come forward, shouting, “I’ll pay too!” “Here, here!” “It’s better to give it to the examiner than the enemy camp!”

The captain of the road-blocking team turned livid, and the rest of the team members were equally furious, all glaring at their captain in unison.

“He’s all alone… Captain, and he’s still wearing that restraint ring, which means his spiritual domain is shaky. We’ve got a guide on our team…” a teammate gritted his teeth, and before he could finish his sentence, he saw Si Di’s threatening gaze casually sweep over. He hesitated for a moment, then blushed at his subconscious timidity.

Actually, regular folks don’t sense the informational aura of an S-level sentinel much. They can only vaguely feel the formidable aura emanating from Si Di. If there were a sentinel or guide present, they would have recognized the vast gap in power and never harbored any thoughts of resistance.

Take the guide in this team, for example. Standing at the rear, he kept waving his hands and signaling, saying, “Are you guys crazy, or is it just me? Letting me attack the spiritual domain of an S-level sentinel protected by a guide?”

Seeing that ordinary people seemed not to understand, he explained in agony, “It’s like trying to dig the Great Wall with a cotton swab…”

“But you’re an A-level guide!”

“There’s a huge gap between an A-level guide specializing in spiritual support and an S-level sentinel!”

“Why can’t you spiritually attack and support at the same time?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Our union president only specializes in spiritual attacks!”

Seeing that the team was on the verge of internal strife, Si Di impatiently urged, “Make a decision quickly, either step aside or fight.”

The pirate captain took a deep breath, turned away without looking at Si Di, and waved his hand dismissively.

The candidates who escaped cheered, genuinely grateful when giving coins, seemingly unaware that Xiao Zhenyun’s actions were a disguised form of protection money.

Inside the ship, two examiners in charge of selling tickets leaned on the door frame, watching the show for quite some time. When Si Di carried Xiao Zhenyun onto the ship, they simultaneously gave a disapproving ‘you guys are really immoral’ look.

Si Di, instead of being ashamed, chuckled proudly, “Two tickets.”

“Ten gold coins,” the ferret guide tore out two paper tickets.

“Say it again?” Si Di retorted coldly.

The fox-eared sentinel grinned, “How much gold have you earned these past few days? What’s the point of keeping it on you? Waiting to be stolen by those brats at night? Hurry up and contribute!”

“It’ll get stolen if I leave it with you guys,” Si Di replied.

He wasn’t bluffing; he had done the same thing when he was still a tower student, sneaking into the safe zone examiner’s resting room at midnight for mission items.

Xiao Zhenyun wasn’t aware of this, but he could sense the hidden meaning from the two examiners’ speechless reactions. He stayed silent since there was plenty of time at night to interrogate a certain sentinel.

“It’s already too late. President Xiao is cold and tired. I don’t have time to chat with you guys.” Si Di said without patience. “Normal ticket prices, or I’ll throw you off.”

The fox sentinel, apparently on good terms with Si Di, teased, “Damn, Captain Si Di, I remember your temper improved a lot after graduation. How come your personality has changed so much in just half a year?” 

“Chairman Xiao?” The ferret guide only just noticed the person behind Si Di and exclaimed, “So the innocent civilian and the mad killer refer to you two? Oh, I just realized.”

“…” Xiao Zhenyun turned to look at the candidates queued behind him, including the team that had been blocking the road and robbing others. The ship was set to sail at eight sharp, and they, as the last team, boarded. They now stood with unfriendly expressions at the end of the line.

“Okay,” he said, “now the whole world has figured it out.”

The ferret guide: “…”

The mischievous fox sentinel insincerely apologized, “Sorry, Chairman Xiao, Captain Si, for exposing the thing about your 250*2 + 2525 points.”

“…”

Si Di, with no expression on his face, looted the cash register and then took Xiao Zhenyun to the restaurant on the second floor with the stolen money.

This giant ship was a relatively safe and comfortable accommodation within the examination area, requiring points of mission items as a ticket. It set sail precisely at eight in the evening, docked at seven in the morning, and stayed in the middle of the sea during that period. All fighting and brawling were prohibited on the ship; if caught, a percentage of points would be deducted from the affiliated squad, and they would collectively be confined. A team with zero points would lose camp points.

However, the candidates were a bunch of troublemakers, fearing nothing as long as they were still in the exam period and within the exam zone. Prohibiting fights meant everything else was fair game.

So, although there was no need to worry about overt robbery on the ship, theft was a common occurrence.

Si Di and Xiao Zhenyun were like two fat lambs, boldly entering the restaurant with a bag full of freshly stolen gold coins, casually ordering. This made some candidates who were nibbling on compressed biscuits in the corner envious.

No choice, apart from these damn examiners with no mission objectives, who would spend points to eat within the exam zone?

During the meal, Si Di left Xiao Zhenyun at a seat without anyone around. Shortly after, a seemingly docile golden monkey sentinel sat beside Xiao Zhenyun, blinking and saying, “Assistant Xiao! I didn’t expect to see you here… I, I…”

He blushed and stammered for a long time until Xiao Zhenyun smiled faintly, “Student Li.”

The monkey sentinel, pleasantly surprised, half-opened his mouth, “Heavens, you still remember my name?”

“Only remember the last name.” Xiao Zhenyun’s smile deepened, and his arm, placed at his side, suddenly moved. He then grabbed a wrist and lifted it, saying, “Sorry, my bag only has two bottles of coconut milk. You should try targeting Captain Si’s pockets.”

The monkey sentinel: “…” I wouldn’t dare.

Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ