Chapter 41 FORTY-ONE

Chapter 41: Chapter FORTY-ONE

Xin Linhua falters.

"W-What?" He stutters "Wh-What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Director Chen exhales. He pinches his nose bridge in distress.

"Xin Linhua. I authorized the ra?ars without the institution’s permission. Yes, they’re aware of how you clear rifts and all, but they’re in the dark about your ability."

"Why would you do that...?" Xin Linhua takes two steps back.

"I’m trying to keep you safe."

"Safe? I’m anything but ’safe’ right now! What the fuck! Just why!?"

"Are you foolish!?" Director Chen slams his fist on the table "What do you think they’ll do to you? Just accept it? No! They’ll rip you away from your Sentinel, run tests and maybe even experiment on you! You’ll become nothing but a guiding tool! Is that what you want!?

Xin Linhua’s blood runs cold. His body quivers slightly, anxiety and fear slipping into his heart. His fingers curl into a fist.

"So...what do we do now?" He bites his lower lip "It’s only a matter of time before the news spreads. What am I gonna do then? This–"

"First, you need to calm down." The Director sighs "I’ll deal with the board, so keep yourself safe. And lastly, no matter what, do not accept a summon from anyone in the institution. Directors, executives, no one."

"Understood." Xin Linhua nods.

"And stay with your Sentinel at all times." The man glances at Rong Yizhan "Don’t leave his side and absolutely do not let him kill anyone in the institution."

"I got the former covered, but I make no promises on the latter."

"It’s for your own good, Xin Linhua. If he’s taken into custody for killing someone, there’ll be no one to protect you. You can take on one or two, but not all Sentinels are rational. They’ll come after you."

"All the more reason to get this damn institution to do something!"

"I’ll work on that." The man stands to his feet "For now, just follow every word I just laid down now."

"Yes, Director." Xin Linhua nods.

"Go back for now. Take a few days off. No rift clearing for now, and lay low. Avoid going out as much as you can. Stay away from any secluded area and the training grounds."

"Understood." Xin Linhua exhales "We’ll take our leave now."

The man nods.

Xin Linhua turns to Rong Yizhan whose murderous intent is still very active. He smiles at him, patting his shoulder.

"Yaras?. Let’s go back."

"Director Chen." Rong Yizhan finally speaks after staying silent all this while "I don’t trust you nor the institution."

"That much, I know." The man shakes his head.

"When you meet up with the board, tell them Xin Linhua is my guide. Bond or not."

"Understood." The man gives an amused smile "I’ll make sure to relay that message."

Rong Yizhan nods once. Xin Linhua guides him out.

"This is gonna get tricky..." He tugs his hair "What the fuck?"

"Xin Linhua." Rong Yizhan turns to him "Don’t panic."

"Easy for you to say, you’re practically untouchable in the institute. Me? I’m not. Not even my brothers are enough to deter them now."

"Then stay close to me." Rong Yizhan continues walking "We need to form a bond as soon as possible. That’ll deal with half our problems."

"Shit!" Xin Linhua’s eyes suddenly brighten "I forgot about that! That’ll work! They can’t split up a bonded pair."

"Yes."

"So we have to clear more rifts." Xin clicks his tongue.

"We can try another way."

"What way?"

"Guiding."

Xin Linhua stops. More like freezes in his steps with wide eyes. He snaps his head towards Rong Yizhan, eyes searching.

"W-What?" He blinks "Guiding? You want me. To guide you. To actually guide you. Like, hold your hand and guide you?"

"Yes." Rong Yizhan answers without faltering "It’s faster that way. I’ll slowly stabilize my wavelengths and you get to practice how to guide properly."

Xin Linhua still can’t believe it. He leans closer, touching Rong Yizhan’s forehead with the back of his hand.

"You’re not burning up." He withdraws his hand "What’s gotten into you? We usually have to beat each other just to guide you– all of a sudden, you’re willing? I fail to believe that."

Rong Yizhan’s expression changes. He turns, walking away with swift efficiency.

Sometimes, it’s best not to talk to Xin Linhua. He’ll rile you up so much, you’ll cough up blood from sheer anger.

"Hey! Where are you going– we were bonding!" Xin Linhua jogs after him.

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For the next few days, the institute buzzed with the sudden news.

A guide that can guide any Sentinel with a 100% purity.

It doesn’t matter what rank you’re at, how unstable your wavelength is, just one touch from him and you’re brimming with life. No corruption, no nightmare, no headaches. It’s like you’re reborn and your ability has no bottleneck.

Some find it hard to believe. It’s Xin Linhua they’re talking about after all, he’s a defect. Sure, his family is top notch, his brothers are powerful, his father is a feared man, but he’s nothing but a guide with no rank! A rankless guide...if such a word exists.

Maybe he’s the second person to dare venture into a rift– sure, he cleared the rift up while he was in there, but he’s still a defect!

All his glory and fame may be the work of his Sentinel...after all, he’s the only one who lasted months with Phantom without getting killed.

No matter what, as long as Xin Linhua’s rank remains bottom tier, some refuse to believe that he’s that guide with such ability. They’ll rather find a different explanation than believe the truth in front of them.

They’d have been able to confirm the theory, but Xin Linhua is not some Chinese cabbage. He has been extremely scarce.

He doesn’t even go out to the training grounds anymore and his Sentinel? Who’d be stupid and suicidal enough to walk up to him? That’s a big no!

Even his senior, Hirano. He still goes about his daily life, but at the mention of those two and he’s switching expressions.

With no way to confirm it, so many of them grow restless. Some start to disregard Rong Yizhan.

It doesn’t matter if his an S-S-S Rank Sentinel, he’s also a defect like his guide, he has no abilities.

Then again, they do fit each other. One has tremendous abilities, but his rank is nothing to write about. The other is highly ranked and very dangerous, but he has no abilities.

With these thoughts spinning in their heads, a heart knot is formed. It doesn’t matter, Xin Linhua is all they want now.