CH 24.2

the scene rewinds to the evening, beside si di’s hospital bed.

xiao zhenyun closed his eyes, using the tricks he had picked up in the past two days, slowly searching for that glowing chain. soon, the sound of metal rings colliding, which existed only in the realm of his mind, echoed in his ears. after a bit of training and mastering the path, he effortlessly connected the mental link with a 90% match, entering the other person’s spiritual domain.

within the shattered darkness of the spiritual domain, xiao zhenyun found the lotus path he had created for si di before. si di lay at the end of the path, his limbs slightly drooping, his head tilted to the side, as if lying on the edge of a cliff, ready to sink into the abyss at any moment.

around the path, xiao zhenyun saw many traces of mental grooming done by other guides. it seemed that xiao jingfeng’s mental whip had shattered this route. due to the low match rate, even higher-level guide healers couldn’t create better bridges within si di’s domain. they could only mend the footprints left by xiao zhenyun and crazily use quantity to overcome. except for the paths near si di that no one dared to touch, other parts of the lotus path had been expanded into asphalt roads that could accommodate three cars at once.

tian lu appeared by his side, but this time, xiao zhenyun didn’t rely on it to walk. xiao jingfeng reminded him that this was the spiritual domain, a world where he didn’t need to follow the rules of the real world.

guides were the masters of the spiritual domain, and here, he was omnipotent.

xiao zhenyun wasn’t very skilled at it, but wanting to have fully functional legs in the spiritual domain was no less challenging than getting himself a new pair of legs in the real world. after a brief attempt, he immediately learned the skill of spatial teleportation. he felt it was even cooler this way. he teleported directly beside si di.

the silver-haired sentinel still slept, his brow slightly furrowed in an uneasy sleep. his will to survive was strong, unwilling to vanish like this. he struggled with all his might in his dream, desperately yearning to wake up.

xiao zhenyun’s legs leaned weakly to the side, one hand propped near si di’s ear. he slowly shifted to using his elbow as support and tapped si di’s cheek gently, “si di, it’s time to wake up.”

si di’s head tilted slightly to the right from the pat, but his eyes remained tightly shut, and his eyeballs didn’t move. there was no sign of waking up soon.

the stag looked around, searching left and right, but it never found tai ji’s trace. at that moment, it heard its master ask with a chuckle, “tian lu, do you know how to wake up a sleeping beauty?”

tian lu lowered its head in confusion, sniffed around, then suddenly started nibbling on the short hair on si di’s head. this silly deer’s nature will never change. xiao zhenyun ignored his spiritual body, his eyes tracing the curve of si di’s cheek. suddenly, he lifted his hand and caught the long hair hanging down his left side, one finger tucking it behind his ear. he then leaned down in front of si di’s face, the long hair on his right side becoming a dark waterfall, falling down from his shoulder, blocking tian lu’s curious gaze.

“yo.” the stag raised its head, uninterested, and walked to a more distant spot, trotting on its hooves.

xiao zhenyun’s bending posture lasted quite a while. it seemed that besides kissing the lips, he had kissed some other places as well. from time to time, he would softly call the sentinel’s name. the stag felt a bit bored, but it couldn’t roam around aimlessly, as xiao zhenyun’s spiritual power wasn’t enough to grant it freedom of movement.

xiao zhenyun’s kisses remained quiet, gentle touches, slowly parting. sometimes, the kisses would last a bit longer, and when he pulled away from those lips, his breath would become rapid, though very subtly. gradually, it seemed like there wasn’t just one source of breathing anymore. another deep and sexy voice joined in, becoming more intense and urgent. ignoring everything, they passionately locked lips, tangling with eagerness. during xiao zhenyun’s moments of rest or repositioning, the low moans of dissatisfaction persisted.

suddenly, tian lu noticed something. it raised its head, gazing at the emptiness above, confusedly calling out. half a second later, its shout turned certain, and its figure vanished from the spiritual domain in an instant.

in the middle of the real hospital, countless pairs of eyes remained fixed on the slightest movement within the ward through a small observation window. the scene in the room appeared frozen, one person lying down, another sitting up. silence continued, and anxiety and suspicion lingered in the corridor, yet no one dared to disrupt the tranquility. even the act of breathing seemed to risk disturbing something.

the silent film continued until a giant wolf with a black and white yin-yang face suddenly appeared. the still scene was abruptly shattered as tai ji leaped down from high above the head of si di. its front paws landed on the ground with a muffled thud, accompanied by the sharp sound of claws scraping over the tiles. it was as if it was welcoming a new life, forcefully pulled back from the brink of death’s abyss, freely swaying its body and stretching its fur.

standing at the forefront of the observation window, si qiaorong once again took a long breath, excitement and shock evident in his eyes. his lips, however, remained straight, not daring to relax easily until the situation was fully settled. after all, the current presence was just the spiritual body, and si di on the bed had yet to open his eyes.

soon, the stag followed suit and appeared. the black wolf seemed to have slept for a long time in the spiritual domain. its front paws were stretched out, lazily arching its back. as it saw tian lu appear, it immediately showed its affection, trotting over and lightly sniffing the bullet-wounded abdomen with its nose, howling a low whimper.

at this moment, tian lu’s proud temper seemed to come to the fore. it lifted its head slightly, as if saying that such a minor injury wasn’t worth its attention.

the beautiful stag had a chest of pure white and silky fur, and a pair of long antlers atop its head extended proudly. its specific species was unclear, resembling instead the embodiment of all human fantasies from myths. its limbs were slender, and its pupils were dark and shiny.

exactly like the deer si di had described orally.

xiao zhenyun, who had been in a trance with his head slightly lowered, also moved. he retracted the deer ears on his head, closed his eyes somewhat wearily, and took a breath. si di had yet to open his eyes, but xiao zhenyun knew very well that he would wake up soon.

after a minute of break, xiao zhenyun wheeled his wheelchair closer to the bedside table. he calmly poured half a glass of warm water into a clean disposable cup. just as he set down the water jug, si di, who had been sleeping on the hospital bed for days, finally slowly opened his eyes. at first, his jade green eyes held a trace of confusion. he squinted slightly to avoid the dazzling light, memories rapidly resurfacing with subtle movements. he suddenly widened his eyes and looked around to find something. when his gaze fell on the left side of his body, a flawless face as pure as white jade entered his line of sight.

“would you like some water?” xiao zhenyun’s tone was gentle, fully entering the role of a kind elder.

si di’s lips stuck together, his gaze fixed on xiao zhenyun’s face, yet he didn’t speak immediately. there was a slight movement under the blanket near xiao zhenyun’s side, and the long-haired guide at the bedside sensed something faintly. he lowered his head while holding the cup steadily, just as si di’s right hand silently reached out from under the blanket, fingertips gently brushing xiao zhenyun’s left hand placed on the bedside.

his body, still weak from waking up, only exerted a slight force. xiao zhenyun merely felt a gentle touch; the touch of fingertips wasn’t enough. si di reached forward, persistently, until his palm lightly rested on xiao zhenyun’s palm, which seemed to have strained all his strength, trembling ever so slightly.

xiao zhenyun gazed at this hand, his eyes dark and unclear. he didn’t look away for a long time.

as if by some strange twist of fate, he turned his palm, pressing it firmly against si di’s. their five fingers interlocked, attempting to pull away, but just then, si qiaorong burst into the room in such a dramatic way that his voice almost cracked, and it’s hard to tell what had him so worked up, “si di, you’re awake!”

this call rang out like a bird’s cry breaking through the hazy night, and in an instant, the ambiguous atmosphere in the room vanished without a trace. those waiting outside rushed in, following si qiaorong’s lead.

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