Read Novel Full Chapter 161 - Pomegranate Flavored Sentinel Gong (2)
Chapter 161 - Pomegranate Flavored Sentinel Gong (2)
Translated by Hua Li ^_~
After reading the agreement Gou Liang brought back over and over again, Mr. and Mrs. Yuan were so shocked that they pulled their elder son aside, worrying aloud about how to wring more benefits out of the Xiang family to compensate for the miserable life their younger son was bound to face—rejected by his husband and mother-in-law in the future.
Meanwhile, Gou Liang sat quietly off to the side, “gazing affectionately” at the surveillance blind spot, while scrolling through gossip threads.
#Ran into Young Marshal Xiang at a coffee shop—he looks so good in a suit, I can’t close my legs!#
Pinned to the top was a photo secretly snapped of Xiang Muchuan at the couple’s café, glancing at his watch—so handsome it made people scream. Below were screenshots from his publicly released combat videos—his face painted with camouflage, his expression cold and stern, his sharp uniform radiating an aura of strict abstinence, his brow exuding an untouchable nobility.
One look at that profile and gaze was enough to make Gou Liang hard. He cursed himself for being pathetic, but secretly vowed that one day, he was definitely going to try some military-uniform roleplay.
After hundreds of brainless fangirl comments, someone raised doubts: the Young Marshal always had a buzz cut and wore a uniform. This man looked similar, but his style was completely off. More importantly, “A couple’s café? That unholy place? Don’t you dare smear my idol!”
The heated argument quickly pushed the thread into the top hot topics of Capital Star Net. After thirty thousand replies, the discussion shifted, and the trending hashtag became: #Wtf, who’s that ugly guy? Let go of my idol and let me have him!#
“Ugly where? You blind fools!”
“Madam is right.”
“That’s my son’s 100% match of a Guide—say that out loud and you’ll scare yourselves to death!”
“Madam has excellent taste.”
“Muchuan is too much, really. Instead of taking his new spouse shopping, he left the poor Guide alone in a café. Outrageous! I swear I’ll beat some sense into him later!”
“Madam iswise and mighty.”
As the butler dutifully echoed every indignant word from Madam Xiang, he also secretly sent word to the Young Marshal.
The moment Xiang Muchuan got home, the first thing he did was calm his furious mother.
He said, “Mom, we’ve decided to register the marriage tomorrow morning.”
“Really?!”
“Mm.”
Madam Xiang’s eyes lit up instantly. She said in quick succession, “I’ll tell your father right now! Butler, draft the invitations, don’t leave anyone out! Send them out tonight—we must hold a wedding for these two children as soon as possible! It has to be the wedding of the century, no matter the cost!”
“Yes, Madam…”
“Mom.” Xiang Muchuan’s words were like a bucket of cold water. “Tomorrow at two in the afternoon, I’m leaving for the Frontier Star Region. I won’t be back for two months.”
Madam Xiang: “…”
Madam Xiang: “You unfilial son, I’ll kill you!”
Xiang Muchuan didn’t even flinch. The butler quickly intervened: “Madam, since the Young Marshal will be registering the marriage tomorrow, what preparations would you like to make?”
Her attention was immediately diverted. She discussed a long list of details with the butler and gave her son a slew of instructions. At the end, she insisted firmly: “Tomorrow, Yuan Wang officially becomes your husband. After the paperwork, you bring him home.”
“I’ll discuss it with him.”
“Discuss what? Don’t tell me you’re not planning to announce your marriage? If you make it public, then turn around and walk away, how’s the poor Guide supposed to face the public?”
“…I’ll try, but it should be his decision.”
Xiang Muchuan’s tone didn’t change, but from that slight hesitation, Gou Liang could clearly hear a sense of surrender, as if he was already resigned.
The next morning.
At seven sharp, Madam Yuan was already pushing Gou Liang toward the reserved styling studio to get a full makeover. As the family of four stepped out of the hotel, they saw more than a dozen luxury hovercars lined up at the vehicle bay.
Before they could wonder whose entourage this was, Xiang Muchuan and Madam Xiang stepped out of the lead car.
“In-laws, you’re up early,” Madam Xiang said with a smile, having been prodding her son since five in the morning.
She walked over quickly yet gracefully. After nodding at the others, she took Gou Liang’s hand, looked him up and down with delight, and said warmly, “Good child. I’m Xiang Muchuan’s mother. From today on, you’ll be calling me Mom too.”
She looked so youthful and lively, like a girl of eighteen, her smile full of kindness.
“Auntie… Mom, hello.”
Gou Liang followed the flow.
Madam Xiang answered with a crisp laugh, patting his hand: “So good. I’ve always wanted a Guide son, and now my wish has come true.”
Saying that, she took Muchuan’s hand, gently placed Gou Liang’s into it, and finally turned to the dumbstruck Mr. and Mrs. Yuan. Still smiling, she said, “In-laws, I’m so sorry we never met in person before. Fortunately, it’s not too late. Let the children handle their own business—we should find a place to sit and have a proper talk.”
Every word radiated her satisfaction and approval of Gou Liang as her new daughter-in-law.
Madam Yuan, who had once glimpsed Madam Xiang from afar in her younger years, now felt utterly unreal, like she was still dreaming. Mr. Yuan was even more at a loss, but luckily, Yuan Xi stepped in to hold the scene together: “Aunt Xiang, you’re too polite.”
Glancing at Gou Liang being led away by Xiang Muchuan, he quickly shot his parents a look. The three of them then busied themselves warmly entertaining Madam Xiang.
In the car, Xiang Muchuan’s adjutant drove. Gou Liang wasn’t unfamiliar with him—he had seen this man in the system’s surveillance yesterday, secretly escorting him back to the hotel.
Now, the adjutant turned his head and respectfully greeted, “Young Marshal. Young Madam.”
“…”
Gou Liang glanced at Xiang Muchuan, who paused slightly—and then seemed to immediately understand his look. Was this the legendary 100% Sentinel-Guide resonance?
Xiang Muchuan said, “Just call him Young Master Yuan.”
The adjutant corrected himself, and Gou Liang gave him a small nod.
Because Gou Liang was so quiet, Xiang Muchuan unexpectedly became the one to talk more. “This afternoon at two, I’ll be heading out on a mission, expected to last two months. When I return, the family will arrange the wedding. In the meantime, I’d like you to stay at the house.”
At this point, he seemed to realize he sounded too stern. He hesitated, then shifted his tone just slightly softer—though to most people it would sound no different—and continued discussing the matter with Gou Liang.
He said, “You’ve already met my mother. I think you should get used to the new family as soon as possible. But, if you really need time to adjust to such a change…”
Gou Liang shook his head, cutting him off. “Alright.”
The topic ended there.
The suffocating silence made even the adjutant, who could see Gou Liang’s nervous unease through the rearview mirror, anxious on the Young Marshal’s behalf. Thankfully, they soon arrived at the styling studio Madam Xiang had reserved.
Just yesterday, Xiang Muchuan had wasted a full thirty minutes here, transformed into a “gentle, harmless, refined elite” in a suit.
Gou Liang had no expectations for their sense of aesthetics. As he expected, the stylist was not only familiar with Xiang Muchuan but also skilled with pharmaceuticals. After some basic treatment, he reported to the “Big Blind spot”: “Young Marshal, I’ve found traces of unknown pharmaceutical compounds on Young Master Yuan’s face. I suspect it’s some kind of cosmetic disguise.”
Xiang Muchuan raised an eyebrow in surprise, then replied, “Understood.”
Gou Liang changed into a proper outfit. His slightly long hair, usually covering his cheek and neck, was tied neatly back, revealing his full face. His plain, unremarkable features held no smile, his somber gaze dampening the clean, refined aura the stylist had tried hard to craft. Xiang Muchuan’s eyes lingered on his face briefly, but he didn’t voice the questions in his heart.
The process of registering their marriage was even smoother than signing the prenuptial agreement the day before.
Xiang Muchuan had already filed the paperwork. Since his partner was a 100% matched Guide, the empire’s marriage system immediately recognized their union as legal spouses.
Afterward, Gou Liang and Xiang Muchuan went to the restaurant Madam Xiang had reserved.
During the meal, Madam Xiang repeatedly apologized for the Marshal being stationed at the frontier, leaving the in-laws feeling neglected. But clearly, three hours of contact wasn’t enough to dissolve Mr. and Mrs. Yuan’s awe and unease toward her; their replies were stiff and unnatural. Fortunately, Yuan Xi kept the conversation alive by praising the Marshal’s contributions to the empire, his tone full of admiration, which finally eased the atmosphere at the table.
As for the two main characters—they were competing in silence.
【Ding!!! Beloved Master, I’m back!!!】
In his sea of consciousness, the system danced a joyous belly dance.
Looking at the now even rounder little dumpling, its chubby belly wobbling as its stubby legs wiggled, Gou Liang actually felt a bit of longing. He was about to welcome it back when he heard the system’s startled cry.
【Eh? Master, why has your point balance gone down instead of up?】
【Oh my god!! Master, you got kicked out of the mission world?! No way, no way!! You only completed 99% of the last mission?! How could this happen?! What went wrong?!】
【……】
【Holy crap!! The main system says you lost thirty billion soul coins in soul-body damages alone from the last world?!! Master, you—】
Gou Liang, mid-sip of juice, crushed his glass with a snap—
Five pairs of eyes instantly locked on him.
Madam Yuan opened her mouth to scold him, but Madam Xiang beat her to it: “Are you hurt? What kind of restaurant provides cups this poor in quality?!”
Xiang Muchuan lifted Gou Liang’s hand to check. Seeing he wasn’t injured, then noticing Gou Liang’s flushed face and bowed head, wishing he could burrow into the ground, he actually found it a bit funny. While wiping juice off Gou Liang’s hand, clothes, and face, he also stopped Madam Xiang from lodging a complaint against the innocent restaurant—it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Gou Liang had just… used a bit too much force.
【Ding, target’s favorability updated. Current favorability: +1.】
System: The target’s weak spot… is a little skewed, huh.
Mrs. Yuan forced a dry laugh. “Xiao Wang just awakened as a Guide. He’s not very used to it yet, hehe, hehe.”
Ordinary humans couldn’t compare to Sentinels, but they were still much sturdier than fragile Guides. The original host stood at 1.8 meters, a whole head taller than Yuan Xi, and was one of the healthiest types among ordinary people—his last advantage over his brother.
But as a Guide, he was far too “tall and strong”!
Look at that grip strength, shattering a tempered glass cup without meaning to. Even though Guides were afforded absolute protection in marriage—even a Sentinel could never touch a Guide without their consent—Mrs. Yuan was still worried sick that Gou Liang would be “returned” like defective goods.
Xiang Muchuan poured him another juice. As he handed it over, he actually took the initiative to remind him: “Be careful.”
“Tha-thank you.”
Accidentally stuttering, Gou Liang immediately shut his mouth.
Mrs. Yuan grew even more worried.
With her vanity, she couldn’t even enjoy such a miraculous marriage. All she feared was that Gou Liang would be abandoned within two days, turning her into the laughingstock of Blue Water Star.
That’s why she hadn’t breathed a word of her son’s marriage to any of the ladies back home.
【System, posting a starry-eyed fangirl JPG: Master, you got married again!! Such speed, tsk tsk, worthy of my wise, mighty, brilliant, one-of-a-kind Master!】
【Gou Liang: …Shut up, System No.004.】
System: Why does that sound exactly like the Main System? What on earth happened while I was gone??
Brimming with curiosity, the system secretly tried to peek at the last world’s mission logs. But in the sea of consciousness, Gou Liang gave it a gentle smile.
The system shuddered and instantly gave up on tugging that tiger’s whiskers.
Well, anyway—once its beloved Master started advancing the mission with the target, it would have plenty of time to snoop. It absolutely had to find out what exactly its Master had done—not only to get kicked out of the mission world, but also to wipe out the apocalypse world that should have successfully advanced to a B-level world!
Just thinking about the thirty billion soul coin compensation made Gou Liang grit his teeth in rage.
Because of some unknown cause, even the Main System couldn’t trace, after he was kicked out of the mission world by his dear Lord God, the consciousness of that world’s sleeping Lord God unexpectedly woke up during the restart of the world cycle—and outright destroyed the apocalypse world! The remaining 1% fragment was gone without a trace!
Worst of all, the Lord God got to throw a tantrum, while he was the one footing the bill!
Great. Centuries of hard work, and just like that, back to square one.
After eight worlds of grinding, all the soul coins Gou Liang had scraped together through blood, sweat, and tears were now whittled down to a pitiful 2,333—like the Main System had slapped a giant “mockery” right across his face.
Heartbroken, Gou Liang finally snapped—he smacked the giggling system, whose belly wobbled as it tried to hold in its laughter, flat into a memorial photo!
Xiang Muchuan glanced over. His silver wolf, sensing Gou Liang’s heavy mood, urgently tried to burst out of his spiritual domain. After being forcefully suppressed, it grew extremely restless.
“Muchuan?”
As an A-rank Guide, Madam Xiang, along with Yuan Xi, both noticed the spiritual turbulence. Their laughter froze midair.
Madam Xiang was deeply shocked. Her son was a Dark Sentinel—he had never once shown signs of spiritual instability. Her instinct was to soothe him, but then her eyes shifted, faintly startled, toward the quietly eating Gou Liang.
For the first time, her brows furrowed.
Xiang Muchuan’s unstable state should have been most acutely sensed by the partner who had fused spirits with him—yet Gou Liang seemed utterly unmoved…
The Yuan family noticed, too, their expressions darkening.
As a B-rank Guide, Madam Yuan quickly grasped what was happening. Swallowing her rising fury, she prompted coldly, “Xiao Wang, why are you still so shy? Aren’t you going to speak to your mother-in-law and Muchuan?”
Just stuffing your face—what a glutton!
Gou Liang lifted his head.
The “tragically broken, life-is-pointless.jpg” expression he’d been wearing was still plastered on his face.
Everyone froze.
In that moment, they all understood: the reason Xiang Muchuan’s domain was unstable was because he was sensing Gou Liang’s grief.
—Which meant Gou Liang wasn’t ignoring him. On the contrary, Xiang Muchuan had been too cold toward his new Guide!
Realizing this, Madam Xiang shot her son a sharp glare before quickly smoothing her expression. “Muchuan has to depart for the Frontier Domain today. Xiao Wang must be reluctant to part with him.”
Her gentle spiritual power reached out to soothe Gou Liang. For newly awakened Guides, unstable emotions were perfectly normal due to poor control.
But Gou Liang’s case was worse—his newborn spirit had been snatched straight into Xiang Muchuan’s domain the moment it appeared.
No wonder he was more prone to unease.
Normally, an older, experienced Guide should help lead and stabilize him. But Madam Yuan and Yuan Xi, too busy fussing over the marriage, had completely neglected this.
When Madam Xiang first brushed against Gou Liang’s domain, she realized all this—and her heart ached more for him.
From the dossier, she already knew how the Yuan family favored Yuan Xi. Gou Liang hadn’t been abused, but years of cold neglect must have been miserable. What surprised her more was that even after he became Xiang Muchuan’s legitimate spouse, the Yuan family’s attitude hadn’t changed.
With that thought, Madam Xiang’s smile brightened again.
She said, “In-laws, today’s schedule is far too rushed. The two children have just married—they need some time together. Xiao Wang must also need to adjust to life in our family… How about we leave the wedding details for another meeting?”
Naturally, the Yuans agreed, delighted with the arrangement. Even Yuan Xi failed to notice the subtle coolness hidden beneath Madam Xiang’s smile.
Back at the Xiang residence, Xiang Muchuan returned to his study to handle military affairs.
Though displeased, Madam Xiang didn’t show it in front of Gou Liang. Instead, she comforted him: “Muchuan shoulders heavy responsibilities in his position. He’s always busy. I hope you two will learn to be understanding of each other.”
Gou Liang nodded to show he understood.
Just then, the usually composed butler let out a rare gasp.
Alarmed, Madam Xiang looked over—only to see Xiang Muchuan’s spirit beast descending the stairs.
She was stunned. Even as his mother, she had only ever seen the silver wolf in its battle form. She’d never seen this smaller, everyday form.
Gou Liang’s eyes widened. He shot to his feet.
【Master?】
Even the silver wolf was startled by his overreaction, hesitating to approach.
“…Meng Hao…”
If not for the painful lesson of the last world forcing him to mind his every word, Gou Liang would’ve lunged at it already.
Before him was a spirit beast that looked exactly like Meng Hao—though smaller, silver-white instead of pure white, and with the divine beast’s mark on its brow transformed from blood-red into… bubblegum pink?
Gou Liang burst out laughing.
Sensing his joy, the silver wolf barked and pounced, knocking him onto the sofa and happily licking his face.
Unable to hold back, Gou Liang laughed aloud, hugging its furry face. “Meng Hao… haha, that tickles…”
The spiritual resonance of his delight forced Xiang Muchuan to cut short his call. Exiting the study, he froze at the sight: his usually aloof, ice-cold spirit—who never even spared others a glance—was perched on Gou Liang’s shoulder, wings wrapped tightly around him, licking him silly and wagging its tail like it might snap off.
Xiang Muchuan: “……”
—He was raising a dog, wasn’t he?
“Langchuan, come back!”
But the spirit ignored him completely.
Madam Xiang: Pfft.
Butler: Hold it in—hold it in!
Then, the pink mark on the wolf’s brow suddenly sprang to life. A tiny figure popped up, barked “Woof!” and leapt straight at Xiang Muchuan!
Only then did Gou Liang realize that it wasn’t a divine beast’s mark at all, but his own spirit beast! Blessed with the Lord God’s power, it had been hidden from the system’s scan just like the wolf—so Gou Liang had only now seen its true form—
A dog.
A pink dog.
A teeny-tiny pink puppy, so small it could curl up in Xiang Muchuan’s palm.
Tbh I really hope that Yuan Xi is a good guy. I get that Mother Yuan is a vain woman, but it will be nice if the family is not a scheming one. But who knows? And finally, we know the spiritual form of Gou Liang, A pink puppy!!! So cute!!!