Discussing The Correct Posture To Enjoy Dog Food

Chapter 168 - Pomegranate Flavored Sentinel Gong (9)

Translated by Hua Li ^_~

Frontier Starfield, Xiang Family Legion’s Flagship.

“Colonel, we’ve received an unknown comms request for a private call. Should we patch it through?”

“Activate counter-surveillance and firewalls—let it in.”

Li Weike, Xiang Muchuan’s adjutant, made the arrangements with utmost caution. But the very next moment, when the voice came through, he leapt up from his chair in delight.

“Weike, prepare for ship docking.”

“Young Marshal?!”

Li Weike blurted out. Overjoyed, he still made sure to verify every security passphrase with Xiang Muchuan before allowing the corvette aboard the flagship.

“Marshal, you’ve finally returned.”

Only Li Weike knew Xiang Muchuan had left the fleet. To the rest, the story was simply that their Young Marshal’s guide had just awakened and was still unstable, so Xiang Muchuan was accompanying him through the dangerous ten-day period after awakening.

No one had expected them back in less than six days.

Xiang Muchuan nodded. “How’s the patrol?”

“All secure so far.”

Weike gave a polite nod to Gou Liang, who was walking hand-in-hand with the Young Marshal, then continued: “But the Federation is in chaos.”

“Forty-two hours ago, the Federation Prime Minister’s son—the guide Benjamin—went missing. Jack Litt was sent to find him. Yet just minutes after Jack left Tuth, an explosion incident occurred—the warship detonated, wiping out the entire Tuth base.”

“The Grand Marshal seized the chance and moved on the Nelson system. The Litt Legion took heavy losses; they couldn’t withstand us at all. And the Federation’s central command has been stalling, only sending reinforcements after the fact. They’re already too late. Soon enough, the Grand Marshal will fully take Nelson—our First Legion’s prize.”

As he spoke, they all moved into the central command hall.

Once the soundproofing shield was up, Barton couldn’t hold back anymore. “We know all about that! Hahaha!”

Li Weike’s eyes lit up, his fist tightening in excitement. “Wait—was it you, Young Marshal?”

The Nelson system was closer to the Second Legion, under the Niu family. Weike had suspected it, but now… the Tuth incident had to be Xiang Muchuan’s doing.

“Who else could pull off remotely forcing a Federation warship to self-destruct?”

Barton clapped him on the shoulder, proud. “Those Federation bastards thought taking out our garrison at 017 would be the end of it? Hah! Now they’ve lost the entire Nelson system. Let’s see how arrogant they’ll be. Only shame we missed Jack Litt… Damn that guide—of all times to run away from home, why then?!”

Barton ground his teeth.

Back then, the Young Marshal had already hacked full control over the Federation warship’s systems. Once Yao Zicong (disguised as Jesu) had led them to the prisoners, Gou Liang had drugged the obstructing sentinels into unconsciousness.

When they saw their own corvette’s energy core dismantled, they took a Federation shuttle to escape.

Mission complete and beyond expectations—they not only brought back Dr. Tangdi, the inhibitor formula chip, and Saiyah’s rebels, but also nearly ten Federation officers, including Jesu Litt himself.

Only during debriefing did they learn Jack Litt had left Tuth ten minutes before landing—to look for the Prime Minister’s son.

Not perfect, but to hand the Federation such a crushing blow—more than enough to call it a brilliant victory!

Aiqi laughed. “The Nelson system is the Litt clan’s home base. After this, they’re gutted. Even if Jack Litt survived, the vultures in the Federation will be circling—their legion won’t stand tall for long.”

“Jack Litt’s an S-rank sentinel. The Federation won’t discard him so easily,” Yao Zicong argued. “The Prime Minister already wanted a Litt marriage alliance to strengthen his hold. Now the family’s crippled, Jesu’s in our hands, marrying his son directly to Jack benefits him even more.”

Barton snorted, “All the more reason why the next generation’s education matters. If they churn out more idiots like Jesu, the Federation’s snakes won’t even need us to destroy them—they’ll collapse on their own.”

“He wasn’t that dumb. Without Yuan-shao this time, we might’ve been the ones eating dirt.”

Yao Zicong hadn’t forgotten how close they’d been to checkmate.

Li Weike looked in surprise at Gou Liang, seeing his tired expression, and asked with concern: “Young Marshal, is Yuan-shao alright?”

Xiang Muchuan stroked Gou Liang’s cheek, a smile tugging at his lips.

“RLV rPcQHn VPH LV cPHpnx VQHlLnLGPB—eP’V TLcLVeLcj QeP nHVQ VQpPQhe OT PUYHcVLOc.”

bTQPp QOBHx, QePx iOWnB lP HlnP QO HheLPmP TWnn rPcQHn TWVLOc.

—pPI Bq WmlZI xRPyZZA WZyRG BRG qPURjqZA.

aL IPLMP pPrPrlPpPB VWBBPcnx—QOBHx rHpMPB QeP QPcQe BHx VLchP FOW aLHcj’V HiHMPcLcj.

ZchP QePx TWVPB, wLHcj XWheWHc hOWnB mPpx iPnn lpPHM QepOWje QO H eLjePp QLPp. teP QeOWjeQ HnOcP BpOmP IPLMP’V BOWlQV HiHx, nPHmLcj Ocnx PUhLQPrPcQ. “oOcjpHQWnHQLOcV, JWHc-VeHO. oOcjpHQWnHQLOcV, JOWcj XHpVeHn!”

Gou Liang smiled shyly, though inwardly his thoughts were bleak: Darling, you’re too sweet for your own good.

yOp QeP TLpVQ QLrP, wLHcj XWheWHc’V BHcjPp VPcVP BLBc’Q Vxch iLQe FOW aLHcj’V. RP iHV HlOWQ QO nPHB eLr lHhM QO QePLp uWHpQPpV iePc eP HVMPB IPLMP LT QePpP iPpP Hcx OQePp WpjPcQ rHQQPpV.

Weike almost shook his head, but remembered one more thing.

“Yesterday, Frill Star broke into chaos. The Slaughter Dragon pirates attacked the One-Eyed crew. The dust has settled—the Slaughter Dragon absorbed them, and ‘Professor’ is now the number one pirate boss on Frill. We still don’t know who is backing him. Also, Old Blind Mike’s whereabouts are unknown…”

“No mystery there. He’s locked up with Jesu Litt and the rest of those idiots.”

Barton sneered.

Li Weike was stunned.

He knew of Xiang Muchuan’s “Black Card Mu” identity, but he hadn’t known they’d gone to Frill Star during this mission. He hurriedly asked for details.

Yao Zicong explained how that old blind dog Mike had betrayed them. Even though the danger was now past, Li Weike’s face was still dark with fury. “I never thought the One-Eyed Pirates would actually accept recruitment from the Litt family.”

Most who lived off piracy were interstellar fugitives—naturally in bitter conflict with every ruling power.

Mike, the One-Eyed Pirates’ leader, had once been on the Federation’s wanted list. Who would have thought, after so many years, he’d end up serving them again?

Yao Zicong said coldly, “I don’t know what made him so sure we’d die at the Federation’s hands, to dare burn the bridge so completely.”

Now that the Slaughter Dragon Pirates had “Black Card Mu’s” private support and Old Mike had paid the price, the situation was settled—but just thinking about it still made their blood boil.

“That old bastard! If we weren’t rushing to rendezvous with you, I’d have made sure he suffered for it…” Aiqi cut herself short when she noticed Gou Liang yawning, nestled against Xiang Muchuan’s arm. “I heard guides get exhausted while stabilizing their spiritual sea. Yuan-shao, you should rest.”

Xiang Muchuan nodded, instructing the others to rest as well.

The next day, a guide physician specially arranged by Madam Xiang was waiting with diagnostic equipment. When Gou Liang lay down inside, everyone held their breath.

Three minutes later, Xiang Muchuan frowned. “Doctor Mohr, why isn’t the result out yet?”

Even though he trusted the Xiang family’s top-tier diagnostic machine wouldn’t fail, he still worried for Gou Liang’s safety.

But Doctor Mohr hadn’t even heard him. He stared fixedly at the reader. Finally, when the streaming data stopped, the display lit up with the result.

“S-class…”

The doctor muttered, almost dazed, “It’s actually S-class. Truly S-class… wonderful, wonderful!”

Because guides who awakened after age eighteen were almost always low-ranked, none of them had expected much. Shock turned into delight.

If Gou Liang were S-class, Xiang Muchuan would break through into SS-class as a sentinel—it wasn’t just a possibility anymore. Some theorists had even suggested that two perfectly compatible S-classes could trigger the birth of an SSS-level sentinel.

Even if that was only speculation, Xiang Muchuan becoming the Empire’s second Ultra-S sentinel in history was enough to drive them into rapture.

Xiang Muchuan, however, wasn’t surprised.

Even though a sentinel always took the leading role in a 100% match, if Gou Liang’s rank were low, he could never have so easily expanded and contracted his spiritual sea around Xiang Muchuan while still unstable. To him, this result was nothing but expected.

“You alright?”

He lifted Gou Liang down from the diagnostic bed. Aiqi quickly handed over the prepared nutrient tube.

At the sight of the packaging—identical to those dreaded fruit-flavored rations—Gou Liang said honestly, “I… not hungry.”

Xiang Muchuan chuckled, rubbing his hair. “This isn’t rations. It’s a condensed nutrient fruit-juice supplement, made just for guides. Sweet.”

Gou Liang tried a sip. Sweet indeed—but the taste was far from pleasant.

Their calm acceptance gradually soothed the others. Doctor Mohr said excitedly, “It’s been a thousand years since the Empire saw an S-class guide. Young Master Yuan, he—”

“Yuan Wang awakened as a B-class guide today.” Xiang Muchuan cut him off. “Doctor Mohr, I’ll notify my mother personally. You needn’t say more. As for the Guild’s registry, make sure there are no discrepancies.”

The doctor froze, then nodded quickly. “Understood, Young Marshal. I know what to do.”

He had overthought it. The Xiang family did not need more glory, and no one wanted their Young Marshal’s consort to be subjected to excessive or malicious attention.

That very day, Li Weike thoughtfully continued overseeing patrols, while Aiqi—granted permission by Xiang Muchuan—announced a special treat: meat-flavored rations for the entire crew, in celebration of the Young Marshal’s wedding night.

*

While Gou Liang was showering, Xiang Muchuan secretly pulled out his terminal to quickly review “One Hundred Ways to Make Your Guide Scream.”

What he didn’t know was that the bathroom was empty. Gou Liang had slipped into his life-space and was urgently mixing a potion.

The seeds in the life-space were freebies, and Gou Liang had shamelessly checked “select all” on this world’s medicinal flora. After days of growth, the space was lush and verdant.

The system, however, had no mood to admire the scenery. It was panicking. “Master, are you really going to do this?”

“What’s the problem?”

The problem was monumental!

What Gou Liang was brewing was none other than a guide-blocking agent.

Once taken, the mental fusion between guide and sentinel would become impossible. No one in this world had ever even conceived of making such a mad concoction.

“Master, if you don’t fuse, the target won’t be able to break through to Ultra-S. Don’t you want him to succeed?”

The system pleaded.

“Xiang Muchuan doesn’t care about something so superficial.”

Gou Liang’s certainty was absolute.

“But you can’t just keep taking contraceptive potions forever. It’ll wreck your body—”

“Shut up.”

The system, out of options, burst out: “Master, aren’t you afraid failing to fuse means you can’t complete the mission?”

Gou Liang murmured, “Better that than being kicked out of the world.”

“…What?” The system blinked, then gasped. “Master, why would you say that?”

Gou Liang glanced at it. “Mental fusion means souls merging. My thoughts, my memories—he would see everything without reservation. He’d know instantly I’m not the original.”

Last world, he had been thrown out too unfairly, without even understanding why. He would not allow himself to fail again.

The system was shocked. “Wait—Master, isn’t it the original’s soul that fuses? Your soul—”

Pinned under Gou Liang’s quiet stare, the system realized it had poked at its master’s possessiveness and quickly pulled back. “Th-this is… way too risky.”

No matter how risky, Gou Liang could never accept using the original soul as a medium to claim Xiang Muchuan.

Seeing his master’s determination, the system offered weakly, “But you could use an item to mask the memories that don’t belong to this world. For example, this Soul Mirror Separation tool—only 9,999 points. It lets you block any memories you don’t want the target to share. Cheaper than Life Space, too.”

Gou Liang paused, then sighed. “After losing thirty billion soul coins and sixty thousand points in the last world, my wallet’s… tragically empty.”

The system rolled its eyes. Yeah, right, I totally believe you.

“But you can’t rely on blockers forever. For a sentinel, not entering your spiritual sea means never being satisfied. Even if not now, sooner or later, you’ll have to share everything with him. Why not just give him the clean cut from the start?”

“You don’t understand.”

Gou Liang snorted.

The system thought bitterly: Right, I don’t. I definitely don’t understand how this is your petty revenge for him booting you out of the last mission world. Heh.

The bathroom door slid open.

Xiang Muchuan instantly shut down the instructional video he’d been watching and turned. His eyes widened.

Gou Liang was wearing nothing but a white shirt.

—Xiang Muchuan recognized it immediately. It was his.

The hem barely covered Gou Liang’s buttocks. The loose fit made it clear he wore nothing underneath. The top two buttons were undone, showing off delicate collarbones and swathes of pale skin. The sleeves, too long, were rolled back to bare slender forearms. Gou Liang fidgeted with the hem, shy yet brimming with anticipation as he looked at him.

Xiang Muchuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

The disguise cream had been washed from Gou Liang’s face, revealing features that were dazzlingly beautiful. His hair was still damp from the shower, water dripping onto the shirt until the white fabric clung, translucent—two faintly rosy tips visible beneath, making Xiang Muchuan’s breath hitch.

A sudden heat rushed to his nose. He clamped a hand over it.

“Muchuan!” Gou Liang’s eyes widened as he hurried forward. “Blood—you’re, you’re okay?”

Never in his life had Xiang Muchuan looked more disheveled. Even when a vial of clotting spray appeared out of thin air and Gou Liang blasted his nose with it, he didn’t care—he just caught Gou Liang’s hand and insisted he was fine.

The bleeding stopped.

Xiang Muchuan quickly grabbed a black undershirt to wipe the traces away.

Gou Liang tried hard to hold it in, but the dimples on his flushed cheeks betrayed him.

Xiang Muchuan wasn’t embarrassed—if anything, he couldn’t tear his eyes away, his gaze dragging helplessly down Gou Liang’s chest and lower.

“Why… dress like this?”

“The Sen-sentinel’s One H-hundred Styles said… you’d, like it.” Gou Liang’s eyes curved in a smile, unable to hold it back. “Turns out… it’s r-really true.”

At that, Xiang Muchuan’s shame vanished.

He scooped Gou Liang into his arms, feeling the warmth of his damp, smooth skin pressed to his chest. Burying his face in Gou Liang’s neck, he inhaled deeply and sighed, “There are ninety-nine more. Will you show me all next time?”

Gou Liang’s arms circled his neck. “O-Okay.”

Xiang Muchuan laughed, pressing eager kisses along his skin and whispering hoarsely, “My Xiao Keng’er’s so good.”

Gou Liang kissed him back, but his soft, shy touch was quickly consumed by Xiang Muchuan’s fierce hunger.

“Xiao Keng’er…”

Xiang Muchuan lifted him up, guiding his bare legs to wrap around his waist as they kissed deeper. His hand slipped beneath the shirt, caressing heated skin.

He laid Gou Liang back on the bed, stripped off his own tight black undershirt, and leaned down to kiss him again as he tugged at his pants.

“The Guide’s One Hundred Styles says… you’ll like sentinels wearing less than you. Hm?”

He hesitated—would matching Gou Liang’s scant attire too soon scare his little guide?

“Like, l-like it all.”

Gou Liang guided his hand to the buttons, his cheeks crimson.

Xiang Muchuan instantly smothered the urge to rip the shirt open. He slowed, carefully undoing each button, bowing his head to kiss him. “Good boy. Wear it for me again next time.”

His self-control was fraying—he hadn’t drunk his fill with his eyes before the need to unwrap his gift consumed him.

“Mm.”

Gou Liang brushed his lips against his, sending Xiang Muchuan’s heart racing faster.

Holding his face between both hands, Xiang Muchuan’s gaze softened to a depth that stole breath. “Xiao Keng’er… happy wedding night.”

Caught in those eyes, Gou Liang suddenly regretted swallowing the blocking pill.