Wen Leling looked toward the side, where the wall was covered with tools used to assist Sentinels during a Guide’s mental cleansing. His eyelashes fluttered as his eyes, clouded with hesitation, shifted back and forth.
He could not quite make up his mind. A low sigh escaped his lips, as if the breath itself could move the stone weighing on his chest, clear his breathing, and allow his brain to function more efficiently.
After a long while, Wen Leling walked over and took a disposable metal gag from the wall. Returning to find Xiao Wenye still incessantly calling out “Lele, Lele,” he took a deep breath. His eyes filled with a fierce anger, as if wordlessly scolding Xiao Wenye for being disobedient. Risking the possibility of having his fingers bitten off, he forced the gag firmly into Xiao Wenye’s mouth.
Next, he had to fasten the buckle. Xiao Wenye was more than half a head taller than him, so he had to stand on his tiptoes to reach. The process was already a struggle, and Xiao Wenye, rather than being cooperative, huffed discontentedly and struggled with force. This made it impossible for Wen Leling to align the buckle properly, and his legs began to ache from the effort.
His patience finally snapped. He grabbed a handful of the messy white hair on Xiao Wenye’s forehead and yanked it upward, forcing the man to open his eyes and look at his serious expression.
“Behave! If you move again, I will hit you!”
It was a command that brooked no resistance.
Xiao Wenye fell silent instantly. Like a pine tree that remained standing after weathering thunderstorms and blizzards, he stood perfectly straight. His eyes, however, were not yet “behaved,” seemingly conveying a message: He had done nothing wrong, so why hit him?
Wen Leling ignored the gaze and fastened the buckle while recalling the methods for mental guidance.
This was an ability a Guide did not necessarily need to study, as it often came naturally after awakening. Consequently, Wen Leling had not paid much attention back then and could only proceed based on ambiguous memories.
He pressed his soft, warm palms against Xiao Wenye’s temples. Xiao Wenye closed his eyes; the veins on his forehead throbbed, and his brow pressed downward tightly, showing a look of great pain.
“Relax, Xiao Wenye,” Wen Leling called out softly. A surge of powerful mental energy appeared at his pink fingertips, winding like a supple water snake as it crashed through Xiao Wenye’s mental barriers.
His vision blurred and then brightened. Wen Leling easily and successfully entered Xiao Wenye’s mental landscape, but before he could celebrate, a piercing blizzard struck him.
He could not help but shiver, realizing just how harsh this environment was.
On a vast, desolate glacier, he stared blankly, looking around over and over again, feeling helpless and lost.
It was cold, so cold. No, it was also burning hot.
Wen Leling tucked in his chin and crossed his arms, rubbing his shoulders constantly. His feet did not stay still either; he began to hop and spin in place, moving faster and faster. Only this way could he feel a sliver of warmth.
His eyes and ears were equally busy, searching and listening for any trace of anything related to Xiao Wenye.
After hopping for an unknown amount of time, Wen Leling was panting. He finally saw an abrupt, small hill, and in front of it lay a dying white leopard.
The hill was vibrant and a piercing green, looking entirely out of place here. Suddenly, a white rabbit appeared before the hill, and Wen Leling realized it was a landscape created by his own spirit animal.
The rabbit hopped over to him and transformed into a sharp blade, entering his palm of its own accord to be used by him.
At the same time, Wen Leling saw the source of the pollution clinging to the leopard: A black rabbit?
That black rabbit was smaller than the leopard, yet it dared to tease the beast shamelessly. Whenever the leopard tried to prop itself up to approach, the rabbit would playfully retreat.
As this was his first time encountering such things, Wen Leling could not help but find it novel. However, he did not forget his task. After watching for a moment, he stepped forward to clear the pollution.
Holding the long sword, he swung it with a broad stroke at the polluted entity. The rabbit was knocked over; it let out a low cry and tried to counterattack, but Wen Leling was quick. He followed up with a series of strikes.
This time, the rabbit vanished without even having time to let out a final cry.
Wen Leling withdrew to reality, but in less than a blink of an eye, Xiao Wenye tore off the gag and rushed toward him.
Wen Leling was caught off guard, but even though he reacted, he did not retreat. He stayed calm and still.
The iron shackles were pulled to their limit, clanking loudly, yet Xiao Wenye persistently and desperately tried to get closer. His eyes were bruised and bloodshot, and his heavy breathing suggested he was doing his best to resist the pain.
Seeing that the signs of the mutation showed no sign of receding, Wen Leling scanned him up and down, his brow slowly furrowing in confusion.
Did I not clean it thoroughly?
Unsure, he concentrated his mental power, intending to enter Xiao Wenye’s mental landscape again to check the situation.
But just as his palm touched the man’s forehead, a white leopard suddenly leaped out from Xiao Wenye’s side. It jumped to his feet and braked hard, face-planting into the ground while letting out a whimpering, longing moan.
Wen Leling was startled, but without thinking, he leaned over to see if the white leopard was injured from the fall.
The white leopard took the opportunity to hug his calf, rubbing against it haphazardly.
The sensation was strange. It clearly was not a rub for security or dependency; it felt more like a prelude to a greedy demand, enticing him to let down his guard.
Wen Leling tried to escape, but a powerful suction suddenly surged from the point of contact, pinning his feet to the spot.
Instantly, his mental power was like a floodgate being opened; uncontrolled, it poured out in massive amounts, being crazily absorbed by the white leopard.
“Ugh.”
The massive consumption of mental power in such a short time exceeded Wen Leling’s physical limit. He felt an overwhelming dizziness explode in his head; he groaned as his world turned dark.
The comfortable white leopard, however, instinctively wanted more, mindlessly seeking the comfort it had never experienced before, sinking into a blissful stupor.
Wen Leling wanted to push it away and cut the mental link, but he could not. A forced interruption could cause irreversible damage to Xiao Wenye’s mental sea.
“Xiao Wenye, stop.” Wen Leling protested weakly, his voice barely audible. He reached out and grabbed Xiao Wenye’s hair again, pulling it hard to try and use pain to bring back his sanity.
It was no use.
Strength continued to drain rapidly from his body. His feet felt like they were stepping on cotton, and his legs turned soft, trembling as if he would turn into a pool of water at any moment.
His vision spun. The scene from earlier reappeared, but the deathly silence was gone. The glacier was melting, and the turbid seawater churned like an angry beast opening its massive, terrifying maw. The sky was covered by a heavy net of dark clouds, filled with thunder and lightning.
Snowflakes flew through the mist, blurring everything.
He could not hold on any longer.
Wen Leling’s knees buckled, and his body fell helplessly into the cold snow. Before losing consciousness, he felt a warm, moist, anxious, and slightly scratchy sensation on his cheek.
It was the white leopard, licking his face with its barbed tongue.
“Lele, Lele.”