Invasion - Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Lin Yuan found herself becoming very impatient with these banquets, even though she had attended many before.
Impatient — another new emotion.
Very good, at least she had been experiencing more and more emotions recently. She just didn't know if she was becoming more normal, or more abnormal.
These things were a Guide’s duty, everyone said so.
Completing one or two assigned channeling tasks every week, attending the empire's various celebrations and events, participating in all kinds of high-end banquets and gatherings. These were the responsibilities and obligations of every normal Guide.
Since she was young, everyone around her thought so, and Lin Yuan had always felt that this was what she should do.
Guides were soldiers of the country. They were raised in the White Tower from a young age, enjoying the abundant resources provided by the empire, so of course, they had responsibilities and obligations.
Only, having been away for just a month, after returning, doing the things she had been used to, now made her feel uncomfortable, impatient.
"You’ve been out in the wild for a while, your heart can’t be tamed anymore," Cao Yunyun said to Lin Yuan.
Not just untamed, she simply didn’t want to come back.
Lin Yuan stood on the stone bridge in the courtyard, boredly watching a group of fish swimming in the canal.
At the Minister of Military Affairs' banquet, there was an abundance of delicious food, the best wine, and the guests were either powerful figures or promising young talents. It was an occasion that many people would do anything to attend.
But Lin Yuan felt disgusted, the tentacles complaining for a long time, dark emotions everywhere that made her sick, that she didn't even want to touch.
If she hadn't received an invitation she couldn’t refuse, she would never have come here.
Next time she went out, she would stay away for as long as possible, not coming back if she could.
Lin Yuan inwardly complained about the tedious procedures, wanting to quickly get her next assignment.
"So, this time it was Jiang Yangshuo who sent you the invitation, using the Jiang family's name?" Cao Yunyun asked her.
Lin Yuan’s former fiancé, Jiang Yangshuo, his aunt, Jiang Yimei, was the host of this banquet, the Minister of Military Affairs of the empire.
The Jiang family was an old aristocratic family that had held power in the empire for many years. Jiang Yimei was the most influential figure of this generation of the Jiang family.
"What does he want from you? Isn't it embarrassing enough? You’ve clearly already broken off the engagement."
"I just saw him," Lin Yuan said. "He wants me to continue being his Guide."
Cao Yunyun was furious.
"How dare he?" She tried to lower her voice, controlling her emotions. "How could he have the nerve to say such shameless things?"
After his affair and infidelity, after causing so much gossip and trouble for his former fiancée, that Jiang family sentinel actually had the nerve to come to Lin Yuan and say these things.
"He actually still has the gall to look for you?" Cao Yunyun almost gritted her teeth. "That shameless man, if he needs a Guide, why doesn’t he go look for his new Guide?"
"He said that girl’s guidance is too gentle, and it can’t completely eliminate the burden from his hypersensitivity," Lin Yuan shrugged.
She also didn’t understand Jiang Yangshuo’s thinking. When he was with her, he had disliked her mental guidance for being too rough and forceful. He secretly changed to someone new, then came back saying the new person was too gentle and not powerful enough.
What word could be used to describe this? The word "despicable" seemed quite fitting.
Lin Yuan didn't actually take this matter to heart. After going out and wandering around, she suddenly felt that the sky was high and the world was vast.
She had almost forgotten those trivial past entanglements.
She had just seen her former fiancé, his face gloomy and depressed, he didn’t even seem to be living as well as she was.
"He told me that Guides and sentinels are actually like doctors and patients. Even though we broke off the engagement, I can still help him with channeling," Lin Yuan touched her chin. "Actually, I think what he said makes sense."
Cao Yunyun was furious. "You didn't agree to it, did you?"
"Of course not," Lin Yuan said. "Who cares if it makes sense or not. I’m just annoyed seeing him, why would I agree?"
Cao Yunyun laughed and rolled her eyes at Lin Yuan. "You can feel annoyed now? I always thought you didn't have any feelings about anything."
"Xiao Yuan, you've been out for a few months, you seem a little different," she reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Lin Yuan's ear. "I feel like you’re a little more human now. This is a good thing."
"Really?" Lin Yuan felt a little happy too.
Lin Yuan discovered that fish when she was about to leave.
A group of tentacles suddenly stood up, excitedly pulling her towards a dark corner.
They were too excited and noisy, Lin Yuan couldn't quite understand the content of their emotions for a moment.
Until she saw the person being pushed into a corner by several bastards.
Lin Yuan had fought alongside Ni Ji, she knew how ruthless this sentinel was in battle.
Even a horde of mutated creatures couldn’t stop him. On the battlefield, everyone looked at him with awe, the awe one had for a strong person.
But here, at this extravagant and decadent banquet, that powerful sentinel couldn’t even push away a few drunken lechers.
Lin Yuan saw him leaning against the wall, unable to even stand properly. He weakly raised his arm, pushing away the hands reaching towards him, weakly saying, "Get lost."
That voice was so hoarse and soft that it only elicited a burst of laughter from those people.
Ever since she met Ni Ji, Lin Yuan had noticed that this sentinel would always get himself injured.
That guy probably had a bit of a self-destructive tendency, always getting himself bruised and battered.
But no matter the situation, whether he was half-dead, hanging on a torture rack, or his legs broken, trapped in a demonic lair, he had never shown any mental fragility outwardly.
Wrongfully accused and imprisoned, he calmly plotted his revenge in his heart. Chased by thousands of monsters, he steadily said to Lin Yuan, "It’s okay, I’ll be out soon."
This was the first time Lin Yuan had seen him show such vulnerability.
In that corner filled with the smell of alcohol and perfume, he was wearing bright clothes, two buttons of his shirt undone, neither injured nor bleeding, yet like a fish out of water, dragged ashore with a hook.
His eyes red, weakly struggling, desperate and fragile.
Lin Yuan pushed those people away and walked towards him.
She pushed away those disgusting, fly-like guys, and said, "Get lost, he's mine."
Someone shouted at her unhappily, "Hey, what are you doing?!"
But soon, that person’s expression turned confused, he stood there, motionless.
Only after Lin Yuan held onto Ni Ji, taking him away, did those people, indulging in pleasure, come back to their senses.
What were we doing here?
There seemed to have been a beauty.
Thinking about it, she wasn’t even that attractive. They couldn’t even remember what she had looked like.
This kind of situation was very common, it wasn’t unusual for minds polluted by alcohol and perfume to become muddled.
Let’s go, let’s go, forget about it, let's find something else to play with.
They pushed and shoved each other, staggering away.
Everyone felt like their mind was a mess, a splitting headache, unable to think clearly.
Even the next day, completely sober, they wouldn't clearly remember this little episode.
They wouldn't even remember what the person they had cornered had looked like.
Lin Yuan held Ni Ji as they walked.
Ni Ji, leaning on her, became heavier and heavier, she could barely walk.
"Just hold on a little longer," Lin Yuan said.
The person beside her, his eyes starting to become unfocused, his breath scorching hot.
Lin Yuan found the nearest empty room and pushed the door open.
In this residence, almost every room had dim lights, a soft bed, and a cabinet by the wall filled with various perfumes, medicines, and some strange tools.
This was the host's "kindness."
No matter how glamorous and polite they were during the day, once night fell, the veil of decency was torn away. The host's "taste" and "character" were blatantly displayed in this decadent night.
She offered every convenience to the guests who came here seeking pleasure, incredibly thoughtful. In every room, in every corner, there were readily available pleasure items, ensuring that all the guests who attended the banquet had a pleasant and intoxicating night.
Ni Ji collapsed onto the soft bed in the room. He tremblingly opened the drawer by the bed.
With a crash, the drawer overturned, its contents scattering all over the floor. Ni Ji fumbled twice before finally finding a pair of handcuffs from among the pile of scary-looking items. With a click, he cuffed his wrist to the metal bedpost.
"You…" his voice was terribly hoarse, he gasped twice before finishing his sentence. "Leave first… help me… lock the door."
He found his will uncontrollably dissolving. He had never lost control of his body and mind like this before.
His strength drained away like water. He lost his strength, and all control over his body.
He didn't know if he would do something terrible. He was afraid he would hurt the person beside him if he lost control.
Even more afraid of showing some ugly side of himself in front of this person.
He absolutely didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of her.
The last thing he wanted was for her to see him like this, so disheveled, so pathetic.
Please leave, please.
He wanted to say this.
But sadly, he found that he couldn’t speak properly anymore.
His mouth opened and closed, only a soft sound came from his throat. That sound didn't sound like him at all, terribly soft and delicate.
His body seemed to be melting.
The ocean in his mental landscape had frozen into countless ice-like jade crystals, swirling and churning upside down.
Chaotic lights and rays cut through him.
His world was a mess, his mental body being tortured and dissected, his body melting into water.
Ni Ji felt an immense emptiness, his heart falling uncontrollably, into a bottomless abyss. His body had no support, forced to open his limbs and float in the air.
His skin became abnormally sensitive, something burning deep inside. Unable to resist, he couldn't even lift a finger.
Ni Ji closed his eyes.
Lin Yuan didn’t listen to Ni Ji. She locked the door, rummaged through the various bottles and jars in the room, and finally found a testing device and some medicine.
Fortunately, other than those things for torture, there were also some antidotes here, probably emergency supplies in case something went wrong.
Lin Yuan held Ni Ji's hand, which was hanging limply by the bed, lifted it, and took a small blood sample from his finger.
That hand was trembling constantly, his skin burning hot, no matter where she touched, it would trigger a tremor.
The moment she touched him, the sentinel’s eyelashes trembled, and his eyes opened wide. He stared blankly at the ceiling, opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but only some unintelligible sounds came out.
That sound was completely different from his usual gentle voice, escaping in a breathy whisper, soft and sweet.
Lin Yuan couldn’t understand what he was saying, and neither could the mental bodies.
The information transmitted by the tentacles at this moment was very contradictory, almost completely chaotic.
He seemed to both desperately want her to leave, and intensely crave her closeness.
Lin Yuan had no choice but to ignore him for now, analyzing the blood sample, finding the corresponding antidote, and injecting it into Ni Ji's vein.
Judging by Ni Ji’s state, she gave him the maximum dose.
Lin Yuan waited for a while. The sentinel lying there seemed to improve a little.
His constantly trembling shoulders finally relaxed, his eyes refocused, he finally seemed to be able to recognize people.
His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, his skin still burning hot, he looked at Lin Yuan pitifully.
The antidote hadn’t completely taken effect. Those bastards didn't know how much of that horrible drug they had injected him with.
They almost never cared about other people's lives, let alone caring about their bodies.
Lin Yuan remembered that even when his legs were broken, this sentinel had been able to stand up against the wall without changing his expression.
Even when he was suffering from the backlash, his body in excruciating pain, he could still lie on the beach and smile at her.
But now, a small syringe had completely disarmed this powerful sentinel.
He didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger, looking at her with helpless, pitiful eyes.
Lin Yuan unlocked the handcuffs he had used to restrain himself, and helped him up. The tentacles obediently came over to help, not a single one causing trouble during this process.
Together, they helped the limp sentinel into the bathroom, placing him in the bathtub of the shower room.
To prevent him from drowning due to his weakness, Lin Yuan cuffed one of his arms to the towel rack on the bathroom wall.
She turned on the shower, adjusted it to cold water, and gave the fragile man, leaning against the wall, a questioning look. He nodded at her, gratitude in his eyes.
The shower room door closed, and the sound of splashing cold water came from inside.
Lin Yuan sat down on the sofa outside. After a while, she came back to her senses.
Now, the chaos had passed, and her anger had settled.
Only now that she had calmed down did all the scenes that had just happened clearly appear in her mind.
His unfocused eyes, his slightly parted lips, his trembling fingertips, the hair sticking to his cheeks, his choked voice.
The helpless look in his eyes as he looked at her…
Perhaps it was the incense burning in this room, Lin Yuan kept feeling a sweet scent in every scene,
Sweet everywhere, making her want to have a taste.
The tentacles were quieter than ever. Why were these guys, who usually chattered non-stop, all silent at this moment?
Only her own voice remained in her mind.
This clarity made her feel a little unaccustomed.
Lin Yuan licked her lips, feeling a little hungry.
Strange, she had clearly eaten a lot of cake and sweets at the banquet. She should have been full.
For some reason, a craving arose in her heart, she felt hungry, wanting to eat something very sweet.
Jiang Yimei’s residence was extremely luxurious, every detail exquisite.
This small room, from the lighting to the furniture, had been designed to create a dreamlike atmosphere.
In the small space, there was an antique-style bed with silk drapes, the ceiling decorated with glittering crystal pieces, like an upside-down water surface, clearly reflecting the figures below.
Even more frighteningly, the walls of the shower room were all frosted glass. Lin Yuan only realized now that as long as she turned her head slightly from where she was sitting, she could clearly see the silhouette reflected on the bathroom glass.
For some reason, an unfamiliar emotion seemed to be rising in the depths of her heart.
Like anxiety, like irritation, and a bit of frustration. Too complex for her to understand.
She only knew that she didn't dare to turn around, and she firmly suppressed all the tentacles, not letting them move.
The sound of splashing water continued for a long time, as if trying to cover up something.
On the frosted glass, winding water trails flowed, only a dark silhouette could be seen.
The person sat under the flowing water, a thin arm raised, cuffed to the wall, his head lowered, silent, his other hand hidden…
The sound of the shower spray seemed very alluring.
The sweet scent in the room became much stronger.
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