The guide kept shooting his mouth off, and his clients were naturally less than "delighted." Luo Qian and Nangong Jue exchanged a glance. Li Shu understood at once. He grabbed the guide by the neck and said, "We're terminating the contract early. Get lost!" The guide jumped in fright. "No! If you leave me here alone, how am I supposed to get back? This is the Outer Domain—danger lurks everywhere! You have to take responsibility..." As the saying went, honest advice grated on the ear. But if you ignored whom you were speaking to and grated away at random, it was no longer honest advice. The guide kept exaggerating their enemies' strength and undermining the three of them. He had plainly seen what they could do, yet he still would not stop talking down their chances. It was thoroughly irritating.
They were only threatening to leave him there alone to scare him. Though the guide knew the Outer Domain fairly well, he truly lacked the strength to survive there. His face had gone pale, and he shook like a sieve. Li Shu decided he had frightened him enough. He stopped tormenting him and hauled him upright. "How can someone at your level work as a guide?" The guide said, "This is my first time. You're my first group of clients..." Nangong Jue snapped, "Then why did you tell us you had thirty years of experience?" The guide stammered, unable to answer.
Luo Qian shook his head. "Let's go back. We still need a real guide."
They returned to the planet in the intermediate star region where they had set out. Li Shu let go, but Nangong Jue was not finished with the guide. He kicked him in the backside, sending him rolling across the ground several times. The guide scrambled