Would You Bully Me When I Can't Fight Back?

After soothing the second sentinel, who had also sat down in the chair of his own accord as soon as he entered, Xin Lan understood.

Kui Sha hadn't been an exception. The sentinels in K9 District really were all overflowing with McDonald's energy.

Or perhaps the sentinels all thought that was how the guides wanted them to act.

The next sentinel to arrive, however, did no such thing.

"Hello, honored Miss Guide. I'm Mo Yilai. I heard your mental power is very strong, and that your method of purification and soothing is exceptionally gentle. You can even keep people from going berserk. I'm terribly curious, so please forgive me for being presumptuous, but I really want to ask how you do it."

The third sentinel was a handsome pink-haired man with the rare combination of European features and Eastern bone structure. His ash-pink hair hung loosely down his back, and the wisps drifting over his forehead and simple yet eye-catching gold studs gave him a bearing entirely different from the other sentinels.

On closer inspection, although he was smiling, his gray-blue eyes were perfectly calm, with even a hint of amusement as he openly sized her up.

A sentinel who truly wanted soothing wouldn't look at her that way.

Xin Lan narrowed her eyes slightly and gave him no quarter.

"You know it's presumptuous, but you're asking anyway?"

He seemed not to have expected a guide who looked so serene and well-behaved to say something so blunt and merciless.

The smile on Mo Yilai's face deepened.

He spread his hands and shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry, Miss Guide. That was rude of me. How about we get started as soon as possible?"

"Oh, right, my berserk level is almost at 95%. Should I sit here?"

He pointed to the chair the other sentinels had all chosen of their own accord, a deliberately probing look flashing through his gray-blue eyes.

"But I'm a little worried. Would you bully me when I can't fight back?"

Unlike the other sentinels, who were either reserved or shy, Mo Yilai talked a lot.

He also seemed to hate the chair. When he asked whether she would bully him, he even raised an eyebrow and gave her a distinctly suggestive look.

Xin Lan: ...

She pulled at the corners of her mouth without expression. "If I bully you, will you stop wanting me to purify you? If you don't need it, turn left when you leave. There are plenty of people outside who do."

She made a gesture inviting him to get lost, and quickly.

Mo Yilai froze for a moment, then the corners of his eyes curved, and his smile grew even more unrestrained.

"No, I need your help with purification very much. I just don't much like being bullied, that's all. Miss Guide, please don't be angry about what I just said. I apologize."

With that, he sat down on the sofa of his own accord and invited her with a smile.

"Miss Guide, I'm ready."

Mo Yilai was the first person who hadn't chosen to sit in that chair. He seemed very confident in his self-control and wasn't worried about hurting her.

But Xin Lan didn't think that explanation held up.

Because he didn't look like a proper person at all.

And there was something peculiar about his gaze, a probing coldness and confidence, as though the person standing before him wasn't an esteemed guide at all, but a commodity waiting for the right price.

A commodity didn't need to be carefully protected. It didn't even matter if it was damaged.

He didn't care whether she lived or died.

That made Xin Lan very unhappy. She was also curious how someone like him had gotten into the Sanctuary, and what he wanted from coming to see her specifically.

She walked up to Mo Yilai but didn't start purifying him immediately. Instead, she began chatting with him face-to-face.

"Don't rush. Before the purification, answer a few questions."

"Of course. What would you like to ask me, Miss Guide? I'll tell you everything I know."

Mo Yilai's words were sincere, but his eyes were full of mockery.

Clearly, he didn't take her, an S-rank guide, seriously.

Now that was interesting.

What gave him the confidence to be so arrogant?

Xin Lan smiled. "You're not a sentinel from K9 District, are you? Tell me, how did you get in?"

Her question was so direct that Mo Yilai's expression froze. It was quite a while before he gave a soft laugh.

"Miss Guide, you seem much smarter than I imagined."

He had no intention of answering the question.

But his smile grew wider when he caught the scent of the guide pheromones released as she approached.

Mm, a faint scent of lily of the valley.

It smelled better than he'd imagined, surprisingly so.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply for just a second, and his berserk Mental Landscape churned wildly. Like him, it was in turmoil, and he suddenly felt a powerful urge to take this clever, perceptive guide away at once.

But Xin Lan was a persistent person.

She raised an eyebrow and continued, "Can't you answer, or don't you want to?"

Mo Yilai looked up at her expressionless face, delight and appreciation gradually appearing in his gray-blue eyes.

Guides were born physically weak and could only be protected by sentinels, yet they refused to admit it. So they had long grown accustomed to using their status to torment sentinels before bestowing soothing on them, as though only that could calm their fragile, sensitive little hearts and let them accept protection with a clearer conscience.

Before meeting Xin Lan, Mo Yilai had thought she was the same.

At most, she was a little stronger than the lower-rank guides, but inside she was surely just like those self-important guides.

Yet Xin Lan knew full well that his berserk level was close to 95%, and still had no intention of restraining him. She had even come this close to him.

It delighted him, even drove him a little wild.

If she really could soothe a sentinel without letting him go berserk, then choosing to come in person today was definitely the best decision he'd ever made in his life!

"No, I can answer. I'd just rather tell you after the purification is over."

He smiled, intense interest rising in his eyes.

"So, Miss Guide, when can we start the purification?"

Mo Yilai couldn't wait to experience what it felt like to be purified and soothed by her.

But Xin Lan didn't move at all. Instead, she leaned back against the chair and spoke unhurriedly.

"There's no rush. Perhaps in a moment you'll want to answer my question first."

As her words fell, a powerful surge of mental power suddenly appeared and stabbed straight into his Mental Landscape.

"Ah-"

Mo Yilai's whole body jolted. He immediately clutched his head in pain and curled up on the sofa.

What is this?

Why is my Mental Landscape being attacked?

Did she do it?

How did she do it?

Isn't she just an S-rank guide?

Why, why, why...

Cold sweat soaked the hair over his forehead. Through a consciousness blurred by pain, Mo Yilai once again heard Xin Lan's voice clearly.

"Interested in answering my question first now?"

Xin Lan watched at her leisure as Mo Yilai wailed on the sofa, his face contorted, her expression cold and ruthless.

Heh.

One look was enough to tell this guy wasn't a proper sentinel. He was obviously an infiltrator from some shady faction that had sent him in to harm her.

So she didn't think her actions were excessive at all.

On the contrary, she hoped he could hold out a little longer.

He was an infiltrator, after all. His willpower ought to be stronger than an ordinary sentinel's, right?