Chapter 346: Spirit Sea

Chapter 346: Spirit Sea

The small woodshed was silent and dark. Through the broken wooden door, the muffled shouts of men and women could be heard. After a pause, Lu Liu placed the lantern in the child's arms.

Little Qi Yi cradled the glass lantern, peering up in confusion.

Lu Liu: "Afraid of the dark? I'll leave this lantern here. It won't go out."

He squeezed in beside little Qi Yi, wrapping an arm around him and resting his chin on the boy's forehead, comforting him. "You're safe now."

"...Mm."

Little Qi Yi didn’t know where this beautiful young man beside him had come from, but his presence was undeniably soothing and warm. He nestled into Lu Liu’s warmth, carefully pressing his cheek against the man’s shoulder.

He fell asleep.

Then, the tide of darkness ebbed away, the scene disintegrating like sand. Lu Liu stood alone at the center of the vortex, his vision swam as a new scene took shape.

The child had grown into a teenager, adopted by a family and leaving the orphanage behind.

The family was of modest means, just getting by. There was an older brother—apparently, the mother had originally been pregnant with twins, but the younger sibling had died due to malnutrition. For years, the mother had longed to raise another child, a longing that had turned into an obsession, leading her to the orphanage.

The headmaster opened the woodshed door, and the mother immediately took a liking to the quiet, odd Qi Yi, bringing him home.

Both parents worked outside, and the older brother attended school. Qi Yi’s teenage years were busy yet fulfilling. He enrolled in a public school, learned to cook for himself, and burned himself several times over the stove—progressing from howling in pain to bearing it in silence.

Even now, a scar from a splash of hot oil remained on his arm.

Though money was tight, the couple never mistreated Qi Yi, and the older brother treated him as his own. It should have been a happy family. The turning point came with an awakening report.

His older brother had awakened as a Sentinel—Grade A.

Grade A, for an ordinary family, was a rare gift, one in a million. But in the White Tower, he was merely an average Sentinel, hardly more than a plaything in the eyes of the high-ranking Guides at the tower’s peak.

The young man, a head taller than Qi Yi, unaware of the dangers ahead, just clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. "I’ve become a Sentinel—a really strong one. From now on, the family will receive a big monthly subsidy. Qi Yi, we can buy you a new backpack."

Qi Yi’s previous backpack had been his brother’s old, discarded one.

Though a bit worn, it had been scrubbed clean. Compared to the orphanage, this was already a vast improvement.

Thrilled, Qi Yi chose a new backpack, looking up at his brother with stars in his eyes. His brother smiled, paid for it, and then the whole family went to the docks. Qi Yi leaned against the railing, watching as his brother boarded the starship bound for the academy.

It was a massive starship, departing from the border systems and heading for the capital. Even a third-class ticket was outrageously expensive, enough to wipe out their savings. Only because his brother had received the academy’s subsidy could they afford the journey.

The teenager watched the starship disappear into the distance in awe. Lu Liu heard his thoughts—back then, Qi Yi had dreamed of awakening too, to become a Sentinel as strong as his brother. That way, the family would have another subsidy, and their parents wouldn’t have to slave away in the factories anymore. They could rest at home, watch TV, or travel.

But in the second year after Qi Yi became a Sentinel and entered the academy, word came from the border: his brother was dead.

It was said he had become infatuated with a noble Guide. It was said he had piled up crushing debts to please that Guide. It was said he had gone mad on the battlefield against the alien races, disregarding his own life, fighting like a madman—because only then could he earn enough contribution points to continue courting the Guide’s favor.

Qi Yi knew—that wasn’t the kind of person his brother was. That wasn’t who he should have been.

But the evidence was irrefutable, the White Tower’s verdict final. The dead Sentinel’s body was returned to his hometown, pocked with bullet holes and seared by explosions.

So, with the subsidies he had sent home, they bought him a grave.

The elderly foster parents couldn’t bear the loss of their child. The following year, two more graves appeared beside his.

That same year, Qi Yi awakened and entered the Sentinel Academy. Amid the endless sea of books, he learned what "mental suggestion" was.

"......"

Lu Liu looked up, gazing at the young man in the reading room.

Outside the window, the sun gradually dimmed until it completely set. The clock struck 10, students left one after another, and the library turned off its lights—but Qi Yi didn’t move.

He had the reading room to himself, locking the door behind him, sitting in the corner between the bookshelves and the wall, holding a book titled *Detailed Explanation of Mental Suggestion*.

He remembered now—the object of his brother’s obsessive infatuation was called Bai Wen.

An SS-level guide from the White Tower.

The young man’s gaze remained fixed on the pages. Were it not for the occasional flutter of his lashes, he might as well have been a frozen statue.

Qi Yi didn’t return to his dorm. He needed solitude to weather his breakdown.

Lu Liu stayed in the distance, watching as the last light in the library went out. The reading room lay dark and cavernous, and the Sentinel sat in the corner, as if transported back to the orphanage's cramped woodshed.

Qi Yi was a little afraid of the dark—Lu Liu knew that.

He clutched a lantern but didn’t speak to Qi Yi. Instead, he circled behind the bookshelf and sat down, separated by a layer of books.

Qi Yi lifted his eyes slightly, golden-brown eyes catching the lantern's light. He couldn’t see the guide’s face clearly, only faintly sensing someone sitting there.

"Get out of here," Qi Yi rasped. "The library is big. Stay away from me."

"Classmate," Lu Liu blurted out nervously, stumbling over his words. "Exams start in two days. I lost track of time studying and accidentally missed the library’s closing time. I was too scared to be alone, and then I saw you… You wouldn't mind, would you?"

"......"

Qi Yi wanted to say he *did* mind—he needed an undisturbed space. But when he slightly parted his lips and saw the guide’s slightly anxious expression, the words caught in his throat.

Guides were sensitive by nature, spooked by the smallest things. Leaving a guide alone here really might scare him.

Qi Yi lowered his head, staring vacantly at the book in his hands, and said nothing.

Lu Liu added softly, "I'll stay right here. There are books I need. I won’t disturb you."

"......"

Qi Yi replied stiffly, "Suit yourself."

He still refused to speak to any guide, his words laced with venom.

But the guide seemed utterly unfazed by his hostility, sitting cross-legged on the floor and quietly reading.

He pulled out a thick volume of literature and placed the lantern where the book had been, so the small light illuminated both ends of the shelf, spilling an amber glow over Qi Yi and Lu Liu.

Lu Liu closed the book and let out a small yawn.

He had no interest in the dense academic jargon. He just felt that this Qi Yi needed a light—and someone to stay with him.

He didn’t want to talk. He'd armored himself, as if only that could shield him from the world’s harm.

But he needed company.

So Lu Liu sat there, leafing through pages half-heartedly, until eventually, he leaned against the bookshelf and fell asleep.

Only then did Qi Yi tilt his head, looking between the uneven shelves to risk a furtive look at the guide.

Lu Liu's expression was cool and composed, his brows slightly furrowed as if he wasn't sleeping comfortably.

He was unlike any guide Qi Yi had ever known.

Neither fake nor putting on airs, he leaned against the library shelves yet seemed as relaxed as if on vacation.

Qi Yi pressed his lips together.

The guide's face looked somewhat familiar, as if he had once appeared during Qi Yi's darkest childhood days, in that dim woodshed.

So Qi Yi sat silently with the guide, washed in the lantern's amber glow, separated by the bookshelf until dawn.

Lu Liu opened his eyes, and the library scene dissolved again, replaced by a rush of memories. This time, it seemed to be when the sentinel had just become a Dark Sentinel.

He rejected all offers from guides and chose to go rogue, but Dark Sentinels didn't usually live long.

Given how their Spirit Sea deteriorated, most Dark Sentinels would die before the age of 40.

On the Dark Sentinels' ship, Lu Liu saw Qi Yi experience his first Spirit Sea collapse.

He voluntarily entered a steel-reinforced room, allowing his companions to fasten restraints and a muzzle. The agony stole his voice, the sudden breakdown left him powerless. The sentinel was dazed and confused, yet he could do nothing but sit in the corner, biting his lower lip, waiting for the collapse to pass.

The isolation cell was pitch black and soundless. The only sound Qi Yi could hear was his own suppressed panting.

In that suffocating moment, even a second stretched endlessly. Qi Yi seemed to return to that tiny woodshed, no longer that SS-level sentinel but the same helpless child as before.

Dark Sentinels refused to accept soothing, paying the price with increasingly severe Spirit Sea issues. Their breakdowns would come more often—from once a year to several times a year, then once a month, then multiple times a month. The restraints grew more severe—from mouth guards to muzzles, from sleeping pills to military-grade sedatives. They could practically see death coming, yet could only just watch as their lives slipped away.

This was Qi Yi's first time being locked in the isolation room, but it wouldn't be the last, nor the most painful.

And so, in the Spirit Sea, Lu Liu saw Qi Yi falling.

The Spirit Sea seemed to transform into a bottomless abyss, and Qi Yi divided in two. One stood on the shore, watching himself fall with detached calm, letting himself sink into death's embrace. The other fell into the abyss, yet frantically clawing upward, his expression sorrowful and pained, trying to grasp a lifeline.

This was the struggle between instinct and reason.

Lu Liu then raised his lantern and pushed through the howling wind. Step by step, he climbed upward, crossed the vast chasm, and stood behind the sentinel. Together, they looked down at the endlessly falling figure as Lu Liu softly asked, "What if I catch you?"

This was exactly why Lu Liu had come.

He could effortlessly weave a safety net within the sentinel's Spirit Sea to halt his fall. He could also fill the suffocating darkness with lights—oil lamps, gas lamps, electric lights, all kinds of lamps, even barbershop pole lights, twinkling like stars. He could ensure no corner of the sentinel's Spirit Sea remained in darkness—if only Qi Yi would let him catch him.

Lu Liu thought, "The sentinel might look grumpy, but his temper isn't bad."

Since he was already crossing lines, why not help him?

The young Qi Yi shot him a conflicted look, momentarily dazed upon seeing his face before stiffly turning away. His lips moved slightly, uttering a single syllable.

He said, "No."

If he had chosen to fall, he already knew the consequences.

Lu Liu paused. "Why?"

Qi Yi remained silent, so Lu Liu stepped closer. This guide seemed utterly unafraid of the sentinel's coldness, stubbornly asking, "Why not?"

Qi Yi grew even more rigid, a sudden surge of irritation rising within him, his tone turning harsh. "No reason. I just don't want to."

"But..." Lu Liu hesitated, then asked with genuine distress, "But I want to catch you. Isn't that okay?"