sid_guardian | Guardian Readalong: Vol. 2, Chapters 5 & 6

Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong! ♡

Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions on the schedule post (vol. 1 part 1, vol. 1 part 2, vol. 2), or via the !readalong tag.

This week's chapters:

Chapter 5: Zhao Yunlan brings Shen Wei with him to the hospital. Guo Changcheng sees a ghost of a legless man outside the window, which turns out to be a reflection of what happened in the past. Zhao Yunlan explains talismans to Guo Changcheng and uses one to open GCC's third eye. Guo Changcheng accidentally kills a ghost tormenting one of the victims and cures her. The victim is a mundanely terrrible person, and Shen Wei stops Zhao Yunlan from punishing her too much when he erases her memories. The legless ghost is targetting humans who didn't directly wrong him, so SID has the authority to deal with him.

Chapter 6: Despite the team's confusion, Zhao Yunlan wants Shen Wei to stay at the scene. Everyone gets a task and they set out to lure and trap the ghost. Shen Wei volunteers to participate in setting the trap, and knows a lot more about it than anyone expected him to know. Zhao Yunlan admits that Shen Wei is not an ordinary human, but doesn't reveal his identity.

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are 51, 52 and 53.

Excerpts:

1) The ghost that Guo Changcheng sees

As he scrambled out of their way, Guo Changcheng happened to catch a glimpse of someone outside the window—the sixth-floor window!

What he was seeing was clearly impossible. Every instinct Guo Changcheng possessed told him that something was off; his pulse raced. But human nature being what it was, fear robbed him of the ability to look away.

It was a man outside the window: skinny and hunched, wearing a ragged knit hat that revealed frostbitten ears and a shock of white hair. He was bundled in a large cotton jacket…and he was floating in midair, entirely lacking his legs!

Guo Changcheng could see that the man’s legs had been chopped off just below the pelvic joint. The hacked stumps were plainly visible, with short lengths of bone jutting out from the rotting, bloody flesh. Blood seeped inside the building through the window frame, dripping and pooling on the floor. It seemed as though the bleeding would never stop.

Yet not a single passing doctor or nurse noticed a thing. It was like no one could see the man silently staring into the inpatient area.

Half of his face was caked with dirt and blood. His eyes bugged out as if he were a terrifying wax figure. He just kept staring coldly at all the people coming and going, one corner of his cracked lips tugging upward. His expression was indescribably resentful.

2) Shen Wei explains Guo Changcheng's ability to see reflections of the past

After a sweeping glance at Guo Changcheng, who was standing a bit away from them, Zhao Yunlan briefly summarized what he’d been told.

Shen Wei listened, then thought for a moment before answering seriously. “His third eye hasn’t been opened, but there’s something quite unusual about him. I feel as though he’s able to see echoes of the past through reflective surfaces.”

Zhao Yunlan’s eyebrow shot up. “What do you mean?”

“Think back to when we first met at Dragon City University, when I suddenly arrived and interrupted your investigation,” Shen Wei said. “The night before, when I heard that an accident had taken place at the school, I suspected it might have something to do with the escaped Hunger Ghost. I sent a puppet to investigate the victim’s dorm room. The puppet left before daybreak, but later, when this young man climbed into the window, a fascinating connection sprang to life between him and my puppet. I felt him looking through the glass and seeing my puppet climbing out the window the previous night. That’s why I came. At the time, I didn’t realize you were there.”

To be precise, he’d been unaware because the shit-stirring Chaos King of the Gui had purposefully interfered with his ability to sense Zhao Yunlan’s location.

When Guo Changcheng had written his report about the incident, he had mentioned seeing a skull in the window, and something about there being a person cloaked in black in the skull’s eyes. But since most of the report had been useless bullshit, Zhao Yunlan had dismissed it and used the paper as a coaster.

“So you think there may actually have been some legless person—or ghost—peeping through this window?” Zhao Yunlan asked. “Not now, maybe at some point last night or even before?”

“Mm-hmm. Didn’t you say that the two new poisoning victims were sent here at midnight? If I’d hurt someone, I might also want to come and see for myself exactly what happened to them.”

3) Guo Changcheng accidentally cures the victim

Zhao Yunlan slapped the yellow paper talisman down onto her, causing a massive ball of black gas to spew from her body. It shot up like a menacing geyser, only to be knocked partway back when it hit the ceiling. A contorted face took shape in midair, mouth wide open as it howled hysterically at them.

It all happened in a flash. One moment Zhao Yunlan had been delivering a lecture on theory and now they were in a haunted house. Guo Changcheng screamed and bolted for the door. But Director Zhao, as though he had eyes in the back of his head, dragged Guo Changcheng back by the collar.

Keeping a firm hand on Guo Changcheng, Zhao Yunlan studied the black mist. “Weird,” he murmured. “Why is there so much resentment?”

“Ghost!” yelped Guo Changcheng. “Ghost, ghost, ghost!”

Zhao Yunlan snorted. “Like you’ve never seen a ghost before? Why would I have ordered you to join me if I wasn’t expecting any?”

A powerful bolt of electricity burst from Guo Changcheng’s pocket. With the wisdom of experience, Zhao Yunlan immediately let go and backed out of the way. The black shadow hanging in the air met the same fate as the huge knife in the Hanga tribe’s secret tunnel.

“We hadn’t asked it anything yet! No one told you to kill it!” Zhao Yunlan slapped the back of Guo Changcheng’s head.

Guo Changcheng was on the brink of tears. “I-I’m scared…”

“Can’t you hold it in for a while?” Zhao Yunlan demanded.

From day one, Guo Changcheng had both feared and respected his boss. Even if Zhao Yunlan unleashed a toxic fart, he would treat it as a divine utterance and think the boss had made an excellent point. So upon hearing this, Guo Changcheng made an immediate attempt to obediently contain his terror.

He tried until his face was beet red, but he couldn’t stop trembling with fear. Voice thin as a mosquito’s buzz, he said, “I…really can’t hold it in.”

The pointed side-eye Zhao Yunlan gave him lasted until Guo Changcheng was shaking badly enough that there was a real risk of another 10,000-volt discharge. And then, unexpectedly, his heartless boss laughed. “You sure do keep things interesting.”

Guo Changcheng only blinked. It seemed like a strange compliment.

“Don’t bully him,” scolded Shen Wei.

Meanwhile, the stricken woman finally managed to do more than gawk at them. Moving with great difficulty, she knelt on the bed and bowed to Guo Changcheng. “Thank you, Immortal. Thank you, young Immortal!”

4) Zhao Yunlan is very discreet (sarcasm) and also very discreet (no sarcasm)

The hospital hallways were always full of people. Between being tall, full of physical grace, and an overall hottie, Zhao Yunlan generally drew attention to begin with, but publicly touching and grabbing hold of another man quickly drew curious stares from all around.

Shen Wei swiftly assessed the situation. “We’re in public,” he said softly. “Have some discretion, please.”

Zhao Yunlan responded by turning to glare at the onlookers. “What are you looking at?” he asked, unfazed. “Never seen a couple of hot gay guys before?”

Shen Wei and Zhu Hong were both stunned speechless for a moment, and then they spoke almost at the same time. “It’s not appropriate for me to be here while you work,” Shen Wei said.

More quietly, Zhu Hong said, “That’s right, Director Zhao. Our internal regulations…”

“I’m the one who set the regulations,” Zhao Yunlan interrupted her. “If I’m unhappy with them, I can change them any time I want. Besides, what they say is that we need to keep outsiders from witnessing or participating in our investigations. He’s not an outsider.”

Shen Wei froze, momentarily sure that Zhao Yunlan was about to reveal his identity. But instead, Zhao Yunlan lowered his voice so that he sounded like an annoying brat. “He’s not an outsider— he’s my partner.”

Dumbfounded, Zhu Hong turned away and looked blankly out the window. She had the feeling that she’d just seen the lord of incompetence claim his throne.

5) Lin Jing baits Shen Wei, and Shen Wei knows too much

Silently, Lin Jing looked at Zhao Yunlan and then at the bottle in his own hand. Realizing that he was being baited into becoming a tank to pull aggro, he said, “You did this on purpose.”

Zhao Yunlan didn’t bat an eye. “Yeah, and?”

Lin Jing swept his eyes over the others. The black cat wore a crafty sneer, and everyone else’s expression was unsympathetic and indifferent. He let himself wallow in sorrow for a moment before wheeling around and flinging himself at Shen Wei, who was leaning unobtrusively against the wall. “My liege wishes to sacrifice this humble monk before the flag of battle!” he cried. “Noble consort, I beg you, intercede on my behalf!”

Shen Wei didn’t have the first clue how to respond. As the Soul-Executing Emissary, he was accustomed to people reacting to him like rats spotting a cat. Having never been on the receiving end of teasing like this, he was at a complete loss. He turned to Zhao Yunlan as though asking for help.

Zhao Yunlan, on the other hand, was delighted by this high-quality display of ass-kissing. He averted his eyes, showing no interest in intervening.

After considering his options, Shen Wei held out his hand for the bottle. “I’ll go in your place, then.”

He hadn’t even finished speaking before an ominous stare pierced Lin Jing’s spine. Even if Lin Jing had been ten times braver, he wouldn’t have dared use the “noble consort” as bait.

The fake monk managed a dry chuckle and tucked the bottle into his own breast pocket. “Amitabha. Our duty is to encourage goodness, eradicate evil, and protect people’s lives and possessions. How could I foist this honorable and arduous calling off on someone else? Off I go!” With those words, he darted off at the speed of light.

“Then how can I help?” Shen Wei asked.

Zhao Yunlan replied, “I know a restaurant a bit south of here that’s pretty good. Come eat with me.”

Once again, Shen Wei had no idea how to react.

Zhu Hong ground her teeth. “I’m angry, but I have to bite my tongue.”

Chu Shuzhi fixed his eyes on the ground. “Yup, biting my tongue.”

Daqing simply meowed.

Shen-laoshi, however, had a conscience. “We can’t do that. How about this: you stay here and give orders, and I’ll go hold the Gate of Life for you. Then, if need be, I can assist.”

Everyone went dead silent at his words. Zhu Hong’s brow furrowed, and Chu Shuzhi’s face turned pensive. But Guo Changcheng, the only one confused, piped up. “What’s a Gate of Life?”

Chu Shuzhi ignored the question. Expression serious, he asked, “How did Shen-laoshi know what kind of array I’ll be putting down?”

“Two layers with four gates each, anything that enters is unable to exit. I could extrapolate as much from seeing the places Yunlan pointed out just now for monitoring. However, if the violent spirit’s resentment is too thick and heavy, he could tear through the temporary net. At that point, if the Gate of Life becomes a Gate of Death, it’ll be hard to control. I’ll guard the eye of the array just in case.”

Chu Shuzhi looked him up and down. “Shen-laoshi knows all of this even though you’re just a university professor?”

Questions:

How did you like Zhao Yunlan finally training the newbie, and Guo Changcheng's accidental moment of badassery? Do you approve of Zhao Yunlan punishing the woman? How would you react when you're doing super secret stuff and your boss suddenly brings an apparent outsider to work? And, of course, did these chapters give you any new Weilan feelings? ♡

You can answer as many or as few questions as you like, or just comment without answering any of them at all! And if you see this post and you're not actually reading the novel: Hi there, I always want to know what you think about any of this with limited context. :D

And here is the schedule, and that's where you can sign up to host a post.

Guardian Readalong: Vol. 2, Chapters 5 & 6

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