Chapter 190: She’s So Sweet, I’ve Got to Step Up the Chase

Chapter 190: Chapter 190: She’s So Sweet, I’ve Got to Step Up the Chase

"We meet again." Xing Che looked down at her, his voice low and laced with a smile. "A hero saving a beauty. How about it, does that earn me any points?"

Yun Sheng froze. "What points?"

"For pursuing you, of course," Xing Che said with brazen confidence. "I told you last time in the dream. I want to be your Sentinel. I want to pursue you."

Yun Sheng’s eyes widened in astonishment.

’The last time I entered his dream, Xing Che had been so relentless, and the atmosphere was so tense, that I didn’t even realize it. Xing Che had recognized me from the very beginning.’

’Why was it that in Xing Che’s dream, he could see her face clearly and know she was Yun Sheng?’

’When I dreamed of Bai Ye and Si Jin before, they couldn’t see me clearly at all!’

’Could it be because... I had already blended my spiritual power with his before I entered his dream?’

’This dream-entering ability was too strange. She still couldn’t figure it out.’

Suddenly, Xing Che reached out and gently pinched Yun Sheng’s soft cheek.

"Thinking about how many points to give me?"

His deliberately teasing words snapped Yun Sheng back to her senses.

Yun Sheng slapped his hand away. "Let go of me. Aren’t you afraid of being exposed, showing up so recklessly?"

’The others were fighting the Rock Armor Scorpions not far away, and Qi Yao was there too. How could this guy just appear so openly? Wasn’t he afraid of being discovered?’

Xing Che raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I’m not that Dark Sentinel of yours, wanted by the entire Star Alliance, who can only sneak around even when he leaves his spiritual body by your side to protect you. My record is clean. If people see me, they see me. There’s nothing to be afraid of."

His words left Yun Sheng speechless.

’How could he say that with such confidence?’

"You..."

She had just started to speak when Xing Che leaned down, his warm breath tickling the shell of her ear.

"You still haven’t said if you’ll give me any points. How many? I rushed over to save you the moment I saw you were under attack."

Yun Sheng’s ears instantly started to burn.

She turned her head to dodge, but Xing Che just tilted his own head to follow, relentlessly pressing closer to her ear.

"Hmm? Points or no points?"

"No points," Yun Sheng said through gritted teeth.

"Liar," Xing Che chuckled softly. "Your heart is racing, and your face is so red. You definitely gave me some."

Yun Sheng was completely encircled in his arms, and he was so close that his scent filled her every breath. Her face instantly grew hotter.

She raised a hand to push his face away, but Xing Che didn’t dodge. He let her push, his amber-gold eyes crinkling into a smile, like a large, sated cat.

His hand was still clasped around her waist, not loosening its grip. His palm was slightly cool, yet steady, as if he were afraid she would run away.

"One point," Yun Sheng said perfunctorily, feeling she had no choice but to give in to his pestering.

"Only one point?" Xing Che frowned, a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice. "But I just saved you."

"You were the one who rushed over. I never asked you to save me."

"So I shouldn’t save you next time?"

"You..."

Suddenly, Xing Che leaned in and brushed his lips against the corner of her mouth, a fleeting touch that was gone in an instant.

Yun Sheng froze completely.

"It’s fine if you don’t add any points," he said, his voice laced with a smile. "Consider this a bit of interest."

Yun Sheng raised her hand to strike him, but Xing Che simply leaned his face closer, his posture casual. The smile on his face was both sated and infuriatingly punchable.

’Looking at that face, her hand stopped dead in mid-air.’

’If she actually slapped him, this bastard would probably just get even more excited.’

Yun Sheng ground her back teeth and pulled her hand back.

"Let go of me! My companions are still fighting. I need to go help!"

Xing Che glanced outward, and this time, he didn’t pester her further, simply releasing the hand clasped around her waist.

"Go on," he said, his voice returning to its usual lazy drawl, though now it held something more. "Go all out. Those ugly things can’t hurt you. I’ll be your backup."

Yun Sheng froze, meeting his eyes.

In those amber-gold eyes, the smile remained, but it was now tinged with seriousness.

She opened her mouth, but for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

So she simply turned and walked out from the shadows of the trees, spiritual power rapidly gathering in her palm.

The battle over there was already nearing its end.

Zhao Heng and several other Sentinels were cornering the last Rock Armor Scorpion. A cold light gathered on the edge of Qi Yao’s blade, ready to deliver the final blow at any moment.

Yun Sheng didn’t head that way, turning to the other side instead.

A few scattered, low-grade pollutants were roaming the periphery, looking for a chance to launch a sneak attack.

She raised her hand, her spiritual power solidifying into thin needles that shot out with a ZING! ZING!

She could feel a gaze fixed on her, not too close and not too far, not too heavy and not too light. It was like a thin layer of moonlight, quietly blanketing her.

Yun Sheng didn’t look back, her hands never ceasing their work.

Another pollutant fell. She took a deep breath, retracted the residual spiritual power from her palm, and turned to walk toward Cheng Nian.

In the shadows of the trees, Xing Che leaned against a thick trunk, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on that slender figure.

’She fought with great focus, her movements clean and decisive—even more resolute than he had imagined.’

He watched for a long time, only allowing the corners of his lips to curl up slightly when she finally stopped and turned around.

’Yun Sheng... she was even more interesting than he’d thought.’

’Looks like I’ll have to step up my game in pursuing her!’

...

When the last pollutant fell, everyone looked as if their strength had been completely drained.

Cheng Nian’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

Li Wen was bent over with her hands on her knees, beads of sweat dripping from her chin.

A rare look of exhaustion crossed Zhou Ying’s face as she leaned against a tree trunk to recover.

He Yi’s hand, still gripping his blade, was trembling slightly, but he stood without a word.

Zhao Qian had long since collapsed to the ground, her face deathly pale and her back soaked with cold sweat.

Guo Kai and the others were also panting, silent as they tried to regain their strength.

Qi Yao had driven his blade into the ground, barely managing to steady himself by leaning on the hilt with both hands.

His face was so pale it was almost translucent, and large drops of sweat streamed from his temples. The spiritual power he had worked so hard to suppress began to surge again, and visible ripples of chaotic energy emanated from his body.

He leaned on his blade, gasping for a few breaths, then suddenly snapped his head up, his sharp gaze sweeping over a patch of shadows not far away.

"Who’s there?" Qi Yao’s voice was hoarse but as sharp as a knife. "Come out!"

Everyone’s nerves tensed instantly as they snapped back into a combat-ready state.

Yun Sheng’s heart skipped a beat.

She instinctively glanced toward where Xing Che was hiding. Qi Yao was looking in the exact same direction.

Qi Yao pulled his blade from the ground. Forcing himself to stay upright, he walked step by step toward the shadows.

The spiritual power around him surged, and a frigid light coalesced on the edge of his blade.

Even though the shadows were perfectly still, with no sign of movement, he was prepared to strike.

The very moment he raised his blade, a tall, slender figure emerged from the shadows, his pace unhurried and his posture casual.

Xing Che stood before them, his expression indifferent as he glanced at Qi Yao’s raised blade, then at the group poised for battle, before his gaze finally landed on Yun Sheng.

"Don’t be so tense." His voice was pitched neither high nor low, carrying a nonchalant ease. "I’m not here to cause trouble."

Qi Yao didn’t lower his blade, his eyes cold as he glared at him. "Who are you?"

Xing Che ignored him, his gaze remaining fixed on Yun Sheng.

Those amber-gold eyes suddenly filled with deep affection, and even his voice softened.

"I’m an old acquaintance of Yun Sheng’s from the Eighth Star Zone. I heard she was training in Zone 10 and was worried about her safety, so I came specially to find her."