Start a business

Xu Youling stood in the long queue in front of the Baita temporary office and looked out anxiously. The sky was still pale and gloomy, and the crowd was pressing forward densely.

Except for the higher-level sentinels and guides who have been incorporated into the White Tower organization since the separation, other lower-level guides like Xu Youling mostly work and live with ordinary people. However, if they obtain a qualification certificate, they can participate in the temporary recruitment of counselors by the White Tower, which is a good extra income.

It’s just that the passing rate was so low during the exam, so why is it that everyone has a certificate by the time they start working?

Xu Youling looked at the long, motionless line in front of him and couldn't help but feel like crying.

He'd rushed out early in the morning to line up, and now it was almost noon, and the flow of people outside the office only increased. Worst of all, he could see from afar the window glass being pulled down with a whoosh... the staff were on lunch break!

The crowd instantly sighed in disappointment, and the sound of thin and dense conversations spread out.

"Should the White Tower recruit people?"

"Why was it so slow up front? Does the interview take so long?"

"Let's go home. Maybe the expeditionary force doesn't need low-level guides like us."

…

In the chaos, the orange cat pounced out lazily, grabbed Xu Youling's trouser leg and meowed twice.

"What's wrong?" Xu Youling bent down and picked it up.

The orange cat lay on Xu Youling's shoulder, its pair of light-colored cat pupils rolled twice, and a bright luster flashed in its eyes.

A gust of wind whistled through the crowd, creating ripples. The guides made way, and two men in standard military uniforms strolled by.

The two men walked with big strides, their eyes fixed straight ahead. The emblem of the expeditionary force was on their shoulder straps. They were obviously a sentry and a guide.

"Expeditionary Force!"

"Heaven... so close..."

"Shouldn't they be recuperating?"

Xu Youling followed the crowd's gaze, his heart trembled, and he tightened his arms around the orange cat.

They were Yue Changji and Fang Linshui, the top and bottom protagonists of the original book. At this moment, the two stood side by side, obviously a happy couple.

Suddenly, Yue Changji's gentle gaze passed over Fang Linshui's head and cast towards Xu Youling who was not far away.

——Disgusting and contemptuous, like a sword.

Xu Youling looked at him without hesitation: he even withstood the mental pressure of Pei Zhi in his mad state for several minutes, so as not to run away when he saw the calm Yue Changji.

However, as an outsider who came from a book, he could not use his guiding ability well, so it was difficult for him to extend his spiritual tentacles to explore the spiritual world of the protagonist, who appeared bright and sunny on the surface but was rotten and foul-smelling inside.

He strode after them, holding the cat in his arms: "Please wait a moment!"

Yue Changji turned his head as if he hadn't cast that malicious glance at him earlier. Instead, Fang Linshui smiled at him in a friendly manner: "What's wrong?"

Then he was stunned again: "I know you... Are you the guide who helps Pei Zhi with his treatment?"

…In fact, the counseling was not successful at all, but now is not the time to talk about this. Xu Youling was holding an orange semi-trailer in his arms and was slightly out of breath as he ran: "Yes, it's me, I want to ask..."

"Pei Zhi is really cruel. If he uses you like that once, I'm afraid the basic functions of the guide will be useless." Yue Changji's tone was mocking.

"He didn't! Please don't do this!" A wave of anger rushed to Xu Youling's head, burning his face red. "I want to ask, is Pei Zhi still in the convalescent area now?"

"Who cares where that dog is?" Yue Changji said coldly, "But you, a useless junior guide, are really eager to send it away..."

"Alright, Changji, stop talking." Fang Linshui grabbed his arm and turned to comfort Xu Youling, whose face was red with anger. "Pei Zhi is not in the convalescent area. He's back in service."

"Serving?" Xu Youling's eyes widened. He remembered that when he left the White Pagoda, Pei Zhi was still far from fully recovered. "Where did he go? The border? Or somewhere else?"

"I'm sorry, this is a military secret. I can't tell you anymore." Fang Linshui smiled apologetically. "But can you tell me why you are so anxious to find Pei Zhi? Did he really do something bad to you? If so, don't be afraid, just tell the military. They will deal with it seriously."

There was just the right amount of worry on Fang Linshui's pretty face. He really had the potential to be the protagonist. Xu Youling looked at that face in a daze, and his mood suddenly became very complicated.

This kind guide must have a hard time living his life... It must be very hard to deal with the protagonist and the cannon fodder.

"No, he really didn't do that." Seeing Yue Changji becoming increasingly impatient, Xu Youling took a step back and shook his head firmly. "Thank you, goodbye."

Pei Zhi wasn't in the sanatorium, so there was no point in him queuing. Xu Youling left immediately, and on the way home, he kept ruminating on Yue Changji's disgusting expression, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

What right does he have to say that! Although Pei Zhi has a bad face, a bad mouth, and is not a human being in the later period, he is still better than Yue Changji, a hypocrite and a villain!

Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting!

Xu Youling pushed the door open heavily, bent down to change his shoes, and threw his canvas shoes with a deafening noise.

"What's the matter? Baita doesn't want you?" Song Qi, who was still playing games in his room, poked his head out. "Why are you so angry?"

"I met a big idiot!" Xu Youling put the cat on the ground.

"That's totally normal. I feel like there have been so many idiots since I entered society." Song Qi slapped his thigh. "Isn't today Sunday? My idiotic boss actually wants me to work overtime this afternoon! I asked him what, and he said he was rehearsing for the annual meeting in advance? Isn't that ridiculous? A grassroots community office of ours is holding an annual meeting!"

Xu Youling walked into the room in a depressed mood, responded to Song Qi's words in a disjointed manner, opened the wardrobe and packed out some clothes.

"...and then we got off work super-late, I'm really impressed...Hey Xu Youling, are you still there?" Song Qi didn't hear Xu Youling's response for a long time, so he asked loudly.

"Yes!" Xu Youling replied as she packed her luggage. "Song Qi, do you know where to buy a ticket to the border?"

Song Qi paused for a moment as he typed on his keyboard. Then, confused, he asked, "Why are you going to the border? It's so expensive there!"

"It's expensive?" Xu Youling paused as he packed his luggage, his heart skipping a beat. "I'll just stay there... for about ten days."

In the original novel, Pei Zhi spent most of his time serving on the border. As one of the White Pagoda's top sentinels, he had both the ability and the obligation to sacrifice for the White Pagoda. Xu Youling didn't know his exact location, but since he had left the sanatorium, he must be there.

"That's even more expensive. The border is deserted, and the only official institution is the military camp, and you can't get in." Song Qi finished a game, put down the keyboard, and walked out to count his fingers. "Transportation, accommodation, food, and other miscellaneous expenses... add up to a lot. Anyway, with my current savings and salary, I definitely can't cover it."

...Xu Youling fell silent.

Oh my God, why don’t you give me the golden finger of unlimited money!

"Why are you in such a hurry to go to the border? It's not safe there." Song Qi looked at his watch, sighed, and put on his coat. "I'm going to work overtime... See you tonight!"

Xu Youling waved goodbye to Song Qi stiffly, sat down on the sofa silently, opened the map software, and searched for tickets to the border... Then he was shocked by the number.

Then I searched how long it would take to ride a bike to the border, how long it would take to hike to the border, and searched for the latest weather... and then silently turned off my phone.

I never expected that the road to redeeming the villain would collapse halfway because of the issue of money.

Xu Youling slumped on the sofa, and the orange cat licked his face in disgust.

"What should I do..." Xu Youling rubbed its ears absentmindedly, "How long will it take for me to go home..."

The orange cat looked at him with disgust again, stretched out its paw and licked it elegantly twice, testing his reaction.

"What's wrong?" Xu Youling turned over and sat up. "What do you want to say?"

Spiritual beings are not like ordinary pets in the real world he lives in. Their IQ and EQ may be higher than some humans. Xu Youling, who has just arrived, is very cautious and wants to listen to the opinions of the orange cat.

"Meow!" The orange cat cried out with a look of disappointment, jumped lightly onto the table, raised its paw, and knocked over the teacup full of water on the table.

"Hey!" Xu Youling rushed over to save the table in a panic, "What are you..."

Seeing the orange cat stirring the water on the table uncomfortably, Xu Youling's eyebrows jumped and he reached out to pinch its paw.

"Giving the spirit a bath...?" He asked the orange cat in disbelief. "Does this make money?"

The orange cat had an expression of "what else?" on its face, and raised its tail high to avoid the water spilling on the table.

"...I understand. I'll think of a way!" Xu Youling swiftly cleared the table, not forgetting to carry the water-hating orange cat back to the coffee table. "How about... starting a business in the neighboring block?"

How long will it take to save up enough money to go to the border? By then, Pei Zhi might be back soon...

Even though he thought so, Xu Youling had no other choice. He ran into the room and took out the huge corrugated cardboard box left over from the delivery of the textbooks. He sat in the middle of the living room, cut it into several pieces, and covered them with white paper.

"Spiritual body bathing and maintenance... 98 per session... 38 for new guests... 28 per person for group guests..."

How cruel! Looking at his equipment, which was far more rudimentary than that in the real world, Xu Youling secretly despised himself for a moment.

-

At the border, the north wind blows and heavy snow falls.

Pei Zhi sat in the tent with a gloomy expression, a faint trace of pain on his face. There was no medical staff around, let alone a professional guide. His tangled mental energy stretched outward with fangs and claws, like the black wings of a demon.

Because of this, and not just because of this, no one approached the corner where he was, and no one cared about the dark blood seeping from his arm.

The sentinel's keen five senses floated over the noise and whispers inside and outside the tent, over the sky and earth turbulent with blizzards, and over the shadows of blood, death, and war.

As far as he could perceive, there was no beautiful junior guide.

The beautiful guide who was rumored to have been violated by Pei Zhi and was hastily sent back to the border to serve without even having completed his recuperation period.

His name was passed around by word of mouth in the camp, becoming another heavy stroke in Pei Zhi's already numerous criminal records.