Chapter 30: Unspoken Understanding, A Meeting of Minds

The next morning.

After a night of repairs, the damage in the eastern suburban district had mostly been restored to its original state.

Yin Luo, wearing her black office suit and glasses, now had a gentle expression as she spoke with the construction workers, overseeing the final touch-ups.

That included settling payments and extending appropriate condolences.

Su Shan, meanwhile, was leaning against a tree on the other side, one foot propped on the trunk, expressionless as she watched Yin Luo.

Yin Luo had dragged her along by force.

After receiving intel yesterday that Jiang Si might be exposed, Su Shan had wanted to quickly notify Lord Winter.

Although she didn’t know what exact position Jiang Si held within the Azure Cloud Sect, she figured he was probably just an external staffer.

After all, the Azure Cloud Sect only accepted Magical Girls; a man, no matter how capable, couldn’t become a formal disciple.

But even for external staff, the Azure Cloud Sect would never allow the Disaster Control Bureau to uncover and arrest them without resistance.

So when Yin Lian and Peony expressed suspicion about Jiang Si, Su Shan wanted to help—pass the message out so Lord Winter and Jiang Si could prepare and avoid being caught off guard by the Disaster Control Bureau.

As it turned out, Yin Luo seemed to see through her thoughts. Since last night she had been staring at Su Shan, and this morning, when the Disaster Control Bureau assigned Yin Luo to handle the cleanup, Yin Luo insisted on bringing her along.

Still, Su Shan didn’t think her identity had been exposed.

If it had, given Yin Luo’s dislike for the Azure Cloud Sect and her displeasure toward Su Shan personally, Yin Luo wouldn’t have hidden anything.

It was probably revenge—when they dealt with Jiang Si before, Yin Luo had used excessive measures and grudges were formed.

Su Shan felt at a loss about that.

Jiang Si is one of our Azure Cloud Sect people; you’re a Disaster Control Bureau member protecting him so zealously and holding a grudge for it—really, you’re ungrateful!

She grumbled inwardly, but outwardly kept an icy, impassive face.

Finally, Yin Luo finished her small talk, then walked over while jotting down notes in a file. “Thank you for coming, Captain Su Shan. Without you accompanying me, the Witch Association people might have returned and everyone would’ve been in danger.”

“Just doing my job.”

Yin Luo brushed back a strand of hair and gave a small smile. “On behalf of all the workers, thank you. They said they were glad to see you—after all, when you fought as a Magical Girl back then, the construction crew saw your brave combat posture.”

Yin Luo brushed back a strand of hair and gave a small smile. “On behalf of all the workers, thank you. They said they were glad to see you—after all, when you fought as a Magical Girl back then, the construction crew saw your brave combat stance.”

Actually, Su Shan wasn’t eager to leave.

Having finally gotten out from the Disaster Control Bureau, if she returned without passing the message, it would become harder to find another chance.

But she couldn’t act too suspiciously. Although Yin Luo might not have definitely discovered her identity, she likely suspected—perhaps even harbored ill intent. Any small slip could be exploited and relentlessly pursued.

That was why Yin Luo had been monitoring her so closely; even her phone and other communications had been under surveillance.

Yin Luo adjusted her glasses, seeming to hesitate for a moment.

Su Shan’s heart gave a small stir.

She didn’t want to leave either?

Before she could process it, Yin Luo suddenly looked toward a short distance away; her brow relaxed and a faint, subtle smile appeared. Su Shan followed her gaze.

She saw Jiang Si jogging over, and instantly covered her forehead with her hand.

Of all times to be out jogging?

Typical of you, Jiang Si—cutting my pay in half and still coming here to make trouble at this hour. Enough already…

“How coincidental—isn’t this Keke’s brother?” Yin Luo said quietly. “I’ll go say hello. Su Shan, Miss, would you like to head back?”

Su Shan offered a small smile. “No matter. I’ll wait.”

Perfect timing! Jiang Si, I knew you’d be useful!

Seeing Yin Luo’s attention finally turn away from her, Su Shan let out a small sigh of relief.

There was finally a chance to pass the intel. Although the Disaster Control Bureau had suspicions about Jiang Si, Yin Luo and Yin Lian trusted him, so she wasn’t worried he’d be mistreated.

When the Disaster Control Bureau discussed how to investigate Jiang Si yesterday, those two sisters had defended him at length—one might even think they were secretly infatuated with him.

The rest was up to him.

…

Finally a chance to act alone.

Yin Luo felt a burst of relief. As she watched Jiang Si, she noticed he was searching the ground for something.

When she approached, he gave a small sigh as if disappointed.

She kept her hands behind her back and watched quietly for a while. Seeing that Jiang Si hadn’t noticed her behind him, she lightly tapped his shoulder. “Jiang Si.”

The boy was clearly startled, then turned to look at her once before easing up. “Yin Luo.”

“Not at school—what are you doing here?”

“It’s Sunday. I was out for a morning run.”

Yin Luo leaned forward, almost close enough that their faces nearly touched. “You look like you’re searching for something.”

Jiang Si’s expression remained unchanged. “Not really. Just curious why you suddenly came here to repair things, and seeing if anything valuable got left behind.”

Nodding, the older office-lady smiled and rose. “Don’t worry, nothing valuable was left behind. There was a battle here yesterday; this is the official aftermath work for handling the Disaster Beast.”

Jiang Si seemed a little surprised. “They fixed it up this quickly? Impressive.”

“Well, the Disaster Control Bureau got funding from BH City—the majority goes to sustaining the construction teams,” Yin Luo said cheerfully. “Dealing with Disaster Beasts is crucial, but maintaining the city’s order and infrastructure is equally important. If the city loses vitality before the beasts finish their damage, the Magical Girls’ work becomes pointless.”

The boy nodded. “Right—surviving alone isn’t enough.”

Hearing that, Yin Luo for a moment became absent-minded. After a long pause she pursed her lips and gave a somewhat complicated smile. “Exactly. Living isn’t the only thing. BH City is a major city with a decent economy. We must ensure both that the Disaster Beasts don’t threaten citizens and that Beihai’s economy isn’t affected.”

“But it seems your Disaster Control Bureau doesn’t have a lot of money. The regional bureau’s funding comes from the city government, right? Why don’t they give you more?”

Yin Luo immediately gave a wry smile. “Don’t tell me even you know that.”

Of course—Bingtang always complained in his ear about BH City’s continual funding cuts to the Disaster Control Bureau; it was impossible not to know.

“When the Disaster Control Bureau first arrived, funding was abundant.”

That was news Jiang Si hadn’t heard; three years ago he and Bingtang were new and busy fighting Disaster Beasts, not paying attention to the bureau’s formation.

“But the formation of the Magical Girl combat teams didn’t go smoothly. All the auxiliary departments were set up, but the combat team didn’t consolidate until the following year and only had three members, so most of the budget was wasted. With such poor funding results, the city government naturally didn’t want to continue spending.”

As Yin Luo spoke, a rare displeasure surfaced in her eyes. “It’s all because of the Azure Cloud Sect.”

That wasn’t even scapegoating. BH City had plenty of Magical Girls, but the Azure Cloud Sect absorbed them all. The Disaster Control Bureau couldn’t recruit because the Azure Cloud Sect moved too quickly.

When it came down to it, the bureau losing funding could reasonably be blamed on the Azure Cloud Sect.

Jiang Si listened as he continued searching, moving slowly. Yin Luo sauntered behind him, chatting. “We’ve tried hard, but without tangible results that’s that. However, in recent years the bureau’s Magical Girl idol program became globally popular, so we aren’t totally short of money. Magical Girls’ salaries are actually quite high—only without overtime pay…”

“You’ll see when next month’s salaries are paid. For you, that paycheck eases a lot of pressure—if it isn’t squandered.”

Because Jiang Si is Keke’s brother, Yin Luo didn’t hide things. These issues weren’t secret; she knew the kids’ family situation and offered comfort.

“The main issue is probably the low number of Magical Girls,” Jiang Si said bluntly. “If there were more, you couldn’t afford it.”

Yin Luo feigned annoyance and gave him a reproachful glance. “Don’t put it so harshly. If there were more Magical Girls, funding would increase too. It’s not that the Disaster Control Bureau doesn’t want to raise pay.”

“Really?” Jiang Si crouched down and rummaged through the soil where Dujuan had knocked him down yesterday. “I’ve heard people say the Disaster Control Bureau is bloated internally and many decisions are hard to implement.”

“Common problem for most large departments.”

Yin Luo took on a reflective expression. “I heard the Disaster Control Bureau started out as a high school club run by a single Magical Girl—four-person Magical Girl team. Over time it grew, more Magical Girls joined, and various companies and civic organizations contributed funds. That formed the embryo of the Disaster Control Bureau.”

Jiang Si was surprised. “So it wasn’t created by the government?”

“I heard the government had intended to create it, but various reasons halted the plan. The bureau grew popular and became what people wanted, and eventually the authorities gave it official recognition, making the bureau the only official Magical Girl organization.”

Adjusting her glasses, Yin Luo sighed. “When official personnel moved in to standardize operations, it slowly became this tangled, bloated system where everything got complicated.”

Seeing Jiang Si pause, she clapped her hands and stopped, then fixed him with a gaze that glittered.

Yesterday Yin Lian reported that Jiang Si possessed an ability that blocked Peony’s clairvoyant inspection. Naturally, Yin Luo found him suspicious.

Everyone assumed Jiang Si might be involved with the Witch Association.

After all, the Azure Cloud Sect doesn’t accept men—only Magical Girls.

Only Yin Luo knew Jiang Si was innocent and could not be connected to the Witch Association; and as far as the Azure Cloud Sect went, they never recruit men—Jiang Si couldn’t have joined them.

She glanced back at Su Shan; the girl was far away and paid no attention to them.

Because the Disaster Control Bureau had been investigating internally, Yin Luo had been clinging to Su Shan to prove her own innocence. With Su Shan present and aware of Yin Luo’s every move, it would demonstrate Yin Luo had no ties to outside organizations.

Su Shan wouldn’t be eavesdropping under those circumstances either.

To Yin Luo, Su Shan wasn’t disliked at all—the whole bureau couldn’t have found a better helper.

“You—are you looking for polluted magic? Or the Grief Seed?”

Only after confirming Su Shan hadn’t noticed them did Yin Luo ask, staring at Jiang Si.

Hearing that, Jiang Si hesitated noticeably.

Yin Luo smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry—I understand. You’re like me: when your little sister becomes a Magical Girl, it’s natural to be restless, not wanting to be left behind. Just because of a Miracle Seed, someone goes from top-tier to low-tier—strength, salary, even status in others’ eyes—all worse than your sister. It’s hard to bear. We understand, Jiang Si.”

He nodded but said nothing.

“You must already know your sister obtained a Miracle Seed, right? So for years you’ve trained hard. When you didn’t pass the cloud-layer test at the Disaster Control Bureau, although I thought you were innocent then, I couldn’t help but wonder—could it be that you, trying to catch up with your sister, went astray and used polluted magic to strengthen your body?”

If so, a six-meter jump and defeating Cripple could be perfectly explained.

Yin Luo, lost in her own deduction, paid no mind to Jiang Si’s reaction. “Of course you don’t have to admit it—I won’t pursue it. Let’s call it our secret.”

Then she thought a moment longer. “But you must be careful. Too much immersion in polluted magic harms the body and can transform one into a Disaster Beast; maybe you’ve already developed some mutation.”

Everything fit. Looking at the silent Jiang Si, Yin Luo gently ruffled his hair. “But don’t worry. If one day you truly can’t bear the harm of polluted magic, come find me. I’ll help you.”

Jiang Si looked at her, seemed deep in thought, and after a long while said, “Okay.”

Yin Luo waved a hand. “That’s settled then. If we talk any more and Yin Lian hears, she’ll probably get jealous. Lately she keeps asking me about you; she clearly cares. She’s a high schooler after all—hope it doesn’t affect her studies…”

After she finished, Yin Luo left.

Su Shan stood and clapped her hands. “Are you done?”

“Done. Thank you, Miss Su Shan, for waiting here so long.”

“Not a problem.” Su Shan smiled faintly. “It’s not a problem as long as you can prove you have no ties to the Witch Association or Azure Cloud Sect. You did well—talking this long with a suspect might have blown your cover.”

You gave me the chance to pass the intel—of course not a problem, you idiot.

All her careful calculations hadn’t expected Jiang Si would be on our side, deliberately appearing here to attract your attention.

This is the Azure Cloud Sect’s fiery cooperation!

Yin Luo smiled slightly. “Of course not. I’ve fully confirmed Jiang Si isn’t a member of any illegal organization.”

You fool—didn’t see it coming, did you? Jiang Si’s been steeped in polluted magic for a while; sooner or later he’ll join the Witch Association.

He not only helped me get a chance to investigate him alone and possibly develop a relationship, he also proved my innocence. Of course it’s not tiring, you idiot.

I’d love to see your face when you learn the truth, arrogant little brat!

The two girls, each basking in her own imagined victory, looked at each other with mysterious smiles.

“We’ll continue to help each other,” Yin Luo said.

“You too. Remember to cooperate more in the future, Miss Yin Luo.” Su Shan replied.