Chapter 144: Ongoing Raid Settlement

Only after the number of Magical Girls thinned did Ruo Yun finally surface from beneath the water.

Then Hyacinth also showed her head beside her. Although she had the instinct to shake her hair free — as a young lady, Hyacinth rarely encountered such a messy situation.

After falling into the sea, her whole body was soaked, even her hair felt clammy and unpleasant, but she knew that she and Ruo Yun were doing something they shouldn’t be seen doing.

So she held back the urge to shake her head and quietly waited for Ruo Yun’s command.

“No one’s here, we can go.”

Hyacinth let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, then rose and swam with Ruo Yun toward shore, not even daring to fly.

Sneaking around like this, so thrilling...

Hyacinth buried the lower half of her face in the seawater to hide her smile.

Being half-submerged in seawater felt odd but refreshingly novel, though it was a bit cold in the late hour.

She hadn’t expected that in the end it would be Shion who made the move in the Heart Image Remnant.

Watching Ruo Yun’s back, she wondered when would be a good time to tell Ruo Yun about Shion’s identity.

Although it would probably be entertaining to tell her now, it didn’t seem that urgent.

After all, it didn’t directly involve her, so there was no need to rush to expose it.

A little joy and anticipation keep building up, like a prize pool.

The bigger the misunderstanding, the more fun it would be when Ruo Yun finally learned Shion’s true identity.

Of course, Hyacinth didn’t want to hurt Ruo Yun. If things ever reached an unbearable point, she would try to protect the girl; if it became irreversible, she might just hide the truth from Ruo Yun for life.

Wouldn’t that be amusing?

Like a treasure chest that could never be opened, it would drive someone delightfully itchy with curiosity...

When the two of them reached the shore, with some distance still to climb out, Ruo Yun dispelled her transformation, and Hyacinth mimicked her and dispelled hers too.

“We’re going ashore, save some mana.” Ruo Yun said from where half her body was still in the water.

Hyacinth nodded. At this moment, all she could do was trust her.

Ruo Yun had chosen a secluded spot. Coming ashore brought them into a small grove, good for hiding their forms so no one would spot them at a glance.

Leaning against a tree at the water’s edge, Ruo Yun deftly dug a shallow pit, gathered some dry twigs, took out a flint gun and fired into the pit. The wood caught light, and she made a simple campfire.

Hyacinth watched with keen interest and then asked with some admiration, “Do you do this often?”

“Not really, only more since I joined the Saint Hall.”

While she spoke she roasted her clothes over the fire; Hyacinth copied her and began to dry her garments, then noticed Ruo Yun’s undergarments were quite plain, even patched.

To someone from an affluent household like Hyacinth, that was unusual. “Are you short on money?”

“Not really.”

“If you’re short, you should borrow from him.”

“I didn’t need to before. If it’s unnecessary, you wouldn’t borrow.”

Ruo Yun wasn’t very polite about it. She then poked the fire a little, making it burn brighter. Hyacinth tried the same but with less success.

The coastal grove wasn’t dense; as a shoreline protective forest it had little ecology. Wild animals were rare; there were some insects, but the insect repellent powder they’d sprinkled had driven most away.

Ruo Yun’s chosen spot was remote, several trees offering good cover, and the fire was in a pit — even a patrolling ranger would have a hard time spotting them. Besides, personnel near the Heart Image Remnant had already been evacuated, so there was little to worry about.

Ruo Yun’s field survival skills exceeded Hyacinth’s expectations, and her carefulness made her a comforting teammate...

After sitting a while, Ruo Yun started tallying their spoils.

A seven-facet prism that could reflect their skills, a crystal pistol whose bullets could track enemies, a bell that could control Mirror Beasts... these were items dropped by that Prince.

The rest were useful-looking things casually picked up from the Heart Image Remnant: a broken music box, an ancient-styled broken sword, an empty black card case, and a crystal orb that released a filthy Mirror Beast — though they’d immediately killed that beast when it emerged.

Both of their bags were packed full. Before entering the Heart Image Remnant they’d each brought a bag, then exploited the mechanism where Magical Girl transformations and non-transformation states didn’t affect appearance display, cancelling the visible bag and bringing them into the Remnant.

But these weren’t their biggest gains. After counting, Ruo Yun took out a Miracle Seed from her bosom.

It was a Miracle Seed from the Mirror Kingdom. Though called a Miracle Seed, its internal structure was different — the seed was as transparent as glass, and she could even sense a tiny space preserved inside.

Ruo Yun’s usually taut face broke into a smile. “So many B- and C-rank side items plus this mysterious seed — I wonder how many points we can exchange for. And we got intel on the Mirror Kingdom’s Prince. He can control Mirror Beasts and cooperates with the Witch Association. All that info should be worth a good number of points, right?”

“This main-god mission for the Heart Image Remnant raid was worth it after all.”

When they started talking about the Saint Hall main-god space, Ruo Yun showed a trace of the naive innocence one would expect from her age.

“The points won’t be low, right?” Hyacinth thought for a moment. “But what do you want to exchange for? Your skills aren’t bad already.”

“Skills are never too many. My mana perception has never been strong. The teacher in Azure Cloud Sect said I had no talent in that area, so I plan to exchange for some perception-type magic, and concealment magic to make movement easier...”

Ruo Yun rattled off her exchange goals, eyes bright with excitement, like a child awaiting new toys.

Hyacinth listened quietly, occasionally asking how she planned to use them.

A gust of sea breeze passed. Ruo Yun suddenly stood. Before Hyacinth could react, a white figure appeared beside Ruo Yun and laid a hand on her shoulder.

Hyacinth blinked and then rose to inspect the girl beside Ruo Yun.

It was the Azure Cloud Sect Magical Girl they’d seen before entering the Heart Image Remnant, someone connected to Ruo Yun.

The girl in white had her eyes closed, yet seemed to see everything, the opposite of Hyacinth, who had eyes but sometimes saw nothing.

“You’ve grown a lot.”

Her tone held a touch of pride rather than hostility. Ruo Yun remained silent, not nervous, and Hyacinth relaxed.

If there were real danger, Ruo Yun wouldn’t be so calm.

“Eating properly lately? You didn’t even change clothes. Your hair needs a trim, and what’s with your socks — one long, one short. Didn’t I tell you not to wear random socks?”

A string of questions followed. Ruo Yun listened and finally offered a single rebuttal, “These socks were like this to begin with.”

Hyacinth added, “Fashion.”

But she was inwardly curious how the closed-eyed girl could see the socks, given the dim light.

The two clearly had a close relationship that surprised Hyacinth.

The white-clad girl sat and simply asked, “You really aren’t going back?”

“No, not going back.”

“That’s fine.”

The girl with closed eyes took out a bag of potato chips from her pocket and handed them to Ruo Yun. “Chianjing bought these earlier. You like them. She bought an extra pack, wouldn’t return it, and no one else was eating them, so I thought I’d give them to you if I saw you.”

Ruo Yun, who had meant to refuse, accepted when the teacher stuffed them into her hands. “Thanks, teacher.”

She then offered a smaller box of fries to Hyacinth. “You eat some too. Ruo Yun, thank you for taking care of her.”

“No, no.” Hyacinth accepted the fries. “It’s Ruo Yun who’s been taking care of me.”

“Please keep looking after her.”

“I’ll try.”

There was no more idle chatter. While they ate, the blind girl took out two packets of ketchup and said they tasted better with a dip.

Hyacinth was a bit amused — someone actually carried ketchup on them.

Interesting. She might carry some condiments herself in future, though she preferred something spicier than ketchup...

The girl roasted something over the fire and said in a calm tone, “There’s something I hope you can help with, Ruo Yun.”

For Ruo Yun, who’d long been treated as a burden, hearing her teacher ask for help made her genuinely pleased and a little flattered. She asked softly, “What’s the matter?”

“My teacher in Azure Cloud Sect, the Sect Master — your ancestral teacher’s boyfriend has gone missing.”

Hyacinth froze. “Boyfriend?”

The white-clad woman nodded. “His name is Jiang Si.”

Hyacinth almost spat out her fries.

She covered her mouth and coughed violently, utterly stunned. The blind woman was a little surprised but said nothing more and continued, “If you see a Saint Hall Envoy — the person who leads people into the Saint Hall — ask him. He should know.”

Obvious, since it was the same person; of course he would know.

Hyacinth finally stopped coughing, not daring to look up, keeping her head down and biting her lip hard.

She forced herself to suppress her excitement and laughter.

Hold it in...

Hold it in... But... this is so funny, how could she hold it...

Heh... oh no, this is bad, her grin wouldn’t go away.

Stay strong, otherwise her aloof eleven-year image built over years might collapse...

Did Shion really use her Magical Girl identity to confirm a romantic relationship with Jiang Si?

Jiang... Shion, you rascal, you reached this level?

Something she could never have expected.

If she exposed this, Jiang Si and Shion would be terribly embarrassed.

So, in keeping quiet, was she protecting Shion and Jiang Si?

Joining the Saint Hall was truly wonderful...

“If I see him, I’ll definitely ask, Teacher Bai Mei.”

What a pity — if Bai Mei were to recount the whole thing to Ruo Yun here, it would be hilarious.

And the timing was perfect: not too hard for Ruo Yun to accept, and Hyacinth could watch the expression of joy on Ruo Yun’s face.

It might not be so easy later.

“There’s one more thing.” Bai Mei tossed a dry twig into the fire. “Qianjing and Shui Ling want to see you.”

No sooner had she spoken than two beams of light descended from the sky — Qianjing and Shui Ling.

Shui Ling was the first to call out, “Today, we’re taking you back for sure, Ruo Yun!”

Qianjing shouted, “Teacher!”

Bai Mei shook her head. “I won’t intervene in this. Go, Ruo Yun, prove your choice to them.”

Ruo Yun sighed and got up to approach the two friends she’d lived with for a long time.

Bai Mei, eyes still closed, watched her rebellious disciple’s back and murmured, “Ruo Yun may be a bit rebellious, but she’s truly outstanding, don’t you think?”

Hyacinth, hiding a smile behind her fries, nodded. “Far more outstanding than me.”

“Hardworking and ambitious. Even though she’s been through painful things, she never stood still. She keeps thinking and running forward.” Bai Mei said softly. “So I really like her. She’s important to me.”

She then turned and smiled faintly. “If anyone hurts Ruo Yun, I won’t let it go. So, Miss Hyacinth, you must be careful too.”

Hyacinth nodded. “But I think the one who might hurt Ruo Yun could be your teacher.”

“That’s another matter. Not your worry.”

The flames in the pit suddenly flared, tongues of fire licking Hyacinth’s cheek.

She shrugged and looked vacantly toward Ruo Yun.

The transformed girl now seemed a bit downcast:

“Don’t hold back, Qianjing, Shui Ling, you both go at once.”

Shui Ling gave her a cold look. “You don’t actually think things are the same as before, do you? I’ve been promoted to mid-Seedling, six revolutions. Qianjing’s already reached late-Seedling.”

A triumphant battle tune soared. Qianjing suddenly drew out her magic wand!

The crystal wand emitted sword energy comparable to Bai Mei’s!

But Ruo Yun simply pulled out a pistol.

Her wand-modified pistol accurately shot and dispersed the sword energy.

“Sorry.” Ruo Yun flicked out the magazine. The rectangular magazine was attached to the stock, but it contained no bullets.

As Qianjing and Shui Ling combined to hold a crystal sword and strike out a larger sword energy, Ruo Yun slid a card into the pistol’s magazine, reinserted it, and chambered a round.

The pistol emitted the sound of reading the card:

【Stellar Mark Descends: Buddha’s Fury Lotus · Two Colors】

After modifying the South China wand into her pistol, she’d gained a new mode of use.

“Looks like you two won’t be going back.”

She aimed at the pair and pulled the trigger.

A spectacular lotus of fire burst from the gun’s muzzle in an instant!

“I’m already an early Blooming Magical Girl.”

The enormous blaze reddened half the sky!

......

Elsewhere, among a heap of rocky debris, Jialan rummaged through the trash while glancing at the dazzling firelight in the distance.

“Sigh, Magical Girls these days are getting more exaggerated. Back when we were young, everyone was simpler and cuter. A little mana cannon here and there was enough. Now they act like they want to fuse their mana into nuclear weapons...”

She lamented the changes while pinching her nose and poking through the garbage with a stick. “Xilan, Xilan, where are you?”

“A Vice President stooping to search for her subordinate in a place like this?” The Prince in the seawater beside her shook his head. “You’ve truly fallen, Jialan.”

“Couldn’t help it. Ordinary members can’t bypass the blockade here, and the local members in Anyang were all taken overnight for some reason.”

“No other witches want to come, some would rather Xilan die.” Jialan sounded helpless. “Simo Tu got too arrogant before, so I have to come find people personally. By habit, she should be merged into the trash heap to avoid notice.”

“No way. A normal person couldn’t stand such filth and stink...”

The Prince watched as Jialan pulled Xilan, gradually separating from the trash, out of the heap and fell silent.

Xilan was quite a character.

Jialan hoisted Xilan, turned to the Prince and said, “If you see Simo Tu, please let me know.”

“Of course.”

“But your mission hasn’t gone smoothly this time, Prince-sama. It seems you got nothing.” Jialan glanced at the sea surface where the Heart Image Remnant had been. “The Mirror Kingdom’s items were all recovered by the Disaster Control Bureau, and Azure Cloud Sect people were here too. This time it’s a total loss.”

“How could that be?”

Prince-sama sneered and tapped his temple. “Just a glance was enough. I’ve completely memorized that key. Once we recast the key, we won’t have to rely on those stray Alices again. We can step onto this land anew. This time, we absolutely will not fail!”

“Congratulations.”

“You’ve helped us so much. When the Mirror Kingdom occupies South China, we’ll grant you the title Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!”

“That would truly be my honor, Jialan.”

As they spoke, Jialan’s face suddenly soured.

She needed to inform the Disaster Control Bureau as soon as possible...

“Anyway, first feel the space’s weak point. When you hear the ‘ding’ you’ll see the space like building blocks, then *whoosh* it disassembles, then *duang* it reassembles like blocks, and you can alter and control the space...”

Duang — Shion’s hand broke the void again, and when the violent spatial turbulence threatened to pour from the small crack, a delicate little hand gently closed it and smoothed the fracture.

Mujin immediately shook her head. “No, no, you just shattered it again.”

Shion had shattered many spaces before, but that was how the Mirror Kingdom used them: after changes and mana leaked in, they violently destroyed them.

She didn’t have much sensory familiarity with space — she usually explored entrances or sensed fluctuations after spaces were affected, then ripped them open.

Sensing weak points in space — mana alone couldn’t sense space in the air; it required the space itself to change so mana could seep in. That was the limitation of magical perception compared with divine perception.

But more frustrating was that the old man teaching them couldn’t instruct at all...

All that “ding,” “this is how I feel,” and “duang” talk sounded like someone from a flamboyant sect.

If this were cultivation training, it would be step-by-step: refine skill, sense principles, then apply them. Magical Girl methods were too casual.

“This is a problem. Back when I first mastered the Heart Image Domain, I slowly grasped spatial power. Once you reach Full Bloom, using spatial power feels as natural as drinking water. I never thought someone might not even feel the space at all...”

On the boundless grassland, the two sat in silence.

The spatial turbulence outside showed no sign of stopping, and Mujin’s many proposed methods were stuck at the first step.

Accustomed to controlling space, she had forgotten it was very difficult for others to perceive so-called spatial weak points.

Stable space was like a perfect sphere with no start or end, no snap-in blocks...

“I once met a Full Bloom Magical Girl who sealed a Heart Image Remnant into someone else.”

Shion suddenly remembered that Witch Association member in Jiangming City. She couldn’t recall the name, but the million-year soul ring that exploded was unforgettable.

“If we could seal part of your Heart Image Remnant into my body, it might let me use spatial abilities.”

For Shion, such a convenient power was impossible to pass up.

Azure Cloud Sect lacked the right space-type abilities; this would perfectly fill her shortcoming.

“But my Heart Image Remnant is gone...”

“Then create a small Heart Image Domain,” Shion looked at her curiously. “Your consciousness remains. The domain doesn’t need the original body, right? If it’s your Heart Image, you can reshape one.”

“How did you guess that...”

“Zifu Cavern works like this.”

“Zifu...” Though Mujin didn’t fully understand, she didn’t ask more.

She bowed her head and began speaking with the original body’s consciousness.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance...”

“Don’t be shy. You must seize this opportunity...”

“You told me she’s always surrounded by girls. If you miss this, when you go back there might not be another chance...”

“Trust me. I’ve helped several Magical Girls win the boys they liked... nearly always successful.”

“Ting, you’ll see. Boys are all the same; we’ve seen it so much. The Heart Image Domain needs wishes to be fulfilled...”

Chattering on and on, Shion attempted again to use mana to sense the spatial weak points.

But aside from a few cracks, a perfect space left no trace.

After a long while, Mujin suddenly laughed and drew closer. “So, if you want spatial power, you must let me reshape a Heart Image Domain and compress it into your body... right?”

“Mm.”

“A Heart Image Domain is something you obtain when our wish is fulfilled. So you must help me achieve my wish, then I can reshape a domain. Right?”

“What’s your wish?”

Mujin coughed. “My wish... one is to see my hometown Beihai again. After leaving Beihai, I never returned, so I want to see it.”

“Oh, that will have to wait until we get out.”

“No problem. From An Shiyu’s memories I’ve already seen Beihai.” Mujin smiled with rare wistfulness. “My hometown is really beautiful, bigger and more prosperous. It’s a shame no one remembers I’m from Beihai.”

“Back then Beihai had a long stretch with no Disaster Beast births, so the Magical Girls’ news there got wiped out.”

“That’s probably good. If people forget, and everyone can live well, that’s best.” Mujin immediately shrugged off melancholy and looked happy. “So the first wish is basically done.”

“Second wish?”

“Of course.” Mujin spoke confidently. “People can’t have only one wish, right?”

“Oh, true.”

“My second wish is...,” Mujin suddenly blushed. “I died so early and never dated, so I’m curious what a date with a boy feels like.”

“After we leave, my consciousness may vanish completely — after all, the Heart Image Remnant is gone. So, in the last moments while I still have consciousness, I want to experience dating a boy. Just pretend. Be my boyfriend for once, okay?”

Mujin looked at her with teary, earnest, expectant eyes. “Could you fulfill that? Just once?”

Shion was silent for a long while, then dispelled her transformation.

Jiang Si took a deep breath, moved his body, and for the first time in a while allowed himself a smile.

“You've come to the right person.”

Before Mujin could rejoice, Jiang Si began moving as if warming up.

“I have experience in this area. Let me teach you.”

Jiang Si waved his fist. “A real date.”