Chapter 243: Cut the Grass but Not the Roots

“You didn’t say this move would work?”

“Well who knew there’d be an option to cooperate directly with us…”

“Region!”

[Reminder: Prince-sama claimed wanting to be the rescued princess was her own idea...]

“You’re the region too, shut up!”

The Prince, who had just crawled out of the cage, used her anger to silence the surrounding people, then smoothed out her slightly messy hair—her hair had been neater than Keke’s while she was locked in the cage. It only got a little mussed when she stood up.

Her face remained cold and utterly unfazed. She turned and sat on the table, lifting her snowy chin loftily, crossing her legs.

The black stockings draped over her legs had been snagged by wire when she came out of the cage, tearing in places and exposing pale skin, but they still couldn’t hide her nobility and grace. She hooked a finger into a rip on the black fabric, which dug into her flesh slightly, the matte black tracing perfect lines along her legs. The Prince snorted coldly, her tone confident and arrogant:

“You saw through it from the start?”

“Of course.”

Jiang Si snorted, “Pathetic acting. The moment I bow my head and hand over the Miracle Seed, you’d declare me a failure in the assessment, say I’m not a reliable partner, right? That kind of test is way too low-level.”

The driver was stunned, “You saw through what the hell!”

Panicking.

Some people don’t react when steamrolled in strength, but when they’re outsmarted, they show frantic desperation.

Most obvious with magic tricks—some competitive spectators, upon realizing they can’t expose the magician’s techniques, become furious and desperate to reveal the secret.

Jiang Si understood that very well; he’d been like that as a kid.

But he had grown up, whereas these few clearly had not.

After being intellectually outmatched, they immediately tried to scramble to regain face.

As the victor, Jiang Si naturally stayed calm.

These fools had no idea how convoluted web novel trials could be, how many twists and loopholes they hide; one slip and you fall right in. Some trials are like the Dao Master playing chess, great powers setting hooks!

And every web novel protagonist can pinpoint those flaws precisely.

Jiang Si was no exception.

Giving the Miracle Seed to rescue the Prince sounded simple, but with a little thought it was obvious:

It couldn’t be that easy!

He had already considered the second layer. Rescuing the Prince would gain trust, but if he gave up the Miracle Seed, what use was an alliance?

Besides, his relationship with the Prince was superficial—the marriage contract meant little. Nobody becomes genuinely bonded into marriage just by signing a paper.

Trust wasn’t the main issue.

What needed to be shown was his absolute pursuit of, and steadfast belief in, reaching Full Bloom!

Only by demonstrating that could the Prince be certain their interests aligned, only then would she trust him.

A truly reliable alliance is maintained by shared interests, and if he could show unwavering pursuit of those interests, the Prince wouldn’t ditch him.

Clear pass!

Such a convoluted line of thought would be hard to imagine without having read tons of web novels.

Now watching the others fume, he smiled faintly.

A bunch of short-sighted lower cultivation practitioners.

Still, he did need the Prince to help him find a flawless Full Bloom path.

He wasn’t going to utterly humiliate her. Compared to that Disaster Control Bureau’s Hongmian, Jiang Si considered himself more socially adept. At a moment like this, giving the other side a graceful exit would make later negotiations easier.

“No idea whose idea it was. Stupid, yes, but the Prince performed decently.”

The Prince said with a hollow smile, “It was my idea.”

"....."

Why would she sabotage herself like that?

Not a shred of social awareness.

Jiang Si felt at a loss communicating with someone who couldn’t speak properly, but he maturely added, “Good thing it’s not beyond saving.”

“Hmph.”

The Prince tilted her head slightly, dropping the matter and only staring at his neck and lips for a while.

“Happy with Shion, aren’t you?”

“So-so.”

The driver covered his face.

Brother, you’re totally wrong, brother!

If you’re two-timing, at least do it professionally. In front of Shion, act like a devoted boyfriend so you won’t get killed; in front of the Prince, act like a devoted fiancé and flatter your bride.

A few sweet words? Say a few and you’d have her.

This Prince even wants to engineer a situation for you to be her hero...

If you’re going to be a scumbag, maintain some professional ethics! Don’t be so half-hearted!

The Prince’s expression twisted slightly but she said nothing, just nodded dismissively, “Then go live your life with your Shion.”

Jiang Si thought for a moment, “Can’t help it.”

Not only the driver—several other Old World members who hadn’t cared about this pair were barely containing themselves.

“Christ, can you not speak like that? Does it kill you to say something nice?”

“Prince, have you lived too comfortably? You’re cultivating a masochistic hobby?”

“Maybe she just has that kink…”

Before the others finished, the Prince waved them out, flinging them outside.

After rearranging her posture, the Prince stubbornly maintained her outward arrogance, “I was only joking earlier.”

“Clearly.”

“...How did I not see that?”

“Maybe you made yourself laugh first.”

The Prince forced a regal smile, lips twitching, “Fine, fine, fine, fine...”

“Stuttering?”

“I’m fine. I just want to ask, the Miracle Seed? Can you give it to me now?”

Jiang Si didn’t hesitate and pulled out the Miracle Seed that Qingying had given him.

It was Iris’s Full Bloom Miracle Seed, sealed with an image of a blooming flower that had not yet broken through the shell.

Though the seed was cyan, the flower contained a purple radiance.

There was no doubt it bore Shion’s magic.

And that flower was the key to Full Bloom.

Just as the Prince reached to take it, Jiang Si retracted it abruptly.

The Prince’s crimson pupils narrowed, “What do you mean? Having second thoughts? You’re siding with Azure Cloud Sect after all, aren’t you? Two-faced types are always like this…”

“No, I’m wondering—without a Mental Landscape, can you truly achieve flawless Full Bloom?”

Jiang Si’s tone turned serious, “I’m a bit worried you’ll fail.”

After acquiring a Mental Landscape himself, he knew how useful it was; the Mental Landscape could even lock one’s mana.

Without a Mental Landscape, the Full Bloom you could operate at best would be like Jade Fox’s, right?

The difference between a Magical Girl with a Mental Landscape and one without was like empty-handed versus armed across a great wall.

“Don’t worry.”

For some reason, the Prince’s tone brightened, “We’ve already prepared for that. I’ll acquire a Mental Landscape.”

“From where?”

“From other Magical Girls, where else?” the Prince said matter-of-factly, “No need for you to fuss over it. My Mirror Kingdom’s technology is omnipotent!”

[Warning: Likely but not guaranteed...]

She muted the system’s overreaching nonsense, took the Miracle Seed Jiang Si tossed, and finally—rarely—showed a smile,

then added:

“Oh, there’s a child who wants to join the New Witch Association, even wants to be one of your confidants.”

“Who?”

The Prince clapped, folding mirror space to reveal a small room. Inside, a little girl sat quietly at a table, motionless.

“White Fox.”

At the Prince’s call, the girl finally turned her head. Her brows and skin were pale, and one of her pupils was also white.

Jiang Si felt her face was vaguely familiar but couldn’t place where he’d seen it. With that single white pupil, she had an almost transparent, otherworldly pallor.

Her footsteps made almost no sound; as she approached, her expression remained unchanged—like a robot.

“This child wants to join the New Witch Association. White Fox, this is Mr. Simo Tu.”

White Fox finally shifted her gaze to Simo Tu and bowed politely.

“Hello, Mr. Simo Tu.”

Jiang Si only asked, “What dream do you have? People who join the New Witch Association should have a dream.”

“Yes, sir.”

The girl spoke in an ethereal, empty tone, “My dream is to kill your girlfriend Shion and destroy the Azure Cloud Sect, sir.”

Jiang Si turned his head, “Why?”

“For revenge.”

The pale, translucent girl said, “Sir, I’m from the Black Mountain Realm.”

“Jade Fox is my foster mother.”

.......

Back in the dorm, Bingtang couldn’t help but sigh.

On the other side, Four Leaf had poured a cup of tea and ran it over to her, “Lady Bingtang, have some tea.”

“If no one from Azure Cloud Sect is around, call me sister.”

Four Leaf beamed, “Yes, sister!”

Bingtang happily patted Four Leaf’s head.

Because Azure Cloud Sect needed to match Jiang Si’s preferences, everyday forms of address still kept age and rank distinctions.

But if no one else was around, Bingtang liked being called sister.

“Lady” sounded so old.

She wasn’t the kind of ancient magic monster in web novels who’d lived for hundreds of years.

Looking around after the Mental Landscape trial ended, everyone who should leave had already left.

Azure Cloud Sect still had much to handle—whether dealing with Old World matters or Disaster Beasts, it was better for true-transmission disciples to be on hand.

For Bingtang, she and those Old World dregs and Disaster Beasts were different.

Azure Cloud Sect couldn’t accept casualties.

When the sect was still limited to Beihai, fine. But now that they were expanding on a large scale, maintaining zero casualties was extremely difficult; countless details had to be watched.

They didn’t want accidents, and they didn’t want the Sect Master to play babysitter. The sect needed to function well without relying solely on the Sect Master, proving its own value.

Still, she hadn’t expected the Sect Master to spend so much money so quickly.

She’d have to scrape some funds from home as a backup.

Even with all that money, when two of them went out, Jiang Si would habitually pick up any coins that fell to the ground.

“Why bother picking up that tiny amount…”

“Even with lots of money, you pick up coins from the ground. I once read a web novel about someone who kept picking up coins, penny by penny, and ended up a millionaire!”

“Even in fiction that’s ridiculous.”

“Not ridiculous. He kept picking until his uncle left him a huge inheritance.”

What kind of web novel was that... Bingtang thought and figured it wasn’t cultivation fiction. Jiang Si’s preferred cultivation web novels didn’t have such plots. Maybe it was an urban novel—though Jiang Si usually didn’t read those.

Maybe he told Bai Mei about it.

For days Bingtang had wanted to check Bai Mei’s two hundred alt accounts and browse her works to find that novel and see what it was. If Jiang Si remembered it, it must have something noteworthy. She’d better look it up so she could follow the conversation next time.

“The senior apprentice sister sent news!”

Six Leaf ran in, almost tripping over herself.

Four Leaf hurried to steady her sister, scolding her for running.

Six Leaf just grinned and handed an envelope, with a small sword hanging from it, to Bingtang.

Even Bingtang was stunned, “Isn’t Bai Mei still in Jiang Ming?”

“Has senior’s sword energy really evolved to that level?”

Bingtang felt a chill. Though she had obtained a Mental Landscape, Bai Mei wouldn’t gain one quickly without breaking to the next realm.

But such precision and duration of sword energy…

She might not even have a forty percent chance.

As the Great Elder of the sect and Vice-Sect Master, Bingtang didn’t want too large a gap between her and Bai Mei.

“It was mailed,” Six Leaf immediately explained. “The Jiang Ming Disaster Control Bureau’s Magical Girl happened to be coming to this event, so she brought it over.”

Bingtang relaxed and couldn’t help smiling.

Her Dao Heart really needed work.

“What does the envelope say?”

“It says she plans to leave Jiang Ming…”

In the past she hadn’t been so competitive; even if the seven true-transmissions surpassed her, Bingtang would mostly feel congratulatory.

But after gaining a Mental Landscape, she did grow a little ambitious.

She wanted to see if she could beat Bai Mei, the chief true-transmission.

Now she’d taken on the challenger stance, and she laughed at the thought.

If the Sect Master found out, she’d be criticized for a weak Dao Heart.

But whatever—Bai Mei was truly powerful.

Although the seven true-transmissions didn’t openly say it out of courtesy, and Bai Mei herself often claimed they were on par, Bingtang knew the gap existed.

After getting the Mental Landscape, Bingtang’s spirit rose somewhat—the Dao-seeking Jiang Si had spoken of.

She wanted a duel with Bai Mei.

But before that,

Bingtang glanced at the message Twin had sent.

Twin had been hard to reach recently—rumor said she was being monitored by the Old World.

Bingtang never liked to pressure Twin; get whatever intel she could bring back. Pressuring her too much would put Twin in danger. After all, she was undercover in a perilous place with little support—sending supplies and money over was hard—so Bingtang was always very tolerant.

Still, Twin managed to bring crucial intelligence every time.

Reading the content, Bingtang pursed her lips, smiled, and stood.

“Finding the Magic Kingdom is still a ways off; no rush for now.”

She looked at Four Leaf’s hand and said, “Let’s pay a visit to another big figure.”

Six Leaf asked curiously, “Who?”

“The Sect Master’s fiancée.”

The two girls fell silent for a moment, and Bingtang smiled mischievously: