Returning to the Witch Academy, the last rays of the setting sun dyed the academy’s spires a golden-red, but Tunzuo’s mood at this moment was even gloomier than the sky about to sink into eternal night.
Tunzuo was currently standing in Shirley’s teacher’s office, and before her was Shirley, whose face was so dark it seemed like water could be wrung from it.
“Student Tunzuo, I think we need to have a good talk.”
Shirley sat behind her desk, hands clasped under her chin.
Her usually gentle ice-blue eyes were now staring seriously through her gold-rimmed glasses at the student wrapped in bandages standing before her.
Tunzuo hung her head, putting on the appearance of a primary school student seriously accepting criticism.
However, her deep green eyes held little remorse; instead, they were filled more with a desire to end this lecture quickly so she could go back to sleep as soon as possible.
“Regarding what happened today at the Dueling Arena, both you and Olivia went a bit too far.”
Shirley’s voice wasn’t loud, but each word felt like a small hammer tapping on Tunzuo’s heart.
“I understand that you, as a Lost Witch, aren’t very familiar with some of the rules and common sense of witch society, but as your mentor, I must remind you that your spar with Olivia was just a teaching session, not a life-and-death battle against a foreign race in a war! There are no military merit points to be earned here!”
Shirley stood up, walking from behind the desk to stand in front of Tunzuo.
She sighed softly, her tone shifting from stern to helpless.
“Look at you now. Several broken ribs, multiple soft tissue contusions all over your body. If it weren’t for the special resilience of your Ghost Witch constitution, you wouldn’t be standing here receiving my criticism; you’d be lying in intensive care, or perhaps even taking a one-day trip to the Underworld!”
Faced with Shirley’s criticism, Tunzuo remained silent, just staring blankly at the pattern on the carpet, drool unconsciously trickling from the corner of her mouth—a symbol of her zoning out.
It couldn’t be helped.
Tunzuo was too tired.
The feeling of mana depletion inside her was like a huge black hole, devouring her remaining energy.
Mentor Shirley’s words entered Tunzuo’s ears and turned into meaningless buzzing, like bees.
Phrases like “safety first” and “know when to stop” went in one ear and out the other.
Her mind had already drifted far, far away.
“Sigh, fine. It seems you and Olivia are both problem students.”
Seeing Tunzuo’s dazed look, drooling, and utterly checked-out appearance, Shirley’s prepared speech and all the grand principles she intended to impart felt like punching cotton—there was no impact at all.
Seeing this, Shirley could only helplessly press a hand to her forehead and wave at Tunzuo.
“Go back and rest properly. Don’t run around this weekend. Healing your injuries is your top priority.”
“Thank you, Mentor Shirley! Long live the mentor!”
Shirley’s words were a pardon to Tunzuo.
Despite the pain all over her body, Tunzuo forced herself to bow to Shirley, then immediately turned to make her escape.
She waddled out of Shirley’s office like a penguin, shifting her body step by step.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was dismissal time at the Witch Academy.
Since tomorrow was the weekend, a large crowd of witch parents and guardians had gathered at the academy gate.
They rode all sorts of broomsticks or drove various unique alchemical vehicles to pick up their little witches for a family reunion.
At the dormitory entrance, Tunzuo waved goodbye to Sally and Huli.
“Tutu-jie, have a good weekend! Take good care of your injuries!”
Sally said, her backpack on, her black cat tail waving reluctantly at Tunzuo.
“See you Monday… Tutu-jie.”
Huli, holding a teddy bear plushie, whispered to Tunzuo.
“Mm, see you Monday, Little Black, Little White.”
Tunzuo forced a smile through the pain, watching the two little ones walk out of the academy gate and get picked up by their respective guardians.
Only then did she start walking towards the main gate herself.
However, halfway there, Tunzuo had to stop helplessly.
Even without turning around, her keen perception as a Ghost Witch told her that a witch had been following her the whole time, like a dutiful bodyguard, or perhaps, a protective mother bird.
Tunzuo turned her head to look at Shirley, who had been following her all this way, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.
“Mentor Shirley, there’s no need to escort me like this. I’m not directionally challenged. I’m not going to get lost on this short walk from the dorm to the gate.”
But Shirley just adjusted her glasses and replied with an air of righteousness.
“You’re injured like this, even walking unsteadily. As your mentor, I have a duty to explain the situation to your guardian. This is a responsibility the Witch Academy and its mentors must bear.”
Tunzuo looked down at her body wrapped in bandages like a rice dumpling, and her wobbly gait that made it seem like she might fall apart at any moment.
She grimaced, thinking Shirley’s words did have some merit.
Helplessly, Tunzuo and Shirley walked together to the academy gate.
In the dense crowd of people picking up little witches in front of the main gate, Tunzuo tried to spot An Lin’s signature sea-blue hair.
But before she could look for long, a sapphire-blue figure shot out from the crowd like a fired bullet.
“Tunzuo, my little sister—!”
With a heart-wrenching cry, An Lin leaped forward, completely disregarding her image, and wrapped her arms and legs around Tunzuo like a koala.
“My dear little sister! How did you get hurt like this! Wuwuwu, how could that golden dragon be so brutal! Is she jealous of your beauty? Or did she bully you? Young witches these days have no sense of restraint!”
An Lin muttered incomprehensible things like “cherish young witches” and “be gentle with the fairer sex.”
The bear-like strength of her hug almost re-broke Tunzuo’s recently set ribs.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch… An Lin-jie… let go… I can’t breathe…”
Tunzuo gasped in pain, her face instantly turning pale.
She felt all her bones groaning under the murderous affection of An Lin’s embrace.
Struggling, Tunzuo managed to free a hand and patted An Lin’s back, signaling her to let go and spare her life.
Realizing she’d gotten too excited, An Lin quickly released Tunzuo, took two steps back, and gave an embarrassed smile under Tunzuo’s resentful gaze, awkwardly scratching her head.
“Ahem, I just got too excited, didn’t I? Seeing my own little sister beaten up so badly, the pain is on your body but the wound is in my heart.”
With that, An Lin turned to complain to Shirley, who was standing beside Tunzuo.
She put her hands on her hips, looking ready to demand answers.
“Mentor Shirley! Is this the teaching quality of your academy? Look at what’s happened to my dear little sister! Is this the kind of injury a young witch should sustain during a teaching session?! This is outright murder! School violence!”
Faced with An Lin’s accusation, Shirley had nothing to say.
After all, the fact that Tunzuo was injured to this extent did involve responsibility on her part and the academy’s.
Shirley bowed deeply to An Lin, her attitude of apology very sincere.
“I am deeply sorry, Ms. An Lin. This was indeed a mistake on my part and the academy’s. We failed to intervene in time, resulting in such serious injuries for Student Tunzuo. We will strengthen supervision in the future and guarantee that nothing like this will happen again.”
“You can’t blame Mentor Shirley. I got carried away fighting that perverted golden dragon myself, that’s why I’m so hurt. It has nothing to do with Mentor Shirley.”
Tunzuo spoke up in Shirley’s defense.
Although she was very unhappy with Olivia, she recognized the kindness Shirley had shown her.
Seeing Shirley’s sincere apology and with Tunzuo persuading her on the side, An Lin couldn’t say much more.
She just grumbled a few complaints before reluctantly accepting Shirley’s apology, giving her a way to save face.
“Alright, alright. Since my little sister Tunzuo says so, I won’t pursue it further. Let’s go, Tunzuo. I’ll make soup for you tonight to help you recover!”
An Lin waved her hand grandly, summoned her broomstick, loaded Tunzuo onto it, bid farewell to Shirley, and then transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the direction of Glowing Crystal Coral Island.
The broom flew through the air, the cool sea breeze brushing against Tunzuo’s cheeks, blowing her bangs aside.
Sitting behind An Lin, Tunzuo asked curiously.
“An Lin-jie, how did you know about my fight with Olivia? I don’t remember sending you a message about it?”
In response to Tunzuo’s confusion, An Lin sighed and explained while piloting the broom.
“How did I know? From the Witch Net, of course! The video of your duel with Olivia has already spread all over the Witch Net. Now all the witches in Dunayala are discussing it. Everyone’s wildly guessing the true identity of you, the mysterious witch who fought Olivia to a draw.”
“Barring any surprises, you’re going to be a big star, my dear little sister~”
Faced with An Lin’s teasing, Tunzuo was suddenly alarmed.
She hurriedly pulled out her grimoire from her embrace, her fingers swiftly swiping the screen to open the trending section of the Witch Net.
Sure enough, just as An Lin said, an overwhelming number of videos about her duel with Olivia occupied the entire homepage of her grimoire.
[Shocking! The Strongest Genius Meets Her Waterloo! Who is this Mysterious Black-Haired Witch?]
[High Energy! This is a Real Witch Duel! It’s Lit!]
Tunzuo frowned, looking at those exaggerated titles.
She felt a throbbing at her temples.
This feeling of being in the spotlight made her very uncomfortable.
She just wanted to quietly be a lazy, good-for-nothing salted fish, not some internet celebrity.
However, although the massive exposure brought Tunzuo no small amount of trouble, when she opened the video comment section and saw the witches on the Witch Net leaving comments praising her skills, Tunzuo couldn’t help but feel smug, proudly raising the nonexistent little tail behind her back.
[This girl is too cool! That sword strike was godly!]
[Can’t see her face clearly, but just from her aura, she’s definitely an ice-cold goddess!]
[This footwork, this awareness, so much better than those Grand Witches who just mindlessly blast each other!]
“Hehehe, oh, I’m not that amazing~”
Looking at these comments praising her, Tunzuo couldn’t help but giggle foolishly, feeling pleased.
But this was witch society after all.
As Tunzuo scrolled through the comments, her expression gradually grew worse.
Her previously upturned lips stiffened, finally twisting into a disgusted expression as if she’d swallowed a fly.
The reason for Tunzuo’s discomfort was that the comment thread had somehow gotten derailed.
The witches on the Witch Net had shifted from discussing Tunzuo’s strength to discussing the particularly perky and round buttocks she displayed in the video.
It started when an eagle-eyed witch, while screenshotting the video, noticed that when Tunzuo dodged Olivia’s attacks, the curve of her buttocks, accentuated by the gothic dress due to the large movements, appeared exceptionally alluring.
Thus, the tone of the comments abruptly changed.
[To be fair, the fighting is fierce, but the figure is also seriously fierce.]
[Don’t even mention it, I noticed it too. The way it jiggles with the movement is just too… captivating.]
[Seeing this scene, inspiration gushes forth, so I take up my pen… (omitting one thousand words here)]
[Sister above, not bad with the words. Write another five gold coins’ worth, us sisters love to read it!]
[Am I the only one who wants to know how to train for a figure like that? I also want to develop a physique that can tank hits, fight, and also… get charged at.]
Looking at those vulgar, shameless, yellow-waste-filled comments, Tunzuo was overcome with shame and indignation.
Her entire face instantly turned bright red, steam practically rising from her head and ascending to the heavens.
Snap!
Tunzuo slammed her grimoire shut with a loud noise, startling An Lin, who was piloting the broom in front, causing her hand to jerk and almost lose balance.
“This witch society is doomed sooner or later! Hopeless! Just destroy it already! Quickly!”
Tunzuo gnashed her teeth, angrily denouncing the witches’ impropriety.
Then she stuffed the grimoire back into her embrace, desperately trying to forget the comments she had just seen.
“My dear little sister, what’s wrong? Did you see something you shouldn’t have?”
An Lin looked back curiously at Tunzuo, whose face was now completely red.
“Nothing! An Lin-jie, fly faster! I’m sleepy!”
Tunzuo indicated she didn’t want to talk anymore.
Right now, she just wanted to use sleep to escape this crazy world full of perverted witches.
Meanwhile, in a top-floor suite of a luxury hotel in Han Hai Cheng.
Like Tunzuo, covered in bandages, Olivia was currently half-lying on a recliner in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
Olivia was also browsing her grimoire.
The light from the screen reflected on her handsome face, which was currently somewhat pale due to weakness.
Olivia was scrolling through videos of her duel with Tunzuo on her grimoire.
But unlike Tunzuo’s shame and anger, Olivia looked at the black figure in the videos, a glimmer of something called greed flashing in her eyes.
Olivia replayed the moment Tunzuo swung her sword at her, over and over again—the cold gaze, the frenzied smile, and the killing intent sworn to cut her down right there.
“So beautiful…”
Olivia murmured to herself, her fingers gently stroking Tunzuo’s cold, stunningly beautiful face on the screen.
While browsing the comments, Olivia also took screenshots.
“Just her and me is enough. The rest… are too much of an eyesore…”
Olivia captured screenshots from the video where only Tunzuo and she were in the frame—pictures of them confronting each other, clashing, and the final image of them locked in a stalemate as if mutually destroying each other.
Looking at Tunzuo’s ruthless yet frenzied face in the pictures, that sickly smile reappeared on Olivia’s face.
“Hehe, Tunzuo…”
Olivia whispered this name she cared about so much, as if reciting some infatuated incantation.
“You can’t escape, little ghost. I will find you. You won’t escape my grasp.”
Olivia set the screenshot of Tunzuo swinging her sword as her grimoire wallpaper, then closed her eyes contentedly, her mind filled with images of Tunzuo’s lazy yet frenzied figure.
“Next time we meet, it will be when I make you mine alone.”